Mariposa Democrat., 1857-04-08
Mariposa 9fmotrat.
Hughes Printing Telegraph. Anticipated
Revolution In the TcIcgraphic World.

From the New York Herald t.I
The Herald has heretofore, on several occa-
sions, alluded to the Hughes Telegraph In
strument," and given full and pretty accurate
statement of its wonderful capabilities, as de.
tailed to us by its friends. Parties interested
in other telegraphic improvements have denied
the accuracy of those statements, and ridiculed
the pretensions of the Hughes instrument de-
nouncing it as humbug, etc Having no
means at the time for personally testing the
accuracy Of these counter statements, we have
thus far let them pass for what they are worth,
but we are now in posinon TO verify our
original statements. Our reporter has seen the
famous Hughes nstrumcnt-he has seen pair
of thcm-worklng together at the same mo.
ment of time, each with the closest and most
wonderful sympathy of movement with the
other.
These machines were at the Office of the
American Telegraph Company, in Wall street,
where by the courtesy of the inventor and the
manager of the company, our reporter had
every facility to inspect their operations. lie
confessed to surprise-not at the wonderful
fcats he witnessed, for he was partly prepared
for that-but at the admirable simplicity OF
the arrangement from which such startling re-
suits were elected The Hughes instrument,
in size, is scarcely larger than family bible,
and might be easily packed away in cigar
box. Four cog wheels, a chain, magnet, a
governor, adjoin here and another there, and
you have about the whole description of a ma.
chine that will talk to you thousands of miles
away, telling you a story in their own language
and in plain printed letters, four times faster
than the most rapid penman can write il
down. Its capacity for speed, in fact, is limi
ted only by the limited power of the operator
This capacity was tested in the presence oi
our reporter, without the Intervention of an
operator, when he saw one of the machines,
by its volition, roll out two thousand eight
hundred letters in one minute. This extraor.
dinary capacity is of course, Of no practical
use, as no operator could read with anything
like such rapidity, even if he could touch the
keys fast enough in the right order for spell
ing out the words.
Another and perhaps the most wonderful
certainly the most ridiculed, faculty in these
machines, is their capabity of writing Oh
printing both ways at the same moment o.
time. When we stated this fact, about a yeai
ago, the statement was ridiculcd and denied
like our other averments concerning this IN
vention, not only by those interested in Other
tclegraphic systems, but also in a serious o.
laborcd editorial articles in periodicals. claim
ing to be scientific But our reporter has seer
this extraordinary feat, clearly, fully and sat
isfactorily demonstrated. Two machines were
placed side by side, with an operator at each
who sent message after message over the same
wire simultaneously, without the least jostling
and without the slightest error Of word or let
ter. Since our reporter saw this fact demon
strated, in company with representatives from
nearly all the city journals, at the office of the
American Telegraph Company, the machines
have been subjected to the seyerest'tests on {
line extending from New York TO Bangor
Maine, and thence back to Disseminating l
circuit of about eight hundred miles-and ev
cry trial has shown the most satisfactory re
suts-the instruments working as perfectly
through eight hundred miles Of wire as in ;
circuit of one or two hundred miles, and will
strength Of current so slight as not to have
the least perccptbe effect upon the magnets
used by the Morse and House systems.
There are other and very practical advanta
gcs in this Hughes instrument over all other,
hitherto in use, such as its capacity of always
keeping in working order in the stormiest wea
ther; its freedom from the disturbing eiIecti
of atmospheric electricity; its ability to write
secretly; that is, the communicating Office
can, without the consent of their operators, Al
pleasure, and instantaneously, cut off all Offices
except those to which it wishes to communi
cate, and at pleasure can communicate to al
offices on the line; its exceeding simplicity
which enables an operator, however inexperi
enced, to transmit his message correctly and
with considerable rapidity its arrangement
by which the presence of an operator at the
receiving Office is dispensed with, as his instru
mcnt can be started at the wish of distant
Office, and will stop of itself when the dispatcl
has been received; its cheapness, the price
being about four hundred per cent less thar
the House machine; its compactness, etc
The patent for this most important invention
which VIC believe is destined TO effect com
plete revolution in the telegraph business o
the country, is owned by the American Tele
graph Company, in which we understand thai
Professor Hughes is large stockholdcr, and
of which Peter Cooper, Wilson G. Hunt and
James Eddy, are respectively President, Trea
surer and General Superintendent. This com
pany is composed of many of the most sub
stantial men of the city, together with severa
of the most experienced and successful prac.
teal telegraphers of the country. They have
already under their control upwards of three
thousand miles of telegraph wire in daily ope
ration throughout the East from New York tC
Na,rf.nnIlapl and tho,, ,rirac mill copnao