The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1896-09-12
Electricity as a Thief-Catcher


When electrical devices for the de-
tecton of theft were first proposed for
general use, this application of elec--
tricity was looked upon. as more of 4
joke than anything else. Electrical
thief-catchers, as a matter Of fact
have turned out to be much more reli--
able in their operation than their hu--
man prototypes, and they are now ex--
tensively employed. TIE ready-made
suit on the dummy outside the cheap
clOthiers store is found to be safer
when the lock and chain by which the
wooden figure is secured are supersed--
ed by an electrical attachment; which
instantly gives notice of the slightest
disturbance of the material over which
its mute custody is exercised. White
chauel, London, has anything but a
Sayory reputation, and a shoemaker ON :,
it's principal street has long been puZ-
Zled how to save the show goods out
side his store from the depredations of
the nimble-fngered natives. AS every
one nowadays goes to electricity for
everything, the cobbler thought he
would do the same. An attractive pair.
of shoes, accordingly, were fitted with
electric wires making a circuit with an
alarm inside, and placed just outside
the door of the store. The bait took.
A passer-by, with quickess of hand
that showed he was no novice, at
tempted to SNATCH the shoes, the
electric CELL rang, and the salesman
ran out just in time to prevent the
booty being carried off ythe thief,
who was given into the hands Of the
police. The aims boxes at the Roman
Catholic church at Folkestone are ALI
equipped with electric alar mbeI1s-.
Their contents, which formerly were
often tampered with, are now as safe
as though the ywere locked in an iron
chest. Recently man, who thought.
it would be the easiest thing in the
world to ''tap' one of the eimple-1ook-
ing boxes. tried to do it. An electrical
impulse along the wire brought up the
watchman in quick order, and the
thief was marched away to Jail, where,
after trial, he stayed two months. IL
A Preventive of Fatalities in Col
liery Explosions.
Scientific inquiry is being directed to
the saving Of human life in mine ex-
plosions. DR.. Haldane has established
the fact that the loss of life in colliery
accidents is far greater than it need be-
when those who work in the mines:
and those who manage them have a
clearer knowledge of the right thing to-
do in the face of the calamity. In a
recent mine explosion, where fifty
seven men and thirty horses were
killed, the cause of death in every
case was proved to be not the want of
oxygen in the air Of the pit after the
explosion, but to comparatively slow
poisoning by carbon monoxide. Suffi-
cient oxygen to support life was left
in the airways all along the track Of
the explosion. 1t appears that men
from want of knowledge now go.
straight to their death in endeavoring
to escape DR.. Haldane is convinced
that hundreds of men have lost their
lives by hurrying blindly toward the
shaft, or by not retiring toward the
face when they met the afterdamp-.
In many parts of the mine there will
be, beyond the limits of the explosion.
abundance of air to effect dilution Of
the poisonous carbon monoXide, on
breathing which the men suddenly lose
the use of their limbs, and finally con-:
sciouSneSS. So that a man who waits.
for the rescurers, or long enough for
the after-damp to disperse, will be able
to escape either by the intake, or, if
this is blocked, by the return airways.
The Bicycle Match Gun
All the world now rides a bicycle.
and there are a few who have not tried