Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-09-29
TELEPHONE DEVICE
GIVES WARNING OF
LISTENERS ON WIRE
Pleasure of Eavesdropping
Made Hazardous by In
vention Which Identifies
Culprit Besides Announc-
ing Presence.

A. G. Howard, a Nebraska man, has in
when a third party breaks in on the
wire, and which also identities the culprit
phone.
| AS there are about 9,OOOOOO party line
| telephones in operation in the United
States it can be seen that the device Is
destined to affect great many people
and to check firmly established custom
The man whose invention marks the
doom of eavesdropping is the possessor of
honda fide photograph, showing
farmers wife at work a: her sewing ma
chine with the receiver of the telephone
firmly bound to her ear, so that she may
not miss single word of the conversa-
ton of her neighbors throughout the en-
tire day.
Howards device has been tried out on
a number of party lines and has proved
practical. 1t Is the result of IL years
experimentation.
zone of the questions most frequently
asked of me by new subscribers" says
Howard, who himself is in the telephone
business, 'is this: Does every one on the
line have an opportunity to hear what
say when l am talking to another party?'
I am forced to acknowledge that such is
the case. One farmers wife asked me
that question II years ago. When | re-
piled she asked me II there was not in
existence q telephone that would give
private service on a party line. When l
told her that | had never heard of such
an instrument she said some bright tcle-
phone man had better get busy and In
vent one it would make his fortune. /
took the tip, got busy, and believe | have
solved the problem"
Mr.. Howards device can be readily at
tached to any telephone. The user oper-
Ii faln .In,, In I1n n1l mn q
cept that he turns a little switch just as
soon as he begins to talk, This switch
starts mechanism which Is timed by
small clock. An indicator points out the
time the conversation continues ana the
telephone connection is automatically cut
off at the end of four minutes. If during
the conversation some other subscriber
on the line picks up his receiver, the re-
moval of the instrument from the hook
produces a musical sound which not only
notifies the users, but Identifies the ono
who is listening.
DISC PRODUCES SOUND.
The Identifying sound is produced by
means of a disc carrying toothed pro-
jections on its extremity, which come in
contact with pair of keynote tongues.
These tongues produce the musical signal.
which is of a high or a low note, to
represent the long or the short ring used
to call the different subscribers on the
party line. Inasmuch as most party lines
have frCm four to twenty users. there
are the corresponding number of diff
ferent signals or musical sounds by means
of which the location Of the receiver just
removed IS learned.
The device thus has the twofold effect
of measuring the length of conversa-
tlon and identifying the eavesdroppcr.
The inventor believes that cutting down
unnecessary conversation, by automati-
cally shutting off the connection at the
end Cf four minutes, will effect saving
of 20 per cent or more on batteries, and
that IL will eventually result in reduced
telephone rates.
II is, however, very doubtful If most
country subscribers will take kindly to
the device which will cut off some of their
keenest pleasures, for there ia no doubt
that many farm wives meet and talk In
company on the rural lines in a way
which should be regarded as perfectly le-
gitimate. At such times a frantic call
for a doctor is always regarded and un-
der ordinary circumstances there Is very
little business need for the telephone at
the hours when it is used for neighborly
talk. But business methods are moving
into the country along with scientific i'm
on the farm, and forbid the /
use of even the home instrument for such |
purposes.