Birmingham age-herald., 1895-07-20


 aExpires-How Edison Sold His Patent
 For sIoO,Oeo. Which Was Immediately
 oResoId For sI .ooo,Ooo.
 Some two years ago attention was called to the fact that tho development of long distance tclcphoning was giving anxiety to tho managers of the great telegraph monopoly, and that it was very probable upon the expiration of the contract be. tween the Bell people and tho Western Union that there might be renewal oi those hostilities which characterized the two companies some 5 years ago. Recent indications suggest that this paper cor rcctly reported tho situation as 1t then ex isted.
 The contract between thcso two great lnonopolies expires very soon. Each will be free unless new accommodations arc agrced to to use it's wires how and where il chooses, and it is thought here to be very likely that tle telegraph company may dc what it purposed 5 years ago to do-adopt tclephoning as d part of it's business whereas tho telephone company may choose to compete with tho telegraph company for tclcgraphing service.
 When Edison sold his important tele. phone patent, the one which vas of the most value 10 the Western Union company, for sl0O, 900, payment to be made in sums of S5, 900 annually, inc did not know that the Western Union people had already come to an understanding with tho Bell monopoly Each of these companies pos stssed important patents which were ncces- sary for the satisfactory operation of the telephone. Each of them perceived that the instrument could not become conner cialy valuable unless the use of those pat ents vas secured.
 The Western Union abandonca to the Bell people the telephone business and sold tothat company tho right to use the Edi- son patent It made very pretty penny by the operation Edison received S100,- UU0 for n patent which day later the tcle- graph company turned over to the tele- phone company for nearly $l,000, 900.
 No one then thought that it would ever he possible for tho telephone company to engage in telegraph business Tho long distance telephone was then almost un thought of Tie business was practically vicinity tclephoning and such it was ex- pectcd it always would remain. Therefore it was easy for The telegraph and telephone people to make an agreement that neither should invade the field of the other, and that agreement was kept to the letter un til q few years ago.
 When, after the expenditure of a very large sum of money in experiments, the telephone people discovered that by the uso of copper wire twisted with mathematical accuracy and in almost geometrical pro- portion it was possible to convey the voice for many hundred miles, the evils of in duction being done away with, then the able men who were directing this company wore of the opinion that ultimately tho great profits of tho business would como from long distance use of telephone wires.
 They immediately began preparation for connecting the greater cities of the Missis- sippi and north of the Ohio with the ulti- mate purpose of cobwcbbing the continent with long distance wires.
 5. They discovered that those could be leased ut such figures as, after general use had been established, would return them large profits. Almost immediately Now York brokers began to lease wires to Boston, Philadelphia and other large cities, and 1t was once when an accident oc- cured to an instrument at the end of one of these wires in Boston, that the sugges- tion was made that Morse instruments be attached to either end and the wire used lOT tClpSrupilllfer uulil lHc tcicpHUub COuld Do repaired. The idea was found to be practicable, and it soon became known to the telephone people that the lessccs of wires were using them both for telegraph ie and tclcphonie purposes. They said that they could not prevent that.
 Then the telegraph company perceived that before they had known it almost the Telephone people had erected what was llu to1onrnnh i,,cY many of the greater cities cast of the Mis- sissippi. They were persuaded that it was the purpose of the telephone people, as soon as the contracts with the Western Union had expired, either to enter the telegraph business themselves or else to encourage the use of the wires both for telegraphic and telephonic messages.
 That was exactly the situation reported two years ago, but at that time the Vest ern Union had made no move indicating its own purposes when the contract expir ed Since then it's replacement of ordinary iron wire by copper wire and it's suspected intention Of substituting copper for its whole plant and of making alliance with some of those telephone companies which have recently been created or of creating one itself indicate that the Western Union expects mex: year 10 come out as in rivalry against those who have been it's allies for the last l . years. There arc also reports that the new wizard, Tesla, has discovered new laws of electricity which can be con. troilcl by mechanism which he has about completed and which may cause new in flucnce of tho utmost importance to be de- vclopcd before actual warfare begins be- tween these two great monopolies. s.-Hol. land ill Philadelphia Press.
 a The Northwest Is Ah Right.
 \ well known Wall street banker, who