Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1893-02-16
A TEXAN GENIUS.

4
An TnventOr in the Lone Star State Who
Has An Idea That Is Worth While.
"Some years ago [ accidentally made
the discovery that the India rubber of
commerce could be made to assume a
new and distinct property" said f. NJ.
Clarke, secretary of the Fort Worth
chamber of commerce. "By incorpo-
rating in the rubber at the time of its
manufacture certain very plentiful and
cheap ingredients, the rubber will re-
tain all it's natural Elasticity and tlexi-
bility so long as it is kept in the air, but
when it is exposed to the action OF the
sea water it gradually changes it's char
acter, and in from 80 to 40 days becomes
hard as adamant. Now, we propose to
construct a long tube of this pre- pared
rubber, long enough to reach across the
ocean. The first tube will have an IN
ternal diameter of II inches, with walls
4 inches thick, and in the walls will be
woven a number of copper wires. This
will form a flexible tube that will be
EASY of handling and can be stored away
in the hold of the vessel to be engaged
in laying it; or perhaps some special
form of large barge may be built for the
purpose of laying. Eminent engineers
have assured me that there will be no
difficulty in laying the tube. The first
end will be laid below the surface, SO
that the water can run into the tube and
fill it as the process of laying goes on;
thus, by the water on the inside Of the
tube, the hardening process will be
fastened. After the tube is laid it will
be allowed to remain full of water for
ninety DAYS before the water is taken
out.
"But," asked the reporter, chow are
you going to get the water out? No
pump could be made that could lift a
column of water three or four miles
vertically, and the lower end Of your
tube, lying on the bottom of the ocean,
will certainly be that depth from the
surface. You cannot force the water
out, as that would require SO enormous
a pressure that no pump could be oper-
ated to create it."
''That is where the wires in the tube
walls come in,'' said the General.
These wires are broken at the center
of the tube, and at that place the brok
en- ends approach the inner surface Of
the tube. The electric current has q
powerful disintegratlng effect upon
water, and this effect is accelerated if
the water be calculated, or saline, like
the water of the sea- After the tube
has been subjected to the action of the
bromic and iodiGic salts of the sea wat
er, which act upon the peculiar material
Incorporated with the rubber, for nine
ty days, and the tube has hardened,
the ends of the copper wires that are at
the American end of the tube are con-
nected with the positive poles of a
powerful dynamo, and the ends of the
wires at the English end of the tube
with the negative poles of another large
dynamo. Electrolysls-th decomposi-
ton of water by carbohydrates
place, the water is decomposed into it's
component gases, hydrogen and oxygen.
One of these gases will pass off through
the American end of the tube and the
other gas at the other end, leaving
only the fine crystals of the sea
salts in the tube. This process is
very rapid, if the dynamo be powerful
one, and will be accomplished in about
ten or twelve hours. There will be two
air pumps. one at each end of the tube
one of the, pumps will force the air in
and the other will exhaust, creating q
current of air that will pass through the
tube at speed of 900 miles per hour
1t is the intention to use the first tube
made for the transmission of mail mat
ter. It can be used to transmit grain of
all kinds, and also petroleum. When
it is used for oil no air pump will be re-
CURED. The receiving end Of the tube,
on the American side Of the ocean, will
be built up few feet higher from a
level than is the end on the English
side, then as fast as the oil is poured in
to the American end corresponding
quantity will run out from the English
end. When the last portion of oil to
be transmitted has been poured into
the tube, a cylindrical disk will be
placed in the tube, the air pump started
and, forced along by the powerful air
pressure, the disk will carry before it
the Oil.
'The tube for passenger service will
be twelve times greater than the one
just described, so that it will have an
internal diameter of twelve feet. It
will also be slightly different in shape,
being made of an elliptical form, in
stead OF being perfectly cylindrical
This shape will be for the purpose of
preventing rotation of the carriages or
cars, which will be about sixty feet in
length. No inconvenience whatever
will be experienced by passengers. The
air will be abundant and pure; light