The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-01
NEW METHODS USED
CATCHING CRIMINALS
dancing Balls of Carbon De-
str0y Indoor Secrecy
USE OF DICTAPHONE
It Is the X-Ray of Accusing and Con-
Meeting Sound-Has Been Used
in Half Dozen Dramas of
Crime Recently
USE OF DICTAPHONE
From the New York Sun.

From the New York Sun.
Dancing balls of carbon imprisoned
within a circular vest pocket size aIumi-
mum box threaten to destroy the indoor
secrecy of the world.
For these fragile spheres, tiny and by
scores and scores scientifically encased
so as best to perform their telltale task
are. the unerring agents through which
thes sensational accomplishments of De-
tective William j. Burns have been made
possible In the last three years. These
little carbon dancers-mark them we'll
the main pivot upon which that
rogue-catching invention. the deteeta.
phone, successfully turns.
They are a highly nervous lot, these
capering balls of carbon. No matter
E what sound occurs within an indoor
area, they leap and hop and tremble and
shiyer TO catch the accompanying vipra-
tion and transmit it simultaneously to
expectant listeners
You cannot whisper but these little
dancing balls will pulsate inquisitively
and pass the whisper on to those Sc
creted in the adjoining ROOM You can
not sneeze you cannot cough, you can
not yawn, you cannot snore, you cannot
laugh but the dancers viii scamper about.
assiniiate each particular noise and re-
! port 1t forthwith to their magnetic head
quarters.
when 1t comes to ordinary talking YOU
might as well go outdoors first as last if
you wish absolute privacy. 1t is your
only chance that your talk will not be
overheard nowadays. Wherever there
are walls and ceilings there the listen
ing dancing balls may have full control
Ana they village gossip everything
straight to their employers
In short, the detectaphone is the X-rav
OF accusing and convicting sound 1t
pehetrates everywhere 1t is not baked
by brick and plaster impediment Thus
I in tune and time with the dancing of the
little carbon spheres of the detectaphons
law and justice have invaded the room
OF the bolted door, the padded transom
and the heavily curtained window, with
the remarkable results now forming part
OF criminal annals.
Have Been Used Successfully
Within the last three years this appa.
=. ratus, constructed for the demolition of
indoor secrecy has been in the public
eye through the presentation of half' a
dozen successful dramas whose plot and
action reVolve about the tattling inven-
ton. Yet while the public has taken
the detectaphone wonders for granted
hardiy one person in ten understands
altogether what the mechanism is like.
how ii Is successfully attached and upon
what principle its operation is based
Here is exactly what the detecta-
phone is:
First there Is the detectaphone proper
or in other words the listener and the
"snitcher"-the receptacle of the dancing
In the cupboard one of the more old
In thecupboard. one of the more old
fashioned kind take close note of the
metal cover. Remove the cover and
II you find that ii is 2as inches In diam
eter you will have an exact represen-
tation of the top and sides of the de.
tectaphone aluminium box cover. This
cover Is grooved to screw on the base
of the detectaphone box, just the same
as the preserve jar cover is mad. to screw
on the jar. The shape and size of the
preserve jar cover, well as its white
metal appearance. bear close resemblance
to the detectaphone cover.
To make the resemblance perfect the
preserve jar cover must be but five-eighths
of an inch deep, Jar covers are gener-
ally a little deeper than this, but Just
as the jar cover would look If 1t were
exactly 2ss inches in diameter and five
eghths of an inch deep thick. so looks
the detectaphone box that encloses the
dancing carbon balls.
The bottom of the detectaphone box,
as we'll as the cover, is made of aluminium
japanned The bottom is fluted or
grooved so that the cover may be screwed
on Resting on the bottom OF the box
Is disk of carbon of diameter so that
1t fits snugly within the breadth of the
box. In the center of ,..is disk is a NOR
tise and this mortise is the house or
home of the nervous little carbon spheres
that will invariably become restless at
the slightest sound
Over the dancing balls is placed another
circular disc. very thin, called the dia-
phragm.e It forms what is called one of
the Electrodes When .ne ballsy hon and
skip through sound vibration their VAR
rieties Of changes and degree of contact
cause the sound reproduction and trans
mission to the distant point The NOR
tised home of the balls is the other cleo
trode The shifting changes of the two
electrodes make the necessary alterations
in circuit conditions and the detecta-
phone becomes a fact.
Appearance When Complete
All this goes on within the detecta phone
box. Very many care little about this
technical end. They are interested in
reading of what damage an exploded
bomb causes without caring to have ex-
planned just what composes the bomb. So
for these it is sufficient to say that when
ready for work the detectaphore in out