Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1912-07-24
THE GREAT DICTAGRAPH.
| 1t Was Used for Years Before Real
Worth Is came Known.
(Greenville Picdmont.)

The testimony before the South
Carolina investigating committee at
Augusta, Ga, by the Burns detect
ives brings into the limelight again
that wonderful little machine known
as the dictagraph. which threatens
to revOlutionize this country when
it's use becomes moro common. AL
ready it has been the instrument
through which William j. Burns, the
king OF detectives, has secured evil
dence unraveling some of the great
est mysteries Of the day, notable
among which might be mentioned
the Mcnamara case. 1t was success
fully used by that great detective
first to secure the conviction Of the
graftcrs in tho Ohio Legislature,
some OF whom arc to-day serving
sentences in prison. The little ma
chine was brought into play also in
the Darrow case with no uncertain
results. 1t has been used also in the
Atlantic City graft cases.
The dictagraph was invented, by
X. N. Turner. Of jamaica. l.. |. 1t
was used in a silent, unosten-
tatious sort Of way for four years be-
fore any publicity was given it.
When it first came into the limelight
last year following Burns notable
work in fastening guilt on Ohio leg
islatorS through its use, Turner was
, asked why he had never sought pub
! licity for the machine. He replied
that he had always thought that
the less said about it in connection
with detective work the better.
"The first time the dictagraph was
so used" said Turner, was in 1907,
! not long after | had invented it. 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 clique in the directorate was
trying to get control. If he could
overhear their conversations he be-
lieved he could check-mate them.
He took me to the room in which
they got together. 1t was big
room, and there wasn't a blessed
thing in it but a big table and rug
and a couple of chairs. But above
the table was an electrolier with a
: fan attached. There was no gas in
. the fixture.
! That night two Of our men con-
Ccalcd the dictagraph 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 to his ear and hear his enc
mics talk.
over year. There was a lawyer on
our board of directors, and one day
at a directors meeting when | told
this story this lawyer said, why,
that man is client of mine. He won
out and it saved him and his friends
hall a million. But he never told me
how he did it.
"Of course, the dictagraph has
other uses. with different sort Of
apparatus Il man may talk from his
private Office with his employees in
other Offices without touching either
transmittcr or receiver. Both are
parts Of the box on his desk. He may
walk around his Office, debating a
letter to his stcnographer in another
room. Her voice comes back iroln
! the box as plainly as though she
were inside it,
"a man may hold supposedly
, confidential conversation with a vis-
! itor in his office, with nothing in
sight that looks like telephone.
! while a stenographer in another
room takes down every word"
There can be no doubt but that
the dictagraph will be the greatest
terror OF evil-d0ers the country has
ever known. Guilty parties will ever
be in fear that the pesky little ma
! chine may be SO concealed in their
Office or room that its presence will
not be known. Already it has work
! ed havoc with cvil-docrs. 1t bids
I fair to do even more damage to them
, in the future.
Tho Afghan National Anthem.