Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1893-10-15

dividuality of the preacher forms a very
important DE- OF the service and that
could not be transferred over a wire, at
least not telephone wire. Why, can
you imagine Christ's sermon on the
Mount OF Olives being transmitted over
the telephone?
There is no doubt" continued DR..
Parkhurst, that our church services
could practically be transferred by tele-
phone, for | remember there was law
YER named Beach who resided on
Fourth avenue that used to have the
late Henry Ward Beecher's sermons
transmitted by telephone or some other
manner to his house every Sunday.
Rev. DR.. John Hall has or had sys-
TEN OF tubes In his church on Fifth
avenue by which his sermons were
transmitted to pews owned by deaf par
ishioners. In that case, however, the
worshipers both heard and saw the
preacher. and therefore received the
full benefit thereirom, but the tee'
phone case is very different
Rev. Palmer S. Hurlbert, OF the Mar
ole Collegiate Church, Fifth avenue
and Twenty ninth street: mo, sir! l
do not believe in the worship of God by
telephone, nor do l believe il will ever
come into general practice. You can
not transmit the emphasis of the
preacher, his gestures, nor the look In
his eye during the delivery Of his SER
mon. Not even the full benefit OF
service can be had, as the magic OF the
human voice does not govern the wire"
Rev. Father Ducey-I do not care to
express my personal opinion as TO
whether the full benefit OF mass could
be transmitted to an invalid or anyone
else absolutely prevented from attend
ing church; am here 10 preach the
word of God and administer the rites OF
the Roman Catholic Church according
to It's regulations. II holds distinctly
that in order to receive mass the attend
ant must be in sight OF the church or
within sound of its bell. That Is all l
wish TO say"
Az the office of the Metropolitan Tel
ephone and telegraph Company, in New
York, IL was said that the telephone
had never been introduced into any
churches in this country for the pnr-
pose of transmitting sermons or church
music. That it could be utilized for
that purpose there was little or no
doubt. Just how many parishioners
could be connected with their favorlts
house OF worship could not be told, as
no experiments in the matter had ever
been made.
1t would be necessary, the officers
said, to connect the pulpit with main
wire TO a point some distance off, where
the volume of sound would be distrio-
uted on diverRing wires 10 the various
subscribers. Conditions would vary the
number of subscribers that could be
supplied from this wire, but the maxi
mum would hardly, so far as now
known, be over twenty. 1t would
be feasible, however, TO connect
the receiver with more than one
main line. Each would receive nearly
the full volume OF sound and transmit
it 70 the point of distribution, where
again the sound in nearly equal force
would 20 to the worshipers. Music had
often been transmitted by telephone, it
is said, 10 distant points, as the public
were aware, but the transmitting OF
sound through the telephone from one
speaker TO number OF different hearers
had not been fully developed SO far
as the company was concerned, they
could see no objection to the introduce
ton of the telephone in transmitting
religious services.
JAMES REGINALD SHIRLEY.