The times., 1898-12-27
ELECTRIC sENsAr1oNALIsM.
Tesla's Promises and Performance
Scientific Disbelief.
(From The New York Evening Post

bombast that recalls the widest days of
the Keely motor mania is inconsistent
and inexplicable to the last degree. This
utterance from the Scientific American
exemplifics the strong language coming
from scientific quarters about the latest
announcements OF Mr.. Nikola Tesla, and
bi1s fair to mark the elimination of
lung period of what may be called cleo
trio sensationalism. Another scientific
journal. the Electrical Engineer, which
for some years expounded Mr.. Tesla'S
earlier work. has drawn back in alarm,
and In q recent comment ON one of Mr.
Tesla's promises says 1t refuses point
blank to accept 1t in silence, and Is
willing to face the consequences" The
situation thus developed is of unusual
interest.
1t is not until a review is made of Mr..
Tesla's program that an intelligent under
standing can be reached of the attitude
now displayed on this subject by the
scientific press and by leaders of scientific
thought and of the resentment exhibited
by the subject of their quiet criticism.
who accuses them CT desire TO do him
serious injury A representative of the
Evening Post has made investigation OF
the matter and the data now presented
will assist the public in forming its owa
conclusions.
At the time of the destruction by fire of
Mr.. Tesla's laboratory, near Bleecker
Street. early in 1895, he was at work on an
"osciilator," Ia which he sought to COM
bine steam engine and dynamo in one ma
chine. with immense economy of steam
and gain in output of current. a COM
pleted machine was illustrated in the Gen.
tury Magazine in April. 1895. with glowing
comment by the author of the article. At
that time Mr. Tesla had stated to friends
~. ink he
ly in use in New York City within six
months. Mr.. Tesla forthwith started new
plans and new laboratory. but no 'oscil-
latOr'' has made its appearance. On the
contrary. Mr.. Tesla has given the name
TO quite another apparatus. of utterly diff
ferent construction, having nothing to do
with steam. and upon which he has laid
great stress as to its merits in delicate
electro-therapeutic work.
Mr. Tesla also became engaged in per-
fecting vacuum-tube lighting. which as
early 1892, at the New York Electric
Club and other places. he had predicted
would wipe out the Edison ncsndsscent
system In year. In the New York Sun
of November 81 1s9S. Mr.. Tes stated
that he had his system ready. but he lin
tied its possible usefulness 1t is not,
however. on the market. nor has anyone
approached by the reporter ever seen it
in commercial operation anywhere.
As a development OF his ''Osciilator'
experiments. Mr.. Tesla further expressed
his belief that the current would be- used
In telegraphy. and the New York Herald
quoted him as follows: THAT it will lie
possible to signal all parts of the earth
simultaneously, and that from the logical
development OF this it will be possible to
signal the stars by electrical disturbances
here. / have no doubt whatever" He
claimed to he able by his "oscii'atory''
methods to disturb the earth's electrical
charge. and showed apparatus in witch
this extraordinary phenomenon was al
legged to be manifest.
The discovery of the N-ray by Prof
Roentgen in 1855, and its announcement
at the beginning OF 1895. led to great ac-
tivity on the part of such men as Mr. Edi-
son. Mr. Tesla, Mr.. Moore. and others in
the field of fiuorescent and vacuuu1-tube
lighting, and claims of one kind and
another followed thick and fast as to
what the ray was, better methods OF 81
curing it. new lamps. improved .X-ray
pictures. etc But at the present moment.
so far as can be discovered. not siagle
piece OK Tesla special N-ray apparatus
can be bought anywhere, and not a siagle
theory advanced by him has received the
approval of the scientific world.
Next We hear of bolder schemes. y few
months later Garrett r. Serviss heralded
In the New York Journal the fact tha,
| ''Nikola Tesla latest contribution to SC,
| ence opens up one Of the most surprisins
visions OF mans future control over ma
| ture that tine nineteenth century has pro-
| duced. This referred 10 an elaborate
scheme for generating electric current AZ
a trifing expense by Niagara power. sat-
uTatine the earth with it and spraying
growing plants from electrified water
tanks. In this way the nitrogen needed by
exhausted soil was to be restored To 1t
and mankind saved from starvation. The
most diligent inquiry fails TO reyeal the
trial Of any apparatus for this purpose.
or the first public proof Of the intrinsic
value of the idea.
To enumerate step by step all such mar
wells as these 10 which the attention of the
public has been called is impossible. In
the New York World of Sunday Decem-
her 26 1897, was page article. headed
| Wizard Tesla makes the sun do mans
Will, and picture showing Tesla lab
| oratory, with huge machinery, all oper-
ated by sunshine. The apparatus COM
prised rejecting mirrors, cylinders fun Of
water treated chemically by a secret pro-
| cess which Tesla has devised" and the
| inventor was quoted thus: II will say
| that the results so far achieved are all l
| desire. l am certain that the new ap-
paratus will come into speedy and general
! use. The whole business will he so simply
arranged that there will he no probability
| of its breaking down.
Inquiry in every quarter reveals among
| electricians, an absolute ignorance of any
apparatus of this kind, and reference was
made at once by several of them to the
| famous failures of Ericsson many years
ago along better comprehended lines of in
vestigation, of which all the details were
long since made public.
In the New York World of October 81.
1897, scheme was set forth, with cuts and
long statement by Mir. Tesla in the first
person, to defend the human body from
microbes and preserve the beauty of wom-
AMY and manly youth throughout life. Il
have made extensive study and expert
ment. to the end of finding some means of
clearing the human skin of these deadly
| microbes. and have succeeded in invent
ing means by which it can be kept free
from their ravages." Part of Mr.. Tesla 5
plan was the use of "a battery / have my
self invented. With this battery | have
charged human bodies so successfully that
microbes have been thrown off in a per-
feet shower, some of them being thrown
as far away as four and five feet The
| same plan was described. with variations.
in the New York Herald, with the addition
that paint could thus be cleaned from diff
ferent objects, and that any skin disorder
could be cured. although Just the form
of apparatus l am using l must keep Sc
cret for time yet
The present year opened with a sugges-
ton. in the Sunday newspapers. by Mr..
| Tesla, of the way in which an electrical
subjugator'' might be best devised with
which to tame wild animals, but this he
dismissed with brief notice.
The war with Spain broke out, all the
inventors were busy. and Mr.. Tesla an