Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1858-08-05
Phonography.

- u9Ao&toPhy.
| Mr. EDITOR: While you are receiving
communications from different quarters, why |
may you no: receive something from me on
the subject of PhonOgraphY; subject of
more Importance, than any pictured sketches
, of rolling landscape or would be oratorical
fourishes. 1t has beet my happy privilege
to learn this important art, and take an
interest in giving information concerning it
in any possible way; and if can interest
your readers by calling their attention to
this subject through the columns of your
paper, ! will deem it but a duty which |
owe to this reform, and performing of the
obligations which am under as an advo-
cate of this important art. Every scholar
has felt hundred times the necessity Of
some shorter method of communicating
thought than BY the cumbersome and tedious
long hand which re is compelled to use.-
The school boy, perplexed at the forms of
letters. and the Fl thousand words through
which he gropes his way learning to spell,
despairs in the hope of ever attaining to
any perfection in his written language. The
Minister tolls away the half of his life in
the mere writing of sermons and lectures
for his people; the editor with his toilsome
pen prepares his communications for the
press and wonders, that while improvements
are being made in the mechanical world to
facilitate labor, why there isno labor lessen.
ing, or time saving machine for him, that
would bear away part of his wearisome
toll in writing, and consulting dictionaries
for the correct orthography of words There
is a requsition here, and Phonography fully
meets it. Then come; with us one and all
and let US present you with this boon of
modern education-the ne plus ultra OF
all shorthand systems of writing.
:. Photography is the ar: of writing by
sound, phona sound, and graphic to write
The English language was analyzed by
Isaac Pitman, the inventor of Photography,
and found to contain lorty-three simple
sounds. or elements of speech, simple char
acters were employed to represent these
forty-three sounds, making forty-three
lettered alphabet instead of wenty-six
and each character representing one and
only one sound in any word, and in this
way, as every one can easily see, the trouble
, IN learning TO spell which is never accomp-
: lished in life time, is removed, and spell
ling is simply representing the sounds in
: spoken words, using no superhuous letters
which are so commSD to our orthography
f The vowel sounds of the photographic al.
T phabet, are represented by dols and dashes
a assuming different positions to the conson'
n an, characters, which are curves, and strai,
: lines, as the radie and segments of circle
r The representatives of these forty-three
/. sounds are the most easily formed charact
ers, for this was the great aim of the invent
: or, in order that the greatest speed might be
e attained in writing. In order that thii
:, speed might be acquired, which would
2 enable the writer to chase the swiftes
speaker, it was necessary that he should
make no more movements of the hand thar
c the speaker would make movements of the
d organs of speech. This demand is more
d than met with and consequently the tastes
!, speakers can be written. Thomas A. Rec,
: of London, has proven this by writing a
N lDc id-e vi lUEeG-UuHuIeu NOfus
q Boys in the United States not yet twenty
years old, have proven 1t by writing one
e hundred and fifty words per minute. VIII!
yes,
You can write ~ j.iis Ian so amazingly quicl
AS though it were done by some magical trick;
o And speech is dashed down-this mayby you'll
II doubt, r-a- .
y Almost before all the words have run out"
cannot here describe the philosophy o
the system, suffie e tito say. that it is s,
4 philosophical, that the introduction of On,
f arbitrary character is unnecessary. Th,
uses of photography are universal, they ar,
not confined to any particular science o
\ profession. Phonography therefore is BY
no means unworthy the attention of men o
genius and crudition. Come then ant
whatever thine hand findeth to do, do i
With the right. -....
Thomas Benton said "had this art beer
= known forty years ago, it would have saved
= : me twenty ye ars hard labor" J.
We have never yet heard an objection Il
photography, the weight of feather in ths
balance. and il there are any who may reat
this with degree of Indifference TO phono
!, , graphy, and who may have objection to the
art, we would say respectful to such, lie
them be presented; and we will try ant
answer them promptly and in this way per
haps others may be enlightened farther OF
- the subject. There are set of men, clost
listed conservatives; whom reform mus
: override and trample down, for thev woult
continue to 60 to mill on horse back witt
the corn in one end of the bag and stone
to balance it in the other, though they
had oeen frequently told that, wheat or corr
would balance it just as well and thus more
could be carried. Such then as these are
i, like bats, blinded with the light. Progress
A must move on and break all opposition tha
n will not bend. Y. H. DIsART.