The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1909-01-09
rELEpHoNg NEws SERVICE
Rapidly Coming Into Use in Cases
Where Promptness is Essential.

With the presidential election near
ly two months past the excitement at
tending thereon has died away. But
there are stories and anecdotes con-
nected with the campaign that will
not die for many years.
Many OF these stories, and perhaps
majority, have to do with the get
ting of returns. Every instrument,
every news getting agency and every
being who is directly concerned in
getting results on election day and
night are kept on the qui vive.
Press associations, newspaper CORES
pondents, news tickers and every
news getting agency make supreme
efforts to be first in getting returns
before the public. The extent this
competition reaches, the intensity of
the rivalry and the means employed
to get the results first are hardly be-
lievable to one who has not, directly
or indirectly, been participant.
In the presidential election of 1908
this rivalry was unprecedented. The
utmost efforts were put forth and un-
usually large expenditures Of money
were made to score what in newspa-
| per parlance are known as beats" In
the late campaign the plum for the
most efficient, feasible and satisfac-
| tory way of getting complete and au-
thentic returns, went TO an agency
which few years ago was considered
impracticable and too expensive.
This agency was the telephone.
Some years ago the telephone COM
panies gave out their bulletins direct
In the large cities. In the last cleo
ton they gave them to newspapers,
who In turn. gave them to the public
over the telephone or on screens. In
THESE large cities extra stations and
| lines were installed in newspaper Of
fees without extra charge. The COM
pleteness and accuracy Of the tele-
lphone companies bulletins taken in
conjunction with the smooth manner
in which they handled the extra rush
of business have prompted the various
newspapers throughout the country
who enjoyed the benefit Of the ser
vice, to give liberal credit to the tel
ephone companies.
The Philadelphia Times, a new eve
II ing paper, In expressing its apprec.
iation says: This is the first time
we have received anything without
paying for ii since we have been in
business"
The Baltimore World says THE
(telephone) service was perfect anC
enabled us to put a more complete
extra" on the street by eight O'CLOCK
than ever before"
Although the bulletins of the tele
phone company were first at hand il
nearly every instance, the accuracy o
, the reports was not sacrificed to OBJ
tain this result In so far as possible
every bulletin was rightly censored
wildcat guesses, prophecies based OF
hearsay, etc, were eliminated. Con
; sequently the bulletins had real val
ne.
Department heads and traffic offic
ials of the telephone companies arr
eIated at the highly successful out
! come of this rigid test of their sys
| tenn. AS result of the work 1t per
, formed stacks of letters are CAREFUL,
! filed in executive Offices compliment
tary to the efficiency of the organiza
!, / tions.
The tests the telephone has beef
: subjected to would make interesting
reading. For instance, during tn
pennant winning games at Detroit las
fall the city was baseball mad Dun
} ing the last two weeks of the seasol
the enthusiasm of the fans" was bull
bling over with every game. The eli
max was reached on the pennant win
ming Tuesday, however The tele
phone exchanges were besieged witt
/. inquiries.
l To prepare for the emergency IN
. telephone companies organized bulie'
: In squads whose only duties were t
] answer baseball inquiries. The larg
I number of young ladies who compriS
3 ed these SQUADS handled in some case
5 over 1000 calls an hour, or, in othe
words. some operators handled abou
seven calls a minute, although eac
one insisted they handled three time
as many. One operator on that men
orable day handled, by actual coun
twenty-one calls a minute from an GU
side exchange, apparently without co
fusion. This was at the rate OF l2O
an hour.
These are but two instances out c
g many that are happening day afte
h day which prove that the telephon
: has become our most indispensable
servant 1t is becoming a necessit
In every home and office, whether
town, city or country. 1t Is lock-stel
ping with the progress at every stride
: These two instances also serve I
. Indicate the increased number OF pu
poses for which the telephone is use'
and also tends to show the depei
dence the general public places upo
1t.
But to get definite idea OF tn
growth in popularity of the telephon
. and the increase in the number in us
one should take note Of the growth Q
the Western Electric company, tn
principal manufacturers Of telephone
and telephone supplies In this ccour
TRY. In 1902 telephones shipped D
this company numbered one milliol
and quarter, In 1904 million am
a half and in 1906 two million and
quarter. an Increase in FIVE years OF
million telephones, or approximatel
over 500 per cent.