The San Francisco call., 1895-11-03

The TELEPHONE NEwsPAPER.-A corre-
spondent from Budapest writes: while
l was dressing in the morning, the hotel
servant knocked at my door and asked if /
wanted the telephone paper. He then
handed me two receivers about the size of a
pocket watch, attached to long cords,
which could be fastened to the bed if one
felt disinclined to get up, or to the arm
ch air or elsewhere to suit on's convenience.
The newspaper will begin to speak di-
rectly,' remarked the servant, and will go
on speaking until late in the evening. We
don't charge our visitors anything for it,
as 1t only costs US penny day" The
Budapest telephone newspaper was
founded by Theodor Puskas, a native of
Transylvania, and friend of Edison. His
original idea was to start a tele-
graphic newspaper, but he finally de-
cided that the telephone was the better
medium for his purpose, and the first
number of the Telephone Hirmondo
was published on February 15, 1898. Pus-
kas died month afterward, but his
unique scheme has turned out an extraor
binary success. The paper is available
everywhere in the city, in places of amuse-
ment, doctors waiting g-rooms, restaurants.
stores of all kinds, offices of merchants.
bankers and lawyers, in hospitals and in
private houses, for the use of aged people
the paper speaks all day, the information
is carefully classified, and each subscriber
has programme by which he can tell
what kind of news is about to be given at
any period of the day. At $50 the DAYS
work is begun by the reading in a clear,
sonorous voice, quite free from the nasal
twang of many telephones, of the tele-
grams received in the night from America
and the different parts of Europe At S:45
follows the daily calendar with metropoli-
itan news, and the list of strangers who have
arrived IN the city up to the previous
night. Then comes official news, contents
OF the Official gazette, etc., and at specified
hours are heard, in turn, reports on the
opening Of the stock and corn exchanges,
local and ecclesiastical news, theatTcals,
art and science notices. From quarter
past IL to half-past II information is given
on foreign, provincial and sporting mat
ters, and then to quarter to II reports ar
rive from the Vienna stock and corn ex-
changes, with all sorts of military, court
and political items. Early in the after
noon, when the sitting of the Reichstag
begins, the Parliamentary report is sup
plleo every ten minutes. The office is IN
telephone communication with the Reich
stag, and it often happens that important
speeches from Ministers and members are
known to the public while the
speaker is still addressing the House.
short summary of all impor-
tant items is given at noon, and
again in the evening, for those who may
have missed any of them. Toward even
ing, when news is growing scarce, the sub
scribers are entertained with vocal and IN
strum entail concerts. quartets and solos
the latter given by the most talented ar
lists of the capital. Literary articles or
feuilletons by such favorite writers as
Maurus Jokai or Victor Rakosy, are often
spoken into the tele phone by the authors
themselves. All this is given to the sub
scriber for one penny a day, and both wire
and apparatus are conveyed to his house
free of expense, There are now 5000 SUBJ
scribers. The organization of the staff re-
sembles that of any other big paper. Ten
men with strong voices and clear articula-
tion act as speakers and take their turn in
shifts of two at time. When any i'm
portant event is about to be read shriII
warning blast is sounded.