The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-12-19
NATIONA. DIRECTORY.
The WONDERFUL SCHEME or =
ST. LOUIS INVENTOR.

Hunting wrongdoers-A Machine for
Measuring Heads.
While looking for furnished room in
tenement and Office building near the
corner of Fourth and Market streets
last night reporter from the Globe
Democrat stumbled upon a genius who
was burning the midnight oil in a back
dingy room up two f1ights of stairs. To
reach this obscure retreat the reporter
had groped his way through devious
halls and passages where darkness was
as palpable as the rats which scampered
over his feet. Knocking at a door
through which shone a dim gleam of
light, the intruder was invited to enter
a scantily furnished room, where the
marks of hard times and industry vainly
tried TO obliterate each other. The oc-
cupant of the room was tail, slim, seri-
Gus man, somewhat in need of shave,
and attired in garments little less rusty
than the room itself.
There was no carpet on the floor of
this apartment: on the whitewashed
walls hung saw; in one corner stood a
table strewn with books and scraps of
paper; the bed was covered with a red
calico spread, and the appearance here
and there of pieces OF crockery among
the odds and ends of old clothing gave
evidence of the carelcssly concealed Gu
inary of bachelors hall. 1t matters
not how the talk between the reporter
and the serious man drifted into the dis
cussion of the latter's affairs, but so it
did, and soon the outline of a gigantic
enterprise was being poured into an at
tentive ear.
ID. B. Bradley is the name of the man
who unfOlded scheme for a national
directory.
THE SCHEME EXPLAINED.
No confidence is violated in publishing
the details of the enterprise, as the plans
have been copyrighted. and all that is
required to place them in practical
operation are the energy of capital and
the establishment of a newspaper to ac-
quaint the public with their advantages.
"You see," said Mr.. Bradley, ''it is
town and county of the United States to
get names and furnish them to the CEN
tral Office. 1t will cost them that has
their names in the directory fifty cents
apiece for enrolment, and a stamp to
identify themselves by. Every man will
be registered in this way: say, for in
stance, 'G. A. Moore. No. 3, book NJ,
vol. 2, Nineteenth century Now sup
pose Moore lives in ST. Louis and goes
to California. His friends doesn't know
where he's gone, and want to write to
him; what do they do? Why, they Just
write to this directory, and the directory
forwards the letter"
"Free?"
''Oh, no; it will cost about ten cents"
"How will the directory know he's
gone to California;"
why, he'll tell 'eir of course. You
see it's only honest citizens that will be
expected to send in their names, and if
any of 'em commit crime we will have
their record, thus making the directory
a kind of detective business too"
Suppose he don't tell the directory
where he's gomez"
"Then that's his fault, and he don't
get his letters. But we're liable TO find
out where he is. Just the same. There's
an Identification goes along with the di-
rectory that practically prevents man
from losing himself"
Here the professor produced a nickel
cd ,,fh IL
for taking head measurements. The
production of this device caused Pro
fessor Bradley to branch off somewhat
into phrenology. He explained that the
human head was globe like the earth.
but not so large. of which the meridian
line ran around the. head through the
ears and eyes.
PRIVATE NUMBERS.
I'm addition 10 the public number
above given" continued Professor Brad
ley, "every man will have a private
which he can change at viii. !
His public number and name is never |
changed, except by law. You know men |
have their names changed by |
statute. The advantage of being able to !
change the private number is easily |
shown. Say Moore's private number is !
12. and he gives it away. Some other |
fellow attempts to personate him by |
using his name and number from some /
other town. AS soon as the matter passes /
through the directory Office two postal |
cards are sent-One to Moore at ins |
regular address, and the other to his |
address. If there has been any /
it is detected right there. the |
is changed and further fraud /
prevented"
"How long have you been working on /
this scheme asked the reporter. /
About eighteen years. but I've only |
been pushing it strong for the last four
years. | went TO Washington in 1887 |
and got eight congressman. four sena-
tors and President Cleveland interested /
in 1t for time, but they amt done
nothin' to amount TO anything. | reckon !
I'll have to start the thing with private
capital. think ! can get some help to
start weekly or monthly paper to ad-
vertise il. Ii won't take much money;
the thing will pay its way from the
start"
Besides the headometer and the di-
rectory Professor Bradley has invented
3 buggy wheel. an attachment for a
piano 10 play any piece OF written mu-
SIC mechanically; has written a book en-
titled The Science Of Mathematics
two calendars and written
the Age Of Reason" in several thou.
sand stanzas of verse.-St Louis Globe
Daruo.rrat