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Subway Safety llialpneat.
VER since the accident and loss ot
life In the Paris underground
road, two years ago, car con
atructlon and electrical talent
have been occupied In devising
safety equipment for the New York sub
way, which Is soon to be opened for busi
ness. The Interborough Rapid Transit
company, which will operate the road, an
nounces that all its motor cars are to be
equipped with automatic controllers, so
that when the conscious effort of the
motor-man to keep the circuit opened Is re
laxed and his hand Is withdrawn, the cur
rent is cut off and the brake Is applied.
The announcement continues: "If he re
moves his hand from the controller handle
the power Is automatically shut off, and
the air brakes are applied In the emer
gency application, the two actions being
. simultaneous. This device has been
adopted after extended experiments, and
for the first time In the history of rail
roading will be In use on the Interborough
cars. The Interborough company has al
ready perfected a device which will be put
In soon on all cars on the Manhattan divi
sion, to accomplish the same result. The
devices are now being manufactured, and
tnany of them have already been delivered
and are now being tested to overcome
difficulties which arose when the motive
power of the Manhattan Elevated railroad
was changed from steam to electricity.
TYom the experience obtained by officers
f the Interborough company It has al
ready been determined to place these de
vices on the entire equipment of the Man
ftattr.n division. The work at present Is
wel! advanced, and will probably be com
ple'ed withhi sixty or ninety days." As a
natter of fact, the electrical equipment
of the subway Is very much more perfect
than this statement would lead the reader
to believe. It Includes a device known as
the automatic train-control system. In ad
dition to the usual visible signal equip
ment, which the motorman Is supposed to
observe and follow, it has an emergency
provision which, when necessary, auto
matically cuts off the current and applies
the brakes independent of the condition of
the motorman. The track Is divided into
blocks, and when one block or section Is
occupied by a train , advancing, standing,
or backing, a train following it cannot
get upon the same block unless the motor
man deliberately and consciously releases
the restraint and puts it there. In certain
conditions of mind the motorman might
hold the handle of the controller against
the spring tending to throw It back to sero.
The fact that train accidents frequently
happen which cannot be explained save
that they result from the flomg of things
by engineers which are as" Inexplicable by
them as - by others, warrants the belief
that the tension of duties of this character ,
affects certain persons by producing abnor
mal psychological phenomena. To run by
danger signal without seeing It and hold
the throttle open while a train dashes Into
one ahead of It which has been distinctly
visible long enough to afford ample time
to reverse the engine and put on the
brakes are crimes the engineer does not
commit deliberately. The most perfect
Signal system stops at the pole on which
Its signals are displayed. Experience In a
hundred Instances has shown that between
the signal displayed and the man In the
cab who is supposed to see It, but does not
always do so, there fa, an Interval to be
bridged which is wide enough to engulf a
train In utter destruction. The fact that
the electrical equipment of the subway In
cludes a device which In the ways de
scribed supplements the motorman's ob
servation,, vigilance and mental equilibrium,
would have warranted the management in
making much stronger claims for the com
pleteness of Its safety appliances than Is
Included in the-above quotation,
Elewtrts Power in Mills.
New light on ths desirability of nstng
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electric power In certain industries was af
forded at the recent convention of the New
England Cotton Manufacturers' association,
E. W. Thomas of Columbia, 8. C, road a
paper before that organisation giving eome
of the results of the system as tried In one
of the largest cotton mills In the south.
Though he was not yet in a position to give
a final and complete statement concerning
the practice, he was able to mention ad
vantages which have not been recognized
fully, if at all, before.
Hitherto the chief argument advanced in
favor of distributing and applying the
power In any kind of factory were that it
dispensed with the friction of shafting and
belting and made it unnecessary to run a
machine when it was not needed. Inas-.
much as from one-half to two-thirds of ths
power in most factories Is wasted by the
friction of shafting with bearings, an enor
mous economy would be effected by trans
mitting the power in the form of electricity
by wires from ths engine room to the ma
chines to be operated. A gain of the
same sort, though smaller in extent, would
result In many shops where a lathe or other
machine toot might not be used more than
a few minutes at a time. In a different
class of establishments, and particularly in
mills devoted to the production of textile
fabrics, all the machines In a given rocm
are supposed to run continuously. If a
loom, for instance stops, the interruption is
only momentary. Mr. Thomas points out,
however, that even in a cotton mill It Is
often advisable to suspend operations en
tirely in a given department say, the
picker room because it has more than
caught up with its work. Ih that situation
the movement of a single switch cuts off
the power from that one quarter while ell
other departments continue to run, Buch
an economy can be Insured where, electric
driving Is In vogue, but It Is impracticable
where the old system is retained.
It appears that -the meters In an electri
cally driven mill can be made to register
automatically, ' arid- thus reveal Important
facts not easily ascertainable In any otrer
way, and perhaps not even suspected. Mr.
Thomas says that In his mill work is sup
posed to begin at 6 JO, but the maximum
demand for power is sometimes not felt
until 7 o'clock. Again, the consumption
will occasionally slacken at about 11:30,
fully half an hour before the regular noon
suspension. In other words, the switch
board can be employed to Indicate the dili
gence of the operatives. In the same man
ner It is possible to detect the Influence of
certain-atmospheric conditions or the relat
ive efficiency of different lubricants. The
beauty of these incidental kinds of service
will be keenly appreciated by a progressive
manufacturer- who is continually facing
competition with friendly rivals and who
Is alert to every chance to reduce ex
penses. It is to be hoped that at some future time
the owners of ths Columbia mill will tell
otber manufacturers more about their ex
periment, and particularly about the cost
of the Installation. A detailed report on
this phase of the subject should prove
highly Instructive. New Tork Tribune.
Wi4n of Rati Xaytanr.
Electricity and compressed air are Joint
forces employed in laying a new street rail
way In Philadelphia. The rails weigh 137
pounds to ths yard and fifty feet in length.
Electricity, which is so handily obtained
from the trolley wjre overhead, is used to
run about all the machines, or, at least,
to generate ths compressed air which runs
them. It Is brought down to the machine
by a wire attached to a piece of bamboo.
In shape and sise very much like a large
fishing pole, the wire being bent In the
form of a hook at the upper end, so that
it may be hung on the trolley Wire or taken
off at pleasure.
When the old rails have been removed
ths trench Is dug to the required depth,
the temporary cross-ties are put In and
the new rails placed upon them. The first
operation Is then the cleaning of the ends
of the rails of dirt and rust. This Is done
with a sand blast supplied through tubing
from a. wagon. It cuts everything off of
tho rail until the metal shines forth
brightly. The operation makes such a cloud
Of fine sand and metal dust that tho man
who operates the blast is compelled to
wear a hood something like a diver's hel
met, with a flne-meshed screen In It for
ventilation.' What other workmen there
may be in the immediate vicinity of the
operation generally keep their mouths and
noses covered with handkerchiefs.
After the sand blast comes tho wagon
with the reaming machine, run by com
pressed air. Holes have already been
drilled or punched in both rails nnd fish
plates, but the reaming enlarges the boles
to the Bize of the bolts or rivets to be used.
The wagon with the machinery for bolting
or riveting the fishplates comes next. It
has a crane that holds the bolting machine
in position and at the back small coal
fires, with electric blowers, for heating the
rlvtts.
The fishplates are of such form that after
being bolted to the rail some space Is left
between rail and plate. Tbe eyes of the
fishplate are stopped with clay and pieces
of canvas and the whole Joint Is heated
with a flame furnished by a combination of
coal oil and compressed air supplied from
another wagon. On the same wagon are
pots full of molted metal boated in the same
way, and this Is run through funnels Into
the space between rail and fishplates on
both sides. This makes the electric bond
whereby the current passes along the
ground circuit from' one rail "to the other.
When tbe rails are bolted and connected
they are adjusted as to gauge or distance
between them. The foundation on which
they rest is a bed of concrete extending
from rail to rail, the cross-ties being re
moved. At every six feet bJ au Iron yoke
extending downward from each rail into
the body of the concrete, and the gauge
is further maintained by tie rods. The con
crete extends up to above the bottom flange
of the roil and over It Is put the paving.
In the method described each of the va
rious wagons has its separate crew, the
'work required being of an expert nature
and with the helpers, the men who dig the
ditches, the gaugers, the layers of the con
crete and the layers of the pavement, tho
total number of workmen on the Job la very
large.
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Tli Right to Strlnsj Wires.
The superior court of Pennsylvania In
two recent decisions has defined ths rights
of telephone and telegraph companies to
the public highways in the. country, which
are of flrst-class importance. Mr. Thomas
Kaeburn White in the current number of
the Legal Intelligencer calls the attention
of ths legal profession to these decisions,
but they ars no less Interesting to lay
men, whose rights against the telephone
and telegraph companies they define and
maintain, '
Telephone wires go everywhere and ars
constantly being extended and multiplied.
At one time the companies or their em
ployes assumed' that they owned the earth
and were at liberty to go on any street
and enter private property to string their
wires. They even cut down or mutilated
large and handsome trees la a private park
to make a clear passage for their wires,
and they assumed the right to use any
man's housetop to sustain their wires, al
though the owner of ths property received
no service from them. They have been
called down from both these positions. If
their employes destroy or mutilate trees on
private property the company must pay
well for the destruction, and any man who
finds wires placed on his house without
his permission may cut them If tie chooses.
The telephone company In such a case is
a trespasser and baa no right that ' they
can maintain In a court of Justice.
In these two superior court decisions re
ferred to it is emphatically laid down that
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a telephone or telegraph company can
have no right whatever on private prop
erty except what the owner grants them.
They do not possess the right of eminent
domain except on the publlo highway. In
the country, according to these decisions,
a wire strung along a highway Is an addi
tional servitude in that highway for which
the owner of the foe that Is, the abutting
property owner. Is entitled to compensa
tion. In other words, the telephone and
telegrai h companies must obtain pennlj
sion of the. land owner before occupying
private land, and though they may occupy
a publlo highway In the country without
permission, they must make a Just com
pensation to the abutting property owners
Philadelphia Press.
Hrtlnoa Battery Test.
TL A. Flloss, who has been associated
with Mr. Edison in the development of tlio
nickel-Iron storage battery, gave a talk
about this invention to the American In
stitute of Electrical Engineers the other
evening. It was mainly historical, and re
cited the various small steps by which ths
cell was carried to Its present form. These
details were technical, and of Interest
mainly to electricians Comparatively
little of a popular character was brought
out which was not known several months
ago. The most Important revelations re
lated to endurance tests. A cell which Mad
been run over 4.000 miles was carefully ex
amined for any deposit of material that
had been loosened from the plates. There
was a perceptible, but small amount. Mr.
Flleas showed It In a bottle. When the
fCOO-rr.lle run whs ended no deposit at all
was found.. This was a striking contrast to
his observations on lead batteries, He bad
charged and discharged one of the latter
190 times in succession, In a laboratory,
without putting It on the road In n vehicle,
yet a considerable quantity of material set
tled in the bottom of the cells. This whs
exhibited to the audience. The Edison bat
teries Just mentioned were used in auto
mobiles on all kinds of roads, and at ths
end of tho trials they not only were unin
jured, but each had apparently a slightly
greater capacity than before. "We have
done our best to ruin these batteries," said
Mr. Klless, "but we have not succeeded
yet."
A Bachelor's Reflections
The way to solve the financial , problem
of how to keep money in circulation Is
for everybody to gat married. t
After a girl gets engaged she acts lias
a man who has Just bought a dog supposed
to bo able to lick anything In his class.
A girl has an idea a man Is crary over
her if he wears a boutonniere that matches
some of her ribbons she is wearing where
nobody can see them.' '..
, What convinces a woman that she Is sh
economical housekeeper Is the way she can
save on the furnace coal bills in summer
and the ice bill In winter.
It Is very foolish for a man to be mar
rled unless he is going to remember to say
every once in so often how much better
his health has been since he has always
had meals he could enjoy. New York
Press.
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Boss Made a Mistake
A senior of one of our large manufactur
ing concerns came through the store rs
cently and noticed a boy sitting' on a coun
ter. Swinging his legs and whistling roes
rily. The senior eyed him severely as as
.confronted him and Inquired: '
"Is that all you have to dot" '
"Yes, sir."
"Very well; report to the cashier and tell
him to pay-you off. We don't' need boy
like you around here."
"Out, sir," said the astonished boy, -
don't work for you. I have Just bought
soma goods snd am waiting for ths bill."
Louisville Courier-Journal.
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