The Courier. (Genoa, Nev.) 1899-1904, 1901-02-01


counting a girl in an Ohio town, the
name of which it isn't necessary to
give here, had quarreled with her for
some foolish reason, and had come
East, intending to sail for Europe.
He had been thinking the matter over
on the way decided that he had been |
a fool, and when he heard that another
fellow was after the girl made up his
mind to heroic measures. So he sent
message to the girl asking her to
come to the telephone, but not giving
his name. When he came to the Office
to keep the appointment he was the
most nervous fellow l ever saw, and
I'll bet that no man was ever more agi-
tated in the actual presence of his
charmer. But he managed to get
through the business somehow, and
the result was SO satisfactory that the
first thing he wanted to know when he
came out of the booth was how soon
he could get train back to the West.
I'VE have good many queer orders
to fill, and they are becoming more
numerous as the telephone comes into
more general use. Last fall an opera
singer had negotiations under way
with some New York manager. They
didn't want to engage her, however,
without first hearing her voice. She
was singing in Chicago at the time and
couldn't leave. The difficulty was adj
justed by telephone. The managers
came to my office, the woman sang be-
fore big transmitter in Chicago, and
her tones were heard with perfect
clearness here in New York. The test
was SO satisfactory that she was en-
gagged on the spot.
sThe newspapers printed accounts
of our reproduction of Niagara's roar
at the, electrical exposition and of the
sounds of the great sound-money pa
rade in Chicago last year, and, as I say,
such orders are becoming more num-
erous.
Zone class of men with whom the
long distance telephone is in high fa-
vor is the politicians. Perhaps it is be-
cause they prefer to trust to spoken
words rather than written ones, even
when time is not a consideration, per-
.haps it is because of the facilities which
the telephone gives for keeping in con-
stant touch with events that are occur
ring at distant places, but certain it is
that the politicians are among our most
liberal patrons. During the last Presi-
Dental campaign Major Mckinley
kept constantly in touch with the Re-
publican headquarters both in New
York and Chicago by means of the
telephone, and he received the first of
fetal notice of his election in that way.
When important bills are under con
sideration in Albany the telephone
wires connecting that city with certain
offices in New York are kept hot most
of the time. The big exchanges keep
close watch of the tariff legislation and
financial discussions in Congress in the
same way. President Mckinley, by
I
the way, is the first Chief Magistrate
to make regular use of the telephone
in the White House for communicating
with his Cabinet officers and Congress
sional advisers. When he wants to
speak to them, instead of sending for
them, as his predecessors did, he steps
to the phone with q Hello, Gary!' or
is that you, Gager and thereby saves
lot of time.
"Some little time ago some citizens
of Montclair, N. j., anxious for some
new form of entertainment, hit upon
what they called telephone sympo-
sum- They arranged for special quick
collections and then listened to short
speeches, songs and jokes from dozen
different parts of the country. There
was a regular time schedule and the
range of the entertainment extended
all the way from Cuyhoga Falls, o., to
Boston. 1t was voted great success,
and shows the possibilities in one of
the as yet undeveloped fields of tele-
phone n-NeaU York .Sttn.