Omaha daily bee., 1888-03-25
BEATS rhE I%ElePHoNE.
Prof. Elisha Grsy's Wonderful and
Valuable Invention.

Chicago Herald: Prof, Elisha Gray,
of Highland park, has just Completed an
invention scarcely esslwonderful and
valuable than the telephone, Of which
he was also the inventor, but OF which
he was defrauded. 'pSyithin q few
DAYS" said the professor yesterday, II
shall give a private fest Of my new
telautograph, an invention which will
largely supplant the telephone. / have
already tested it to my satisfaction,
over and over again, and on. Saturday l
shall give an exhibition to spme gentle
men from the east. l haye Just taken it
to pieces to make some slight altera-
tions, or / would show it TO you now
by this invention you can SIT dow
at your office in Chicago, take a pencil
in your hand, write a message to me,
and as your pencil 10Y a pencil here
in my ~labratory moves simultaneously
and forms the same letters aud words in
the same way. What you write in Chi
cage is instantly reproduced facsimile.
You may write in any languages; write
in shorthand If you like, use "a code or
cipher, no matter, a fac-simile is pro-
duced here. If you wish to draw a pict-
ure it is the same-the picture is repro
duced here. The artist OF your paper
can, by this device, telegraph his pict-
uTeS VI d railway WISCh vi wiz OStul-
renee, Just as n reporter 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 easy as one OF ten miles.
This ~telautograph will supplant the
the telephone for many reasons 1t q
be worked in exchanges, just as the tel
ephone is, or by private wire. 1t has
many advantages, too. 1t is noiseless
and devoid of the many a%nnoyances so
common to the telephone. 1t will be
much less affected by induction. There
will be no trouble in catching words or
sylables, letters or figures. No misun-
de%rstandings will result. Besides, it
leaves a record at both ends OF the wire,
and there can be no dispute about what
is said. For all commercial transac-
tions this would be an invaluable fea-
ture. In ordering goods, or in sales of
stock or grain or in transmitting names
or addresses its superiority over the tel
ephone is obvious. For desultory on
versation, 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 a%nnoyances in
cident to telephone communication.
when one person wishes to commu-
nicate with another by the telauto-
graph he pushes a button, which rings
an a%nnunciator in the exchange, or in
the Office of the person with whom he
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 pencil at the other end of the wire.
Finishing his message, he, adds a cross,
or any other simple token that he has
finished, when the second party takes
down the pencil and writes q reply.
Thus a conversation can be carried on
easily and quickly, and when it is fin
ished another simple word-say the tel
egraphic signal '30'-wil Indicate the
end. Both parties have a full record Of
the conversation, and each possesses the
others autograph.
I'm writing, y 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 alb
sent"
"Can this invention be used to advan-
tage commercially"
Eyes. 1t will not cost more than $15
or $40, and is easily kept in order. l
have tried it again and again, and it
works more perfectly than the tele-
phone, and is much less liable to have
it's usefulness interfered with by induc-
ton"
But this is not the only greaI inyen-
tion Prof. Gray has in hand. He has
just completed also an automatic switch
board for telephone exchanges by
which the user of a telephone II telau-
tograph can put himself in communica-
tion with any other instrument. To do
this he has simply to touch a button n
certain number OF times corresponding
to the number of the other instrument.
If the wire leading to that instrument is
already in use he is informed of that
fact by the ringing of IA bell, and he
then waits q few minutes, as he is now
so often compelled to do, and then
pushes the button again. By this in
vention one person in an exchange can
do the work of thirty or forty under the
present system, the duties of the one
being merely to keep the automatic APP
paratus in order.