The Detroit times., 1911-05-11
.D|CTOGRAPH WILL
TATTLE; BEWARE!
Slick Little Sleuth Catches Even
Whispers-Detective Burns Uses
II To Cinch Cases.

NEW YORK, May 10.-You may be
secluded in room with a gentleman
with whom you are framing up lit
tie job, business or political.
The doors may be closed and lock
ed, the windows shut, the keyholc
plugged and the shades pulled down.
You may get your heads together,
you may whisper, in fact.
And II there happens to be, under
the table, or behind a picture on the
wall, or back OF portiere, little
disk OF rubber and metal, that would
slip into a mans coat pocket-why,
thcn. person sitting in another room
can hold to his ear another rubber
disk, no larger than a watch, and hear
every word that Is uttered, as plain
ly as IL his ear were within two
inches of the mouths of the people
talking.
In divorce cases it's about as good
as decree.
This tiny, twentieth century ma
chine, which may be an undetected
listener wherever human voices con-
verse, is the dictograph. 1t was used
by Detective Burns, in the Ohio legis-
lative graft investigation. II was en-
| ployed in one of Pittsburg's most
odorous divorce cases. II has been
going on its silent, unostentatious
way for some four years, ever since
X. NJ. Turner, OF Jamaica, L. l., in
vented It,
II have always figured" said Turn
er, at his laboratory, that the less
said about the dictograph, in connec.
ton with detective work, the better.
Now that Mr. Burns has told about
using 1t, however, have no objection
to little more publicity"
Turner reached into his desk and
took out with one hand a complete
dictograph outfit Two disks, one
about four inches across and an inch
thick, the other the size of an or
binary watch. A battery which would
shove into vest pocket That's all,
except the necessary wire between
transmitter and receiver.
The larger disk is planted" any
where in the room in which the con-
versation Is to take place. Two wires
lead away through floor, walls, cell
ing, or window.
The first time the dictograph was
SO used" said Turner, was in 1907,
not long after ! had invented 1t. A
man came to my office one day-one
of the biggest men in one Of the big
gest corporations in this country. He
said a clique in the directorate was
| trying 20 get control. II he could
overhear their conversations he be-
tlieved he could checkmate them. He
took me to the room in which they
got together. 1t was a big room, and
there wasn't a blessed thing in 1t but
q big table, rug and a couple OF
chairs. But above the table was an
electrolier, with fan attached
There was no gas in the fixture. That
night two Of our men concealed the
dictograph in the fan and led the
wires away through the brass pipe.
The receiver lay in a drawer Of our
clients desk, so that he could hold
| It 10 his ear and hear his enemies
talk.
Il heard no more of the matter for
over a year. There was q lawyer on
our board of directors, and one day,
at a directors meeting, when / told
this story, this lawyer said. Why,
that man Is a client of mine. He
won out. and IL saved him and his
friends half million. But he never
told me how he did it." I.
OF course the dictograph has other
uses. With a different sort of APP
paratus a man may talk from his pri-
vate office with his employees In other
offices without touching either trans
mitter or receiver. Both are parts Of
the box on his desk. He may walk
around his office debating a letter to
his stenographer in another room.
Her voice comes back from the box
as plainly as though she were inside
II.
A man may hold supposedly con-
fidential conversation with visitor
In his Office, with nothing in sight
that looks like a telephone, while
a stenographer in another room takes
down every word.
DENTIST FOR SCHOOLS