The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-01-09
A MARVELLOUS DEVICE
INVENTOR BERLINER'S NEW SOUND
PRODUCING MACHINE.
the Voice Is Etched Zinc
Disc-How 1t Operates.
Special to the indianapolis Journal.

Special to the Indianapolis Journal
WASHINGTON, Jan. S.-Mr. Emil Ber-
liner, whose name has been prominently
before the public recently through the de-
cisions of the Boston courts, which have
declared his patent of the telephone trans
mitter pIolic property, is hard at work on
a new electrical invention which promises
to be as startling and as far-reaching in
its practical applications as was his trans
mitter. Mr.. Berliner is at present in
Washington, and has laboratory on
Pennsylvania avenue. Speaking to the
Journal correspondent of the Berliner suit
and Judge Carpenters recent adverse de-
cision, Mr.. Berliner said: 1--WE will carry
our case through the various stages UP to
the Supreme Court of the United States
Judge Carpenter decided against us on
purely technical points, and we are not
despairng of the final Result. There seems
to be a general misrepresentation in the
public mind to the practical results of
our defeat, if we are finally defeated Only
the transmitter becomes public property,
in that case. and the only practical result
will be that the public will be at liberty
to build individual telephone lines between
two points. We still hold so many undis-
puted patent rights on the most essential
features of the switchboard and other de-
tails of the telephone system that there is
no possibility of independent telephone sys-
TENS such as now do work in all the
Cities
But Mr.. Berliner's present attention is
devoted to a sound-producing machine
that he styles a gramophone." The name
is hardly a happy one, for it at once sug-
gests either the photograph" the
.graphophone,' two rival talking ma
chimes which, like most ingenious electrical
Devices have promptly found their way
into the courts. But Mr.. Berliner states
that the principles involved in his gramo-
nhOnp radically different n fho
technical manipulation of the machine
The voice record of the gramophone is an
etching, done in metal, generally thin,
polished zinc discs 1t forms spiral line
running from periphery to within few
inches of the center. A disc seven inches
in diameter will hold about $50 spoken
words, one of Soussa's marches, or two
or three verses of .; any popular song or
WHAT THE MACHINE DOESs
The Journal correspondent heard some of
the gramophone productions day or two
ago Some of the effects are almost in
credible. A church bell sounded so nat
urally that any one standing outside the
room in which the machine was played
would have been unable to say that it was
not a bell. There a musical reproduce
ton of the well-known picture. Yankee
Doodle, or the Spirit of 70 The drums
and fife approaching from distance, and
then marching past the window, the shouts
of the crowd in the street, the cheering for
General Washington, the fife and drums
all the while being distinctly heard until
they fade away in the distance-it seems
hard to grasp that all this is etched
lne pushing along a needle point the
plate slowly revolves and transmits the
sound vibrations to a diaphragm of Ger
man silver. There seemed to be no end to
effects. Songs from 20, Promise Me- to
Golden Hair Hanging Down Her
Back" cornet duets, marches played by
full band. Shakspeafean recitations and
ordinary conversations between two or
more persons, all We're reproduced in a
tone as distinct and clear as human
ment tried TO test the strength of the ma
chimes utterances. friend living in
GEORGETOWN. suburb of Washington,
called up by telephone, and conversation
Just held between Mr., Berliner and the
Journals correspondent repeated from the
gramophone, which. for the sake of the
telephone The Georgetown end of the tel
ephone showed by its comments on the
conversation after hearing it that every
word must have been enunciated clearly
enough To have been distinctly transmitted
over the telephone wire
Technical descriptions are always tire
some. and there is no reason why tech
nical statement of the principles of the
gramophone should be an exception. Still
a word or two about this process of etch-
ing the voice. Every one has learned from
fat Will protect firm substance from be-
coming wet. Every one. too. knows by
this time the principle of sound vibrations
rs exemplified IN the diaphragm of a teie-
phone Now these two facts are com
b:ned in making a voice etching on a
sraniophone. Suppose you should want
aosae statement transmitted to a distant
friend In your own voice. This the
way it was done TO the Journal correspond
ent: A polished zinc disc was coated with
table Near oy was the diaphragm of a
telephone and attached 10 Ii was fine
! flexible steel pen. tipped with sharp