, 1877-02-11
THE TELEPHONE.
Horror of an Evanston 0pe rator-.
Waiting by Telegraph.
Prof. Elisha Graz aud His Wonderful lnyention-.
uoW It Works.

night was frightened almost out OF his wits by
hearing his sscut-out board" play "Ninety and
Nine" When capable OF thinkng-for aston
ishment non-plussed linn for moment or two
he concluded that Sankcy was sitting on the
top OF pole somewhere along the line sending
message to the stray sheep to come into the
fold. Another person, seated In bis home at
Highwocd, heard the music at tue same time,
but he was not at all alarmed; qualification e1-
presses his state OF mind. This was Dir.
C. e. Summers, electrician Of the Western
Union Company. Before him, on table,
was small box, nearly square, with magnet
aud wire attached. Seventy miles away, in
Milwaukee,, the Opera-House was crowded with
people assembled to listen to tue lecture OF c.
u. Haskins on electricity. They also heard the
the wire, and were beside themselves with de-
light at this triumph Of science:
> The one directly responsible for the fright OF
the operator, the qualification OF Mr. SUM-
mers, and the setting Of Milwaukee by the
cars is
the inventor of the telephone, and the gentle
man who was manipulating the instrument was
Mr. W. II. Goodridge, who was at the Office OF
the Western Union Telegraph Company IN this
city.
AIr. GRAY, in connection with Mr.. Goodridge,
has been hard at work since 1878 developing the
telephone, and he has made such progTess as to
insure the accomplishment Of his Object, the
sending Of eight messages over one wire ut the
same time. The musical feature, not Us yet
deyeloped To its full extent, is simply novelty,
evidence OF what can be done. What may
come out Of it, Mr.. Gray does not know, since
the instrument Is capable OF elaboration.
Already, though the telephone, as at present
constructed is not specially adapted for 1t, lar
mony cau tie sent as well US melody
The invention may be said to consist OF
TnAEE PARTS.
One is transmission Of simple melody, which
is received upon d na-nct; another is t he
transmission Of either chords or discords,-
composite tones,-whch can ell be received on
single instrument; and the third is receiving
on Instruments that analyzc the tones aed PICK
out the one to which each instrument is attuncd.
This is thc valuable feature,-the ability u trans
init composite toucs simultaneously, each tone
passing over the wire at certain vibration ana
preserving it's individuality at the receiving end,
and thus enabling the operator to hear the tone
which his "a box''is designed to receive.
TILE SENDER.
The sending Instrument if the term Is per-
missib1e, is virtually electrical organ: 1t con-
sists of reeds made Of steel, tuned In the ordi-
nary way to the musical scale, and these reets
are kept in vibration by means OF galyauic bat
tcrics. When the opcrator begins to play on the
KEYS. the whole series of rerds are started and
begin vibrating, and the noise made is deatcnlng
when the doors Of the organ are open. a green
baize covering on the inside dcalens the sound
when they are shut, aud nothing can then
be heard. The keys close the main CIR,
cult through their corresponding reeds, and
sound the notes, which yibrate the line. The
instrument now in use has sixteen notes, and
any tune can be played that comes witnin that
compass. 1t Is unlike any musical instrument,
except as to the attunlnE OF the reeds.
THE RECEIVER.
The receiver is Il wooden box, large one TOR
q low note and small one for high note,
varying i'll size from eight inches long By fur
wide to two feet by ono and quarter. On the
top, fastened securely, is 4 magnet, to which
arc attached rlc ''in and out" wires. The
armatoure mounted on the magnet is fixed rigid
II at one cnd, and is made to vibTate In front
Of the other pole. The magnet will give oil
any tone, and the box which is attuned to the
particular sender will take up the note and
resound it. ......-.- ~
THE PRINCIPLE,
In Mr.. Gray's words, is this:
"If send q sound along line which vibrates
12s times second, and At the other end put q
bux which is adjusted to that rate, SO that If
excited mechanically it will produce that note,
it will pick up the note as 1t zones over the
wire and respond to 1t, and to no other rate OF
vibration. II two messages are to be sent an-
other transmitter can be put IN, tuned TO the
rate OF 200 vibrations, and at the other end re-
ccivcr corresponding to it. Thus you can null
tiply transmitters and receivers almost inded-
nltcly. a tone will always 60 to A boz, and
E tone to 3 box, ETC. Theoretically, VIC
are limited only BY the number Of distinct notes
that can be received. Practically, ne do not
know what the limit will be. Sixteen tones
hare been scnt-more than will probably ever
be necessary on any one line. The fine adjust
mcnt Of the instrument required will be apt to
limit the number. Eight messages for q long
line will perhaps be the maximum sent aud re-
ceiyca at one time. We are now experimenting
with view Of cquipping line between here
and Buffalo,"
Any electrical magnet will receive tone. In
the box receivers the 1oudncss Of the tones
depends upon the strength OF the bat
terry used, and the method Of mount-
ing, so as to get the best acoustic cf-
fects. Thursday afternoon an experiment
was made with tue largest boz yet constructed,
and ss How eau leave you!" and other melo-
dies sounded as II played on q yioloncello. The
notes were not characterized bF the delicacy and
sweetness peculiar to that instrument, being
coarse and harsh, yet the the tunes were readily
recognized.
NJ. Gray is now at work on IN instrument
designed to make every tone print letter. II
"A'' is sent, "a" will be printed at the re-
cciyinE end. Analysis Ut sound is the govern
ing principle: When completed, these printers
viii superscde the commercial instruments now
In use since they will be much more rapid and
available for long lines. ?. -. ,...s.
. The telegraphers OF Chicago arc to give ball
tomorrow evening at A1artine's Hall on Ada
street, and they will dance the Telephone