The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-05-13
NEW INVENTIONS.

Telssraphy and telephony are fast getting beyond the comprehension of common people. We have more than once been assured that plan has been discovered or invented by which q photograph can be sent by wire. That would not be so bad. but some other crank comes forward with the announcement that . way has been. or will be found. by which persons talking ever the telephone can see each other. Now. we seriously protest against any such innovation as that. There are times when one using the phone would decidedly object to hav- ing his or her countenance and ex- pression seen by the other person. It might cause serious complications and possibly dislocate friendship in some cases. As a general thing the 6 promoter of pleasant expression. We may. by the exercise of strong wills, control the voice when trying to take a message. but to keep the face in pleasant shape is not so easy, and if this new project succeeds 1t may cause trouble.
 Now another new one is being talked of, and we cannot do better than by copying the following:
 
 Ing the human voice and with pow erfuI magnifying glass he is able to reveal the records of a person talk ing. It Is the belief of certain scien- lists that these voice photographs eventually will take the place of writ ing and aiphabets altogether. Ste- nography, too, would be abolished. In- stead of writing letter the sender would talk into a microphone, pull out a strip of ziszags when through of the question, for 1t is absolutely impossible to deceive the electric needle, which faithfully records every shade of tone. For books and news papers the idea Is to have conven- tional imitation of .zikzass, of the various ivowels and eonsenants in the form of type. which will bet set in lines like ordtnary printed matter. Tel. would be as binding as a written con s.f- -z5 FfE How, does that strike the average human inteiligence! As The coIumbis State says. there's reforming te think about. No more writing copy for the printer no more banging at the type writers or linotype. no more eussing the proof reader; no more anything as it is new. All you will have to do Is to pour your own brand of zis'zaes into. the machine. and haul out the result and hand it ever to Uncle Sam to be delivered. If the other fellow can make nothing of our fty-traeks. that's his mlsforsnne. Let him employ an expert and get what sense out of 1t he may. Secrecy and privacy will be inyielate if we get the hang of this business, for no one but the re- eeiveF can know what is sent Pos sibly he will not at first. but he must learn. The scheme has linaitless pos. sibilities, especially in humorous line." ....... some nlAY uCCl2E0 Inht bdCtl a NiAhS as the Paris man proposes is irrpossi- ble. but isF anything impossible to science and intelligence these days? If a man who had never seen or heard of a phenegraph should be. given one of the hard rubber records and told to examine 1t carefuliy=he=woufd with "A AAka and lines on 1t could not be made to give out .inteiiisible sounds. yet he would be badly in error. Not only do these records yield -inteiiisibls sounds, but they .return, all tho ,tohes and variations of the hGmoh voice talking, laughing and singing; and also mix the music of any Instrument with 1t so that one listening to the instrument Is practically hearing voices and sounds.
 How this apparent inhpossibility Is performed we are not telling, but the exhibitions are SO common that they are no longer looked on as a novelty, and if this is possible why not the other? If sounds can be caught and returned as is done In Photographic machines why may not, the human voice be photographed as well? No use saying that 1t is impossible. for we don't know whether 1t is or not Possibly we may soon realize all that The State sets forth. The word i'm. possible is out of date. ''