The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1895-02-22
KING ELECTRICITY.
FARMER DUNN PREDICTS A REVOLU-
TON FOR EARTHLY FOLKS.
The Whole Atmosphere Soaked With Elec-
tricity-The Day Coming When It VIII
Supply Light, Heat and Motive Power.
Coal q Curiosity.


tricity-The Day Coming When 1t VIII
Supply Light, Heat and Motive Power.
Coal q Curiosity.
Elias B. Dunn, the weather observer,
has been studying atmospheric electricity.
The sergeant, as they used to call him,
the farmer, as they call him now, said
that he will live to see the day when cleo
tricity, collected from the atmosphere and
stored by some means which an Edison or
a Tesla will have to devise, will revolu-
tionize the world.
The prophet expects that cities will be
lighted and heated by atmospheric electric
ity; that railway trains and cars will be
run, lighted and heated by 1t; that coal
will become curiosity; that steam heat
ing will be granny talk to the children of
the next generation; that the telegraph
and telephone companies will lose their
monopolies; that war will become farce,
because touch of electricity will make
the British grenadiers or the German
Uhlans or the Scotch highlanders sit
down on the cold ground powerless; that
even the dreams of communication with
the inhabitants of Mars will become real
tiles, and that a man will be able to strike
up electricity as he does parlor match.
There will be no more trolley strikes,
because there will be no more trolleys.
Mankind will tap the atmosphere for al
most every convenience or necessity, ex-
cept food and clothing, and even the cloth
ing will be woven and the food cooked by
atmospheric electricity. Street cleaning
will be as easy as the magician S Presto,
changep' and everybody will live compar-
atively happy ever after.
Mr.. Dunn is sure that his ideas are
practical and practicable. The atmosphere
is his constant study, and having intro
duced general humidity to the public as
the principal element in uncomfortable
days he has determined that the most po-
tent element for good in the air we breathe
shall no longer be wasted.
Why" he said, "the whole atmosphere
is soaked with electricity. The earth, as
is we'll known, is storehouse of electric
ity. That it passes from the clouds to the
earth we can see in every thunderstorm.
Earth is good conductor, especially damp
earth, and water is the best conductor pos
siblo.
Every person is possessed of body cleo
tricity. The vital force is all in the cleo
trical power you contain in your body.
When the day is damp, you become weak
ened through the loss of your bodily cleo
tricity, because the atmosphere is great
er conductor of the electrical fluid than
your body, and consequently what is in
your body will pass to this moist, damp
air.
THAT is the cause of that tired feeling.
This passing of the electricity to the at
mosphere enervates you to such degree
that a person in naturally weak state
will collapse or become much worse by the
loss of this bodily electricity.
The atmosphere being charged with
electricity, and the earth being a store
house for it, if there were some controlla-
bic method of storage devised by which
you could draw off a moderate amount OF
electricity at will and keep that force on
tap all the time, with an appliance by
which power could be generated-and
there is no reason why that can't be done
then atmospheric electricity would make
all the wheels in the world go round.
1.-The coal barons would be done up,
said Farmer Dunn savagely, thinking Of
the coal bill for his house in Brooklyn.
There would be no more need of coal.
There ought to be enough electricity in
the atmosphere to supply light and heat
as we'll as to do all the work except the
L
with the servant girl question, though 1t
will modify it. expect to live to see the
day of atmospheric electricity on tap. 1t
will run everything on earth.
1T is well known that there Is greater
mum Der of deaths in the early morning,
say from 1 a. m. to a. M, than at any
other time. Dickens was aware of that,
but he didn't know the reason. You re-
member that poor old Peggotty, in David
| Copperfield, went out with the tide.
! That's right And it is in the early morn
ing, that the daily ebb of the atmosphere
| occurs, when the daily atmospheric pres
| sure is least. If at that time the atmos-
| phore is in state Of saturation, very
heavily charged with humidity, then the
| electric force leaves PERSONS body and
| flows to the atmosphere, greatly debilitat-
| ing him when he is in weakened condi-
| ton. Now, should person in that state
be kept in extremely dry surroundings, SO
that he could be furnished with an ade-
| quate supply of artificial electricity and
| at the same time have the humidity re-
| duced, there would be- in my opinion, a
| greater chance of prolonging life.
IF the doctors could provide means to
| supply in such circumstances artificial
| electricity instead of natural, 1t would
| probably be very beneficial. Just think of
| it! Here we are, spending millions of dol
lars to generate electricity, when it Is all
around us, and we are breathingit Here's
| another thing: When a current of cleo
tricity is generated, where does it go? 1t
can't die. 1t is somewhere. should judge
that it is simply adding to the amount OF
| electricity in the atmosphere.
1T is natural to suppose that as long as
the earth is given to us for useful pur-
| poses the atmosphere was not given for
nothing. OF course it gives us health and
breath, as the earth gives us what we eat,
but since the atmosphere contains cleo
tricity, and we can use the earth as pow
er for carrying it, as is done by telegraph
companies, why not use the electricity in
the atmosphere
"Once begin to use it, and there is no
| telling where it would end. War with at
mospheric electricity as factor would
have to cease. Tho problem of signaling
to Mars would be solved. With atmos-
| pherio electricity in control we could
communicate with all the inhabited plan
cts. New York World.