The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-11-15
Perpetual Motion.

Kansas City Star.
 If there be any one negative propo- sition in mechanics that is held to be undeniable by the entire scientific world. 1t is that it is not possible to construct e perpetual motion machine And by a perpetual motion machine, taking 1t in it's simplest form, is meant a piece of mechanism which will remain indefinitely in continual motion solely by the action of the attraction of gravitaion.
 Nevertheless. no less person than MT. David M. Stone, who was for many years the editor of The New York Jour nal of Commerce, and whose personal character has always been above suspi- cion, Is the authority for the positive statement that he had in his possession for several weeks. about fifty years ago, a machine of precisely that sort. He declared that the files of The Journal of Comerce of about 1852 contained a full account of the machine, but these files were destroyed by fire, and he told the story from memory. However" he de- clared, q remember the facts perfect ly.''
 About 1852 an old man, perhaps 80 years old, brought the machine to my office to show tos me- It was constructed about like this. I think there were six of the hollow arms. In each one was a lit- tie ball. The arms were not rigidly fixed, but had a little play. As the cylinder re- volved the balls rolled. Thus, the balls in the arms on the right were always an inch or so further from the center than those on the left, and they counterbal- anced the weight of the arms them selves. The whole machine was. there fore, heavier on the right than on the left. and so 1t always revolved. I think there was also a spring in each arm that helped the reaction of the ball. but I can- not recollect the arrangement of the springs.
 Then there was a pendulum that was geared to regulate the speed. If that was disconnected the machine went faster and faster till the centrifugal force kept all the little balls at one spot, and then it would go slower and slower till 1t stop ped. tried that once, and started it again with my finger.
 Well, I kept that machine in my of flee for several weeks, under my own private lock, to make sure that there was no trick about 1t and 1t went right along The Journal of Commerce printed an ac- count of 1t, and was ridiculed unmerci- fully in consequence, but the machine kept right on going.
 Then the old man exhibited 1t at a fair in New Jersey, charging a small ent- rance fee. and some local scientific men, l think one of them was a Princeton professor-had him arrested for taking money under false pretenses. He was ar raigned and the Justice of the Peace asked him what defense he had, and the old man said that his only defense was that the machine did what he claimed. The justice was angry and asked him how he dared say that when these emil nent gentlemen swore there must be a spring in 1t or it wouldn't go.
 And the old man said: I have worked at it for forty years, and there is no spring in 1t and 1t does go.'
 So they got an axe and chopped it up. and there was great silence, for there was no spring And the old man picked up the fragments and went away with the tears rolling. down his face. And he died soon after"