Omaha daily bee., 1883-04-27
The Wonderful Things Accom-
plished by the Electro
scope
Photographs to be Taken by
Means Of Electric Wires
with the Camera
And the Sabjsot Many Hundreds
~ Miles Apart.

bskeu tnls 'esttOu stoOu 81 tue uOot
OF q dizzy, Ill. ventilated workshop In
the fifth story of q building occupied
exclusively by machines and model.
makers
Certainly, air; look at him." was
the response to the reporters ques.
ton, "What is your pleasure2"
"Well, l am come to get some points
about your wonderful machine. 1
should like to know how big 1t Is, how
il looks and what 1t is expected to ao'
oomplish." said the reporter, looking
about for a seat.
"H'm!" CIRCULATED the inventor;
CHATS asking q great deal, and econ
siderably more than it would be poll.
ey for me to tell. TIE electroscope Is
not az big as Jumby by aay means.
As to how 1t looks, l could best an.
swsr that by giving a detailed desorip.
tion of my magnum opss."
$50 much the BETTER" said the re.
porter, whipping out his note book and
pencil.
"Bus to do that continued the In.
ventor, seating himself upon the
bench and swinging his legs psnslvely,
"would be TO give some one else a
chance to steal my secret, and thus
deprive me of the fruits Of my years
of labor. But noticing q moan OF
disappointment from his companion
I have no objection to telling you
what l expect to accomplish"
"Weli2'
"The electroscope," went on the
father of that marvellous instrument,
thoughtfully bending and twisting a
piece of slender copper wire, sis an
apparatus for the transmission Of
light. You knew that when you
came. We hope" pursued the In
v%eptor, ''to be able to produce In New
York instantaneous photographs of
scenes which are being enacted In
San Francisco, for instance That
may appear a little surprising" said
the electrician.
''Just q trIfs," observed the re.
porter.
"Yet 1t is far from impossible. We
set up our instrument In San Fran.
cisco and attach 1t ~ ordinary tele-
graph wires to q sensitive plate here.
Tho image Is transmitted over the line
to the plate, which Is developed as In
common photography. As a result,
we have a clear, beautiful picture"
"That Is all very fne, of COURSE"
said the reporter, picking up his book;
sbut of what practical good Is III"
II will show you. Suppose a Sun
day school superintendent ia Omaha
robs the bank of which he Is cashier
and decamps. His pho ;cgraphs are
immediately sent to all the principal
cities of the Union by the electro
scope, aud his chances of detection
greatly Increased. In the same way
fac-similes Of documents may be
transmitted. You will see how valua.
BILE this will be In cases of forgery"
"Then the eleotroscope Is to DO
used chiefly In frustrating crime7"
"If 1t would dono m ore than that, Its
claim to a high place amcng useful
inventions would, I think, DO fully
established. But that Is not all.
While the electroscope comes into
vogue the imuginations of the artists
/ on the illustrated papers will have a
much needed rest. Photographs Of
distant scenes may bs wired and en-
graved."
"But won't that be an expensive
process2"
81 dent know why 1t should be es
pecially 30, and what If 1t is2 Ths'
will not deter newspapers from usire
it. Don't they spend money wi.hou
stint to get accurate newsG VIII!
ahould they not be willing to pay vel
for correct %pictures2 With the cleo
troscope there would be the same com
petition between the papers for pic
%torials as there now Is for writer
news. Then, In case of war, my In
strument would be of great value It
the belligerents. The off GERS In tn
front could send pictures of tn
enemy's works by fl ,ld telegraph t.
the general in.chief In the rear"
Show long have you been at worl
at this thing2'
"Many weary years." replied tn
inventor, with a sigh. "The idel
antedated those of the phonograpl
and telephone. The success of thoE
inventions, particularly of the latter
encouraged me greatly. If a SCUM,
could be transmitted over the cleo
trio wires, why not Light Thus
reasoned, and l have toiled OF, In tn
facs Of disappointment and the laugh
ter Of the few to whom / have cor
ided my plans, until at last l hsv
perfected the machine"
when do you intend to put II Int
active opsration?"
"Iu the fall or summer. The du
season of the year is 80 close at han
that ! could do but little now. Whe
September or October comes, though
l shall organizs a company aId the
my triumph will come. He laugh
best who laughs last"
"You anticipate no trouble In Pc
suadipg capitalists to invest In you
scheme4'
"None at all, when they have sec
the ele~otroscope work. I have used
with entire success over short dil
tances, and am fully satisfied that
will do equally well at long ones"
"Could you make an electroscol
to transmit pictures from Europs2'
Possibly, although an exceeding
/, powerful current would be require
: I'll tell You what l could do. W
have read Verne's Twenty Thousar
Leagues Under the Ses2'"
The reporter nodded assent.
II believe I could reproduce, wi
q submarine electroscope, some of h
scenes which the Frenchman describe
: Expert divers could carry my inve
= ton under the sea, and the myaterio
, body which covers three. fourths
: the earth's surface would be forced
luo $40 a.. .oo.ot. 5000 Al.