Telegram-herald., 1889-11-18

nlastr-aloas 81 What sac a~s Achieved IL
sks wsEld sf IDssA2lty.

quite a. useful &Rd Ingenious As some of
those that have oone fro1 her stronger
armed brother. an examination Of the
records u the patent otAce vii sea ths
question AZ rest. These, however. DO
not tell the whole story. for, with the
oonfiding nature Of her sex. she hss given
a. husband. or friend, or speculator,
hints and forms u devices that have
subsequently, becotne 81 large mercantile
value and been adopted a. the creations
u third parties.
Few people Ia looking at the handsome
desks with rolling tops and massive
doors, that when opened present 10 the
eve great nests Of pigeon holes. suspect
that an idea 50 novel emanated from the
brain II a lady highly cultivated IN al
the graces Of a home. Yet il Is even 50.
Several years ago Mrs. Tracy. then Of
south Carolina and relative u the IA
nous Hhett family of thai state, con
ceived tie plan Of building such cover
upon and attaching the deep. swinging
doors 10 her sewing machine, and what
is still more remarkable, she made the
drawings and acted as her own mechanic.
The device, intended solely for her OWE
convenience. being seen by practical
men, was at once adopted. improvements
were added, patents were taken out, and
Ia a few months the result Of her in
genuity was in the market coming money
for a lot Of people in whom she had no
earthly interest and from whom she has
derived little or no profit.
Sitting az that same sewing machine
one day the thought occurred 10 her that
instead Of Withdrawing the thread from
the needle with a pair OF scissors, as was
usually done, it would be easier 10 en-
ploy a curved surface for the purpose.
She accordingly took her button hook,
sharpened its Concave edge, and, presto!
her object was accomplished. This use
suggesting another. she applied the
outer or convex side of the hook 10 a
grindstone, and in few moments had
converted il into a tool that at once be
came picker and ripper of stitches. an
ink eraser and envelope opener. The
wire handle was then adroitly twisted
full for fastening gloves, and, for aught
the writer knows, pulling tacks or teeth.
The little trick served its purpose admir-
ably, and many thousands were sold,
but not for the benefit OF the ingenious
woman, for she did not see the color of
a fifty dollar bill to CON per.sate her for
the idea.
Soon after her arrival il. New York, a
large fire occurred in factory, from the
upper stories of which it was impossi-
bic for number of the inmates 10 es-
cape. This incident directed Mrs.
Tracy's attention TO the desirability of
a contrivance that, being attached to the
wall inside of window on the different
stories of a house, could be easily swung
into the window opening, and then, be-
ing loosened, fall TO the ground in the
shape of flexible cylinder with wire
ladder attachment down which the inn
prisoned people might easily slide as
through a shute without danger of bOdi-
" harm from either fire or bruises.
Meanwhile, the firemen might be using
the fire ladder for carrying up and sup
porting their hose. This machine at the
time attracted great deal of attention
from soSle of the authorities, and a num-
Der of successful experiments were made
from the roofs of tall buildings. but as
in the other cases mentioned, the idea
fell short Of perfect consummation ow-
ing to the indisposition of those who
proposed to supply the working capital
to do more than pay the inventor small
royalty. Unfortunately, she was wo-
man.
Mrs. Tracy's ingenuity also found en-
ployment about this time il the con-
struction Of an elevator for hotels and
other public buildings. the salient feat
ures Of which were, first, the impossi-
bility of its dropping more than two or
three inches in the event of the breaking
of cables or the displacement Of the
usual safety cogs, and, secondly, its au-
tomato work in dropping or taking up a
section of the floor as it moved from
story TO story in its ascent and descent.
The object was twofold, namely, TO pre-
vent careless people from falling when
the elevator doors were left unlocked,
and to shut off the inevitable draft that
of itself carries fire from basement to
roof through the big open fue.
The arrangement was So simple that it
seemed a wonder manufacturers had not
adopted it in the beginning. The stop
page Of motion was caused by that de-
vice familiar to the simplest mechanics
known as "the devils grip" and in its
simplest form is every day illustrated in
the tolgs of the icenen. In other words.
the greater weight it held the tighter it
gripped. One of these was placed at
each upper corner Of the elevator and so
connected with a wire cable that no
matter where a break occurred. il was
bound to assert its force and noid the
huge object in place. Tho portable floors
referred TO were OF lizht but strong steel
that dropped into place on going up or
coming down. and in their substantial
use practically made the door of an elc-
vat0r unnecessary. Ny impression is
that the invention was successfully sp-
piled in a big soap factory, and was re-
gardol "a a maTvelOusly clever thing.
especially as it came from - only a
woman.
Riding on tho elevated cars on one oc-
rasion. she witnessed the skurry and
nish 81 the crowd getting In and out
Before reaching home she had made a
draft on the bundle that had been tied up
for her in q dry goods store Il set Il
easily movable gates that being pushed
to the space between the cars. eIectBal-
ly barred the passage until the cara were
enptied under tha direction q TIE con-
ductoT or hrakesmen. With few SIM