The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-07-23
A WORLDS FAIR INCIDENT.
A Newspaper Mans Experience With
the Edison Photograph.
F,r,sru thu Ro.lrtand Tirhrne


From the Rockiand Tirbune.
Edison's photograph has a magnificent
setting forth, and you can investigate and
enjoy this fascinating instrument to your
hearts content utterly free of the an
moving nickel. Beautiful young ladies
will very obliglngly explain the wonder
ful instrument to your perfect under
standing, and treat you as nicely as
though they thought you were going 70
buy one Of them-One Of the machines,
mean. You will be interested TO learn
how the monograph is being used for
teaching languages, also in commercial
life. The man of business talks his com
munications into the Instruments mouth
piece. Later, the typewriter at her leis-
ure, which is thing a typewriter is usu-
ally very fond of, hangs the tubes in her
dainty ears, the denJed wax gives back
the words of the man Of business, and the
typewriter puts the matter into a letter.
Or the wax cylinder is talked full, sent
on by mail, and the words reproduced at
the most distant point. 1t seems like
witchCraft.
perhaps you would like to talk into it
yourself}' the pretty girl asked in the
sweetest tones, after she had treated me
to cylinder after cylinder of songs and
brass bands and exercises in the German
language.
I said l thought it would be nice. So
she put a brand-new wax cylinder on the
machine, nicely adjusted the mechanism,
and babe me speak in the mouth-piece. l
never felt so bashful in my life.
Il don't know what to say" / STAN
mcred, after looking vacantly into the
mouth-piece and then around the build
ing and then into the bright eyes of the
attendant. Suppose you begin"
So she uttered a few remarkS, and one
or two other people took hold of the thing
and said something, looking foolish all
the while. Then l likewise took hold
again.
Say what you think of the phono-
graph" suggested the young woman,
seeing that I felt my position keeniy.
The photograph is-the- the phOnO-
graph is-a-" began in a frightened
tone
you must speak louder" she ex-
planned.
So spoke louder, but 1 didn't know
what | said, and I even sang feeble lit
tie verse, till people who had been listen
ing began to move away with a wearied
look on their faces, and the young lady
shut off the power.
Now, if you will listen through the
tubes, she continued, you will hear re.
peated all that has been SPOKEN into it.
So l hearkened. The little machine
buried and whizzed and then began
talking. l recognized the young lady's
remarks. and what the other people had
said, every note and syllable exactly re-
produced, and then the thing began 60
stammer and halt and give forth what
seemed to be the remarks of a young man
with red hair and blue necktie, who never
having been in public life, is unexpectedly
elected to preside at a parish meeting and
has to return thanks for the honor con
ferred upon him There W ere some hem
mings and hawings, and number of
whistling noises, intersprersed with elo-
quent pauses, and l could hear the instru-
ment break forth into cold perspiratiOn
as it finished the remarks. Then put
the tubes carefully down.
Il am to understand, am, l, that those
concluding stanzas represent what spoke
into the nachine?" l asked in a mild in
offensive tone
Just the same" the young lady re-
piled, with far-away look in her eye,
My tones, my words-everything ?"
Everything" she said.
So that explains it. l know now why
people do not ask me to sing oftener l
understand why they do not ask me to
sing 30 promise Me, and Daddy Won't
Buy Me a BOwwow,n and such things, at
concerts. and why nobody ever comes to
me when the regular tenor is away and
asks me to take his place for a Sunday in
the choir. / have felt hurt about these
things, and thought | was kept down by
jealousy, but now my mind is cleared of q
misunderstanding that might have lain
upon it forever, had not Mr. Edison in
vented his photograph. How grateful
am to him.
And do l understand. ! said to the
young lady, "that this cylinder, upon
which have imprinted these remarks,
can be preserved"
For centuries" she answered
"And my voice, with the information it
fails to convey, reproduced indefinitely"
while the world lasts" she said.
But pursued, getting anxious, II
understand you can pare off that wax
cylinder, destroying the evidence, and use
it for more vital purposes Am l right?"
"Quite right she observed.
Miss Edison" l said, in a trembling
voice, Il am not rich, as men count
riches, but here is dollar and half"
"Give yourself no uneasiness," the
young lady reioined: Il shall destroy the
cylinder. We always do"
And so l came away. You will never
know what weird, uncanny thing is your
own voice until it comes out of phono-
graph. You think you know its SOUND,
but the sound you hear when you speak is
not what you bore other people with
| shall try not to talk. so much here
fter.