The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1900-06-02
ITEMS OF INTEREST.

to the Grand Canal Fleet. Fer several
years Venice has suffered, with much pro-
testation. from the dirty and noisy Little
steam craft that ply along the main water
ways of the city. They have robbed the
larger canals of much of their character
istic and reposeful charm,a but en- account
of the size of the boats they have not
been able to invade the smaller water
highways of the city. To these the slent
and easily maneuvred electric launches vie
with the gondolas and are even more
popular.
in the statistics of the electric railways
of Saxony compiled by the Royal Bureau
of Electric Railways at Dresden, there is
shown a large increase in travel as well
as considerable growth in the number OF
electric power plants in the kingdom. The
total length of lines in the kingdom. the
miles, and in 1899 1t was 1424 AL. The number
of passengers carried in 1898 was 90,576,2 66,
and in 1899 il was 113, 592, $50. There were
591 motor cars in use in 1898, and 7Sl in
1899. Among the new contrivances and
equipments introduced in Saxony last y ar
were the triple brake on heavy grades,
heating by electricity, and the magnetic
brake, which opera ties simultaneously on
any number of cars
In communication to the French
Academy recently, M. Jansen gives some
interesting Information in regard to the
insulating power Of glacial ice. The stud
les made by him were through connection
by wire between the summit of Mont
Blanc and the Grand-Mulets, in Switzer-
land, and the wires used were permitted
to lie on the surface of the glacier with
out any support or insulation. Then they
were tested for resistance and insulation,
the latter being found to be almost per-
feet. The resistance was found TO be near
ly as good, as it was between IS and "
ohms, while with perfect insulation it
would be but SO to 60 ohms. The results
of the application, while of limited val
ue, show that telegraph wires of mountain
exploring parties, may be laid over the ice
in the trail with but little labor or cost.
The commercial agent of the United
States at Vladivostok, Russia, Mr.. Green
er. writes that the city government pro-
poses to grant concession for tramway
and an electric-light system in that city,
and to suggest, that the matter be brought
to the attention of the people in the
United States, who are skilled in that
work. The length of the road will be
about twelve miles, and no favoritism
on the ground of nationality will be shown.
Electric power must be used No time
limit has been set for handing in pro-
.posals, and no limit is set for the compile
ton Of the work.
Electrical transmission of power in
workshops and yards of all kinds has
largely increased of late, as the great adj
VantageS of such a distribution from a
central source of economical power have
grown more manifest with experience In
ship yards especially this form of power
distribution has been of value because of
the extent of such yards and the low
economy of scattered small steam engines.
For one type of apparatus, however, the
electrical distribution has been useless
hitherto-the rlVetlng machine. This ma
chine is one that squeezes hot rivets into
place in the plates of ships. Formerly the
work was done by hand, men with heavy
sledges heading" the nvets, but of late
years hydraulic rivetiug machines have
come almost universally into use. These
machines exert a steady pressure of army
tons upon the rivet, forming perfect head ;
upon it without injury or weakening he
plates. An installation of hydraulic ma
chinery and piping for such rivets, how
ever, is very expensive. To supp'ant them
with equally good machines driven by
electricity has been considered highly de-
sirable, and it is now claimed that such
electric riveters have been perfected. The
jaws of the machine are forced together
upon the rivet by means of a powerful
differential screw turned by an electic
motor. 1t is stated that such machines
work equally as well as the hydraulic
riveters, but are much less costly in in
stallation and operation, besides being
morera pid in the performance of their
work.
We are accustomed to regard the tele-
graph as a highly modern invention, and
every schoolboy knows that in its present
form it was perfected by Morse and 9TH
York Sun. That the electric telegraph was
invented and described nearly a century
earlier is not generally known, but 1t is
true that a workable method for the cleo
trical transmission of intelligence was set
forth in 1853. In the Scots Magazine, pub
lished at Glasgow in that year. writer
| under the name &c. M suggested a plan
for distinct correspondence by means of
electricity. He proposed to have as many
wires as there are letters In the alpha bet
and suggested glass supports for holding
them and preventing them from touching
the earth or one another. At the sending
end he described an arrangement for con-
Meeting the wire corresponding to any de-
sired letter with an electrical machine of
the crude variety then known. At the re-
ceiving end the wires terminated in knobs
| near each of which were suspended light
bits of paper or some other easily attract
ed substance. When signal was to be
| sent the letters composing words were to
lfbe spelled out by connecting the battery
with the appropriate wires in turn; the
attraction of the corresponding bits of pa
per at the other end would indicate these,
This crude device, while highly inefficient
might be worked, so that &C. NJ" NAV
justly be regarded as the inventor of the
electric telegraph. The identity of the au-
thor who concealed himself behind these
| initials has never been discovered.
Electric heat for welding and temper
ing is in successful use for a large num-
Der of purposes. For tempering watch and
clock springs it is entirely without a rival
on account of the quickness and ease OF
its manipulation and regulation. One of
the largest wagon-making concerns in the
country uses electric welding in making
tires. Similarly, the largest concern MAX
ing cedar tubs and buckets uses an cleo.
trio welding process for making the hoops
on its pals, etc These are made of gal
vanized iron wire, wound tightly around
the utensil in a groove cut in the wooden
staves. The ends of the wire hoop are
brought together little scrap of mica
being placed under the juncture to pro-
teCt the wood A DOWerful ot1rrant 80