The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1879-04-10
Writing by Telegraph.

AT the last meeting of the Electrical
Society of the Ohio Valley, held at their
rooms in this city on the evening of
March 10, Mr.. James w. See presented
a detailed description, illustrated by
photographs, of his new autographs
telegraphing system, which he terms the
Electro-P Paragraph. Mr.. s. has had
his European specification in London
over two years, and as the public pre-
sentation of the subject before the
above-named society, of which he is a
member, was the direct result of an
article appearing in our columns some
days ago, to the effect that a similar
system was soon to be made public in
London, we have felt called upon to 90
over the papers read before the Elec-
trical Society, and digest it for the ben
eft of our readers.
walk into telegraph Office, pick up q
lead-pencil, stick its point through a
hole in the end of pointed rod at
tached to the instrument, and write his
message or letter, or check, or note of
hand, in any language, short-hand or
long-hand, good writing or bad, and as
he does so similar pencil at station
hundreds of miles away follows every
movement, and this pencil coincidently
produces q perfect duplicate of the
authors writing. This affair opens up
fine questions as to what constitutes q
legal note of hand. There can be no
doubt but what such note is actually
written by the maker. No intermediate
process intervenes between the maker
and the distant note, and the law does
not say how long or how short pencil
must be, or whether it is to be made of
wood and blacklead, or of wire and
batteries and retorts, and electro
magnets and mechanism.
Mr.. Sees system is based on the
theory, fully demonstrated in his pa
per, that lines, no matter how complex
they may be, possess but two essential
elements: direction and length; and
there are but two fundamental direc-
tions; and that all possible directions
are formed by a combination of two
of these fundamental directions. The
fundamental directions are down, left,
right and up. The effect of combi-
nation of two directions is fully defined
by the well-known philosophical laws
of resultant forces, the fundamental
elements of all lines being the compo-
nents.
The instrument consists of four KEYS
closing four electric circuits. These
keys are opened by the rotation Of
toothed pinions, and the pinions are ro-
tated by toothed racks having articu-
lated rods attached. The pencil sock
ct is at the puncture of these rods. A
movement of the pencil in one direc-
ton will affect q series of breaks in
one circuit and not affect the other
three. The number of breaks is in
proportion to the length of the line.
If the pencil I've moved in q curve it
will result in q series of breaks in two
circuits, and the relative number of
breaks will depend on the relation be-
tween the two component directions
of the curved line. The receiving fea-
lures of the instrument are similar to
the portions just described, save that
instead Of rotating pinions breaking .
circuit breaks in the circuit are caused
to rotate the pinions. This is accom-
p]ished by means of four electro mag
nets whose armatures at each break
in the circuit rotate the pinion as far
as the pinion which broke the circuit
rotated. a
i The instrument thus possesses vast
executive powers. It analyses the
writing a. it is produced; separates it
into its component elements; transmits
one of these elements over one circuit
and another over another circuit at the
same time; and a. . receiver 1t receives
..r.reHa1v kha oomn0nent alamenta Of