The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1888-08-30
THE TELAUTOGRAPH.
Elisha Gray's Latest Invention-Written
Messages Duplicated by Wire, Noise
1essly and Exactly.
[Chicago Herald.]

Chicago Herald
Professor 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
defrauded. "Within few days." said
the professor the other day, II shall
give private test of my new telauto-
graph, an invention which will largely
supplant the telephone. BY this inven-
ton you can sit down at your office in
Chicago, take a pencil in your hand,
write message to me, and as your
pencil moves pencil here in my la
boratory moves simultaneously and
forms the same letters and words in the
same way. What you write in Chicago
is instantly reproduced here in fac
simile. You may write in any language;
write in shorthand if you like, use
code or cipher, no matter, fac-simileis is
produced here. If you wish to draw
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 description in words. The two
pencils move spontaneously, and there
is no reason why 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 advantages, too. Its noise
less and devoid of the many annoy
ances so common to the telephone. It
will be much less affected by induction.
There will be no trouble in catching
words or syllables, letters or figures.
No misunderstanding will result.
Besides, it leaves a record at both ends
of the wire, and there can be no dispute
about what was said. For all CONNER
cial transactions this would be an in
valuable feature. In ordering goods,
or sales of stocks or grain, or in trans
mitting names or addresses its superiori-
ty over the telephone is obvious. For
desultory conversations, 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 telephone COM
munication.
WRITING A MESSAGE.
"When one person wishes to COM
municate with another by the telau
tograph he pushes a 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 pencil from its
holder-and this may be pen or pencil
and writes his message upon a roll Of
paper. AS he writes so writes the
pencilat the other end of the wire.
Finishing his message, be adds G cross,
or any other simple token that he has
finished, when the second party takes
down his pencil and writes a reply.
Thus conversation can be carried on
easily and quickly, and when it is
finished another simple word-say the
telegraphic signal "3U'-will indicate
the end. Both parties have full record
of the conversation, and each possesses
the others autograph.
"In writing" continued the profess
sor, "your pen or pencil is attached to
two small wires, and these wires regu-
late 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 adj
vantage economically"
"Yes. 1t will not cost more than SIS
or $40, and is easily kept in order. I
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 induc-
tiOn.n