the history of the telephone-第16章

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This　young　man；　a　small；　slim　youth　who　was　twenty…two　years　old　and　looked　younger；　was　no　other　than　J。　J。　Carty；　now　the　first　of　telephone　engineers　and　almost　the　creator　of　his　profession。　Three　years　earlier　he　had　timidly　asked　for　a　job　as　operator　in　the　Boston　exchange；　at　five　dollars　a　week；　and　had　shown　such　an　aptitude　for　the　work　that　he　was　soon　made　one　of　the　captains。　At　thirty　years　of　age　he　became　a　central　figure　in　the　development　of　the　art　of　telephony。

What　Carty　has　done　is　known　by　telephone　men　in　all　countries；　but　the　story　of　Carty　himself　who　he　is；　and　whyis　new。　First　of　all；　he　is　Irish；　pure　Irish。　His　father　had　left　Ireland　as　a　boy　in　1825。　During　the　Civil　War　his　father　made　guns　in　the　city　of　Cambridge；　where　young　John　Joseph　was　born；　and　afterwards　he　made　bells　for　church　steeples。　He　was　instinctively　a　mechanic　and　proud　of　his　calling。　He　could　tell　the　weight　of　a　bell　from　the　sound　of　it。　Moses　G。　Farmer；　the　electrical　inventor；　and　Howe；　the　creator　of　the　sewing…machine；　were　his　friends。

At　five　years　of　age；　little　John　J。　Carty　was　taken　by　his　father　to　the　shop　where　the　bells　were　made；　and　he　was　profoundly　impressed　by　the　magical　strength　of　a　big　magnet；　that　picked　up　heavy　weights　as　though　they　were　feathers。　At　the　high　school　his　favorite　study　was　physics；　and　for　a　time　he　and　another　boy　named　Rolfenow　a　distinguished　man　of　sciencecarried　on　electrical　experiments　of　their　own　in　the　cellar　of　the　Rolfe　house。　Here　they　had　a　〃Tom　Thumb〃　telegraph；　a　telephone　which　they　had　ventured　to　improve；　and　a　hopeless　tangle　of　wires。　Whenever　they　could　afford　to　buy　more　wires　and　batteries；　they　went　to　a　near…by　store　which　supplied　electrical　apparatus　to　the　professors　and　students　of　Harvard。　This　store；　with　its　workshop　in　the　rear；　seemed　to　the　two　boys　a　veritable　wonderland；　and　when　Carty；　a　youth　of　eighteen；　was　compelled　to　leave　school　because　of　his　bad　eyesight；　he　ran　at　once　and　secured　the　glorious　job　of　being　boy…of…all…work　in　this　store　of　wonders。　So；　when　he　became　an　operator　in　the　Boston　telephone　exchange；　a　year　later；　he　had　already　developed　to　a　remarkable　degree　his　natural　genius　for　telephony。

Since　then；　Carty　and　the　telephone　business　have　grown　up　together；　he　always　a　little　distance　in　advance。　No　other　man　has　touched　the　apparatus　of　telephony　at　so　many　points。　He　fought　down　the　flimsy；　clumsy　methods；　which　led　from　one　snarl　to　another。　He　found　out　how　to　do　with　wires　what　Dickens　did　with　words。　〃Let　us　do　it　right；　boys；　and　then　we　won't　have　any　bad　dreams〃this　has　been　his　motif。　And；　as　the　crown　and　climax　of　his　work；　he　mapped　out　the　profession　of　telephone　engineering　on　the　widest　and　most　comprehensive　lines。

In　Carty；　the　engineer　evolved　into　the　edu…　cator。　His　end　of　the　American　Telephone　and　Telegraph　Company　became　the　University　of　the　Telephone。　He　was　himself　a　student　by　disposition；　with　a　special　taste　for　the　writings　of　Faraday；　the　forerunner；　Tyndall；　the　expounder；　and　Spencer；　the　philosopher。　And　in　1890；　he　gathered　around　him　a　winnowed　group　of　college　graduateshe　has　sixty　of　them　on　his　staff　to…dayso　that　he　might　bequeath　to　the　telephone　an　engineering　corps　of　loyal　and　efficient　men。

The　next　problem　that　faced　the　young　men　of　the　telephone；　as　soon　as　they　had　escaped　from　the　clamor　of　the　mysterious　noises；　was　the　necessity　of　taking　down　the　wires　in　the　city　streets　and　putting　them　underground。　At　first；　they　had　strung　the　wires　on　poles　and　roof…tops。　They　had　done　this；　not　because　it　was　cheap；　but　because　it　was　the　only　possible　way；　so　far　as　any　one　knew　in　that　kindergarten　period。　A　telephone　wire　required　the　daintiest　of　handling。　To　bury　it　was　to　smother　it；　to　make　it　dull　or　perhaps　entirely　useless。　But　now　that　the　number　of　wires　had　swollen　from　hun…　dreds　to　thousands；　the　overhead　method　had　been　outgrown。　Some　streets　in　the　larger　cities　had　become　black　with　wires。　Poles　had　risen　to　fifty　feet　in　height；　then　sixtyseventy　eighty。　Finally　the　highest　of　all　pole　lines　was　built　along　West　Street；　New　Yorkevery　pole　a　towering　Norway　pine；　with　its　top　ninety　feet　above　the　roadway；　and　carrying　thirty　cross…　arms　and　three　hundred　wires。

From　poles　the　wires　soon　overflowed　to　housetops；　until　in　New　York　alone　they　had　overspread　eleven　thousand　roofs。　These　roofs　had　to　be　kept　in　repair；　and　their　chimneys　were　the　deadly　enemies　of　the　iron　wires。　Many　a　wire；　in　less　than　two　or　three　years；　was　withered　to　the　merest　shred　of　rust。　As　if　these　troubles　were　not　enough；　there　were　the　storms　of　winter；　which　might　wipe　out　a　year's　revenue　in　a　single　day。　The　sleet　storms　were　the　worst。　Wires　were　weighted　down　with　ice；　often　three　pounds　of　ice　per　foot　of　wire。　And　so；　what　with　sleet；　and　corrosion；　and　the　cost　of　roof…repairing；　and　the　lack　of　room　for　more　wires；　the　telephone　men　were　between　the　devil　and　the　deep　seabetween　the　urgent　necessity　of　burying　their　wires；　and　the　inexorable　fact　that　they　did　not　know　how　to　do　it。

Fortunately；　by　the　time　that　this　problem　arrived；　the　telephone　business　was　fairly　well　established。　It　had　outgrown　its　early　days　of　ridicule　and　incredulity。　It　was　paying　wages　and　salaries　and　even　dividends。　Evidently　it　had　arrived　on　the　scene　in　the　nick　of　time　after　the　telegraph　and　before　the　trolleys　and　electric　lights。　Had　it　been　born　ten　years　later；　it　might　not　have　been　able　to　survive。　So　delicate　a　thing　as　a　baby　telephone　could　scarcely　have　protected　itself　against　the　powerful　currents　of　electricity　that　came　into　general　use　in　1886；　if　it　had　not　first　found　out　a　way　of　hiding　safely　underground。

The　first　declaration　in　favor　of　an　underground　system　was　made　by　the　Boston　company　in　1880。　〃It　may　be　expedient　to　place　our　entire　system　underground；〃　said　the　sorely　perplexed　manager；　〃whenever　a　practicable　method　is　found　of　accomplishing：　it。〃　All　manner　of　theories　were　afloat　but　Theodore　N。　Vail；　who　was　usually　the　man　of　constructive　imagination　in　emergencies；　began　in　1882　a　series　of　actual　experiments　at　Attleborough；　Massachusetts；　to　find　out　exactly　what　could；　and　what　could　not；　be　done　with　wires　that　were　buried　in　the　earth。

A　five…mile　trench　was　dug　beside　a　railway　track。　The　work　was　done　handily　and　cheaply　by　the　labor…saving　plan　of　hitching　a　locomotive　to　a　plough。　Five　ploughs　were　jerked　apart　before　the　work　was　finished。　Then；　into　this　trench　were　laid　wires　with　every　known　sort　of　covering。　Most　of　them；　naturally；　were　wrapped　with　rubber　or　gutta…percha；　after　the　fashion　of　a　submarine　cable。　When　all　were　in　place；　the　willing　locomotive　was　harnessed　to　a　huge　wooden　drag；　which　threw　the　ploughed　soil　back　into　the　trench　and　covered　the　wires　a　foot　deep。　It　was　the　most　professional　cable…　laying　that　any　one　at　that　time　could　do；　and　it　succeeded；　not　brilliantly；　but　well　enough　to　encourage　the　telephone　engineers　to　go　ahead。

Several　weeks　later；　the　first　two　cables　for　actual　use　were　laid　in　Boston　and　Brooklyn；　and　in　1883　Engineer　J。　P。　Davis　was　set　to　grapple　with　the　Herculean　labor　of　putting　a

complete　underground　system　in　the　wire…bound　city　of　New　York。　This　he　did　in　spite　of　a　bombardment　of　explosions　from　leaky　gas…　pipes；　and　with　a　woeful　lack　of　experts　and　standard　materials。　All　manner　of　makeshifts　had　to　be　tried　in　place　of　tile　ducts；　which　were　not　known　in　1883。　Iron　pipe　was　used　at　first；　then　asphalt；　concrete；　boxes　of　sand　and　creosoted　wood。　As　for　the　wires；　they　were　first　wrapped　in　cotton；　and　then　twisted　into　cables；　usually　of　a　hundred　wires　each。　And　to　prevent　the　least　taint　of　moisture；　which　means　sudden　death　to　a　telephone　current；　these　cables　were　invariably　soaked　in　oil。

This　oil…filled　type　of　cable　carried　the　telephone　business　safely　through　half　a　dozen　years。　But　it　was　not　the　final　type。　It　was　preliminary　only；　the　best　that　could　be　made　at　that　time。　Not　one　is　in　use　to…day。　In　1888　Theodore　Vail　set　on　foot　a　second　series　of　experiments；　to　see　if　a　cable　could　be　made　that　was　better　suited　as　a　highway　for　t