The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-04-13
/ NEVER ENDING MOTION.
SCIENTISTS SAY IT CANNOT BE
PRODUCED BY MAN.

David NJ. Stone, The New York Journal OF
Done-Plans OF Two Enthusiastic In
ventors of the West.
Mr.. David NJ. Stone, the famous editor, is
not among those who believe the problem of
perpetual motion is insouble On the con-
trary, he says, he once had in his office for
number Of weeks machine that was moved
by gravitation, and that it was kept there UNI
til he was satisfied that it was not humbug.
The history of the invention, as he told it to
me, is very interesting 1t will be noticed
that with all the sturdy independence which
is so characteristic Of the man, he utterly
ignores the consensus of scientists. For many
years now the scientific world has accepted
without a question the dictum that gravlta-
ton cannot be utilized to produce continuous
motion, and by common consent the nuiner-
Gus experimenters who have spent years and
fortunes trying to achieve this result have
been styled visionary fools
He would be bold man who would call
David NJ. Stone fool, yet he declared some
time ago, editorially that the idea Of perpet-
ual motion was quite in accordance with nat
ura laws, the planetary world furnishing
visible illustration of it. And he further said:
+ "We believe it quite possible to employ nat
ural agencies, like galvanism or electricity,
and possibly gravitation, TO produce continued
motion, overcoming the lightest possible fric-
ton, but not to furnish any useful power"
It was when asked him to speak further on
the subject that he told me this story.
~ think it was in 1852" said Mr.. Stone,
.sthat an old man, who, should think, was
at least 50 years old, came into the office OF
The Journal of Commerce and asked to see
the editor | was then junior, but Mr..
Halleck referred him to me and gave him
q hearing although l did not at all believe
what he said when he told me that he had a
machine with him that moved continuously
by its own weight. thought then, as most
people still think, that the thing was impossi-
BILE. but the old man said he had worked forty
wears on it and had succeeded at last, and he
wanted me to examine the machine Natur-
ally was willing to do that, and l saw that
it would certainly go. OF course, | suspected
some trick inside of it. | thought there was
a spring, perhaps, concealed within, but | got
him to leave it with me for a considerable
time, and while l had it sealed up satisfied
myself on that point. 1t had no spring and
1t went by its own weight"
"Why was the story not published at the
timer" l asked
.'It was, and it attracted not only the wild
est attention, but the most unsparing ridi-
Guile. Not only did great numbers of people
visit the office, and while they sat seeing it go
declare that it must be a,,fraud, but the edit
ors all over the country took it up and de-
clared on general principles that we were
being humbugged."
suggested that it would be well to consult
the files of The Journal of Commerce and see
these stories, but Mr.. Stone said that he did
not know of file in existence. All the office
files were destroyed when the office was
burned after this time, and he was unable to
remember even the name of the old inventor.
He could, however, give me an idea of what
the machine was like, and he made rough
sketch, reproduced here.
According to Mr.. Stones explanation the
circle in this diagram represents a cylinder
about IS inches long and some inches in
diameter. This was so placed as to revolve