Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1898-05-13
TALKING PAPER.
HOW THE NEWS IS TRANSMIT
TED IN BUDAPEST.
A Unique Journalistic Enterprise Car
ried ON in the Hungarian Capital
Conducted on the Principle of the
Telephone.

A Budapest letter to the London Pail
Mall Gazette says: A smart diamond
shaped board screwed onto the wall of
my room and provided with a couple
of hooks, from which hang two tiny,
round telephone earpieces connected by
two wires. That is all. But my pro-
prietor has been singing its praises
for the last twenty minutes, and as he
conf1dentially assured me that 1t will
not play any part in my hotel bill at
the end Of my stay, there Is no earth
ly reason why should enter any pro-
test against his profuse encomiums.
This said he, "is the Telephone
Messenger or talking newspaper-the
only thing of its kind in the world. 1t
has now been established in Budapest
about three years. 1t differs from the
ordinary telephone in the fact that the
latter is directly connected with the
central Office, whereas we are able to
connect from 200 or 800 subscribers in
one circuit. The city is divided into
thirty circuits. All day long news is
spoken into specially constructed ap-
paratus at the central ONCE, varied
with entertainments, the opera and lin
guistic lessons. 1t Is not a telephone
in the strict sense of the word. and
therefore does not infringe the tele-
phone rights of the government. It
combines the functions of your tape
machines and electrophones, while it
is ten times cheaper. That buzz you
hear just now was to prevent subscrib-
ers talking to each other on their own
account"
''It seems strange that such an ex-
cellent idea as this appears to be should
not be introduced in other towns than
Budapest" I ventured
"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 advantageous
ly situated in this respect as Budapest,
where the law empowers the company
to introduce the apparatus into any
house in the city in spite of the objec-
tons of the landlord. We have here
5000 subscribers, and each pay only
Is forms a year. With us it is as in
England with certain soap-our fami-
lies don't feel happy until they get it.
1t is so cheap that many Of 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 ear, and he
can be entertained the whole evening.
The general public, too, can have news
in advance of the newspapers. Why, a
few weeks ago, when the German kaiser
gave that celebrated toast of his to the
Hungarian nation, thousands of fami-
lies were listening to its recital half
an hour later. Without this apparatus
they would have had to wait until next
day"
Have you regular daily program"
Eyes, it is announced in the morn
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
Importance are communicated at once,
the telephone messenger being in d.
rect connection with leading Buda-
pest newspaper. At about 2 o'clock
the morning news is in part repeated,
then come exchange prices, kilograms,
law reports, short, entertaining
story, theatrical items, and sometimes
a concert, and for an hour in the even
ing we get lesson in English, Italian
and French. You have no idea what
a benefit this is to the young genera
ton, and how popular these lessons are
around them. A complete set of gradu-
ated exercises has been published in
these languages. Each telephone sub
sciber who cares to listen holds copy
of the book in question before him, and
the teacher speaks into the double mi
crophone transmitter at the central Of
fee"