The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1905-03-02
A TELEGRAPH TYPEWRITER
New Invention in Telegraphy
Improves Old System.
HIGHER SPEED CLAIMED
Adaptation Of Typewriter to Tele.
graph and Substitution Of Type
written Message - System Of
Two Austrians Calls in the Aid
of Photography

"''ttCu WcSSdyS SyStSHl OF
Two Austrians Calls in the Aid
of Photography.
New York.--It has been estimated
that for every wireless message sent
! and received there are sent more than
100000 messages over the wires. With
this in mind. it is easy to see that an
Improvement or invention that great
ly facilitates the sending of messages
in the old way is of greater present
day value than the discovery of a
system or principle which will prob
ably remain in the experimental stage
for at least a score of years more.
Two such inventions and discov-
/eries have been made recently, or
rather, which, If capable of ac-
complishing what the inventors as
sert, must produce a change, amount
ing almost TO revolution, in the or.
binary telegraph of every day life.
The first of these inventions is the
work of an American, j. C. Barclay,
assistant general manager of the
Western Union Telegraph Company.
The invention consists of the adapta-
ton of the typewriter to the tele-
graph and the substitution of a type
written message, given at full type
writer speed, for the slow and labor-
Gus code of the Morse alphabet. BY
the use of his appliance. according to
Mr.. Barclay, person may sit at a
typewriter in one city and hammer
out his message as fast as he is able,
while a similar typewriting machine
In another city at the other end Of the
line takes down the message in identi-
cally the same way 1t Is given, capt.
tails, punctuation and all.
1t is obvious what saving of time
and labor this means. According to
Mr. Barclay the sender needs to know
only how to operate typewriter.
The receiver needs only to keep the
machine supplied with paper.
Mr.. Barclay said recently that he
had been at work on his invention for
long time and had overcome all de-
fects.
Mr.. Barclay said that there were
reasons why he could not now give
out technical description of the ma
chine in use or allow the machine it.
are done away with he will issue a
description of the patent and give
public exhibition of it's work.
The second invention which seems
destined to work great change in
methods of telegraphing is the work
of two Austrian scientists, and is
known as the Pollak-Virag telegraph
instrument. The results claimed to
have been achieved by this instru-
ment are much more wonderful in
their way than those accomplished by
Barclay in his adaptation OF the type
writer to use in telegraphing.
The inventors of the Pollak-Virag
telegraph instrument assert that by
.heir system they can send without
undue haste from 10000 to $4,000
words an hour, and that it is received
in good legible handwriting which
need not be translated.
How this is done it is not so easy
to explain or understand. The techni-
cal description given by the inven-
layman to get anything from. AS
nearly as it can be described the sys-
TEN Is about as follows, says the
Brooklyn Eagle.
The message to be transmitted is
converted into telegraphic dots and
dashes on "perforator" that looks
like a typewriter. The perforator
punches in slip Of paper series Of
small holes that correspond to the
form of letters. The slip is passed
over a series of cylinders and electric
waves, find their way through the
prepared holes and come out at the
other end in the same sequence In
which they were sent.
in recording the letters the system
calls in the aid Of photography. The
electric waves are conveyed to little
mirror and they cause the mirror to
move in two directions, horizontal
and vertical. Electric light is focused
on the mirror and sent by it to SEN
sitized paper. The mirror moves
only the smallest fraction of a milli-
meter and the exposure of the sensi-
tized paper is only the thousandth
part of second, but legibl, writing
at the rate of fifteen second.
The motions of the mirror are only
two, vertical and horizontal. If pro-
duced slowly the letters would be
angular, but the rapidity of the
flashes with the movement of the
paper film give the finished message
the appearance of handwriting. De-
veloping and fixing the message takes