The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-04-13


into which they were so fixed that they had
little play These arms were hollow, and
in each one was small ball which served for
a weight, and which rolled as the cylinder
revolved, from B to c, to d, to A, and back
to B. By this arrangement the right side of
the machine was always little heavier than
the left because the weights were further
from the center This result was attained
with the assistance of a small spring which
was applied to each bar, and the whole ar
rangement was attached by kind of ratchet
work to a pendulum which regulated the
speed, and which Mr.. Stone thought was of
some assistance in the motion as well.
"How lid you satisfy yourself that there
was no spring attached~ was natural
question.
by disconnecting the pendulum, stopping
the machine and then letting so of it. 1t
would begin to move, very slowly at first,
and gradually increase in speed until the
centrifugal force became sufficient to keep
the balls at the point c. Then it would run
by its own momentum for awhile, and slacken
up until it would almost stop. Once 1t did
stop and started it again with my finger.
Then it would go faster again and then slower,
and 80 on. OF course a spring wouldn't do
that"
"What became of the machinef"
'The old man took it to a county fair
somewhere in New jersey and exhibited 1t
as sort of side show for triiing admission
fee Some scientific gentlemen regarded this
as an ofPense against the laws, and the old
man was charged with obtaining money under
false pretenses or something of the sort He
was arrested and taken to court, and the
magistrate was particularly severe on him.
The old man declared that the machine was
an honest one aud was exactly what he
represented it to be, but the scientific men
made affidavit tAat it would not go unless
there were spring in it, and the magistrate
ordered it to be chopped up, so as to show the
spring. The old man demonstrated and
pleaded, but the machine was chopped up.
OF course they found no spring, for there
was none there, and the old man was dis
charged. He gathered up the fragments and
went home and died broken hearted"
1t is impossible to question Mr.. Stones good
faith in telling the story, for he told it soberly
and earnestly. 1t has been published before,
but is worth reading again.
DAVID A. CURTIS.
That there can be no machine producing
perpetual motion would seem TO nave been
long ago established beyond controversy by
all of the great mechanical scientists. Their
argument, though apparently conclusive,
need not be repeated here.
Two more perpetual motion machines, so
called, have recently been invented. One OF
the inventors lives in st. Louis, the other IN
Chicago. Both are exceedingly enthusiastic
and confident of electrifying the world. Cuts
of both inventions are here presented. The
invention of the Chicago man, Archibald
James Robertson, was not long ago enthusiast
tically described by himself to Chicago
Tribune reporter as follows:
b ga represents frame work to winch my
motor is attached. XIX is power lever, the
weight on the outer end of which produces
a pressure on the top wheel L. GG is SINH
lar power lever, with a similar weight, pro-
ducing similar pressure on the bottom wheel