Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-26


now more than 100000 in use
in the United States. Talk over wires
has increased to such an extent that
| the companies which keep account OF
their messages show a total of about
| 100000 900 conversations a year, and
these constitute only about half OF the
total number of messages.
1t Is said that the Bell Telephone
company added 1000 instruments day
to its service during 1909, and that the
| Independent companies did equally
well, if not better. New York has
| 250000 telephones and Chicago 1SOO0O.
| The exchanges of the latter city are
the busiest in the world. They average
twenty-five conversations on, each line
a day. or about 100000 messages each
versation is said to be 200 words long,
so that the total number of words spo-
ken over Chicago telephones in a day
would fill 1900 ordinary sized books.
The wireless telephone is being per-
fected gradually. and inventors conf
IDENTIFY predict that the next ten years
will see remarkable progress in voice
transmission. AS the telegraph was
the forerunner of the telephone, and
the wireless telegraph the harbinger
of the wireless telephone, so it is be-
lieYed that picture transmission by
wire and wireless will be followed by
actual seeing by wire. 1t is predicted
that people of this generation may yet
behold the person at the other end of
| the line when they use the telephone.
Train dispatching by telephone is be-
ing adopted by many important rail-
| roads, and in the recent eastern biz
zard it proved a last resort in the
handling of trains. Between Rochester
and Syracuse the New York Central
did not have single telegraph line in
operation. In spite of the fact that the
telephone wires were crossed in two
places and further interfered with by
the breakdown of the Niagara Power
companys high tension transmission
line. they were able to perform passa-
BILE service. The same was true on
the Delaware division of the Pennsyl-
vania railroad. While the telephone
wires were crossed and broken, the op-
orators were still able to talk the en-
tire length of the division. The rail-
road officials stated afterwards that
but for the telephone not a wheel
could have been moved until the tel
egraph wires were repaired.
President Taft has one of the big
gest telephone booths ever made. Not
only is 1t roomy enough for him. but
his stenographer can enter it with him
1t is finished in a way that makes il
notable piece of cabinet making,
The White House has one of the best
branch telephone systems ever in
stalled. In addition to the public sys-
tenn, there is a private system, which
leads to the capitol and the various
executive departments, over which the
confidential business of the govern
ment is transacted. Uncle Sam is the
worlds greatest user of the telephone
In the past the government was given
a fiat rate for its business; today it is
charged so much per message, and
the government clerk cannot use the
telephone for his own private business
except by resorting to pay stations
Even when a subscriber calls up a
clerk, he must leave his number and
have the clerk go to the pay station
and call him. In this way the Wash
ington telephone company gets double
pay for many of it's messages.
The automatic telephone exchange
has been on trial for some time and
has proved such a success that several
concerns in America are now manu-
featuring such equipment. On this
exchange each subscriber is able to
W
is no chance for back talk. On the
subscribers apparatus there is a clock
like affair with ten holes in it's face,
numbered from zero to nine. When
person wishes to call 1862, for in
stance, he takes the receiver from the
hook, puts his finger in hole and ro-
tates the disk as far as it will go, then
permits it to return automatically to
it's normal position. He repeats the
same operation for each of the three
other numbers. The connection is
made through the selective principle
used in party line service. When it
has been established and the CONVEX
sation is concluded, hanging the. re-
ceiver on the hook disconnects the
telephone and the subscriber is ready
to call up another person. 1t is so
arranged that no one can ring in on
the conversation. The switchboard is
always in service, and the subscriber
can be sure there has been no indif-
ference to his call,
Norwegian fishermen are using a
new telephone apparatus to de-
tect the coming of a shoal of fish.
The instrument is inclosed in a water
tight box and submerged in the sea.
1t is connected with a receiver in the
boat. and the listener can hear the