Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-07-10
TElECRAPHER'S YARN.
Iowa Farmers Listen with Wonder tt
Music in Plymouth Church.

The trouble that is being expert.
| enced in several cities with electric.
light wires and the number of men who
have been killed repairing Them said
Western Union operator the other
morning about 2 o'clock as he stood in
company with several other lightning
singers on the corner G. Main street
and Public Landing. while the water
rose over, their shoe-tops, reminds me
OF lot OF smart people who, when
electric lighting was first talked
about, thought they knew more about it
than Edison. They wouldn't let me
say word about electricity, and in
deed | didn't know much about it, but
certainly more than any of those hay.
seeds. and [ had to play a joke on them
which, although it didn't kill any of
the greenieS, came near killing ME
with laughing. 1t was in little Iowa
town and | was manager of the little
Western Union telegraph office. Every
night the people would get together in
small crowds in the various stores and
loatng places, and the amount of
knowledge they showed in regard to
electric lighting would have made Tom
I Edison 90 sit down in the woods and
wonder whether he knew what he was
doing or not. Oh, they were awfully
intelligent on the subject, and if | ven
tured to make any correction of their
foolish notions [ was told in plain
words that had better keep quiet in
presence of such learned company.
Well, thought they needed taking
down peg or two, and after a little
thought as to how it should be ac-
complished, | took a newspaper re-
porter into my confidence, and in the
next issue of the paper appeared the
following startling bit of news:
ION next Saturday afternoon at 4
o'clock the citizens of R will have
an opportunity to witness one of the
most wonderful exhibitions of Edison's
genius as an electrician that has ever
been seen. At that time a telegraph
wire will be connected with the Omaha
Bee Office and Beecher's church, in
Brooklyn, and several tunes will be
played on the organ of the church
which can be heard at all points
through which the wire will pass.
The local manager of the Western
Union has been notified that one of
his wires will be used, so that all who
are at the office at the time above men
toned will hear this marvellous per-
Torrance of Edison's latest invention,
which is called trelaphone.'
"Well, YOU would have thought
there was a county fair in progress in
that town the next Saturday. As
early as 9 a. m. the farmers began to
come in, and by 3 o'clock the office and
the pavement in front of it were crowd
| ed with those smart electricians who
would hear the music and then tell
each other how easy it was done. Yes,
they heard it and told how it was done,
but their explanation of it was was on
par with their sense on electric light
ing
But where did the music come
from?" asked one of the boys whose
shoes were fast filling with muddy Ohio
river water.
well, I'll tell you. A girl at the
house where [ boarded had a little
music box that played three tunes. Two
of them | had never heard before nor
since | saw that box and the third one
was The Last Rose of Summer !
took that box and put it in the bottom
drawer on one side of my desk and put
a match under the wheel, so the thing
wouldn't 90 off, and on the end of the
match [ tied a long piece of thread,
which L run up behind the desk to the
top drawer on the other side, and
fastened it so that if | pulled that
drawer out the thread would pull the
match out Of the wheel and let the
organ play.
"Promply at o'clock l remarked
that l would smoke cigar and opened
the drawer to get a match, and away
went the organ in Beecher's church,
You could have heard pin drop while
the music-boX played its three little
tunes, and as the, box was smothered
| up with papers and other things that
will accumulate in desk, the decep-
ton was very plausible. But when
she began to play The Last Rose of
Summer | had to blow my nose con-
stantly to keep from laughing. When
/ it was all over the crowd went away,
satisfied that what they had heard was
a genuine exhibition of one of the great
Edison's wonderful inventions. and, as
far as | know, they never learned any
different, as | left there shortly after
ward to find a place where people
didn't know so much. - Cincinnati
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