The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1908-04-14
Trial Installation Placed IN !ls the
House Of Representatives
EXTREMELY SENSITIVE PHONE
Transmits to Listening Stations Every
thing Said on the Floor Of the
House of Representatives From
Whispered Plans to Heated Debate

WASHINGTON, April l3.-Thi
week witnessed the trial installation
in the House of Representatives OF tn
long-promised and widely-heralde'
acousticon, and with its advent tn
representatives Of the people ar
watching their p's and as, fearfu
lest they talk too much! This is
strange charge to lay at the doors o
Congress, for hitherto talk has beer
cheap in the big buildings on the Hill
as witness the massive volumes of tht
Congressional Record for the pas
two or three year sessions.
The fear of the solons lies in the
fact that the acousticon is an adap-
tation Of the modern telephone, the
receiving station Of which, placed on
the reading clerks desk just in front
Of the Speaker, transmits to listening
stations in each of thte various COM
mittee rooms, the private Offices OF
the different members, the White
House and the nine executive depart
nients, everything that is said on the
floor of the House, from the whisp-
er.d plans Tor filibuster, to the arg
uments in a heated debate. The
acousticon is no respecter of persons,
and be it the newest member rehear-
sing his maiden speech under his
breath, or the venerable Colonel
"Pete" Hepburn livening things up
in an oratorical way, the sounds are
carried, perfectly audible and dis
tinct, from the farthest corner of the
big chamber TO and through the ac-
ousticon, to be heard by scores OF
Congressman in their private Offices
by the President and the members of
his Cabinet, and by friends and foe
alike. And now, after a couple OF
days trial, most of the members are
actually afraid to talk at all
The acousticon has told many sec
rets since it was installed On the
6rst day Representative Clark of Flo
rida. who resents the activities OF the
Attorney Generals Office in running
down alleged peonage cases in his
State, got the floor and preceded to
tell the House what he thought OF
the "high-handed methods of the De
partment OF Justice" He spared no
one and used the plainest kind of Ian
guage, never dreaming that his every
syllable was being heard by tthe very
officials at the Department whom he
was roasting"
Another Congressman, who, for
tunately, happens to be bachelor,
was on the floor little early and
told a friend conhdentially that he
was oging to take long auto ride
in the afternoon with very attractive
young lady whom he had but recently
met: and that he also was arranging
for box party in her honor. Later,
when he learned that the "devllish
little device" on the Speakers dias
had faithfully, or faithtlessly, carried
everything he had said to fully half
the membership Of the House, includ-
ing a rival for first place in the good
graces of the young lady in question,
he was much embarrassed, to say the
least.
The acousticon is not without its
possibilities, however. 1t is nothing
more or less than an extremely sen
sitive telephone transmitter and
many have been the suggestions con
corning it. One member, who said
he had Just read the last annual re-
port of the directors Of the huge Bell
system and had learned that at the
close of 1907 there were nearly $500
600 Bell stations in operation in the
United States alone, advanced the
novel idea of connecting the acousti-
con with the big Bell switchboard at
the Capitol anil putting every one OF
those 3,800000 subscribers in direct
touch with legislative affairs at
Washington. This, he. claimed
would in large part do away with the
need for printing the Congressional
Record and would serve to bring
Congress closer to the people, for as
he explained it, there is a Bell station
for every % persons in the United
States, and this number is dwindling
every day. The report to which this
member referred, is a most remark
able document, and has been care
fully read by many Representatives
and Senators. 1t sets forth that th2
Bell companies have adopted the
Roosevelt physical valuation test, and