The morning call., 1893-02-24
A SURPRISED CLUB
Photography Reveals Its
Secrets.
Private Conversations i'm the Press
Club Go Into Nickel-in-the-
Slot Machine.
Edison, the wizard. is indirectly response

Edison, the wizard. is indirectly RESPONSE
bic for the whole trouble.
He does not know anything about it, but
one of his latest improved inventions
created big excitement yesterday alter
noon among the pencil pushers who record
the daily events in the San Francisco daily
newspapers.
1t was funny experience the newspaper
men had, but somehow after it was all
over some of them did not feel very much
elated after all.
AS matter of fact the joke being perpe-
trated at the expense of some OF them. the
victims failed to see anything funny In 1t.
The story OF how 1t all happenedis good
one AMI goes as follows:
The Press Clu5.of San Francisco has for
several years occupied rooms at 430 Pine
street, on the same floor with the Art AssO-
citation and the Geographical Society.
The latter organization moved some
months ago into another building and the
quarters it formerly occupied were rented
by the Phonograph Company.
This company has the local agency Tor
EdsOn's talking machines, which il distrib-
uies around Town, with It's well-known
nickel-in-the-sl0t attachments.
Two folding-d0ors separate the phono-
graphic esta Adjustment from the home of the
Press Club boys, and the latter, unmiDdful
of the presence OF new neighbour, pursued
the even tenor of their lives after tho Geo.
graphical Society left, just as II no changes
had been made.
Great was their surprise. therefore, when
the manager of the Edison Photograph
Company invited a number Of the members
OF the club to step into his rooms next door
and listen to the babblings of a lately i'm
proved machine.
About fifteen reporters responded TO the
call, and, sitting around huge photograph,
each one attached tue indiarubber trans
mitteT TO his ears.
Pretty soon the machine commenced to
work and the faces of the newspaper men
became studies for an artist.
Surprise, expectation, anxiety, anger,
qualification and many other varied feelings
were depicted Oh these countenances as the
serbes listened 10 the revelations ratified of
by the manipulation of the cylinders.
This is conversation during dice
shaking contest in the buffet of the Press
Club" announced the photograph. and then
it Informed its startling listeners that F
had four deuces. which being disputed by
R brought in j. as q referee, who de-
cided against F.
Il guess not. know what | am shaking"
F-'s well known voice came through the
tube; 1.-THE drinks are on you, Dan"
Then came n pedro controversy in which
u kicked in language more violent than
elegant against Els bad play.
They had quite time over the game, and
their conversation was given verbatim.
Handy had the boys recovered from this
shock before some one told funny story of
how M dropped his blankets in the
Winnemucca, because D., who was a
conductor on the train. would not allow him
to smoke pipe in the drawing-room car.
''Oh, what time we are having" came
aext, sung tn Ms dulcet voice, after lie
had successfully beaten b, K, NJ
and D. out of four consecutive jack-pots.
The same tune with a Scotch accent an
nounced immediately afterward that F
had held three aces against Ms three
tens and had thereby turned The tables on
the latter.
"Here comes r" shouted the phono-
graph next.
"Who is T-?" a 5asso profundo voice
wanted to know.
''He Is the president of the Women's
Press Club" was the response of chorus.
And so the big chatterbOx continued to give
away the Press Clubs secret conversations,
until the boys dropped the rubber tubes In
dIsmay.
A hasty investigation resulted in the dis
cOyery of the fact that the manager of the
Photograph Company had taken advantage
OF his close proximity TO the clubroOms and
by attaching receiving funnel where ii
could gather the conversations held in the
adjoining rooms had put them all on record.
TO show the boys what modern science
and ingenuity could do he had invited them
to listen 10 their own careless talks, had
they were in the privacy of their own club.