Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-03-20
THE TELEPHONE.
DIFFICULTIES WHICH SURROUND
LONG, DISTANCE COMMUNICATION.
Absolutely Perfect Condition of the EIe-
ments Kequired-The Telegraph More
Reliable and Less Troublesome
Liability to Error
lCor. Cincinnati Commercial Gazette

Granting that a long distance telephone
will be forthcoming, it will re ,uire an
absolutely perfect condition of the ele.
ments along the route over which the wire
runs; there must be no rain, no fog, no
sleet, nor mist; no moisture in the amos.
phere, no electrical storms. and besides.
there must be invented II more perfect
system of insulation of the wires where
they come i'll contact with the poles than
is used or known at the present time A
means must also be devised TO entirely
overcome induction Uhe in uence eNerted
10y the current on one wire over another
running parallel with and in close prox.
unity, or, in other words. overcome
itself, for wherever you have IA current
you have also induction, or an induced
current
After all these difficulties have been
overcome there still remain many reasons
why it will not be IA success
If an inferior means of communication
attempts to supplant II superior one, what
must be the result?
For long distances the telegraph is as
much superior to the telephone as the
Limited" express trains are superior to a
canalboat-not for single isolated case
but for the volume of business that is
Tally sent over the telegraph wires
a telephone wire between Cincinnati
and New York would be capable of ac.
commodatng' not to exceed six customers
per hour, allowing ten minutes to each,
including the time necessary for calling
the exchange here and for the exchange
TO call New \ ork, and for that exchange
10 ring up the party with whom the
Cincinnati customer desires communion
ton.
AT this ratc-a very liberal allowance
only SIX cOmmuni cations per hour would
he possible, or seventh odd for every
twelve hours. The great bulk of com
muniCatiUns between these cities is of a
commercial nature and generally of much
importance, nearly all of them requiring
transmission between the hours of H. m
and p. m. nine hours This would ne
cesSitate one wire for every six persons
using the telephone per hour during tLat
time. For the accommodation of the Gin
cinnati customers alone there would have
TO be no less than ten direct wires and
then the anxious customers would have to
almost constantly face the usual cry of
Wire in use, call again.
Now, taking into consideration all the
cities west and south of this place which
would look to Cincinnati for their eastern
communications, the number of wires
would reach well up into the hundreds
At Pittsburg over the middle route, at
Cleveland over the northern route, the
number would be more than doubled: and
this, to for wires actually needed to sup.
ply the western demand for connection
with New Ork city not taking into con-
sideratun the great demand that would
arise for wires to all the other important
eastern cities, Such, for instance as Bos
ton, Philadelphia, Washington, Balti-
more, etc. 1t would require the dupfica-
ton of the present number OF telegraph
wires throughout the United States and
Canada ten times over.
NJ sir the telephone will never become
competitor of the telegraph for the trans
mission of the telegraph is quicker more
reliable, less troublesome to the customer,
and, besides, it is, or should be, response
bic for all errors.
The coming long distance telephone will
be paything, nothing more Put a
mark on the assertion.