Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1888-06-21
BILL NYE ON ELECTRICITY.
he INsPE0Ts THE MOST MARVEL
LOUIS INVENTION OF THE AGE.

versatility It's Great Drawback.
Little did b. Franklin wot that some
day the little start he made when
he baitod his pin hook with a gooC
conductor and tapped the low -browed
and believing nimbus with his buoy.
ant Kite, and the pickle jar of ~electri,
city thus crudely acquired. would be
the egg from which inventors and
scientists would hatch out II system
which could not only encircle the globe
with messages swifter than the fl chit
OF PhGbus, but that anon the light of
day would he filtered through IL cloud
OF cables loaded with destruction suf-
ticient for a whole army, and the air
be filled with death-dealing. dangling
wires.
Little did he know that he was bot
Ting the genii which would one day
pull out the stopper with its teeth and
grow till it o%verspread the sky, planted
its bare. bleak poles along every high
way. carrying day messages by night
ana u glIt messages when it got ready.
darkening the air with its rusty wings
provided, of course. that the cenii
wear wings-and with the harsh, me-
talic, gouldish laughter of "a signal
KEY. with one foot on the neck of the
sender and one on the neck of the re.
cipieht. with one hand on the throat
OF the convention and the other i'm the
pockets of the world. defy aggregated
humanity to do its worst and command
all civilization in terse, well chosen
terms, TO either fish. cut bait or 90
ashore.
Could Benjamin have known all this
ut the time, possibly he might have
considered 1t wisdom to go in when it
rained.
am not an old fogy, though | NAV
V That appearances, aud | rejoice TO
sec the world move ON. One by one |
have laid aside my own encumberInp
~PreJudlces IN order 10 keep up with the
procession. Have | not gradually
adopted everything that would in any
way enhance my opportunities for adj
Vancement, even through ted Gus evo-
luton, from the paper collar up to the
hnger bowl, eyether and nyether P
his should convince the reader that
l am not seeking TO clog the wheels of
progress. | simply look with appre-
lensIon upon any great Capitalization
OF wealth or power in the hands of any
one man who not only does as he
with said wealth aud power.
but who, us | am informed, does not
read my timely suggestions as to how
he shall use thom.
10 return, however, 10 the subject
Dt electricity. l have recently SOUGHT
20 fathom the style and nlottf of "A new
which is TO be introduced into
private residences, hotels and Police
Headquarters. In private houses il
" IL be used as Il burglars welcome.
IN hotels it will take the mental strain
'ff the bellboy. relieving him also of
/ portion OF his burdensome salary at
he same Time. In the Police Depart
neht 1t VIII do almost every thing but
lat peanuts from the corner stands.
The s'stem is OF exhibition in a
arge room downtown, with the signals
II boxes on n side and the annunci-
Tor or central station on the other.
81 walking from n to the other. q
distance in all OF thirty or forty miles.
was enabled to get a slight idea of {
he principle. |
1t is certainly n very intelligent sys- ,
I'm. never felt my own inferioritv ,
nv more than | did in the presence of :
wonderful invention. 1t will do :
lmost anything, ii seemed to me, and '
he main drawback seems 10 be its {
reat versatility, for it thereby becomes =
o complex that in order to become at :
IL intimate with it a policeman ought :
put IN two years at Yale and ut !.
EAST II year at Leipsic. An extended =
curse OF study would thus perfect him .
l this line. but he would not then be j
.ntent TO act as II policeman. He :
wan to be q scientist. with v
andruff on his Goa collar aud a far >
way look. u
Then, again. take the hotel scheme. u
IL instance. We 60 to a dial which y
marked Room 80. There we find e
lat by treating it in q certain way il Il
Ill announce to the clerk that Room -
wants a fire. ice .water. pens, ink. = y
apor. lemons. towels, iire-escape. -
Milwaukee Sec. pillow-shams, N. Y. y
/oTtd. menu, Croton frappe. carriage, g .
undry. physician, sleeping-car ticket, "
for same, Halford sauce.
flat-iron for ironing trousers, bag
lge. blotter, tidy for chair, or any OF
lose things. In fact L have not Civ al
l half the list on. this barometer be- Of
use L could not remember them. u
Iough L may have added others which :.
ere not on the indicator. The mes ="
arrives at the office. but the clerk p
engaged in conversation with a lady. OF
g does not jump when the alarm SC
'unds, but continues the dialouge. fc
mother guest wires the Office that he W
ould like a copy of the Congressional CT
cord. The message is filed away hi
dramatically, and the thrilling con- I'll
goes On. Then No. "a asks 81
have his mail sent up. No. % to
to know what time the bus leaves le
9 house for the train going East, w
ID whether that train will connec at OF
o.. with a tide-water train. lie
+ Cleveland in time to catch the Lake +,
lore train which will bring him into pl
w York at 1880. and whether all D,
ose trains are reported on time or I'll
t, and If not will the office kindly v,
tic whvp Other guests also man fest in
curiosity throuUh their trans. IN