The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1908-12-08
POPULARITY OF
THE TELEPHONE
Has Passed From the Stage Of Luxury
to Necessity in the Home as
Well as in the Business
House.
IT NOW HAS MANY USES
One Woman in Speaking of Her Tel
ephone Refers to it as "Her
Friend on the
WALL"

AT Clarinda recently the Iowa Tele-
phone changed from an old system to
the latest and best scientific equip
ment and the Clarinda Journal in re-
porting the incident, after making de-
tailed explanation of how the work
was accomplished and the rapidity of
the Workmen, sermonizes upon the
use OF the telephone as follows:
The telephone has long passed the
stage when 1t was luxury to be en-
Joyed by the well to do and has be-
come necessity not only to public
institutions and private enterprises but
to the home as well. The telephone
OF today is servant to the city and
the people and very useful servant
1t is. Every public building is equip
ped with telephones which care al
ways busy taking care of the city's
affairs We find them in all the de-
partments of the town hall, in the fire
departments headquarters through
out the city. in the schools and hos
pitfalls. the police department. and in
the office of the water and light com
panles; and these public institutions
would be at sea if their telephone con-
nectlons were cut off for an sur.
while the city finds it an absolute
necessity, the average citizen finds it
Just as essential to his welfare. This
Is evidenced by the large number of
phones which have been installed dur
ing the past year in private homes.
A few years ago if we found it nee.
essary to call physician it meant
walk of often mile or two. If he
was not in when we got there it
meant another trip to some other ply
stefan. Today We reach his residence
by phone in few seconds and if he
is out We call up another one in tle
same length of time, thus saving val
liable time and allowing us to remain
at home. We find we need something
from the store or market in hurry
and still cannot find time to go for 1t.
Without phone we have to get along
without it, but with one we can call
up and have the goods delivered to us
without losing any time. In case of
rain or bad weather the telephone
proves to be the housewives best
TREND One woman in speaking of her
telephone calls it Her friend on the
wall Our most distant friends are
always within call and in case of need
can be summoned at minutes no.
tlce. AS a social aid the telephone is
soeiety's best friend. Every day In
vltations are issued over phone and
arrangements made for these delight
ful informal parties and gatherings.
Without telephone these informal
affairs would be difficult.
The business man already knows
the value of telephone to him and il
is not question of having telephone
but reliable telephone that interests
him. Many important deals are now
closed daily over the telephone and
important matters involving thousands
of dollars are decided after a confer
ence over the phone between two
men who may be, at the time. hun
dreds OF miles apart. A reliable tele-
phone and good service are necessary
then.
For public convenience the tele-
phone companies nowadays have an
information bureau which tells you
practically anything you want to know.
Every question Imaginable from.
What time is it please" to How
did the game come out" is anwsered
each day. This is indeed great bene-
fit to any city.
The addition OF the farmers lines
will not only be of great advantage to
the farmer but will also increase the
business OF the city as well. ONLY re-
Gently has the farmer seen the advan-
Iage or telephone line to him AS a
business proposition he finds that the
telephone will pay for itself in a short
time by enabling him to catch the
market "at high tide so TO speak
and not drive to town with a load of
produce to find that the market has
dropped since his neighbor went. II
is now but minutes work to
phone to the city. obtain the market
prcie OF produce and even make the
sale. If the market is right he can
then deliver his produce at the price
agreed upon, The weather reports e. a
be had by the use of the phone and
other information essential TO his vel
fare obtained on short notice. Social
ly the phone is a great helm to thc
farmer, and in cases of emergency
such as fire, accidents and burglar,
its value can hardly be estimated
Clarinda is fortunate in having s.
modern an exchange and that it viii
have many advantages over othe
cities having inferior service is an
parent The new Western Electri
switchboard recently installed is
marvel of completeness and embodie
all the latest improvements known Il
switchboard practice. The local e>
change is now equipped with the hes
apparatus obtainable assuring its pf