The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1909-09-01

lion of whose instruments are in use in
the United States, has secured the con
tract
These are to be government tele-
phones. Before deciding on so moment
Gus step the Chinese government sent
officials to this country, investigated, de-
liberated and delayed. 1t was not until
Wednesday, August 4th. that the West
ern Electric Company's expert depart
ment received from Pelkin a cablegram
stating that the contract had been
signed.
Heretofore almost nothing in the way
of telephone development has been &C
complished in China. There have been
telephones in only a few of the cities,
and these largely in the foreign quar-
tiers, which were served by small out-of-
date systems. The two switchboards
sold by the Western Electric Company to
the government are the first common
battery boards in the entire empire, yet
China has an estimated population of
over 4OO,OOO,OO0. Our own country, with
a population but one-fifth as large, has
about six and a half million telephones
and more than 1000 telephone exchanges
larger than the two intended for Pekin,
besides fully 5000 smaller switchboards
installed in the smaller cities and towns.
This gives some idea of the magnitude
of the field still to be opened in the far
East.
Learning of the specifications for the
proposed Pekin exchanges, the Western
Electric Company sent a special ennis
sary to China. So did Siemens and Hal
ske, the great German concern; so did
the Ericsson interests. 1t was another
international invasion of China. The
prize was we'll worth striving for, in
volving for the successful company a
foothold in a field entirely undeveloped
and promising wonderful things in the
future
The upheaval in Chinese governmental
affairs caused by the death of the EN-
peror quickly followed by the mysteri-
Il 4 II
the succession of the regency, delayed
official action on the telephone contract.
That is one of the reasons why the con-
tract has only just been let.
have been ordered, this is considered as
but the beginning of a system that will
eventually be fully developed through
out China; in fact, orders for similar
Canton and Hankow are being held pend
ing the completion of the work at the
capital city of Pekin. Last fall Mr.. F.
III. Dressing, foreign advisor to the Board
of Communications, and Mr.. WI, secre-
tary to the board, while on an American
tour, visited the Western Electric Com
pany. and made known the intention of
the Chinese government to develop the
nese commissioners visited this country
inspected the telephone parts of the large
telephone manufacturers and made rec
concentrations to their government
Wnlcn resulted IN the placing or the
Pekin order with the Western Electric
Company.
The order amounts to about $3.50,
and covers a complete telephone plant of
the most modern type, including several
hundred thousand feet of lead covered
aerial and underground cable. The con-
tract calls for complete delivery at Tien
Tsin by February 3rd, 1910, allowing but
six months for manufacturing and deliv-
ing to the Chinese government. The work
of installation will be done under the
supervision of one of the Western Elec-
trio engineers, who will be sent to Pekin
for that purpose.
The American invasion of Pekin re-
calls the similar exploit of this company
in Paris last fall. When the Gutenberg
exchange, handling the service of the
business section of the French capital
was burned down, European makers hest
tated about supplying new switchboard
because of the time limit imposed by the
government. 1t was tremendous task
but the American company stepped into
the breach and delivered the goods
The board was made at Hawthorne, Just
outside of Chicago, shipped across the
country, conveyed to France and accept.
ed, all within sixty days. It was an OBJ
ject lesson for foreign makers.