A. MILLION DOLLARS GONE.

Since the days of the “South Sea Bubble”, by which many thousand people were ruined, numerous projects of the most visionary and chimerical character have been floated, with more or less profit to the originators, and finally exposed, to the greater or less loss of the credulous.These have generally been promulgated as new and wonderful inventions destined to revolutionize some particular industry and afford mankind and easy way to acquire a fortune. Charles Mackay has compiled a curious work upon this subject which he styles "Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds," in which will be found some interesting accounts of human gullibility. There is nothing in his entire book. however, that equals the extraordinary and wonderful credulity displayed by the believers in the so-called "Keely Motor," which has gained great notoriety in the newspapers during the past six years. The interest displayed in title so-called invention has been to great that a representative of “The Graphic” has been, for some time past, detailed to investigate the subject. Access to the working room of Keely has been obtained and accurate drawings of his several constructions have been made and are given for the edification of the public, in connection with this article. Several of the most eminent mechanical engineers have been consulted; among others, one who has been employed by Keely to aid him and who does not hesitate to declare the whole thing a deception, without any scientific merit whatever. The statements of these gentlemen will be found below, and form a complete history of this remarkable case. It is stated that as far back as 1871, John W. Keely, who was at that time a varnisher of furniture, on Market street, Philadelphia, inserted an advertisement in a newspaper, claiming that he had invented or discovered a new motive power. This was said to consist of a hollow sphere which revolved rapidly, and as Keely declared, automatically. As it was well known that Keely was not a practical mechanic, and had led a somewhat adventurous life, having been engaged in various pursuits, his statements were received with some caution. The affair seems to have been a kind of perpetual motion scheme, and as it was of no practical use it soon lost its interest. The next thing Keely attempted, we are informed, was a hydraulic motor which he termed a "hydro-pneumatic pulsating vacuum engine." In this he claimed that the only force exerted on the machine was water from an ordinary hydrant; that this water had to create a vacuum in the machine, had to actuate a pulsating diaphragm, had to operate a piston in a cylinder, to raise weights and to turn a crank shaft, which in plain terms was to give out more power than the water itself possessed. This scheme, based upon a contradiction of all physical laws, on examination by competent experts, was pronounced utterly fallacious. In fact, a well known engineer, it is stated, went so far as to call Keely's previous "globe-motor" a trick, and the "hydro-pneumatic engine" a complete humbug, He also advised a number of capitalists who consulted him not to spend a cent on these schemes. This advice they gladly accepted, although there were others not so prudent. About this time Keely applied for a patent on the "hydro-pneumatic" engine, the drawings for which were filed. At the request of his counsel the authorities dispensed with a model at first, but subsequently they of course demanded a complete working model. It Is the custom of the Patent Office authorities, whenever an application for a patent its of doubtful practicability, or based upon what is believed to be a fallacy, to refuse to examine the case until a working model is furnished. This was never done in Keely's case and the application for the "hydro-pneumatic pulsating vacuum engine" was thereby, under the law, abandoned, impracticable. Notwithstanding these two signal failures of Keely, condemned alike by the Patent Office authorities and responsible scientists, he took a new departure and soon announced that he had, at last, discovered a new motive power, which would entirely supersede steam. This he termed the "Keely Motor." evolved by "expulsion from a multiplicator or generator" without the aid of "any chemical compound, heat, electricity or galvanic action." The only means he employed, according to his own account, was "the introduction of atmospheric air a limited quantity of natural water direct from a hydrant at no greater than the ordinary hydrant pressure and the machine itself, which is simply a mechanical structure."

By that simple proceeding he claimed to be able to send a train of cars from Philadelphia to New York, the sole motive power having a quart of water in his "multiplicator," which produced a "vaporic substance having an elastic energy of 10,000 pounds to the square inch." To develop this invention a company was formed, the stock being liberally subscribed for and Keely was told to go ahead.

His first apparatus was the "multiplicator or generator" illustrated herewith, which he afterwards abandoned for the large generator, of which sectional and end views are given, and which was fitted up at great expense. In fact, it is stated upon reliable authority that during the six years in which Keely has been taking his machine apart and putting it together again without any practical result, he has received at least a very large amount of money from the stockholders, as the capital stock of the concern is $1,000,000.

In operating the machine according to the report of the Motor company's attorney, Keely attaches the pipe, shown at the right side of the second machine, "to an ordinary hydrant, having a pressure of twenty-six pounds to the square inch, having first blown from his lungs into the nozzle of the multiplicator." This Keely says, evolves a gaseous or vaporic substance which shows a pressure on the gauge of about 2,000 pounds to the square inch. This pressure, however, is pronounced by scientific engineers not at all extraordinary, as a greater amount has been obtained from ordinary hydraulic presses. The so-called gaseous vapor, we are informed by scientific experts who have carefully examined the subject, is nothing more than compressed air, compressed by the hydrant pressure which is made tremendously powerful by proper machinery.

The latest invention of Keely is described as follows: The machine, the parts of which are connected by a series of pipes, is composed of two wrought-iron vertical tubes strengthened by wrought-iron rings, and between these tubes there are three stands of pipes varying in height and position. To each of these a gauge is attached to indicate the water line, which gauges, during the experiments, showed the pipes to be about one-fourth filled. In the centre of the machine are two spheres and an air-chamber is superimposed upon these, resembling the air-chamber of an ordinary pump. Placed just between one of the wrought ring-bound tubes and the lower sphere is a lever actuating two plungers, with which the vibrating force is given to the water and air. In some or in all of these spheres or tubes are placed perforated disks, situated, Mr. Keely says, at distances from each other in proportion to the size of the holes. They vary from the size of a knitting-needle to that of a pin point. Mr. Keely claims that the mysterious power appears, to be generated by the vapor passing through these disks. He did not, however, explain the exact location of the disks, and therefore no intelligible idea of the machine can be conveyed. The machine weighs in all twenty-one tons and has capacity of twenty gallons of water. In the experiment, however, only about four gallons of water were used.

The first test was with about 12 inches of water in the gauge and an air pressure of 2 1/2 pounds. The mercury pressure gauge indicated 1,900 pounds at 5 pounds air pressure; 4,500 pounds at 6 1/2 pounds pressure; while 7 1/2 pounds pressure showed 9,700 pounds. Each of these results was obtained by one movement of the lever working the two plungers and the action was instantaneous, which Mr. Keely says, conclusively refutes the idea that his power is only compressed air or the result of the agency of any known chemicals.

Attached to the machine are two spherical power storage chambers, in each of which are about two gallons of water to assist as packing in making water-tight joints.

There never yet has been a public experiment tried with the motor in which this hydrant pressure was not relied on. In fact, as one expert well says: "The actuating force of the Keely, motor seems to be in the city water-works. This is, of course, a source of great power, but it is hardly to be styled a new motor, while the idle talk of running a train of cars from Philadelphia to New York with a handful of water is as `vaporic` and useful as the vaporic substance of the Keely motor.”.

It has often been said that a serious error in regard to this "wonderful invention" is the fact that the majority of those who have examined it have mistaken pressure for motive power. They have seen Keely turn on his hydrant, blow in the nozzle, turn a cock and the gauge straightway shows a pressure of several thousand pounds. But mere pressure is not motive power; it is a resultant of motive power. Keely's motor, according to reliable accounts, does not possess any power whatever, and can never be applied to any practical use. The pressure is not continuous and only exists for a short time, and the machine is not automatic in the same sense that a steam engine or other motor is. Keely has repeatedly promised to demonstrate by experiments the continuity of his vaporic development, thus acknowledging that it has heretofore been restricted in volume. According, however, to reliable accounts, he has utterly failed to show it for more than fifteen or twenty minutes at any time.

Another thing which serves to greatly mystify those who have seen Keely's "multiplicator" is the complicated appearance of the machine. It will be seen by our diagrams that the first one consisted merely of a spherical ball and a few pipes, but in the later machines he has added in numerable pipes, stop-cocks, &c., which are claimed to be of no real use. However, as they puzzle, and confuse the best mechanics, who fail to understand the necessity of having a dozen stop-cocks and valves where one would seem to be enough, his purpose is doubtless served. The chambers and reservoirs of the machine are all of steel and cost a considerable sum to construct. They are apparently capable of resisting an enormous pressure. It is evident that they must be strong, as both hydraulic pressure and compressed air are very powerful. In one of Keely's reports it is stated that the "vaporic substance" was generated in about two minutes after the attachment to the hydrant was made. A flow of water from a hydrant under a pressure of thirty-six pounds to the square inch for two minutes would easily exert the force necessary... [to be continued when next page is found]

Another article from 1938:
https://roerichsmuseum.website.yandexcloud.net/RD/RD-035.pdf

See Also

The Motor Mans History interesting earlier history