KEELY SHOWS HIS MOTOR - ??AN UNSATISFACTORY EXHIBITION GIVEN YESTERDAY. THE INVENTOR AND HIS PHILADELPHIA WORKSHOP—TESTS OF PRESSURE—SHOOTING OFF A CANNON AND RUNNING AN ENGINE—A LACK OF EXPLANATION.?? With several odd experiments, with a collation of sandwiches, oysters, and champagne, and? with a discursive talk, the most of which was unintelligible jargon, did Mr. John Earnst Worrell? Keely entertain a small party at his workshop, No.1,422 North Twentieth-street, Philadelphia, yesterday. There were about 25 persons present. Of this number some half a dozen or so were stock?brokers and others pecuniarily interested in the Keely motor. The remainder were reporters from various New York papers. According to the terms of the invitation sent by Mr. F. G. Green, The Treasurer of the Keely Motor Company, the investor proposed “at the request of the Metropolitan press” to give an exhibition of his progress. No evidences were afforded yesterday to show that ?there had been any such request, but the exhibition was given all the same.? The workshop which was the scene of the exhibition is the property of the companv. It is a small two story brick building resembling a private stable. On the ground floor is a small ante-chamber, and behind it is a large apartment which was kept carefully locked and bolted yesterday. Visitors, as they came in response to the invitation, were at once shown up stairs. The room into which the narrow and steep staircase leads is a counterpart of the one immediately beneath. It was taken up yesterday with the preparations for luncheon, which were superintended by a local caterer, who seemed to understand the complications of Mr. Keely’s apparatus and conversation quite as well as the inventor himself. Adjoining this room was a compartment of about the same size, and next to this another. In the middle room of the three was the motor about which so much has been claimed by the inventor and the select circle of stockholders who have been, so to speak, revolving about his orbit for several years. The motor proper is an apparatus about six feet long. It was raised from the floor on a stand. The apparatus consists of three upright portions or cylinders, joined together by a complication of very strong copper tubes. Two of the cylindrical vessels are counterparts. The third, lying in between, is very much heavier, and is nearly globular in form. Its massiveness attracts attention at once. Behind, and a little above it, was a graduated glass tube, in which was poured the small amount of water necessary in enabling the apparatus to develop its extraordinary power. In front of the apparatus was a siren of common pattern to measure interferences with an air current blown out. It is a circumstance trivial in ?itself, but still worth noting here, that, although Mr. Keely in his experiments seemed to rely on the? screech of the siren for telling him the force evolved, he knew nothing whatever of its make. At the right of the motor proper was a device for it consisted of an iron bar, one end of which was attached to a “plunger,” a kind of piston-rod, one-third of an inch in diameter, working into a small chamber, to which the pressure of the force evolved was conveyed. The other end of the bar was borne down with heavy iron weights. The bar was supported by a fixed stanchion, close to the end of which the plunger ?was afiixed. Before beginning his experiments, Mr. Keely was introduced to the strangers present, and they had an opportunity of observing carefully the personal characteristics of the man who has been able to obtain so much financial backing to carry out his long delayed and exceedingly slow plans. He is 53 years old, but looks much younger. He is above the medium height and has a powerful and well knit frame. The fringe of hair which circles his head is very dark, as are also his close-trimmed mustache and side-whiskers. His eyes are dark brown and deep set. In manner Mr. Keely is deliberate rather than nervous, although he is very quick in his movements, especially when working around his apparatus. He impresses one favorably as regards his earnestness, although he seems destitute of this ability to make himself understood or to explain the nature of his claims in intelligible speech. In beginning, Mr. Keely told those present that the motor was all apart, and he proceeded by putting 2 few bolts here and there, to set it in order. This done, the experiments began. He took about a gill of water and poured it into the glass tube already described, which is a graduated one. The water he explained, did not produce the force. It passed into the motor, first to the 'introductory impulse,' which was the globular compartment of the machine, then it flowed inside cylinders, called “side shells” or fifth compound. The water next impinged on the valve connected with the “molecular lead” which is under the globular affair. By moving two levers, which he did, Mr. Keely claimed that he brought out the atomic energy which is his force. At first, he said, he disturbed the equilibrium; then he “multiplied the atomic ether or etheric impulse,” this impulse, he went on to say, was manifested in the tube designed for the manifestation of the liberated interatomic impulse. The tube meanwhile rotated and the force passed to the “register of force,” or “positive vibrator,” producing propulsion. There is also a “negative vibrator,” to be used whenever a vacuum is desired, and by its aid Mr. Keely claims to have surpassed the latest improvements of the Sprengel air-pump. He showed, however, no demonstration of this kind yesterday. From his conversation, as it progressed, the only intelligible portion seemed to be ?this: He claims that he is obtaining and utilizing the force of cohesion or the force residing in the interatomic ether which physicists have put down as existing in all substances. His descriptions of his apparatus and how the force is produced were not always the same, but that given above was taken down as carefully as it could be under the circumstances, and is slightly less unintelligible than most of those which were propounded. While giving his information as he best could Mr. Keely all along kept an eye - and generally a hand or two - on the machine. All at once he opened the valve connecting with the siren, and there was a shrill screech. Upon hearing this and looking at the dial of the siren on which the number of interferences with the air current were noted. Mr. Keely announced that there was a pressure of 22,000 pounds to the square inch. Mr. Green interrupted, saying that the pressure was an elastic pressure as distinguished from hydraulic pressure. The calculation by means of which this result was arrived at was explained by Mr. Keely in response to THE TIMES'S reporter's inquiries. The weights at the end of the lever above described were put down by him as being 400 pounds. This was multiplied by 45, the latter figure being composed of the product of 15 – allowed for the fulcrum - multiplied by 3 because the plunger was one-third of an inch in diameter. Two thousand pounds were added to the sum total for the lever and 500 for friction. These various amounts make an aggregate of 20,500 pounds - not of 22,000, as Mr. Keely claimed. ‘When the discrepancy was called to his attention he gave no reason for it, and continued to speak of the 22,000 pounds, a looseness of speech with regard to figures which characterized all his utterances. To show that the pressure was an elastic one, Mr. Keely threw his weight on the weighted end of the lever and showed the “give” there was to it. "The next experiments were with a small but very strongly constructed cannon. At first there was plugged in to it a packer of stout rubber cloth about one-quarter of an inch thick. As soon as it was secured the gun was connected with the motor by means of a copper tube about three-sixteenths of an inch outside diameter and with a bore of one-sixteenth of an inch. The inventor then walked up to the machine, gave a twist to a wheel like one of those in use on steam-pipes, and there was a loud report.? The cannon was taken apart, and it was found that a chunk had been taken out of the rubber cloth and distributed in very fine pieces at the opposite side of the room. The force evolved, said Mr. Keely, was equal to gunpowder. Then he took a leaden bullet, about one inch in diameter, and put it into the cannon. There was again a loud report, and the bullet was fired about 15 feet and through a plank three and one-quarter inches thick. Other bullets were shot against an iron plate and flattened. In these experiments the inventor, before exhibiting the force, rubbed a fiddle bow against one of the copper tubes of the apparatus, producing a musical tone, or else rubbed the bow against a large tuning-fork. He said the motor was adjusted to a particular pitch and note and that he had to sound one a little below it in order to produce the proper vibrations in the apparatus which evolved the force. The vapor which rushed through the siren and into the air whenever a tube was opened was blown out in little gusts, and opportunity was given to all to observe that it was without odor, save a little trace of machine oil, and that it was not inflammable.?This being completed, one of the fine bore copper tubes was connected with a peculiar engine in the room behind that where the motor was situated. The engine was called a vibratory one. Its weight, the inventor explained, was one and three-quarter tons. It was also, like the motor, on a stand, although a cylinder belonging to it was below. There was no explanation of the mechanism. Those present saw a wheel revolve with a force said to be equal to 30-horse power. There was, however, no test of the power beyond what was afforded in an effort by Mr. Keely, assisted by something like a crowbar, to stop the wheel. He showed that he could easily regulate the apparatus and bring it to a stand-still almost? instantly.

The last experiment was on the stand on which the motor proper stood. A copper globe surrounded by a band of the same metal, like a meridian on an astronomical globe, was put down, and the encircling metal band was connected with the motor by a steel rod. Above the point of connection between the rod and the motor was placed a box like a soap-box, and on this the tuning-fork was set, The inventor gave the fork a scrape with his fiddle bow, and the globe began to rotate. He said he had to restrain the force or the copper globe would fly into fragments. The experiment was repeated with an attempt at insulating the globe, so as to show that the force was not electrical, but the conditions were not of a kind to make the experiment conclusive. What the turning-fork, on which so much store was set, had to do with the experiments is a question. THE TIMES reporter examined it carefully. From the fork there ?led two lone tapes of iron or steel like a long unwound clock-spring connected, however, with nothing, and the tuning fork itself was not fastened to anything. It was difficult to see how the fork could have any effect whatever, and no explanation of Mr. Keely’s was sufficient to show its pertinency or use.? A desultory conversation followed the performing of the experiments. Mr. Keely said his claim was that he had discovered not a new force but a newly recognized one. He had not yet, he added, taken out any patents on his inventions or apparatus, and did not intend to before the mechanism had been perfected. This would take about six months. He had been already working at the apparatus for six years. He denied that the effects which the visitors had noticed were produced by the use of electricity or pneumatic power, although there was nothing in his explanations which seemed incompatible with the use of compressed air or compressed vapor of some kind. Indeed, the great strength of all portions of the apparatus seemed to render it particularly suitable for such work. In looking about the building THE TIMES reporter had his attention directed to the locked and bolted room on the ground floor which is referred to above. The room is directly underneath the one in which the motor was placed, and in case any deception was intended it would not be unnatural for one to make use of the lower room for the purpose. It would, in fact, serve the purpose only too well. Power elsewhere developed might be brought to the lower apartment, and there so disposed as to admit of its easy introduction where needed above. Bearing these things in mind, the reporter spoke to Mr. Keely, saying: ??“Mr. Keely, newspaper men are naturally suspicious, and you must pardon me for asking you what I do. But you have requested our presence here, and have desired us to make what inquiries we choose. Now, we see a great deal of power is here, and we cannot understand how it is produced. And we think that there may be something in the room below which produces this power. Can't you let us look into the room below, which is locked up?” Mr. Keely was taken greatly aback at this. He waited for an instant before replying. Then he said that he should certainly not show what was in the room down stairs. There was there, he said, an apparatus which he was constructing for a California party designed for the lifting of heavy weights. The apparatus was one he could not show. The next matter broached related to the continuance of the force or energy evolved. The experiments had been begun at about 12:30, and they were very few. They called for the exercise now and then of a comparatively great deal of force, but not a great quantity. At 4:15 Mr. Keely, when asked about it, said the motor force was exhausted, or that it was in the motor “latent.” He made no reply when asked why he did not exercise the motor continuously for a week or so at a time to show what it really could do. There are a number of circumstances which must be taken into account in judging of the results of these experiments and they were discussed at length by some of the visitors after leaving the workshop. All went to the question of the good faith or the conclusiveness of the tests. The surrounding circumstances, it was admitted by all, were not good. The tests were made in the inventor's own workshop, and no opportunity was afforded these present for examining the premises with the care that a proper investigation demanded. The explanations made were in general unintelligible. And it is a singular circumstance that although the inventor has been at work for six years on his apparatus, he has not even given a name to any part of it by means of which it can be clearly identified. When asked too to explain the principles on which it was based, he declined, saving: “It would take a week." Again, the exposition of the motor given yesterday was after due deliberation. And the inventor asked for a publicity presumably because he felt that his work was in a condition to stand scrutiny and criticism, it was to be expected, also, under the circumstances, that he would make the best showing he could. As it was there was nothing done in the way of appreciable results in the tests of yesterday which persons are not able ?to do with the forces now in common use, and the methods—such as the tuning-fork apparatus and? some of the jargon of apparent explanation—brought to mind the subtle and ingenious devices wherewith professed alchemists were wont to be guile confiding persons of wealth 200 years or more? are. On the other hand, however, there was nothing positive shown which would necessarily lead to the inference of fraud or deceit. The tests were simply inconclusive, without practical value, and left the matter where it was before. [Published: October 19, 1881? Copyright © The New York Times]