The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1899-03-28
KELLY MYSTERY SOLVED
THE "LUMINlFERoUs ETHER" FOUND
TO Be COMPRESSED AIR.

Death-Hls sAoto- - Gigantic Fraud
HiS Laboratory System Of Pipe.
which Supplied the Motive Power.
At last the secret OF the celebrated
"Keely motor, about which there has
been SO much mystery and specula-
ton, and into which, "a is were. 50
many thousands OF dollars have been
poured, has been solved. For TWEEN
ty-fve years John ". Keely led many
people to believe that he had discov-
cred nav force III nature: a force
that would produce the most tremen-
dous results in physics; that would
revoIutionize mechanics, and that his
celebrated motor would run indefu-
ltely without the aid of steam. cleo
tricity air or gas. But now that he
Is dead his Laboratory in Philadelphia
has been thoroughly ransacked by a
party of scientific investigators, and
they affirm, in view of all the evidence
they have gathered. that the agency
heely used in the performance Of his
bewildering experiments was simply
compressed air.
There were many people who were
disposed to criticlse Keely and his
pretentions, and he was attacked from
all sides. But there we're also many
people who believed in him, and who
contributed literally to his company
''The Keely Motor Company. This
money enabled Keoly to live not only
IN very pretentious style, but also to
maintain his laboratory. However.
nothing came of the experiments. The
motor upon which he had been at
work for so many years never
''moted, and discoveries made within
the last few days show the whole
thing was fraud-so much of a fraud.
in fact, that Mr.. Keely will 60 down
in history as one Of the most success
full and monumental humbugs of the
age.
There were quite a number Of ma
chimes and conti,7ances in Keely's
laboratory, but the two that mystified
people most were the motor and the
lever machine. Keely claimed in 1887
that 1t was moved by vaporic tension.
Later he said the force was conveyed
to it by wires, and was purely vibrat-
ing. But the discovery of tubing in
the dismantled laboratory proves quite
conclusively that the forco which
moved the lever and enabled it to lift
enormous weights was compressed air
from the steel sphere unearthed under
the flooring of the first story of the
laboratory.
With regard to Il : Keely engine or
motor-tno motor that never noted. "
but was always going to do so-Keely
called 1t rotary etheric engine. He
also called it q harmonic engine. The
power that moved it, to quote his own
words, was obtained from "inter-
atomic air, or, rather, luminiferoug
ether" He claimed he had this power
under complete control; that it was
greater in forco by five or six times
than gunpowder, and that he could so
increase the power, 'by multiplied
concentration, that in eight seconds
he could produce a pressure of TWEEN
ty-eight thousand pounds to the
square inch. The total weight of the
motor was about twenty-five thousand
pounds and it looked like q collection
Of soda water retOrts
The force that started this engine
and kept it going, Mr.. Keely claimed.
was the etheric force he had dis
covered, but the discoveries made in
his former laboratory would indicate
that the force was the compressed air
stored in the big steel sphere. ANY
how. this wonderful bit of mechanism.
destined to reyolutionize all methods
of propelling machinery, never left
keely's shop and was never put TO q
practical test.
Whenever Keely gave an exhibition
OF it he poured about half glass of
water into glass stand pipe con
nected with one of the retorts. Then
he struck various parts of the machine
with violin bow and this was fol-
lowed by the tightening and loosen
ing of bolts and screws. Then the
machine began to operate and the be-
holders marvehed They will prob
ably realize now that the half glass of
water released tho compressed air in
tho big steel sphere and that it WAC
compressed air that ran the tor and
not any etheric force.
Mr.. Keely's laboratory is ram
shackle sort OF building The first
floor is divided into three comporf
ments The first is fairly well
lighted and shows that the floor con.
tains several traps It was under the
flooring Of this compartment that the /
big steel sphere was unearthed several !
days ago. The second compartment. |
which is dark and very dimlv lighted. /
also contains some traps. The rear .
room is said to be q private room. and /.
contains one trap. The upper floor Of
the laboratory is the mysterious cham
Der in which tho "motor" mysteries
were performed This floor is di.
vlded into three compartments. In
the front there Is an Office. next to
that an exhibition room. and behind
that the room That is called the main
exhibition room. The floor is full of
traps
IL was here that Mr.. Keely gave his
exhibitions Of the alleged wonderful
powers Of his motor A peculiar fea.
ture about tho exhibitions was that
Mr.. Keely would never give them ez-
cept upon twenty four hours notice.
The reason for this has been discov.
cred. whou investigation has shown
That Mr.. keely required time to M.
range for these experiments time tn
prepare the compressed air apparatus
to achieve tho results ne claimed
were produced by his new force i'm