White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1920-10-03

Afflicted.
The blind and those whose weak
sights prevent the use of eyes for read
ing may now read by sound iastead of
touch as a result of a recent invention
by DR.. Max Herr, a yiennese specialist
In heart diseases, who arrived In the
United States recently. DR.. Herr came
here at the request of a group of in
dividuals and organizations interested
in ameliorating the condition of the
blind. He demonstrated his invention
several days ago for the first time at
a convention of instructors for the
blind at Baltimore, where 1t was re-
ported to have been received with en-
thusiasm.
The invention Is based on a sound
alphabet devised by DIR. Herr from the
Morse code, eliminating the dash and
using the dot in various combinations.
A monograph record is made Of "A
story In the sound language. The rec
ord is placed on an instrument re-
sembling a photograph equipped with
a sound box and the blind person, af-
ter becoming familiar with the alpha
bet Is able to read by ear rather than
through the fingers as In b%raille. the
method In use at present.
The alphabet Is based on the single
dot, two dots and four dots used In
various combinations. The photograph
record Is made In the following man.
ner: Using an instrument like . type
writer. the person engaged In the work
will punch holes In q narrow tape, each
group Of perforations being q letter In
the dot alphabet. The tape Is then u
through IN electrical machine and the
perforstioos are Transferred In sound b
. master record. Duplicate records E
then made IN any quantity.
systsm Called Typophenia.
DR.. Herr, who Is q member Of the
faculty Of the University OF Vienna,
calls his system typophonia. OF read
ing by sound. and the instrument the
typophone.
Typophonia has many advantages
over braille. according to the explain
alton made by the inventor. First. 1t
Is easy to learn. This was evidenced
by the fact that when DIR. Herr tapped
out his ~improvised alphabet a visitor
who heard IL for the first time and
who was familiar with the Morse code
repeated almost all of the letters cor
rectly when he heard the dots tapped.
On the other hand. says DIR. Herr.
braille is learned with difficulty. espe-
cially by adults not born blind. The
sense of touch Is not so acute as that
of hearing. II takes months to learn
braille. and to master the embossed
dot alphabet of Louis Braille means a
year or two of study on the part OF
many who pursue It.
When DIR. Hers sight began TO fall
three years z and. forbidden to use
his eyes to read, he began the study of
accustomed to intense concentration
for long periods of time he was III
able to master the method for a year
or more.
The system of typophonia may be
learned by any person in a fortnight,
according to DIR. Herr. 1t need not
take hat long, and he tells the story
Of a young woman I'm Vienna who mas
tered 1t In a day, although he says this
Is exceptional.
Another Advantage Over BraiiIe.
Another great advantage over braille
.a ek.& /. hANI 80 OO0 -rtntnl ..wo
may be transferred TO a record six
inches In diameter. The same book re-
produced In braille would take about
1000 pages. The braille book of 1000
pages would entail the expenditure of
a considerable amount of money by
the person desiring TO purchase 1t.
The same book In the form of the typo
phone record, the Inventor says, would
cost from 2 to 3 cents. The t~ypophone
itself would call for an initial expendi-
ture of about SIS. So that a blind per-
son could build up an extensive library
at an insignificant cost compared to
the expenditure necessary TO purchase
the same library In braille.
Here the question naturally arises
as to why use "a sound alphabet to be
reproduced by the typophone rather
than to reproduce In the first instance
the spoken words directly from an or
binary monograph record. DIR. Herz's
answer is that 1t would take 400 phon-
ograph records TO reproduce what can
be reproduced on n six-inch record
by means Of the typophoae. Then the
spoken word on the ordinary phono-
graph is difficult to comprehend. The
great expense involved In reproducing
a book of 200 pages on 400 photograph
records Is obvious. 20 say nothing of
the space that n such book" would
occupy. A large apartment would be
none too large to store the works Of
Dickens and Shakespeare reproduced
In this manner. The entire works of
Dickens and Shakespeare reproduced
on typophone records would occupy n
cylindrical bOx about sly inchas high