The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-04-30
rHT FERRrs WHRE1.
Tho Passing Of tie Greatest Enl

aee7fng Freak of the Century.
Chicago Evening Post: When the
Ferris wheel is sent to the scrap heap
thing likely soon to happen-the
greatest engineering vagary Of the cen-
fury Will have passed into that oblivion
reserved for fnds, flying machines and
perpetual-motiOn contrlvances. Not
that the great Ferris wheel is any Of
these. but simply because It never could
serve any practical use, because It em-
bodies no distinctly new principle in
engineering. and because II has mar
Yellous faculty Of emptying the Golfers
Of those who try to make It's huge bulk
earn even q small part Of the cost OF
maintaining Tito say nothing Of the
cost OF original investment.
AS one OF the wonders OF the Worlds
Fair Of 1s93-perhaps the chief wonder
the Ferris wheel stood unique. Its
great size, marvellous construction and
distinct novelty made It not only the
browning feature Of the Midway. but
the gossip Of four continents. During
the continuance Of the exposition more
than a million and half Of visitors
from all quarters Of the globe, rode in
TN 0hHRGhAEA GeAAgt NllA AAVtAA u hNAts III
Of 264 feet caught q bird's-eye Gimp Sc
of the fnir grounds, the lake and the
distant city.
Though less than a third the height
OF the Eiffel Tower of the Paris Expo
Rltlon, the Ferris wheel was n much
greater wonder. The Eiifel Tower WINS
merely continuous projection Of sue
cessive towers one upon another. Given
n suitable base, its construction simply
meant the strlnging Of iron and steel
straight into the air.. But In the Ferris
wheel something new in construction
was accomplishment because OF Its
great size. 1t was the projection of a
gigantic circle, carrying thousands Of
tons Of steel and iron suspended from
an axle and readily movable by the APP
plIcation Of machinery. To have built
the Ferris wheel simply to stand upon
Its periphery would have been COM
PaFatiYely simple task. To suspend this
mass Of metal from central point and
give It motion was the conception OF
genius.
Elffel and his engineers were three
years building the tower in Paris. The
Ferris wheel was constructed and car
rying passengers within four months.
The idea OF erecting this great wheel
came to George Washington Gale Fer
rls, q native Of Illinois, and an engineer
for the Pittsburgh Iron Company, about
n year before the opening Of the
Worlds Fair. Mr. Ferris was then
known as one Of the most expert bridge
builders in America, II not in the world,
but when his scheme was mentioned to
other engineers 1t was promptly pro-
nounced chimerfcai Some went even SO
far as to laugh at him. and not one
dreamed the project ever would get be-
yoOd. the speculative stage. But Mr..
Ferris was persistent, and, besides, had
faith In himself. Courageously he set
to work and succeeded in interesting
sufficient capital to warrant him in Or
dering material for the wheel.
About 5000 was spent In plans. tests.
etc, before the actual cons trurtion OF
the wheel began. Some thirty firms.
took part in its making and u Chicago
firm sow to its erection. When ready
to be turned the Ferris wheel had cost
$685., 900 and had consumed about 100000
pounds OF iron and steel. The movable
part Of II weighed 100000 pounds. and
II required two engines OF 1000 horse
power each to keep It turning, And so
nicely adjusted were all the parts, so
well balanced was the great steel cir
Gle with Its thirty-siX cars, capable Of
carrying 2,160 persons, that 1t was un-
der as full control as sewing machine
or pony engine. Once or twice during
the worlds fair the motive power needed
adjustment, but the only results so far
as the public was concerned were hui
morous incidents, which gave the news
paper men n few columns OF anything
but dull reading mntter.
It Is barely possible that had the
.TTYnwIJts "a 1V 10atnn a tyrn the
Ferris wheel might have paid for itself
This is based on the assumption that It
would have continued to be novelty
for twelve months or more AS 1t was
the gross earnings Of the wheel during
the fair were $4,000. About One-ffth
of this went to the stockholders as pro-
fits. The power necessary to operate
the big wheel would have run a cotton
factory OF 100000 spindles and 5000
looms and employing 5000 operatives
The boilers of the power plant con-
stunned coal like an ocean liner. No
other single feature Of the great expo
sitiun represented such an expenditure
of energy.
But the fair lasted only six months,
and the Ferris wheel ceased paying
dividends with the closing OF the expo
sition gates. Had II gone from Its
DlhCG vi lllt ANYWAY HllNAN ~ AAs eNAbf
pile or to Coney Island. MS was Mt one
time suggested, more than one Chlca-
goan would have been some thousands
OF dollars richer to-day. The wheel
that was such a drawing card on the
shores OF Lake Michigan, where the
surroundings were somewhat proper
toned to its size, was moved to the
north side Of the city and placed In n
space so small that the cars hung over
other property while the wheel was re-
volvlng.
There It has turned occasionally for
the last few years, eating ur coal, pill
Ing up cost. an eyesore to the neigh
borhood and n white elephant to It's
owners. What has the big wheel cost
to date? Deducting the sum paid to
stockholders during the Worlds Fair.
and counting us part OF the cost what
It has cost to It's owners, It Is safe to
cay that 81 200, 900 VIII not cover the to-
tai. To move II from Jackson Park to
the North Side cost alone $4,000. and 1t
Is figured It will require nm expenditure
OF at least $4,000 TO take 1t down and
remove It from where It now stands.