The Norfolk Virginian. [volume] (Norfolk, Va.) 186?-189?, 1896-08-05
Professor Alexander Graham Bells Account
Of a Modern Scientific Joke.
ACCELERATED WRARGLE OVER HuaBUG
"A False Report Was Circulated to the
Erect that Professor BelI Had sue
Image over n Telephone wire,Then
Everyone Claimcd the Invcntion.
BY DIR. H. f. JoKosA.
tcopyrisht. 1895. by the Authur)

ncTebN llSi buN ~. !
tale 1t had been some time since had
any news OF the progress of Prof. Alex
ander Graham Bells endeavor to convey
q sensible image or impression by means
of n telephone wire, and called TO ask
the Professor as TO his success l did
this. you understand, III all innocence OF
heart. / had been reading OF Prof. Beli
experiments along this line ana was
curious TO know whether or not he would |
be able to do for light waves what he
had for sound waves. and transmit the
image of a face just as through ms
telephone he now does the sound OF the |
human voice.
Now Pro. Bell. 1t happens Is a Scotch
man and has one of those healthy, lusty
laughs that sounds like Il gust blown off !
the banks and braes of Bonnie Doom |
Very much to my surprise, my question
excited one OF these. When it had sub
sided Prof. Bell said to me: II Will tell
you the history of famous hoax"
with5this the famous electrician SAID
al have in my library the fun ana au-
thentic details of the whole case. fou
may read it or l will tell II to you, Just
us YOU like" / suggested the latter. and
this is the Professors story: so
You know the years along from 80
10 $50 were star years in the electrical
world. Then great things were being
done new discoveries were being an
nounced almost every day. ana otners
that had been made some little while
before were then coming into general
use. The telephone had been perfected
and was spreading it's network over the
country. electric light was beginning 10
supersedc gas. telegraphers had iouno
way to send more than single message
over the same wire simultaneously, ana
people were talking of the day when inc
electric motor would run street cars ana
railroads and do all sorts of things.
Electricity was quite literally in the ar
THE ORIGIN OF THE HOAX.
"It was slight wonder that with all Tie
roaryels and miracles to be seen right
under ones eyes, many attempts 10 30
absurd things should be MADE, si'a'
many absurd announcements put loren
To illustrate this, newspaper par"
srapher invented an item to the eject
that a DR.. H T.. Lix. of Maunch Chunr,
pa or some other prosperous town, had
Found n way to see through wire, ana
mad been able by this means 10 convey
the image of a pussy cat ana thro" inc
picture on a screen before the Delighted
nudfencr. The paragraph Was iuIl oi
nechnical electric terms and of proper
names founded, like that of the alleged
Inventor, DR. ID T.. Liz (hei.X), upon
electrical words.
1T would seevn as though anyone with
a CLEAN iof humor would Nave seen the
evident satire of the paragraph. But
mo. II was taken with perfect seriousness
and was duly copied from one paper TO
another as the latest wonder in cleo
trichty.
"Now 1t happened just at the time that
Twas at work upon series or inNesh-
Eefians looking toward the conveyance
of sounds by means of rays or Eght.
had fairly perfected an Instrument for
this purpose when I was compelled to
drsp my Investigations for Other work.
It seemed to me that had made d!s-
covery of some Importance, ana, whlie
net wishing to announce II, l wanted 10
fix the date of my discovery ana there
folo filed a sealed package containing a
Tull description, with illustrations, of my
Investigations, in the Smithsonian 1nsti-
tute. Just how or why, do not know.
aut the fact of my having filed this pack
age soon came out, ana along Win lRe
paragraph containing the wonderful DIR.
n. E. Liz and his wonderful discovery
went another item concerning the mar
yeIlous Prof. Bell and his discovery.
which latter mysterious AFFAIR had been
sealed up in package in the Smlthso-
ndam Institution.
EUROPEAN SCIENTISTS CLAIM
THE DISCOVERY.
After travelling the rounds of the
American papers, big and little, the ivy o
items duly took their way over to Eng
land. and as 1t happened made their APP
pearance together. the one following the
other, in an issue of the English scienti-
fic publication. Nature. / think that the
items must have been slightly garhled
and rendered obscure, else the mistake
which occurred could hardly have been
made, but at any rate in the very next
issue Of Nature came an indignant
letter from Professors Ayrton and Per-
ny, assailing me in the msst violent
manner. AS they had read the items
il was / and not the mythical DIR. Il. +.
Liz who was claiming the discovery Of
q means of transmitting Images by wire.
But my glory was not 10 last long. Fro
fessors Ayrton and Perry made haste to
lift from my head my hard earned iau-
Tels and place them on their own. They
not ] 1t appeared, were the real dis
ooverers of this marvellous process
and to them belonged the laurel and
the crown.
well, as 1t took fortnight or more
for the English journal to reach this
country, 1 remained in blissful igno-
rance both of the fact that / had ella i'm
ed to be such a djscoverer and that
had been thus ruthlessly shorn OF my
prize. Meanwhile the war went on
,ventor or scientist whose name l do
not now recall, had letter in which he
ciaimed that he was the true discoyerer
the first to have thought OF the great
and valuable principle for the transmits
sion of images by wire. If Profes sors
Ayrton and Perry had been long before
me In the discovery, he in turn. had
been long In the field before Professors
Ayrton and Perry. My memory IS n
trifie indisbinct, but IL I recall Alright,