Norwich bulletin., 1916-02-22

WILLIAM A. SOMERS.
 The annual banquet of the Eastern Connecticut Development committee, an event anticipated for weeks past, was held in this city on Monday even- ing, when 250 business and profession al men, representing the five chambers of commerce in this ection of the state gathered at the Wauregan house to partal1e of the excellent banquet menu and to hear the highly interesting ad- dresses delivered by the several prom inent speakers.
 The arrangements for the banquet were made by the members of the to them is due the credit for the de- cided success of the event. The dec oration committee, L. M. Crandall, chairman, put in much time and thought in their work, the results of which were both novel and elaborate, a Washington birthday scheme being very effectively carried out. Small American flags at each cover gave the banquet tables a patriotic touch, and about the walls of the large dining room were large American flags and pictures of Washington. Beautiful baskets of flowers and ferns graced the tables.
 The delegations from the five towns in eastern Connecticut began to arrive early in the evening and were met at the Wauregan house by the reception committee.
 A few minutes after o'clock the guests filed into the large dining room and took seats at the long tables. Grace was said by Rev. c. J. Harri- man of Putnam, and then followed a 0P which was as folows:
 Grape F'ruit-Macedoine
 Cream of Asparagus Soup
 Flake Waters
 Gra-Rock Sparkling Ginger Ale Celery Assorted Nuts Olives
 Cigarettes
 F'ilIet of sole-Lobster Sauce
 Bermuda New Potatoes
 Salad a Chicory Roast Philadelphia Capon
 Sage Dressing
 Wild Cranberry Sauce
 Green Peas
 Dinner Rolls
 Strawberries and Cream
 Assorted Cake
 Roqueford Chees Butter Crackers
 Demi Tasse Cigars
 During the banquet F. c. Wrights Singing orchestra provided concert programme of popular selections, in cluding many patriotic airs. Rev. J. Romeyn Danforth, Toastmast- Rev. J. Romeyn Danforth of New London presided as toastmaster and Joseph T. Cruttenden of New London, president of the Eastern Connecticut Development committee, the first ,1-o, T l.. come to all in behalf of the develop ment committee. Although brief, his remarks were listened to with very cloes attention and as he resumed his seat he was loudly applauded.
 In Behalf of the Norwich Chamber. welcome in behalf of the Nor wich Chamber of Commerce was given by William A. Somers, the pres ident MT. Somers said: Tt is a great ident of the Norwich Chamber of Commerce, to welcome you here this evening.
 q am sorry that the banquet hall is not large enough to accommodate all the members who desired to be with us..
 "The Chamber of Commerce two years ago, was composed of a small organized body of business men. To- day it is the largest civic body in Norwich.
 "Those same business men, who. by worl1ing-Boosting everything that was good for Norwich, have increas- ed their membership to PTS. I trust this banquet will always remain in your memory as a delightful even ing spent in Norwich.'
 The next speaker, His Honor Timo- thy c. Murphy, extended the freedom of the city to all.
 The Telephone Demonstration. Then came the rans-continental | telephone demonstration which proved one of the features of the banquet Just before the connections were made with the western cities W. F. l Schmidt, of New York, lectured for | the Trans-Continental Telephone demonstration and gave a talk on | The Triumph of Science.
 The Triumph of Science.
 MT. Schmidt's talk was accompanied by ininteresting views taken along the route of the original transcontinentaI line. This talk was of a historical nature and exceedingly appropriate He took his hearers back to the early l days of telephony, when there was nothing short of two telephone in- | struments, crude as they were which were used by Alexander Graham Bell | and Thomas Watson in our neigh | bor state, Massachusetts, when in the 1 year 1876 Alexander Graham Bell in- | vented the telephone in Boston. In referring to the growtSS of the telephone industry in less than forty years, the speaker remarked that the | first few feet of wire through the progressiveness of the Bell system | had been sthetched forth to over 21,- | 000,000 miles and that the original room to room communication mas been extended to over 70, 1000 cities and 1 towns, villages and hamlets Joined to- gether by innumerable highways and byaways of telephone speech. In less than forty years the first receiving and transmitting instruments had been multiplied by the Bell system so Il al today the United States with but six per cent. of the worlds pop Ulat;cn has over fifty-four per cent of the worlds telephones Interesting History. | MT. Schmidt led his hearers down l through years from the days of the