The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1901-12-21
SYLvESTER'S
BIG CLAIM.
Professor Bell Doesn't Believe
SssIng by Phone Possible.
MAY Be IN FUTURE YEARS.
Nothing impossible In The Transmission Of
Light by Electricity, but Hardly
prehlhls al Present.
MAY Be IN FUTURE YEARS.

Washington, Dec 21.-Profcssor Alex
snder Graham Bell. the inventor of the
telephone. yesterday afternoon read
with much interest the cable from Paris
telling OF the alleged discovery by Or.
Sylvester OF process that enabled MIN
To sce by teloph aae After reading the
dispdtch Professor Bell made the follow
ing statement:
"Tho idea Of seeing by telephone has at
taised It's majority IL is now q years of
age Seeing by telephone or 10y telegraph
may be within the range Of the possible.
I say that because nothing is impossible
nntl II has been demonstrated so 10 he.
Seeing by either OF these instrunentah-
tics however r.. as look upon IL, so far
removed from the field OF probability that
! should treat any report OF this charac-
acter AZ an absurdty.
The idea oi seeing by telephone is
newspaper product and WAS credited 10
myself Twenty-ore years, ago early IN
1850 / made an important invention,
based upon my discovery OF tho possi-
| bility Of a transmitting sound by the
lagencH OF q beam or light utilizing the
/ remarkable property OF selenium. whose
( electrical resistance is varied by the ac-
| tion OF light This apparatus. which was
!
/ science today as tho photophone.
! AT that time ! was not prepared 90
! publish the results | had obtained.
! therefore filed a secret sealed package in
/ the Smithsonian institution which detail
ed the secret | had discovered. II so hap
pened that I'm those days the public was
willing to believe anything about cleo
! trcity or the telephone The fact that /
| had deposited this package got out. and
some newspaper wag who knew some
thing OF electricity published q story
| Ills story was to the effect that Or.
! H. f. Licks of Bethlehem. Pa, had sue
ceeded by the aid OF the telephone, In
| projecting upon csreen real live
| image OF a cat The use OF the word
| Helick is apparent to any scientific man
| when We recall the term Helix Al all
| events the papers took it up, and out OF
| that grew the story OF being able 10 see
| by telephone.
Two well known English professors
| both still hving-Perry and Ayrton. came
| out in an indignant communication IN
/ which they connected the two para
graphs and. after relating how Profes-
sor Bell OF Washington. had claimed 70
have discovered this improbable thing
said they wanted the scientific world tc
know. that they. before my time, had
perfected such an invention
soon after this another writer claim
ed that ne made the discovery before
either Of the English professors had
Then came "a new claimant from Aus
| tralia.
presently we heard from MIR. Saw
yer. distinguished New Yorker now
dead who claimed that he had' made
this, great discovery before either the
English professors or myself or any one
| else.
-'ro cap the climax, The Scientific
| American took up the subject and dis
! "A discovery
existence They insisted that IL was Al
J Injustice 10 one OF their clients that h'
should be robbed OF this great honor
The cable from Paris is the same ol,
story. 1t has occasionally cropped on
since 1850 usually every four or hv'
years. i'm one form or another. mus
confess that / 30 not believe Dr. Sylves
| ire has made such a discovery as he hai
! led the correspondent 10 write about
There Is nothing i'm the story as
read IL 20 indicate that ii Is any NOR
than fairy tale.