Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1888-04-20
The TelautOgraph.
AN INVENTION BY PROF. GRAY THAT
BEATS THE TELEPHONE
Chicago Herald.

lChicago Herald.
Prof. Elisha Gray, of Highland Park
has just completed an invention
scarcely less wonderful and valuable
than the telephone, of which he was
also the inventor, but of which he was
defrauddd. Within Il few days"
said the professor yesterday, 81 shall
give Il private test of my new tclauto-
graph, an invention which will largely
supplant the telephone. | have al
ready tested it to my satisfaction, over
and over again, and on Saturday |
shall give an exhibition to some gem
tlemen from the East. l have just
taken it to pieces to make some slight
alterations, or l should show it to you
now.
By this invention you can sit down
at your Office in Chicago, take pencil
in your hand, write message to me,
and as your pencil moves, Il pencil
here in my laboratory moves simultan-
eOusly and forms the same letters and
words in the same way. What you
write in Chicago is instantly repro
duced here in fac-simile. You may
write in any language; write in short
hand if you like, use Il code Or cipher,
no matter, a fac-simile is produced
here. If you wish to draw IL picture it
is the same-the picture is reproduced
here. The artist of your paper can,
by this device, telegraph his pictures
of a railway wreck or other occurrence,
just as reporter telegraphs his de-
scription in words. The two pencils
move spontaneously, and there is no
reason why a circuit of 500 miles can
not be worked as easily as cne Of ten
miles.
"This telautograph will supplant
the telephone for many purposes. 1t
can be worked in exchanges, just as
the telephone is, or by private wire.
1t has many advantages, too. 1t is
noiseless and devoid of the many an
noyances SO common to the telephone.
1t will be much less affected by in
duction. There will be no trouble
in catching words or syllables, letters
or figures. No misunderstanding will
result. Besides, it leaves record at
both ends of the wire, and there can
be no dispute about what was said.
For all commercial transaction this
would be an invaluable feature. In
ordering goods, or sales of stocks or
grain, or in transmitting names or ad-
dresses, its superiority over the tele-
phone is obvious. For desultory con-
versations, it is true, it would not be
SO rapid of working, for the reason that
one cannot write as fast as he can talk
but, but, Oh the other hand, it would
gave many Of the delays and annoy
ances incident to telephone commlin-
ication.
"When one person wishes to COM
municate with another by the telau-
tograph he pushes button, which
rings an annunciator in the exchange,
or in the Office of the person with
whom he wishes to converse. Then
the first party takes his writing pen
Gil from his holder-and this may be
pen or. pencil-and writes his message
upon roll of paper. AS he writes, SO
writes the pencil at the other end of
the wire. Finishing his message, he
adds cross or any other simple token
that he has finished, when the second
party takes down his pencil and writes
reply. Thus conversation may be
carried on easily and quickly, and
when it is finished another simple
word-say the telegraph signal "3O''
will indicate the end: Both parties
have u full record of the conversation,
and each possesses the others auto
graph.
"In writing" continued the pro-
fessOr, your pen or pencil is attached
to two small wires, and these wires
regulate the currents which control
the pencil at the other end of the
wire. But these wires give you no
trouble. You hardly know they are
there, and can write with as much
facility as if they were absent"
"Can this invention be used to ad-
vantage commercially
"Yes. 1t will not cost more than
SIS or $40, and is easily kept in order
have tried it again and again, and it
works more perfectly than the tele-
phone, and is much less liable to have
its usefulness interfered with by in.
duction.
THERE are 10000, 900 people in the
United States, but only 100000 oI
these are farmers. Yet these 200,
600, only one-fifteenth part of the pop
ulation, by the aid of their machinery
and hired help, last year, planted 73,
100000 acres of corn, and OIL these
acres raised 1.45S, ,16l 900 bushels o.
corn, which ut current market rates
had value of more than $646, ,OOO, 900
These same farmers, with their ma