Omaha daily bee., 1898-07-24

shaft twenty inches in diameter extending
from the base to the top of the hotei' A
large iron nut with screws encircLed the
shaft. Within the nut rollers ran on .he
upper side of the thread of the smart. MI
Tufts description of this mechanism says:
The rollers were virtually carriage wheels
travelling upon a rail wound splrally aions
a cylinder The passenger car rested upon
was revolved the rollers within the nut
| travelled around the spiral thread OF the
shaft and by continuous movement elevated
the car, through which a governing rope
passed. The car descended by ls own
gravity and the speed of its descent was
controlled by "retarders." Passengers IN
this elevator were safe from harm because
the car could not get of the screw. but
it was rather slow in its movement anu iNs
| cost. it is stated, was $25, 900. The elevator
was so great an object Of curiosity that
Mr.. Hiram Hitchcock, one of the proprle-
tors of the hotel, says: Men OF note, such
as the prince of Wales, the Prince de JOIN
Vile and others, as well as eminent foreign
engineers and scientific persons, were
gzreatly interested in it.
Only Two Ever Built.
The proprietors of the Fifth Avenue hotei
were also proprietors of the Continental
hotel in Philadelphia, in which they caused
a similar elevator to be set up. These Two
screw elevators are said to have been the
only ones ever constructed in this country
for passengers. 1t is said that ABOUT
elevator was put in the Metropolitan
hotel of New York City. If this is true
it probably was a rope elevator IL 'hls
| STYLE of elevator for the use OF passengers
| Mr.. Tufts made an Improvement in 1861
| which in many respects formed the pas
senger elevator us it exists today. He put
I'D his first rope elevator in the American
house IN Boston in 1868. Its car was sus-
pended on sixteen steel ropes, each rope
t--,~ ptn 6v n fra nf q III
During the civil war the business of max
! ing passenger elevators came to an END,
but an impetus was given TO IL wneh IL
was found necessary to furnish the new
Equitable building with the best facillties
by which the tenants would be able to pass
from the street floor to their ot1ces ana
from floor to floor without using the stair
cases. The directors of the Equitable Lie
Assurance society had decided to erect u
commodious and permanent office bulioins
which in comforts and conVeniences should
excel every other Office building In the
world. 1t was built ten stories high ana
at that time was the highest olhce bulid-
ing in the world. Mr.. Otis Tufts was
called into consultation and was told to
spare no expense in manufacturing for the
Equitable building passenger elevators
which would carry people to and from an
the floors with rapidity and perfect sale'y'
Accordingly, in 1868, he erected two pas
senger elevators which were run by two
duplex steam engines. During the construc-
ton of the elevators Mr.. Tufts died. His
business was carried on for some time by
the administrator of his estate and a rev
years later the business was purchased by
the McAdams & Cartwright company.
Extensive Elevator Plant.
In 1874 four more elevators were put In
the Equitable building. In 1886 the build
ing was enlarged, more elevators were set
up and the entire plant of passengers ar
ranged to be run by the hydraulic system,
At the present time there are In the build
ing thirty-ive elevators, large and small;
they probably constitute the largest ele-
vator plant in any Office building IN the
world. OF these elevators thirty are oper-
ated by hydraulic machinery, one uses cleo
trio power and the remainder are run by
steam,
Although passenger elevators have been
running in the Equitable building since
1865 and have carried millions of passengers.
it can be said that during this period oil
thirty years not a passenger has been IN
jured in the slightest degree. At the pres,
ent time the elevators are carrying apou'
80, 900 people every day.
Trials of the Conductors.
There is no better place in the world per-
haps for the study OF human nature than
in the elevator of a large Office building
Men and women of all sorts and conditions
are seen here by the hundreds every day
and many of them are a severe trial to the
elevator conductors patience. Occasionally
' some person who Is not accustomed to mod
ern conveniences gets into an elevator, and
being seized by fear when the car begins Il
move, demands immediate release. There
are still a few people who are so far behinc
the times that they prefer to climb any mum
Der of flights of stairs rather than trust &c
the strong elevator cables.
In the course OF a day a conductor Is asked
j enough questions to drive most people into
I Mysteries. Women ask permission to pu
( baby buegies and bicycles into the car, and
,