Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-21
A WORLD IN THE PARK
Prof John Riley Wants the Universe
Placed on Exhibition.
PANORAMA OF THE ERIAL BODIES.
U. L.. Magee Will Be Asked to Buy the Ma
chine for Schenley Park.
The PROFESSOR FOOLED BY A GERMAN

John Riley, scientist and astronomer,
whose home, when he is not soaring among
the stars, is at 26S Colwell street, has a
well-lald plan in hand for filling his poek-
ets with ducats and at the same time en-
riching the human race with knowledge
hitherto unthought Of He has made a
study of the solar system, the heavens and
everything pertaining thereto, but unlike
most great men he believes books do not
convey ideas in detail, and he has there
fore prepared charts in panorama style
which he declares will show the
workings of the universe so plain
that the most ignorant will understand 1t
is great work. and Prof. Riley thinks he
would be cheating humanity if he were to
hide it under bushel At the same time,
he thinks it would be injustice to himself
to give it away for nothing, and in order to
get some return he is going to make a
proposition to G. L. Magee that the Du-
quesne traction road buy the machine and
place it on exhibition in Schenley Park in
order to increase traffic.
The most important part of the professors
discovery is that the sun isn't sun at all,
but only big chunk of electricity. Like
natural gas on cold day, he says that it
doesn't give out either heat or light, and
that the only thing which keeps the earth
from being Raum refrigerator or some
thing similar is flashes of lightning that are
continually going on cheap excursion trips
between the place where the sun ought to
be and plate of armor just on the other
side of the earth's atmosphere.
A Discovery Made for Revenue.
This truly wonderful discovery, sad as it
may be to believe, was made for mercenary
purposes. Prof Riley first commenced
study on it in a desperate effort to get hold
of $25, 900, which one Herr Berger, of
Germany, offered through an advertisement
in the Detroit Free Press to any
astronomer who would prove that
there is anything solid in the sun,
moon or stars. Herr Krupp, the great can
non maker, was given as reference by the
aforesaid Berger and PROT Riley believing
that the offer was made in good faith re-
duced to a diagram the theory that had
found lodging place in his mind since
time immemorial. By his discovery he
claimed he could prove beyond doubt that
the stars are composed of solid material
and he therefore wrote to Herr Berger
through Herr Krupp for the stuff that would
make himself solid financially.
Glowing Prize That Vanished.
He got an answer. II was written on a
typewriter in German. The contents were
in substance that 81 don't give a d.
whether the stars are solid or not. don't
know Herr Berger or any person else that
made such an offer Of go, 900. Truly yours,
Herr Krupp."
For while Prof. Riley's hopes went
down with the letter. He thought it was
mean German trick to capture an innocent
Irishman's invention for nothing, but he
didn't fall into the trap. He decided on the
plan to interest Mr.. Magee in the discovery
and if the scheme works, visitors to Schen-
ley Park next summer will be given the
privilege of standing around with the
hands in their pockets and watch the uni
verse give performance of its daily work.
ings on a reduced scale The question was
asked the professor if he would put a man
in his exhibition moon, but he did not
deign reply.