Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1888-05-31
' VIRGINIA, THURSDAY, MAY 81, 1888

salary at the same ume III the police
department it will do almost everything
bat eat peanuts from the corner stand.
The system is on exhibition in a large
room down town, with The signals or box
es on one side and the annunciator or cen
tral station on the other. BY walking
from one to the other, distance in all of
thirty or forty miles, was enabled to get
slight idea of the principle.
It is certainly an intelligent system. l
never felt my own inferiorty any more
than | did in the presence of this Won
derful invention. 1t will do almost any
thing, it seemed to me, and the main
drawback seems to be its great versatility,
for it thereby becomes SO complex that in
order to become at all intimate with it
policeman ought b put in two years at
Yale and at least two years at Leipsic.
An extended course of study would thus
perfect him in this line, but he would not
then be content to act as a policeman.
He would want to be a scientist, with
dandruff on his coat-collar and far
away look.
Then, again, take the hotel scheme. for
instance. We 90 to hotel dial which
is marked Room 32. There We find that
by treating it in a certain way it will an
nounce to the clerk that Room 81 wants
fire, ice-watcr, pens, ink, paper, lemons,
towels, Gre-escapes, Milwaukee See, pill
low-shams, New York World, menu, Cro-
ton frappe, carriage, laundry, physician,
sIeeping-car ticket, herth.mark for same,
Halford sauce, hot hatiron for ironing
trousers, baggage, blOtter, tidy for chair
or any of those things. In fact | have
not given half the list on this barometer
because could not remember them,
though | may have added others which
were not on the Indicator. The message
arrives at the Office, but the clerk is en-
gaged in conversation with lady. He
does not jump when the alarm sounds,
but continues the dialogue. Another
guest wires the Office that he would like
a copy of the Congressional Record. The
message is filed away automatically, and
the thrill ing conversation goes on. Then
No. 7s asks to have his mail sent up.
No. p wants to know what time the bus
leaves the house for the train going East,
and whether that train will connect at
Alliance, O., with a tide-water train for
Cleveland in time to catch the Lake
Shore train which will bring him into
New York at 7.30, and whether all those
trains are reported on time or not, and if
not will the Office kindly state why +?
Other guests also manifest a morbid GU
riosity through their transmitters, but the
clerk does not get excited, for he knows
that all those remarks are filed away in
the large black-walnut box at the back Of
the Office. When he gets ready, provided
he has been through a course of study in
this branch of business, he takes one
room at time and addressing a pale
young "Banister Polisher" by the name
of Front" he begins to scatter informa-
ton, baggage, towels, morning papers,
timetables, etc, all over the house. 1t
Is also supposed to be a great time-sayer.
For instance, No. 68 wants to know the
correct time. He moves an indicator
around like the combination Of a safe,
reads few pages of instructions, and
then pushes q button, perhaps. Instead
of ringing for boy and waiting for him
some time, and then asking him to obtain
the correct time at the Office, and come
back with the information, conyersing
with various people on his way back, and
expecting compensation for it, the guest
can ask the office and receive the answer
without getting out of bed. You leave
a call for a certain hour, aud at that time
your own private gong will make it 50
disagreeable foryo that you will be glad
to rise. Again, if you wish 70 know the
amount of your bill, YOU 60 through Ger.
tain exercises with the large barometer IN
your room; and supposing you have been
at the house two days and have have had
| fire in your room three times, and youl
| bill Is therefore s132.1S, the answer will
come back and be announced on YOU
gongas follows One, pause, three, pause
two, pause, one, pause, eight When
there Is a C pher in the amount [ do no
know what the method Is, but by using
due care in making up the bills this nee,
not occur.
For police and fire purposes the system
shows amonderful degree Of intelligence
not only as a speedy method for convey
ing calls for the Fire Department, Healtl
Department, Department of Street Clean
T. 7 I l.