The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1923-03-16

KNOWN as Inc SLrOWB6r Automatic
Telephone System. The basic pat
ents underlying all of the automatic
telephone development that has
taken place since that time. Mr..
Stronger had the same difficulties
Everybody scoffed at his automatic
telephone and told him to go back
to his undertaking business. He
talked to everybody he could but
they only tapped their foreheads
and said Poor man he has lost his
mind" At last he found listner
| who was sold on the idea and be-
lieved that the undertaken had
something that would revolutionize
the telephone industry. He agreed to
| finance and organize the Automatic
Telephone so that It would become
a reality. This man was Joseph Har-
| ris Of Chicago and he has been the
moving spirit In the developing Of
the Automatic System.
They opened an office In Chicago
and enlisted the services Of a young
electrician from Baltimore by the
name of Keith, who was sold on the
idea. These three men worked
eighteen hours a day from 1880 to
1892, when they installed their first
1
city of Laporte, Ind. They had
made every sacridc to make, their
venture success. Can you picture
them that night in the switch room
In Lapofte when the exchange was
cut into service, tears were stream
ing down their cheeks when they
realized that their invention was q
success. That was the beginning OF
the automatic telephone, very crude
1t was requiring eighteen operations
to complete a connection. Since
then many improvements have ia
ken place and today the automatic
Is in service all over the civilized
world. ."
Growth of Industry
When Bells telephone was in
vented or when Strowger's Auto
matte was put in operation sixteen
the telephone industry would grow
to fits present proportions. Little
did anyone think that during the
span Of generation 1t would grow
from mere toy to an essential in
dustry, uniting our social and com
mercial activities.
| Statistics are usually dry and
uninteresting, but I think you will
be interested in knowing something
of the size of this industry of ours,
The report Of the bureau OF census
for 1917, which Is the last official
report, stated that there were SO, 23A
telephone organizations in the
United States. December 81, 1922
It was estimated there were over
ia, 800, 900 telephones in operation
In this country, one for every seven
persons; more than $50 of all the
telephones in the world. These tele-.
phones are connected by upwards of
So, 900 900 miles Of wire enough to
60 around the world at the equator
1900 times or span the distance to
the moon 107 times. Two billion
dollars are invested in the business
or at the rate of $500 per minute
since the dawn of the Christian
era. Last year there were more
than twenty-five billion converse
tions held over the wires OF our
systems in this country. Not long
ago during a talk / was giving to a
class at the Lincoln school, gave
this figure of twenty two billion
conversations. I asked boy sitting
in the front row. How much was a
billion?> After stammering for a
while he said, one hundred million.
said; splendid and thanked him.
At that litter started In the room.
After a pause, said: DO you know
why I agreed that 100 million was g
billion? No one answered, SO
told them that it made very little
difference as the amount was SO
large that it was beyond our com :
prehension to grasp II.
"a few seats away sat girl who
had giggled considerably. l said to
her, Young lady, can you tell me
how many minutes have elapsed
since the birth OF Christi She did
not answer nor did she giggle.
then told her that IL she would take
the time to figure it out some time
when the blackboards were not in
use, she would find that approxim
ately one billion minutes have elaps-
ed since Christ was born. The tele-
phone users of this country talked
more than twenty-five times that
amount over the wires last year.
This gives us some idea of the big
ness of the telephone industry and
the end is not in sight. We are
obliged to sell more than 200 million
dollars worth of new securities each
year to take care OF new demands
growth Of over 100000 telephones
1
Speaking of securities, 1t is well
to remember that every third per-
son we meet is either directly or in :
directly a stakeholder in telephone
or other public utility. Considering
this tremendous traffic of local and
long distance calls, can you think of
anything that Is not told over the
telephone? An operator sitting at
her switchboard. throws one key and
she hears something that makes her
laugh. on another she may hear
something which makes her fee:
quite opposite. Messages of every
conceivable kind, some OF Joy, some
of sorrow, some that bring success to
J one, failure to another. We hear of
law suits being tried by telephone,
people being married and games be-
being conducted by telephone. Our
subscribers depend upon the tele-
phone for business also for soclai
purposes. for protection they depend
upon 1t for all kinds Of emergencies.
But unfortunately for themselves
and for the Company they have little
understanding as to the Importance
or value Of the service they are re-
ceiving, or how much service is fur
nished. And II is for that reason that
we in the business must do two
things. First, Every employee must
be taught the necessity of always re-
ceiving the public with utmost cour-
tesy and consideration. The girl at