The World. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1891-1896, 1893-04-21

i Nv
q 10y llne quality. and are as rea.
pcrfcction - possible. Although the,
cannot help being affected b. changes
Of temperature and different eondi
tiont of the n,raosphcre. they ven
rarely are more aiaa fractional par
Of b second ont II the way. No AZ.
tempt IS ever made 70 correct such er.
rork bnt they are carefully noted and
aiiowed for n making caleuIationA
| For the purpose of distributing tim
a third clock. known a. transrnifters
Is used. This i st 70 keep time by The
scyenty-nffh meridian. and Is re rnlat.
ed b. the standard clock before men
toned II +. IN all respects. similar b
the Other clocks EXCEPT that il has a.
tached e 4 an Ingenious device by
which an electric circuit mas he alter
nately opened and closed with each
beat Of the pendulum. This clock con
trolls such circuits, one 81 them being
used for dropping the, Washington
l tirne-bAli. and the other one connect
ing with the several telegraph instru-.
rnents, known IS rereaters which
stand on case near By. These instru-
ments In turn connect with the teIe-
graph company : Offices Al Washington
and New York. and control the Wash
ington hre-alarJn circuit and the OBJ
seryatory clock line. BY means of the
former the alarm tells Ia all Of the Gre
engine houses in the city are struck.
The horses nnhitched and the doors
thrown open. all by single spark 81
electricity, just as Is done when an
alarm Of fire is sent In; for the noon
signal to the engine houses Il used for
the additional purpose 81 striking the
alarm for the daily practice Of the FIRE
department The observatory clock.
line connects with the several hundred
clocks IN the government Offices and
buildings, including the white house
and the capitol. and sets them 70 cor
rect time at noon BY means Of q simple
mechanical device in each clock. oper.
ated BY electricity; SO that, whether 4
clock loses or gains during the tsyenty-
foar hours, It's hour and minute hands
spring - twelve. and its second hand
to sixty.
few minutes before noon the trans
mitter Is compared with the standard
clock, and II It Ii not found to be exact
~ eight minutes, twelve seconds and
nine one hundredths 81 a second ahead
OF the standard clock that being the
exact difference between Washington
and standard time) II Is set right by
making Il gain or lose, as the case may
require, by quickening or retarding the
pendulum with gentle touch Of the
finger.
At tifty-six minutes and forty Ave
seconds after eleven, everything, being
tn readiness, switch IL turned on. and
the next instant the beats Of the pen-
dulum begin to tick the seconds on the
telegraph Instruments In the Washinr-f
ton and New York telegraph Offices,
Atthis signal all work on the telegraph
lines Is at once suspended, and connec-
tons made from one Office TO another,
from town to town, and from state 4,
state, until the tick, tick Of the clock
~ Washington Is heard In the telegraph
office OF every railroad station, town
and city In the United States.
Every twenty-ninth tick Is omitted,
because there Is no signal voes out at
the twenty ninth SECOND: 50 that
pause of a second signifies that the next
click of the instruments viii mark half
minute, or thirty seconds, and the
first click, after pause Of five seconds,
Indicates the beginning Of q minute, as
the ticks corresponding to the Atty
fifth. fifty-sixth fifty ffty-
eighth and Afty ninth seconds are
omitted. Ia order 70 distinguish the
last minute. and afford time for maxi
ing connections with time balls. clocks,
etc.s the signals stop at the fiftieth sec
'cpd, or ten seconds before twelve
1hep, precisely At noon. the instant
the sim crosses the seventy fifth
meridian, the signal Is flashed over the
wires, there Is single throb from one
endof the land TO the other, the tele-
graph instruments from Maine to Cali
fornia give final click, the tirne-ball
on the building Of the state, war and
navy departments drops. and, stimuli
taneously with 1t time-balls drop at
Havana, Cuba, and at all the promi-
nent sea ports from Boston to New
Orleans, those on the Pacific coast
being operated by branch observa-
tory in California, the hands Of every
government clock point to twelve,
while the fire-alarm bells throughout
the city Of Washington sound forth
their dangerous announcement fof
noon, and the whole nation Is informed
Of the correct standard time Clifford
Howard, in Ladies' Home Journal