The phonoscope (Nov 1896-Dec 1899)

6 October, 1897 future if these thought machines should come into general use. The thought reader might have been introduced in the Luetgert trial with good results. The most amazing quality of the machine is said to be its capacity for judging, in some cases, of the guilt or innocence of a person accused of crime. In one instance several men were arrested on the charge of highway robber}-, and the man who had been robbed was called to identify, if possible, the one who had assailed him. The suspects were brought into a room, one after another, and the mentograph was placed within a foot of eachSome of the prisoners registered intense nervousness and emotion. But when the guilty man was con. fronted by his victim the indicator whirled around in a manner which left no doubt as to his identity. It was subsequently proved in open court that the man indicated by the machine was the guilty person. Those who have read the story published by the first Lord L}*tton in Blackwood' 's Magazine entitled "The Haunted and the Haunters, or the House and the Brain," will examine this mechanism with exceptional interest. There is, as all know, a popular belief that certain houses are pervaded by a mental atmosphere, so to speak, which corresponds to the mental condition of those who have inhabited it. The air is surcharged with their emotions, longings, sorrows and mental peculiarities. Ma}' not such force radiate from a living person to a delicately constructed mechanism? Another book that will interest observers of these phenomena is Du Maurier's striking story of "Peter Ibbetson," based on the contention that two subjective minds whose bodies are far distant may communicate with each other during sleep. The value of the mentograph's deductions over ordinary evidence lies in the fact that, no matter how well a man may disguise his emotions or how calm and self-possessed he may appear outwardlv, the mechanism still records his inner feelings. Another thing that the mentograph will tell of is the influence of a mesmerist. If a person under the influence of a mesmerist be tested, the character of the mesmerist himself is indicated and not that of the subject in front of the dial. As persons subject to hypnotism are usually of weak character, a scientist can easily see that the person tested does not really possess the will power recorded by the machine, and the fact that they are under hypnotic influence is easily discovered. It is a remarkable fact, too, that an idiot has comparatively no influence over the machine, and can hardly cause the indicator to agitate at all while a person who has become insane causes the needle to whirl and flutter in a confused and erratic manner. The thought-reading machine has been private ly exhibited and tested daily for two years at the Nottinghill Gate Hospital, London. Subjects addicted to noxious drugs known as "neuro-muscular agents," depressers of the reflex action of the spinal cord, such as chloral, chloroform and bromide of potassium, alcohol, etc., are the less apt to produce (by looking at the instrument) a deflection or a succession of them in the registering needle; thus demonstrating that the transmission of cerebral force by external radiation is interfered with by the use of such drugs; the absence of the radiation produced by thought-force seeming to point out that the production of thought and the intensity of it is impaired by the ingestion and assimilation of those agents. Dr. Luys of the Charity Hospital, Paris, by means of the X-rays, recently photographed these radiations from the brain and in every way corroborated the experiments made by this instrument— viz., there was no radiation from the brain of an idiot, and the same drugs that affected the machine also affected these radiations in a similar manner. By collaboration with "Cheiro," M. d'Odiardi will obtain observation charts of all classes of healthy individuals, whereas in his hospital work he is able to obtain mental photographs only of diseased persons. From this data it is the intention to compile a work which the projectors hope will prove of great scientific value. In conclusion! it may be said that the curiously shaped needle, or indicator of this wonderful little piece of mechanism is influenced in diverse ways by the radiation of brain force at distances varying from one foot to twentv feet. ©ur ^Tattler He was suffering from the slot-machine eye. He has beaten the little iron box several times and conceived the idea that he, and only he, was the man who just knew how to press the little lever to prove a sure winner every time. "Five," said he of the knowing look, as he threw down a quarter. The nickels in question were promptly given him, and he forthwith set to work to win all the cigars in the store. The nickels quickly vanished through the little mouth in the front of the box, and almost as quickly five more nickels were called for as another quarter was laid down. This was his day off, he said, but felt sure things would come his way this time. All was in vain. He of the eye suddenly decided he didn't want to smoke to-day anyway. A large portion, dozens in fact, of Spokane's adult male population are suffering from this same disease. They have the eye and believe that they know just how to press the lever. A reporter, who visited a number of the machine owners recently, gained the following information, although none of the owners were willing to be quoted for publication. "These machines cost from $12.50 to $15 apiece," said a prominent cigar dealer. "I estimate that there are from 100 to 125 in the city. With two exceptions every saloon in Spokane has one on its bar. I believe all the fruit stands have them, and they are to be seen in a number of the drug stores. There are three different kinds of the machines now in use in Spokane. One kind is faced with common playing cards and you win according to the hand you turn when the lever is pressed down. Another is a small machine that pays coin or checks varying from ten cents to fifty cents. This is a small machine and usually sits on the bar. A third machine is a large affair and is found in the gambling houses and saloons. It stands about four feet in height, is'ornate and costs over $100. This last machine has a large wheel and is almost an exact duplicate of the wheel of fortune. It is said to be as much of a gambling affair as the roulette table, and when you win it pays cash dropped into a metal cup at the side of the machine. How much do the machines take in in a day? That is a matter that I do not care to discuss. All that I can say is that they do not take in enough to enable the owners to pay the license contemplated by the city council." Another owner said: "While I do not care to be interviewed for publication, I will say that the proposed license business is as unjust as it would be to tax a clothing or dry goods merchant. None of the cigar machines are percentage machines. They merely serve to increase business. How do they increase business? By selling more cigars. A man playing a machine may win, say, eight cigars. He is pleased by his good luck, and divides the winnings among the onlookers. Before the machines came in he would have laid down half a dollar, picked up his four cigars and walked out. Another benefit from the machine is that it has largely done away with the credit business. A man cannot come into the store and ask for money to play the machine. The result is that he puts his change, a quarter or such a matter, into the machine. I believe the machines are not played as much now as they have been in the past, but this is the dullest season, the heaviest machine business being done in the winter time. I do not care to state how much my machines earn each day. All the dealers ask is the privilege of making the price of the cigars they give to the winner." Another dealer said: "For the past nine months the machine in this store has averaged $9.50 per day. But cigars are always given the winners and the cigars that have been given out in the nine months have cost the winners eleven and a half cents apiece. We only aim to make a fair profit on the goods won by the machine." While one of the dealers estimated that there are from 100 to 125 machines in the city, another believed there were not to exceed fifty. Allowing that there are but fifty machines in the city and that each does a business of five dollars would mean that $250 passes into these machines each day. Figuring on that fifty machines doing an average business of ten dollars per day, would mean that $500 passes into the machines each day. A prominent Riverside Avemte dealer was heard to remark a few nights ago that his machine had been paying from twenty-five to thirty dollars per day for some time, and other dealers have the appearance of doing fully as large a business. The best paying machine in the city is said to be at the Hotel Spokane bar, where two machines are used each twenty-four hours, one during the shift of the day bartender and the other at night. While all the dealers agree that the machines are not conducted on a percentage basis some acknowledge that they receive about thirteen and a half cents for each cigar won, and men who are "ahead of the game" are few and far between. There is an ordinance now pending before the council for the licensing of nickel-in-the-slot machines. The proposed license fee is fifty dollars per annum. A slot machine which automatically registers letters is being experimented with in the Postoffice Department at Washington. This machine attends to the business itself, returns a receipt when the letter with the fee is slipped in the slot, registers the letter and drops it into a pouch, without the assistance af any clerk. What is wanted now is a stamp that will automatically lick itself. A wonderful application of the perfected phonograph has been made by Mine. Anna Lankow, a vocal instructor of New York. She had several talented pupils anxious to secure European experience. Theodore Waugernann, a phonographic expert, supplied the delicate cylinders, and, under his direction, the pupils sang their best into the phonographic horn. Mine. Lankow took the cylinders to Berlin, where the voices were reproduced for the German managers. The experiment was so successful that engagements to sing in Germany in concert and opera were obtained for two of the pupils, based solely upon the phonographic samples. With a view of perpetuating the different dialects of mankind, a novel scheme has been adopted by the graphophone promoters. Under an arrangement with the Smithsonian Institution,