Telephony, April, 1906, page 213:
SPEECH REPORTING BY TELEVANT.
At the office of the Grand Rapids (Mich.) Herald recently reporters were enabled to take down in full the speech of Secretary of War Taft, who spoke before the Chamber of Commerce at Detroit, 195 miles away. This was made possible by the use of the "televant." Two transmitters were placed within fifteen feet of the speaker's table in Detroit, and the words of the speaker were far more clear in Grand Rapids, it is said, than to listeners at the farther tables in the hall where they were actually delivered. Before the speech of Secretary Taft the reporters listened to the entire program of the Temple Theater in Detroit, hearing the music perfectly.
The "televant" is a supersensitive telephone transmitter. The idea of using it for the transmission of speeches, music and other sounds over a long distance is ascribed to James F. Land of Detroit. The transmitter is smaller than the one in commercial use. It lies pointing toward the ceiling and responds to sound vibrations from any part of the room, although it is generally placed near the speaker. At the banquet of the Chamber of Commerce in Detroit, the transmitters, two in number, were hidden in a bower of foliage, about fifteen feet in front of the speakers. The receivers in Grand Rapids did not differ from the ordinary type.
With an instrument capable of reproducing the vibrations of the human voice, difficulty is experienced, it is said, in reproducing music. The great difference in the volume of sound makes it necessary to have two transmitters, one for music and one for the voice. These are used as necessary and are switched on or off by an attendant at the central office. The telephonic impulses from Detroit were carried to Grand Rapids over a trunk line of Number 8 copper wire, weighing 340 pounds to the mile.