the history of the telephone-第12章

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When　all　the　evidence　in　the　various　Gray　lawsuits　is　sifted　out；　there　appear　to　have　been　three　distinctly　different　Grays：　first；　Gray　the　SCOFFER；　who　examined　Bell's　telephone　at　the　Centennial　and　said　it　was　〃nothing　but　the　old　lover's　telegraph。　It　is　impossible　to　make　a　practical　speaking　telephone　on　the　principle　shown　by　Professor　Bell。　。　。　。　The　currents　are　too　feeble〃；　second；　Gray　the　CONVERT；　who　wrote　frankly　to　Bell　in　1877；　〃I　do　not　claim　the　credit　of　inventing　it〃；　and　third；　Gray　the　CLAIMANT；　who　endeavored　to　prove　in　1886　that　he　was　the　original　inventor。　His　real　position　in　the　matter　was　once　well　and　wittily　described　by　his　partner；　Enos　M。　Barton；　who　said：　〃Of　all　the　men　who　DIDN'T　invent　the　telephone；　Gray　was　the　nearest。〃

It　is　now　clearly　seen　that　the　telephone　owes　nothing　to　Gray。　There　are　no　Gray　telephones　in　use　in　any　country。　Even　Gray　himself；　as　he　admitted　in　court；　failed　when　he　tried　to　make　a　telephone　on　the　lines　laid　down　in　his　caveat。　The　final　word　on　the　whole　matter　was　recently　spoken　by　George　C。　Maynard；　who　established　the　telephone　business　in　the　city　of　Washington。　Said　Mr。　Maynard：


〃Mr。　Gray　was　an　intimate　and　valued　friend　of　mine；　but　it　is　no　disrespect　to　his　memory　to　say　that　on　some　points　involved　in　the　telephone　matter；　he　was　mistaken。　No　subject　was　ever　so　thoroughly　investigated　as　the　invention　of　the　speaking　telephone。　No　patent　has　ever　been　submitted　to　such　determined　assault　from　every　direction　as　Bell's；　and　no　inventor　has　ever　been　more　completely　vindicated。　Bell　was　the　first　inventor；　and　Gray　was　not。〃


After　Gray；　the　weightiest　challenger　who　came　against　Bell　was　Professor　Amos　E。　Dolbear；　of　Tufts　College。　He；　like　Gray；　had　written　a　letter　of　applause　to　Bell　in　1877。　〃I　congratulate　you；　sir；〃　he　said；　〃upon　your　very　great　invention；　and　I　hope　to　see　it　supplant　all　forms　of　existing　telegraphs；　and　that　you　will　be　successful　in　obtaining　the　wealth　and　honor　which　is　your　due。〃　But　one　year　later；　Dolbear　came　to　view　with　an　opposition　telephone。　It　was　not　an　imitation　of　Bell's；　he　insisted；　but　an　improvement　upon　an　electrical　device　made　by　a　German　named　Philip　Reis；　in　1861。

Thus　there　appeared　upon　the　scene　the　so…　called　〃Reis　telephone；〃　which　was　not　a　telephone　at　all；　in　any　practical　sense；　but　which　served　well　enough　for　nine　years　or　more　as　a　weapon　to　use　against　the　Bell　patents。　Poor　Philip　Reis　himself；　the　son　of　a　baker　in　Frankfort；　Germany；　had　hoped　to　make　a　telephone；　but　he　had　failed。　His　machine　was　operated　by　a　〃make…and…break〃　current；　and　so　could　not　carry　the　infinitely　delicate　vibrations　made　by　the　human　voice。　It　could　transmit　the　pitch　of　a　sound；　but　not　the　QUALITY。　At　its　best；　it　could　carry　a　tune；　but　never　at　any　time　a　spoken　sentence。　Reis；　in　his　later　years；　realized　that　his　machine　could　never　be　used　for　the　transmission　of　conversation；　and　in　a　letter　to　a　friend　he　tells　of　a　code　of　signals　that　he　has　invented。

Bell　had　once；　during　his　three　years　of　experimenting；　made　a　Reis　machine；　although　at　that　time　he　had　not　seen　one。　But　he　soon　threw　it　aside；　as　of　no　practical　value。　As　a　teacher　of　acoustics；　Bell　knew　that　the　one　indispensable　requirement　of　a　telephone　is　that　it　shall　transmit　the　WHOLE　of　a　sound；　and　not　merely　the　pitch　of　it。　Such　scientists　as　Lord　Kelvin；　Joseph　Henry；　and　Edison　had　seen　the　little　Reis　instrument　years　before　Bell　invented　the　telephone；　but　they　regarded　it　as　a　mere　musical　toy。　It　was　〃not　in　any　sense　a　speaking　telephone；〃　said　Lord　Kelvin。　And　Edison；　when　trying　to　put　the　Reis　machine　in　the　most　favorable　light；　admitted　humorously　that　when　he　used　a　Reis　transmitter　he　generally　〃knew　what　was　coming；　and　knowing　what　was　coming；　even　a　Reis　transmitter；　pure　and　simple；　reproduces　sounds　which　seem　almost　like　that　which　was　being　transmitted；　but　when　the　man　at　the　other　end　did　not　know　what　was　coming；　it　was　very　seldom　that　any　word　was　recognized。〃

In　the　course　of　the　Dolbear　lawsuit；　a　Reis　machine　was　brought　into　court；　and　created　much　amusement。　It　was　able　to　squeak；　but　not　to　speak。　Experts　and　professors　wrestled　with　it　in　vain。　It　refused　to　transmit　one　intel…　ligible　sentence。　〃It　CAN　speak；　but　it　WON'T；〃　explained　one　of　Dolbear's　lawyers。　It　is　now　generally　known　that　while　a　Reis　machine；　when　clogged　and　out　of　order；　would　transmit　a　word　or　two　in　an　imperfect　way；　it　was　built　on　wrong　lines。　It　was　no　more　a　telephone　than　a　wagon　is　a　sleigh；　even　though　it　is　possible　to　chain　the　wheels　and　make　them　slide　for　a　foot　or　two。　Said　Judge　Lowell；　in　rendering　his　famous　decision：


〃A　century　of　Reis　would　never　have　produced　a　speaking　telephone　by　mere　improvement　of　construction。　It　was　left　for　Bell　to　discover　that　the　failure　was　due　not　to　workmanship　but　to　the　principle　which　was　adopted　as　the　basis　of　what　had　to　be　done。　。　。　。　Bell　discovered　a　new　artthat　of　transmitting　speech　by　electricity；　and　his　claim　is　not　as　broad　as　his　invention。　。　。　。　To　follow　Reis　is　to　fail；　but　to　follow　Bell　is　to　succeed。〃


After　the　victory　over　Dolbear；　the　Bell　stock　went　soaring　skywards；　and　the　higher　it　went；　the　greater　were　the　number　of　infringers　and　blowers　of　stock　bubbles。　To　bait　the　Bell　Company　became　almost　a　national　sport。　Any　sort　of　claimant；　with　any　sort　of　wild　tale　of　prior　invention；　could　find　a　speculator　to　support　him。　On　they　came；　a　motley　array；　〃some　in　rags；　some　on　nags；　and　some　in　velvet　gowns。〃　One　of　them　claimed　to　have　done　wonders　with　an　iron　hoop　and　a　file　in　1867；　a　second　had　a　marvellous　table　with　glass　legs；　a　third　swore　that　he　had　made　a　telephone　in　1860；　but　did　not　know　what　it　was　until　he　saw　Bell's　patent；　and　a　fourth　told　a　vivid　story　of　having　heard　a　bullfrog　croak　via　a　telegraph　wire　which　was　strung　into　a　certain　cellar　in　Racine；　in　1851。

This　comic　opera　phase　came　to　a　head　in　the　famous　Drawbaugh　case；　which　lasted　for　nearly　four　years；　and　filled　ten　thousand　pages　with　its　evidence。　Having　failed　on　Reis；　the　German；　the　opponents　of　Bell　now　brought　forward　an　American　inventor　named　Daniel　Drawbaugh；　and　opened　up　a　noisy　newspaper　campaign。　To　secure　public　sympathy　for　Drawbaugh；　it　was　said　that　he　had　invented　a　complete　telephone　and　switchboard　before　1876；　but　was　in　such　〃utter　and　abject　poverty〃　that　he　could　not　get　himself　a　patent。　Five　hundred　witnesses　were　examined；　and　such　a　general　turmoil　was　aroused　that　the　Bell　lawyers　were　compelled　to　take　the　attack　seriously；　and　to　fight　back　with　every　pound　of　ammunition　they　possessed。

The　fact　about　Drawbaugh　is　that　he　was　a　mechanic　in　a　country　village　near　Harrisburg；　Pennsylvania。　He　was　ingenious　but　not　inventive；　and　loved　to　display　his　mechanical　skill　before　the　farmers　and　villagers。　He　was　a　subscriber　to　The　Scientific　American；　and　it　had　become　the　fixed　habit　of　his　life　to　copy　other　people's　inventions　and　exhibit　them　as　his　own。　He　was　a　trailer　of　inventors。　More　than　forty　instances　of　this　imitative　habit　were　shown　at　the　trial；　and　he　was　severely　scored　by　the　judge；　who　accused　him　of　〃deliberately　falsifying　the　facts。〃　His　ruling　passion　of　imitation；　apparently；　was　not　diminished　by　the　loss　of　his　telephone　claims；　as　he　came　to　public　view　again　in　1903　as　a　trailer　of　Marconi。

Drawbaugh's　defeat　sent　the　Bell　stock　up　once　more；　and　brought　on　a　Xerxes'　army　of　opposition　which　called　itself　the　〃Overland　Company。〃　Having　learned　that　no　one　claim…　ant　could　beat　Bell　in　the　courts；　this　company　massed　the　losers　together　and　came　forward　with　a　scrap…basket　full　of　patents。　Several　powerful　capitalists　undertook　to　pay　the　expenses　of　this　adventure。　Wires　were　strung；　stock　was　sold；　and　the　enterprise　looked　for　a　time　so　genuine　that　when　the　Bell　lawyers　asked　for　an　injunction　against　it；　they　were　refused。　This　was　as　hard　a　blow　as　the　Bell　people　received　in　their　eleven　years　of　litigation；　and　the　Bell　stock　tumbled　thirty…five　points　in　a　few　days。　Infringing　companies　sprang　up　like　gourds　in　the　night。　And　all　went　merrily　with　the　promoters　unt