Diseased Telephones.

Progress, 1 October 1908, Page 429

Diseased Telephones.

In Wellington tlieie is also alarm and reporters ha\e been miming to the officeis of the department ±01 mfoimation, precaution and ad\ice. They ha\e elicited one tact ot linpoitanee, namely, that the custom o± the depaitment is to gi\e every telejthouo attendant his oi hei own telephone gear, which each can lock up aftei work Another piece of mfoimatioii is that imentois are always trying to in\ent some soit of telephone which will obviate dangeis of the microbe oulei The best of these has succeeded iath?r too brilliantly, foi he las made a machine without a transmitter, that is to say, a transmitter into which it is necessary to speak. But as it geneially goes on strike, because it is unable to do wl at even wireless telegraphy cannot do — dispense with definite transmission of mes.sa.oes into the instiument itself tlio m\ ention has to wait among other wrecks for the recognition that will ne\er come "Apparently," said one of the officeis of the depaitment, "for many a day the old style will ra\ c to be used, especially for long distance woik and subscnbeis will "|ust ha\e to continue taking the lisk " After all. the usk is not so very gieat, if Dr. Colhngndge is to be believed, and the Doctor is an honouialile man Moieover, people can always keep theii own telephone clean. By the way, this lequnes some knowledge. The depaitment has stones of people who, filled with the burning deshe for cleanliness, aic in the habit of spoiling their telephones utterly They pour into them their formalin dilution as if tl'e transmitter were a cup. Eesult — Soaking of the liquid through, caking of the caibon granules, and total or partial destruction of the phone's sensitiveness. What they ought to do is to rub the mixture (a diluted foimalin wash) over the transmitter with a cloth carefully.