Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1881-08-18
\ Gigantic Scheme to GirdIe the Ma
ton with Wire and Relieve the Pos
tai Department..


A Boston dispatch says, postal tele-
graph company, to stretch wires from
ocean to ocean and from the northern
cities of Canada to the commercial
marts of Mexico, is among the latest
schemes of the indOmitable Jim Keene.
He is already taking steps to consum-
mate his design, and promises to have
it completed and in working order
within the next eighteen months. A
feature Of this gigantic scheme will be
to enable financial operators and
others by means Of two unused inven-
tons, namely, Gray's harmonic null
tiple and way-duplex system, and the
Lego automatic and autograph sys-
tenn, to communicate with each other
without interruption, or without the
knowledge of the officers or employees
Of the company. The advantages
which are claimed for Gray's are that
it converts one wire effectively into six
or more wires, allowing half dozen
messages to be sent on a single wire,
simultaneously going in one direction
or in opposite directions, thus practi-
cally increasing the number of wires
without the cost of maintenance 1t
embraces also way-duplex system, by
means of which any number of stations
on the line may communicate with
each other on a single wire on which
through business is simultaneously
done. Lines, it is held, cannot be tap
ped on any of the multiples between
the sending and receiving stations, and
no fundamental feature of the system
is dependent on Page or existing pat
entS. 1t is claimed that this invention
will save to the company at least So
100000 in construction and an equal
sum in the maintenance of the wires.
The advantages of Leggo's system,
claimed by both the inventor and Mr.
Keene, are that it will transmit automa-
tically on single wire any number of
words up to 1000 or more per minute,
thus giving single wire the capacity of
ten quadruPlex wires, worked by hand
1t can transmit messages automatically
on q single wire, and receive them
automatically at the end Of the circuit,
and retransmit them automatically at
the same speed over any number Of
circuits, all from single setting or
single instrument, securing immediate
delivery over any number of circuits,
and saving more than one-haf of the
operating where messages are retrans-
mitted. 1t enables any number Of local
offices to transmit messages by Ordin-
airy hand methods to the central office
by wire, where they may be received
on an automatic instrument, ready for
instant and rapid transmission. 1t will
enable commercial and financial houses
to prepare their messages in their own
offices, and send them instantly to their
CORES onding house, at any distant
point, without the intervention or
knowledge of the company's agents or
employees, and it will transmit the exact
Handwriting of the writer, the
message delivering a perfect fac
simile at the opposite end of the line.
This dispenses with operators entirely,
the writer being both sending and re-
ceivlng operator, the transmitting
operation being mechanical and auto
matte, wholly without error, and pre-
venting fraud by forgery. Concerning
the postal feature ofthe enterprise, Mr..
Keene says it will supply distinctive
postal Geographic system by which
long messages, letters, ETC., will be re-
ceived and delivered through the post
Office and sent over the wires. These
messages will be delivered Through the
postofice in cities having a delivery
system, and to remote points from the
lines by posting at the receiving Office.
For this purpose the company will
issue postal telegraph stamps at uni
form low rates for messages of a given
number of words and multiples there
of. The company already own the
only compound factory in the country,
the present daily profits of which are
claimed to be $4,000.