The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-12-02
DEAN OF TELEPHONE
 IN WIDE WORLD
This Unique Distinction En- joyed by Manager George E. Betts of Bridgeport Division.

The TeleDhone Bulletin. which Is published for the employees of the
 Southern New England Telephone
 Company, prints in it's November is-
 sue an article on George E. Betts.
 manager of the Bridgeport Division.
 MT Betts is credited with being the
 dean. fin years of service, of the tele-
 phone managers of the world. The
 article follows:
 There are men in the telephone
 business, and they are still young at
 that. who have distinguished them
 selves in the line of work which they have chosen to follow. However
 there is but one man who can lay
 claim to the title of the dean. in
 years of service. of the telephone
 managers fin the world. and the Com pany which has the distinction of having such a man in It's ranks is our ,oYn-the Southern New England Telephone Company. The man to whom the title belongs is Mir. George E. Befts. at the present time manager of Bridgeport. one of our four largest divisions
 ..Mr Betts, the man. is SO well known that any comment on our part would be superhuous. Ills interest in the other employees of the Company is perhaps best typified by the spirit shown recently in the presentation of the baseball loving cup by the divi- sion of which he is In charge. There fore.and not without a certain amount of regret on the part of the writer, this article will be confined to- the part which the dean of telephone r.anagers has played fin the history of
 MT. Betfs was born in Woodbury. Conn, April 10. 1889. and received his education at the Woodbury Academy and private schools. He was associat- ed. previous to entering the telephone ter Manufacturing Company of Bridge port in the capacity of secretary and treasurer. When MT. Thomas B. Doo- little. the inventor qf hard drawn cop known telephone men in the world. began experimenting with telephone service. Mir. Betts. partly through his relationship with Mir. Doolittle and Interest in the subject, became as- sociated with him. This was. of course. previous to the opening of the
 first commercial telephone exchange in the world in New Haven during the year 1878.
 @swhen MT. Doolittle during the same year organized the Telephone Dispatch Company in Bridgeport. a with the One now in use in the same city. but a momentous undertaking at that time. MT. Betts became associ- ated with him in the project It was was opened Mir. Betts should be placed fn charge of 1t. thus earning the dis of being the first manager of a telephone system of any kind in the world Mir. Betts was also financially in the company.
 Following the growth of what was then considered the theoretically ex- ceiient but practically impossible tele- phone. phone tnd9stry; Ta1.L,l: he; TThen the Con formed in March. 1881. continued as manager in the Bridgeport office. With the organization of the South ern New England Telephone Company In 1882 Mir. Betts still retained his position. and has held 1t without in- terruption since that time. Therefore 1 ir addition to being the dean of the | worlds telephone managers. he is rrobably the only man who has oc- cupied practically the same position tor over thirty years. starting when the handful of subscribers could | hardly be dignifed by the title of a division, as we look upon 1t now. and | eeing identified with its growth up to a present total of over s.sss sta
 MT. Betts can look back on the lays when the metallic circuit was | not even a pleasant dream of the | future. He operated the first switch board that was conceived by Mfr. | Doolittle. Under his management the Il grounded circuit board was supensed- y by the present common-battery system- Mir. Betts naturally has many interesting "reminiscences of the early Jays In the telephone field. and among hem one fin which he recalls the fact hat one of the most enthusiastic isers of the service in Bridgeport at he present time was. in the early lays of the business. strenuously op- ,csed to its existence. even refusing he necessary right of way facilities O provide his neighbors with service.
 'a,ro have been fin any business con- for over thirty years is a | rnsf twa an1F IL. be same loca ton and to have held he same position for that length of ime is remarkable"
 WANT anz CENT A wou-