The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-07-15

few years. The modern Sherlock
Holmes has paid more attention to the
to the foot prints on the walls of the
| scene of the crime.
Several of these stories have been
/ based upon the system of a psychol-
ogist who fires series of apparently
incoherent and unrelated words at his
victim, and draws miraculous deduc-
tions from the answers which the
/ victim makeE
For instance
Snow" says the psychologists
Blood" answers the victim,
Cold" would be the natural answer.
Therefore the victim is thinking about
blood stains on snow. He probably
committed the crime, and he Is
straightway Jailed therefor.
Correspondingly, If the average per-
son were the victim and the inter
rogator fired the name western
| Union" at him, the said average per-
son would probably respond instantly
Telegram" or Messenger boy"
/ And the average person would be
proved innocent of knowing all the
functions of the Western Union office
/ in Topeka
There is more to the job of the
l''W. U. Tel" in Topeka than the re-
ceipt and transmission of messages.
There is more than appears, even, If
you trace the life of a messenger boy
\ and chronicle all the funny. danger
OTIS. and extraordinary experiences
which he has in replying to the varied
calls of the patrons of the messenger
service
Is Protective Agency, Too.
For instance. the Western Union in
Topeka maintains contracts for pro-
lection against fire and burglary, and
superviseS the activities OF thirty eight
night watchmen in the city's indus
| trial and commercial plants.
There are on duty at night at the
| local office three husky ex-service
men, armed and supplied with COM
| missions as deputy sheriffs. who form
an efficient and valuable adjunct 10
the city's police force.
The burglar alarms which the
Western Union maintains are among
the most interesting of the company's
activities. The Western Union won't
| take a contract for the protection of
| a plant with burglar alarm unless
every opening in the building is to be
service is based upon the number of
openings thus protected.
1t would take a very noticing
burglar to observe the mechanical
means of protection, but they are
there. And entry thru any one of the
openings instantly causes the sound
ing of an alarm at the central office
of the Western Union. A broken win
| dow, lock which has been picked
and door swung open, or a bar
sawed out, means that the three dep
uty sheriffS start to Investigate, and
| that at the same time the police sta
ton is notified by phone of where the
break has occurred, and there is a pa
Find out.
Proved at Harris-Goar.
1t was not long ago that the Harris
Goar store, one of those thus pro-
tected, was saved from an expensive
Iooting when burglar sawed a bar
| out of a window in the alley. The
alarm was given when the bar was
removed. and before the thief even
had time to remove his saw, the Off
GERS were on his trail. He escaped,
/ but left the saw behind.
''They are installing a new system
in some of the eastern cities, which is
Fox, local manager for the Western
Union, says.
THE alarm is set to act whenever
! there is the slightest noise or jar in
the premises which are protected. To
walk across the floor will set it off,
! or even to close a drawer with a bang.
None of these systems have yet been
installed in Topeka, however"
Joseph Mathews, veteran at the
game, is in charge OF these protective
services for the local office of the
Western Union. There Is a tall switch
/ board in the rear OF the office, literal
\ " plastered with coils and lamps and
/ tickers and switches, and other thing
1
switchboard, has before him the rec
/ ord OF many things that are happen
/ ing in many places in Topeka. His
switchboard is a motion picture screen
and a most efficient force of detec-
| tives all in one.
1t, and the apparatus to which its
/ wires lead. do the detecting, and the
deducting, as well as Sherlock Holmes
could have done it-better, in fact.
And then on the switchboard. with
/ Mathews as the spectator, is thrown,
| as on q screen. the results of the lob
servations and deductions" of the me-
| chanical detective force.
Enthusiastic About SprinkIers
Mathews is especially enthusiastic
about the fire protection which his
apparatus supplies. Most of the big
buildings in Topeka are equipped with
\ sprinkler systems for protection
against fire, and eight of the largest
have those sprinkler systems electric
ally connected so that a fire alarm is
sounded in the Western Union office
/ IL fire develops.
The electrical alarm Is connected
with the sprinkler heads" which are
so arranged that they melt at a tenn
perature OF $50 degrees Fahrenheit
| and commence q flow of water de-
/ signed to smother the flames.
The alarm is based on the water
pressure. When the pressure is re-
! duced, that means that q sprinkler
head has melted off, and water is
flowing-that means q fire alarm.
The Western Union system tells all
this to Mathews, and Mathews has
private telephone to the central office
Of the fire department. The quickest
possible action can be secured in this
| way.
The arrangement is so delicate that
any tamPering with the valves and
water gates of the system will send In
the alarm. A quarter-turn of one of
the valves will do the trick.
/ And that isn't all. In the tanks
which supply water to the sprinkler
systems. thermometers are kept If
there is any danger of the water freez-
ing in these tanlss- the XNastarr, Irrinr,