davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09

The old-fashioned method OF unloading
railway cars of indestruetible substances
with shovels used by laoorers bids fair to
soon be a thing of the past That Is, if the
invention of Peter Rasch of Cleveland.
Ohio. turns out to be all he claims it to De.
His apparatus is really a sort OF elevator
and mping-cradle. operated by the sim
plest kiud of hydraulic machinery, al
though, of course, steam could De used as
well, but it would make more expensive
plant.
The elevating cradle is placed in such a
position that railway track is built on it
connecting directly with the main line.
The car TO be unloaded is pushed onto the
cradle and then made fast and immoyable
by a series of powerful clamps that clutch
the sides of it.
When in this position cradle and car
are hoisted to the dumping mechanism
directly above. The cradle is so con-
s.ructed as to swing on one of the sides by
a hinge. BY q system OF chains the cradle
is turned over, and as the car is held fast
the contents of it naturally fall out. The
top of the cradle is oDen. and allows the
liberated contents OF the car to fall into
the chute and so slide into ship, barge or
dump. The apparatus is simplicity itself,
and has the advantage OF being cheap to
construct, so that it will undoubtedly
cheaper the cost of unloading as well as
expedite it.
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09
Speedy Jrack-Laying

Robert Beherends of Frankfort-on-the-
Main, Germany, has been granted patents
for a machine intended TO lay railway
track at rapid pace. The idea of this
invention is that the work of fastening the
rails to the ties, at the proper distance
apart, can be done in factory while the
road is being graded. When that is done
the machine viii lay the sections out in
front of itself and proceed over them as
soon as the joints have been bolted to-
gether.
The machine consists of a heavy truck
with an inclined track mounted on it, over
which graphing movement travels.
The rail sections are piled six or eight
deep on small trucks, which in turn are
mounted on fat cars having track on top
of each and also connected between tine
cars, so that the trucks can be moved from
one end of the train to the other.
When ready for work the track-Iaying
machine is put at the head of the train Of
freight cars. One of the cars is directly
under the gripper mechanism, so that
section of rails can be raised onto the in
clined track. The gripper movement is
then allowed to slide down the inclined
track, which pushes the rail section out the
right distance beyond the completed track
and until they strike the ground. The
train of cars is then backed up" few
feet and the other end of the section drops
off,
1t is then only necessary for few men
with crowbars to slide the section to just
the right place and bolt the ends of the
rails together. While this is being done
4 - h<sz 81 TT,
position, ard the machine can then go
ahead over the new track and repeat the
operation just described. When one pile
OF rails is exhausted from the nearest
freight car the trucks that carried them
are lifted off and the pile of rails behind
rolled forward into position
This apparatus should lay rails at q very
rapid rate, and in time of war ought to
prove most valuable.
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09
Man VIII Soon
Navigate the
Aerial Regions

Sooner or later the inventive genius of
man will solve the fying-machine prob
lem and give Us aerial navigation. The de-
mand for such mode of locomotion is
growing, and it is one of the characteristic
features OF latter-day civilization that
when desire becomes popular demand,
there always materializes something to
satisfy the want. Fifty wears ago any
scheme TO navigate the air was laughed at
with derision; to-day the foremost minds
IN the realm of science are engaged IN
perfecting the means OF navigating the
air, and the aeroplane is about to be added
to the list of reliable machines engaged in
rapid transit.
America is, as usual, in the lead in the
matter OF constructing q flying machine
that will fly. Maxim, and Iatterly Profes-
sor Langley, have built practical machines
that satisfy all demands except in one par
tlcuiar, the power to remain suspended
over fixed spot, and it Is announced that
this problem is solved, though the details
o. the principle and its mode of applics-
ton have not been made public until now.
Desirable aerial navigation demands the
employment Of two functions-0uoyancy
(the power to suspend body in the air
without moving it from place to place.
and dirigi5ilIty (the power to move the
body in the air vertically and horizontally,
as may be deslred(.
The first function may be accomplished
BY the use of gas lighter than the at
mosphere, as is now employed in the ordi-
nary balloon. But by the use OF gas the
other function is rendered difficult OF ac-
complishment, for the great size OF the
gashag offers too large surface 10 the
action of wind currents; besides, the great
difficulty of maintaining perfectly I'M
pervious envelope with which to conserve
the buoyancy. The function OF dirigibil-
ity is practically impossible OF accom-
plishment with the gas balloon.
The successful aerostat must, therefore,
be constructed upon lines radically differ
ent from old systems. 1t must be totally
different from the balloon, and iormu-
lated on the application of entirely new
PRINCIPLES, and in its mechanical structure
bear no resemblance to the big bag OF gas.
Careful experimenting has determined
that it is feasible TO MAINTAIN at an eleva-
tion in the atmosphere a fat body, such as
piece of board or sheet of metal, SO long
ss the material is inclined at an angle with
the surface of the earth and moved in a
horizontal direction at a given speed reia-
tive to the body of air through which 1t is
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09

top of the lamp is covered with aluminium
foil, which is connected with one terminal
of the secondary of the induction coil, and
then the bottom is connected with the
other terminal of the secondary, as shown.
The x ray proceeds from the cathode. By
means of the horoscope the shadows of
the bones of the hands and feet, slso of
the limbs, may be seen when they are
placed between the instrument and the
lamp.
at has been found in this experiment
that when blue fog appears in the lamp
the vacuum is too low for the best results.
By placing the lamp in the house circuit
for fifteen or thirty minutes the high
vacuum is restored by the heat and will
remain good for about fifteen minutes.
s.The coil is capable of giving three
inch spark, and the < ray produced by
this simple and inexpensive apparatus is
sufficient for making photographs"
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09

twenty-four feet wide and stretching out
to q distance of forty feet, giving an area
of 1870 square feet of aeroplane surface.
These wings are framed in light phospor-
bronze rods, which weigh 164 pounds.
The lifting fanscrcws are twenty-four feet
in diameter, having eight blades each
made of aluminium.
They each weigh 98 pounds. Their two
shafts of steel weigh 120 pounds, total of
316 pounds for both fans complete. They
revolve at a speed of 1000 times per min
ute, requiring an expenditure of eight
horsepower for both, and exert lifting
power of 300 pounds. Two screws are
employed, as thereby rotary motion of the
aerostat is prevented. The propellers are
of thin steel bronze, weighing with their
shafting 212 pounds, and with an expendi-
ture of 80 horsepower drive the aerostat
through the air at speed of 100 miles an
hour. The stays and braces weigh about
100 pounds The engine of 10 horsepower
weighs 1000 pounds. The total weight of
the machine is 2092 pounds, giving mar
gin of 1908 pounds for passengers and
freight.
The dimensions and weights here given
are for the first machine. 1t is to be ex-
pected that with experience future con-
structions will be made embodyIng greater
power with less weight
The aerostat possesses q feature totally
wanting in the bicycle. 1t has the charm
of com panionship. We may soon expect
to see high in the air at evening time not
only the huge aerostat of travel and COM
merce, bearing their burdens of passengers
and freight, but also the dainty little air
boat laden with that most precious cargo
of humanity, happiness; and if the dis
tance be not too grest there may drop to
our ears from the empyrean the impas-
stoned words of two young beings who,
thanks to the latest triumph of inventive
genius, are able to leave behind them the
cares and chllIs OF a sordid world, and in
the warmth of the rosy-tinted cloudland
enjoy the bliss of loves young dream.
The commercial value of aerial naviga-
ton is yet to be determined. It's scientific
value is already proven. An attempt to
reach the north pole by balloon is now
under way. S. A. Andree, examiner-in-
chief of tue Royal Patent Office of Swe-
den, an adventurous Swedish aeronsut
and scientist, has started upon such an
expedition. He has constructed him an
immense gas balloon. ninety-seven feet in
height, with which he expects to reach
the pole, using the motion of the air,
which has generally lortherly direction
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09
X-Raus at Home

The following simple and inexpensive
device for the production of x rays is de-
scrlbed in the Scientific American of
June IL, from which We also copy the
accompanying illustration:
1.-THE expense OF special Crookes tubes,
powerful coils and batteries has deferred
many from entering this interesting field
of experiment.; but r. Mcneil OF this
city has recently devised apparatus in
which an ordinary incandescent lamp is
substituted for the Crookes tube, and an
induction-coil of common form is made to
supply electricity of sufficiently high po-
tential to produce the X-ray phenomena.
1.-THE lamp, which is 52-volt, 16-candle-
power Sawyer-Man lamp, is made of Ger
man or lime glass. For convenience, it Is
mounted in an insulating standard. The
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09

moving. This principle is illustrated by
the boys kite, which is maintained aloft
by the passing breeze. The kite is held
captive to q fixed spot on the earth and
the moving current of air acting upon its
inclined surface forces it aIoft. Now.
should the air be perfectly still-a dead
ealni-then, if the kite were moved in q
horizontal plane by means of its string at
the same rate of spesd as that OF the
breeze in the first instance, it would at
tain precisely the same elevation.
Much study has been gwen 10 the phe-
nomenon OF the fight OF birds, 1t having
been hoped that therein lay the solution
of the problem. Many birds possess the
ability of sustained fight without any ap-
parent great exercise OF power. The frig-
ate bird, the tachypetes aquila of the Or
nithologist, will float in the upper atmos-
phere for hours without the perceptible
movement Of feather; but they do not
continue in one place, their motion being
what might be termed sailing" These
birds, with body the size OF that OF a
+ chicken, are provided with wings that
/ average a spread of six feet from tip to
/ tip. They are the true "aeroplane."
| The humming- bird is an example of the
power of maintaining q fixed position.
This bird may be observed as an appar-
! entity fixed speck. II may be seen hover
/ ing over q flower without either vertical OF
horizontal motion. its wings beating with
such rapidity as to render them almost
invisible.
A great deal OF inventive genius has
been displayed in the attempt to produce
mechanism calculated to communicate to
properly shaped and inclined body q
speed sufficient to cause it to rise in the
air. The solution of this problem rests
entirely upon the ability to produce q
power generator of sufficient lightness.
Such viii undoubtedly be produced before
/ the close of the present century. The re-
cent discovery of the properties of acety-
line gas bids fair to render this task an
easy one.
This feature-the ability to secure fota.
| ton by speedy horizontal motion, is an
/ important factor in the accomplishment OF
aerial navigation. But there are many
other factors essential to complete success
In the use Of an aerostat there are time:
when horizontal movement is undesira bic
/ as when it is requisite for the machine to
maintain a fixed position of rest as regard:
surface location; and also, to ascend and
descend vertically, and to commence and
( terminate all motion without any sudden
or violent shock; all of which cannot be
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09
The Atlantic
and Pacific
AoriaI Express

in those latitudes. He is accomp panied by
two other scientific gentlemen, and his
project is thought feasible by number of
enthusiastic parties who have contributed
nearly $4,000 to defray The expenses.
While sdmiring the spirit which prompts
the undertaking, do not believe that it
will succeed. The huge bulk OF the gas
balloon will prove unwieIdy, and without
doubt will become so weighted with snow
and frozen rain as to be unable to longer
maintain its buoyancy long before the pole
is sighted.
Meantime the aeroplane is building.
FRANK NJ. Close, Disc.
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09
The Tides and Death.

The Atlanta Constitution relates the fol-
lowing very interesting fact regarding the
effect of the tides on persons lying at the
point Of death:
The natives OF Charleston who reside
near the beach have recently observed
that when the tide goes out those who are
at the point of death expire. A gentleman
was asking whether or not the rising and
the falling CT the tide had this effect upon
the dying in places removed from the
seacoast, and. if so, how far inland
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09
To Unload Railway Cars

the influence extended. There ssems to
be no doubt in the minds OF those who
live on the sea coast that life becomes ex-
tinct, especially IN the case OF OLD persons.
when the tide has gone out. Whether
any scientific research has ever been made
on this subject could not be ascertained.
Every one, however, almost without ex-
eeption, VINO was spoken to, knew that
it was a fact, and the general impression
seemed to be that it was caused by some
electrical force controlled by the coming
in and going out of the water.
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09

The body or "boat" is of aluminium. At
either end is screw propeller, which
when in motion communicates progress
sive movement. These screws are pro-
vided with universal joints, and are con-
troled by q steering wheel placed in the
boat, and may be made to assume an ang-
ular position, so that the machine can be
steered in any desirable direction with
ease and certainty. The large fan screws
revolving at the top of the machine lift or
depress the aeroplane according as they
are reyolved to the right or left. Two
large wings, adjusted by hinged bearings,
one on each side of the body of the ma
chine, furnish the necessary sliding sur
face, analogous to the wings OF the hoat-
ing bird. These wings are so attached as
to be controlled by proper ropes or stays,
and can be adjusted at any desired angle,
both horizontally and vertically.
Up to the present time the main diff
Guilty in the accomplishment of success
has been the weight of the engine neces-
sary to drive the screws. Mr.. Maxim has
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09

Genuine egret feathers are sold as arti-
fetal in London in order to saIve the con-
science of women who think it wrong to
wear bird feathers in their headgear. The
society for the protection of birds lad
shown that the egret, or white heron,
would soon be exterminated, Us the feath-
ers must be obtained during the nesting
season. Its agents have now proved that
the only artificial thing about the feathers
sold is that they are split in two, thus
making two plumes instead of one.
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09
Tracks for Fire-Engines

I have an idea for preventing fires get
ting headway in the downtown districts.
would use the electric road. Build
switches to the engIne-houses from the
nearest line of electric road, and have one
or two cars and have an engine and hose
cart on the car at all times when in
engine houses. When called put on the
horses and start. The whole South Side
is so traversed by cross-town lines that
any engine may get to the Courthouse in
a remarkably short time. The team viii
be fresh, and 1 see no reason why there
cannot be engines enough massed in time
to put out any fire before it gains danger
Gus proportions. I would have q danger
signal drop or slide out from every pole
on the line, ringing bel, so that team s
would be out of the way, and the COM
pany's cars could leave the track at the
nearest crossing, which is every few
squares.-Chieago News.
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09

At Ethan, the late Colonel Mort his
seat, there is said to be one of the strong
est of strong rooms in the world. Not
only was his gold and silverware stored
here, but special arrangements were made
for the security of the jewels of lady Wis
itors during the nights of their stay. The
strong room is fioored with cement many
feet thick, and walled all round with
mighty blocks OF granite.
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09
NEW TODAY.
NO. -T0-BaG MGldS Nerves.
Lost Life-Force Restored and
Shattered Nerve = Power
Quickly Repaired.
The Tobscco Vice Undermines Vigor
and Vitality = Nervous Prostra.
tion, General, Debility Mean
Tobacco Nerve.Poisonin9.

Tobacco using Is q reckless waste Of life
force, money and manhood.
It Is q dirty, nasty, men-wrecking disease,
and every tobacco-user knows It
The tobacco-user's nerves are shattered ana
broken, his life is going out of him, he's losing
his grip, but No-To-Bac, tie strongest, quickest
nerve tonic in the world, braces his brain,
nourishes his nerves, kills nicotine, makes
manhood. Summer smoking shortens life.
If you want to quit tobacco, gain strength,
weight, vitality
If you want all the time to look, feel and act
like man
Take No-To-Baci Get cure or your money
back Over 400, 900 have been cured, and
millions use No-To-Bac 70 regulate tobacco
using or purely for its wonderful powers as Q
nerve tonic and stimulant.
If your nerve and heart action is weak, nc
matter what the cause, take No-To-Bac-
Sold and guaranteed by druggists every
where Our famous booklet, "Don't Tobacco
Spit and Smoke Your Life Away" written
guarantees and free sample mailed for the ask
ing Address The Sterling Remedy Co., Chi
caro Montreal or New York
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09

contaminated by the
employment of hor-
izontal motion.
In the latest device
of flying machine this
feature of fixed sus-
pension is provided
for by the employ
ment CT fanlik g
screws revolving in a
horizontal pl an e.
T b e accompanying
drawing of the sclen-
tific aeropiane IS suf-
fieientlv sim nla To
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09

stated that if it were
possible to produce
an engine that should
not exec ed forty
pounds per horse
power employed the
problem of serial
navigation would be
solved. Since the in
PRODUCTION of acety-
line gas an engine
using that gas as fuel
has been built, which
weighs twenty-seyen
pounds per horse
power. It is fair to in
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09
The Purity of Air

An ingenious device for testing the
purity of the air in workshops and other
crowded places Is on exhibition at Zurich.
A closed vessel filed with chemical solu-
ton, sensitive to carbonic acid gas, sends
out drop through q glass siphon every
two minutes; the drop soaks through a
cord hanging vertically from the end of
the siphon. If the air is very bad the drop
changes its natural color, red, to white at
once, at the upper end of the cord. It
keeps its color along the cord in proper
ton to the purity of the air, not changing
at all If the air is perfectly pure. A grad
uated scale fixed to the cord marks the
degree of impurity.
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09
Motor Bicucle

One of the first patents granted for
motor bicycles is the property of Charles
II. Barrows of WilIamantic, Conn. Just
what the machine will do can only be
determined by experiment, but it seems to
be built on scientific principles.
The general appearance OF the bicycle is
much like the first safety invented that
was called the kangaroo" The hind
wheel is of the ordinary style, but the
frame of the machine is very heavy as is
necessary to carry the propelling appara-
tus.
Mounted on either side of the hind
wheel are storage batteries that are con-
nected by wires with twin motor
mounted on the steering head. The front
wheel really has two tires, and between
them driving surface over which chain
passes, and thence over a driving surface
between the armatures of the twin motor.
This secures direct connection without
possibility OF slipping and puts the power
at the point of least resistance. OF course
the motor will have to make great mum.
Der of revolutions to one of the wheel, but
this is easily accomplished under the CIR
cumstances.
The apparatus mentioned should Ger.
tainly be capable of driving the bicycle
over level road at fair pace, and il
enough power is generated by the storage
battery also be capable OF climbing hills
On the State railways in Germany the
carriages are painted according to the
coIors of the tickets of their respective
classes. First-class carriages are painted
yellow, second-cIass green and third-clas:
white
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09
Power From Niagara

1t is promised that electric power from
Niagara Falls will be furnished to Buffalo
manufacturers before November l next,
and at price less by one half than power
now costs in that city. Contracts for the
WORK will be let this week, the transmits
sion line to be large enough for 10000
horsepower. So much so for the business
side of the enterprise. The scientific side
is of equal interest, as Developments in
that direction make possible the economic
transmission of power over long distances.
The scientific triumph is Tesls's. The
power will be transmitted to the Buffalo
city line by overhead conductors. From
the dynamo it will pass through trans
former, which will give it much higher
voltage, and in that condition it can be
safely and economically transmitted, to be
Transformed again at the Buffalo station to
direct current ready for use. The higher
the voltage the less is the loss. Some idea
of the value of the new system can be had
by comparison. The two-phase system
transmits power so that there is loss 400
times greater in the transmission of 500
volts than in the transmission of 10000
volts.-New York Post.
Fire Department drivers say that it is
but little if any more difficult to drive a
three-horse team than it is to drive team
of two horses. 1t takes more strength to
pull three-horse team up short, but
otherwise the three-horse team is about as
easily handled, so far as the actual driving
is concerned, as one OF two horses. The
hardest place for the horse IN the three
l.. - Il = IL
hap to the middle horse makes the most
trouble. So 1t is customary in making up
a three-horse team to put the best and
most intelligent and sure-footed horse in
the center.-New York Sun.
The San Francisco call., 1896-08-09

1t is estimated that Abyssinia's war
force numbers 20O. 900 men, one-rhird OF
whom are armed with improved rifles.