Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-12-13
HIS WONDERFUL PAPER
Edison'S Great Scheme of Publishing
Photographic Periodicals For
the Blind and Illiterate.
You Turn a Crank, Take Your Ease.
and the Sheet Will Read to
You.

New YoRK.-Whep only few years ago
Thomas A. Edison announced he would
bottle up the human voice SO that at any
future time it would be uncorked and
heard to SPEAK again, there were many
9ho heard the statement with open skep-
ticism. Now it MIR. Edison were to an-
uounce he would talk with persons on the
planet Mars, it would be generally credit
ed. The wizard Of Menlo park has not
quite accom- plioheG that much, but he
proposes to do som ething about as woD-
derful in the near Iuture. The modern
newspaper is trium oh of mans crea-
tive power, but Mr.. Edison proposes to
revoluuonIze journalism by starting a
newspaper that ban be appreciated by
the bind, and even by the illiterate. To
obtain the news of the day from Mr..
Edlson's proposed journal, all that one
will have to do will be to turn crank
aud listen and the newspaper will read
itself to him..
Some inkling of this marvellous pro
iecJ OF the gre as inventor having been Sc
cured, a reporter went out to Mr.. Ed
sons laboratory at Grange, N. ). Mr.
Edison was greatly surprised that any
hint of the new invention had got abroad
and at Fl st was ioath to talk about it. Il
is not generally known TO people at large
that Mr.. E1Ison has succeeded in turn
ing out what he calls CORES pOndence
pbDnograms. These PllonOgrams are
made of a peculiar wavy composition and
can be folded and put IN an envelope the
same as an ordinary letter. When G
message which has been traced upon them
by phonog ra ph1c needle is TO be made
public they are wrapped around a phono
graphic cylinder and by the revolution OF
the motor emit the sounds of The voice
which originally talked to- them. These
correspondence phOnOgrams can be
multi Piled to any extent by wonderful
process, details of which ale yet to be
made public.
1t is stated at the laboratory by one in
the secret that it necessary 10000 OF
more copies Of the same CT Under could
be turned out in one hour. They can be
adjusted to any phonograph, SO that 2O,-
coo or more of the talking machines
can repeat the same sentence at a given
moment. The possibility of this was
| suggested to the inventor for the benefit
of those who wish to keep abreast of the
news of the day, but who from failing
eyesight or from other causes are not
able to read newspapers. The Edison
Talking Newspaper company will supply
its patrons with the Photographs at an
annual rental of small sum. These
Photographs can be used, the same as
any others, to reproduce singing, piano
playing, whistling, baud music, and eio-
cutlon, but they will be specially de-
signed for correspondence. Promo
graphs later will contain each day all The
latest news in condensed form and will
cover each subdivision, such as cable and
Telegram hic, political, dramatic, CONNER
oial, monentary, etc. Each phonogtaph
will be plainly marked SO that the reader.
or rather hearer, can choose for himself
which one he cares to use first. If a new
opera has been produced the night before
he can listen to an able but concise criti-
cism of it and enjoy the sensation of hav-
Ing repeated to his delighted ears
choicest passages of music precisely as
they were rendered at the theater. Ii an
important congressional debate is gong
on the subscriber will be treated to the
most eloquent portions of the speeches
in the original tone of the orator. Even
the applause or laug hter which greets bon
mots will be faithfully reproduced.
At first 1t will be only designed, as has
been stated, 20 furnish synopsis of the
daily news, but for this purpose the first
editions of regular newspapers will be
read, condensed and repeated to receiv-
ing monographs, multiplied on CORES
pondlng phonOgrams and delivered by
carriers to the subscribers homes. In
this way the subscriber will be able to
learn the news as he sits at his breakfas /
table. and not only he, but each member
of his family, can listen to it at the same
time. There will be, when the project
has been thoroughly established, several
editions of the talking paper. Some of
them will be elaborate and will give full
reports of important happenings.
1t will not be necessary, with the talk
ing and singing newspaper, for the un-
imaginative reader to worry himself by
striving to gather from the critics Just
which pianist's performance sounded
best. He will hear them. Instead of the
hackneyed phrase: "Thnnders of applause
greeted the speakers eloquence," the
subscriber will be deafened by thunder
himself. If the president of the United
States goes fishing, the newspaper nearer
will be able to catch the exact shade of
triumph III his toue es he excaims to his
private secretary, 'I've got bite! or in
tne PreciSe tono oI disappointment as NE
adds, "By Jove, I've lost himr' This
may sound like romance, but the public
has MI. Edison's assurance that it is
quite possible and will be accom- pllshed
In the not distant future. Pnonograms
as at present made will cost about 20
cents per cylinder. Each one will con
rain about a column of ordinary news
paper reading matter, and the news of
the day can be easily condensed into that
space. In future the cost OF the phono-
grams will undoubtedly be brought down
to price far below this.