New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-03-25
TELEPHONE RICHES.

met to-day. at the Riggs House, man VINO ~
largely interested in the manufacture OF the Bell
teIeDhOne ana in telegrapbIc Instruments, and was
much surprised at of the statements be name
in regard TO the business. This man Is 80 wen
known TO the electricians of the United states and
20 the parties interested that he does not wl'h 10
have his name gwen. 1.-The telephone Indnsty
said he, "is growing like JonaRs gould WITHIN
the mast month have been over nearly the wnole
of the Union. aud find the use of telephones IN
creasing largely that the manufacturers are uh-
abe to supply the demand. Wl.hin me iase SIX
weeks have taken orders for our factory alone lOr
g. 600 Telephone bells and Will sell zen thOusalc
more within the next month. The demand for the
coming spring promises 10 De me urges. b ervs
known IN the history of the telephone We nave
Ordefs enough now on hand 10 keep us busv Tor t"o
years and we are lncrra'ing our capacity every
year There are tive other factories ~ the United
States making the Bell telephone and they are an
doing we'll" ,,oo ~ r
n ell. should say 49," was the reply. " don't
know of any business that pays bet ter Telephone
companies usually make diyidend OF - per oehs
the first year. and this mo- wltnstandng Ne col Oh
LAYING wires and phi ting in the instruments. AIier
this the ex pense Is comparatively hslc and the re-
eel DTS prOpOrtlOnaieS greater.
Nearly every man who has been largely inter-
ested IN telephones" continued tins gen lcman.
"bas become wealthy All OF the original company
OF the Bell inyen ion, with, perhaps, slnge eXceD-
lion are now mill OnnIlfes. Bell himself was sven
years ago poor Engllshman, livlngin New-Haven,
Conn. and experimenting IN telegrlphy. he hao
come from England a few years before. One uiy
VIE ne was experimenting on iupiex messages nc
found he cOuI talk over the wires, ana ne con-
ceived the ldea OF his telephone. was WIN nm
n, the time he maize his instrument, ana we glVe
the first exhibition Of u In the Ill OF 1ae college
before the stud .nts. Our first ate mt was not
success IL wouldn't work. aud we dlSnlss"i the
audience with th impression that he ext = nrbb
wa. failure and we were couple o. visionary
fools We ried n again, however a lew days latff;
IN the Opera House at New-llaven, ana succe ided
SO well tnat the Bel ,mDIny vas organized at
once | think | established the hrst te eplohe
company using the instrument, George W. Coy
the greatest electrician 10 me Chiten AZ oI b,
and myself were ia par nershIp Our nrst exchange
had eight wires, and they ran to the houses Oh
friends he city: No one thought OF using IL
Tor business then. We had no bells, but used elrc-
trIc buttons like those for calling servants at the
hotels. Inc success created great excitement IN
Haven, and we soon had twenty-five SUD
scrlbrrS aud had to put IN thirteen more wires. We
next ma le a loard OF 100 wires. Up 20 TINS imel
had been used entirely for social chatting aud for
the curiosity of The thing. hen the ou mess men
saw the advantages OF the invention ana suD'crlDrts
came IN faster hap We could put up the wires IL
soon spread o her Giles, first TO Boston, then
Lowell, Albany, Troy and next to Chicago After
this eXch lngos spraug up so rapidly a over the
country that 1t was impOss bic TO keep track OF
them And from 1t time on the new business was
n success. At present there are more teiephones n
New YORK than IN any other city IN the WORD,
aud he number naS been increasing az the rate Oh
twenty day for the last year. Boston, Chicago.
Baltimore, Ciryei aud and ,lnclnnati are nov out
tng m over fifty new telephones every month, and
Nashville is ncr aSlng us suscr OeIs at the rate OF
wo per day The villages are establishing eX-
part OF the houses will be connected by telephone
The buslness is being pushed IN Europe rs well IA
in America, hut foreigners are so $40" 10 t!He up
new things IN e there - not now one te!rphone IN
England TO one huDdTcd IN America. In france the
elrphone l. used ~ some OF the larger business
houses, out aS a convenience Tor the pcoP9, Il Is
almost unknown. In the other countries 0t Europe
# Is much the same The people didn I sem % I'M
de stand the vau of the invention; aud they DON'T
take mold of il a the Am 'ricaus do" -,
WHAT does II cost man to have teiephoneI
THE rate, are different IN different places rang
ing from S} 70 go IL month. When GOV tild my
self started the nrSt exchange We ch1tgeu ITO
wear Now in New-l"rk each subscriber withln
halt n mile OF the exchange pay 81 \ month, ana
in Boston and Baltimore from $lO to $40 year.
what Is Mr. BE worth now 7" ASKED r
AT least $6,000,O00' was the reply his
income is very large, and increases every year
with the extent of the busilesS. Tie Is a aarA-
comp exioned man, between thlrty,hye ana tofly
wears OF age. He talks with an English ACCENT ana
has keen eye for business. Attempts are being
now made to break down his pateeAtS but IL Is
questionable whether they succ. ed.
Tell me something about other men who have
made money In telephones"
1t would take all night" was the reply
Nearly every man who has handled them has
made money. One of the most notable instances Is
that of Thomas Watson, the old gray-bared
mechanic who used to help Bell in his experiments.
He had htfle shop III New-Haven, and made
electrical instruments. Bell would give INN hls
IDEAS of what ne wanted, aud the two wou,u
experiment together until the proper result Has
reached When the company was 0lgIn,Ze1 pen
made hun general inspector for mo Uniied ctatos
lie is now a millionaire, and his family are tra'-
cling in Europe -,
MARSHALL Jewell was largely interested in teie-
phones and made q great deal OF money by them.
IA p frost president OF the Connecticut Telephone
Company. has laid up million within the last lew
wears, and George ". Coy Is also a mllllonn IRE:
Coy lives ut New Haven. and owns q magnincent
residences Mt MILFORD near Ihere. lie has more
electrical patents registered at Washington than
any OF her man IN the United states be has now
sold all his patents 10 the united states iSePnTrt
Company and has nothing TO do with Bells. Inc
Bell men fear HIM and awake every morning OK
pecting to hear that he has perfected some new Ia
y.ntOn which will throw them entirely out OF the
market Coy gets $1,000 year for doing nothing
lie takes a trip 10 New-York every now ana then,
and the United States Company ask his advice az
10 electrical matters, and they pay hlm thus money
for what no tells them lie by all odds the Drlsh"
est electrician in the United States"