ABSTRACT
In March 1904, the Boston papers carried a momentous announcement. A company with a reported capital of two million dollars was incorporated in Massachusetts for the purpose of piping music into American homes and public restaurants by telephone wires. The inventor of the system of telephone broadcasting was Theodore Cahill, and his invention was called Cahill Telharmonic. The Boston Transcript of March 30, 1904, gave the following description of the Telharmonic:
“The general plan is to establish a central station in every large city. The best artists only will be employed, and the music will be varied from Wagner to ragtime, to suit the tastes and whims of the public. The machine is operated by making and breaking electric circuits. When the plant is in working order, one of the dreams of Edward Bellamy will be realized. By the turning of the switch, the room or hall or hospital will be filled with the music of the great masters. There will be slumber music for the person troubled with insomnia, and there will be waking music to rouse the sleeper for the duties of the day. The service will be on the same plan as the telephone.”
