Omaha daily bee., 1899-03-10

. Nh'l IT. NlNIt. ne instrument does excel
lent work 10 cold storage warehouses. For
merly refriEeratnE plants had to be ope--
ated continually under high pressure be-
cause the temperature Of any particular
room could not be ascertancd without open
ing it. which was not always advisable The
consequence was that all the rooms had TO
be kept cold With the new instrument the
temperature Of any room can be told by
using its indicating dial and receiver In the
| Office OF tbe warehouse.
Centennial of Electricity.
Alexander Volta was one Of the famous
| forerunners in the field Of electricity and
/ now. in recognition Of that fact his natal
| city, Como. has decided 20 honor his mem
| ory by holding an electrical exposition dur
! ing the coming year, this being the hum
dredth anniversary Of the great discovery
which bears Volta's name. The exposition
will also be known as the Noltian Exposition
and 1t VIII remain open from May Is 10 Oc-
tober Is.
The attractive features will be an iuter-
1 national exhibition, showing the history OF
| electricity for the last 100 years and a con-
! gress OF electricians who will point out how
/ the science has advanced 70 its present stage.
| These scientists will give many practical H.
| Illustrations OF the manifestations OF electrical
| force and will especially dwell on the great
! significance and Importance Of Nolta's work.
| Electricians from every country will attend
! the exposition and will vie with each other
! in bonoring Volta and also in honoring Como,
which has the good fortune TO be the birth
| place OF so distinguished a man
Volta's original inventions are partly pre-
served in the Civic museum at Como, partly
al the University OF Pavia and parity in the
| a1 no - NJ SpipOpp Letters
and Arts. They will be brought to Como
and will form the most interesting part OF
| the exposition. Other notable features will
be collection Of autograph letters by Volta
and large number Of medals and other testi-
| monials which were awarded to him by SOW
ereigns and scientific societies.
The history of electricity during the last
century will be amply illustrated with many
manuscripts, prints and designs, as we'll as
with pictures Of machinery and electrical
plants and Of the various forms of electric
force. From piles and accumulators the Wis
itor will pass 20 dynamos, alternators, trans
| formers, electric motors and their manifold
applications. In a word here viii be seen
the rapid and glorious history Of electricity.
Electric Cloth Pressing.
A new process for pressing cloth, viz, by
electricity is in use in France. The cleo
trio press boards are used in the following
manner On plate of sheet iron is placed
a piece of cloth, between the folds of which
are placed at equal distances three electric
press boards; then there is another plate of
sheet iron, another piece OF cloth and so on
until the press is full. An ordinary press
holds eight pieces, the folds of the cloth
being one meter G.O9 yards) wide. The
distributor is simple grooved rod, the con-
ductor being placed in the groove. Thirty
pliable wires each terminating in a spring
clip, hang at an equal distance from this
distributor. The clips are readily adjusted
to the metal corners of the electric press
boards, the positive on one side and the neg
ative on the other. The current is thus es-
tahliBhed and the proper degree Of heat gen
Grated, the time necessary varying from
threefourths of hour to one hour and a
half. The heating Of each press, and even
of each piece, can be regulated mathemat :
ically, either by varying the number Of press
boards or by increasing or diminishing the
length of the heating. The cloth is heated
slowly and without the inequalities result
ing from the old system, under which the
two ends of each piece were almost in con-
tact with plates heated TO 500 degrees. All
manufacturers who have employed the new
system speak of this point as a great ad-
vantage. second advantage is the extreme
cleanliness with which the pressing can be
effected Another advantage is the economy
in laborious handling necessitated by heat
ing and transporting heavy cast iron plates.
Interurban Lines.
The Chicago Chronicle in an extended
review, shows remarkably steady growth of
electric lines connecting nearby cities in
Illinois and adjoining states. Already some
400 miles of trolley lines are in operation or
under contemplation in the interior OF Illi-
nois. or course Cook and some nearby
counties are honeycombed, but other local-
ties have fallen into the habit of doing bust
ness by means Of the swift trolley. Neigh
borhoods which couple of years ago de-
pended on the farm wagon or steam rail
road, with it's arbitrary station for inter
course, are now using the electric lines with
great benefit.
1t has been demonstrated that the trolley
will push freight or passengers along as
speedily as any steam line at less than halt
the expense. A practical illustration of this
can be observed in the ride from Chicago Ia
Fort Sheridan. The round trip rate on
steam roads is S1.25; on the trolley line 4C
, cents.
Here is a list OF lines now in operation in
Illinois-outside of Cook county-which are
interurban: