The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-08-26
HOW TO CONSTRUCT A RURAL TILE
PHONE LINZ.
Mr. George A Mozart, Who Has Helped In
the Building and Management OF One Of
the Most Successful Lines in the
West, Replies to an Inquiry
by the Editor.

NOLg @O"03
Mr.. Clarence H. Poe, Editor The Pro-
gressive Farmer, Raleigh, n. G.
Dear Sir:-Your request at hand. 1
will endeavor to give you a short his
tory of our line and will also send you
a copy of our articles of agreement,
if you desire it. I will not endeavor
to name all the advantages and many
uses of the telephone; the popularity
of the telephone is proof of their ex-
istence. My county is entirely tied
together with wires; almost every
owner of a farm in the county has a
phone and a good many tenants have
them.
Let me say right here that in build
ing a line one should pay attention to
the little things and get phones all
alike, not necessarily all made by the
same company, but it is very impor-
tant that you get phones with ringer
movements wound to the same resis-
lance; then an equal amount of cur
rent will escape through each and all
the bells will ring alike. If some of
the ringer movements are wound low
er than others, they will allow so large
a portion of the current to escape that
the higher wound ringer movements
will not ring satisfactorily. The rea-
son is very simple: electricity, like
water, seeks the path of least resis-
lance.
Our line connects two good towns.
Twelve of us farmers went to work
after getting the telephone fever,
went to our timber, cut good poles,
about fourteen feet long, IS to 20 for
road and other line crossings; set 3
feet in ground; then took 2x4 pine,
sawed in 312 feet lengths, bolted on
poles, mailing the bracket on top edge
of bar; next we put on a No. u gal
vanized wire on each end making two
lines entire length of line. We hen
put fifteen phones on each wire con-
Meeting us with both exchanges ring
ing either Central from home. Avoid
all switch boards in the country pos
sible.
We who are nearer n exchange
than to the other pay to the nearest
exchange cost So per year per phone
and get both exchanges and use of all
phones on same. Let all country lines
run to these exchanges, and can be
switched together at any time, COM
pany keeping an operator in office at
all times, with a night bell attached.
You can get a doctor at any hour of
the night.
We set twenty-five poles to mile,
doing our own work, paying equal
amount of expense and running line
as direct as possible. We cut away
all touching limbs of trees; allow wire
to touch or rest on nothing except
glass insulators. Run single wire
from line to post-set four feet from
house; then connect phone to line
with insulator wire. Put ground wire
deep and keep ground moist. This is
for ground circuit. Do not put over
eighteen phones on one line, with five
or six bar generators $4,000 or 100000
ohm each.
believe 1 have made plain the most
important part of constructing a line,
although there is still room for a
lengthy article on this subject.
If this should be of benefit to your
readers and should they desire n
further information, and will submit
their questions through The Progress
sive Farmer, I will try and help them.
Respectfully,
GEO. A. MOZART.