The Washington critic., 1889-01-19
TALKING MACHINES.
The Graphophonc In Actual Use and Do
inC Good Work.


the phonograph or graphophone, both
devices now being under the same man.
agement and both presenting the best
features of the separate devices of Bell
and Edison, needs but to wander through
few Wall street offices. in order to be
convinced that the talking machine, by
whatever name it is called, has come to
stay. 1t is in daily use at the Office of
Brayton Ives, Sweet & Co., Haines Bros.
and in many other less prominent houses.
The real business in talking machines,
however, has not yet begun. Such in
struments as are to be found in use arc
owned by persons interested in the com.
pany. None are to be sold. They will
be rented at $40 year upon the same
system as that adopted by the telephone
people.
NO MORE PUNCH AND JUDY.
"There you see it," said the gentle
man, lifting a cover about half the size
Of sewing machine cover from corner
of his desk. ut takes up no room and
is always ready to take dictation." The
graphophone is about the size of sew
ing machine, which 1t slightly resembles.
A cylinder of hardened wax is revolved
by small electric motor connected with
battery If there is no electric current at
hand. In the Mills building the motor
Is run by o wire from the electric lamp,
with which the offices are supplied. The
principle of the apparatus is still that of
the old Edison phonograph of 1870 The
sound of the voice causes minute dia-
phragm bearing fine needle point on its
under side to vibrate.
"As wax cylinder ten inches long
and two inches in diameter rcvolves, the
needle point indents the wax according
to the vibrations of the diaphragm. max.
ing long spiral line around the cylin-
der, which, as it revolyes, travels from
right to left, In order to get reproduc-
ton of sound species of sounding
board is adjusted, and the needle is made
to pass again over the indentations it has
made. AS it scrapes along, the sound.
ing' diaphragm gives forth a reproduc.
tion. more or less perfect, of the original
words talked into the instrument. In
the first Edison phonograph of twelve
years ago the instrument gave out u car.
feature of what was said TO 1t: If one
knew what had been said or sung into il
it was easy enough to make sense out OF
the monographs Punch and Judy talk
but not otherwise.
"The changes have been in the direc
ton of improving the quality of th'
sound and its dstinctness, rather thar
volume. AS it may be heard to-day thu
phonograph's message or reproduction il
more distinct than one from telephone
in first class order and under favorable
conditions. And when the telephon
talks well it talks very well.
COMPARED WITH srENoGRAPHY.
"That intrument has been there nearl
a month";" continued the lawyer. 81
has saved me days of labor. When
am ready to dictate a brief or con
tract, l touch this little spring, whic
sets the machinery in motion; but S
noiseless is it that, unless you put you
ear close to the motor, you cannot hea
it at all. | take this phone or mouth
piece and talk into it just as | would d.
with telephone, using my natura
voice and talking just as fast as
please, which you cannot do with tele
phone. If the machine is allowed t
run, the cylinder will be used up at tn
end of six minutes, but whenever / com
to the end of a paragraph, l want I
think moment, or whenever | am in
terrupted touch stops it,
SIN this way cylinder represents ST.
minutes of solid talk or about / 90
words. The work OF putting on anothe
| cylinder takes about a second, and the
| can go on. When my work is don
my typewriter takes my cylinders, put
them on his phonograph and writes on
from the dictation, making the instru
ment 90 as fast or as slow as he wishes
"Now as to the advantages of the ma
chine over stenographer In the firs
place no stenographer can go as fast as
like to talk; l have to wait at every sen
tcnce for the stenographcr to catch VI
Sometimes the stenographers are busy
The phonograph is always ready, an
does not mind any rate of speed-th
faster the better. In the next place eve
q good stenographer, especially if hui
ried, makes blunders, substitutes on
word for another which looks like it, O
skips words. The phonograph repeat
every syllable just as you give it. Tn
typewrittcn transcripts of any phono
graph dictation are more perfect thal
when any typewriter had to use his owl
notes.
"Of course there are some disadvan
tages. When you wish to change Il wore
or q sentence you have to give the neces
sary direction at the end of the message
it will not be long, however, before SOM
method of erasng will be devised. A
compared to debating directly to tn
Typewriter operator, you can speak thrc
times as fast and not so loud, for you
not have to be heard above the rattle o
the typewriter. One little point vii
show you how valuable the graphophon
will become. | have machine at m
home in the country,
"In the evenings | do Il great deal @
work in my library, and very often
have to make long quotations from book
which | have at home, but of which
have no duplicates at the office. Cons,
quently, before the graphophone came,
had to indicate in my brief where
wanted the question to begin and enC
and then / had to carry these bool
down to the office for my operator
copy from. With the graphophone it
so easy to rattle of page or two of pril
that do so and avoid taking my bool
out of my library. In FIVE minutes
can dictate to the graphophone what
would take me a good hour to write OF
in long hand. IN York Star
Harrison Speaks.
Mr.. Harrison lin his own home, sudden
dropping the subject OF weather aud crops)
BY the way, l was thinking to-day of a Ca
met