The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-11-22
CURE FOR BLINDNESS
Edison Believes He Has Discov-
cred 1t.
EXPERIMENTS RECENTLY MADE BY
The INVENTOR.
Has Been Working on the Eye
From the Standpoint of the Ro-
entgen Ray-Hov the idea Came
10 transformations of the Optic
Nerve.

New York Nov. 21.-By means OF
the Edison Horoscope a man who
fit together the ragged fracture with
the certainty that the work is being
done rightly. Mr.. Edison now demands
that the blind shall be allowed to see;
and investigation shows that he has
made even a better start than the
first news of his discovery indicated
In the Electrical Engineer, just out,
Mr.. Edison modestly says under his
signatures:
THE Roentgen ray powerfully
changes the normal condition of vision.
With strong tubes one can easily see
through a hand with the naked eye,
when both are brought very close to
the tube. Moving objects are also seen
/ plainly. For the first two or three
seconds the eye perceives nothing, but
/ by that time the ray has made some
change in the eye, and the sensitive
ness is increased"
That is enough to set the scientists
of the two worlds TO work with re-
newed energy on the Roentgen ray.
Mr. Edison discussed his discovery yes
terday with his usual modesty and
simplicity
"a few nights ago." he said, after
working for a long time with an x ray
bulb, my eyes panied me severely. l
closed my eyes YEARLY, covering them
with my left hand. 1 saw the bones of
my hand with my eyes shut, and when
1 passed my right hand across 1 saw
the bones of that through my closed
lids. and the bones of the left hand as
we'll That gave me the idea of max
ing the blind see. I could go out into
the bright glare of monday and see
nothing, but the bulb converted my
two hands into a perfect Horoscope.
Il have been working On the eye
from the standpoint of the Roentgen
ray. While 1 know nothing of the eye
from a surgical standpoint, 1 have
found out that darkness intensifies the
power to see. 1 have discovered by
mathematical deductions that staying
in an absolutely dark room for 80 min
utes increases the sensitiveness of the
eye % fold l find IL so in the use of
the Horoscope, and 1T viii soon be rec
ognized by all scientists.
This was the start and the idea
came to me that the eye of the blind
must be many hundreds of times more
sensitive than those OF TIE normal, pro-
vfded the optic nerve is in a healthy
state Here discovery hinges. If The
t., -i-rIat
the condition of the cutter eye may be
there should be hope of sigkt, from a
scientific standpoint.
THE experiments of last Monday
night were not satisfactory. l might
go on for four months without striking
the exact vibration of sight, and at the
end discover it in a second. What 1
shall do is another matter. Jacob !
Mahrbacher and Otto Kallensee were |
not the right kind of subjects These
men could not tell me what they saw. |
They were hysterical with delight at
being able to read fine print by can
die light.
81 did not have the apparatus TO make |
the test that will be made later on. I |
have simply pointed out the way and
there is no telling who will make the
final discovery. 1t may be made in
Germany, San Francisco or France-or
here in West Orange. This discovery
strikes me as being especially we'll
adapted to persons suffering from cat
aract beyond the power of surgical
Skill These persons have in most es-
sential respects normal eyes. The nerve
is all right, and, being covered to total
darkness, the eye must be sensitive
to a degree Impossible to calculate.
With the Roentgen ray TO penetrate
his film, why should not these persons
seq"
why should not these persons use
your Horoscope ?" THAT is out of the
question. The Horoscope is ordinary
daylight 1t simply converts the un-
explainable Roentgen ray into ordinary
light by rejecting it on the particles of
calcium tungs.ate. This mineral has
he property of converting the invisible
ray into light. Put the Roentgen ray
INTO a dark box and you have absolute
light. Put into that box crystals Of
he simple calcium tungstate and you
nave i2nI. II we ndQ always Known /
he Roentger ray we should have re-
,arded tungstate calcium as phosphor-
.scent mineral, because they have such
IN affinity for each other. These two
make the Horoscope, so, you see, they
would do the blind man no good.
THE Roentgen ray l have discovered
nay he increased in power to an ex-
ent almost beyond the power Of figures
o calculate. In itself, it is supposed
~ some scientists to be light vibration
# a thousand million millions per sec
nd. How this may be 1 don't know.
Iii scientists depend on striking vibra-
ion necessary 70 make the blind man
ee- Bernard, you know, could see !
win ears with the naked eye, and
through the telescope his sight was
hat much more powerful in proportion =
ie was the only one who could do it.
[ is so with the ear, and i believe it is
o with the taste. 1 believe that it is
simple vibration. :
Il can make a Roentgen ray that will :
nable me TO see through tha nartition ! .