THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND. JANUARY 22, 1911.
5
tehTELEPHONE
Which Has Been Given
to the Public Free by an
Army Officer.
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PT JOHN rXJRETR W ATKINS.
TEN HIIONK mui(M at once by
a alnirla wire not throunh tho
wtrr. but darting mlonKsido It.
marbe. a minute fraction of an Inch
from It mayb. two feet feet away,
maybe more!
Wlreleaa phone mwiu guided by
wire a-ulded aurely, infallibly. Instead
cf radiatlnir In all directions. Inatead
of yielding to ragarlea of weather, aa
now!
Ten of u apeaklnir at once by long
distance, from New York to San Fran
claro. along the nm single, soli
tary cord of copper, all of us cbat
terlnc simultaneously In our ten
booths to ten separate booths on the
other side of the Continent perhaps
farther away.
And this wonderful epoch-making In
vention, worth millions, maybe bil
lions, to the InTentor. all turned over
absolutely as a pi ft to the American
people to you. to me, to Tom, Dick
or Harry, to the rich, to the raar-tag
and bob-tall, to whoever wishes to uae
It: Given to us absolutely, without If
or proviso, by a philanthropist who
llces alone In a $45 flata and draws a
salary of f 100 per month.
Drdk-alrd to Uu People.
I railed upon Ibis philanthropist last
night and asked him for his story. As
he chatted to me he affectionately
patted a package of patents, each bear
ing the heading;: "Dedicated to the
American People." and each opening.
In the text, with this preamble:
" Be It known. that I. George
Owen Fquler. Major In the Signal
Corps. Tnlted States Army, have in
vented certain new and useful Improve
ments In multiplex telephony," to
which Is added a provision that the
invention may be used "by any per
son in the United Slates without the
payment of any royalty thereon."
"N'o doubt It will nave millions.' he
explained. "Ultimately it will Increase
the volume of business tenfold, maybe
much more, on the same equipment."
It was a tense man who spoke a
blond Teuton with hair such as re
mainedand closely cropped mustach
Inclined to rufousnest, blue eyes, earn
est and frank; with stature abont the
averaire. and the unmistakable, un
bending spine of the West Pointer.
"It means." he went on, 'that the
time will come when everyone can
talk to everyone else for little more
than nothing. We have arrived at the
proper use of the wireless on the
wire. We shall use one single wire as
a guide line for wireless messages.
That slnrle wire holds the messages
from going off Into the surrounding
air. Instead of two wires being re
quired for one talk, aa now. a single
wire with 'silent earth connections
can be use,! for a multiplicity of talks."
"But why are you giving away pat
ents whlrh would assure you a great
fortune? I asked.
Why He Glvca It Auaj.
"Being an Army officer. I shall re
ceive a salary as long as I live and the
Government will bury me when I die.
I shall always hre enough. I am a
bachelor and the only other one of us
now Is my sister, who lives comfort
ably upon the old homestead farm at
In-yden. Mich., where J was born 45
years ago. It la upon the same farm
which my grandmother took up in lSJi,
before Michigan was a state."
"Being an Army offlcer, bow did you
come to devote yourself to Inventions
so vitally related to commerce T"
"An appointment to the Military
Academy took m away from Michigan
when J was 1." said Major Squler.
"Upon graduating from West Point I
entered the artillery, from which I
vas detailed to Johns Hopkins Uni
versity for post-graduate studies in
physios, mathematics and chemistry,
whloh. la 1SJS. earned me the degree
ef doctor of philosophy. At Hopkins
I studied In the laboratory of the late
Professor Rowland, the Inventor of the
multiplex telegraph, and from him I
Imbibed the Ideas which have now cul
minated In the multiples telephone. The
FlgoaJ Corps of the Army having
charge ef the development of the mil
itary telegraph and telephone lines. J
was transferred to that branch of the
errlce.
I was Lientenant-Cokmel and chief
signal officer of volunteers during the
(Spanish War. and became a captain of
regulars In HOI. then a Major In 1M0. I
am now assistant chief signal officer of
Che Army.
"Ton have also made rtwarches In mili
tary aeronautic?
"Tea. The gnattharmlsa Institution has
lately reprinted a paper on the subject
which I read before the American So
ciety of Mechanical Engineers."
Aoked for a detailed explanation of his
multiplex telephone system. Major Squler
gave me data too technical to be quoted
In full, but which I will tranxpose Into
popular language within the comprehen
sion of the popular mind. Some of his
comments on tlie various dtalls of the
invention I will, however, quote.
In the first place, he desires me to
make It clear that he has Invented no
apparatus has only combined the wire
telephone apparatus' and wireless tele
graph apparatus already on the market,
and Joined these to a wonderful "high
frequency generator," alo the product of
another Inventor.
To Uie San In Klght Ml nates.
"The rotor of this generator revolves
S0.OX) times per minute." he explained,
"and Is one foot In diameter. Its speed
Is so great that. If used as a wheel, it
would roll aa far as from here to Europe
In four hoursv"
The electric vibrations which this ma
chine send.' out along the wires will
travel as fast as light. They will pass
round the earth seven times In a single
second. If the generator were connected
by wire to the sun. any one of these vi
brations or waves would pasa from Major
Squler laboratory to that orb of day In
eiKht minutes.
Now In ordinary telephony much slower
electric vibrations must be used. The
new generator which the Major has In
stalled Is the only type which has ever
supplied vibrations of such high fre
quency to telephone or telegraph wires.
ThrouKh our phones of commerce the
electric vibration which carry our con
versation have a frequency of only SCO to
TOO feet per second. They are all audible
to the human ear. which can hear vibra
tions coming not slower than about IS
per second and not faster than from 15.000
to 30.0000 per second. But the vibrations
employed In Major Squler' Invention axe
much faster than the most acute ear can
perceive, although the messages which
they carry are made audible by compli
cated details of tho apparatus. They rush
through space at a speed varying from
10,000 to 100,000 per second. The vibrations
used In wireless telegraphy are still
taster so fast that they radiate in all
directions, regardless of wires.
So tho new Invention employs an inter
mediate class of vibrations, which are
fatter than the fastest audible vibra
tions, yet slower than the slowest wire
less telegraph vibrations. Never before
have vibrations of such speed been suc
cemf ully applied to wire lines.
They are so fast. Indeed, that they Jump
from the wire, instead of traveling
through It. like those used In all tele
phones which we have seen heretofore.
Yet they are not so fa!t as to leap off
Into space and travel independent of the
wire a in the case of wireless telegraph.
Or let us put It in another way. If
the vibrations used In our ordinary bat
tery phones are Increased to a certain
limit the current ceases to be uniformly
distributed Inside the wire, and travels
nearer and nearer tlfe surface. Thus
you have what the telephone man calls
"skin effect." This phenomenon, ex
actly. Is what Major Squler employs to
advantage In his new multiplex phone.
But by Increasing the velocity of the
vibrations he made the phenomenon
appear far out from the "skin" of the
wires.
Talk Travels In Layer of Ether.
"The conversations travel in a layer
of ether around the wire," he explained.
"They don't get Into the wire are
merely guided by It. If there Is a
locor
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twisted pair of wires the messages will
cling so close to each wire as topass
through the tissue paper wrapping on
each wire, while if there are two
straight wires a foot apart, some of
the messages "will pass between the
wires on the inside, while others will
be darting along two feet or more from
the wires on the outside.
"Between our laboratory and the Na
tional Bureau of Statistics, seven miles
away, we receive them over all sorts of
telephone lines of the city circuit un-
s - i
derground wires and overhead lines and
they pass through several of the city
switchboards or 'centrals.' "
The apparatus which the talker uses
is exactly the same as employed in orT
dlnary phoning. You may receive the
messages in your house without chanc
ing the form of the visible apparatus
at all. But in the hidden connections
the devices used in wireless telegraphy
are connected. There are no buzzes or
cracking sparsk such as the "wireless"
operators of our thrilling melodramas
create for stage effect. And only one
wire is necessary whereas In our phones
of today a pair are needed
How Messages' Get to Right Person.
But how can you send several mes
sages along the same wire and thon
sort them out again, so that the proper
ear receives the message from tho mouth
that is talking to it?
Thia is effected by proper "tuning."
The wire has a separate fork, so to
speak, for each message to be sent or
received alonir it. Let us say that thert
are five forks and one man connected
with each fork. All five are talklnl
at once along the same wire.
The first man's phone Is tuned to 100,
000 vibrations per second, the second
man's to 90,000. the third man's to S0.
000, the fourth to 70,000 and the flft
to flO.OOO. Each talks to a phone at the
other end of the line, tuned for the time
being exactly as his is. And each pair
of Joined phones Is llko a pair of ears
having the same peculiar and limited
range of audibility. To put it in an
other way, suppose that you have five
men seated on the north and five more
seated on the south side of the parlor.
Each has a range of voice and ear ex
actly like the man directly opposite him,
but beyond the range of audibility of
any one else in the room. The five
pairs of men could then talk at once,
could they not, without confusion? t
Can Talk Across Continent.
Thus you have "wireless" along the
wire which guides it safely between the
Scylla of bad weather and the Charybdls
of meddling "tappers." The farther our
phone messages of today pass through
the wires inside them the greater is
the resistance and the fainter the sound
at the other end. By the new system
they slip along outside the wire witb
tremendous saving of resistance. That
is why it will soon be possible to talk
from one side of the continent to the
other. Tests lately made with musle
produced by the most delicate talking
machines show that the new system
carries the voice with much greater
clearness than can be effected with the
old.
The first great use of the new sys
tem will be for long-distance service.
Major Squler tells me. Today the limit
is from New York to about Omaha. To
day when you get a wire from yours to
another city you monopolize that entire
wire as long as you talk. Shortly nine
other men, perhaps, will use the same
wire with you, without your knowing It.
The number of simultaneous messages
will depend upon the character of tho
line, whether run overhead, by conduit
or by eubway, the free, overhead wires
giving the best results so far. The sub
marine cable Is as yet a stumbling block.
The Major has not very roseate hopes
of hearing his multiplex messages from
across seas.
OREGON STUDENT, IN BERLIN, TELLS OF
HER DIFFICULTIES IN FINDING LODGING
Problem Solved fcy American Woman's Club, Which Is Valuable Aid to Earnest Students in More Than One Way.
fThls writer Is the daushtar nf Revv C. F.
Clmpp. formerly pastor of the First Consre
sauocaj Church, rortland, now residing at
vuhoucal. Wash.)
BT FRANCES B. CLAP P.
THE train stopped, the door of the
compartment was opened by the
guard and I poked my head out
for my first breath of Berlin. Perhaps
It was my eagerness for a sight of the
city, that Mecca of all faithful mu
sicians, which was responsible for the
scratched baggage and smashed fingers
I retained as souvenir of the fray. Cer
tain it was that my suitcase, steamer
rug, umbrella and eundry parcels
strspped on the outside proved far too
large for the car door, although past
experience had shown that, given time
and patience, there was always a way
In which It might be extracted without
loss of leather or skin.
It was still early In the; morning, I
had been In Germany a little over
week and poesessed that boundless con
fidence which comes with the discovery
that even the Germans understand sign
language. I fully expected to be settled
la suitable quarters for the year by
evening and had yet to learn that Gor
man customs are not to be grasped In
an hour, and that an American muslo
student is regarded as a blessing only
In proportion to his purse. ' My equip
ment for the conquest of the city con
sisted of a map of Berlin, an implicit
confidence In "the man from Cook's,"
wherever I might see him. and a firm
belief that one could travel throughout
the country with comfort, had he
enough German to say. ""How much?
and "Too much." My map proved an
Invaluable companion, but, alas, the
man from Cook's ' never appeared at
the right moment and my "wle vlelT"
though thrice repeated, brought only
a look of blank astonishment- although
pronounced with my beat schoolroom
accent. "Finally one brave soul Inquired
In English, "Oh. you mean what does It
cost?" I never dared try the "xu vlel"
fter that.
...
Numerous Portland friends had fur- i
nlahed addresses, and I started on the
quest for a pension, with a delightfully
vague Idea of what I would find. At
the close of the day-niy list of ad
dresses bad dwindled with my courage.
At some places they could not or would
not understand my German; at others
music students were not accepted. Many
will not accept boarders for less than
a month, and two weeks' notice of de
parture Is always required, which must
be given either on the first or ISth of
the month. One can often find a room
at what seems a reasonable price, only
to learn that heat, lights and baths
are extra. A change of bedding oftener
than once a month? Why, such a thing
Is never done unless the good work
Is assisted by the click of silver.
It was with a sinking heart that
I finally made my way to the American
Woman's Club. I did not know then
that they took regular boarders and
hoped at best thst I would be given
some new addresses. The first person
I saw as I walked Into the cozy reading-room
was Kathleen Lawler Belcher,
who, as most American women, finds
her way here now and then. It did
not take me long to engage the one
room which I found vacant at the club,
and the next day I was settled in my
humble quarters. The club occupies
one of the second floor apartments of
a good building on Munchcner street.
a desirable district of West Berlin.
where many Americans live. The wife
of the .American Consul, Mrs. Thack
eray, acts a president, and the organi
sation is primarily for the convenience
of students. , A small membership fee
entitles them to the use of the English
library and reading-room and to the
privileges of ' the numerous receptions
and teas which are given. A course In
German Is also offered at a nominal
tuition. The club can accommodate
about ten regular boarders, and Mrs.
Re id, of Seattle, Wash., makes a most
charming resident secretary.
A ...
-The duties of the secretary are mani
fold; she acts as chaperone to the
girls who make their home here, is
bostons at the social (unctions, and
spends a large part of her time pacify
ing the police! Some girt has forgot
ten to close the double windows when
she practiced or perhaps hung a pair
of gloves on the window sill, to dry.
Each girl must be registered at the
police station within three days after
her arrival and departure, a taek which
falls to Mrs. Reld, and Is often com
pleted only after frequent visits of the
police, who cannot make out from the
registration blank Just when the girl
Intends to leave, or come to complain
that the passport made out for Miss
Mabel Smith did not state whether she
was a man or a woman! And the sec
retary respectfully explainer
The club seems to fill a long-felt
want as well witb the native as the
American population and the secretary
is daily besieged with requests and
complaints of all sorts. Perhaps the
most unusual was that presented re
cently by an excited German who came
early one morning to demand a dress
suit. He talked so rapidly that Mrs.
Reld, who is accustomed to German of
all descriptions, could scarcely get a
word. "A dress suit?" she asked.
Didn't he know this was a woman's
club and they had no dress suits. He
protested that if they couldn't lend
him one they would have to buy one,
because be must have It for a concert
he was going to give. His next de
mand was for money enough to fur
nish the guarantee for the hall and
lastly he wanted to practice at the
club every day till his programme was
prepared. He left feeling sadly abused
because the "Damon Klopf" refused to
supply his wants.
...
Frequent receptions given by the
club bring together many interesting
people. One given early in October In
honor' of the departing naval attache,
General and Mrs. Belknap, was partic
ularly brilliant. The gowns ranged
from the most elaborate oriental em
broideries to the shabby cloth suit of
the student, and French, German and
English were spoken in all degrees of
Imperfection. Among the guests were
the American Ambassador and his wife,
a prominent member of the Japanese
Embassy, and Baroness Von Gregory, a
former American girt A well-known
baritone of Dresden and Miss McClel
lan, an American making a name for
herself in grand opera, both sang; a
quiet little woman in gray who re-,
cited a simple little poem to her own
piano accompaniment, was announced
as Mrs. Carrie Jacobs-Bond, the well
known Eong-wrlter. A leading Berlin
musical critic was there in hia most
genial mood, and altogether it was a
delightfully fascinating crowd.
At another time we had the pleasure
of entertaining the visiting college men
here attending the centennial anniver
sary of the University. Many of our
most prominent schools were repre
sented and President Murray, of Colum
bia, made an informal address. Such
is the American Club, a meeting place
and home for rich and poor alike, the
center of social life among the Amer
icans of Berlin.
...
Last night we heard Busoni in the
single recital he gives this season in
Berlin. And what a triumph It was!
It takes more than merely a great
pianist to rouse the music-saturated
audience of this city to the wild en
thusiasm which possessed the hundreds
that filled Beethoven Saal Tuesday
evening. During the season 1909-10
the concerts averaged over 30 daily,
while at least one and often more were
artist performances of high standard.
Indeed It is often a question of several
programmes, each too good to be
missed, as last evening, when Busoni
and Fritx Kreisler proved rival attrac
tions. The Berlin ooncerts are the delight
of the student's heart. Cheap scats are
always obtainable for a mark; are so
arranged, with shallow balconies, that
there really are few poor seats, and
if it were not for the utter lacn oi ven
tilation they would be admirably
Bdapted for public buildings. One Is
agreeably surprised to hear English
spoken on' all sides, as the mark seats
are occupied largely by American and
English students. The concerts al
ways begin punctually, at 7:30 more
often than 8, and woe unto him who is
late, for there Is no entering until the
close of the number.
...
The Garderobe, an institution con
nected with every public hall. Is a sur
prise to the stranger who is not ac
customed to the ' personal restrictions
which are met at every turn in the
city. Every one Is obliged to leave
both hat and coat In the large cloak
room, where the Garderobe frau re
ceives them and gives a claim-check, a
proceeding which costs from 6 to 7
cents. The halls are usually over
heated and a wrap Is seldom neces
sary, but the American student seems
particularly averse to being compelled
to do anything, and I have seen one
argue for five minutes with the usher,
and finally sneak in unseen, only to
he ingloriously. led out between two ,
irate attendants. If the Kaiser is in
attendance, the women are required to
wear evening dress, and those who
come without this "wedding garment"
can remedy the deficiency by remov
ing their collars and turning in the
neck of their waist! This gives a neat
and dressy touch suitable for the im
perial gaze.
It Is customary to divide the pro
gramme Into three or four numbers,
between which there is quite a pause,,
and the whole audience immediately Is
on the stir. The scene presents the
appearance of an informal reception,
friends meet from different parts of
the house to talk over the programme,
there is much waving of programmes,
much calling back and forth from bal
cony to pit, and opera-glasses are
frankly leveled on any one who catches
the attention. These few minutes are
especially interesting to the musician,
and I shall always remember the con
cert I attended a few days after my
arrival in Berlin.
...
I was fortunate enough to sit be
side a young pianist whn has been
studying here for some years. It was
a concerto evening given by Wera Scri
abinna, wife of the prominent Russian
composer, and the fnunarmonic ur
clfestra. My companion pointed to a
large man near the front, with a great
head of curly hair. "You see that hair?
Well, that's a wig, but the man under
It Is Joseph Lhevinne, and that's his
wife. Isn't she a dear? Right near
them is Scriablnna himself. And that
man, pointing In the gallery, who looks
a little like Beethoven, is one of the
leading musical critics; he always as
sumes that attitude to make the like
ness more complete. That pale young
man in the corner Is a Polish com
poser attracting a good deal of atten
tion. Oh yes, and there is Carl Beech
er, you know he is a Chicago boy, who
has written a good many songs. The
petite girl with the green scarf is Tina
Lerner, a rising Russian pianist, and
there is a great Danish singer on the
front seat. You surely know that yel
low head?" Yes, one could not mistake
Myrtle Elwyn, who Is even better
known and received here than In her
home land. My companion herself was
a pianist of no small attainments, who
Is soon to make a tour of the continent.
...
The Busoni concert attracted the
largest audience of the season so far;
every seat was full, many were stand
ing along the sides of the large hall
and there were perhaps 150 seated on
the platform. The programme opened
with the four Chopin ballads, taking
later the Opus 106 of Beethoven, one
of hia .own oompositlona and closed i
with the Don Juan Fantasia of Liszt.
There has been more adverse criticism
of the concert than of any of the pre
ceding and his phrasing and shading,
his technique and temperament have
all in turn been torn to pieces, but
the fact remains that the audience went
wild over his playing. His Liszt num
ber was tremendous, though there was
a lengthy passage of Busoni rather
than Liszt, whether from fault of mem
ory or for effect, it was impossible to
tell. According to the custom no en
cores are played during the programme,
but after the last number all who will
gather at the front and their applausa
is often acceded two or three numbers.
But this evening the lfouse remained
en masse, and after many recalls,
Busoni, who has the reputation of not
believing in encores, returned to give
a magnlficlent reading of the "Erl
Koenig." He was pale from exhaus
tion, the perspiration poured down his
face, and his hair fell in strings over
his forehead, while he played he
seemed to gasp for breath, but his
work sounded as vigorous as if he were
beginning a programme.
As he left the platform a young girl
stepped forward and pulling a small
bunch of carnations from her belt
gave them to him. He received them
with a smile and took her hand in a
hearty grasp; nor did he forget to
smile at her when he returned to ack
nowledge the still frantic applause.
The audience showed no signs of leav
ing till the attendants locked the piano
and turned .out the lights; the won
derful evening was a thing of the past.
My library
Life.
Tve gat Mark Ttraln in flannel and Kiplmg
done In calf.
And Keats In full morocco and Tennyson la
"half."
Robert Chambsrs bound in linen, with a nice
regard for dress
And the creases In his trousers, just the
pink of letter press.
On another shelf, above them, full levant
and quaintly limned.
Is a Hall Caine, uncut copy, deckle-ed.d
and badly trimmed.
Next I've got a Lamb In sheep's skin and an
Edar Allan Poe,
While my Roosevelt in khaki takes a whole
entire row.
My Bacon I've In paper, where I keep It
safely stored.
With my Stevenson In buckram and my Em
erson in board.
While In cloth Marie Corell has reposed for
many years.
Up against an Elbert Hubbard bound la
floppy spaniel's ears.
m
I have all the Padded Poets, edges gilt and
full embossed,
And a few In limp morocco, if the metre's
lame or lost.
So with Milton, Pope and Browning books
they say a person needs
Is there any room provided for the books a
fellow reads