The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1902-02-15
THE SpECTOORAPH

The Paris correspondent of a New
York daily sends the following cable
gram from Paris:
Dr. Sylvestre, the inventor who
claims to have discovered how to see
by telephone, has just described his re
markable discovery, which he declares
was a matter of chance. He said
There is no reason why, as soon as
telephone cables are established be-
tween Paris and New York we should
not see our friends there as easily as
see you.
Il have already seen the Marseilles
Telephone Exchange from this room by
means of my apparatus, and l have
chatted by telephone with NJ. Mougeot
the French Postmaster-G General. watch
ed his astonishment and described his
appearance, his clothes, his office as we
talked.
Il cannot work my apparatus for you
yet, because l am in treaty with the
French postoffice people, and the meth
Cd is so simple that if I showed it to
you you could go away and make an
apparatus just like it.
II may well confess 1 do not alto
gether understand my own invention. I
discovered it quite by accident. al
though it acts quite perfectly and
shows colors of all kinds with absolute
faithfulness and very WILDLY. l am not
scientist enough to explain how or why
it acts exactly as it does.
Six weeks ago l was in my iabora-
tory enameling some teeth and was sit
ting over a big stove. There was no
light in the room excepting what the
stove gave. The walls of my labora-
tory are white. My job was a long and
wearisome one. and as We have thea
terphone' a my fiat, l had myself con-
nected with the opera and was listen
ing to Griseldrs while / waited for the
enamel to melt.
Suddenly l noticed colors and fig
ures on the wall in front of me. l put
down the theaterphone. They disap-
peared.
Il took it up again and again I saw the
figures, and this time much more dis
tinctly. Then 1 both heard and watched
the whole act of the opera sitting in my
chair before the stove
The spectograph was invented. had
found out how to see by telephone. For
a fortnight l worked over my invention
day and night Then on the 21st OF
last month"; my apparatus being perfect
ed l wrote NJ. Mougeot, the French post
master general, and asked him to receive
me. I have seen him several times. /
am now in treaty with the French gov
eminent for a 'cession' of my inventious
for which 1 want $4,000
4 have tried the apparatus several
times since under all sorts OF circum-
stances, and it never failed me. Space
is annihiiated by the spectograph, and
the thing itself is so absurdly simple
that the apparatus vii onyl cost about
1913.
My invention practically does away
with kilograms. Put written commu-
nication in trent of the looking-glass at
the London end of a wire and your cor
respondent in France viii see it quite
distinctly at his end.
.'As soon as my contract with the
French government for 100000 is signed
L mean to give an immense show in the
Galerie des Jardin, Champs des Mars,
to all who care to come. There on an
enormous sheet I will show what my
apparatus will do
DR. Sylvestre showed a small circular
mirror, with a hole in the center into
which is screwed tiny electric light OF
10 candle power. This is fixed to a tel
ephone's microphonic plate by an India
rubber band. a pencil-like instrument
the current with the appara-
tuS.