The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-08-01

pressed air, steam and electric motors,
transit within city limits is done by
central station methods. The city resi-
dent who desires to see the finest ex-
ample Of steam engineering has but to
visit the power plant Of his municipal
railroad. The maintenance day after
day and month after month of the great
cable roads Of New York and other
cities is a wonderful triumph of en-
cheering practice. The electric trolley
road is. however, the most powerful OF
these factors in what we have alluded
to as the work remedial of the Ills Ot
modern Capitalization. From the CEN
tral station it sends its power lines
in all directions through the suburbs
of cities. and at almost nominal chnrg,
carries passengers for miles at speed
of ten to twenty miles an hour or more.
The city worker is no longer obliged 10
live in closely built up streets. The cars
escape to the region of green fields.
The trolley may yet modify cities until
they become centers of work and not
of residence.
THE UNDERGROUND TROLLEY.
lHe lTOlley line Will
wire and rail and ground return Is not
satisfactory thing. Much damage has
been done by escape. or rather branch
ing, of current from its rails. The un-
derground trolley has been in use on =
couple of roads, one In Ireland and one
in Hungary, but only recently has II
been introduced into America. The
cities of Washington and New YORK
have excellent examples Of 1t. AS II
avoids the unsightly aerial wires. with
attendant dangers. and as the under
ground system has two insulated con-
ductors. avoiding destruction Of pipes
by electrolysis. the best wishes of civic
engineers should be extended to it.
We have already alluded to cold stor-
age. Another domestic use to which the
science Of the day has been devoted Is
the production of ice. Ice formerly
was harvested entirely from natural
sources. Now it is made artificialy In
great quantities, and every frst-class
ocean steamer or large steam yacht
can make its own ice and cool Its own
refrigerators. In southern regions this
art makes itself most directly felt, fol
Florida need no longer import ice from
Maine. 1t can be made by machinery
in quantities required for daily con-
sumption.
The business man and the litterateur
even the newspaper reader, share III
the advance. Quick processes Of illus
tration have changed the daily journ.
al into an illustrated publication. and
color printing is used in it. as well as
for works of the highest art.
The typewriter, a product really OF
the last twenty years, has effected a
perfect revolution in the old-time Sec
retary's art. There is no longer the
striving after legible hand of definite
style, but the even work of the type.
writer makes the handwriting Of the
secretary thing of no Importance. The
typewriter brings the writer's art II
close juXtaposition with that of the
printer, and. following out the ana.
logy. we find the modern printer ir
possession Of machines for composing
TYPE SETTING MACHINES.
1t has long been a dream with In
ventors to do away with the hand com
position. Early in the fifties william
Mitchell's type-setting and distribut
ing machines were experimental will
at the Trow printing office, In New
York city, and were used for some year:
there. Other inventors attacked the
problem in other ways; some devoted
their efforts to the production of 6
matriX, by means of which stereO
type or electrotype could be produced
At last the idea of a matrix-s x-setting II
contradistinction to type-setting ma
chine occurred, and a complicated ant
highly ingenious machine was invent
ed for carrying out this idea. Thi:
machine, the Mergenthaler, so called
Linotype machine (Which might more
properly be written Lineotype), set, by
means of keyboard, individual let
ter molds or matrices. For justifica
ton, wedge shaped spaces or quads
were used. These were inserted between
words, and when the line was nearly
filled and a syllable division or end o.
a word was reached, the line was com
pleted by thrusting in the wedges. Thi
accomplished the missing function o.
preceding machines-the machine dit
its own Justification. When a line o
molds were set up the casting Of meta
against their faces was automaticall,
done, and a slug" Of one complet,
line Of text resulted. Quantities o
printers work is now done on machines
of this class. 1t marks the solution o
| problem of four centuries standing
A very important line of work Is ii
the field Of the gas and oil explosion
engines. In these we have a long rang
or temperature change acting to re
duce the low economy due to the sec
ond law of thermodynamics. These ma
chimes are now made without ignition
tube. flame or electric spark igniter
and. as they operate without boiler ant
require scarcely any attention, they g,
far to bring power within the use O
ALL Ericsson, Roper, and others hav
done well In a parallel line of worl
with hot air engines, and the entir
subject of displacement of the steam
| engine Is affected by them as well n
| by electric motors. These smaller mo
tors. because they require so littl
plant, are now entering into the dali,
life of the individual. They are uset
In small machine shops. small boat
are driven by them, and industrial con
| ditions may yet be gravely modifie,
| by the possibility of economically pro
ducing small units of power with sma]
investment of capital.
While this indicates the possibility o
the division of industries into small
units. we are confronted on the othe
hand by immense industrial settle
ments. the tendency of the day havin.
brought about consolidation of inter
ests. Thus we have the car shops o
Pullman, ILL.,. supporting a city. w
see the great Carnegie Iron works, a
Homestead. Pa. covering 11O acres o
ground and employing 5000 men, a yer
liable industrial army, beyond the i'm