Omaha daily bee., 1911-01-15
SAFEGUARDING MODERN LIFE
Various Means by Which Electricity
Affords Protection.
AGENCY OF VAST RAM1F1CATIoN
Drives Away burglars, calls the
Police, Puts out Fires and Does
n Multitude OF Necessary
Things.

- Sleeping or waking, walking or riding.
working or playing. that faithful guardian.
electricity, in eternal vigilance watches over
US and our worldly goods. o..
Little do we realize IN the hurry and
hustle OF the world to what a vast extent
electricity IS used to guard human life and
valuable property We awake in the dead
Of night TO find the neighbors house afire
In a minute we are up and half dressed
and out on the street sending in the alarm
In the smallest fraction Of second
electricity PUSHES along the wires to the
central station where It calls the men and
horses in a loud voice and instantly writes
on a slip OF paper the number Of the fire
box from which the alarm was sent in 50
that no time may be lost in getting the men
and apparatus 20 the fire
---sFll night long the blazing arc lamps
burn turning night into day, making it
impossible for the hoId-up man and the
burglar to ply their nefarious calling Under
cover OF darkness. At home or at the office
the telephone stands at our elbow ready
I'm an instant 10 carry business, messages,
to bring the sweet voices of relatives and
friends to, summon help In case Of need,
to call the doctor the fremen, the
unites the world and the American citizen
IN far away Formosa inside OF a minute
can scall upon the United States for pro-
lection and be assured that the wire viii
flash back the magical words which make
foreign powers hesitate before they tread
on the broad toes Of Uncle Sam.
Travelling Safeguards.
1t is electricity which guards us when
we ride upon the great railroad lines or
the many trolley systems. Without the
electric signals along such lines It would
be impossible to maintain the schedules
now in use and the trains would have to
progress very slowly instead OF at the
wonderful speeds which whisk us from
place to place Railway signals work auto
matically. The engineer, flying along the
glistening rails at a mile minute, can tell
at glance IL the road is clear or If there
il a stranded train within the miles. The
telegraph and the telephone flash the dis
patchers' orders all along the lines but 1t
Ia the automatic electric signal which pro-
tects the flying trains from possible wrecks
Under the new block signal systems a
S<emaphore IS placed at every mile OF track
2 ana these sernaphores signal by red block
BY day and a red light by night IL there
Is any obstruction 20 "the tracks within
the mile or any stalled train close ahead
The trolley Inc signals work the same
way. A set bf automatic electric signals
notify the motorman IL the track fs clear
or not.
Electric burglar, alarms are common
enough. Working on abe same principle
hE an electric bell they are arranged SO
that the opening Of door or window VIII
complete the connection and ring a bell
he ma .lu ~ mr. oil
3 This gives him time enough to prepare for
an invasion or to telephone the police. On
the street blaze of electric light is better
protection than a regiment OF policemen. In
the house a master switch which viii In
stantly Hood every room N the house with
a flood Of light will scare burglars away
quicker than "a repeatfng-o shotgun Even
thef Bank vaults are protected by electricity.
When the vaults are closed FOR the day
tina, shutting OF the door nonnents,the entire
iron work with small storage battery To-
Gated inside the vault so there is no change
TO out theIead wires, The slightest attempt
to tamper with the vault win complete the
connection and cause large alarm gong
to ring on the street NJ,
PARE al NVIHe1sss, TkleEFaDhy ~. I. I
NThe, part that .wiFtiessttelesrephy takes in
protecting Atsamship DEssengefpI and- the
precioiis freiRht which 81 hourly, Jbeing car
ried. across. the broad. waters of the earth
is we'll known, Ae few years age when, Q
ship was oirt5of sight Of lard a. was prae-
ticaiiy HELPLESS in case Of accident Today
every boat is equipped with wireless IN
touch with sletSW Rhes or with land. m
anything happens thS Y q. d. messages
followed with the dlAtrtssed Ships location
flash out and within ahp hour neighbbTing
steamers. are'rnsfing n'7l5 assistance.
Even when we are aar4onsly hurt or III
electricity does not rasaS its vigilance.
When bones are bgokaN of foreign sub
stances, such as buIlsts;loige in the body,
the X-ray machine grurRsH 1t possible 10
view. the broken parsai p. to locate the
leaden missile. II g. tlny s,se splinter flies
in the delicate CORNER 81 ,he eye, electric
ity, ihHthe FORM Ma pcwefful 1naget, VIM
pick It out .t..
Ia a hundred different ways electricity
guards and keeps AS night and day The
future promises even greater things as the
scientists and inventors already predict the
day when every man can,carry a pocket
wireless telephone. an instrument which
will not only bring TO our ears the dis
tant voices of our friends but which viii
brlng-to our eyes. faces and scenes as wen.
A device is already perfected which viii
reproduce photographs over long distances.