Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1915-02-03

''Hdlo," a marvellous tale Of miracle
working. Of heroic struggle and sublime
achievement. Few men have seen so
great . dream come true, probably no
two men before, in all the history of the
worlds discoveries and inventions, ever
lived to sec such magnificent results from
work in which they had been the pio-
neers. Hardened telephone users as all
of those present were, and accustomed to
big events as most of them were, a hush
that was tinged with awe, an almost sol
emn silencey fell on the assemblage as the
great inventor talked to his associate.
Every one felt that he was taking part
in an epoch making event. that, in the flu
turs, school children would be made tn
learn January twenty fifth as one of the
big dates in the worlds scientific, COM
mercial and political history, one that
ranked with that other day when What
wonders hath God wrought" was flashed
over Morse's wire.
In the Space of q Lifetime
Most wonderful OF all, perhaps in the
minds OF those present at the opening of
the new line was the fact that this
achievement, the browning glory of 80
vast and complex a system, had taken
place within the space Of a mans life
time. On March 10th, 1870, Professor
Bell, working away at tho simple tele-
phone he had invented, called to his COM
rade, Mr.. Watson, come here, l want
you," and Watson heard that first Of all
telephone messages over the wire. In
New York on January 25th, 1915, the
same voice was talking and, in San Fran
cisco, the same ear was listening, as on
that spring day thrty-eight years ago,
but under what different conditions!
Then the struggling young inventor and
his associate had Just succeeded in pro-
ducing the only telephone in the world
and in talking over a few feet of wire
Ahead OF them were years OF ridicule for
their invention, Indifference to their
plans and opposition TO their efforts. On
this other great day they saw their simple
cOntrivance as part of vast system join
ing together the country's greatest and
most distant cities and serving the uses
OF l00,O00000 people Not many men
have seen so great a fulfllment of their
early ambitions, no other invention has
ever taken so great a stride i'll 50 brief
n time.
1t has been a tremendous stride, for
when Bell invented that first feeble re.
ceiver, it was the beginning of tele
phones. There had been nothing like it
1t was creation-as far as scientific
apparatus was concerned, it was made
out of nothing. More than that, this
crude instrument-just capable of trans
uniting speech the length of room
was all Bell gave to the art of tele
phony, but it was enough. The American
Telephone & Telegraph Company and its
associated companies have done the rest.
Tho DnoJ D.,I,Ia.~.
Just what this "rest" means can be
fully appreciated by those only who
know the difficulties to be overcome by
the telephone engineer and the subtlety
and delicacy of the forces with which he
has to deal. The very minuteness of
things makes his task herculean. Instead
OF having to figure on immense weights
and masses, he is baflled by infinitesi-
mally small fractions. His energies are
devoted to conservation, and conservation
OF the most intense kind.