The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1910-06-02
American Clocks
Dwarf Big Ben, -
Huge 7imepieces


! National pride in every British
institution, both large and small, Is
probably accountable for the enron.
eous claim in the pictorial supple
ment OF the current issue Of the
London Sphere, to the effect that tho
famous big Ben" clock in West
minister tower Is the titan Of time
/ pieces. According to the English
publication. Big Ben" is the largest
striking, most powerful, and most
accurate public clock in the world,
the hrst blow on big Ben" at each
Eour denoting correct time. Per-
haps the Dritons base their boastful
assertion on the qualifying adjective
I"publiC,' and consequently exclude
from comparison the Colgate and
metropolitan tower clocks here, as
being the possessions Of private con-
Germs. But be that as it may, the
facts are That big Ben is outclass-
ed bX bo,h OF the above-named
American rivals, says the New York
Sun.
| The famous time-piece, by which
every punctual Londoner sets his
watch, has four dials, 23 feet in dia-
metef, the centers of which are 1870
feet above the ground. The num-
erals on the dials are two feet long,
while the minute spaces are one foot
square. The minute hands are IA
feet long and weigh approximately
200 pounds each; they are made of
copper and travel a distance equal
to 100 miles each year The hour
hands ere . feet In length land the
pendulum is Is feet long, with a
bob weighing 400 pounds.
| Wound by Hand.
The weights OF the clock aggre-
gate two and one-half tons. Two
men are required to work five hours
| three times week to. wind the
mechanism up, after climbing 374
steps to reach the clock room The
bell, popularity known as Zig Ben"
on which the hours are tolled,
weighs thirteen and one-half tons
and the hammer that unfaiIingly
does the bidding Of Father Time
weighs 400 pounds. A quarter OF
quarter bells total nearly eight tons
Twice daily, as the tongue Of big
| Ben musically rroclaims to the
worlds metropolis
All through this hour, Lord, be
my guide,
|
slide
t, it is telegraphed automatically to
| the Greenwich Observatory, where
its performance is duly checked.
Big Ben" was so named after
Sir benjamin Hall, first commission
er OF works at the time Of it's cree
zion. and was cast by George Mears,
under the direction Of Edward Beck
lett Donison, in 1853. \ crack was
discovered in the bell shortly after
being placed in position. which caus-
ed shrill tone. But the crack was
| Gled open, so as to prevent vibration,
and the tone, AS a result, became
quite pure. 1t is heard, in calm
weather, over the greater part Of
| i1o 90 The ,four-,quarter bells
We're cast by Warher in 1855.
! High Above the Street.
| Until the advent Of the Colgate
company's clock in Jersey City. and
the metropolitan Life Insurance
lcompanv's clock, Big Ben" reigned
supreme as the masterpiece of colos-
| sal clocks. The four dials Of the
metropolitan clock are twice as high
| above the street, being SAG feet up in
the air. They are built up of re-en-
forced concrete, faced with vitreous
glue and white mosaic tiles. Each
dial is 2G feet 6 inches in diameter,
exceeding Fig Bons' face by three
and one-half feet. The figures on
the dial are Just twice the height Of
those on the famous London clock,
or four feet. The minute marks, be-
ling ten and one-half inches square,
are trifle smaller, but the hands,
built on iron frames and sheathed
with copper. weigh 1000 pounds for
the hour indicator and 700 pounds
for the minute hand The larger
! hand measures II feet from end to
end and g feet from the center to
the point. The smaler hand meas
ares | 3 feet 4 inches over all and s
feet 4 inches from center to point
They revolvc on roller bearings, and,
like the numerals and minute marks
are Illuminated by incandescent
lamps under heavy plate, wired
| glass.
Being mere modern than big
| Den,' the driving power of this huge
mechanism is electricity, and none
Of the many devices connected there
with require any manual operation
the entire installation being auto
matte.
! = Controls Many OtI,eps,-----
The master clock, which is lOcat-
ed in the directors room on the sec.
jond floor Of the building, controls
about 100 other clocks throughout
the entire structure; besides this. it
controls several program instru-
ments for sounding various SEIZED
ules of bells in the different depart