The Electric Auto that almost triumphed
                      Power Source of '31 car still a mystery
                                  by A.C. Greene

       Not long ago,  Texas  Sketches told the story of Henry "Dad" Garrett
       and his son C.H.'s water-fueled automobile,  which  was successfully
       demonstrated in 1935 at White Rock Lake in Dallas.

       Eugene Langkop of Dallas (a Packard lover, like so many of us) notes
       that the "wonder  car"  of the future may be a resurrection  of  the
       electric car.  It  uses  no  gasoline,  no  oil  -  just some grease
       fittings - has  no  radiator  to   fill  or  freeze,  no  carburetor
       problems, no muffler to replace and gives off no pollutants.

       Famous former electrics include Columbia, Rauch & Lang  and  Detroit
       Electric.

       Dallas had electric  delivery  trucks  in  the  1920s and 30s.  Many
       electric delivery vehicles were used in big cities into the 1960s.

       The problem with electrics was slow speed and short range.

       Within the past decade two Richardson  men,  George  Thiess and Jack
       Hooker, claimed to have used batteries operating on  magnesium  from
       seawater to increase the range of their electric automobile from 100
       miles to 400 or 500 miles.

       But it is a mystery car once demonstrated by Nikola Tesla, developer
       of alternating current, that might have made electrics triumphant.

       Supported by the  Pierce-Arrow  Co. and General Electric in 1931, he
       took the gasoline engine from a new Pierce-Arrow and replaced it

                                      Page 1





       with an 80-horsepower  alternating-current  electric  motor  with no
       external power source.

       At a local radio shop he bought  12  vacuum  tubes,  some  wires and
       assorted resistors, and assembled them in a circuit  box  24  inches
       long, 12 inches  wide  and 6 inches high, with a pair of 3-inch rods
       sticking out.  Getting into the  car  with  the  circuit  box in the
       front seat beside  him,  he pushed the rods in, announced,  "We  now
       have power," and  proceeded  to test drive the car for a week, often
       at speeds of up to 90 mph.

       As it was an alternating-current motor  and  there were no batteries
       involved, where did the power come from?

       Popular responses included  charges  of  "black  magic,"   and   the
       sensitive genius didn't  like  the  skeptical comments of the press.
       He removed his mysterious box, returned  to  his  laboratory  in New
       York - and the secret of his power source died with him.
       --------------------------------------------------------------------
       A.C. Greene is an author and Texas historian who lives in Salado.
       --------------------------------------------------------------------
       ***  The original  article from which Mr. Greene gleaned  the  above
       ***  info was  from  a Packard Newsletter.  Mr. Gene Langkopf kindly
       ***  sent us   a   copy  of  that   article   which   now   follows.
       --------------------------------------------------------------------

                The Forgotten Art of Electric - Powered Automobiles
                                  by Arthur Abrom

       Electric powered automobiles were one of the earliest considerations
       and this mode  of propulsion enjoyed a brief but short  reign.   The
       development of electricity as a workable source of power for mankind
       has been studded with great controversy.

       Thomas A. Edison  was  the  first  to  start to market systems (i.e.
       electric generators) of  any commercial  value.   His  research  and
       developmental skills were  utilized  to  market  a "direct  current"
       system of electricity.   Ships  were  equipped with D.C. systems and
       municipalities began lighting their  streets with this revolutionary
       D.C. electric system.  (At that time) Edison was the  sole source of
       electricity!

       While in the  process  of commercializing electricity, Thomas Edison
       hired men who knew of the new scientific  gift to the world and were
       capable of new applications for electricity.  One  such  man  was  a
       foreigner named Nikola  Tesla.  This man, although not known to many
       of us today, was without a doubt the  greatest  scientific mind that
       has ever lived.   His accomplishments dwarfed even Thomas  Edison's!
       Whereas Mr. Edison  was  a great experimenter, Mr. Tesla was a great
       theoretician.  Nikola Tesla became  frustrated and very much annoyed
       at the procedures Edison followed.

       Tesla would rather  calculate  the possibility of something  working
       (i.e. mathematical investigation) than the hit and miss technique of
       constant experimentation.  So  in  the  heat of an argument, he quit
       one day and stormed out of Edison's  laboratory  in West Orange, New
       Jersey.

       Working on his own, Tesla conceived and built the first working

                                      Page 2





       alternating current generator.  He, and he alone, is responsible for
       all of the advantages we enjoy today because of A.C. electric power.

       Angered by Edison, Tesla sold his new patents to George Westinghouse
       for 15 million  dollars  in  the  very  early  1900's.  Tesla became
       totally independent and proceeded  to  carry  on  his  investigative
       research in his laboratory on 5th Avenue in New York City.

       George Westinghouse began  to  market  this new system  of  electric
       generators and was   in   competition   with  Edison.   Westinghouse
       prevailed because of the greater superiority  of the A.C. generators
       over the less  efficient  D.C.  power  supplies  of  Thomas  Edison.
       Today, A.C. power  is the only source of electricity the world uses.
       And, please remember, Nikola Tesla is the man who developed it.

       Now specifically dealing with automobiles  in  the  infant  days  of
       their development, electric propulsion was considered  and used.  An
       electric powered automobile   possessed  many  advantages  that  the
       noisy, cantankerous, smoke-belching  gasoline  cars could not offer.
       First and foremost  is  the  absolute  silence one experiences  when
       riding in an electrically powered vehicle.  There is not even a hint
       of noise.  One simply turns a key and steps on the accelerator - the
       vehicle moves instantly!   No  cranking  from the start, no crank to
       turn (this was  before  electric   starters),   no  pumping  of  the
       accelerator, no spark control to advance and no throttle  linkage to
       pre-set before starting.   One  simply turned the ignition switch to
       on!

       Second, is a sense of power.  If  one  wants  to increase speed, you
       simply depress the  accelerator  further  -  there   is   never  any
       hesitation.  Releasing the  accelerator  causes  the vehicle to slow
       down immediately - you are always  in  complete  control.  It is not
       difficult to understand  why  these vehicles were  so  very  popular
       around the turn of the century and until 1912 or so.

       The big disadvantage  to these cars was their range and need for re-
       charging every single night.  All  of these electric vehicles used a
       series of batteries  and  a  D.C. motor to move itself  about.   The
       batteries require recharging every night and the range of travel was
       restricted to about 100 miles.  Understand that this restriction was
       not a serious  one in the early part of this century.  Doctors began
       making house calls  with electric  cars  (do  you  remember  doctors
       making house calls?)  because he no longer needed  to  tend  to  the
       horse at night time - just plug the car into an electric socket!  No
       feeding, no rub-down and no mess to clean up!

       Many of the  large  department  stores  in  metropolitan areas began
       purchasing delivery trucks  that were  electrically  powered.   They
       were silent and  emitted  no  pollutants.   And, maintenance  was  a
       minimum on electrically  powered vehicles.  There were few mechanics
       and garages in operation in the  early  1900's.   So  city  life and
       travel appeared to  be  willing to embrace the electric  automobile.
       Remember, these masterfully built vehicles all ran on D.C. current.

       Two things happened   to  dampen  the  popularity  of  the  electric
       automobile.  One was the subconscious craving for speed that gripped
       all auto enthusisasts of this era.   Each  manufacturer was eager to
       show how far his car could travel (i.e. the transcontinental  races)
       and what was its top speed!  Col. Vanderbilt constructed the first

                                      Page 3





       all concrete race track in Long Island and racing became the passion
       for the well-to-do.   Newspapers  constantly  record  new records of
       speed achieved by  so-in-so.   And,   of   course,   the  automobile
       manufacturers were quick to capitalize on the advertising  effect of
       these new peaks   of   speed.    Both   of  these  events  made  the
       electrically powered vehicles appear  to  only belong to the "little
       old lady" down  the street or the old retired gentleman  who  talked
       about the "good old days".

       Electric vehicles could not reach speeds of 45 or 50 m.p.h. for this
       would have destroyed  the batteries in moments.  Bursts of speeds of
       25 to 35 m.p.h. could be maintained  for  a  moment  or  so.  Normal
       driving speed-depending upon traffic conditions, was 15 to 20 m.p.h.
       by 1900 to  1910 standards, this was an acceptable  speed  limit  to
       obtain from your electric vehicle.

       Please note that  none  of  the  manufacturers of electric cars ever
       installed a D.C. generator.  This would have put a small charge back
       into the batteries as the car moved  about  and  would  have thereby
       increased its operating range.  This was considered  by  some  to be
       approaching perpetual motion  -  and  that,  of  course, was utterly
       impossible!  Actually, D.C. generators  would have worked and helped
       the electric car cause.

       As mentioned earlier,  Mr.  Westinghouse's  A.C. current  generating
       equipment was being  sold  and  installed  about  the  country.  The
       earlier D.C. equipment was being retired and disregarded.  As a side
       note, Consolidated Edison Power Company  of  New York City still has
       one of Thomas Edison's D.C. generators installed  in  its  14th  St.
       powerhouse - it   still  works!   About  this  time,  another  giant
       corporation was formed and entered  the  A.C.  generating  equipment
       field - General  Electric.   This  spelled  the  absolute   end  for
       Edison's D.C. power   supply   systems  as  a  commercial  means  of
       generating and distributing electric power.

       The electric automobile  could not  be  adapted  to  accomodate  and
       utilize a polyphase  motor  (i.e.  A.C.  power).   Since  they  used
       batteries as a  source  of  power,  their extinction was sealed.  No
       battery can put out an A.C. signal.   True,  a  converter  could  be
       utilized (i.e. convert the D.C. signal from the battery  to  an A.C.
       signal), but the size of the equipment at this time was too large to
       fit in an automobile - even one with the generous dimensions of this
       era.

       So, somewhere around  1915  or  so, the electric automobile became a
       memory.  True, United Parcel Service still utilizes several electric
       trucks in New  York  City today but  the  bulk  of  their  fleet  of
       vehicles utilizes gasoline  or  diesel  fuel.   For   all  intensive
       purposes, the electrically  powered  automobile  is  dead - they are
       considered dinosaurs of the past.

       But, let us stop a moment and consider  the  advantages of utilizing
       electric power as  a means of propelling vehicles.   Maintenance  is
       absolutely minimal for the only oil required is for the two bearings
       in the motor  and the necessary grease fittings.  There is no oil to
       change, no radiator to clean and fill,  no  transmission to foul up,
       no fuel pump, no water pump, no carburetion problems,  no muffler to
       rot out or  replace  and  no pollutants emitted into the atmosphere.
       It appears as though it might be the  answer  we have been searching
       for!
                                      Page 4





       Therefore, the two  problems facing us become top speed and range of
       driving - providing, of course, the  A.C. and D.C. problems could be
       worked out.  With  today's  technology  this does  not  seem  to  be
       insurmountable.  In fact, the entire problem has already been solved
       - in the  past, the distant past and the not so distant!  Stop!  Re-
       read the last sentence again.  Ponder  it  for  a few moments before
       going on.

       Several times earlier in this article, I mentioned  the  man, Nikola
       Tesla and stated that he was the greatest mind that ever lived.  The
       U.S. Patent Office  has  1,200  patents  registered  in  the name of
       Nikola Tesla and it is estimated  that  he  could  have  patented an
       additional 1,000 or so from memory!

       But, back to our electric automobiles - in 1931, under the financing
       of Pierce-Arrow and  George  Westinghouse,  a 1931 Pierce-Arrow  was
       selected to be  tested  at the factory grounds in Buffalo, N.Y.  The
       standard internal combustion engine  was removed and an 80-H.P. 1800
       r.p.m electric motor installed to the clutch and transmission.   The
       A.C. motor measured 40 inches long and 30 inches in diameter and the
       power leads were  left  standing  in  the  air  -  no external power
       source!

       At the appointed time, Nikola Tesla  arrived  from New York City and
       inspected the Pierce-Arrow  automobile.  He then  went  to  a  local
       radio store and  purchased  a  handful  of  tubes  (12),  wires  and
       assorted resistors.  A box measuring  24 inches long, 12 inches wide
       and 6 inches high was assembled housing the circuit.   The  box  was
       placed on the  front  seat  and  had its wires connected to the air-
       cooled, brushless motor.  Two rods 1/4" in diameter stuck out of the
       box about 3" in length.

       Mr. Tesla got into the driver's seat,  pushed  the  two  rods in and
       stated, "We now have power".  He put the car into gear  and it moved
       forward!  This vehicle,  powered  by  an  A.C.  motor, was driven to
       speeds of 90  m.p.h.  and  performed   better   than   any  internal
       combustion engine of  its  day!   One  week  was spent  testing  the
       vehicle.  Several newspapers  in  Buffalo  reported this test.  When
       asked where the power came from, Tesla replied, "From the ethers all
       around us".  Several people suggested that Tesla was mad and somehow
       in league with sinister forces of the universe.  He became incensed,
       removed his mysterious box from  the  vehicle  and  returned  to his
       laboratory in New York City.  His secret died with him!

       It is speculated that Nikola Tesla was able to somehow  harness  the
       earth's magnetic field that encompasses our planet.  And, he somehow
       was able to  draw tremendous amounts of power by cutting these lines
       of force or  causing  them  to be multiplied  together.   The  exact
       nature of his device remains a mystery but it did actually  function
       by powering the  80 h.p. A.C. motor in the Pierce-Arrow at speeds up
       to 90 m.p.h. and no recharging was ever necessary!

       In 1969, Joseph R. Zubris took his  1961  Mercury and pulled out the
       Detroit internal combustion engine.  He then installed  an  electric
       motor as a  source  of  power.   His  unique  wiring system cuts the
       energy drain at starting to 75% of normal and doubles the electrical
       efficiency of the electric motor  when  it  is  operating!  The U.S.
       Patent Office issued him a patent No. 3,809,978.  Although he


                                      Page 5





       approached many concerns  for  marketing, no one really seemed to be
       interested.  And, his unique system is still not on the market.

       In the 1970's,  an  inventor  used   an   Ev-Gray  generator,  which
       intensified battery current, the voltage being induced  to the field
       coils by a  simple programmer (sequencer).  By allowing the motor to
       charge separate batteries  as  the  device  ran,  phenomenally  tiny
       currents were needed.  The device was tested at the  Crosby Research
       Institute of Beverly  Hills,  Ca.,  a 10-horepower EMA motor ran for
       over a week (9 days) on four standard automobile batteries.

       The inventors estimated that a 50-horsepower  electric  motor  could
       traverse 300 miles  at  50 m.p.h. before needing a  re-charge.   Dr.
       Keith E. Kenyon,  the  inventor of Van Nuys, California discovered a
       discrepancy in the  normal  and  long   accepted  laws  relating  to
       electric motor magnets.  Dr. Kenyon demonstrated his  invention  for
       many scientists and   engineers  in  1976  but  their  reaction  was
       astounding.  Although admitting Dr. Kenyon's device worked, they saw
       little or no practical application for it!

       So the ultimate source for our electrically powered automobile would
       be to have an electric motor that  required  no  outside  source  of
       power.  Sounds impossible   because  it  violates   all   scientific
       thought!  But it  has been invented and H.R. Johnson has been issued
       a patent No. 4,151,431 on April 24, 1979 on such a device!

       This new design although originally  suggested  by  Nikola  Tesla in
       1905, is a  permanent  magnet  motor.  Mr. Johnson  has  arranged  a
       series of permanent  magnets on the rotor and a corresponding series
       - with different spacing - on the  stator.   One  simply has to move
       the stator into   position   and  rotation  of  the   rotor   begins
       immediately.

       His patent states,

           "The invention  is  directed  to  the  method  of  utilizing the
            unpaired electron spins in ferro  magnetic  and other materials
            as a source of magnetic fields for producing power  without any
            electron flow  as  occurs in normal conductors and to permanent
            magnet motors for utilization of this method to produce a power
            source.

            In the practice of this invention,  the unpaired electron spins
            occurring within permanent magnets are utilized  to  produce  a
            motive power   source   solely   through  the  super-conducting
            characteristics of a permanent  magnet  and  the  magnetic flux
            created by  the  magnets  are  controlled  and concentrated  to
            orient the  magnetic  forces  generated  in such a manner to do
            useful continuous work such as the displacement of a rotor with
            respect to a stator.

            The timing and orientation of  magnetic forces at the rotor and
            stator components produced by permanent magnets  to  produce  a
            motor is  accomplished with the proper geometrical relationship
            of these components".

       Now before you dismiss the idea of a magnetically run motor - a free
       energy source, consider the following :


                                      Page 6





            Engineers of  Hitachi Magnetics Corp. of California have stated
            that a motor run solely by magnets  is feasible and logical but
            the politics  of  the  matter make it impossible  for  them  to
            pursue developing  a  magnet  motor  or  any  device that would
            compete with the energy cartels.

       In a book entitled, "Keely and His  Discoveries"  by  Clara B. Moore
       published in 1893, we find the following statemtents,

           "The magnet  that lifts a pound today if the load  is  gradually
            increased day  by  day  will  lift  double that amount in time.
            Whence comes this energy?  Keely  teaches  that  it  comes from
            sympathetic association with one of the currents  of  the polar
            stream and that its energy increases as long as the sympathetic
            flow lasts, which is through eternity".

       Now consider some basic observations concerning magnets:

          1)  Two  permanent  magnets can either attract or repel depending
              on the arrangement of the magnetic poles.

          2)  Two  magnets  repel further  than  they  attract  because  of
              friction and inertia forces.

          3)  Most  of  our  energy  comes  directly  or  indirectly   from
              electromagnetic energy  of  the  sun, e.g. photosynthesis and
              watercycle of ocean to water vapor to rain or snow to ocean.

          4)  Magnetic energy "travels"  between  poles  at  the  speed  of
              light.

          5)  Permanent  magnets  on  both  sides  of  an iron  shield  are
              attracted to  the  shield  and  only  weakly to each other at
              close proximity to the shield.

          6)  Permanent magnets are ferrous metals and are attractive only.
              Attraction is an inverse square force.

          7)  Magnetic energy can be shielded.

          8)  The sliding or perpendicular  force  of a keeper is much less
              than the force in the direction of the field  to  remove  the
              keeper.

          9)  Most  of  the magnetic energy is concentrated at the poles of
              the magnet.

         10)  A permanent magnet loses little  strength  unless  dropped or
              heated.  Heating misaligns the magnetic elements  within  the
              magnet.

         11)  If  a weight lifted by a permanet magnet is slowly increased,
              the lifting power of the magnet  can  be  increased until all
              the magnetic domains in the magnet are aligned  in  the  same
              direction.  This becomes the limit.

         12)  Using magnets to repel tends to weaken them as it causes more
              misalignment of the domains.


                                      Page 7





         13)  A magnetic material placed between two magnets will always be
              attracted to the stronger magnet.

       So, our ultimate  motor  becomes  a permanent magnet motor of proper
       size with speed   being   controlled    through    the   automobiles
       transmission.  And, here is the biggest plus, permanent magnets keep
       their strength for a minimum of 95 years!  So here  we  have a fuel-
       less automobile that would last us our lifetime.

       There is only  one  drawback to an automobile powered by a permanent
       magnet motor - if the vehicle gets  involved  in  an  accident,  the
       shock of the  crash  could jar the magnets and cause  them  to  lose
       power!  But this  seems to be a small price to pay for an automobile
       that could run all day at 60 m.p.h. - use no fuel - and never need a
       recharge!

       Now the only question left to be  answered  is,  "Where  do  you buy
       one?"  or perhaps,  "When will we be able to buy one?"   At  present
       there are several  companies offering interim solutions.  Some offer
       electric powered designs - but this  is  strictly  batteries,  while
       others offer a  hybrid combination of batteries and  small  gasoline
       engines.  All of  these  so-called "modern alternatives" suffer from
       the same lack of accessories we've become accustomed to.

       They do not, or cannot offer power  steering,  brakes  or windows or
       air-conditioning, etc.  Since they are small aerodynamically  shaped
       packages holding only   two   people,  their  appeal  is  distinctly
       limited.

       When someone constructs an automobile  run  by  a  permanent  magnet
       motor attached to    the    differential   thus   eliminating    the
       transmission, the world will beat a path to his door - providing the
       energy cartel doesn't find him first!

       In Richardson, Texas  last  year,  two  men - George Thiess and Jack
       Hooker have advanced the storage battery  to a new level.  Their new
       batteries will operate  on  magnesium  made  from   seawater.    The
       magnesium is used  to  charge  the  battery  while in an electrolene
       solution and the range of their auto  is  increased by replacing the
       magnesium rods every  400  to  500 miles.  Their studies  are  being
       officially watched by  the Department of Energy.  Perhaps an all new
       era of electrically  powered  automobiles  may  be  on  its  way  to
       reality.
       --------------------------------------------------------------------
       This subject is intensely interesting to many researchers  so if you
       have any suggestions  or comments, we here at KeelyNet would greatly
       appreciate your sharing with us.
       --------------------------------------------------------------------
       There are three files that link to  this  particular subject and all
       will be bundled as follows :
         TESLAFE1.ASC - original articles  TESLAFE1.GIF - PARALLEL version
         TESLAFE2.ASC - this commentary    TESLAFE2.GIF - SERIES version
                 TESLAFE .ZIP - all of the above bundled into one file
                    Additonal related information can be found
                           on KeelyNet as TESLAFE2.ASC.
       --------------------------------------------------------------------
                             Vangard Sciences/KeelyNet
                     If we can be of service, you may contact
                 Jerry at (214) 324-8741 or Ron at (214) 242-9346

                                      Page 8