Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1893-06-29

hold them, the vertical wheel il . bridge
S35 feet long, 80 feet wide and constructed
Of steel, twisted into . circle and hung
upon an axle round which it revolves by
means of the force given 1t by powerful
steam engines. The Eiffel tower involved
no new engineering principle, and when
finished was thing dead and lifeless. The
wheel, on the other hand, has movement,
grace, the indescribable charm possessed
by a vast body in action.
What the genesis Of the vertical wheel
was in the brain Of its inventor Is an in
teTesting thought. Undoubtedly it had
its origin in the horizontal merry -go-round,
and that started in the whirligig which
country boys used to make with post
and plank set across the top Of it, pin
ioned at its middle. From the whirligig
to the fyinS horses or merry -go-round was
but step. The merry -go-round has had
its greatest development at the YEA shore
resorts Of Coney island and Atlantic city.
At the latter place the owner Of the merry
goround owns also o good share Of the
town. The nimble nickels flowing into his
Golfers In an uninterrupted stream all sum-
mer long have enabled him to buy no end
of corner lots and erect brick blocks
thereon.
Some one saw that the horizontal wheel
was coming money and concluded to go
1t one better by building a vertical wheel.
There are vertical wheels at the sea shore,
and some Of their kind have been brought
to the Worlds fair and may be seen out
side the fair gates taking passengers round
at the old rate Of a nickel a ride. These
small vertical wheels must have been the
suggestion to Ferris, the bridge builder
and engineer. He said he would build
wheel that would astonish the world. and
by the side of the little wheels Of the sea
shore be as the ocean itself to mill pond.
lie prepared his plans and came to Chi
cago to ask permission to erect his wheel
within the Worlds fair grounds. At first
the fair directors only laughed At him.
They thought he was crazy, that he was .
crank. Then they granted him conces-
sion, but without any thought that he
would ever build his wheel. After time
they concluded that 1t was not wise to
bother themselves further with such Wis
ionary individual, and they cancelled the
They were not going to have
a wild-eyed man with wheels in his head
numbering up the center Of the plaisance
with his contraptions. But Ferris, conf
dent Of success and backed by ample cap
ital. stuck to the scheme and induced the
directors, after time, to again reconsider
their action and again permit him to 20
ahead. This Is the brief history Of the
struggle this genius had to secure recog-
milton even from such progressive and
wide-awake men rs the directors of the
f..s- I-. Il.
Of genius ever.
or description in words to give you an idea
Of what this wheel is like. A mere state
ment Of its dimensions, $50 feet in
diameter, s25 feet in circumference, 30 feet
broad and weight more than 1000 tons,
does not mean much to the average mind.
1t may help the reader to understand what
the structure is like II l say that the high
tst point Of the wheel Is as far from the
ground as the top Of one ten-story build
ing would be II it were put on the roof Of
another building Of equal hight
When you look at this wheel az 1t stands
n the plaisance you are struck by the re-
semblance it bears to some mighty bicycle.
1t has the same sort Of hub, the same
rods and struts running therefrom to the
periphery, the same light airiness Of
model In truth, it seems too light. One
fears the slender rods which must support
the whole enormous weight are too puny
TO fulfill their Office. One cannot avoid
the thought Of what would happen IL .
high wind should come sweeping across
the prairie and attack this structure broad
side. Would the thin rods be sufficient TO
sustain not only the enormous weight Of
the structure and that of the 1900 passen-
gers who might chance to be in the cars.
but the pressure of the wind AZ wellt En-.
gineer Ferris says the wheel IL strong
enough to do all this. Other engineers,
some OF thera men Of eminence In theiI
profession, say the same thing. Therefore
the public seems content to take II fol
granted that the wheel Is not only thu
greatest novelty Of the age. but that rid
ing upon 1t Il as safe as riding over 4
bridge that is placed horizontally On
masonry piers.
There are thirty-six cars on the wheel.
Each is q feet long, 0 feet high and Is feet
broad. 1t is like an enormous bird cage
Human beings are to be the inhabitants
The doors are closed when the passenger
nre within, and locked. The windows arr
covered with strong wire netting. Thers
is conductor to each car to look after the
comfort Of passengers. No crank will
have an opportunity to commit suicide
from this wheel, no hysterical woman
shall jump from . window. From plat
forms built on the ground sig cars ars
loaded at one time. Each car will scat, or
revolving chairs, forty passengers. There
fore the thirty-six cars will sest I 40 pas
sengers. But with standing room occu
pied the wheel has . capacity Of {, 900 per
sons.
As soon as the first six cars are loaded
the man in charge gives the signal and tht
steam Is turned into the cylinders Of the
thousand horsepower engine which move.
the vast machine. Slowly, with jns'
enough trembling and oscillating to make
the nerves Of passengers qniver, the whee
revoives far enough to bring six more car
TO the loading platforms. Thus the load
ing goes on, six cars at time; and thus
aiso, the passengers make their ascent ana
their acquaintance with the mysteries o
the wheel on the installment plan, by slov
degrees. You will zee that in the process
Of taking on passengers fproviding ther'
are people enough TO I'LL all the cars, a
there generally are) the wheel must max
one entire revolution. BY this time th'
occupants Of the coaches have becom
somewhat accustomed TO their novel situ
a&ion. They have ceased TO think Of poa
dble danger and arc occupied with th'
beauty Of the panorama which Lies far b
low them
Now comes the most interesting featur
Of the trip. The wheel h set in mot3on .
| Q more rapid pace, though stiI1 not yer
fank and n 1Drk afnfr1n6 rx0ff1 \ erynu1of
feyolution kns been made. Il h m Ind
scxibahls sensation, that a revolvinI
through such . vast orbit n . bird cags
thst I swinging IN eirc3s far out owe
- phisance b o. direction, then turr
tng In the othas dirsetion. and stfl1 higher
md finally beginning TIE descsrt froa
sueA . great hight People wonder vha
would happsnk 4 ths ptnious vhicA hoI
ths ean through thsis rpgb shoun hssal