Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-11-08

more satisfactory telephone service
will be provided.
Is Becoming Popular.
The matter Of automatic telephone
service which is now under considera-
ton by the Union Electric Telephone
and Telegraph company is compare
lively new departure in science as ia.
as actual practice is concerned though
the invention is number of years old.
1t is nevertheless being put into opes-
alton in the leading cities of the
country, where the citizens, havin,,
long ago lost patience with the manual
system, eagerly join hads and assist
the enterprise. In Chicago the system
is being used to limited extent and
success. The city council of New
York recently granted a franchise to
the promoters of the device. At Los
Angeles, Cal, and San Francisco e<-
changes for the automatic system arc
being installed The city commission
ers of Houston, Texas. recently gram
ed franchise to the promoters of the
new device, the company being organ
lied with a capital stock of 81 000, 00).
AT Decatur the installation of the new
system is now being considered, with
the probability of favorable action. {.
In all cities where this new system
is being installed. however the fran
chise was not secured until bitter
fight was participated in, in which the
Rp11 interests warp
Operation is Simple.
although the automatic telephone
when its possibilities are considered
would seem to be quite complicated, it
| is comparatively simple. By means
of a dial upon which are the ten num-
erals, any number to a billion may be
called or any number at all. this only
being limited to the number of tele-
lphQnes for which the system is con
structed. A fixed point is constructed
in connection with this dial which con
| trels the making of connections. Ii
a subscriber desires to call for instance
1872, first the figure 1 is drawn oppo-
site the fixed point-the receiver hav-
ling been taken from the hook-seconl
the figure 3, then / and last =, then ID
ring the party the button is pressed
and the work is done. Special arrange.
meat is made for emergency calls II
can be so arranged by the dial-to be
governed by a number-that all of the
fire stations in the city may be plac cd
on the line and fire reported without
delay. The same arrangement may be
| had for police and ambulance Gals.
| Test of Busy Line.
First come. first served is the rule
in talking to friends, that is to say if
two persons call party simultaneous
| ~, the first one of them to move the
dial may talk first and the other is
notified of the condition by "buZZing
| in the ear which is the notice that the
| line Is busy. In order 10 test the line
all that is necessary is to call the nun
/ Der of the phone that is desired to be
/ tested, and if the 'buzzing" sound is
/: heard it, is in order; if it is not, then
i the line is out of order. But it is UNI
necessary to notify tde exchange Dis
.persons are regularly employed to
watch the switchboard which is always
under the. testing process and if a linz
is discovered to be giving trouble /;
can be aseertained at once. By instr'l
ments mide especially for the purpose
any trouble in the cables can be 10
Gated within a few inches and if the
trouble is not in the exchange or il
the cables underground then it mus
be in the telephone itself and repai.
can be made Immediately.
Connect With Old style.
| AS a rule a general operator is EN-
ployed at the exchange, in addition to :
trouble man for each 100 telephones
and long distance operator is also EN-
| ployed 1t is unnecessary for all citie
| with which communication is desire
\ to have the automatic phones installed
as connections with the old style telc
III nhOup can he affected