MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, ORE.
THURSDAY, APRIL 20, 1961
B 11
Fight Over Phone
System Continues
Editor's note: One of the most
driwnout lejal battles In this coun
try'! history Involves the United
States government and the heirs
of an inventor held by many to be
the man who made possible long
distance telephone calls. In the fol
lowing dispatch, UI'l reporter Dick
Fontana tells how this lingering
struggle was born and continues
today long after the death of the
inventor.)
By DICK FONTANA
United Press International
Pittsburgh - IUP0 -Elwood
Arfstldes Grissinger knew
wealth and fame. Yet he died
broke, nearly forgotten.
Grissinger passed away Oct.
8, 1934. His obituary attribut
ed death to "digestive trou
ble" which precipitated a
heart attack. It could have
read simply: Broken heart.
Grissinger earned a half
million dollars from a repeat
er system which revolution
ized telephone communica
tions and helped shorten
World War I by a year.
Bill Would Force
Stockmen To Give
For Promotions
Salem - (UPD - The Senate
Wednesday passed and sent
to the governor a bill forc
ing 'cattlemen to contribute
to promotions of the Oregon
Cattlemen's association and
the Western Oregon Live
stock association.
The bill requires operators
of all stockyards, packing
plants, livestock auction mar
kets "and slaughterhouses to
take 10 cents from the price
of cattle and give the money
to the state agricultural de
partment. The department
will turn it over to the Ore
gon Beef Council.
A seller who refuses to
- contribute has to sign a state
ment to this effect. Ho then
gets a refund. Prior law stip
ulated that the fee could not
be deducted from the sale
price without specific con
sent. Bill Criticized
Sen. Al Flegel (D-Roseburg)
said the bill is mandatory be
cause few persons will have
an opportunity to sign for a
refund in a cattle sale rush,
and he criticized the bill.
Flegel said cattlemen in his
area don't want the state or
dering them how to spend
money they get from cattle
sales.
Sens. Eddie Ahrens (R
Turner) and Walter -Loth (R
Salem) said the bill docs for
the cattle industry.. what the
fryer and wheat commissions
have done for those indus
tries. They, said the bill is really
permissive because opponents
are protected by a provision
for referendum.
One-Car Crashes
Toll
is
One-car non-collision acci
dents on Oregon highways
are continuing to take an un
usually high toll in human
lives, and there is evidence
that this death toll is grow
ing greater all the time, ac
cording to Medford Police
Chief, Charles P. Champlin.
Champlln said that nearly
a quarter of Oregon's rural
highway crashes during 1960
were of the one-car variety,
with more of them Involving
fatalities than any other kind
of crash, Including collisions.
The chief pointed out that
in many of these accidents,
particularly where the driver
is killed, law enforcement of
ficials can only speculate on
the cause.
"However," he said, "the
evidence usually indicates
that the driver was driving
too fast to keep control of
his vehicle, went to sleep at
the wheel, or committed some
other careless act."
Champlin declared: "In
spite of increased enforce
ment in 'town and country,
use of radar, constant patrol
ling and broadening of our
safety education program,
one-car accidents continue. So
we ask every driver to take
stock of himself and remem
ber that his own destiny lies
in his hands when driving."
-fl tte
Teen Bakers
The third meeting of the
Teen Bakers 4-H club of Eagle
Point was held recently at the
home of Mrs. John Pogue, our
leader. The 4-H county ex
tension agent, Miss Phyllis
Kirkland, attended and talked
to us.
Susie Carroll and Frances
Huffman gave a demonstra
tion on how to make a pie.
Our officers are Susie Carroll,
president; Frances Huffman,
vice president; Ellen Hay, sec
retary, and Nancy Carroll, re
porter. At the previous meeting,
Nancy Carroll and Ellen Hay
gave a "show-me" on mixing
bread dough and kneading.
Nancy Carroll,
' Reporter
Death found him penniless,
"because the government
turned his invention over to
France as surplus following
the war," his relatives claim.
In 1911, Grissinger's Inven
tion was unveiled to the pub
lic at the Indenendent Tele
phone association's conven
tion in Chicago. The Chicago
Examiner called it "a remark
able test."
Remarkable Tesi
It indeed was a remarkable
test, transmitting a human
voice 4,500 miles under simu
lated conditions which would
have placed the telephone re
ceivers in Chicago and Hono
lulu. Grissinger and his wife,
Lucy, carried out the initial
test, standing in separate
rooms connected by a mam
moth coil.
Grissinger, somewhat shaky,
asked: "Hello. Are we right?"
Over 4,500 miles of wire
came the answer from his
wife: .
"It is perfection. You win,"
The demonstration was her
alded in magazines and news
papers across the country,
each pointing up the elimina-.
Hon of cumbersome relay
points and marveling at "the
quality of voice resonance on
a little box which annihilates
distance."
Actually, the device was a
three-in-one instrument. It
neutralized over - magnifica
tion of sound waves, institut
ed statlon-to-station conversa
tions and carried all overtones
of the human voice - at feat
unheard of prior to that time.
With perfection of his idea,
Grissinger sold internal pat
ent rights to the American
Telephone and Telegraph Co.
"Then the war came along,"
recalled Mrs. Priscilla Schus
ler, Grissinger's niece, who
lives here. "And all Uncle
Elwood's patents for England,
Holland, Belgium, France and
Italy were taken over by the
U.S. government.
"Uncle Elwood's intention
was to sell the patents to the
individual European coun
tries after the war. Instead,
the United States installed the
system during the war and
used it, selling it afterward as
part of surplus materials. '
"General (John 'Black
Jack' Pershing said it helped
end the war by a year." '
Grissinger filed suit against
the government in 1922. He
sought compensation for - a
"preconceived plan whereby
my invention was . , . appro
priated and secretly used to
the enormous benefit of (the
U'S. government) and all the
Allies . . . leaving me stand
ing without even the recogni
tion of having been inventor
of one of the great factors of
success in winning the war
and the saving of human life
and property."
He was fighting a losing
battle. Numerous "amicable
settlements" were agreed
upon and referred for adjudi
cation. "But Elwood was never
paid a cent," Mrs. Schusler
complained. "All the money
he received for his original
patent was poured into law
suits. He was penniless when
he died."
Ironically, Grissinger was
attending M r s. Schusler's
wedding here when fatally
stricken. She took up his fight
and has been waging the
struggle ever since.
"Not for me," she said, "but
for Aunt Lucy (Grissinger's in
valid widow) who is confined
to her home in Buffalo, N.Y.,
and requires almost constant
attention.
"The government got $400
million from France for that
surplus equipment, including
the repeater system. All I
want is for Aunt Lucy to 'get
a fair pension. She's 89 and
all alone." '
Two bills were introduced
into Congress In 1957 by New
York Senators Jacob Javits
and Kenneth Keating seeking
to have the Issue finally re
solved. Both measures died in
committee. There has been no
legislative action since.
Cancer Is Subject
Of Television Show
"Diagnosis and treatment
of cancer" will be the topic
of the Sunday television pro
gram, "Adventures in Medi
cine," arranged by the Jack
son County Tuberculosis and
Health association.
Physicians who will take
part on the panel are E. W.
Sickels, surgeon; Alan Mar
kee, radiologist; Thomas J.
Tinsley, radiologist, all Med
ford, and John Boe, general
practioner, Grants Pass.
The program will begin at
4:30 p.m., with questions tele
phoned by the public to be
answered during the half
hour. Dr. P.. M. Turner, Ash
land, and Dr. Earl Lawson,
Medford, are co-chairmen for
arrangements, and Mrs. John
Boe will be moderator.
London - (UPD - Britain is
asking the Soviet Union to
agree to an immediate cease
fire in Laos Thursday, For
eign Secretary Lord Home
said today.
Shop and Save
Fishing Season Opens
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