The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-03-19
KEELY'S SECRET STOLEN.
"A Young Philadelphia Makes Practical Use
of the PurlOined Principle

of his stockholders and keeping the world in sus-
pense over his thimbleful- of water machine,
young man of this city, named James Rodney
Barlow, has stolen his thunder and snatched
fame from his very workshop. For some time
past Barlow, whose mind was more to queer
mechanical devices than to practical things, has
taken the most absorbing interest in Keely's al
legged invention, reading everything about it on
which he could lay his hands and drinking
in with his ears every word he heard spoken on
the subject. With the fatuous enthusiasm COM
mon to inventors he believed everything said in
its favor. and rejected every statement made by
skeptics. In some unknown way he gained &C
cess to Keelys famous little workshop and saw,
himself unseen, the great man manipulating his
motor, Having detected the inventors secret,
and discovered, as he thought. its weak points,
he determined to build motor himself after
Keely's model, with his own improvements,
and he set about it with all the fervor usual
in such cases. A friend and enthusiast to whom
he conided his purpose furnished the money,
and having secured the services of a machinist,
who also had the inventors craze, they jointly
rugged up, after few months labor, machine
that was to cover them with glory and revolu-
tonne the motive power of the world. A good
deal of discussion took place as to what kind of
tast they should make of their invention to
demonstrate its practical utility without making
public their discovery. 1t was finally decided to
apply the power to hand car on some railroad.
To do this a clear track was necessary, and the
West Jersey railroad was selected as the place
and night as the time-no trains running on
that road after dark. Keely's oft-repeated
claims publicly made and never fulfilled. that
he would run a train of cars from Philadelphia
to New York with his motor had taught Barlow
caution, and he insisted, in spite of his friends
wishes, that the test should be made without
publicity but he was finally prevailed upon to
permit a reporter to be present on condition that
nothing would be printed about it until after
another trial if this one should prove unsuccess-
full The condition was unnecessary, for the
trial was a great triumph for Mr.. Barlow, and
he will awake this morning to find himself no
longer unknown to fame.
To carry out his scheme it was necessary to
get the cooperation and assistance of some en-
ploye of the West Jersey road, and it would be
all the better if one could be found who had
sometimes himself taken hand at inventing.
Certain inquiries were made, and the very man
for the business was found in George Barnaby,
who, when the plan was unfolded to him, ell
tered into it with enthusiasm. Through him
small building near the track and about half a
mile out of Camden, was secured, in which
borrowed hand-car and the new motor were
placed and the work of adjusting the parts of the
motor and attaching them to the hand-car was
undertaken at once and speedily completed. The
trial was made last night. The reporter reached
the little building about o'clock, where he found
his friend Barlow and the machinest making
their final preparations for the test, and he then
saw the new motor for the first time. 1t con
cisted of two cylindrical steel vessels, five
inches in diameter by eighteen inches long,
placed longtpdinally about one inch apart.
Above them, also placed longitudinally, but at
right angles TO the two others, and connected
with them by steel necks or ways, was a third
cylindrical vessel three inches in diameter by
nine inches long. From the head of each of the
lower cylinders q steel tube half an inch in di
ameter projected. and the two tubes were curved
to meet each other four inches above At their
junction was small hand lever BY the side of
the motor a vertical cylinder fitted with
rod and plunger, all ant-frcton metal, and to
this was attached small rotary crank. A steel
tUbe, oTsef1nrth of an inch in diameter, con
nected the upper cylinder of the motor with the
vertical cylinder by its side.
About 10 O'clock everything was ready and
the car with the motor on its platform, was re-
moved from the building and placed upon the
track. Barlow his machinist, the railroad en-
ploye the inventors friend and the reporter
formed the experimenting party. Barlow, usu-
ally cool and phlegmatic, was nervous and ex
cited. His face looked pale in the
light of the lantern that stood upon
the car, but his every word and movement
showed his eagerness for the test. The members
of the party having arranged themselves upon
the car under his direction, Barlow took his
place by the side of his motor AS he put his
hand upon the lever over the cylinders there
was moment of dead silence, and each man
held his breath in suspense. Was this midnight
experiment conducted by stealth, so to speak, to
give the world new motive power and bring re-
nowN and riches TO hitherto unknown young
enthusiast Was the much talked of and long
delayed Keely motor to be shorn of its alleged
glory by so humble and speedily maturcd a rival2
These were the questions formed in the reporters
mind as he watched Barlows snewy fingers-on
which, by the way, no diamonds glistened-nerv-
ously grasp the lever of his device. There was
only minutes delay-the lever was pressed
down, tentatively at first, and a loud cheer burst
from the excited party as the car responded and
moved slowly down the track. 1t was supreme
moment for Barlow, but he bore it well and
gradually pressed the lever more and more as
the car went bowling away with a steady mo
ton that sent glow of victory over his face
There was too much excitement among the men
for talk, but each one jerked out word of con
graduation and urged Barlow to ''let her out
The inventor, however kept his head. and after
a swift run to within sight of the lights of
Gloucester, he stopped the car, reversed the ac-
ton and started on the return He explained
that the motor of limited capacity and had
been built for experiment only but that force
enough remained to make a show of speed back
to Camden. He then pressed the lever hard
down, the car whiZzed away like the wind and
the little building was reached in three minutes
"a speed OF about seventy five miles an hour
Mr. Barlow is very modest and would prefer
that nothing be said about his motor until he
has built one capable of real work. This he will
do at once, and when it is completed public
test of its power will be made. The reporter
endeavored to obtain from him some informa-
ton as to the internal structure of his device.
but on this point he will not say a word When
he applies for his patents the world will know
the secret of his wonderful achievement. but
until then it must be satisfied with the fact that
Keely has been outdone, and that new and
marvellous motive power has been discovered
and actually tested while he has been promising
and postponing.
A visit was paid to the Kelly office yesterday.
There it was learned that the inventor was dis
couraged. Secretary Schuellerman declared that
Mr.. Keely had discharged all his workmen be-
cause he had nothing more for them to do He
had built all the engines that he wanted it was
explained.
Blames the Newspapers.