The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-12-19

Curious Hungarian. Invention in Use
in Buda-Pesth.
Correspondence Pail Mall Gazette.

IN buua-feStn
Correspondence Pail Mall Gazette.
A small diamond shaped board screwed
on to the wall of my room, and provided
with a couple of hooks from which hang
two tiny round telephone earpieces connect
ed to wires That is ALL But my hotel pro-
prietor has been singing it's praises for the
last twenty minutes, and as he confidently
assured me that it will not play any part in
my hotel bill at the end of my stay there
is no earthly reason why should enter any
protest against his profuse encomiums
ger, talking newspaper-the only thing
of it's kind in the world It has now been
established in Buda-Pesth about three
years. 1t differs from the ordinary teie-
phone in the fact that the latter is directly
connected with the central office. whereas
we are able to connect from two hundred
to three hundred subscribers in one circuit.
The city is divided into thirty circuits. All
day long news is spoken into specially
constructed apparatus at the central office,
varied with entertainments, the opera, and
linguistic lessons. 1t is not telephone in
the strict sense of the word, and therefore
does not infringe the telephone rights of
the government 1t combines the functions
of your tape-machine and electrophones,
while it is ten times cheaper That buzz
you heard just now was to prevent sub
scribers talking to each other on their own
account"
ut seems strange that such an excellent
idea as this appears to be Should not be IN
troduced in other towns than Buda-PeSth,
| ventured to remark.
1.-The answer is very simple. OF course,
the newspaper feature would be impossible
in London, where time is everything, and
a man could not sit the whole day with
the apparatus at his ear, waiting for some
particular news or exchange prices Then
again, other towns are not so advantage
ously situated in this respect as Buda-Pesth,
where the law empowers the company to
introduce the. apparatus into any house In
the city in spite of the objections OF the
landlord. We have here 5000 subscribers,
and each pay only eighteen forms year.
With us it is as in England with a certain
soap-our families don't feel happy until
they get it, 1t is so cheap that many or
the rooms in my hotel are fitted up with
it. If the visitor finds it inconvenient to go
to the opera, all he has to do is to put this
apparatus to his car, and he can be enter
tanned the whole evening. The general pub
lic too, can have news in advance OF the
newspape IS. Why, few weeks ago. when
the German Kaiser gave that celebrated
toast of his to the Hungarian nation, thou
sands of families We're listening 10 It's re-
cital half hour later. Without this appa-
ratus they would have had to wait until the
next morning"
Have you a regular daily programme?
Yes. 1t is announced in the morning, and
changes every half-hOur or so. The greater
part of the morning is taken up with prices
on Change. a summary of the news in the
dailies. At noon we begin to get report
of the doings in Parliament. kilograms of
telephonic messenger being in direct con-
nection with a leading Buda- Pesth news
paper. AT about 2 o'clock the morning
news is in part repeated. then come eX-
change prices, kilograms, law reports a
short, entertaining story, theatrical items
and sometimes concert, and for about an
hour in the evening we get a lesson in Eng
lish, Italian and French You have no idea
what a benefit this is to the young genera
ton, and how popular these lessons are
among them. A complete set of graduated
exercises has been published in these Ian
guages. Each telephone subscriber who
cares to listen holds copy, of the book
in question before him, and the teacher
speaks into the double microphone trans
mitter at the central office.