Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1888-09-05
THE TEIlAUTOGRAPH.

Professor Elish Gray, of Highland Park,
has just completed an invention scarcely
less wonderful and valuable than the tele-
phone, of which he was also the inventor,
but of which he was defrauded. "Within
q few days." said the professor the other
day, II shall give a private test of my
new telautograph, an invention which
will largely supplant the telephone. BY
this invention you can sit down at your
Office in Chicago, take a pencil in your
hand, write message to me, and as your
pencil moves a pencil here in my labora-
tory moves simultaneously and forms
way. What you write in Chicago is in
instantly reproduced here in facsimile.
You may write in any language; write in
shorthand if you like, use a code or cipher,
no matter, facsimile is produced here.
If you wish to draw picture it is the
same-the picture is reproduced here.
The artist of you paper can, by this de-
vice, telegraph his pictures of a railway
wreck or other occurrence, just as a re-
porter telegraphs his description in words.
The two pencils move spontaneously, and
there is no reason why a circuit of 500
miles cannot be worked as easily as one 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 ad-
vantages, too. It is noiseless and devoid
of the many annoyances so common to the
telephone. 1t will be much less affected
by induction. There will be no trouble in
catching words or syllables, letters or fig
ures. 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
transactions this would be an invaluable
feature. In ordering goods, or sales of
stocks or grain, or in transmitting names
or addresses its superiority over the tele-
phone is obvious. For desultory conver-
sations, 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, on the
other hand, it would save many of the
delays and annoyances incident to tee-
phonic communication.
"When one person wishes to communi-
cate with another by the telautograph he
pushes button, which rings an annunci-
ator 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 its 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. Fin
ishing 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 conver-
sation can be carried on easily and quick
ly, and when it is finished another simple
word-say the telegraphic signal "3G'-
will indicate the end. Both parties have
full record of the conversation, and each
possesses others autograph.
"In writing," continued the professor,
"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 advan-
tage commercially"
"Yes. It will not cost more than SIS or
500, and is easily kept in order. have
tried it again and again, and it works
more perfectly than the telephone, and is
much less liable to have its usefulness in
terfered with by Observation-Disclosures
Herald