The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-12-31
Prof. Rowland of Johns Hopkins
University a DiscoVerer.
Makes Radical Movement in
Telegraphy.
SENDS FOUR MESSAGES
In Each Direction Over the
Same Wire.
To Be Given a Practical Test at
Baltimore

Baltimore Dec. 31.-From time to
time reports have received regarding
remarkable invention in the Geographic
art in an eastern city. 1t was claimed
for it that it was greater, in an inven-
tive way, than the famous duplexing
principle of DR.. Nicholson, who, by the
way, lived near California, Ohio, or the
gold and stock ticker now familiar
in every brokers' office, hotel and sa-
loon. 1t develops that Baltimore is the
home of the discovery, and that DR..
Henry A Rowland, of Johns Hopkins
university, is Edison's latest rival. The
invention is to be given a practical trial
some day next week, and it will soon be
known whether the business is to be
revolutionized. Already the machine
or instrument, has been working in the
laboratory for some time, and now the
doctor will give it a practical test. The
test Will determine whether four mes
sages can be transmitted at the same
time in different directions. The inStru-
ment will endeavor to send four mes
sageS at the same time to Pittsburg
ana TO receive at the same time, in Bal
tlmOre, four messages from that city.
The instrument can be called a print
ing telegraph instrument. Its essential
advantages over the instrument now in
use are that it enables several messa-
ges to be sent and received together
and at the same time, from the same or
separate points over the same wire;
that 1t makes it impossible to tap" q
wire and catch any one or more of the
passing messages, and that it will not
be affected by the weather With all
THESE advantages, the expense of the
new instrument will not be great.
Prof ROWland'S patents are not vet
1uIly secured, and he, accordingly, is
not ready to explain the instrument
sufficiently to show how it works.
have completed all the necessary pre-.
paratiOns for a public exhibition, where
the invention may be fully examined.
A model instrument is now in opera
ton in the Johns Hopkins physical lab
oratory Notwithstanding the incOm-
pleteness of some of the details the lit
lie machine already performs it's work
successfully. When ready for practical
use 1t Will have message printing ca
paclty OF at least 300 words per min
ute.
The operation of the instrument may
be most readily understood by begin
ming with a consideration of the part of
the mechanism situated at the send
ing station. The sending Instruments
are fitted with key-boards, like tvpe-
writers. Their number is the same as
that of the messages that it may be de-
sirable to send simultaneously. Eight
is the regular number of. messages that
the instrument is designed to handle at
once. but 10 could be taken without
special inconvenience Each keyboard
must have a person to operate it: the.
economy in labor is experienced at the
receiving end of the line. Still consid-
er1ng the sending instrument and sup
posing all eight of the Keyboards-it
matters not how widely separated-to
be in use, the six operators rattle ahead
with their messages as rapidly as they
/ choose and without lard to one an
other 1t would seem as though the
eight dispatches, switched on to a single
! wire. would produce hopeless confus-
ion, but one of the devices of Prof Row
lands instrument adjusts the words in
such a way that the separate letter of
/ the respective messages cannot start
| on the main wire out of their regular
| turn.
For example, suppose the first words
| of six sentences, started simultaneous
| ", to be respectively, wheat" the
| Jarvis ''YOnkers.' LEA que" and
! Armenia" the adjustor would select
/ in turn the letters w, T, J. Y, L, A.
/ III. h. a, c, e, T, etc. the order of rota-
| ton being constantly preserved.
! So long as the masSage-Sending ca
! pacity of the instrument is not exceed
ed, it makes no difference whether the
! messages all be sent in on direction, or
| part of them in one direction and part
! in the contrary. The adjustor will &C
! cOmplish its work as well. with four
! messages going north and four coming
! south, or one going north and five
/ coming south, as it will with the whole
! group of the neSSag eS proceeding in
/ the same direction. This result is made
| possible by the nature of the alternat-
! ing current.
At the receiving station the Rowland
| receiver performs its work without hui
man aid. The eight messages are au-
| tOmaticaly separated and distributed
| to six instruments. These print out the
! messages as fast as received. At pres
| ent DR.. Rowland's instruments are fit
| ted to print on ribbons of paper, such
| as are used in the familiar ticker" but
| his perfected machine will print the mes
/ sages out on sheets of paper of any de-
sirable shape and size. Hitherto there
| never has been a successful attempt to
/ attain this result
| Absolutely the only attention neces-
! Sary at the receiving station is to sup
| ply the instrument with paper and take
! away the printed sheets.
| 1t is obvious that an adoption of the
/ system would reduce the number of
necessary operators of q line by Just
| one-half. for the Morse system, now in
use in this country, demands an opera
tor to receive. as well as one to send the
message The mercantile advantages
to be gained by the use of such a sys-
tenn would be vast. In a newspaper Of
| fee, for example. the value of the time
saved on such an occasion as an cleo
ton night would be almost beyond cal
| cuIation. From each of the paper
wires 10 sets of returns. from entirely
/ separate points. could be received at
! once. Then the messages. as soon as
received. would be printed out. ready
to be edited and put in type. The de-
lay now caused by the necessity OF
writing out the messages as they are
received would be eliminated.