The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1889-12-13
THE TeLAuTooRApH.
Feasibility Of Having Ones Writing Trans
mittsd by Electricity.

Possibility of Having Ones Writing Trans
mittsd by Electricity.
A pleasant faced, elderly gentleman,
full beard, neatly cropped, and. like
his hair. plentifully sprinkled with
white, was sitting in the lobby Of the
New Denison recently.
Who's thatf" inquired the report
er. He was told the gentleman wos
Professor Elisha Gray. of Chicago.
the famous electrician.
Il have just perfected an inven-
tion," said Professor Gray to the re-
porter, later on, ''for the transmitting
Of the handwriting-a fac-simile OF
the handwriting"
'How is this accomplished"
Zone sits down and writes on a
sheet Of paper. using pen or a pen
Gil. and whatever is done at this end,
every motion that is made on the pa.
per or off it is faithfully reproduced
by pen upon paper at the other end
OF the wire at the same time, just as
fast or as slow as it is given at this
end, and neither faster nor slower"
What name have you given the
Instrument"
The telautograph. and it can be
worked over any length OF wire.
when you say pen and pencil what
do you means"
Il mean a pen carrying ink, and
that the writing or drawing is upon
ordinary paper. use a fluid
ink, but any ink will do that will
flow readily. One can write with
a pencil or a photographic pen il
he chooses. The invention is now
practically completed, and / am max
ing lot Of instruments. A company
has been formed as a parent organiza-
ton, and local companies will follow.
The instruments will be rented, not
sold, and the terms will be similar to
those given by the telephone people.
But it is entirely dissimilar TO the tele-
phone, for it writes and does not talk.
BY it one can transmit check, note
or draft in the handwriting Of the in
dividual. Its accuracy is unquestion-
able. In that respect it differs from
the telephone, which is good enough
for desultory conversation, but is not
sufficient to use in buying or selling.
You are writing shorthand; that, of
course, could be transmitted by the
telautograph. In newspaper work
one could not only transmit a descrip-
ton Of any great event, celebration
like that of the soldiers monument
held here, or great disaster on rail
or water, but sketch could be trans
mitted at the same time to illustrate
the article"
"What is the size of the instru-
ment2"
THE top is twenty by twenty-four
inches. II maybe kept on or beside a
desk, or, like the telephone, be hung
upon the wall, where it takes up little
space. It is secret in its communion
tons, both as to those it gives and
those it receives. One does not need
to hello and no one can steal the
message from the wire. Then the
message will come whether one is at
hand to receive it or not. One can
have lock and key, and no one can
see the communication which has
come in his absence. The instrument
may be found good for the distribu-
ton of press reports TO all the news
papers Of the land simultaneously.
But there are a thousand things to
which it may be applicable that neither
you nor I may think of at the mo-
inent. Its chief value, l apprehend
will be in mercantile business, where
the telephone fails by reason of its in
accuracy. If man gives an order
by telephone, the man receiving it
may deny having done so, but here
the writing is proof positive, and can
not be denied"
How about induction2 When sew
eral wires run i'll proximity to each
other what is the effect2"
LAS TO induction, it is wholly I'M
like the telephone. There is no more
trouble from proximity to wires than
is encountered in ordinary telegraphy,
and as to expense, it will not cost the
user any more than the telephone
costs him. Omaha Bee.