The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1899-08-17
BIG FLASH-LIGHT SIGNALS.
New system in Philadelphia far
Keeping People Posted on
Correct Time.

A useful plan that might be tried adj
vantageously in many smaller places
has just been adopted in Philadelphia.
In Washington, at the naval obserya-
tory, there is a clock which supplies ex-
act time to most of the large cities east
Of the Mississippi once every day. just
before noon its pendulum is connected
with an electric circuit in such way
that it ticks off seconds on all telegraph
ic instruments on the line. Then, about
one minute before -, the ticking is sus-
pended, and every listener along the
line watches for the resumption, which
occurs exactly at noon. In some cases
| a bell is struck once precisely at -. BY
| noting how many seconds fast or slow
| ones watch is at the sound, man can
set his timepiece by the best standard
in the United States.
The observatory clock is kept right TO
within a small fraction OF second, and
varies from day to day only few hun
dredths of second. Many railroads,
colleges. astronomical observatories
and other institutions all over the coun-
try get their time corrected in this man
ner daily. In New York city the West
ern union furnishes the public with a
MONDAY signal, by means of which peo-
pie who are on the street near the main
| office can get the correct time. On top
of their building a ball is arranged on "a
pole so that it can be liberated auto
matically by electricity when the noon
ciT al III
one who is watching can see the ball
drop.
Now, in Philadelphia the plan has
been modified little, so as to operate
in the evening instead Of the daytime.
And the signal is given by turning on a
lot of electric lights that have been tenn
porarily distinguished. \ row of arc
lights on the new city hall around the
statue of Franklin are kept burning I'M
til about 1857 o'clock. Then they are
shut off. Exactly at nine o'clock they
flash up into view once more. 1t is
hoped that eventually the turning on
may be effected by an automatic device.
But at present it is done by hand at the
| instant telegraphic signal is heard.
| There are many towns and villages in
| the country that might profitably imi-
| tate Philadelphia. If the local author
| tiles do not undertake this time service,
some enterprising merchant could adj
! vantageously advertise himself by fur
nishing either a day signal like that in
| New York, or one as night like that
which the City of Brotherly Love has
adopted. 1t is astonishing how much
! inaccuracy there is in the clocks and
watches that supply people with time.
1t is not at all uncommon to see clocks
five, ten or even 10 minutes out of the
way in the homes of persons who are
usually accurate in other matters. They
do not attempt to set their timepieces
| right for days or weeks at time, and
then guess at the time by the whistle
of passing railway train, which may
| be several minutes behind time. The
moral effect Of having ones timepiece
| correct and of keeping ones engage
ments on the very minute, is too great
to be overlooked. Anyone who fur.
nishes a town with Washington time
| daily would be comforting a double
blessing on the community. n. Y.
Tribune