The sun. [volume] (Morris, Stevens County, Minn.) 1882-1895, 1889-06-06
It Worked Too Well.

A man invented u fire extinguisher
that was warranted to put out anything
that was ever put out. It's construction
was elaborate. The idea of it was not.
1t was this: Place a 1000 gallon tank of
water upon your roof. Connect it by
pipes with the various floors. Have
several hundred such pipes, so there will
be enough to go around. Terminate the
pipes by stopcocks. Hold the stopcocks
in place by little clasp Of soft metal,
say lead. When the fire comes roaring
up it melts the soft metal clasp. Then
the valve lets loose and the water pours
out. See? By kind of ingenious twist
and turn the released water does not stay
in one place, but whirls and sprinkles
around like cloudburst, wetting a sur
face of fifty feet Whereabouts. This is so
as to be sure not to miss spark Of fire.
An electric alarm was attached, that the
fire would set going, and it would make
a noise loud enough to waken the dead.
Now, if the reader understands this
patent revolving action automatic fire
cxtinguisher he can follow our story.
The firm of Koch Sons occupied a
handsome corner building on Broadway,
New York. They manufactured photo
graph albums. It was necessary that
they should be secure from fire. Fire
would have been very bad for their
stock. So they rented building con-
tanning one of the patent self working
revolving fire extingHishefs. -, Then, in &
sense of heavenly security, they locked
up their albums at night, sped away to
their luxurious homes on tho margin of
the Jersey flats and slept the sleep of the
just.
About o'clock one breezy April morn
ing, policeman observed q small stream
Of water issuing from the front door of
the palatial album factory. 1t was in
nocent looking enough, that stream Of
water. But it was out of place.
The policeman looked at the door. A
bristliug iron gate confronted him first,
then double locked storm doors, then the
patent combination safe, locked entrance
doors. The building was burglar proof
as we'll as fire defying. By applying to
the janitor of a neighboring building,
the policeman and several of his COM
rades were able to reach the roof of the
Koch establishment. Thence the de
scent was easy Within was a state of
things too terrible to describe.
The patent fire extinguisher had gone
of of it's own accord, without any fire.
Perhaps the spooks had set it off, melt
ing the clasp with burning birthstone.
At any rate, the whole store was afoat.
The floor below thetop one was occupied
by "album insides," tons and tons of
them. They were melted into pulp.
Here were the delicate leaves that were
to hold the fair photos of John and Su-
san. Here pa and ma would have sat
side by side, facing front, stark and
straight, with ma slland upon pas Shout
der, saying to all the world; as it were:
"He's mine" Oh, the ruin was heart
breaking.
On the floor below were the gorgeous
blue and red and yellow and plush coy
crings of the albums--those beautiful al
buns without which no home is com
Ilcte. They were soaked through and
through; ruined utterly. 1t was enough
10 bring sears to the eyes Of a potato.
Eaddest of all, nobody could be found in
New York who knew the combination
af the demonish thing to turn it of, and
it went on and on tn it had drained The
supply tank dry, every drop. The album
market will be short next Christr .sB,