The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1927-12-27
BEAT STORM AS
TELEPHONE TO
MEXICO OPENS
Bell Engineers Restore Tor
nado- Wrecked Service, as
Presidents Prepare to Talk.

The story of how a sudden storm
putting telephone lines out of serv-
ice threatened to wreck the sched-
uled official opening of the Wash
ington-Mexico City tele p h e
service, and how telephone engin
GERS COPIED with the situation is
told in the November issue of the
New Jersey Bell Magazine.
In the Marble Hall OF the Ameri
cas- in the Pan American Union s
magnificent building at Washington
there assembled distinguished
gathering which included President
Coolidge and members of his cabi-
net, high military and naval Off
GERS, diplomats, and telephone
executives.
At the same time a brilliant as
semblage of distinguished guests,
headed by President Gales, gather
ed in the Salon of the Ambassadors
in the National Palace at Mexico
City,
Fluctuations and messages OF
goodwill were exchanged by the
two presidents and by officials OF
the American and International
Telephone and Telegraph Com
panies. Everything went off
smoothly as scheduled.
Preceding this ceremony, how
ever, there had been the usual
dress rehearsal. Everything went
we'll until the early afternoon of
the scheduled official opening the
men IN the control room at Wash
ington noticed a sharp change in
the voice of the man who was
maintaining a conversation with
Mexico City. His tone was be
coming louder:
Hello. Hello! Mexico City +.
Mex
Pies and sandwiches were
dropped unfinished as the men
rushed to their posts.
Both the emergency and the
regular circuits had been lost!
A catastrophe had taken place.
st. Louis had been devastated by
q tornado which had wiped out the
lines connecting Washington and
Mexico City,
No time was wasted in regrets
Within fifteen minutes other routes
We're being selected and plans
changed to meet the emergency.
Then took place one of the most
wonderful examples of team work
ever evidenced in an organization
noted for its cooperation.
More than 200 men leaped to
the job of creating new regular
and emergency circuit from Wash
ington to Texas Chicago was
asked to get through to Muskogee,
via Kansas City, to the original
circuit south of st. Louis. New
York was asked to cut a circuit
back through Washington TO At
ltanta, Birmingham and New Or
leans, and thence to Alexandria
and Shreveport, where it was con
nected with the original emergency
circuit. Through this circuit the
first contact with Mexico City, fol
lowing the break, was established
at 4~o'elock.
Meanwhile two other routes were
set up and the opening of the serv-
ice proceeded as scheduled.
BY q. recent decision of the OLie
Supreme Court legal instruments
may be acknowledged over the teie
phone ami documents acknowi
edged in this way are valid. The
decision was reached in the casi
of the Logan Oil and Gas Company
VS.. M. X. Wells and Wilbur Keith
of Cambridge, o. Keith had start
ed drilling for gas on farm which
was owned by Wells and the 10
gan Oil and Gas Company claimed
a lease. The defendants, however
held that the lease was invalid be
cause of it's recognition by tele
phone. When the case was tried
before Judge Turnbaugh he found
the lease to be valid and now the
Supreme Court has upheld Judge
Turnbaugh's decision.
o.