New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-02-21
TIE TELEGRAPH FIRE-ALARM.

Mr.. COFFIN REPLIES TO MR.. OCoNNOR AND vIGoR-
. oUs1Y MAINTAINS PROFESSOR FARMERS TITLE
TO TIE HONOR OF TIE INVENTION.
TO ths FditOr Of The Tribune.
SIR: In n volume entitled I" Building the
Nation" Il IS stated that the tecga7hc fro alarm was
invented and constructed by Moses e. Farmer ana tha
statement Is denounced false in letter published In
THE TRIBUNE OF February IL. AZ am the author OF
p,u5,r, tho Nation" and am accusedor falsifying
history the public has the right to know upon what
Grounds the credit OF the invention has been given to
professor Farmer rather than to Dr. william f. Chan
hin, when the fire alarm adopted in Boston In 1851
as Professor Farmers assistant, and gave the first
alarm ever given May Do 1892, ana am therefore pre-
naby acquainted with the history of the invention
In 1889 DIR. Claiming conceived tho Idea OF ntih1hg
tbc telegraph for giving alarms OF fire. In 1912 he held
conversation with DR.. Charles T. Jackson upon It, and
IN 1915 published an article in The Boston Advertiser
uogc,tng its use He proposed central office, two
circuits of wires Morse register In the office, tee-
croph key at each station and machines TO strike the
be. TO be set motion by the electric current But he
,a no description OF the proposed mechanism or OF Its
opcratIon without doubt the conception was original
with Dr. Charming; but an idea Is not invention
rha cif Engineer OF the New York Fire Department,
IN Ma rcport forlsL7 suggested the Of tho system
During hat year the idea cane to Mayor Quincy OF Bos-
TON who never had or heard or the article IN me
Adrerfser lie inquired of MI smith, the president OF
tho Now York and Boston Telegraph. If the telegraph
co,,Id be so used Mr.. Smith consulted Professor
Farmer then I'm charge of the telegraph Office in South
rrnmingbam who taking an old eight-day clock from
closet devised and attached TO It the beautiful electro
magnetic escapcmcnt which is to be found upon every
string machine constructed since then In consulta-
on with Mr. Smith system devised for the city OF
Roson on the principle OF the automatic system now III
general use The city employed Professor Farmer TO
construct two experimental machines, one OF when was
occd ON the top of the Court House and the other In
tbo Roston and Now-York telegraph Office They were
conuected with the Nowlork line ana rung Dy inc oper
ator in that city. giving satisfactory results PROFESSOR
Torner did not then know that there was such man
In existence as DR.. Claiming anu never nau seen OF
hoard OF the article IN The AdrertiSer.
In 1881 Now-York. Philadelphia ana Berlin were
,mtrs the telegraph to give notice of fires. It's in
,hoso cities stimulated Dr. Claiming TO bring forward
ht Man He proposed TO have signal and alarm circuits
., tros radating from n central office, and In each
1,ct signal stations. and the apparatus OF each
,Ion was TO be a signal key nothing more depressing
hcb would make dot on Morse register at the CEN
,ra office Tho operator In the office was TO depress
ev an the circuit which TO the bell towers where
here was TO be olOokwOrk with magnet and battery,
which would DO called into play to set the clockwork In
motion. when blow had been struck the operator
could depress the key again for repetition Of the blow
No machine had been made nor was there ever ma
chine constructed upon that pan and Is plain 70 every
one who has any knowledge or electricity that such
machine could be made to do the requEed work
In his letter TO the Mayor and Aldermen OF Boston D
Chnnning says The undersigned asks attention " y
plan for tho communication OF an alarm OF nre whicn
plan has already been presented In It's general PrccS
10 the hubble and when tho subject OF recommends
t0n In the annual address OF the Hon. josiah quincy IN
1913" Whose plant Not DR.. Channngs, but Professor
Farmers The only apparatus In the signa sLons Is
designed by Or. Charming, was key depressing which
dot would DO made Oh Morse register In the central