Omaha daily bee., 1910-01-02
BELLS TELEPHONE VISION
Complete Fulfillment of Inventors
Early Claims.
RIDICULED AS A UTOPIAN DREAM
what the Professor said About
h Device Thirty Years Ago
Makes Mighty interesting
cnding

Makes Mighty interesting
endIn
one evening last week there was held in
New York city a dinner in honor of the
directors of the Associated Press, ono OF
its features was the most interesting de-
velopment yet known in the possibilities of
the telephone. Each Of the eighty guests
found a telephone receiver at his table.
During tho evening Caruso and slesak sang
over the wire, and each guest, taking down
the receiver at his plate, could hear them.
Following this eminent men in Washing
ton-Commandor Peary. Andrew Carnegie.
Alexander Graham Bell and Admiral Ches-
tcr-dcIiyered speeches iato the car OF each
guest. Each speaker was go miles away.
In view Of this astonishing end success
full telephone experiment extraordinary in
! terest attaches to Alexander Graham Bells
view, expressed thirty years ago, OF the
possibilities Of the then new invention. In
"a paper addressed TO the members Of the
English company organized to introduce
the telephone in that country Prof. Bell
delivered a prospectus of the future of the
invention on March %, 1878, U. N, Bethel,
one of the leading telephone men OF the
country, was present at the dinner, and he
referred to this prospectus of Mr.. Bells.
1t is reproduced by the New York Times as
follows:
at has been suggested that at this, our
first meeting, / should lay before you a
few ideas concerning the future of the cleo
trio telephone, together with any sugges-
tions that occur to me in regard to the
best mode Of introducing the instrument to
the public.
Modest Claims.
"The telephone may be briefly described
as an electrical continuance for reproducing
in dIs,ant places the tones and a~rticula-
lions of a speakers voice so that CONVEX
sations can be carried on by word Of mouth
between persons in different rooms, in diff
ferent streets. or in different towns.
The great advantage it possesses over
every other form of electrical apparatus
consists in the fact that it requires no skill
to operate the instrument. All other tele-
graphic machines produce signals which re-
quire to be translated by experts, and such
instruments are, therefore, extremely linn
tied in their application, but the telephone
actually speaks, and for this reason it can
be utilized for nearly every purpose for
which speech is employed.
9Th chief obstacle to the universal use
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between distant points has been the skill
required to operate telegraphic instruments.
The invention of automatic printing. tele-
graphic dial instruments, etc. has materi-
ally reduced the amount OF skill required,
but has introduced q new element OF diff
Guilty In the shape of increased expense.
Simplicity of operation has been obtained
by complication of the parts of the ma
chine, so that such instruments are much
more expensive than those usually en-
ployed by skilled mechanics. The simple
and inexpensive nature of the telephone,
on the other hand, renders 1t possible to
connect every mans house, office, or man
ufactory with a central station so as to
give him the benefit of direct telephone
communication with his neighbors at a
cost not greater than that incurred by gas
or water.
Future Possibilities.
"At the present time we have a perfect
network of gas pipes and water pipes
throughout our large cities. We have
main pipes laid under the streets, COM
municating by side pipes, with the vari-
Gus dwellings, enabling the members to
draw their supplies Of gas and water from
a common source.
I'm a similar manner it is conceivable
that cables Of telephone wires could be
laid underground or suspended overhead,
communicating by branch wires with pri-
vate dwellings, country houses, shops,
manufactures, etc, uniting them through
the main cable with a central office where
the wire could be connected as desired, es-
tablishing direct communication between
any two places in the city. Such a plan
as this, though impracticaole at the pres
ent monent, will, l firmly believe, be the
outcome Of the Introduction of the tele-
phone to the public. Not only so, but L
believe in the future wires will unite the
head offices of telephone companies in
different cities, and q man III. one part of
the country may communicate by word of
mouth with another in a distant place.
Il am aware that such ideas may APP
pear to you Utopian and out Of place, for
we are met together for the purpose of
discussing not the future of the tele-
phone, but its present.
Believing, however, as 1 do that such
a scheme will be the ultimate result of
the telephone to the public, 1 will impress
upon you all the advisability of keeping
, this end in view, that all present arrange
= ments Of the telephone may be eventually
realized in this grand system.
? Leasing system Urged.
The plan usually presented in regard
, to private telegraphs is to lease such
lines to private individuals or to com
, panies at a fixed annual rental. This
plan should be adopted by you, but In
stead of erecting a line stretching directly
I from the one to another / would advise
4 you to bring the wires from the two points
to the office of the company and there
. connect them together; If this plan bt
e followed, a large number Of wires would
{ soon be centered in the telephone office
where they would be easily accessible FOL
testing purposes. In places remote from
the office of the company simple testing
boxes could be erected for the telephone
T wires of that neighborhood, and thes,
testing places could at any time be con
j. verted into central offices when the lesseel
e Of the telephone wires desired intercom