the history of the telephone-第1章

按键盘上方向键 ← 或 → 可快速上下翻页，按键盘上的 Enter 键可回到本书目录页，按键盘上方向键 ↑ 可回到本页顶部！
————未阅读完？加入书签已便下次继续阅读！




The　History　of　the　Telephone

by　Herbert　N。　Casson





PREFACE


Thirty…five　short　years；　and　presto！　the　newborn　art　of　telephony　is　fullgrown。　Three　million　telephones　are　now　scattered　abroad　in　foreign　countries；　and　seven　millions　are　massed　here；　in　the　land　of　its　birth。

So　entirely　has　the　telephone　outgrown　the　ridicule　with　which；　as　many　people　can　well　remember；　it　was　first　received；　that　it　is　now　in　most　places　taken　for　granted；　as　though　it　were　a　part　of　the　natural　phenomena　of　this　planet。　It　has　so　marvellously　extended　the　facilities　of　conversationthat　〃art　in　which　a　man　has　all　mankind　for　competitors〃that　it　is　now　an　indispensable　help　to　whoever　would　live　the　convenient　life。　The　disadvantage　of　being　deaf　and　dumb　to　all　absent　persons；　which　was　universal　in　pre…telephonic　days；　has　now　happily　been　overcome；　and　I　hope　that　this　story　of　how　and　by　whom　it　was　done　will　be　a　welcome　addition　to　American　libraries。

It　is　such　a　story　as　the　telephone　itself　might　tell；　if　it　could　speak　with　a　voice　of　its　own。　It　is　not　technical。　It　is　not　statistical。　It　is　not　exhaustive。　It　is　so　brief；　in　fact；　that　a　second　volume　could　readily　be　made　by　describing　the　careers　of　telephone　leaders　whose　names　I　find　have　been　omitted　unintentionally　from　this　booksuch　indispensable　men；　for　instance；　as　William　R。　Driver；　who　has　signed　more　telephone　cheques　and　larger　ones　than　any　other　man；　Geo。　S。　Hibbard；　Henry　W。　Pope；　and　W。　D。　Sargent；　three　veterans　who　know　telephony　in　all　its　phases；　George　Y。　Wallace；　the　last　survivor　of　the　Rocky　Mountain　pioneers；　Jasper　N。　Keller；　of　Texas　and　New　England；　W。　T。　Gentry；　the　central　figure　of　the　Southeast；　and　the　following　presidents　of　telephone　companies：　Bernard　E。　Sunny；　of　Chicago；　E。　B。　Field；　of　Denver；　D。　Leet　Wilson；　of　Pittsburg；　L。　G。　Richardson；　of　Indianapolis；　Caspar　E。　Yost；　of　Omaha；　James　E。　Caldwell；　of　Nashville；　Thomas　Sherwin；　of　Boston；　Henry　T。　Scott；　of　San　Francisco；　H。　J。　Pettengill；　of　Dallas；　Alonzo　Burt；　of　Milwaukee；　John　Kil…　gour；　of　Cincinnati；　and　Chas。　S。　Gleed；　of　Kansas　City。

I　am　deeply　indebted　to　most　of　these　men　for　the　information　which　is　herewith　presented；　and　also　to　such　pioneers；　now　dead；　as　O。　E。　Madden；　the　first　General　Agent；　Frank　L。　Pope；　the　noted　electrical　expert；　C。　H。　Haskins；　of　Milwaukee；　George　F。　Ladd；　of　San　Francisco；　and　Geo。　F。　Durant；　of　St。　Louis。

H。　N。　C。　PINE　HILL；　N。　Y。；　June　1；　1910。



CONTENTS


CHAPTER　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　I　　　　THE　BIRTH　OF　THE　TELEPHONE

II　　　THE　BUILDING　OF　THE　BUSINESS

III　　THE　HOLDING　OF　THE　BUSINESS

IV　　　THE　DEVELOPMENT　OF　THE　ART

V　　　　THE　EXPANSION　OF　THE　BUSINESS　

VI　　　NOTABLE　USERS　OF　THE　TELEPHONE　

VII　THE　TELEPHONE　AND　NATIONAL　EFFICIENCY

VIII　THE　TELEPHONE　IN　FOREIGN　COUNTRIES

IX　THE　FUTURE　OF　THE　TELEPHONE




THE　HISTORY　OF　THE　TELEPHONE



CHAPTER　I

THE　BIRTH　OF　THE　TELEPHONE

In　that　somewhat　distant　year　1875；　when　the　telegraph　and　the　Atlantic　cable　were　the　most　wonderful　things　in　the　world；　a　tall　young　professor　of　elocution　was　desperately　busy　in　a　noisy　machine…shop　that　stood　in　one　of　the　narrow　streets　of　Boston；　not　far　from　Scollay　Square。　It　was　a　very　hot　afternoon　in　June；　but　the　young　professor　had　forgotten　the　heat　and　the　grime　of　the　workshop。　He　was　wholly　absorbed　in　the　making　of　a　nondescript　machine；　a　sort　of　crude　harmonica　with　a　clock…spring　reed；　a　magnet；　and　a　wire。　It　was　a　most　absurd　toy　in　appearance。　It　was　unlike　any　other　thing　that　had　ever　been　made　in　any　country。　The　young　professor　had　been　toiling　over　it　for　three　years　and　it　had　constantly　baffled　him；　until；　on　this　hot　afternoon　in　June；　1875；　he　heard　an　almost　inaudible　sounda　faint　TWANGcome　from　the　machine　itself。

For　an　instant　he　was　stunned。　He　had　been　expecting　just　such　a　sound　for　several　months；　but　it　came　so　suddenly　as　to　give　him　the　sensation　of　surprise。　His　eyes　blazed　with　delight；　and　he　sprang　in　a　passion　of　eagerness　to　an　adjoining　room　in　which　stood　a　young　mechanic　who　was　assisting　him。

〃Snap　that　reed　again；　Watson；〃　cried　the　apparently　irrational　young　professor。　There　was　one　of　the　odd…looking　machines　in　each　room；　so　it　appears；　and　the　two　were　connected　by　an　electric　wire。　Watson　had　snapped　the　reed　on　one　of　the　machines　and　the　professor　had　heard　from　the　other　machine　exactly　the　same　sound。　It　was　no　more　than　the　gentle　TWANG　of　a　clock…spring；　but　it　was　the　first　time　in　the　history　of　the　world　that　a　complete　sound　had　been　carried　along　a　wire；　reproduced　perfectly　at　the　other　end；　and　heard　by　an　expert　in　acoustics。

That　twang　of　the　clock…spring　was　the　first　tiny　cry　of　the　newborn　telephone；　uttered　in　the　clanging　din　of　a　machine…shop　and　happily　heard　by　a　man　whose　ear　had　been　trained　to　recognize　the　strange　voice　of　the　little　newcomer。　There；　amidst　flying　belts　and　jarring　wheels；　the　baby　telephone　was　born；　as　feeble　and　helpless　as　any　other　baby；　and　〃with　no　language　but　a　cry。〃

The　professor…inventor；　who　had　thus　rescued　the　tiny　foundling　of　science；　was　a　young　Scottish　American。　His　name；　now　known　as　widely　as　the　telephone　itself；　was　Alexander　Graham　Bell。　He　was　a　teacher　of　acoustics　and　a　student　of　electricity；　possibly　the　only　man　in　his　generation　who　was　able　to　focus　a　knowledge　of　both　subjects　upon　the　problem　of　the　telephone。　To　other　men　that　exceedingly　faint　sound　would　have　been　as　inaudible　as　silence　itself；　but　to　Bell　it　was　a　thunder…clap。　It　was　a　dream　come　true。　It　was　an　impossible　thing　which　had　in　a　flash　become　so　easy　that　he　could　scarcely　believe　it。　Here；　without　the　use　of　a　battery；　with　no　more　electric　current　than　that　made　by　a　couple　of　magnets；　all　the　waves　of　a　sound　had　been　carried　along　a　wire　and　changed　back　to　sound　at　the　farther　end。　It　was　absurd。　It　was　incredible。　It　was　something　which　neither　wire　nor　electricity　had　been　known　to　do　before。　But　it　was　true。

No　discovery　has　ever　been　less　accidental。　It　was　the　last　link　of　a　long　chain　of　discoveries。　It　was　the　result　of　a　persistent　and　deliberate　search。　Already；　for　half　a　year　or　longer；　Bell　had　known　the　correct　theory　of　the　telephone；　but　he　had　not　realized　that　the　feeble　undulatory　current　generated　by　a　magnet　was　strong　enough　for　the　transmission　of　speech。　He　had　been　taught　to　undervalue　the　incredible　efficiency　of　electricity。

Not　only　was　Bell　himself　a　teacher　of　the　laws　of　speech；　so　highly　skilled　that　he　was　an　instructor　in　Boston　University。　His　father；　also；　his　two　brothers；　his　uncle；　and　his　grandfather　had　taught　the　laws　of　speech　in　the　universities　of　Edinburgh；　Dublin；　and　London。　For　three　generations　the　Bells　had　been　professors　of　the　science　of　talking。　They　had　even　helped　to　create　that　science　by　several　inven…　tions。　The　first　of　them；　Alexander　Bell；　had　invented　a　system　for　the　correction　of　stammering　and　similar　defects　of　speech。　The　second；　Alexander　Melville　Bell；　was　the　dean　of　British　elocutionists；　a　man　of　creative　brain　and　a　most　impressive　facility　of　rhetoric。　He　was　the　author　of　a　dozen　text…books　on　the　art　of　speaking　correctly；　and　also　of　a　most　ingenious　sign…language　which　he　called　〃Visible　Speech。〃　Every　letter　in　the　alphabet　of　this　language　represented　a　certain　action　of　the　lips　and　tongue；　so　that　a　new　method　was　provided　for　those　who　wished　to　learn　foreign　languages　or　to　speak　their　own　language　more　correctly。　And　the　third　of　these　speech…improving　Bells；　the　inventor　of　the　telephone；　inherited　the　peculiar　genius　of　his　fathers；　both　inventive　and　rhetorical；　to　such　a　degree　that　as　a　boy　he　had　constructed　an　artificial　skull；　from　gutta…percha　and　India　rubber；　which；　when　enlivened　by　a　blast　of　air　from　a　hand…bellows；　would　actually　pronounce　several　words　in　an　almost　human　manner。

The　third　Bell；　the　only　one　of　this　remarkable　family　who　concerns　us　at　this　time；　was　a　young　man；　barely　twenty…eight；　at　the　time　when　his　ear　caught　the　first　cry　of　the　telephone。　But　he　was　already　a　man　of　some　note　on　his　own　account。　He　had　been　educated　in　Edinburgh；　the　c