Text from the Scientific American "expose" of Keely February 4, 1899. Made available through KEELYNET by Vangard Sciences, PO BOX 1031, Mesquite, TX 75150 on August 30, 1989. (214) 324-8741 or 484-3189 Investigations at the Keely Laboratory In our last issue we noted the fact that the Keely Laboratory, at 1420 North Twentieth Street, Philadelphia, Pa., had been examined by experts, and that the discoveries seemed to confirm the views held by the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN in 1884, that the phenomena were produced through the medium of compressed air. A representative of the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN was at once sent to Philadelphia, and through the courtesy of Mr. Clarence B. Moore, who has the lease of the premises, unique photographs and diagrams were obtained. The laboratory is an unconspicuous brick building two stories in height. After Mr. Keely's death the laboratory was given up, and all the apparatus, wires, tubing, etc. in fact, everything which could be used as a clew to the discovery of the principles underlying the alleged motor, but it is shown by the result that Keely had not taken anyone into his confidence, and accounts for even his supporters being ignorant of the existence of the remarkable things which we are to describe. The investigations were carried out under the auspices of the Philadelphia Press. Every bit of flooring was ripped up and every nook and cranny explored in the floors, walls, and ceilings, and it was found that the building was honeycombed with traps, holes for piping, etc., for carryiing on the bogus experiments. Everything was conducted with such secrecy and ceremony, and the laboratory lent itself so admirably to the purposes of deception, that is is little wonder that this nineteenth century thaumaturgist should have been successful, for the border line between science and quackery is always attractive. The ground floor has no cellar under it and at places the joists were sawn away and the flooring had been removed and replaced in sections, forming what is known in stage parlance as "traps." Most of the spaces between the sawed joists were filled with ashes, and here valuable finds of tubing and connections were made. The center room contains four traps and a pit. Back of this room to which no one was ever admitted, and here a remarkable discovery was made. A steel sphere forty inches in diameter, weighing 6,625 pounds, was found embedded in a it underneath a trap. The sphere had two projections or trunnions: both had a hole through them; one of these holes had been filled up and then faced off, and the other, near the iron pipe shown in our illustration, was open and was of the proper size for charging the reservoir. Midway between the two trunnions a small hole drilled into the side of the sphere was found to be the proper size for connecting with one of the small brass tubes connecting with the second story. These tubes, while of small diameter and having a small bore, have very thick walls, showing that they could resist enormous pressure. Of course, the sphere possessed great strength and must have been an ideal storage reservoir for air or gas at a great pressure. William Rickert, who was formerly employed in Keely's laboratory, has Page 1 come forward with valuable evidence. He say he helped to test the steel sphere with a hydraulic pump which was specially made for the purpose. It was tested p to 28,000 pounds, or only one tone less than the powder chamber pressure required in tests of United States ordnance. Steel tubes were also tested with this powerful hydraulic pump. The tubes were 9 inches in diameter and the bore was only 3 inches. These were split with enormous pressure and the stockholders and the general public believed that the tubes were burst by the "etheric vapor." Mr. Rickert states that they ran tubes to the lever machine which indicated pressure, and one of the tubes recently discovered Mr. Rickert believes to be a tube running to that machine. He also states that Keely never allowed the men to entirely compete any connection the machinery; he assumed that part of the business himself. A very heavy iron pipe with the high pressure joints, 13 1/2 feet long, ran diagonally under the floor to a point in a trap in the front room. This was undoubtedly used in distributing the compressed air. The room where the sphere was discovered had a wooden ceiling nailed on to the joists, while in the front room the joists were exposed. This ceiling gave 16 inches of space, which, of course, gave an excellent opportunity for running tubes or concealing apparatus. The private room in the rear was used by Mr. Keely when resting from his arduous labors and was handsomely fitted up. The second floor was divided into an office and two exhibition rooms, where progress was reported at intervals. Sometimes the front exhibition room was used, but generally the rear exhibition room was utilized. A small window connected the exhibition rooms and also the office. Keely would station himself behind the small window, C, connecting the exhibition rooms, and after asking the favored few who were allowed to see the manifestations what pressure they desired or what speed they wished, depending upon the nature of the apparatus which he was then exhibiting, he would then play a violin, a zither, or a harmonica to set in motion the harmonic vibrations upon which he depended for obtaining his remarkable manifestations. The first exhibition room has many auger holes, which have been indicated by our artist. These holes were, of course, hidden by the oilcloth which covered the floor, and one ot the holes was covered with a piece of tin with a hole, as shown in the diagram at D. It is surmised that these holes, and specially the last one to which we have referred, permitted the "etheric flow" of compressed air from the receiver in the cellar to the apparatus on exhibition to be controlled by a spring valve operated by the foot. Other holes seemed to have been located under the apparatus and doubtless aided in the experiments. The upper floor of the main exhibition room was torn away during the investigation, and showed that tubing of the same kind as the alleged "wires" of Keely's lever machine passed under the joists, through the brick partition, under the threshold of the door at the point, A, connecting the two exhibition rooms. This is in a way the most remarkable of the find, as it was so carefully hidden in the brickwork, which had been removed and reset. The tubing ran through the brick partition under the steps, where it apparently descended into the room below, but this end was broken off. At the point, B, another piece of tubing was found running out into the front room from the rear room below. Those who assisted at the investigation were Prof. A. W. Goodspeed, Prof. Carl Hering, Dr. M. G. Miller, Mr. Moore and Mr. Page 2 Sellers, and the investigations were so thorough and the results obtained were so satisfactory that it is to be hoped that, once for all, the Keely motor may be considered to be exposed, though we have no doubt that, like the scotched snake, the tail may still continue to wiggle. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- We of Vangard Sciences realize that there is always a possibility of fraud, even in the works of Keely. Many times psychics and mediums cannot produce their normal range of phenomena if conditions are not conducive. Many synergistic events must correlate to allow the manifestation of certain effects. However, the wide range of phenomena Keely produced under controlled conditions and in the presence of many famous and respectable scientists and researchers of his day indicate that his work was definitely productive though not always on command. A study of his writings will indicate an incredible understanding of the art of vibration and its application to matter and energy. For this reason, we have chosen to focus a majority of our research efforts on correlative efforts which might serve to verify Keely's work, yet stands in its own light. Thank you for your open-mindedness and patience in studying these many documents. Once the light of Vibrational Science is ignited in the minds eye, it becomes easier to follow some of Keely's statements. We must however, not allow ourselve to be blinded to blatant fraud from whatever the source. Page 3