St. Landry democrat., 1893-10-28
A Great Invention.

The Alexandria Town Talk of Oct. q
contains the following article. The in.
ventor referred to is an intelligent col.
ored man, justice of the peace for this
ward, and should his discovery prove to
be all that is claimed for it, not only is
his fortune made, but Opelousas will be
enabled to secure that long wished for
| system of waterworks at small cost.
Mr.. J. B. G. Donate, of Opelousas,
La, Is the inventor of one of the most
wonderful discoveries of this century.
He calls it the greatest irrlgating appa-
ratus of the age. From what we can
learn OF the invention, it is more than
that. 1t will revolutionize the present
method Of raising water by means of
pumps, and as soon as Mr.. Donates pat
ent is introduced it must necessarily
take the place Of nearly all pumping
apparatus. 1t is just the thing for sup
| plying cities and towns with water at Il
minimum cost after the plant has been
| constructed, and we see DO reason why
| Alexandria should not now have sys-
| tenn OF waterworks and the city con-
| struct and own the plant.
We can not describe the invention,
but will say that Mr.. Donate has discov-
cred how to use the pressure OF the at
| mosphere to lift water to any height,
and has come nealer to getting perpet-
| ual motion than any reasonable person
ever thought possible. Mr.. D. informed
Town Talk that q wind mill, 10 feet in
diameter, running only one-half an hour
in the twenty-four, is all the power
| needed to raise a stream of water, as
| much as four or five inches in diameter,
to height OF $50 feet or more, and keep
it going through the pipes at the rate of
thirty miles an hour during the entire
"a hours. The wind-m power is used
to create a vacuum in an enclosed steel
chamber, by pumping the air out OF the
chamber, and the water is raised, as we
understand it, by the atmospheric air
seeking the exhausted air chamber
The atmospheric air is received in the
pipe near the place from which the wa
ter is taken in the pipe, and in some
manner we cannot understand, has
powei to lift an immense weight of
water, and make it fly through the pipes
alta rapid rate.
After once started it is automatic, and
needs no attention. No steam or other
everything-the wind to run the wind
AAIA oAh IAO dt"OSPAolt uoCo tilC Utal-
ance.
II the CITY authorities of Alexandria
are able to nave stand-pipe erected,
Mr.. Donate informed us that he would
tit his apparatus to keep it full of water,
at very little expense to the city, as he
is anxious to havo it in use in a public
place as soon rs possible. With stand
pipe so to 100 feet in height, aud let it
be kept full of water with Mr.. Donates
patent, it would cost nothing to keep it
going, and the city could make a profit
on the investment by selling the water
to citizens. The pressure of water from
stand-pipe so feet in height would
send it through pipes to every part of
the city, and by attaching hose to fire
plugs the water could he thrown over
any house in town in case of fire.
We for ~Ot to say, in the proper place,
that Mr.. Donate informed us that with
his invention (strange to say), it can
lift water better in a or 6 inch pipe
than when 1 inch pipe is used. The
larger the diameter of the water pipe
the better it works.
Mr.. Donate only received his patent
from the United States on the 5th of
October, 1893. He has applied for pat
ents in England, France, Germany and
other foreign countries. He had his
apparatus on exhibition in this city sew
eral days last week, and a great many
witnessed it at work.