Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1895-12-26

nave nad ner rears Eet us rsss6, Iuf 0ne of
the interesting appurtenances Of the tower
Is the crude seispQmeter, which carefully
registers every little variation TO which
the tower may be subjected.
Directly beneath William Penn a fine
piano wire Is fastened, which extends
straight down for nearly 800 feet. A
plumb bob weighing l2 pounds is attached
e the end and LES slbnrged In about ten
whatever William Penn should be subject
ed TO joggle, his antics would be revealed
to the men who placed him there BY the
plumb bob in the molasses- This conriy-,
ance is on the seventh floor Of the tower.
DIRECTLY behind the elevation A high iron
railing surrounds ah unimportant looking
wooden box and the visitor has to look
twice to see the wire leading up from the
box. The wire descends into a square
frame, and by laying ruler carefully next
the wire the calculator can determine
whether or not the statue, and hence the
tower, is still in its original position.
AS matter of fact-and this will not
please those individuals whe in their night
clothes sought the safety Of the street that
Sunday morning-the city hall tower did
not experience any calculable vibration
during the earthquake. The shock became
inflnitesimsl before 1t reached the roof Of
tho city hal, and as for william Penn,
''it never touched him." However, inves-
tigation has conclusively proved that the
statue does move, and in the proper wealth
er its movement amounts to as much as
quarter of an inch per day. At ., IL and
8 o'clock each day the superintendent Of
the tower, or his assistant, lays the rule
by the wire and notes the changes.
To one unacquainted with the possibili-
ties of engineering the tenacity with which
William Penn maintains his perfect equi-
librium Is marvellous. The uninitiated
have no idea of the difficulties to be met
and of the many forces which tend to de-
stroy the exact perpendicular. The mas
sive iron and stone work has been so nice
ly constructed that the assaults of wind,
hail, snow or rain avail nothing. Some
slight oscillation occurs, but it Is triding,
and when the bob is still again the aver
age of its movements is always zero, which
means that the tower Is perfectly plumb.
The one force which is bound to have
its little fling is the sun. Heat expands
and cold contracts despite the ingenuity Of
man. At z o'clock in the morning the
| line is always in the center of the square.
| The action Of the sun on one-half of the
| tower, when the opposite half is in the.
shade, causes barely perceptible tip. The
stonework expands slightly under the ac-
ton of the heat and the line notes the
| movement, but at 3 o'clock in the after
noon the line is again in the center of the
square.
So securely were the foundations Of the
tower constructed that since its beginning
it has only settled five-eighths of an inch,
and that settlement was SO uniform as to
not disturb the accuracy of the line. The
little box of molasses forms tireless
building inspector, and it will at once re-
port the effect of any cyclone, earthquake
or any atmospheric disturbance which
dares to disturb the peace and serenity of
the founder of Philadelphia.
President Francis Schumann of the Ia
cony Iron and Metal company, who is
recognized authority on all that pertains
to tall buildings, ohimneys and towers,
and who made all the calculations for the
city hall tower, says that it is without
doubt the safest from earthquake distur-
Dances of all the high structures in the
city. 1t is so feet square at the base, and
tho walls are 10 feet thick, which leaves
the interior 80 feet square. In answer to
the question as to what would be the gen.
eral effect of an earthquake sufficiently se-
we're to upset the tower, Mr.. Schumann
said: If such an earthquake should ever
visit the city, there would be few, II any,
high buildings left standing, and it would
| be necessary for us to alter our style OF
| architecture.
although we know very little about
earthquakes in this country" continued
Mr.. Sohumann, i've live in what would bs
the center of disturbances If those long
silent volcanoes in the mountains of North
Carolina should again conclude to break
out. Let us hope that there never will oc-
cur an earthquake or any other disturb
ance sufficient to destroy our monument,
for if such should occur, the whole city Of
Philadelphia would be crumbling mass
Of ruins. ."-Philadelphi Record.