Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1888-11-11

an inscription IN the outlandish tongue
of the land CT the Cardiff Giant.
The car has long ago p SID thruga the
old PORTION of the shaft, and is running as
smoothly as at the start through the nea,,
exact masonry of the new work. Inc deik
surface of the granite is checksred wisn
white squares, the faces of marble DICKS
that extend entirely through the walls act
ing a. band to the masonry. The corners
of the shaft 10 this new portion are neahy
rounded, instead of b sing square, as below.
At every fifty feet ftcm the door TO the rooi
there is an elevator landing, the fl iors OF
levels being extended to meet the CIR ano
guard, d By a high latt;c2d gate. Totss
occur on sltsrpate sides, and, the car naV-
ing a door in b,th the east and west sides,
exit from the car is thus provided In
either direction. At AGO feet the smoo' n
walls are broken BY tie prtj lection OF
twelve but.resses, three on each s'de
These are the rib stones which support the
roof of the monument At the bottom
they extend about six inches, leaning out
more and mora IS they g up, until az tine
tip they p;ojsc. atolt five fett. Inc MD
d ONES on each side are liHls in advance
of the others, narrowing mora rapidly 70
form IN arch for the support OF the cap
store. Thu light ftom the inc lndsscent
cibon is by this time beginning to De
dimmed by lint from the outside, drifting
down from the windows in the roof: Inc
great wheels that have been devousing the
cables seem TO Be falling upo1 the car, and
suddenly tina conductor gives a long up
ward pull on tie hsndrope, and the car
comes to a stop in the midst Of sh e'i'o1
cage. TIE air is chilly, and as the pssseu.
gers st'p ;iuorously over the threshold
they button their oYerccatI and turn up
their collars.
This upper landing is a COLI, lone "
place, the abutt'ng rlbstones cutting IL up
into angular spaces, AT the bare Fl ore and
shining white walls tending to give it
lonesome air. o. each side two oblong
w:rd ,ws give We vs. into the atmosphere
nd down upon tie fIt.sned earth. The
world locks bigger then one thought 1t to
be; il stretches away on every hand TO q
meltirg blue horizoo, family outlined,
with tere and there hilltop intrudi * Us
sharp roiut as if in claim CT recognition as
a part Of thu scena.
The spectators are awed, surprised, chill
ed into sill ance, ard they occasionally
glance inward at the maze ofs!cnes in the
roof, TIE convergiug arches, and the teem.
i?gly light, airy mode Of construction, end
then ehudder slightly and hurry into the
car. Soma take eff their hats AID put
their heads through the window, eXc.aim-
ing at the dwaIf,d spp'ararcs OF the
workmen or the mound below, and then,
looking up toward the capstone, wonder.
ing at the multitude Cf lightning ro1
points which cover each of tie four tilin-
giles of the roof The aluminium tip looks
like dark spot frirg d with roiLt', Then
the beads are withdrawn with sigh o.
relief
At last TIE conductor shouts for all TO
ge. on thu car who wish 10 20 below, and
the visitors middle themselves inside and
the down trip is begun, In about nine
MINUTES the passengers emerge from the
shaft into the outside atmosphere AMI men
tally congratulate Themselves upon their
90 d luck in safely returning to the earth
/ The glancipg upward along the face Of
the shaft, which seems to be falling ovet
upon them, they shudder Lightly ard 20
away TO boast that tasy have been 70 the
t,p of the highest artificial structure in the
! world.
| Ia the elevator safe? has been asked
hundreds of times during the past week.
This question il hard TO answer, for almost
all elevators ara a mater of some slight
r!tk, even under the mort favorable cir
cumstances. Yet 1T cln be said with nth
that the element of danger ba5 ban elimi.
mated from the trip to and from the top OF
the great shaft as IA: as human skill can
| 20. Tue machinery has stood the hardest
! tests for years without q break. The
cables have been tested to capacity Of
over ten ions, and the car and machinery
| fit ID with the best of safety appliances.
/ Under these co.. dltions ii ia safe to say that
the elevator is as safe as any other, and
much safer than the great majority
of hosting machines, TIE immense
length Of the shaft notwithstanding
TIE dram of the elevator is located
under the roof of the monument, and Is
reached by means Of traps in the ircn fico--
irg. It is great red iron cylinder, six feet
in diameter, and contains, when tie car
has been hlistsd to the top, 1864 feet of
cahl, which ia wound around it in oppo-
SIT directions from the cent e. The ends
If the cables are secured to the drum
through holes in the surface and inside are
tied 10 crest cro1s.bsans. A governor at
tact ei to the starting and stopping ma
chineiy operates by stopping the car when
il drops too rapidly. Ga the car itself are
two dogs that catch on the corner columns
at northwest AMI southeast corners Of the
elevator shaft.
Great care is taken to Tote the move
ments Of the shaft, for il it does move
The law Of contraction and eIpars. on Ct
material by heat nd cold operates here as
we'll az elsew here. When the fun shisss
full on the eastsrn facs in the morning the
sto-e1 on that side expand and throw the
shaft slightly to the west. Then the sun
GOES around to III, south and the apex Of
the monument makes q corresponding
swing t. the north. As the orb cresps
about tn, sky to its final setting in
the evening the gittering point on
t Of the monument makes con-
tam vement around half q circle,
gradually settling back 10 It's normal pcsi'
ton after the rays Of the sun have lost
their power. This movement has never
been calculated, but it ia undoubtedly very
slight. The wind, too. has an effect upon
the structure From the cent 'r of gravity
Of tie shaft, located III fee: and ten inches
from the A, DOT, is q cross-beam from which
is suspended fne steel wire, prOt:chd by
a galvanize ID iron tube ahout four inches
in diameter. This hangs to the fl DOT at