﻿PREHISTORIC 
  TELEPHONE 
  DAYS 
  

  

  241 
  

  

  wheat, 
  and 
  suggested 
  paddling 
  wheat 
  in 
  

   the 
  dried-out 
  vat. 
  

  

  "Why," 
  said 
  Mr. 
  Herdman, 
  "that's 
  

   quite 
  a 
  good 
  idea," 
  and 
  he 
  immediately 
  

   ordered 
  the 
  experiment 
  to 
  be 
  made. 
  It 
  

   was 
  successful, 
  and 
  the 
  process, 
  I 
  under- 
  

   stand, 
  or 
  a 
  substantially 
  similar 
  one, 
  has 
  

   been 
  carried 
  on 
  at 
  the 
  mills 
  ever 
  since. 
  

  

  In 
  1876, 
  about 
  the 
  time 
  when 
  the 
  tele- 
  

   phone 
  became 
  known 
  to 
  the 
  world 
  through 
  

   the 
  Centennial 
  Exhibition, 
  I 
  had 
  in 
  my 
  

   classes 
  at 
  the 
  Boston 
  University 
  a 
  Japa- 
  

   nese 
  student 
  named 
  Issawa. 
  He 
  after- 
  

   wards 
  became 
  the 
  Japanese 
  Minister 
  of 
  

   Education 
  in 
  Formosa, 
  and 
  he 
  is 
  still 
  

   living, 
  I 
  believe, 
  as 
  a 
  member 
  of 
  the 
  

   House 
  of 
  Peers.* 
  

  

  JAPANESE 
  WAS 
  THE 
  FIRST 
  FOREIGN 
  LAN- 
  

   GUAGE 
  SPOKEN 
  BY 
  TELEPHONE 
  

  

  Mr. 
  Issawa 
  was 
  studying 
  with 
  me 
  the 
  

   pronunciation 
  of 
  English 
  and 
  how 
  the 
  

   English 
  sounds 
  differed 
  from 
  the 
  Japa- 
  

   nese 
  elements 
  of 
  speech. 
  He 
  knew 
  of 
  this 
  

   curious 
  instrument 
  I 
  had 
  invented, 
  and 
  

   one 
  day 
  he 
  fairly 
  startled 
  me 
  with 
  a 
  ques- 
  

   tion 
  about 
  it. 
  "Mr. 
  Bell," 
  he 
  said, 
  taking 
  

   the 
  telephone 
  up 
  in 
  his 
  hand, 
  "will 
  this 
  

   thing 
  talk 
  Japanese 
  ?" 
  

  

  He 
  seemed 
  much 
  surprised 
  when 
  I 
  as- 
  

   sured 
  him 
  that 
  it 
  would 
  talk 
  any 
  language, 
  

   and 
  he 
  immediately 
  proceeded 
  to 
  try 
  it. 
  

   He 
  spoke 
  into 
  the 
  transmitter 
  while 
  I 
  

   listened 
  at 
  the 
  receiver. 
  I 
  reported 
  that 
  

   the 
  telephone 
  was 
  undoubtedly 
  talking 
  

   Japanese, 
  but 
  unfortunately 
  I 
  could 
  

   neither 
  speak 
  nor 
  understand 
  the 
  language 
  

   myself. 
  

  

  He 
  then 
  asked 
  whether 
  he 
  might 
  bring 
  

   two 
  Japanese 
  friends 
  who 
  were 
  students 
  

   at 
  Harvard 
  College. 
  They 
  came 
  and 
  soon 
  

   satisfied 
  themselves 
  that 
  the 
  instrument 
  

   could 
  be 
  used 
  in 
  Japan. 
  

  

  A 
  great 
  many 
  years 
  afterwards 
  I 
  was 
  

   in 
  Yokohama 
  when 
  the 
  American 
  resi- 
  

   dents 
  there 
  were 
  entertaining 
  a 
  new 
  Jap- 
  

   anese 
  minister 
  who 
  was 
  about 
  to 
  start 
  

   for 
  Washington. 
  I 
  attended 
  the 
  banquet 
  

  

  * 
  A 
  recent 
  note 
  from 
  a 
  cousin 
  of 
  Mr. 
  Issawa 
  

   informs 
  me 
  that 
  he 
  died 
  a 
  few 
  years 
  a»o. 
  — 
  

   A. 
  G. 
  B. 
  

  

  and 
  was 
  about 
  to 
  be 
  presented 
  to 
  the 
  min- 
  

   ister, 
  when 
  he 
  came 
  - 
  forward 
  and 
  said 
  

   that 
  there 
  was 
  no 
  necessity 
  for 
  introduc- 
  

   ing 
  him 
  to 
  Mr. 
  Bell, 
  as 
  he 
  knew 
  me 
  years 
  

   and 
  years 
  ago, 
  when 
  he 
  was 
  a 
  student 
  at 
  

   Harvard 
  College. 
  He 
  turned 
  out 
  to 
  be 
  

   one 
  of 
  Mr. 
  Issawa's 
  friends 
  who 
  had 
  been 
  

   present 
  when 
  Japanese 
  was 
  first 
  used 
  over 
  

   the 
  telephone. 
  

  

  This 
  was 
  the 
  celebrated 
  Baron 
  Kurino, 
  

   who 
  was 
  Japan's 
  representative 
  at 
  Wash- 
  

   ington 
  for 
  some 
  years 
  and 
  afterwards 
  be- 
  

   came 
  Premier 
  of 
  Japan 
  and 
  represented 
  

   his 
  country 
  during 
  the 
  peace 
  negotiations 
  

   at 
  Portsmouth, 
  New 
  Hampshire, 
  at 
  the 
  

   conclusion 
  of 
  the 
  Russo-Japanese 
  War. 
  

  

  A 
  few 
  years 
  ago 
  a 
  well-known 
  Japanese 
  

   gentleman 
  visited 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  in 
  a 
  

   semi-official 
  capacity 
  to 
  cultivate 
  good 
  re- 
  

   lations 
  between 
  America 
  and 
  Japan. 
  He 
  

   gave 
  a 
  lecture 
  before 
  the 
  National 
  Geo- 
  

   graphic 
  Society 
  in 
  Washington, 
  and 
  as 
  I 
  

   happened 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  President 
  of 
  the 
  So- 
  

   ciety 
  at 
  the 
  time, 
  I 
  entertained 
  the 
  dis- 
  

   tinguished 
  visitor 
  at 
  dinner. 
  This 
  was 
  

   Baron 
  Kaneko, 
  who 
  is 
  now, 
  I 
  believe, 
  

   revisiting 
  America 
  on 
  a 
  similar 
  mission. 
  

  

  The 
  Baron 
  in 
  his 
  after-dinner 
  speech 
  

   remarked 
  that 
  this 
  was 
  not 
  the 
  first 
  time 
  

   he 
  had 
  met 
  Mr. 
  Bell, 
  for 
  he 
  was 
  one 
  of 
  

   the 
  two 
  students 
  from 
  Harvard 
  College 
  

   who 
  had 
  spoken 
  through 
  the 
  telephone 
  in 
  

   1876. 
  

  

  It 
  is 
  rather 
  interesting 
  to 
  know, 
  not 
  

   only 
  that 
  Japanese 
  was 
  the 
  first 
  foreign 
  

   language 
  spoken 
  by 
  telephone, 
  but 
  that 
  

   the 
  speakers 
  were 
  among 
  the 
  foremost 
  

   men 
  that 
  Japan 
  has 
  produced. 
  

  

  The 
  telephone 
  has 
  gone 
  all 
  over 
  the 
  

   world 
  since 
  then. 
  It 
  has 
  grown 
  far 
  be- 
  

   yond 
  my 
  knowledge. 
  The 
  telephone 
  sys- 
  

   tem, 
  as 
  we 
  now 
  know 
  it, 
  is 
  the 
  product 
  of 
  

   many, 
  many 
  minds, 
  to 
  whom 
  honor 
  

   should 
  be 
  given 
  for 
  the 
  wonderful 
  and 
  

   beneficial 
  work 
  it 
  has 
  accomplished. 
  I 
  

   can 
  only 
  say 
  that 
  I 
  am 
  proud 
  and 
  thank- 
  

   ful 
  of 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  my 
  crude 
  tele- 
  

   phone 
  of 
  1874-75 
  that 
  originated 
  the 
  great 
  

   industry 
  that 
  we 
  see 
  today, 
  and 
  I 
  hope 
  

   that 
  you 
  have 
  been 
  interested 
  in 
  hearing 
  

   something 
  of 
  its 
  prehistoric 
  days. 
  

  

  