The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-11-25

as 10 who should control the Kelly Motor
Company. and at that time the Quaker
City publisher made inquiry as to how
much money. if any, mis- visitor al the
Fifth Avenue Hotel of years before had
invested in the stock OF The corporation.
The answer he received was: Mr.. Pea
body has altogether purchased $4,000 of
keeiy Motor stock"
What has become of all the money?
That IS a mighty difficult question to an
swer. Keely himself was a rough, rude.
crude man, whose personal habits We're not
expensive. There is no doubt, however, that
vast sums were expended on useless ma
chinery, devices and tools. One piece Of
mechanism. which cost $4,000 was paid
for and Immediately rejected by the inVen-
tor because he claimed there was a flaw in
it. He thought nothing of spending $4,000
for piece of machinery, and a few weeks
afterwards throwing Il aside as useless. In
that queer looking workshop of his on
Twentieth street, above Master, he certain
ly did perform the most marvellous things,
but how ne did it has ever remained a mys-
terv.
And probably will always remain one,
because if Keely after twenty-five years
could not harness the force he had discov-
ered-supposing. of course he had accom-
plished that feat-how could such a con-
Qu6IluS result De expected from the pTStl-
tice hands of those who never had his full
confidence?
1t is idle and foolish and narrow minded
to idly cast away thoughts of Keely and
his attempted work with shrug of the
shoulders, a sneer, a contemptuous curl of
the lips and a snarling utterance to the
word 'charIatan." Did il ever occur to
you that no great invention was ever per
fected and no revoluuonizing scientific dis
covery was ever fully demonstrated until
after many. many years of unremitting en-
deavors? Keely was engaged in his work
for one-quarter of century, and yet dur
ing that time nearly all of US have either
laughed at him or lampooned him. True
he did not bring his work to completion
and perfection. The steam engine was pat
cnted by Watts in 1868, and yet as early
as $50 B. C. efforts We're made to make
mechanical application of the power of
steam. During that interim of over two
thousand years every one who endeaVored
to turn the force of elastic vapor to HUI
man advantage was laughed at as an i'm
beetle Stephenson, when he contended that
there is no limit to the speed of the loco
motive if the works can be made to stand
the strains" was opposed in his
belief by every living scientist,
He actually had not one sup
porter. When he declared that the loco
motive would supersede the mail coach, and
that the railroad would become the great
highway for the King and all his sub
jects," he was laughed at. His survey
ors were driven from the fields by the in
credulous farmers and the first rails had
to be laid by stealth and al night. Even
when he had accomplished this much the
most eminent engineers told him that the
only way to reach success was to have
stationary engines at regular intervals on
the railroad, as the locomotives would
never move with sufficient rapidity In
ventiVe geniuses tinkered with the tele-
graph for over a century before it proved
practical and when the American Con-
gress reluctantly and Unexpectedly appro-
priated $4,000 for the construction of the
first experimental line, Prof Morse had
not a crust of bread TO eat The tele-
phone was dickered with for many years
before Prof. Bel got the patent right he
did not deserve. Even in so apparently
simple a thing as the utilization of oil as
an insulator for underground electric con-
Quits, David Brooks of this city expended
fifteen years of his time and $4,000 of
his money. These instances are cited, not
to prove that Keely was an honest man
and had discovered a new force, but to
call a pause upon the criticisms of those
who knowing not do not believe, but can
give no reasons for their lack of belief
One fact remains that is irrefutable.
Keely in his workshop performed marvels
that scientists could not explain and that
apparently reversed ali the recognized
laws of physics.