The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1921-11-01
THE TELEPHONE:
AND ITS GROWTH
IN THIS SECTION
Number of Telephones in Ben
nington Exchange is 1854
INVENTED As YEARS AGO
First Telephone Line Was Set
Up Here In 1878 and In 1882
Only Three Were In Use

Inc development OF tile science OF
the telephone has always proved an
interesting story The telephone was
o discovery rather than an invention,
in as much as it was an entirely new
applcation or electricity. There are
few inventions or discoveries tlat are
fundamental, the discovery of the
telephone was one or them. The
struggle of Alexander Graham Bell.
before he realized his dream, are fu-,
Of romance.
Professor Bells co-adjutor in per
fecting his invention was Thomas A.
Watson, who heard the first words
ever spoken over the telephone. Few
people can remember the first words
they ever heard over the telephone,
but 1t Is unlikely that this man wiz
ever forget the "Mr. Watson, come
here; want you" that came to him
family over a wire in the building at
109 Court street, Boston, Mass. on
that memorable day in March 1876.
Nor Is it likely that these two same
men, who, thirty-nine years later par,
tlcipated in the opening of the line
from New York to San Francisco, Mir
Bell being at New York and Mr.. Wat
son at San Francisco, will forget the
particular words exchanged Of this
line of $500 miles in length.
The early Gays OF the telephone in
dustry were indeed full of trouble
The business was totally unlike any
other and so could not be guided by
precedent. There were no experts,
no authorities. Fortunately there
came into the work almost at the be-
ginning Theodore ~ Vail, man of
vision and also possessing wonderful
executive ability with the exception
: OF a few years Wen he was Engaged
In other enterprises. Mr. Vail, until
his death, April 16, 1920, was at the
head of the American Bell interests.
When the telephone was born. cleo
trio light and power circuits were Nh.
known, but with their advent, troubl-
GUS times for the telephone had also
arrived. Instead of one wire, ground
ed at each end, it soon became neces.
sary to parallel every wire with an
other. in order to avoid noises in
dnced from these high potential cir
cults, which noises sometime rem
dered conversation impossible But
the multiplication of these wires soon
loaded the poles in the streets Of the
large cities till they could carry no
more. and there was no room in the
streets for more poles. Roofs OF
business blocks had become net
work OF wires. There being no more
space over head, there was but one
solution of this difficulty: to bury the
wires. After long and expensive ex-
periments, the telephone cable was
evolved and has been perfected until
now cables with 2400 wires all insu-
lated from each other by paper
corning enclosed within q lead sheath,
OF q total diameter of SIS inches
are used. These cables are run in
conduits OF vitrlfed pipe laid in
cement. Man holes are placed at in
tervals OF 500 to 1000 feet, which al
ford means of drawing in cables from
immense reels and also for splicing
and testing the wires.
Placing the wires underground in
yolyed an enormous expense, but the
outlay was necessary in order to keep
abreast with the public demand for
telephone service The problem, en-
t'rely unanticipated at first was met
and overcome.
At the head Of the engineering de-
rartment OF the American Telephone
and Telegraph System is John }. Car
~, who has had 4 more prominent
part In development than perhaps
any other individual. He is now one
of t.ae foremost electrical eng .neers
in the world He has received the
highest honors possible in his pro-
fession, not only in America, but IN
foreign countries as well and has
been decorated with medals galore.
In the recent war, Mr.. Carly was
commissioned as colonel, and was in
charge OF construction and operation
Of all telephone and telegraph COM
munication OF the American forces
abroad. He received the Distin-
guished Service Medal at the hands
of General Pershing and also the in
sigma of the Legion of Honor from
the French Government.
The year 1900 may be considered to
have marked q very important perioG-
in the development of telephony for
with that year came the announce
men of the brilliant invention of Pro-
lessor Pupin of Columbia University
that startled the electrical world 1t
was ire so called "loading" of the
,viros h,, Tho ;ntrnduction of coils Mt