The Somerset reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1868-1909, 1893-04-06
Az INTRICATE DEVICE.
A SYSTEM OF SECRET TELEGRAPH
CALI FOR RAILROADS.

An Invention That Insures Certain
Amount of secrecy Along the Line of IL
Railroad where There Are Many sta
tions with Operators at Zach.
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad coin
pany has adopted an ingenious contriy-
anee for Use in the telegraph depart
ment. and workmen under the direction
of Superintendent Charles Seldom have
put III 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 i'm
possible under the present system to
make him hear this call when 1t Is de-
sired to communicate with him.
The new device Is So arranged that in
all offices where these circumstances eX-
ist bell will bo placed, and the operator
AT terminal or division headquarters can
call the operator wanted without III
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 switch will cut
off all the offices except the one wanted
The system will also be applied to
those offices where the amount of busi-
ness done at night is not sufficient to jus
tify the employment of night operator,
and where the day operator resides i'll
the depot building, there being instances
when it is desirable from various canses
to communicate with the operator after
the close of tho regular business hours.
The invention is the result of over 20
years of experimenting, and the eombl-
nation of more than % 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
mitttr can send ont any combination Of
dots, da~hes and spaces. At each station
there are instruments 50 arranged that
they will respond only TO the particular
combination i"I Nnl'Il tt's are al
ranged
When the operator at the central sta
tloh i'''r,s I" can up IL sltll9h 'lo''S 'i'e
liile. "e pi'e'S '"c ~ Wiet@ IL VIII ii'dN'
the necessary combination that cuts ont
All otIl'r atatlohs pHt lH' one ne Wills
/ ms C""'c9 ''il III l'' S,d1ioil "c"d"'9
10 flllS' anu at inc s''I''' 'iiiie oP'r"te9
magnet "hlen causes an answering SIG
ldi 10 aplilet III ille cen i'i si''Ion' ~
mus Knows tldt ms eau Was ""'loie Ill
'le s'dlioll III, "'S9'9 10 toi'''''uil"0''
VIII ne o'II az thi9 S'aih'n VIII con
tiil.'e /" ring 'ihtlI .ii' "I,.ra'"r answers,
ana II no answer Is hla'e tie pen VIII
rlilS All DAY
Inc system may De iIkehea III some re-
spett9 10 the system ol 'ile computation
JOCK FOR instance IL 10 unlock d uOoi
having communion lock II DO heee9-
sary To turn three points III one unrectioh,
TWO points III ,lle opposite olrec'ioh ana
one point III the flrst direction ceftall!
Dolls must IAN III cer'aih loslliohs.
these turns he maze on ahother lock nav
ing dlifefeht communion, 'hcy Will
have no effect,
In like manner, when certain combl-
nation is made at the central station that
corresponds with the combination OF
certain station along the line, the obstrnc-
tions fall and the electric current Is
closed between that station and the cen
trail station, while the obstruction to the
closing of the circuit with all the other
The transmltter Is composed OF rub