The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1895-07-09
eaousp euanrrr I'd ANsmIrs.


4he rostsi rsiearaph cempAny Can send
Message wisheus tho AID ef-a Battery.
I Tho Postal Telegraph Company has a
wire between this city and Philadelphia
over which a messuge can DC transmitted
without tina assistance OF any OF the REQ
oR nized methods for generating electric
ATTY. The discovery is the outcoufe OF a
-four months struggle with unRovernaple
Iwirrs, and demonstrates that over at least
forty two miles OF the earth'e surface
photographic dispatches can be sent aud
received intelliRentiy without the use OF
any battery whatever.
j On the face OF tho discovery II appears
10 eifeetualiy prove the statement OF
Thomas Edison. that there is sufficient.
Ny strong natural supply OF electricity In
tine earth 10 make working current;
Indications however, point to the fact
that tina current obtained In this instance
rs OF artificial origin.
II From tho company's main office at Phila.
sieiphia rune wire over distance OF
forty-two miles To this city where It is
r'Grounded:" for another short stretch OF
two mics the wire is continued TO the
Edge Moore Iron Works whore IL 10
grounded again. The normal current for
the Wilmington circnit is supplied from
Phiindelphla; where there ts n dynamo.
battery, In constant operation OF force
OF l2U volts. Until four months ago the
wire worked as vol as any strung and as
a rule the current ran with its ground"
ct Edge Moore aud lts supply battery at
Philadelphia.
a Tho first indication OF trouble was In
= what operators call the "heaviness" OF The
wire making messages difficult OF trans
mission quickly and accurately. 1t point
cd In the unexpectant electrical inlndi to
aome leak along the line, and 90 force
Of men was sent out to md the leak. But
they found none and the next day the
current flew around as erratlcaliy as a
bat. And so the wire continued until In.
etructions were given to Wilmington to
sstraighton." or connect, the circuit to
Edge Moore.
Then the l2o-voit battery at the main
office In this city was taken of completely
and an effort was made to operate the line
without any aid other than the current
afforded by the earth. The test proved
ieonclusively there was a current IN opera
ton, and that it was OF sufficient force TO
garry messages from Philadelphia to Edge
fMoorei the transmission was slow anu
difficult but 1t was an actual fact, never
tholess Then the Ege Moore connection
WINS cut off, and the trial was made. with.
out battery, from Philadelphia to Whining
ton. The wire was stone dead.
4 1t was thus obvious that the current was
drawn from Edge Moore. tho distant point,
and not from Wilmington, the near one.
The strength OF the strange current was
next tested. 1t proved. with some mild
fluctuations, to average twenty volts 1t
was these twenty volts that made the
trouble. The battery at Philadelphia,
with It's 40 volts, was compelled to SO nd
its current through the other amt
lost strength In neutrallzlng the opposing
force.
Continued experiment with the ground
current corroborated the earlier observa
tions. 1t WAS not perfect current anI
varied slightly in strength. But It SUI
feed to transmit any ordinary message
although II did not permit OF lust tele
graphic work.
George Ii. Brown. superintendent oil
the office here. says that their wires ant
probably the one over which tile messag
can b. sent, are very closely connected
with the trolley wires and run parallel &c
them in many places, anti this has led hin
60 believe that the current IL due to TN
ibreakage charging the earth and tn
,Qround wires OF the company tuking vi
the current. He mentioned on line IL
particular, whSre the telegraph aud troll
Icy system run parallel ono which mes
saRes are continually sent without th'
Md of batteries,