The phonoscope (Nov 1896-Dec 1899)

Vol. II. No. 7 The phonoscope 9 So now I've been to New York and all your sights I've seen, I sup'ose that to you city folks I must look awful green, Gee whiz, what lots of fun I've had as I walked 'round the town, Havin' Bunco Steerers ask me if I wasn't Mr. Hiram Brown, I've rode on your cable cars and hung on to the straps, When we flew around the curves, sat on other peoples' laps, Haven't had no trouble, not a bit at all, Read about your city in My Old Yaller Almanac, Hangin' on the Kitchen Wall. Slot flfoacbmes An ordinance regulating the placing, exhibiting and operating of slot and machines for the delivery of merchandise, soft drinks, or for weighing, fur" nishing music, or which may be used for other like purposes and fixing the amount of license required therefor and providing penalties for the violation of the provisions hereof has been passed in Omaha, Nebraska. Be it ordained by the city council of the city of Omaha: Section I. It is hereby declared unlawful for any person, persons, corporations, company or association to place, exhibit or operate, or authorize to be placed, exhibited or operated on any streets, alley or sidewalk of the city of Omaha any slot machine or other like contrivance or device in which may be deposited pennies or other coin for the delivery of merchandise, soft drinks, or for weighing, furnishing music, or which may be used for other like purposes, without first complying with the provisions of this ordinance, and obtaining a license, as herein required. Section 2. Any person, persons, corporation, company or association desiring to place, exhibit or operate or have used on any public streets, alley or sidewalk of the city of Omaha, any slot machine or other like machine or device for the delivery of merchandise, soft drinks, or for weighing, furnishing music, or for any other like purpose, shall make application to the city license inspector for a permit to locate said machine or machines; said permit shall state owner's name, proposed location for each machine, and if granted he shall approve such permit by indorsing thereon his name and the word approved. It shall be the duty of the license inspector to visit each proposed location before approving or rejecting any permit. Section 3. The city clerk shall issue, upon application, to any person, persons, corporation, company or association desiring to place, exhibit, operate or have used on any public street, alley or sidewalk of the city of Omaha, any slot machine or other like machine or device for the delivery of merchandise, soft drinks, orfor weighing, furnishing music orfor any other like purpose, a license, authorizing the exhibition, use or construction of any such machine, upon presentation of said permit, as provided in section two, and the city treasurer's receipt for the sutnof five ($5.00) dollars for each slot machine, or other like device or contrivance proposed to ba used for the purposjs herein cont mplated, for the fiscal year in which such license shall be issued, which license shall in all cases expire December 31 of the year in which the same is issued. Said license shall show on its face the number of the machine and sufficient reference thereto as to enable identification thereof. Section 4. Provided, however, that no license shall be issued for the placing, use, exhibition or operation of any slot machine or other similiar machine or device that shall be in the nature of a gambling machine or device, or shall in any manner involve an}' element of chance, nor shall the holding of any license by the city clerk issued authorize or permit the exhibition, use or maintenance of any slot machine or other similar machine or device which shall be in the nature of a gambling machine or device, or which shall in any manner involve the elements of chance. Section 5. Any person, persons, company, corporation or association placing, exhibiting or operating any slot machine or other similar machine or device on any street, alley or sidewalk of the city of Omaha, without first complying with the conditions of this ordinance and obtaining a license, as herein provided, shall be deemed guilt)' of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not exceeding $25.00 or be imprisoned not exceeding ten days, or may be both fined or imprisoned, as may be determined by the judgment of the court. Section 6. That this ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage. Passed May 3, 1898. (Seal) BEECHES. HIGBY, City Clerk. WILLIAM F. BECHEL, Temporary President City Council. Approved May 10, 1898. FRANK E. MOORES, Mayer. H Ibuman Camera anb pbonoorapb The harder Charles Dorr, of San Francisco, tries to forget anything, the more indelibly is it stamped on his memory. He has the most wonderful memory on the Pacific coast. He is called "The Human Camera" and "The Live Phonograph,'' so faithfully does his eye and ear record passing events. Let this man of wonderful memory once get a good look at a face, and it is never forgotten. This fact, more than one criminal caught by the San Francisco police, and positively identified by Dorr, can sorrowfully but truthfully testify to. It is not by any particular effort that these wonderful feats of memory are performed. It is simply as natural for him to see a place, person or thing once and never forget it, as it is for the ordinary person to glance at a passing crowd of strangers and fail to identify any one of them two weeks later. So far as memory goes, Mr. Dorr would have been a brilliant success as an actor. He frequently goes to see a play, and hours after does not hesitate to quote any part, or even all of it, if called on to do so, although he might never have seen or heard of the piece before entering the theatre. He knows every policeman in San Francisco by sight and number, if not by name, and if you tell him the number he will instantly tell you where that particular officer's post is, what the man looks like, and to what division he belongs. This same wonderful memory has been utilized by Chief of Police Growley on more than one occasion to excellent advantage, particularly when there has been the slightest doubt as to the identity of some prisoner. Mr. Dorr's place of business is near the old city hall, on Kearney and Washington Streets. There he hears every alarm of fire, and sees all the policemen as they are marched out in squads to take their posts. Without ever having paid much attention to immediate surroundings; he instinctively sees and remembers many things which occur around him during the day. Above him in his office is hung a card on which is shown the location of the corner opposite the number sounded by the fire alarm. It did not take him long to learn where every box was located, and now he can tell the location of any one, almost without pausing to think. He also knows the numbers of all the street cars and where they go. Mention a street through which the cars pass, and he will tell you the numbers of the cars running on that thoroughfare. On one occasion a wager of $140 was made that he could not tell the location of an alarm which had just been sent in from a box in the suburbs. He counted the numbers as they sounded from the big gong at fire headquarters, "two, four, seven, California and Lyons," remarked Mr. Dorr, without glancing around when the last alarm had sounded. He was right and the wager was paid. On another occasion he was standing on the corner of California and Larkin Streets, conversing with a number of firemen in the old fire house erected by the late Banker Ralston. Half a block below a man ran around the corner. Dorr, who was the first to see him, shouted, "There goes a crook." The man darted down Larkin Street, followed by a policeman. At the next corner two pistol shots broke the stillness of the night. The little crowd ran down the block and found the officer walking about as though nothing had happened. The crook lay dead in the street. Dorr was called at the coroner's inquest, and the police, who knew him, had such absolute confidence in his memory of faces that almost entirely upon his testimony the dead crook was identified as a man long wanted for a number of crimes. Dorr's entire knowledge of the man was gained simply from having seen him in his store for a moment some months previously, when he escaped with a few trinkets which he had stolen. Once Dorr made a trip to Australia, upon which occasion the passengers and officers amused themselves by making pools on the number of miles logged by the ship at the end of each day's run. The money was placed in the captain's hands in a sealed envelope, containing the number of miles which he thought the ship was making. Mr. Dorr was always lucky at this, and explained it as follows: "I simply watched the sea, remembered what the ship did coming down under similar conditions and estimated the run at 408 miles. She made just 409 miles" The possessor of this wonderful memory is not an educated man, but a curious fact about him is that he can spell a name which he cannot even pronounce. On one occasion, when the deceased king of the Hawaiian Islands was in California, on his first visit to this country, there was much controversey as to the spelling of his name, which was pronounced "King Calico." Dorr had heard it spelled once, and won a wager from Claus Spreckles, the sugar king, by spelling it correctly the first time. The proper spelling was "Kalakaua." A column of figures is a mere bagatelle to this man of wonderful memory. A column of twenty numbers of six figures each is as a child's addition table to him. He scorns the use of a pencil, and the sum is always correct. Once when the late William E. Sheridan, one of California's favorite tragedians, presented "The Bells" at the old California Theatre, Dorr was in the audience. He had never witnessed the play, but sat entranced throughout Sheridan's interpretation. Later actor and admirer met, and the Thespian listened in astonishment not only to a repetition of the lines, but to a very accurate imitation of his own interpretation of them. "How can you do it?" queried Sheridan. "Memory," replied Dorr, as he wandered back to his home and tried to analyze how he did really do it.