pvsrr A STORAGE BITTER! Two Young Men Think They Have Solved One of the Problems of the A?e. THEY USE STEEL PLATES. A Tart j of Wise lien From Xew York Say the Thin? Will Work. THE ACCOUNT OP A LAT1IAN. Defects in Appliances That Have Eeen Put Cut Up to Date, XICOL! TESLA A DFXIDED SENSATION IWalTTEX FOE THE BISPATCn.l Thee who are encaged in developing electricity commercially and the enthu siastic young scientists who are aiding these capitalists have been greatly interested and impressed within the last ten daTS with an invention which seems likely to revolution ize the storage battery. Tnis invention has been the topic in electrical circles, and while the capitalists and the scientists are not ready to accept it, it is their opinion fiat an experimental and actual test will be likely to reveal that it is all its inventors are disposed to claim for it Some years aco in that great training school for electricians, the Edison works at Schenectady, two young men, Waddell and lrnst, who were employes of the company, Fpent all of their spare time and frequently a good many hours when perhaps irom the point ot view of health it would have been wier to have been in bed, in electrical re search As they were both bright, studious and c. inventive capacity, such discipline ns they gave themselves could hardly fail to hae practical results. Grttlns a Fortune Trom a Motor. They invented a motor which, when capi talists saw it and had thoroughly tested it, gained their iavor, but these young men Laving alo something of worldly wisdom, and know ing something of the experiences cf other inventor, decided to control the patent themselves, for they had saved their monev, and had a few thousand dollars apiece. A young friend of theirs, a Har vard student named ilachetti, who had be come greatly fascinated with electric science and w ho had ome capital, joined these young men and ther went to Bridgeport, Conn., and erected lactones for the manufacture of their electric motor. Such electricians as J. J. Carty, E. H. Johnson, ex-Congressman "Wise, who i an authority non-upon elec tncitv in its relations to the statutes, and i ho hail no personal interest whatever in this motor, spoke in the highest terms of it. The young scientists having that business well under way continued investigations and experiments which thev had begun in SchenectaJv and which they thought might tolve the problem of the storage battery. A Jew days ago a company of capitalists and electricians went to Bridgeport on invita tion, thoroughly to test a storage battery winch had been constructed on entirelv new principles. They returned to New York, telling somewhat remarkable stories of their experiences, and while by no means posi tively indorsing this battery because they feel that nothing lit prolonged commercial J WHAT CREDIT CAN D0 In helping a man to help himself is daily illustrated in o7ir Gigantic Establishment, where everything in the line of FURNITURE and HOUSEFURNISH INGS can bs obtained at a moment's notice at mod erate prices. :: :: .v .-.- .v .v .v ,v -v ,v .v SIDEBOARDS. ' A sideboard is one of the most useful as well as one of the most ornamental articles of furniture in the house, for no matter how plain the Board may be, there is so much opportunity for the Ladies to exercise their taste in making it attractive. We sell lots of quite expensive Sideboards, and the reason is that; barring fire, you have only one to buy in a lifetime. OUR LINE OF THEM Is one of the most extensive in the State and at prices that will surely sell them to those who look at them. DEBOARD REFRIGERATORS Are also much in demand, serving two purposes. These we have also in the latest and best styles. That comes -over all of us at I away by a rest in one of our EASY CHAIRS. e A c1J:j . i r.i . . . ojiciiuiu bLuuc oi inese in all kinds of upholstery. test will show that it is all that is claimed for it, yet they do sav that they will be more surprised if it fails than if it succeeds. Other btorage Batteries Too Costly. Storage batteries hare been made hereto fore i hlch did their work satisfactorily, but which involved expense and were com mercially thereforo of little avail. On one of the street railways in 2Jew York City street cars were fitted with storage batter ies, which furnished perfectly satisfactory power, and it was thought for a while might supplant horse power used on that line, Atter a vear, however, the cars were withdrawn, and while it was said this was due to litigation in which the company owning the storage battery was concerned, liicola Tesla. capitalists were of opinion that financial reasons had even more to do with the with drawal. In other words, it was said that it was impossible to run a street car with any storage battery then existing profitably un less more than 5 cents, which is the univer sal horse car fare, is charged. Tne difficulty with the' storage batteries, as explained to the writer by Mr. J. J. Carty, who is an influential member of the Society ot American Engineers, has been first its great weight, second its liability to destruction. The Btorage batteries used heretofore have been supplied with lead plates, which are very heavy. "When charged these plates became also very deli cate. For instance, if a careless man driv ing a street car furnished with a storage battery turned on too great a current, speaking in untechnical language, the lead plates were liable to curl up, twist in all sorts of shapes, or, as electricians call it, "to buckle," and this practically ruined the battery and made the expense of repairing something very great. The. Tonne Inventors Use Steel. The young Schenectady scientists real ized that the nroblem was to ret a batterv which would be light and which would not be liable to such accidents as made the old batteries so expensive. A good many bat teries have been invented which have been light, but which were still liable to serious damage by reason of carelessness. When the electricians examined the stor age battery wnich Waddell and Ernst had indented tncy were amazed to find that the inventors were making use ot steel plates. These plates were very thin, and therefore light in weight, but steel for such a pur pose would have been the last method which would have occurred off-hand to any electrician for such use. It was only sug gested to the inventors after a long series of experiments with many other metals, and it was tried first more in desperation than with any Hope that it would be successful. "Without using technical language it may be said that this storage battery consists of a set of steel plates, of a copper mat, which is made of fine copper wire very closely times can be easily driven , every style oi wood and THE interwoven and then saturated with oxy genated copper, from which by treatment afterward the oxvgen is removed, making what is practically a solid copper plate, but as thus constructed better for this purpose than a sheet of copper would be. In caustic soda, also in the battery in liquid form, zinc is held in solution, and when it is desired to charge the battery, by a mechanical con trivance a current of chemical electricity is established. The effect of this is to take the zinc immediately out of solution and it is attracted at once to the steel plates which it heavily encrusts. The amount of storage is determined by the amount of zinc thus used. Thus the battery is charged aud is placed aboard a street car or wherever else it is de sired to use it When it is desired to start the car, mechanically a reactionary current, so to speak, is established through the chemical properties of the copper mat which causes the zine to leave the steel plates, go again into solution, aud this cre ates an electric current which furnishes the power for running the street car. Both Llht and Substantial. Many experiments, some of them severe ones, seem to indicate that nothing but a collision or a pick-ax could destroy this battery. The full force of the current was applied instantly, and there was no effect whatever upon the batterv, although a powerful electric force was tlius generated. Vere the full force to be applied to the old storage batteries instantly, it would have caused buckling, and thereby destroyed them. This ba'ttery, moreover, is very light, and aside from its safety meaning by that its slight liability to accident, it was claimed for it that "it was cheaper to make and cheaper to operate than anv batterv vet used. This battery has been used on one street car line in Chester, Pa., experimentally, and if the reports of the managers of that line are to be believed, with entire satisfac tion. It was taken from the car a few weeks ago for purely business reasons, but it is quite likely to be fitted again to all the cars running on that street railway. If the pre dictions are correct and the impressions of electricians who have no pecuniary interest in this motor are justified, it is quite likely within a year that it will revolutionize the use of electric power as applied to street railways and some other purposes. Mr. Carty does not hesitate to say that if this battery is what it seems to be within five years the majority of street cars in the United States will be equipped with it At all events its development is one of the things which the intellectual giants who are engaged in the commercial and scientific de velopment ot electricity are now most earnestly discussing. A First-class Scientific Sensation, Anotherdevelopment of electricity which Is occasioning vast discussion are the exper iments of Nicola Tesla, who is well known in Pittsburg. Some months ago Tesla con ducted a series of experiments before the American Institute ot American Engineers at Columbia College in New Yorfc Citv. His experiments were so fascinating and as tonishing that the society remained nearly all night Tesla is a Montenegroan, Btill a young man, who has lived a number of years in this country and has become an enthusi astic student of electricity. Taking as a basis some experiments made in Berlin. Tesla still further developed them until he was able to show these electrical engineers some remarkable experiments. His discov eries did not, outside the electric world, at tract much public attention until last fall, when he went to England and repeated them before some of the leading scientists of that country. These men were so amazed that Tesla became really a scientific sensa tion and an elaborate account of his experi ments was prepared for one of the reviews which attracted wide attention, both in Europe and America. "Word has just been received by the American Society of Electrical Engineers that scientists all over Europe have been urging Tesla to repeat his experiments, and he is now on the continent actually amazing the scientific electricians with an exhibition ot hjf discovery, for it is that Tesla has, by means of an electric current whose waves are extraordinarily v y. w s n u jk-m w ! m em m k. h a Hi lu an i3 n tu n 13 es h xxyyyiByBii st m man i i 111 oslhbijb i vvvrriiiif mm i ? nr rr r r As there is a cause for every effect, so there must be, and is a cause for our popularity, It did not come by chance, but is the direct result of our careful and painstaking efforts to please and satisfy every patron who has dealt with us either " FOR CASH OR FOR CREDIT. :: :: . :: :: :: :: BABY CARRIAGES From the plainest to the most fancy. Neat and sightly little Buggies from $5.50 up. From this on any amount of trimming and finery you are willing to pay for and a quality of elegance not obtainable elsewhere at the price. m, m, w Ell IE PITTSBUEQ- DISPATCH. rapid and which are believed to be nearly identical with light waves, been able to carry this current without any artificial conductor from one point to another. For instance, he will stand between two plates, one on each side of a room, which are con nected by a wire, not with one another, but with the battery which supplies these peculiar electric waves. No connection exists between the plates. "When the cur rent is turned on he, holding an incandes cent lamp, reveals that there is a passage or the current between the plates through the medium of the atmosphere or ether in the room, because the lamp immediately becomes lighted, just as brilliantly as though it was connected by wire with a battery. The Theatrical Effect Obtained. Tesla has diversified these experiments by haying a wand which is illuminated as he thr'ustsit within the reach of this cur rent, and in other most beautiful and al most spectacular ways he makes evident that an eleotric current whose waves are of peculiar form aud velocity may be con veyed through natural media. Another re markable development is that this current is made to pass through wood or stone or brick, exactly as light passes through a windowpane, and without the slightest ef fect upon these obstructions. These discoveries have not yet been put to commercial use, but the men of intellect who are giving their time aud capital to electrical developments are of the opinion that Tesla's discoveries are likely to be within the next few years so commercially developed that they will practically revo lutionize some forms of electrical applica tion. Some of the electricians are inclined to think that the first commercial utiliza tion of this discovery will be for vessels at sea. -biiison has in mind a plan for electri cal communication, not fully developed yet, but which would require the use of water as the medium of con duct' If Tesla's plan can be devel oped, and there is no doubt that he himself is at work upon the problem, it may be possible for two vessels fitted with the proper mechanical appliances to communi cate by a code of signals with each other, although thev may not be in sight. It the idea is carried out successfully, this would prove of extraordinary value whenever there was heavy fog at sea, for one ot Tesla's ex periments has shown that this current will pass as easily through fog or mist as it would over a wire. The experiments are causing great scientific activity upon the Continent ot Europe, and the opinion of New York electricians is that we niav hear ot the commercial application of Tesla's discoveries first trom that side of the water. E. J. Edwards. NO matter where yoar room are located If they are desirable they can be rented by advertising lu the To Let Booms Cent u tV ord Columns of the Daily and Sunday DISPA1CH. Chamberlain's Colic, Cholera and Dlarrhffla Jtexnedy Is the standard. Its many cures have won it praise lrom Maine to California. Every family and every traveler should be pro vided with it at all times. No other rem edy can take its place or do its work. 25 and CO cent bottles for sale by diuggists. TISU Decoration That Is Worth While.! Win. Ii. Allen. 517 Wood street, neai Fifth avenue. The most effective wallpapers of the season at lowest prices. Estimates given for the mo9t modern treatment in fiesco In combination with wall napeis. Have us estimate. Will go out of town at any timo to do so. A quarter of a million barrels is the ca pacity of the Iron City Biewlng Company, an undeniable tiibute to its superionty, purity and lefresuinjj quaitics. Italian AwsntGS, perfectly fast colors, at Maniaux & Son's, 539 Penn avenue. Thsu Mailed Free. Our new 50-page catalogue and price list of fine gi ocerles sent to any addi ess Miller Bros., 182 Federal st., Allegheny F& I B I f3 E32 Bflin (9 n em m n tss fXt w f HM fK av Mtm m m w uS V I I H IBB ES3 H Itt-B W B HS Ifli 1 mi m -vj yjggggi SUNDAY, MAT 8, OR, FOUR YEARS ON A NEW BEDFORD WHALER, WRITTEN FOB THE DISPATCH BY CAPTAIN J. H. B. ROBINSON. The Straightforward Tale of a Plain Sailor's Actual Adventures on a Cruise in the Stormiest Seas of the World. CHAPTER IV. A NARROW ESCATE. On January 10 we were sent to masthead earlier than usual, as the mate stoutly in sisted that he could "smell" whales. It is true that there is a very perceptible odor from a whale, and with the wind favorable his presence is often noticed at night when it is too dark for him to be seen. On the present occasion there was a reward ofiered for the man who should first announce the presence of a whale, provided we afterward succeeded in securing him. So we ran up the rigging willingly, although as yet we could hardly see a mile in any direction. Hardly had I reached the topsailyard, when the man at the mizzen shouted: "There sho white waters!" And in an other instant the boat steerer at the main had caught sight of something off the lee beam, and, hailing the deck, he shouted ex citedly: "Laree school of sperm whales on lee beam, sir, big ones, only about two miles away!" By this time every man was on deck, and the boats were rapidly lowered. Whenever we had lowered for practice the mate had invariably succeeded in cap sizing or staving his boat, and on the present occasion the big Dutchman, Hans, who was one of the mate's boat's crew, and whose duty it was to see that the oars and bailers were all in the boat, made his appearance with a huge bucket, which he was placing in the boat, when the mate snarled out: "You big doubled-headed Dutchman, what are vou putting that in the boat for?" "Veil, Mr. Laurie, I don' vas know how to swim, and I dinks vr bedder dake it along to bail de boad vidven we gets dipped ofer!" The look of perfect honesty with which he said this satisfied even the mate that no reflection on his skill as a boatman was in tended, but the second mate and I had hard work to smother our amusement Once clear of the ship up went the sails, as the whales were to the leeward of us, and away we went with a good breeze. We soon ran down among them, and Mr. Perry, our fourth officer, who was harpooner in the Captain's boat, stood up with his knee in the "clumsy cleat," and every nerve braced for throwing the keen iron. We shot across the corner of the whale's flukes, and I looked over the side of the boat, where I could see the huge black fan moving from side to side, not more than two feet under us. I knew if he lifted it we should be sent 1 CJl. iTVl I "r--v REFRIGERATORS fit every kind, shape, size and description. Buy a good one; it will-more than pay for its extra cost. There is not a poor make in our entire assortment, no matter how low the price. Ice Chests and Refrigerators from $6 to $50. x " ' '-- ... -- srrsTB ..,....,.. p " ! 1892. IT flving into the air like things of no weight whatever. However, we passed safely over and shot alongside the whale's hump. I saw Mr. Perry draw back his arm and like a flash the iron flew through the air and buried itself near the whale's shoulder blade. The second iron was poised for a throw, but the whale settled like lead upon feeling himself wounded, and up went the dreaded flukes, iust clearing our boat, and filling it half full of water. "Stern alii I'm fasti cried the boat steerer. "Stern! Stern!" "Stern for your lives!" cried the old man, and then with a yell: "Good God! Lookout!" Before we had time to realize what new danger threatened us, a loose whale shot its enormous head out of the water not ten feet away, apparently coming directly for us. While we sat almost stunned and waiting to be crushed, the line was flving out of our tubs as the whale we had struck "sounded" at a great speed. Our new neighbor came slowly toward us, and when his head almost touched ours he sank under the surface and wejt directly under the boat, his "hnrap" raising us gently a few inches, but doing no damage. I cannot answer for the feelings of the other men, but I am sure I should not have crushed an egg had it been between me and the seat I occupied. I was aroused by the voice of the old man: "By thunder, Mr. Perry, that was apurty clus shave! Now get the mast and sail in lively, and we won't haul up alongside our fish yet There's three or four loose fellers round, and mebbe when he comes up they'll run with him and give the other boats a chance to get fast There he is now, to wind'ard! And thar goe3 the second mate and mate, too, after 'em other fish. Some body gimme a chaw o' tobacker!" I passed over my plug and saw half of it disappear into his mouth, while the re mainder went into his pocket (To do him justice I will say that some days afterward he gave me a pound of the weed'to remuner ate me). The boat steerer now went aft and took the steering oar. The mast and sail were carried aft and one end of the former placed under the atterthwart, while the betterpart of both protected far over the stern and out of our way. We then "peaked" our oars and faced tfie bow of the boat. The old man occupied the bow, and we pulled in the line "hand over hand," while the boat steerer allowed it to pass over the stern into the water. For a short distance the whale towed us at a speed certainly not less than 15 miles an hour, but the iron interfered sadly with his locomotion, and h V ,ro E. 1 soon alio ed ns to come up with him, and then the old man sent the sharp lance again and again into his vitals until the water from his spout holes began to be tinged with red, and a shout went up from the boat's crew, as we saw the infallible sign that the whale was mortally wounded. We backed ofl out of the way while the death agony or "flurry" lasted. At last the monster slowly rolled over, "fin up," and we knew he was dead. In his azonv he had wound our line more than a score of times around his body, and while we were clearing it the other whales, pursued by the two boats, came close by us and we saw an exciting chase. The old man was wild with eagerness, and danced and yelled as if he could in that way assist in the speed of the two boats, which were close to the whales, the men pulling nice giants, while the officers in the stern, each eager to be the first to "get fast" under the captain's eye, used every known method to urge their men on. We could hear them like rival bidders at an auction. "Pull boys, pull! Ton ain'thalf pulling! Put in another pound oi DacsDonei jump ber. I say! Do you want the mate to beat us? A new shirt for every man in the boat if we get fast before 'eml That's the way to do it! We're gaining on 'em!" While from the other boat a stream of en treaty and profanity, coupled with offers of everything a sailor values, testified to the enthusiasm of her officer. As lnck would have it, poor Hans"caught a crab" with his oar and the second mate's boat shot ahead and "Long Joe" Lumbert drove two irons into a large bull whale. Away thev went to windward at a terrific speed, while tHe old man cheered and laughed and tne tobacco juice rolled down his neck and stained his hairy bosom with out his noticing it The niate was cursing everything "an inch high and a minute old" when up came a large whale a short distance away, and off went the boat in pursuit This time no acci dent occurred aud they soon started off in tow STSDC THE MOJTSTEB TOOK THEM ET TOW. of the whale, cutting through the seas at race-horse speed. We now placed a "waif or flag in our whale and returned to the ship, put the Captain on board, and taking some coffee in a bucket, and some salt beef also, went back to stay by our whale while the old man worked the ship to windward after the other boats. All day we lay alongside the dead whale, while the old Triton beat to windward, and finally we lost sight of her entirely. Then night came on and a strong breeze sprang up, but we fastened our boat close to theleeward of our prize, cut a gash in his blubber, and the "slick" formed by the oil prevented the boat from shipping any water. The sharks were now attracted, and the water was fairly alive with them. We killed dozens of huge 0UR REASONABLE PRICES Coupled with our liberal ter7ns place our house on a par with any strictly cash house in the city. TJie credit business is all right; it's the mamierof conducting it in some qiiarters that's opev to criticism. It's respectable and respected at KEECH'S. a- .v :: .v .v ,v OF FINE FURNITURE We carry an immense line of the latest styles and newest makes. Furniture for the Bedroom, the Sitting Room, the Library, the Parlor, the Kitchen and the Hall. Whole suits and odd pieces as desired. WE'VE ACRES OF IT To show you and are satisfied that we can suit your taste and your pocketbook. THE BEST ASSORTMENT, NEWEST STYLES, HANDSOMEST PATTERNS, CHOICEST COLORINGS CARPETS YOU CAN'T BEAT OUR PRICES ON man-eaters with our boat spade.one blow on the noze being sufficient to render them, "hors du combat," but still they increased in number until wa were very uneasy. To' sit in a frail boat and look over the side di rectly into the cold, green eye of a ten-fooft shark without flinching is a feat few can perform. There is something blood curd ling in the expression of a shark's eye that I am at a loss to describe. The sea birds were also on hand in thou sand', and their discordant screams as ther fouffht for tidhiu with the sharks and with. each other rendered sleep impossible, eveai had not the danger of oarposition precluded' any such idea on our part it was a night long to be rememDerea uiv splashing and fighting, the wind sending oo-j casional showers of spray over ns as a larger sea man usual struct tne Doay ot mo iyjuh and broke high above it Wet, cold, and( hungry, as I was, 1 missed my tobacco mora than anything else, and I mentally regis-, tered a vow never to offer the old man my plug again, if indeed I was spared and hadj the chance. But at last daylight came, and. to pur astonishment and delight, revealed the old Triton about a mile to windward, while we conld plainly see the other boats hoisted on their cranes, and the huge cut ting gear was being hoisted in place. Tha, old bark was soon seen near enough for ns to see that she had a large whale alongside. We towed our "double sponter" to the ves-i sel aud found the second mate had been obliged to cut from his whale on account of darkness, but the mate had been mora fortunate and had killed his without acci dent CHAPTER Y. DOUBLING THE CAPE. For several days after the events recorded in the last chapter we were hard at worK night and day cutting in our whales, and "trying out" the oil, which at last war' safely under the hatches. A most amusing incident occurred during LANCE the process. One dark night, when the fire was streaming from our two smokestacks ai ' the scraps were shovelled into the fireplaces, a large ship ran down within hailing dls-' tance, and the Captain shouted through his trumpet: "Bark ahoy!" Captain Keys immediately answered: "Ahoy there!" "Want any help?" "No, thank ye, from our skipper, "we'ra all right" "What's all the blaze?" "We're 'trying.'" "Trying? Looks as though yon were try ing to set your ship afire!" And we heard the disgusted philanthropist; shout: IN RUGS, MATTINGS, 0ILGL0THS, LINOLEUMS, Etc., Etc. J ; : . -J ! - , f I- .J. f VsritofiWT lM(jftfcigTTwmri ,& . iigak
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