The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1907-07-12

[, trail Offices The possibilities Thus gwen
tho telephone increased 10 popularity
enormously in spitesof the doubts and
hesitation nearly everyone showed In
the early days. June 80, 1877. there
were $50 telephones in the whole world
thirty years ago today, where now there
/, are upwards Of 100000 Within D
month after, tho number had more
than trebled, within two months II had
been multiplied by ski and by The
spring Of 1880, when the American Bell
Telephone Company, tbc first concern
10 attempt the uniAcation Of the tele.
phone system which alone gives II its
full value, took up the business, there
were In operation some 1900 transmit.
ting and receiving telephones. Mean
time the central offices had multiplied
wonderfully, and by March, 1881, there
were In the United States only nine
cities Of more than 10000 inhabitants,
and only ono Of more than $4,000 with
out o telephone exchange.
The early switchboards we're curious
contraptions beside the modern type Of
apparatus They took several forms
before the multiple board used by the
Bell companies for nearly twenty years
now VIVA worked out. At fret they had
signal bells Of different tones. one at
the end Of each subscribers circuit, the
distinctive tone indicating which line
was ringing up" Then numbered drops
were adopted each line having me-
iallic shutter In the front OF the board
which, when tho subscriber turn.
ed tho generator crank at the
side Of bis telephone instrument,
fell so as to display ihe number Of bis
line. And finally came the common
battery" switchboard now In use In all
large cities and being adapted to smal.
Ter exchanges, In which the operators
signal is given by tiny incandescent
electric lamp, The one place In the
telephone system where bell never
rings is now the central office.
Some Of the early switchboards we're
big frames set along the side Of the
operating room, the connections being
made BY boy. who ran from one point to
another as the calls came in. Others
were like elongated tables, the switch
sockets being set into the fat top and
tho cords for connecting them being sus.
pended from tho ceiling Apparatus OF
this sors was clumsy and slow to oper-
ate. besides being limited In the number
Of lines II could provide for. II was
abandoned in the United States quar-
ter OF q century ago, but ii Is u curl
Gus commentary on the lack Of progress
siyeness In some directions Of our trans.
Atlantic cousins that II is still in use
In some OF the government operated ex->i
changes Of Europe. No doubt their
haekwarlness In adopting improvements
accounts 70. the small development Of
European telephone systems as compared
with the development in this country.
IN the las, few years there have been
devised so-caled "automatic" telephone
systems in which the subscriber does the
work Of making connections between his !
lines and the lines OF other subscribers,
instead Of that work being done by an
operator in the central office. In small
communities, where the expense OF Civ
ing day.and,night, Sunday and holiday,
all-the-, car-ronnd service by means Of
operators il prohibitiye, limited field
OF usefulness has been found for such |