Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-16

countryside a vast garden. and who
matched that faith with determination
that never confessed defeat. organized the
Dakota Emner Telephone Company.
The struggles and vicissitudes of those
early days will never be forgotten by those
who survived them. The people needed
of hard years coming on, even the indom-
table will and ingenuity of Mr. Zietl0W
almost succumbed. The intention of his
company TO build toll lines and ex-
changes as quickly as possible. but it took
a month of persist tent effort to secure forty
subscribers in the city of Aberdeen. which
was by far the most hustling place In this
part of the country. Worse luck was met
in other South Dakota cities. In those
days of financial stringency and crop I'M
certainties the pioneers looked upon the
telephone as a waste of money.
However. the company succeeded in
building exchanges at Aberdeen, Column
bia and WATERFOWL. and connecting Aber-
deem, Columbia and Groton. all In Brown
provide the best equipment Mr.. Zietlow
bridged the Ciroton line at Bath upon the
Aberdeen and Columbia line. designing and
using a device which practically embodied
all the points involved in the Carly bridg-
ing patent
Zietlow's Trial as by Fire.
Mr.. Zietlow's' trial as by fire was yet to
come. He had undertaken to connect Wa
tertown by toll line. but the people re-
SdTueU II as Il Els1OuHTy ScneMe ana QuSS-
toned his judgment to the extent Of init
mating that he had aserew loose some
where" The project therefore failed.
Timing a visit when Mr.. Zietlow was alb
sent, attorneys for Bell Company descended
upon the handful of stockholders at Aber-
deem, Columbia and WATERFOWL, and by
threats of suits for alleged infringement
of patents and allegations that they had
| obtained injunctions restraining the little
company from operating, induced these
stockholders to sign an agreement to close
their exchanges and store the apparatus.
1t a bold play, with the millions of
telephone tolls yet to come from a great
state the stakes
But Zietiow was equal to the emergency
when he returned. He lost no time in turn
ing the tables. He found that no Injunction
had been obtained and he repudated the
agreement of his colleagues on the ground
that they were induced to sign il by mis-
representations and fraud He met bluff
with bluff and charge with charge, and as
summed the whole burden of maintaining the
little system which he had established.
Possibly the Bell Company wouldn't have
laid down its hand without a fiercer fight
had it known just how valuable the fran
chise rights would become. But South Da-
kota wasn't a very promising state then.
and the trust withdrew for conquests in
other fields.
Mr.. Zetlow, however, still had a half
| dozen years fight for existence before him.
Some South Dakotans laughed at him and
4 MS 1dnilly Tor the SacrlnceS they MADE TO
| keep the company and it's franchises alive.
MIR. Zietlow's right hand was gone, but he
| used the remaining left to such purpose and
| with such skill that few could beat him
il doing line work of all kinds, and in FASH
| ioning devices which he would not obtain
| for love nor money of the existing telephone
manufacturers. Mrs. Zietlow and her chill
| dren enlisted in the campaign. She and
| her oldest daughter gave more hours to the
| Aberdeen central than they could spare
/ from their home. and second daughter,
of too tender years for switchboard work.
| was kept busy delivering messages and
doing light tasks. For eight years Mr.. Ziet-
| lows son, Forrest, never slept a night I'M
der the parental roof. being either in the
| field with the repair or extension crews or
trying to take a little rest by the side of
the switchboard where he could answer
\ belated calls.
Paul I.atzke in his series of articles in
! the Success magazine on the development
| of the telephone and the battles Of the
| independents with the trust, completely
| overlooked the one Mr.. Zietlow waged 50
| long and successfully in this state. Mr..
| LatZke says.
| BY the end of 1883 not single plant out
| side OF the Bell system was at work. ex-
cept in the little town of Fort Smith. Ark.
| There, DR.. Harrison. practicing physician,
had built up little exchange apparatus
that he had bought in st. Louis.
The Bell lawyers sought to close this lit
| tie exchange in much the same way that
| they approached Mr.. Zietlow and his col
/ leagues. but failed. Mr.. Latzke describes
| their methods and says:
| They left DR.. Harrison in peace, allowing
/ him to hold the unique position of conduct
| ing the only telephone exchange in America
| that was not owned and controlled by the
| Bell Telephone Company.
zietl WIS Independent Company.
The fact is that Mr.. Zietlow had an indie
pendent company at the time of which
| Mr.. Latzke writes that shouldn't be men,
/ toned In the same breath with the-stiny af-
| fair in operation down in the Arkansas
| town. And Mr.. Zietlow's victory over the
| trust was gained after more severe and
costly fight and his company now is OF
l infinitely greater utility and is incompar-
! ably more profitable.
About ten years ago things began to come