St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-01-03
FUTURE OF THE TELEPHONE.


A 1aS wan PPoTess0r BeH--Ifs use 20 %
Limited tniy IN tt~ Continent.
Professor Alexander Graham Bell, the in
ventor OF the telephone, on recent visit to
New York talked to Tribune reporter of the
telephone aud of Its increasing usefulness,
and of other inventions which are being de-
veloped.
''rhe time is not distant" said Professor
Bell, ''when all of the larger centres of popu-
lation in this country will be connected with
telephone wires and when they will be in easy
and satisfactory telephone communication.
There will be grand central office, probably
at New York, and all of the other central of
fees in the country which it is desirable to
reach will be connected with it When this
system of connecting central Offices has been
developed it will be as easy for subscriber
in New York to call up friend in San Fran
cisco and to engage him in conversation as
it would be to call another subscriber to the
telephone in the City of New York. All
movements in telephone circles tend to this
system of united central offices. can see
very plainly that it must become national in
its scope. Many centres of population in
the several states are connected by telephone
wires. 1t requires no special gift of prophecy
to see that all of these small systems of cen
trail offices can and will be blended and unit
ed into one vast, complete system, which
shall be limited only by the boundaries Ut
the country or the continent. New York
and Boston are already connected by tee-
phone wire, or rather by two wires. The
oi- IL, = 40 he. ~
double copper wire. BY means of the double
wire all disturbing influences are diminished
and induction is reduced 10 minimum.
The telephone service between New York and
Boston is verysatisfactory, and there is norea-
why the wires cannot be made to work over
much longer distance"
''Does the company expect to extend the
wires and bring the great cities of the South
aud West into telephone communication
with the cities of the East2''
"WeIl." said the Professor, laughing mer-
riy, 81 do not know that can answer that
question for you with satisfactory precision,
The fact is, / make it point to know as lit
tie as possible about the business details of
the company. l need all of my time for
work in the laboratory and am really quite
ignorant of the working plans of the COM
pany; but it is my i'm IMPRESSION that all of the
great cities, and indeed all of the centres of
population of any importance, will be placed
in telephone communication. Just how
soon this end can be reached am unable to
say, but things seem to be working in that
direction, and It will not be long before you
can converse with your friends in the great
cities of the West. After the wires have been
extended to all of the great cities in the
United States, the union of the central offices
of which have spoken will be spe eddy eff
t ected.n
PLACING WIRES UNDERGROUND.
"Would not the telephone service be i'm
roved if the wires were all placed under
goouu lp'
at would be of vast benefit to the service.
Every telephone wire ought to be buried. Ev
cry city ought to compel the telephone com
panies to lay their wires underground. The
corporations will never do it, fear, until
they are required by law to do so. 1t would
be very expensive, but 1t ought by all means
to be done. 1t would remove the wires from
all the disturbing influences to which they
are subject when stretched on poles, and 1t
would relieve the streets and buildings Of the
city from a steadily aud rapidly multiplying
become troublesome II not dangerous. 1t
would be onsiderable and direct benefit to
the public TO have all telephone wires under
the ground. Crossed and swaying wires
would become an mpossihlity and the ser
vice. would be improved in a variety of ways.
Burying the wires would probably not In
crease the cost of the telephone to subscrib-
ers, but 1t would increase its usefulness
wonderfully. / have small doubts that pub
lie sentiment will recognize these facts be-
fore a great while and that the telephone
com panies In the great cities and elsewhere,
too, hope, will be required to bury their
wires. The efficiency of the telephone can
rot be fairly judged and tested in a large city
where the wires are supported on poles and
buildings"
"Are you still working and studying over
the telephoue!"
Eyes, but as yet it has not been improved
Tie same telephones which were manufac-
tured several years ago are still in use in
many places. There have been many adj
ditiOns 10 the telephone, but no real improve
ment TO the instrument itself has been made
II Is these additional contrivanccs which
make the cost of the telephone to the sub
scriber 80 great. For example, the call bell,
which you sec on every box costs more than
the telephone itself. There are dozens Of
men in this aud other countries laboring 10
increase the usefulness of the telephone"
"Whst additions or Improvements are like
" 10 be made sooni ~
81 may say in general way that the tee-
phone will be made much more automatic.
There will be less loss of time To the sub
sbribers and less mechanical friction and
complexity."
ISTESsIFYIye THE SOUND.
as It possible to intensity the sound SO
that the voice issuing from the receiver may
be heard in the remote corners OF a large
roomli'
eyes, that result can be reached and prob
ably will be. We find this difficulty, howev-
er, when the sound is intensified IL Is at the
expense Of distlnctness and Of perfect articu
latiOn. This fault can probably be corrected
in a measure, so that IL persons desire II they
will be able to sit some distance from the
telephone aud hear all that comes through
the receiver. The transmitter can also be
made to convey sounds brought to IL from
distance, II the improvements are mAde, IL
Is not certain that there will be very gen
eral demand for telephones which would
bring the voice through the receiver TO all
parts OF the room. Many persons would re-
gard II as a convenience, aud many other
persons would consider II to be a very objcc-
tiouable improvement because conversation
Of private nature eou not b. carried on"
"Will the relay system be brought into use
when II Is desired 70 transmit telephone
messages long distancesf'
Some method for repeating messages
may have To be devised, but it now seems To
mr that II will hardly be necessary to resort
to notifications Of any Of the principles used
by the telegraph companies. do not see
wnat there IS 10 be gained By strengthening
the current al Yarinns nninfa nlnnp the line.