Year: 1877

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The Telephone is an invention by Prof.
A. Graham Bell, a Scotchman who removed
from Canada to Boston about four years
ago, for the transmission Of the sound of
the voice by the electric wires. 1t is rep
resented to be an outgrowth Of the system
by which deaf and dumb persons are in
structed by means Of physiological sym
bols; it is the application of the principles
of physiology to the electric telegraph,
the sound of the voice being transmitted
by the electric wave without the use of
batteries. Several highly successful ex-
periments, at short distances have been
made. The following is the description:


The telephone itself is a simple affair and
one which every person acquainted with
the electric. telegraph would understand at
sight. The instrument consists of pow
erful, compound, permanent magnet, to the
poles of which are attached ordinary coils
of insulated wire. In front of the poles,
surrounded by these coils of wire, is placed
a diaphragm Of iron, while a mouth-piece
to concentrate the sound upon this dia-
phragm substantially completes the ar
rangement. When the human causes the
sensitive diaphragm to vibrate, electrical
undulations are induced in the coils sur
rounding the magnets precisely in the same
manner as the undulations OF the air are
produced by the voice. These undulations
then travel through the wire, and, passing
tn rough the coilsof an instrument of sim
liar construction at a longer or shorter dis
tancs, as the case may be, are again trans
formed into air undulations by the dia-
phragm Of the instrument. 1t will be
borne in mind that the yoltaic battery is
dispensed with entirely, and all that is
needed for transmitting the voice sounds
are the instruments and the telegraph wire.
In this connection remarkable popularity
of the telephone is that practiced ear is
able to distinguish the voices that speak
through the instrument. The inventor
claims that as any effect produced over a
short wire can with equal facility be pro-
duced over one of 100 or 1000 miles in
length, provided the insulation be good, so
can the electric wave of the telephone be
perfected to render free and easy the sounds
generated by the human voice to any length.
In fact, with such advances as the system
has made of late, there would seem to be
no limit to which it may be put and the
practical advantages likely to result from
it. The invention is now in it's infancy,
but 10 doubt it will soon astonish the world
by what it may be able to do.


1t is probable that among the first prac-
tical uses to which the telephone will be
put will be it's use by several of those rail
roads that have special wires used only for
railroad purposes. Next, private banking
houses and large manufacturing establish
ments, etc, will find it advantageous to use
the telephone. 1t is well known that the
expense and trouble of batteries aud keep
ing them IN order has been one of the main
items in the account of telegraphing, and
with the present system expert operators
are required. Under the system of tele
phony the cost of constructing the line and
putting in the Instruments is all, and the af-
fair is permanent so long as the wires and
poles shall last. The invention will be
wonderfully economical, to say the least,
as we'll as more expeditions and easier to
learn to operate than the present system of
The invention will not only
be decided improvement, but may exert
a powerful influence in breaking up the tel
egraph monopoly and reducing the rates
to lower scale than that now in vogue.


Respecting the adoption of the invention
to long distances, the late experiments
warrant the belief that it can be made to
answer all the purposes of the telegraph
either under the ocean Or across the land.
The artificial resistance employed in an ex-
pertinent between Boston and Spain, was
much greater than equivalent of the length
Of the wire between New York and San
Francisco or of the Atlantic cable. In fact,
the inventors hope soon to talk through the
cable and send their compliments to Queen
Victoria.