The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1878-04-20
LOng.Range Chatting.

Long Range Chatting.
On several occasions telephone com.
municatiOn has been established be-
tween Philadelphia and New York, and
by it musical sounds have been trans
mitted from one city to the other. The
instrument used in those experiments
was Gray's musical telephone, which
did not convey the words that were
sung into it, but merely the air. The
transmission of spoken words by tele-
phone was effected yesterday for the
first time, between the office of Presi-
dent Bentley, of the Local Telegraph
Company, in this city, and the Western
Union Telegraph building in New York.
The instruments used were Edison S
carbon telephone and Phelps magnetic
telephone. That startling man, Edison,
himself, together with President Orion
and other gentlemen, sat down at the
New York end, ninety miles away. and
held pleasant chat with couple
dozen persons who occupied President
Bentley's office, and who comprised
Mr.. Bachelor, Edison's right-hand man
in his experiments; Mr. Merrihew, SUI
perintendent of the Western Union of
flee in this city, and G. M. Phelps, in
ventor of the magnetic telephone and
Superintendent of the Western Union S
mandatory in New York.
The experiments, in so far as the car
bon telephone was concerned, We're
highly successful, and were regarded as
a great triumph for that invention on
account of the fact that the wire brought
into service was one of the company S
many wires running over the distance,
which, at the time of the experiments,
were under their greatest pressure of
business. Mr.. Bentley said that under
existing circumstances the carbon tele-
phone was the only one capable of per-
fectly transmitting spoken words be-
tween Philadelphia and New York, and
only by an Independent wire, far from
the disturbing electrical influences of
the other wires, could any telephone
except Edison's work satisfactorily.
Such disturbances, he said, were proba-
bly, greater along the route in question
than along any other, owing to the
cabling of the although sep
arated by rubber-under the numer-
Gus arms and streams of water, as
well as under ground in New York,
and also to the effect of the powerful
batteries at the ends of the line.
The carbon instrument, which is the
latest invented of telephones, differs
from all the others in being operated
by means of battery of two cells 1t
derives its name from circular cake
of carbon fixed in the mouthpiece be-
tween two metallic plates, to which the
positive and negative poles of the bat
terry are respectively attached. There
is no electricity in any of the other tel
ephones, except while sound is being
sent into the mouthpiece, when the Vi
brations of the diaphragm cause CORE
spending electric darts from a magnet
along the wire. But in Edison's inven-
ton there is a constant current of cleo
tricity, controlled by the diaphragm S
vibrations. The diaphragms of all the
other telephones are very thin; but this
is stout plate of metal. Its vibra-
tons alternately press upon and relieve
the carbon, thereby modifying the cur
rent so as to produce corresponding Vi
brations at the other end.
Edison, having discovered that car
bon is q better conductor of electricity
when under pressure than when in a
different condition, saw at once that he
could advantageously apply the princi-
pie to the telephone. The result was
an instrument far more powerful than
any other telephone, and the only one
that at present can give full satisfac-
ton when great distance is to be trav-
ersed along wire subject to the electri-
al disturbances above mentioned. But
when no such obstacles are in the way,
and especially when the line of commu-
nication is short, any one of the other
telephones is preferable to Edison's,
owing to the Inconvenience of the bat
teries accompanying the latter.
Halo! halo! Edisonr' shouted Mr..
Bachelor into the mouthpiece of the
carbon telephone, holding the receiver
to his ear. There were eight other re-
ceivers, a few of them being the
phelps and they were eagerly seized
by individuals who initiated the action
of Mr.. Bachelor. The "Phelps" re.
ceived just as well as the other.
HALO, Bachelor" returned Edison
in voice as distinct-to those helding
the receivers-as if he were in the
room, when did you get DOWN."
"At 1910 this morning, and I'm go
ing back to Menlo Park by the $3.50
train. Who's with you there and how's
the weather.
MIR. Orion and lot of other gen
tlemen. The weather is charming. Ha'
Mr.. Phelps arrived yete hear you ~
well as if you were here.p
Mr.. Phelps got here a few minutes
ago, and will try his magnetic afte
awhile. He says he can beat the car
bon"
"Ha, ha, har' laughed Edison. Gal