The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1878-04-11

y dHu tuc puOnOkTdpH may De
looked upon as an accomplished fact.
BY the use of the telephone one man in
Chicago is enabled to hold converse
ton with another in Milwaukee, and
by the use of the photograph CONVEX
sation of to-day may be preserved or
corked up and repeated or reproduced
by the instrument two weeks, six
months, or twenty years later. When
the announcement was made that
speech could be photographed, as it
were, and that what man said could
be sent down in his own tone, and with
his characteristic emphasis, to future
ages. just as his photograph is trans
mitted, people looked upon the whole
story as huge joke.
The photograph has been so far per-
fected that public exhibitions of its
talkability" have been given in New
York, and the papers of that city have
much to say in the way of description
and speculation. The photograph
proper is thin plate of metal set in
rubber mouth-piece. This is placed in
an arm which swings in front of a brass
cylinder turned by q crank. A blunt
pointed steel needle touches the plate
with one extremity, and bears Chilly
on the grooved cylinder with the other.
The cylinder is covered with a sheet of
tin-foil. The operator, turning the
crank, puts his mouth to the rubber
and talks loudly and strongly. The
needle follows the vibrations, and,
dancing up and down, dots the tin-foil
with delicate points. When the sound
is strong the mark is well defined. and
the laws of sound as to clearness are
followed in the record.
To reproduce the sound the needle is
removed, the cylinder is turned back
to the first points of the record, and a
common tin resounding tube is fast
ened to the disc. The crank is turned,
and the contents of the foil sheet arc
talked back by the monograph, with
great care us to infection and empha-
sis. From this tin-foil plate y matrix
in sulphur may be taken, from which
plates can be multiplied indefinitely
and ut any time while the matrix is in
existence. In this way one speech
talked into the monograph may be re-
produced a century after the time it
was spoken and in many places. This
is, in brief. the monograph, and the
ing an experiment with the telephone.
His finger happening to rest on the tel
ephone-needle he felt it pricking him,
and it occurred to him that if these vi
brations could be recorded on metal
surface, speech might be in this way
preserved and reproduced.
The instruments first produced are
necessarily imperfect. The crank must
be turned for producing a conversation
Just as it was turned for recording.
The slightest deviation makes confll-
sion. For some unexplained reason
the young monographs, now before
the people, talk with nasal twang as
though they had too much nose. The
movement of the cylinder can be regu-
lated by machinery, and all machines
gagged alike. so one difficulty is easily
remedied. The nasal twang is possibly
caused by the character of the resound-
ing tube, and just how much improve
ment can be made in this particular
remains to be seen.
The theory OF the reproduction is
that when the needle-point is run over
the grooves the indentations previous
ly made by it cause vibrations of the
metal plate corresponding exactly to
that produced by waves Of sound. Give
the monograph good sounding-tube,
and it will undoubtedly cease to talk
through the nose.
The possibilities of such an invention
are so great as to exceed the bounds of
credibility. AS the art of photography,
calling in the aid of the stereoscope,
brings to our parlOrs views of statuary
and the finest landscapes, SO may the
monograph bring to our parlors the
singing of the most famous prime donne
or the speaking of the most eloquent
orators. In the future, a roll of Oper-
attic gems as sung by the PATHS, Nils
sons and kelloggs of the age will be an
indispensable adjunct of luxurious par
lors, and a bundle of short orations bv
the best speakers will be found in every
reputable school-room. Photographs
will be as common as pianos, and will
not cost half as much, and the family
will call out a singer or speaker
thousand miles from them, or a hum
dred years dead. at their own sweet
will.
Photographs of distinguished person.
ages will be accompanied by little me-
tallic rolls, giving samples of their con-
versation, and with the family pictures
will be assorted packages of records,
showing how Tommy screamed at the
age of three months, how he talked
wnen he first said Mamma" and re-
producing his interesting speech when
ne arrived at the dignity of wearing his
first boots. An evening over the old,
odd speeches of the youngster Of fam
lily will be as amusing rs is now an
evening over the quaint, old-fashioned
pictures in old albums. The mother
who prizes the photograph now be-
cause it shows her how the boy, now
dead, looked when he was with her,
will prize the monograph because it
will show her how the boy talked, and
repeat in his old tones some boyish
speech.
Instead of choirs, churches may have
assorted packages of solos. quartets,
ETC., as rendered by the most famous
singers, and may operate the church
phonograph with no more trouble than
is now given to Il music-box. Lecture
committees and bureaus will order
their lectures instead of engaging lee
turers, and possibly churches may Oc-
casionally order sermons in the same
way.
If the telephone keeps up with the
times it will be possible to use it in
connection with the monograph in
taking speeches delivered at distance,
and in bottling them up for future USE
The photographic principle will doupt-
less be applied to many things in COM
mon use. Clocks will call or sing the
hour instead of striking, self-rocking
cradles will be mounted with phono-
graphs warranted to sing the best nur-
sery rhymes, and tell stories without
end. Locomotive whistles will be sup
planted by monographs of tremendous
power, ready to thunder out orders
suited to the occasion. 1t looks very
much as though this generation had
missed good deal of the fun that is to
come to the fellows who come after us.
Chicago Inter- Ocean.
Cambria Costumes, Etc.