Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-04-04

The Telephone News of current is
sue contains picture and sketch of
j. Heron Crosman, Jr, of the Bell
Telephone Company, formerly res
idcnt of Harrisburg, veteran OF
the Spanish American War and well
known throughout Pennsylvania. Ihe
sketch is published in connection
with Mr.. Crosman's twcnty-hfth an
niVersary of his connection with the
Bell He is now general commerclal
superintendent of the company with
headquarters in Philadelphia.
The News has this to say of him:
"In March of 1894, the Pennsylvania
Telephone Company found itself WIN
out "A secretary
1t will be remembered that that
Company, the predecessor of the Bell
uf-Pennsylvana in the central por-
tion of the State, with headquarters
at Harris burg, was one of the more
fiourishinG units of what was III 1854
taking form as the national BeIl TEL
ephone System, a system whlch then
boasted of something like three nun
dred thousand telephones throughout
the country and daily traffic only
bit larger than the present combined
Thiladelphia and Pittsburgh volumes
on a busy day.
\ few miles down the river at
Steelton, one of the open hearth tur-
naces of the Pennsylvania Steel Com
.pany was at that time under the
scharge of a young fellow VINO snort
" before had turned. from the camp
us at New Haven and set forth west
ward to grapple with his first busl-
ness venture.
"A contact was eventually brousht
about between the telephone JOB ana
o.
man, Jr., was established as financial
officer OF the Pennsylvania Tele-
phone Company just on the eve of
period of years that marked the re-
dlly critical epoch of the business
throughout Pennsylvania and the
entire East.
since that time Mr. Crosman has
been one of us, without even tenn
porary break in his period of Bell
se"y ice save during the Spanish War
when as member of the L. >. VOL
untecr Troop, Pennsylvania Cavalry.
he was with the Colors for the period
of hostilitics, participating in the
Porto Rican campaign.
MANY of US vividly recall the wave
of telephone competition that swept
over this territory in the late nine
ties-and central Pennsylvania was
the very hotbed of the movement.
During this period the treasurer
of the Pennsylvania Company was
continuously lin the saddle Life
with the Bell leaders was both siren
uous and exciting. 1t was veri-
able battle for existence. That
splendid uphill fight is green to-day
in the memory of Pennsylvania "tele-
phone men.
"ln 1902 Mr.. Crosman was elected
secretary and auditor of the Com
pany, and in 1908, at the time of the
Bell-of- -pcnnsylVania consolidation,
as division manager of Harrisburg
division assisted in the remodelinG
Of the organization in Central Penn
sylvania to the so-Called functional
type. No better evidence of the
fruits of that work and of his broad,
vigorous administration OF CONNER
cisl policy are to be found than in
the striking growth that marked this
period despite obstacles that are now
historic with US.
I'm 1912 Mr.. Crosman came to Phil
adelphia as general commercial su-
perintcndent of our associated COM
panies, and in that office celebrates
his twenty-hfth anniversary with the
Bell system.
I'm expressing to him our congrat-
ulatiOns the Telephone News, speak
ing for the whole crowd of us, pays
very hearty tribute to him on many
scores. Above and beyond his splen-
did accomplishments for the business
and correlatively for us all-he is