Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-07-04
INDICATOR Of TIME
NEARLY 80 YEARS
Clock in st. AIoysius Church
Tower, Recently Silent,
Again on Duty.
PUT IN COMPLETE ORDER
BYExPERT IN MECHANISM
Work Done by Rev. Joseph Johnson,
s. J., Gladdens the Hearts of
Government Employees.
REV. JOSEPH JOHNSON.

Government employees who for nearly
half a century have been timing them
selves on getting to work by the old clock
in the tower of St. Aloysius Church.
North Capitol and 1 streets, rejoiced this
morning to see the clock at work again
after having had a vacation of two
weeks.
This vacation was taken in order that
the time Indicator which was installed
forty-five years ago might be given the
first thorough overhauling it ever re-
ceived.
The clock is an institution in that sec
ton Of Washington, and in the old days
was even used to time the starting Of
trains from the Baltimore and Ohio sta
ton. 1t was also used as standard to
set all clocks in the neighborhood. even
those in the Capitol
The mechanism of this old timepiece is
different from that of any other clock
in the world. 1t was all handmade by
Brother Blasius Welsh. S. j., who came
to this country from Alsace and for many
years lived at the Jesuit novitiate in
Frederick. Md. The works are very
complicated mass of parts. with fifty
four wheels and very heavy shafts. and
weigh between six and seven tons. 1t
took the clockmaker more than two years
to make and assemble the parts.
Other Specimens of His Handiwork.
He also set up somewhat similar cum
brous but serviceable clocks in St
Johns Church, Frederick; Loyola Col
lege, Baltimore; Fordham University,
New York, and Boston College, Boston,
Mass. He paid annual visits during his
life to each of these clocks. keeping
them in repair. Fifteen years ago he
died and was buried in the community
cemetery In Frederick.
Several years after his death the ST.
Aloysius clock began losing about
eight minutes each day Clock experts
and New York were engaged to repair
it, but none could put it in satisfactory
condition. Finally young scholastic
at Woodstock novitiate, Rev. Joseph
study of the science of horology-a
Washington boy, brought up in the St.
Aloysius parish-set to work on the
old timepiece. Joseph johnson was
Of his life in Washington. In 1906. after
he had graduated from Holy Cross Col
lege, Worcester. Mass, and had Joined
the Jesuit order from Macon, Ga, he
spent some time in studying the ma
chinery of the old clock and removed
about three tons from the weights,
took away the large pendulum and re-
placed 1T with smaller castings of about
one-third the weight He simplified
somewhat the mechanism Then he had
to resume his studies at Frederick.
Two years ago, the day of the un-
yelling of the Columbus memorial in
front Of Union station. there was a
fire in the tower of the church which
upset the works of the clock 1t was
idle for three months at that time and
Mr.: johnson spent a week here putting
1t In shape again. The work was SO
heavy that he had to employ the serv-
under his direction
NOW that Mr.. johnson has finished his
course In philosophy and the sciences at
WOODSTOCK and is to be sent to Mobile,
the parish administration sought his
services to renovate and repair the clock
thoroughly. preserving it as a landmark
and public convenience in that section
of the city.
Sections Fashioned by Hand.
All Of the parts have been carefully
scraped and sandpapered. Many of them
had become worn out and had to be re-
placed. AS they were all handmade and
could not be duplicated in any factory
the new parts had to be fashioned by
hand. The most difficult part of the re-
pair work resulted from the bearings
having become worn, and the work of
centering the pivots and adjusting had
been very delicate operation.
Rev. Mr.. johnson believes the old clock
will now be in as good condition as
when it was first installed and thinks it
is one of the best timekeepers in the
coun try. He attributes the failure of
clock doctors to put 1t in good shape to
the fact that they do most of their work
on clocks made in factories according to
a certain model, with a specified series
Of parts for the several functions of the
timepiece.
He thinks that when they studied
the complicated mechanism Of this old
clock. that Is different from any other,
they became confused by the inter-