Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1906-02-18

A DAY or two ago | encountered
II the inventor of the Spectre
phone walking in the park A
broad smile illumined his Rembrandt
face. and as he paced the walk he
more than once broke into a fit of hi
larious mirth. His behavior was too
much for my curiosity. and approach
ing him from behind 1 slapped him
with much familiarity upon the back
and asked to be permitted to share the
joke.
"Oh, it's you is it?" he observed, the
smile still lurking at the corners of his
lips.
YES" said 1. whats the joke?
You've been walking up and down here
for the past half hour grinning like
Cheshire cat. I'd like to join you in
the laugh
Certainly" he acquiesced amiably
II don't mind telling you, though you
may not find it as amusing as l do
Fact is, 1 got fooling with the new
machine last night and for the first
time L devoted my attention to the
immediate rather than the remote fu-
ture. 1t would make q horse laugh to
see some of the things that are going
to happen in the next five years. The
existing bubbles in the social the po-
litical and the financial world that are
going to be pricked before 1910 are
truly a caution"
Great changes in store for us, eh %
i queried.
81 should say So" he laughed "You
know Secretary Taft?'
Yes I responded, eagerly.
"And-er-the German emperor"
Yes" said I. my curiosity whetted.
And General Kuropatkin?"
"Well-what of them-pray tell mel"
/ cried impatiently.
"Oh, WE'LL guess you'd better wait
and see,' he laughed. but if any
body ever asks you who will be the
president of the German republic don t
you go mentioning Mr.. William j.
Hohenzollern for the job, that's all.
He's popular enough, but he'll never be
president of the United States of Ger
many any more than Theodore Roose-
welt will be emperor of Columbia
There's different things in store for
both of EN-"
well what of them? Pray tell mel
l demanded.
"Oh-I wasn't laughing about that"
said the old gentleman, SOLDERING up.
What amused me was Il glimpse l
had last night of a new terror to dis
tingmshed men and women which will
begin to be in just thirty months
from date. | stumbled on it in my ex-
ploraztions of a Vassar dormitory last
night
"a Vassar dormitory?" cried.
Great heavens, man! Is nothing
sacred to the intruding eye of this
machine of yours?"
I'm my hands, yes said he. 1.-THE
young ladies may rest we'll assured that
as long as I possess the Spectrophone
there will be no prying into their con-
fidential affairs. Indeed, that is pre-
cisely one of the reasons why l fear
1 shall never be able to put the Spec
trophone on the market There are
many improper and embarrassing uses
to which such an instrument in I'M
scrupulous hands might be put, and
there are even times when I feel myself
strongly impelled to destroy the whole
mechanism for fear that it may fall
into the control Of persons who would
abuse it's privileges. But, as / was say
ing, the famous people of the world
have a new terror in store for them,
and it strikes me as being funny. You
are aware, are you not, that seven out
of ten school girls and boys in this
land are autograph hunters?"
Indeed, yes" said I. ''In fact" I
added, II am personally acquainted
with matinee idol who is compelled
to employ a private secretary to write
his autograph for him. He told me
last night that even with that he was
seriously thinking of having rubber
stamp made to help the chap out. Au-
tcgraph hunting, as a matter of fact
is the most popular sport in this coun-
try today and seems to be the only one
that is not protected by the laws OF
the land. In season and out the auto
graph hunter purSueS his prey and
ruthlessly bags his game"
''Well, in three years from now that
will all be changed chuclSled the Aged
Inventor. "and in place of this noble
array of photographic nimrods we shall
find the Voice Hunter infesting the
land"
1.-THE what?" cried in establishment
The Voice Hunter" repeated the
old gentleman. I'm 1907 the thing be-
gins and in 1908 autograph hunting is
completely superseded. My first dis
coVery of the approaching condition
was in the contents of n little cabinet
in this very attractive Vassar boudoir
AS l was glancing through merely tC
see what Improvements the years were
bringing in our educational institu-
tons, If any, my eye fell upon this
cabinet, and the inscription upon the
little gilt tablet on it's front instantly
aroused my curiosity to the highest
pitch. 1t read Voice Collection What
on earth that could be was of course
a mystery to me, but closer inspection
showed that the Significance of the
line was no more than what it pre-
tended to be. In very truth the dozer
or more drawers of the cabinet held
an assortment of the voices of greaf
men and women OF the period inscribed
upon cylinders just as nowadays W,
inscribe autographs upon cards fol
these collectors This particular younl
lady seemed to have been highly
favored, for she had a notable ARA
of highly interesting specimens in he
possession, such as-but perhaps yol
would like to see for YOURSELF"
My reply was, OF course, in the af
firmatlVe, and we returned Instant,
TO his quarters. and ten seconds late
my eye was resting upon the scene
a pretty little parlor, furnished in ex
quisite taste. filled with dainty trihei
OF a feminine sort in the way of rib
bons and knickknacks, souvenirs o