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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (July 9, 1899)
OMAHA ILLUSTRATED BEE. .Inly , 181KI. Birth of the Telephone The Iron , steel and copper wire used by one great telephone company In tlio United Slates of America Mono IB of moro tlmn sufficient lenRth to loop the earth to tlio moon. In fnct. If It were i slblo lo make the connections and to support the 772,989 miles of wlro which the company reports a * hcltiB tiscd throtiKhont llfi varUnm circuits on January 1 , 1890 , thrco different wires could ho stretchul between 0111 plnnot and lior lunar satellite. America Is the birthplace of the telephone. ItH discovery was tnndo generally known In Philadelphia during June , 187G 100 years after the sinning of the Declaration of In dependence and at the Centennial exposi tion which commemorated thnt event. The Htory of the Invention of the telephone Is In many respects tlio mo t marvelous and Interesting part of thin one > of the world's wonders. Alexander Graham Hell , the nonius who gave It scientific birth , wru born In Edin burgh , Scotland , In 1817. His father , Alex ander Melville Hall , was the Inventor of what Is known as "vlslblo npooth" a sys- tc'iu of leaching deaf mutes how to Hpeak by Indicating through visible characters the cunblnntlon of the vocal ohords ncccss.iry to produce articulate oumls. To the lifework - work of his fattier young Hell decided to devote - vote himself. After a preparatory training hu cnlcrud London unlvcralty In 18C7 , but his health failed him and ho left shortly afterward. In 1870 , In company with his parents , bo went to Canada. Realizing Unit tlio United Slates offered a broader Held for the work ho had In view , Young Hell In 1872 came to the United States and settled In Boston , where ho Introduced bis father's system of vlslblo speech for Ido education of deaf mutes. Ho supported hlnvaolf at llrat with private classes. Klrxt ICIcclrlc-ul Work. Meanwhile , and even licforo ho lofl England , young Hell had commenced cx- pcrlmcntfl In that branch of physics and electricity which embraces Hound. To the task of an Inventor In this line ho brought it life-long training of a teacher of vocal physiology a profession Involving a knowl edge of how to produce and percelvo articu late sounds. The groundwork of the system which ho taught consisted In Instructing iloaf inutea to rccognlzo by sight the mo tions of the organs which produce speech and from this to understand the meaning of spoken words. Ho bccamo an export In sound , which embraces among Its other branches that of harmonics. Some tlmo before - fore ho loft England , Bull , following the natural bent of his genius , commenced ex perimenting In harmonics. The art of te legraphy then afforded an alluring field for research and , about the tlma ho came to this country , ho conceived the Idea that a system of multiple telegraphy might bo evolved from the principle that the varlouu chords of a musical In strument are sensitive to sounds of different pitch. While In Canada ho worked out a system of multiple telegraphy on this basis and on locating In Boston ho Clarence J. Brake , an eminent physician In Boston , and on authority on acoustics , Bell received from him BO mo encourage ment for the further prosecution of this original Idea. His partners , Messrs , Hub- bard and Sanders , preferred , however , that the young man should devote himself to the completion of his system of multiple tel egraphy , and rather discouraged his seem ingly Impracticable idea for the transmis sion of speech by the electric current. " < ; < < II , " I'rof. ll 'iir > 'M Ailvlcc. The year of 1875 dawned dark and gloomy enough on the struggling young Inventor to have discouraged almost any ono other than Bell. After he had completed his system of multiple tc/egrnphy and applied for his patent , ho was thrown Into con sternation by llndlng that his title to nn original Inventor was contested by the dis tinguished scientist , Ellshn Gray cf Phil adelphia. He went to Washington to look after his Interests , and while there called ( n the veteran physicist and electrician , Prcf. Joseph Henry , the secretary of the Smithsonian Institute. In the course of his Interview with Prof. Henry ho explained his Ideas for the con struction of the telephone. Ho then wrote to hl.'i father and mother In Canada , telling them of his talk with Prof. Henry , which It will bo seen had a vital bearing on the future of Bell's Ideas for the telephone. "I felt , " said ho , "sa much encouraged from his ( Prof. Henry's ) Intercut , that I de termined to ask his advice about the appa ratus I have designed for the transmission of the human voice by telegraph. I ex plained the Idea , and said : "What would you advise mo to do , pub lish It and let others work 11 out , or at tempt to solve the problem mysolt ? "Ho said ho thought It was the germ of a great Invention , and advised mo to work It out mypplf Instead of publishing. "I said I recognized that there wore mechanical dllllcultlcs In the way that ren dered the plan Impracticable at the present lime. I added that I felt that I had not tlio electrical knowledge necessary to ovcr- como the dlfllcuHlos. Ills laconic answer wan : " 'Got It. ' "I cannot tell you how much those two wrrda encouraged mo. I live too much In an atmosphere of discouragement for scientific pursuits. Such a chimerical Idea as tele graphing vocal sounds would , Indeed , to most minds seem scarcely feasible enough to upend tlmo In working over. I believe , however , thnt It Is feasible , and I have got the cue to the solution of the problem. " Spurred < o Action. The loiter was written after his return to Boston and lie started In on his experi mental work with renewed energy. Ho tried to accomplish with limited resources and under conditions the most trying , nn amount of work which would have staggered the strongest of men. Ho taxed his resources , financial and physical , to the limit , and then ho resolved on a bold step. On March 18 ho wrolo to his father and mother : ORIGINAL INSTRUMENT THROUGH WHICH THE EMPEROR OF BRAZIL AND LORI ) KELVIN FIRST SPOKE AT THE PHILADELPHIA CENTENNIAL , 1870. Interested Gardiner Hubbard and Thomas Sanders , two gentlemen of wealth , In bis experiments. They had confidence In the young man and the three entered Into a partnership , It being agreed that Messrs. Hubbard and Sanders should defray the expenses of the experiments necessary to complete Boll'a system of telegraphy and for taking out the necessary patents on It. Teaching was absolutely his only means of support. Ho spent all day In the class room and when night cnmo devoted his time to study and experiment. As the young scientist proceeded with hla work ho noted with over Increasing wonder the adaptability of the electric cur rent to the transmission of sound. Some tlmo In 1874 there occurred to him the Idea that possibly the human voice Itself might bo transmitted and reproduced by means t > f the electric current. There are many persons now who re member with what Increauflty thuw read the first press accounts of Bell's discovery of the telephone. Some people oven re fused to bellovo , after they had hoard spoken words Issue from the receiver of the telephone , preferring rather to think that their senses cheated them , or that they were the victims of some clever and Ingen ious hoax. But the Idea of the telephone had been born In the brain of young Bell , and come weal or woe , ho was determined that It should bo carried through to an exhaustive experimental conclusion , In the fall of 1874 ho communicated his elementary Idea for a speaking telephone to his friend , Dr. , "I have put off my pupils and all my classes until the first of April. Flesh and blood could not stand much longer tlio strain I have had upon mo. Professional work in all In confusion and the only way Is lo cut the Gordlan knot and throw up every thing until the end Is achieved. " With this ho struggled on. The dale of the real discovery of the telephone might bo said to bo Juno 2 , 1875. On that day Boll was standing by ono of his harmonic Instru ments when his assistant accidentally tapped the connecting Instrument with his hand. The slight nolso proceeding from the nearby receiver would have escaped the attention of a less-skilled observer than Boll. To him It sounded as distinct as the crack of a pistol. Again and again the ex cited young scientist in ado his assistant re peat tlio tapping with his linger on the con nected harmonic Instrument , whllo ho stood with his car to tbo receiving Instrument , listening delightedly to the sounds that Issued - sued from It. Ho repeated the experiments until ho had satisfied himself that the sound which ho hoard from the ono Instrument was duo to electric Impulses generated by the sonorous vibrations of the other. Within the hour ho gave orders for the construction of exactly such a telephone as In the preceding - coding full ho had described to Dr. Blake. The olectrlc speaking telephone was then u practical certainty. In July and August , when his Invention was ready to patent , Boll's assistant , Mr. Watson , became sick , and Bell himself broke dawn. Ho went to Canada to visit his parents , and In tbo fall of 187C drew up specifications for his patent. These he gave PROF. ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL. to Mr. Hubbard to take to Washington and Illo in thu Patent ofllcc. But owing to de lays with the English patent , It was not un til February II , 187G , that the application was filed with the commissioner of patents. Ono hour after it was filed , Ellsha Gray of Philadelphia also Hied In the Patent ofllce a caveat warnlnc Inventors against any attempt to patent nn Instrument such as the telephone , as ho was doing some work looking to the transmission of speech by the electric current. Had this been filed before Boll's application , there Is a possibility that ho would not have been granted n patent. Patent number 174.405. perhaps the most important ever allowed by the United States Patent office , was Issued on March 7 , 1870 , to Graham Bell for his original Invention of nn electric speaking telephone. Meanwhile , Bell was at work harder than over conducting his classes In Boston , and In trying to make such Improvements In the telephone as suggested themselves. Ho sent the rude Instruments which consti tuted his first telephone on to the Centen nial exposition , which was bolnc hold that year In Philadelphia. They were placed In nn obscure corner of the Massachusetts exhibit , and attracted little or no attention. Mr. Gardiner Hubbard was attending the exposition during the latter part of June. Ho learned that on Sunday , Juno 28 , the board of Judges of the exposition , Includ ing Prof. Henry and Sir William Thomson , since l-ord Kelvin , -would. In company with the emperor of Brazil , Inspect some of the Inventions In harmonics of the distinguished scientist. Ellsha Grav. As a special favor Mr. Hnbbard obtained from them a promise to allow young Boll to show his telephone contrivance to the party. Ho then tele graphed Bell to come to Philadelphia. Tbo young man was undecided ns to whether ho should to. Perhaps the cold ness with which the Invention had so far boon received and the hardships which had attended Its Inception , had dlnhoart- oned him and shaken bis confHenoo In him self Anyhow , class work wai rn'tsing , and ho determined not to negl'-ot lib Fi-hol- ars again for the chnnso or advertising his already too oxpenslvo and unremuneratlvo Invention. Ho had about mudo un _ his mind to lot the night train for Now York and Philadel phia Icavo without 'him ' when s-meono knocked at his door and announced that Miss Hubbard was awaiting him outside In her carriage and desired to see him im- modlatnly. Ho seized his hat and went down to meet her. "Why , aren't you ready to go to Phila delphia ? " was the question which greeted him. him.Tho The young man began to explain about his clarws and other duties which would deter him from taking the trip. "Well , come take a drive with mo , " said his fiancee. This was an Invitation which ho could not refuse. Ho got In the car riage Immediately and was driven to tlio Htatlon. There Miss Hubbard done/ended. / Mr. Bell did likewise. The Now York train was already waiting on the track , with etenm up , ready to pull out. Iloll'M Trliimnli. "Mr. Boll , you are going to Philadelphia to exhibit your invention , " was the de cided order that the young man received , And go to Philadelphia he did , although thcro was llttlo tlmo remaining to waste in making his decision and none in which to make other preparations for the trip than to buy a ticket. Miss Hubbard saw him safely en the train and returned triumphantly home. The next morning Bell arrived In Phila delphia and prepared to exhibit his tele phone. The 25th of June proved a very warm day , and the distinguished party of Judges and notables , Including the two world-famed scientists and inventors , Sir William Thomson and Prof. Henry , and the emperor of Brazil had taken a long time in examining the really remarkable invention cf Ellsha Gray. They must have felt con- sldorably bored when young Boll finally gained their attention and commenced to explain his apparatus. But ho had not proceeded far before Sir Plied by Bell. The remainder has boon a matter cf evolution and of adaptation. Of late the principle movements have been effected along the line of long distance tele phony until conversations can now bo car- rled on between stations 2,000 miles apart. Monograms on Gloves The two latest fancies of our fair English cousins , writes a smart American woman / In London , is the embroidering of mono grams on gloves and writing In white Ink. Gloves made to order with monograms ere devoid of stitching on the back , and the monogram Is embroidered In the center. These which arc purchased from stock and then embroidered have the monogram set between the thumb seam and first row of stitching , and others have It placed on the wrist below'the stitching. It Is almost too soon to tell whether this new fancy Is to ho papular. It Is certainly very striking , and Is open to the serious objection thnt It hn n tendency to make the hand look larger than the ordinary glove. A glove of suede In the new bluet shade , with a wnlte mon ogram In the middle of the back Is really to the conservative taste more striking than pretty. The use of a delicate white Ink to correspond - - ' respond with a white crest or monogram Is an exceedingly refined Innovation. It may be used with very delicate tints , but Id , of course , mrst telling on paper of come deep shade. Deep Russian blue or Sultan red shows to great advantage under white Ink. The very prettiest , however , are the * * wedgewcod effects In a variety of shades of blue , the blue-gray being the most ef fective. Tbo monograms and crests used with wedgewood blue papers are of the tiniest , to carry out the wedgowood effect In Its entirety. Of course nothing but pure white wax must bo used with this com- - blnatlon. His Own Coffin A strange case of man's premonition of death has startled the Inhabitants of the < " backwood village of Stark , Me. , reports the Boston Globe. Jefferson Blalsdell lived alone on his farm , a few miles from the village , and his prepa rations for death made him the laughing stock of the community until he was found dead In his bed. j , One pleasant day In the early fall BlaUdell appeared In the village and drove directly to the undertaking establishment of Ed ward Hilton. "Hullo , Ed , " ho shouted , entering the store , "I want a coffin. " "All right , " replied the undertaker ; "who's dead ? " "Nobody's dead , " replied Blalsdell. "I want it for myself and I want Just a plate box , with no polish and no new-fangled schemes. " After a little parley the contract for a cofllnwas drawn up and Blalsdell left the shop. Ho next went to the village sexton. "How much do you charge for digging a grave ? " ho Inquired of the aged official. "Five dollars In winter , $3 In summer , " re- J FIRST TELEPHONE MODEL NOW IN PATENT OFFICE. William Thomson and Prof. Henry became Intensely interested. After explaining the theory of the telephone Bell placed Sir Wil liam Thomson at cue of his Instruments and , stationing another member of the party at the other , ho tola them to go ahead and talk to ono another. "To be , or not to be , that Is the ques tion , " began Sir William. "Do you hear mo ? " The answer came back : "Yes , quite plainly. " The members of the party were elmply astounded. The emperor of Brazil was then stationed at ono of thn Instruments and ho carried on an animated conversation with Ellaha Gray , who stated his wouder at the marvellous Invention of Bell's. Before Bell loft Philadelphia that evening a note of congratulation was delivered to him from Sir William Thomson. For a week Sir William , Prof. Henry and others experimented with and examined the tele phone Instruments. When they had satis fied themselves as to the great scientific and practical value of the Invention no words of praUo from them for Bell and his telephone could prove too strong. But the telephone 'which ' Bell exhibited at the Centennial exposition would scarcely be recognized ns the parent of the - wonderfully fully complete Instruments used today by the great company which bears his name. It Is true , however , that the baaic principles of the Instruments which now transmit mes sages amounting into tbo 'billions ' annually are Identically the same as those flret ap plied the latter. "But who's dead ? " "Nobody's dead ; I want It for myself. " Blalsdell paid the sexton ? 5 , took a receipted bill and went homo , apparently In a happy frame of mind. Late In November Air. Hilton began to think that Blalsdell had given up his prep- artions for death and was about to consider his bill for storage for the coffin , when the man with the premonition came to the store on his wcod sled. Ho Inspected the burial box , pronounced it satisfactory and got Mr. Hilton to help him put It onto the sled , which also contained some provisions. Then ho seated himself on the top of the uoflln and drove homeward In a cheerful mood. Blaledell placed bis coflln in a convenient but not conspicuous place In his home. He lived alone and the presence of the casket did not seem to worry him. Early in January Blalsdell failed to ap pear and his neighbors , who had Joked In a lively manner over his burial preparations , began to have n creeping fear steal over them. The house was entered and Blalsdell was found dead In his bed not a suicide , but the victim of that strange sense of cer tainty of death which sometimes compels men to give up the struggle for life. An attack of heart failure of a few days' , duration caused his demise. His prearranged ranged funeral plan -was perfect , except that ho failed to provide for a minister and mourners.