Omaha daily bee., 1898-11-18

and that when the alarm Is given the situa-
ton OF the fire Is told distinctly, and not
In the breathless manner OF one who sees
the flames and rushes to a telephone. BY
an automatic arrangement one graphophone
may be used by a building with any num-
Der OF floors, for there may be several re-
producers on one cylinder OF a graphophone
and each reproducer would give the alarm
for the particular floor with which II was
connected.
at would cost about $500 to equip an
ordinary business building with this alarm"
said Chief Hale. 1.-THE same device might
be used as a fire alarm or burglar alarm In
a private house. The attic, for instance,
might be wired and the graphophone be set
at the head OF the bed. At the slight be-
ginning Of a blaze In the attic the grapho-
phone might begin to shout:
WAKE up, papa. there's a fire In the
attic! Wake up, papa. there's a fire in the
attic!' and so on until papa should awake
and learn al once what the trouble was. A
house might be wired so that the opening
Of a door or window would start the voice
at the BEDSIDE shouting 'Burglars!'"
Chief Hale says that he began i've years
ago to work on his invention.
Electric balloon Signals.
In spite of the failure Of the balloon for
| signaling for military purposes before San
tiago. there are many purposes, as shown by
Eric Bruce, In which 1t Is destined to be OF
| special service. Prominent among these Is
| the exploration OF unfamiliar regions. One
Of the most distressing deprivations was the
want Of some bond Of communication be-
tween the drifting ship and a party leaving
the vessel for only short excursions. The
researches Of the expedition could have been
| rendered mfr itely more thorough and ef-
fective by the. use of the electric balloon
| signaling adopted by the British, Belgian and
Italian governments. Signaling with a flag
or lantern from the car Of an ordinary cap
tive balloon, worked from the deck OF a ship
Is possible, but this necessitates a large bal
loon with many cumbersome accessories
the use Of which would be impracticable
under such conditions. In electric balloon
signaling the slgnafer and most OF the APP
paratus remains on the ground or the deck
of a ship. The abolition Of the weight Of the
car, signaler and apparatus enables a mod
erately sized balloon to be employed. 1t IL
made Of translucent material and filled with
hydrogen or coal gas. 1t contains several
incandescent electric lamps in metallic cir.
cult, with a source Of electricity below
where there is an apparatus for making anc
breaking contact rapidly. BY varying tint
duration OF the flashes Of light In the bal
loon the Morse code can be signaled. INT
speed Of signaling depends entirely upor
the thickness Of the carbon flamen,s In thu
lamps. The smallest sized balloon used Ii
about seven feet In diameter, having a cubit
capacity OF $50 feet. This can be filled Will
one tube Of gas. The electric cable Is Ign
and flexible, being made Of strands OF cop
per. both leads Of which are inclosed II
waterproofed outer insulation. The dynamo
from which the lamps are lighted can N
worked efficiently with wind or hand power
and that carried by nearly every ship II
these days can be applied to the purpose
II the balloon and Its outfit should be car
ried from the ship by an excursion party
light and portable storage batteries can b.
used. The gas for filling the balloon can b
compressed into steel cylinders, or a porta
BILE apparatus can be employed for maxim
the hydrogen on the spot. An electric bal
loon ascending from the deck Of an explor
ing vessel will not only act as a beacol
guide to exploring parties, but will fas
signals relating to the drift Of the ship o
any other desirable communication 1t
said that II the Fran had had an electri
balloon aloat it would probably have bee
seen by Nansen when he was returnin
from his Journey north and thus q long an
perilous expedition might have been saved
Mr.. Bruce claims that, given a sufhcient al
titude and q clear atmosphere and hig
candle power, the flashes Of the balloon ca
be seen through a telescope some eighty O
even 100 miles.