Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-10-19

'WfEHHiTH which practically an
81 u initiated distance as
far as sound is con-
cerned He discovered the principle Of the
telephone, and thereby created one Of the
greatest industries of the world. The cap
ital based upon his invention now amounts
to hundreds of millions of dollars. The
creator Of this wonderful industry has
been here during the past week. I Wis
tied him by appointment at his labora-
tory yesterday, and for three hours chatted
with him about his work and the things
concerning which he knows more, perhaps,
than any other man in the world. l refer
to Alexander Graham Bell, one Of the best
known and least-known Ten of the United
States. He is best known because every
one has heard of him as the inventor of
the telephone. He is least known because
he seldom talks for the newspapers, be-
cause it is impossible to get him to write
an article for the magazines. and because
his modesty and retiring disposition are
such that he does not let the world know
of the great work in invention and science
that he is constantly carrying on, only
little of which now and then filters out
through the pa tent office, in his letters
to the great scientific societies Of the
world.
The Volta Bureau.
My appointment was to meet him at the
Volta Bureau. How many of You have
ever heard of it? 1t is the greatest insti-
tutNln III the WOflu as regards TIE SClentlllc
study of the deaf. What The Smithsonian
Institution is to general science the Volta
Bureau is to the science of the deaf. 1t
contains the most complete library upon
such subjects in the world, and it's col
lection of statistics regarding the deaf of
the United States is more complete and
more valuable than any other such col
lection in the world. Here are to be found
the deductions and the experiments made
by Mr.. Bell, which have SO benefited these
unfortunate people He has shown how to
make the dumb speak and the deaf hear,
and this bureau was founded by him for
the furtherance of this science. 1t is To-
Gated in Georgetown. about a mile and
half from the White House. 1t is a two
story building of Milwaukee brick and
stone, about 80 feet wide by 100 feet long.
1t has fiat roof, and its architecture
makes you think of the houses of Pom
peii 1t is fireproof, and in its basement
for the time is stored Mr.. Bells scientific
library, which came so near being burned
when the fire broke out in what is now
ex-Vice President Morton's house on Scott
Circle but which ct that time belonged
to MIR. Bell.
How the Grnphophonc Wns Invented.
The story OF how Mr.. Bell founded this
bureau is an interesting one Connected
with it came the invention of the grapho-
phone which the courts have lately decided
has priority rights over the inventions
which make Edison's photograph now
practical. 1t illustrates one side of Mr..
Bells character; that of his love for
science, and also his desire not to take
anything unless he can give something in
return. He told me the story.
The Volta Bureau SAID he, lis the out
| come of theVolta prize. Napoleon Bonaparte
founded this prize when he vas Emperor of
France in the honor of Volta. the Italian,
who invented the votaIc battery and other
things in electricity. 1t consisted of 10000
francs. about 100000, and was TO be voted
by the French government on occasion to
any one deemed worthy of it as having in
vented something for the benefit of human
lty. 1t has been awarded only three or
four times since Napoleon founded it, and
it was voted to me on account of the tele-
phone. 1t came when the telephone was al
ready success, and had made me finan-
cially Independent. Upon receiving the
money, 1 decided to donate it to the i'm
provement of the deaf. and ! did it in this
way. l had associated with me Mr.. Charles
Sumner fainter and my cousin, Mr.. Chi
chester Bell. who is also an inventor. 1
proposed to them that We take the money
and establish laboratory, each of US put
ting in our own labor as part of the cap
ital stock. and the Volta prize to be a
fourth part of the company, and to be used
as working fund With this We were to
establish a laboratory with the understand
ing that in it each of use should devote a
part of our time to our special hobby in the
way of invention, and at the same time We
would work together on some one invention,
which would be commercially profitable.
This was agreed to. and We went to work.
My hobby was the study of the deaf, Mr..
Fainter had an invention in optics which
he was trying to perfect, the exact nature
of which / do not feel at liberty to give,
and Mr. Chichester Bell was working on his
wonderful experiments in regard to record
ing speech by means of photograph;ng the
vibra tons of a jet of water. We looked
about for some time for the subject of the
invention that was to pay the bills, and
concluded to take up and develop the pho
ncgraph. The idea had been originated by
Mr. Edison, and he had produced little
tinfoil photograph, which was a screech-
ing. squeaking toy, but of no practical
value. The needle made the indentations
on the tinfoil, and these were liable to be
bulged upon erased. The result of our
work was the invention of the graphophone,
by which the record of the sound was cut in
to a cylinder of wax and permanent i'm
preston made. After we had made the dis
ccvery. attempted to form a combination
with the company owning the Edison pat
erts but Mr. Edison to certain extent repu-
ted their claims, and We organized a
company Independent of them. There is no
doubt in my mind of the value of our pat
entS, and l expect to see the graphophone
go into general use. Well, we organized a
company. and 1 sold the stock represented
by the Volta prize for 100000. $4,000 of
this l gave to the American Society for
Teaching Speech to the Deaf, and with the
remainder l established the Volta Bureau"
Telephone Bells laboratory.
This conversation took place while Mr..
| Bell and myself were walking together
through the libraries of the Volta Bureau.
After the above remarks he went on:
But perhaps you would like to see the
place where the Volta Bureau originated.
1 will take you where no newspaper man
has ever been before. We will make a
visit to my laboratory"
He then led the way out of the bureau.
We crossed the street and stopped at the
back of the lot on the opposite corner be-
fore a little red brick building of two
stories, not more than forty feet square,
and looking for all the world like stable.
This" said Mr.. Bell, lis my laboratory. 1t
was my fathers stable, and we have
turned it into a workshop. Here I have
made a great many experiments of late
years, and in it 1 have all of my models"
We entered, and, passing through work.
shop containing benches and machinery,
came into large room walled with shelves,
filed with models and instruments of all
kinds, and reminding me much of one Of
the model rooms of the patent office. In
the CENTER filling up nearly the whole
floor, was what at first sight seemed to be
| a model of new threshing machine. 1t
was at least 100 feet long, and had wide
inclined plane running up into the air at
| an angle of forty-ave degrees. I asked
what it was, and was told that it was q
type-setting machine for the instruction Of