The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-06-28
HALLOO!
The Telephone System Of the
Three Cities.
Number of Instruments used
in each place.
HALLOO
An Improvement Invented
that is very Important.

The telephone system of this city, Dav-
export and Moline is fast assuming large
proportions, and with the increased facili-
ties just placed in position, there is every
| reason to suppose that the present number
of instruments in use will soon be materi-
ally enlarged, as orders are coming in for
new telephones almost every day.
What is true of these three cities is gen
orally the case throughout the country,
and as d consequence the factory where
the telephones are constructed is taxed to
its utmost capacity.
NUMBER IN USE.
At the present time Rock Island has 40
instruments in use with orders for several
new ones that are to be erected as soon as
possible
Davenport employs 225 instruments to
conduct the business of that city.
Moline contents herself with sixty-fve
telephones, and the orders for that burg
have all been filed and evary one desiring
such telephone luxury is satisfied.
The total number now utilized in the
three cities is ago.
IMPROVEMENTS.
A great many claims have been made by
inventors that Improvements could be
made in the telephone system, Whereby the
necessity for central exchange would be
avoided. The following authentic account
of such invention sounds, however, as
though the claim had been realized:
EARLY in 1879 Mr.. d. Connolly, a law
yer, and a Mr.. McTighe, an electrician,
both of Philadelphia, patented an inven-
ton which they claim will give each tele-
phone direct connection with any other
telephone of the same company without
the delay and trouble of communication
with an operator at a central Office. In
central offices, by the system now in use
it is necessary that operators shall be in
constantly on hand to attend to the orders
of subscribers. A man in Wall street, for
instance, who desires to communicate with
another in Twentieth street, must first call
the central Office operator and ask to have
his wire connected with that of the TWEEN
tieth street subscriber.
PRESENT INVENTIONS.
This of course requires time though the
delay is not very great. The system is ex-
pensive in that several operators have to
be employed continuously in every central
office The Connolly & McTighe invention
these existing drawbacks. Their improve
ments is piece of mechanism in the cen
trail Office which serves as a substitute for
operators. The duty of the operators I'M
der the present usage consists simply in
receiving from the subscriber calling him
orders to connect with the wire of GER
tain other subscriber. This he does by
simply plugging the two wires together
BY the new system it is claimed a subscri-
Der can automatically connect himself At
each subscribers Office is placed dial con
nected with his wire. This dial has
hand, or pointer, moved by ordinary clock
work.
NUMBER SYSTEM.
Every telephone has number by which
its Office is known. Now, the pointer. on
this dial will normally stand at the figure
in the circle round the dial representing its
own Office. 1t will be held there by pin,
which, being removed will release the
clock-work, and allow the pointer to travel
round the dial to any point desired. If
the home office is No. 1, and the subscrib-
er desires to reach office No. g. he need
but withdraw the pin from the pointer as
it remains at No. 1 and transfer it to the
figure s, and wire No. is connected with
wire No, at the central Office, and COM
munication is established between the
points. The principle upon which the
Philadelphia inventors have worked is that
by the movement of the pointer an electric
current can be made and broken
at any point desired. This current
made and broken by the spring be-
hind the dial, reaches the central office
passing through a relay to the earth. The
back points of the relay work an electro
magnet Each subscribers office is sup
piled with a magnet connection at the cen
tral office with ii brass ring and perpen-
dicular metal rod
The electro magnet moves a toothed
wheel, giving motion thereby to each ring,
the one which in revolving passes beside
the perpendicular rods, making an electri-
cal connection with the rod opposite to
which the current is just sufficiently strong
to Gerry it. Connolly & McTigle claim
that revolving cylinder after the fashion
of music-box can be used instead of a
dial, so enabling a subscriber to easily
adapt his call to an infinitely large mum
Der of other wires; and it is held that the
electrical force necessary in any event to
be sent to central office is exceedingly |
small, no stronger current being needed to |
call No. 9,99S than to call No 80.