Great Falls tribune., 1889-10-02

DANIEL DRAWBACK. tWenly la -
This was done by the use OF what is
known as the s'carbon telephone,
which is constructed on the same prlncl-
pie as the Blake transmitter. some OF
these instruments, counsel said, were
made as early as 1867.
Prior to the war Drawbaugh invented
a machine that was largely used for ag.
ricultural purposes in the south, ana
when the war broke out he had large
amount of money owing TO him that he
was not able to collect. He was, there
fore, obliged to go into bankruptcy.
From 1859 to 1880 he was in extreme
poverty, with large family; his only
source of income was payment for the
doing Of odd mechanical work in the
houses and on the farms of his neigh
bors. The latter said Of him that his
hobby was electricity, and that he was
man of great inventive genius, but 1t
was frequently very hard work for him
to borrow dollar from any of them.
He has made.an electric clock which
ia of no value saYe -as a curiosity, nnd
invented nail making machine, only to
find, as uneducated inventors often do,
that another man had long ago applied
the same principle. He claims that he
first designed the telephone in 1866, and
had made it success four years before
the Bell patent was taken out. Since
the decision of the supreme court went
against him he has been at work on
transmitter which is to give warning OF
the approach of enemies by land or sea-
He claims that with this the soldier can
sleep in his tent, and can tell by its pc
culiar motion if the enemy is near and
prepare to give him a warm reception
The commander OF war vessel can also
tell the approach Of any vessel, hostile
or otherwise, the resistance of the water
on the approaching vessel causing suffi-
cient friction to establish current that
will cause the indicator to sound the
alarm.
Of course the crude mechanism of this
new thing, which he calls the electrical
Paradox" has been in use from time i'm
memorial; for the idea of putting stout
string around house at some distance,
for any one approaching to run against
and start an attached bell or other alarm.
is one that would suggest itself to the
rudest intellect. Fugitive negroes in
southern swamps often employed this de
vice to guard their lairs against stealthy
approach, and in arranging the strings
on rollers SO as to insure free action they
often displayed much ingenuity. The
use of electricity and making contri
vance Of extreme sensitiveness are OF
course recent.
The trial and its main facts are fresl
in the public mind, but some of the pc
culiar phases Of it may be repeated. Fou
of the justices of the supreme court ruled
for Bell, and point made much of il
their opinions was that the facts set VI
by the Drawbaugh interest were SO ex
traordinary that, if true. they must have
become notorious. One judge set asid'
the testimony Of many witnesses witt
these words: "Drawbaugh was silent 81
far as the general public was concerned
when, if he had really done what thes
witnesses now think he did, he woul'
most certainly have spoken"
The minority report was signed b.
Justices Bradley, Field and Harlan, an
it adds not little to the uncertainty Q
the case to learn that but seven justice
were sitting and that they divided fou
to three. It was only natural that sue
division should leave in the public min
an impression that Mr.. Drawbaugh's cas-
was really lost on account of his povert
and comparative ignorance, which cause
his slow and awkward methods. 1t is
be noted also that the majority of foul
as the court was, is a minority Of a flu
court Of nine. szE
The rsnewed suit was begun in tt
federal ,ourt in Boston on behalf Of tt
United States against the American BIZ
Telephone company, and the represent
tions of the government allege fraud
the obtaining Of the patents, and tn
seventy witnesses testified to hearing {
ticulate speech through Drawbaugl
telephone as early as 1871, The COT
ruled against the preliminary pleas
the Bell company, 30 the case is virt
ally reopened. Meanwhile one Jan
Lowth claims to have invented what
calls a stetho-telephone, dispensing wi
the mouthpiece and sound waves OF
Bell instrsmsz-,