The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1899-09-30
|X-RAYED A MOTOR FRAUD
A PERPETUAL NOTION MACHINE
THAT WENT BY CLocKWORK.
Investors Sent 1t to the Patent Office After
Aldrich Got Into Prlson-Patent Oflice
Wouldn't Bother With It-Scientific
American Tries SlIiagraph.

Aldrich Got Into Prlson-Patent Office
Wouldn't Bother With It-scientific
American Tries = Shiagraph.
In revealing the unseen "works"
which made perpetual motion ma
chine "mote" the Scientific American
hes found new use for tho X-ray.
There came to the Office of the paper
not long ago box containing o mys-
Eerious machine. Along with it came
letter from q man in Bradford,
Penn, who said that the machine was
the invention Of J. NJ. Aldrich, now
serving a sentence in Auburn Prison
for obtaining money by fraud. AL
drich drifted into Bradford some time
ago and succeeded in interesting sew
eral men in his perpetual motion con-
trivance.
After they had seen it "mote" and
bad scrutinized its exterior, they adj
vanced money to the inventor to en-
able him to perfect his machine and
get it through the Patent Office. But,
as weeks went by, and Aldrich alb
sorbed the money advanced him with
out any apparent result, the pro-
motors became suspicious. At last
Aldrich was locked up in the county
Jail, only to be released when the pro-
lnoters concluded that they lacked
evidence against him. Later he Yves
sent to prison in New York State.
Aldrich's motor, like Keely's. is in
geniously contrived to dupe anybody
who thinks something can be made
from nothing. Most perpetual motion
machines don't go, but Keely's did
and so does Aldrich's. Keely's motor
was big machine, immovable, and it
was simple task for its constructor
10 connect it by unseen tubes with
the source Of power under the floor,
but this motor from Bradford can be
carried about in hat box, and its
maker showed unusual mechanical
skill in so concealing the works"
that it puzzled the experts who ex-
amined 1t. It is one of the most
cleverly contrived frauds that ever
drew money from the pockets of the
guileless.
So simple Is the exterior construc-
ton Of this motor that it seemed oil
the more wonderful to Aldrich's dupes.
First, a square, thick, WOO len base,
seemingly solid piece; on this block
two posts, supporting q horizontal
shaft; on the shaft, at it's middle, q
large fly wheel. Then, on the shaft,
on either side of the fly wheel, straight
arms ct right angles to each other; at
the ends OF the arms, metal weights
on swinging levers-the movers of the
motor. Many an inventor. chasing
the will-o'- the-wisp of perpetual
motion, has sought to mako a wheel
turn by gravity by placing about its
circumference weights on hinged pro.
jeoting arms, and having these arms
throw the weights away from the
wheel on one side and draw them in
on the other. But. despite the most
ingenious devices Of those who have
sought to disprove the laws of the con-
servation of energy, all these weighted
wheels have refused to go.
This machine from Bradford, on the
face of it, is an honest weighted wheel
motor, but unlike all other motors OF
its kind, 1t goes. With no uncertain
motion does it go, either; it is SO full
Of energy that il has to have a gov
ernor and brake to keep it from run
ming away with itself. A brake on q
perpetual motion machine is impress
sive. The weighted levers of this
machine are so attached to the trans
verse arms that in the downward half
of each revolution they fall outward
aud forward, thus lengthening the
radius of the revolution. On the up
ward half of the revolution the levers
close up and the weights describe an
arc of rotation with shortened r'.dius.
AS each transverse arm with its jointed
lever and weight rises little past the
horizontal it slides forward and down.
ward, thus throwing thu weight or
the opposite end still further from the
centre and increasing the turning
moment on that side, at the same
time decreasing the moment on the
upward half of the revolution. The
transverse arms are kept in place by
means of small rocking levers which
extend from steadying arms attached
to the shaft.
After Aldrich had been sent to pris
on some.of his dupes were still ready
to believe that there was something
in his motor. They couldn't make il
go, however; something was wrong
somewhere. So they sent it to thu
Patent Office. The Patent Office i!
overrun with perpetual motion ma
chimes, and the examiners seldom stoI
to look ct them. They haven't time
The motor was shipped. back to Brad
ford. Then it was semitic tho Scienti6,
American Office. The Bradford PEG
pie wanted it taken apart and looked
into; they didn't want to take it apar
themselves, because they didn't know
what Internal contrivances might b
secreted in it. The examiners her,
looked it over very carefully and faile(
to find any concealed devices. The.
said it was the cleverest-looking mo
tor they had ever seen. Rather thar
destroy the machine, they took On X
ray photograph OF the innocent-look
ing wooden base.
phe mystery vanished when the x
raw revealed the silhouette of com
mon, everyday tlockwork, with it