Omaha daily bee., 1919-10-26
Youth Reading Detective
Story Conceives Idea to
Send Pictures by Telegraph
Inventor of Telephotograph Mere Lad of Nineteen
Had Already Invented Mathematical Instruments
Gave First Demonstration Before Delegation of
Newspaper Men and City Officials of Ogden.

How. the inventor of the wonder
full telephotograph instruments
caught the idea and worked it into
realization of fact reads like a
magazine short story.
Whence came the seed which
grew into the mighty thought,
which blossomed and finally bore
fruit in the invention which enables
pictures to be sent from coast to
coast in the length of time required
to telegraph an ordinary message
sounds like fiction. But the truth
of the matter cannot be denied.
One evening in October, 1915, in
hotel at Blackfoot, Idaho, 49,
year-old boy, already we'll known as
an inventor of mathmetical instru-
ments, sat reading interestedly a
Craig Kennedy story in the Novem-
Der, 1915, Cosmopolitan magazine.
The story was a pure work of
fiction, about an imaginary inventor
with an imaginary invention to send
pictures by wireless. The story said
that the tiny parts of the pictures
were sent in such rapid succession
as to give the eye the impression of
a complete picture. That set the
lo-year-old boy to thinking.
Until then, all his inventions had
been of mathematical nature. In
fact, it was to introduce his area
scope, an instrument which is now
used in one-fourth of the colleges of
the United States and in over 1000
high schools, that he was making
the trip that took him, among other
places, to Blackfoot, Idaho.
Made Story Come True.
After he had read the Cosmopoli-
tan story about the fictitious picture
telegraphing machine, he must have
said, "I'll make that story come
true" for that is what he has done.
Before going to bed that night in
Blackfoot, all the fundamental ideas
of this big new invention had been
worked out by him. He finished his
trip in the interest<of his earlier in
vention, and when he returned home
he started work on model of his
electric picture transmitter.
Before he had ever telegraphed
picture, he made arrangements to
give a demonstration of the trans
mission of line drawings and hand
writing for a United States navy
expert. Yet, he himself had not
yet done it, for his models were not
completed Even on the very day
the navy expert was to arrive to
witness the demonstration, the-b
were a few finishing touches to be
placed on the machines. He left
his younger brother to finish them
and get them ready, while he went
to the station to meet the man
designated by Secretary Daniels to
see the invention operate.
/. The inventor returned with the
navy expert, and the brother whis-
pered that the machines were
ready, but that he hadn't tried
them. Not wishing it to be known
that the thing had not yet been
done, the inventor proceeded con-
fidently to give the demonstration.
He told the expert to write his
name, and after preparing this
for transmission, the inventor
telegraphed it from one machine to
another, and he himself, unknown
to his guest watched his invention
operate for the first time. He then
transmitted a picture of doll to
the entire satisfaction of the man
the navy had designated to see if
such an uncanny invention could
really work.
But these were merely line pic
lures that the inventor, now 20, had
transmitted. He was too busy with
his other inventions that were al
ready on the market to do any more
with the electric transmission OF
pictures for another year, but ne
finally resolved to telegraph half
tone pictures-pictures with light
and shade like photograph. Again.
before he had done the thing him
self, he arranged for demonstra-
ton, this time for the governor of
his state and various railroad and
state officials. This time, however.
he rushed Interpretations and did
the feat himself few days before