Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1893-04-20
AN INTRICATE DEVICE
A SYSTEM OF SECRET TELEGRAPH
CALL FOR RAILROADS.

%
Amount of secrecy Along the Line of q
Railroad Whore There Are Many sta.
lions with Operators at Each.
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad com.
pany has adopted an ingenious contriv.
hnce for use in tn telegraph depart.
ment, and workmen under the direction
Of Superintendent Charles Seldom have
put in a little plant in the basement OF
Camden station, where the men employed
at headquarters can become familiar with
its use. There are along the various
lines of the great Baltimore and Ohio
system scores Of offices where the agent
is also the telegraph operator. His du-
ties as agent frequently call him so far
away from his instrument that it is inn
possible under the present system to
make him hear this call when tits de-
sired TO communicate with him.
The new device is 80 arranged that in
all offices where these circumstances ex-
list bell viii De placed, and the operator
at terminal or division headquarters can
call the operator wanted without In
forming any other Office ON the line, no
matter how many Offices there may be
which have these bells in them. AS tel
egraph lines are operated at present, if,
for example, the Baltimore Office desires
to call the Wheeling office, nearly 400
miles away, the call passes through every
intermediate Office. but under the new
system the turning of a switch will cut
off all the offices except the one wanted
The system viii also be applied to
those offices where the amount of bust
ness done at night is not sufficient to jus
tify the employment Of q night operator,
and where the day operator resides in
the depot building, there being instances
when it is desirable from various causes
to communicate with the operator after
the close OF the regular business hours.
The invention is the result of over 20
years Of experimenting, and the combi-
nation Of more than 90 patents.
The contrivance is the New York cleo
tric secret service system. The trans.
mitter at the central point is operated by
an ordinary telegraph key. This trans
mitter can send ont any combination Of
dots, dashes and spaces. At each station
there are instruments so arranged that
they will respond only to the particular
combination for which they are ar
ranged.
When the operator at the central sta
tion desires TO call up station along the
line, he places the key where it will make
the necessary combination that cuts out
all other stations but the one he wants
This causes a bell at the station he wants
TO ring. and at the same time operates
magnet which causes an answering sig
nal to sound in the central station. He
thus knows that his call was audible at
the station he desires to communicate
with. The bell at this station will con-
tinue TO ring until the operator answers,
and if no answer is made the bell will
ring all day.
The system may be libened in some re-
spects to the system Of the combination
lock. For instance. if to unlock door
having a coordination lock it be neces-
sary to turn turee points in one direction,
two points in the opposite direction and
one point in the first direction certain
bolts must fall in certain positions. II
these turns De made on another lock hav-
ing a different combination, they will
have no effect.
In like manner, when a certain combi-
nation is made at the central station that
corresponds with the combination of
certain station along the line, theobstruc-
lions fan and the electric current is
closed between that station and the CEN
tral station, while the obstruction to the
closing Of the circuit with all the other
stations still re1nains.
The transmittrr Is composed of rub
Der tube about the size of an ordinary
lead pencil. whch serves AS an axis for
20 or 30 small metallic wheels which are
fastened 90 IT, s. metal finger projects
over each wheel. Each wheel is provided
with teeth, but no two wheels have the
same number of teeth. When it is de-
sired to call "A certain station, the key Is
placed at the proper point. which causes
the axis to turn and the metal finger to
fall upon the wheel which has the num-
Der Of teeth corresponding with the num-
Der Of dots in the combination Of the sta.
ton.
As the wheel revolvcs its teeth strike
at given times the metal finger. This
causes the making Of the combination,
and the two stations are in communion
ton. The station can be called and the
return signal received in 10 seconds.
This system can be used TO great advan-
tage in the railroad signal service, in the
telephone service and in the lighting and
putting out Of electric lights.-Balti-
more American.
Professional Jealousy.
Brignoh was intensely jealous of all
,fbar tepo,c ro,-ar. admitting for M, in