The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-04-22

sires in a way that is almost hun.
Electric elevators have takn -
place of the old hydraulic car -.
most everywhere, for passenpss.
vice. "Old" in speaking Of ~
tors refers to 10 date turtle, N,..
than 1870. Before that. a S..,su
building was towering mons,rosty
too high for everyday use ny
new invention made possible y,
story structures, but New YORK;
story skyscrapVs were still n ~.
air castle stage. y.
This vas partly because ~.
hydraulic conveyor depends ON =. ~
ter pressure. usually forced nv,
plunger--a long piston under ~.
car. This plunger has 10 he Wy
long as the elevator shaft, whi,s
means that for 2Oo-foot build;n,
a hole 200 feet deep has to ba A.
to hold the plunger when the e,ss.
tor is down. To dig one foo, co,,,
about $500. so that the plunger Az
vator is anything but inexpens,,
in tall structure.
When the electric elevator va,
invented, buildings began to sbc~
skyward, especially in New Yors
where elhowroom was no longer ~
be had at any price. Skyscfss,,s
seem to have reached their itms
when the Woolworth buildins-tA.
worlds tallest-was built in lsI
This 7So-foot structure has 4
floors. Its elevators attain a snssi
of nearly 500 feet a minute on o..
press trips.
For some years the Washinstm
monument was the tallest buildin,
in this country at 555 feet. Its ele.
vator makes the run to the ton in
i've minutes, a low rate of speed
being necessary because Of tn. cos.
mopolitan character of the visitors
] That is, in the Woolwortn or Siurs,
buildings, Office workers demsns
high speed and rapid elevator ser.
, vice, but all sorts Of persons yi,,
the monument and some of then, BE-.
come nervous as they look I'D the
unbrOkerf line of wall to the ton
The slow, steady trip up the mouu.
ment is far more nerve-rackine IN
many persons, than the one minute
run to the top of a New York sky.
scraper. There is so much time Ia
imagine how you would look if Won
dropped four or five hundred feet
to the ground. AS matter of fact
the monument elevator is one Of the
most reliable anywhere. Its ropes
are the largest in the city, and rules
of safety are carefully observed.
The newest type of elevator 4
the electric traction. A single hir
powered car Of this kind with al
new devices costs as much as So,
600. These elevators are absolutely
safe, but their cost is prohibitiv.
in many cases, and they are moi
capable Of attaining full efficiency
in building less than 20 stories
high. The cars are capable Of
travelling 800 feet a MINUTE, but this
speed cannot even be approached
when stops must be made every %
feet to let passengers on or of.
The head of a fire department.
said recently that large percent
age of fires are caused by trash in
elevator shaftways. becoming ig.
nited. As it is against the Law
everywhere to dump papers or 9th.
er refuse in such places there i:
no excuse for these fires An ele-
vator inspector says that he often
finds hatchways in which paper and
rags are piled three feet deep until
they are level with the floor.
| Before this is cleaned out, some
man gets into the elevator with a
cigar or cigarette, and finding won.
en- present, he gallantly fiicks his
smoke through the grating Some
times it goes cut. More often a
! fire is started, and while most
shafts are made as fire proof as
possible by solid iron and glass en-
closures, still all elevator shafts arr
smoke pipes in case OF fire, Tht
moral for elevator habituees is o.
iviousiy that if you find yourself il
an elevator with ladies and cigal
you should hold your weed unoo
trIsively instead of careleSsly light
in ga fire with it.