Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1901-05-18
JOHN L. SABiN, TELEPHONE KIN0.

JOHN L. SABIN, TELEPHONE kIN0.
From telegraph messenger to Prcsi.
dent of one of the most powerful telc.
phone companies in the country-that
is the story of the life of John |. Sabn.
who has arrived I'm Chicago to assume
the Presidency and active manage.
mcnt of the Chicago Telephone Com.
pany. Mr.. Sabin has built up the tcle-
phone system of the Pacific coast. and
has demonstrated that he Is an organ
izcr of unusual ability. lie has made
the telephone and telegraph his life
study. and under the fostering care of
his genius this luxury has become Il
necessity In the well-Ordcrcd homes of
California. even of those of modest In
comes. In the country districts
throughout the more thickly settled
portions of California the telephone Is
regarded almost as essential.
John I. Snbin was born in New York
Oct 3. 1917. When Ii years of age he
left the public schools Of Brooklyn to
enter the messenger service of the In
dependent Telegraph Company of New
York. After an apprenticeship of five
months he was sent to New Bruins.
wick. y. j.. to open an office ns Opei.
atOr on the new line then building he.
tween New York and Philadelphia. He
remained but three months In this posi-.
ton. being transferred to White Plains
and from there to New York. where lie
became night operator on the Western
press lines of the United States Tcle-
graph Company.
In 1864 Sabin entered the army as
military telegraph operator. and was
stationed with the headquarters Of the
Fifth Army Corps ut Fort Petersburg.
Va. lie served through the war. and
when the struggle ended he settled at
Raleigh. y. G.
The young operator was restless. and
saw In the West the opportunity for al.
deny him. He Joined the Collins over.
land telegraph expedition, formed for
the purpose of building line overland
from san Francisco to the mouth OF
the Am0Or River In Siberia. He was
stationed at PlOver Bay In Siberia for
Snbln returned to San Francisco, and
for several years was IN operator In
the employ of the Western Union. be.
Ing stationed ut Salt Lake, Helena and
other places.
He was manager of the Los Angeles
IN IN, l,nt al
remained there Il year. returning to
san Francisco, where he married In
1872. He became the superintendent
of supplies of the Western Union in
this city In 1875, ana for the next two
years remained In the employ of that
company.
In company with George =. I.add, Sa.
bin formed the American District Tel.
egrnph Company In San Francisco IN
1877. The enterprise was u success
from the start, but Sabin, always look.
Ing for something better, saw In the
telephone his opportunity. When the
new device was perfected To the point
where II was seen TO be n commercial
success. Sabin threw his whole energy
into the telephone business, and with
his old partner, Ladd, he organized the
Sunset Telephone and Telegraph Com.
pany This system was the foundation
or the elaborate system covering the
entire Pacific coast, of which John |.
Sabin Is now the head.
Other companies were formed In Cal
lfornia ana the other States of the
western slope, and n number of detach-
ed systems We're built up. Sabin con
ceivcd the idea of combining these iso-
lated companies and uniting the little
systems by means of trunk lines. He
carried out this plan, aided 10y the rap
III Improvement in telephone appl-
ances. particularly the development of
long-llstance apparatus. In the mean
time Ladd died, ana Sabin became the
president Of the company of which he
had been the executive head up to This
time, with the title of supernt endent.
The Sunset company gave way To the
Pacific States Telephone ana Telegraph
Company, which included all the lines
of the coast, but n few years ago. Mr..
'"''' mos ''"''h"'' wv ll'''SS VI W.
Veloplng minor telephone systems and
uniting them till he has strung n net
work Of wires all over the Pacific slope.
II has been his principle TO make the
telephone popular ana profitable by
making II so cheap rs to be within the
reach of all He has achieved this re-
suit by establishing various classes of
service, ranging In price from Sl.5o to
81 monthly. The uniform price for a
single switch is a nickel. As Il result
Of this policy there are about five times