New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-06-27
TELEPHONE AND MIcRoPHoNE
THE CONTROVERSY ABOUT PRIORITY OF
rArUrNpION

HE ADOOL AhAOhAAA VI
INVENTION.
Mr.. EDISON REPLIES TO THE CARD or MEssRs.
PREEoE AND HUGHES
To the Edftor OF The Trtkune.
SIR (; In reply to the card of Messrs. Preece and
Hughes. regarding the piracy by the latter of my
carbon telephone as contained In your paper OF
this date, allow me to refute their statements by
their own words, and by extracts from the English
scientific papers. quote from their card:
Hughes has not brought Oat any therEep,le,"
7 emphatieally fndorss ererv cord Of DC q99ge mes
sage ID. f. HUGHES.
From the Engineer, May II. 1873
Professor D. i. Hughes's telephone, mlcrOphOne, AID
thermOpile- - A discovery not made TN after
Professor Hughes's paper read before the Royal
instrument We All know what excellent service the
thermope has done the hands OF Professor IyndaI
safely describe another kind OF thermope sensitive
aud far complicated, less difficult TO construct and
mOny ia the usual fashion Instead Of the glass tube as
described. Professor Hughes was experimenting with
quill and found that the instrument was exceedingly
sensitive 10 heat on the approach OF warm hand the
galyanOmeter needle swings violently IN one dlreeuoh
on cOoling the tube swings IN the other.
Again ! quote from article on the telephone
aud phonograph from The Washington Star, April 10,
1873:
My carbon telephone may be used as a heat meas
urer tthermope) IL will detect the 5O,OOOth part OF
degree Fahrenheit etc
lulo paper was AudiiCu w hAA' AANSDD ~AfAAA 49,
1878, and prove that he received 1t by quoting
from the same article the following:
The phonogruph Will preserve the exact pronuneia-
ton The president Of the Pathological Society to
travel with it amongst all the North American tribes
Iquote from lecture delivered by Mr. Preece be-
fore the Society of Arts, May 10, 1873 and pub
ished in their journal, page 537
The phonograph will preserve the exact pronun-
citation Tne president OF the Pathological Society means
travel with 1t amongst all the North American tribes
= II IL 1farN
Iquote from a letter received byme short time since
from Professor Langley. the eminent astronomer:
ALLEGHENY OBSERVATORY. June 4, 1873
or e yoqT nay state y da Sb sae
In Menlo Park my telling you tlat an Instrument
sensitive 70 radiant heat than the DlsmutIan-
searches in the spectrum You suggested the Of
bOn OF which you showing Professor Barker ana
myself specimens As well as remember, the idea you
gave me was that the common small thermOpile was
capable Of developing little energy The variation OF
or traction from small heated adjacent body might be
made to control tho energy Of battery o. any sz ana
out limit.
Dir. Preece, in his card. says
MS (Hitghessl mierophOrs is quite different instru-
nelit 10 EdtsJHs telephone
Hughes, in his original paper of May g. 1873,
after summing up the labOrs OF others, says;
Tt will DO seen, however, that Ia the experiments
made by uysef the diaphTgg Gun has been together ds
cardcd resting docs upon the chaDgcs produced by
mOeCuidf Hclluu, iudt lo NstiidtiOu III
OF the current flowing are produced simply aud solely
by the direct effect OF iis sonorous vibrations
Iquote from The Journal Of he Telegraph, April
1G, 1873 (of which paper Mr.. PIeece is sub
scribeT) an article taken from the proof sheets Of
Mr.. Prescott's book on Che telephone and phonO-
graph, which reads as follows:
IL the latest form OF transmitter which Mr. Edison
has introduced the vibrating diaphragm is done away
with altogether.
From this book, which is now published, quote
from page 226:
I Edison) discovered that my principle, unlike all
other acousca devices for the transmission speech,
did require any vibration OF the diaphragm. That,
IN fact sound waves could be transformed into electrical
pulsations without the movement ot any intervening
mechanism.
TINS statement by mvsolf, for publication in Mr..
Prcscotts book was written over four months ago.
quote from letter from Prceco to myself dated
London, May 23 1878:
Hughes's dOlngs border very closely upon yours and
II dcut distinguish between what you have done
and what he has done.
Again Mr. Hughes, after describing number Of
experiments. sums up and says;
Carbon e used IL af . to any ether material s
difference pressure at the different points Of contact
| quote from The Journal Of the Telegraph April
10. 1878:
By constant experimenting Mr. Edison az length
made the discovery that when properly prepared carbon
possessed the remarkable property OF changing s resist
ance wh pressure aud that the ratios Of these changes
moreover. correspondent exactly with the pressure.
The same discovery was published IN The Scientific
american of July II, 1877, Journal Of the Telegraph,
July 10, 1877. HGrPr'8 Magazine, December. 1877,
and many other papers, both in this and other
tres.
Iquote an extract from a letter addressed to Sir
Henry Thompson, the eminent surgeon a copy Of
which was kindly sent TO me by the writer:
HOTEL CHATHAM, Paris. June 2, 1873.
MY DEAR SIR HENRY: IL is certain that at
the meeting OF Brush Association NJ Plymouth last
telephone was described having been invented by
EdisOu which Identical in principle and m some de-
tails with that brought forward by Hughes
lSgnedl WILLIAM THOMSON.
Finally, Mr. Preece had ample knowledge, through
my correspondence with him. of all had been doing
since he left America and had my telephones in his
possession at least month before the alleged dis
covery by Hughes and 1t is almost impossible to at
tribute his failure to defend me las he was bound to
dol against the piracy of Hughes to his not under
standing 50 simple instrument, and tho principle
involved therein.
Mr. Preece says in his card of yesterday
1 am IN no way whatever coadjutOr OF Hughes.
quote from Hughess original paper announcing
his alleged discovery:
My warmest thanks are duo to Mr. W. II. Preece, cleo
trcan Of the Post Office for his appreciation Of the I'm
pOrtauce OF the facts have stated and for his kind
counsel and aid In the preparation Of this paper.
In closing this letter, allow me to mention that
Mr. Hughes has addressed a communication to the
French Academy of Sciences, in which he adds to
his pirated telephone the induction coil, which l
have always used in combination herewith, and
which alons makes il practical instrument, think
ing perhaps that under cover Of foreign language
and before a society whose proceedings not gen.
orally known in this country, he would gain for him
self the credit Of TINS combination. lie makes no
mention of thus all-impOrtant factor in England,
where it would be at once known, and in which
country it has been patented nearly year. Yours
truly. THOMAS A. EDISON.
Menlo Park, n. j., June 20, 1873.
PROFESSOR @. F. BARKER on THE HUGHES MI