The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-01-12

1 turned end upward-in other words,
 when the receptacle has been reVolVed
 bodily at an angle of one hundred ana
 eighty degrees, so as to stand vertical
 ly, instead of horizontally. At the ter
 minus of the railway line is to be pit
 between the rails sufficiently deep to
 render this revolution practicable. At 1 any point on the road it would not be | possible, of course, and so no robpers
 would be able to get at the contents The originator of this contrlVance, l however, may perhaps have forgotten | the destructive power of a stick of dy-
 namite, which might be placed by the
 ingenious bandit beneath the box
 An iron ''picket box" to be construct l ed on the top of an express car, has been patented by J. c. Hays, of Rush, Texas. It is perforated with portholes
 for the extrusion of guns, and inside or l it a guide is to sit, armed to the teeth l For additional convenience in firing the box is made to revolve. The occupant of the turret has a fair shot at any body who may approach the car, while
 himself safe from bullets.
 To overcome the difficulty of shoot I ing with accuracy at bandits who at tack an express car at night, J. Beer
 maker, of Wahoo, Neb., has got a pa- tent on an idea for equipping such cars with search lights. These are so ar
 ranged as to illuminate the entire train and make the robbers clearly visible.
 This invention is supplemented by an other, which must be credited to F. W.. Koehler, of Chicago. It provides that a | part of the car on each side shall be
 composed of sheets of steel, hinged, and
 so arranged that in case of emergency they can be pushed out at moments notice, so as to form sort of bay win dow, projecting three or four feet from the body of the car. The steel sheets will have portholes, and the messenger, looking out of the bay window, will be enabled to shoot the whole length or
 the train. Without the aid of such device, if he put his head out to see where the robbers were, he would De apt to be killed by 8 bullet. Holes in
 the floor of the bay window make 1t practicable to shoot downward at any body who may attempt to crawl be- meath the car with dynamite,
 Lamps for the top and sides of the ex- press car, to throw an illumination all around in case of attack at night, are the invention of P. D. Van Deventer, of Salisbury, Mo. They may be lighted at moments notice by turning switch inside of the vehicle, and they are so protected that they cannot be broken by bullets. B. F. Johnson, of McComb, Miss, has devised an iron box for the protection of the express agent, the distinctive feature of which Is an arrangement for ventilating it through the bottom of the car.
 In nearly every case of train robblng it happens that the express agent, in order to save his own life, Is compelled to open the car and admit the bandits. Thereupon he is forced, at the point of a pistol, to give up the combination of the safe. This difficulty is overcome by an invention, for which B. J. Te- gethoff, of St. Louis, has recently taken out a patent. He furnishings drawings for an adjustable ladder, by means of which, when the train is held up, the messenger climbs out through the top of the car and makes his way unseen to the rear of the train, permitting the thieves to get at the plunder as well as they can without any assistance from him.
 Although train robbers of late have devoted their attention mainly to the rifling of express cars, they have not wholly abandoned the good old practice of going through the passengers for their valuables. Several recent in- -Ao rrrha it% r xyolfYo hnHyp been obliged to contribute their watch es. and pocketbooks to sacks carried through the aisles by polite but deter mined bandits, afford evidence on this point. Bill Cook and his gang have pursued this method on more than one occasion. To prevent outrages of this description, c. Klettner, of Cincinnati, has invented a machine gun, consisting of a series of wheels, which are loaded about the periphery with cartridges, The apparatus is intended to be placed behind and underneath the steps of a passenger car. When the train is halt ed by highwaymen the conductor pushes a button, and this sets the gun machinery going. The unsuspecting robber who puts his foot upon the step causes @ hammer to pound the cdrl- ridges as the wheels revolve, discharg- ing a continuous volley of bullets,
 There are many freaks among the railway inventions recorded in the pa- tent office. One patent is for bar that is to be fastened at the rear of @ loco motive. A collision being being immi- nent, the engineer steps upon the bar and it extends itself automatically, swinging him out to a distance of six teen feet from the side of the train and depositing him gently in the ditch. Another device is for a small section of the track which is to be carried by a locomotive in front. If the engineer finds a collision otherwise avoldable he pulls lever, which causes the section of track to descend upon the rails. With the latter the track section Is at an angle, so that the train leaves the rails and goes scooting off on the prai- rie, permitting the lightning express that is coming the other way to pass by.
 The same purpose is accomplished much better by the invention of P. Ri der, of Marseilles, III. To him must be given the credit of having devised the Co