The Portland daily press., 1888-05-19
THE GRAPHIC PHONE.
Like the Phon ograph-Edison and
Bell Said to Be Behind 1t.


Within two or three weeks the graphic
phone, or perfected phonograph, will be
ready for the public. The instruments are
being manufactured here in New York. Pri-
vate tests and exhibitions for the benefit Of
stockholders and others Immediately inter-
ested are now being made at 50 Broadway,
room a. The exhibitions are, tor the pres
ent inelosed in a Chinese wall of secrecy.
Three hundred. instruments are already
made, Mr.. Lombard says. Mr.. Lombard is
the gentleman in charge of room IS. When
1000 are made, the instruments will be given
to the public with big hurrah and much
sounding of trumpets There will be a
special private exhibition for the press, and
then public exhibition. This is the pro-
gramme. In the meantime, the plan is that
nothing must be said about it in the news
papers.
That isn't the whole programme, however.
There Is to be big law suit between Prof.
Edison and Prof. Bell regarding priority of
invention. The graphophone, It Is claimed,
will be of much more commercial value TO
the world than even the telephone. There is
millions in it-untOld millions. Mr. Edison
invented the photograph. Mr.. Bell improved
upon 1t, made it commercially valuable, and
gave 1t a new name-the graphophone. Mr..
EulSOu klcktu anu tuACdICu0u ths
invocation Of all the powers-the United
States navy if necessary-to stop the circu-
lation of the Bell graDh0phone. Mr.. Bell
said go ahead with your law suit, I'm not
scared. have heen at law before. Finally
compromise was effected. So the story
goes-the story as told by leading stock
holder. And by the term of this compromise
Mr.. Edison will go on with his law suit
against Mr.. Bell. 1t will be a friendly con-
test. 1t will advertise the invention. 1t
will nrohahlv confirm havOnd 1ignufa the
right of the Bell monopoly to all the sundry
profits ACQUIRING from the new invention, and
at the same time Mr.. Edison's interest will
be properly cared for. This, 1t is reported,
Is the graphOphone programme.
The instruments will be leased at $50 year
each. Leased, marked you. No person will
be allowed to own an instrument outright
There seemed reason for leasing telephone
instrument for 1t was merely.a part OF q con-
nected system and was useless when discon-
nected. But the graphophone instr qment Is
complete in itself, or seems so. PerhapS the
wax cylinders, which will have to be sup
piled periodically from central ofhce and IN
that way sort of connected graphophone
system may be established: or there may be
some other way. Anyhow, the instruments
will only be leased.
The graphophone is an instrument smaller
than the ordinary typewriter. II makes q
to ii, and can repeat the sound at any sub
sequent period as many times as one pleases'
Mr. Levy, the c0rnet player, Tor instance,
played 'Home, Sweet Home, in four 0c-
taves to graphophone over to Mr.: Lon
bard's Office, and now every stockholder or
other individual who is allowed to see the
graphophone at work is favored with Home
Sweet Home" in four octayes as aforesaid.
happens to be in the instrument at the mo-
ment and insert in its place the wax cylinder
that was there when MIR. Levy was playing.
You Just press button and the brass band
begins to play. In this way one OF Pattrs
$1,000 songs can be repeated oOo times az
pleasure Five hundred is about the limit.
After that wax begins to chip, and the
graphOnphone gets hoarse. And PATHS songs
can thus be handed down to future genera
tions: a.,
said stakeholder, repeating the question
just asked by the reporter. First, 1t Will
dispense with the labors of the private sec
retaries. 1t will supersede stenography. 1t
can be used everywhere-at the church to re-
cord a sermon In the courts to take down
the testimony Of witnesses; in the business
Office TO take down orders, instructions, die
tated correspondence, or anything else, and
repeat the same at any desired moment A
merchant may dictate his letters to the
graphophone and then hand the cylinder to
his typepriting operator. Each cylinder re-
cords about $50 words. And it will be es-
pecially valuable in newspaper offices. In
stead Of writing copy, dictate your matter 70
the graphophone and it will repeat 1t to the
compositor. 1t will repeat slowly, or re-
peat the sentence twice if necessary.
"But if one has to talk into the mouthpiece
Of the graphophone, how could you use It to
record sermon at church, for example,
"You would have to follow the sermon. by
repeating to the instrument what was being
said by the preacher"
"And get fired out for disturbing the con-
gregati0nY
sob, no. You could speak in whisper,
with your mouth close to the mouthpiece.
Or YOU could have your instrument in some
adjacent nook were you could overhear the
speaker, and whisper repetition Oh MS
words without anyone knowing it-as, Tor
instance, if he should speak from the stage
of a theatre, and you be concealed In the
WINGS"
The wax cylinders-the reporter carefully
examined one yesterday-are hollow tubes OIL
white wax, about Z or inches long by a Ut
tie over an inch in diameter. An elongated
napkin ring is a comparison that gives one
an idea of their shape. Before being used
the outer cylinder is smooth and glossy; al
ter being used the gloss is rubbed off in mar
row stripes. You would scarcely notice the
difference. and yet those strips where the
gloss is rubbed off contain the invisible rec
| ord of whatever you have said or sung In the
graphic phone while that particular cylinder
was inside of It, :,
The stock in the new invention, it is said
| is now held at 50, with par value Of 10, but
| there Is none of 1t In the market.