the history of the telephone-第24章

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　and　cedars。　They　girdled　the　mountains　and　basted　the　prairies　with　wire；　until　the　lonely　places　were　brought　together　and　made　sociable。　They　drove　off　the　Indians；　who　wanted　the　bright　wire　for　ear…rings　and　bracelets；　and　the　bears；　which　mistook　the　humming　of　the　wires　for　the　buzzing　of　bees；　and　persisted　in　gnawing　the　poles　down。　With　the　most　heroic　optimism；　this　Rocky　Mountain　Company　persevered　until；　in　1906；　it　had　created　a　seventy…　thousand…mile　nerve…system　for　the　far　West。

Chicago；　in　this　year；　had　two　hundred　thou…　sand　telephones　in　use；　in　her　two　hundred　square　miles　of　area。　The　business　had　been　built　up　by　General　Anson　Stager；　who　was　himself　wealthy；　and　able　to　attract　the　support　of　such　men　as　John　Crerar；　H。　H。　Porter；　and　Robert　T。　Lincoln。　Since　1882　it　has　paid　dividends；　and　in　one　glorious　year　its　stock　soared　to　four　hundred　dollars　a　share。　The　old…　timersthe　men　who　clambered　over　roof…tops　in　1878　and　tacked　iron　wires　wherever　they　could　without　being　chased　offare　still　for　the　most　part　in　control　of　the　Chicago　company。

But　as　might　have　been　expected；　it　was　New　York　City　that　was　the　record…breaker　when　the　era　of　telephone　expansion　arrived。　Here　the　flood　of　big　business　struck　with　the　force　of　a　tidal　wave。　The　number　of　users　leaped　from　56；000　in　1900　up　to　810；000　in　1908。　In　a　single　year　of　sweating　and　breathless　activity；　65；000　new　telephones　were　put　on　desks　or　hung　on　wallsan　average　of　one　new　user　for　every　two　minutes　of　the　business　day。

Literally　tons；　and　hundreds　of　tons；　of　telephones　were　hauled　in　drays　from　the　factory　and　put　in　place　in　New　York's　homes　and　offices。　More　and　more　were　demanded；　until　to…day　there　are　more　telephones　in　New　York　than　there　are　in　the　four　countries；　France；　Belgium；　Holland；　and　Switzerland　combined。　As　a　user　of　telephones　New　York　has　risen　to　be　unapproachable。　Mass　together　all　the　telephones　of　London；　Glasgow；　Liverpool；　Manchester；　Birmingham；　Leeds；　Sheffleld；　Bristol；　and　Belfast；　and　there　will　even　then　be　barely　as　many　as　are　carrying　the　conversations　of　this　one　American　city。

In　1879　the　New　York　telephone　directory　was　a　small　card；　showing　two　hundred　and　fifty…two　names；　but　now　it　has　grown　to　be　an　eight…hundred…page　quarterly；　with　a　circulation　of　half　a　million；　and　requiring　twenty　drays；　forty　horses；　and　four　hundred　men　to　do　the　work　of　distribution。　There　was　one　shabby　little　exchange　thirty　years　ago；　but　now　there　are　fifty…two　exchanges；　as　the　nerve…centres　of　a　vast　fifty…　million…dollar　system。　Incredible　as　it　may　seem　to　foreigners；　it　is　literally　true　that　in　a　single　building　in　New　York；　the　Hudson　Terminal；　there　are　more　telephones　than　in　Odessa　or　Madrid；　more　than　in　the　two　kingdoms　of　Greece　and　Bulgaria　combined。

Merely　to　operate　this　system　requires　an　army　of　more　than　five　thousand　girls。　Merely　to　keep　their　records　requires　two　hundred　and　thirty…five　million　sheets　of　paper　a　year。　Merely　to　do　the　writing　of　these　records　wears　away　five　hundred　and　sixty　thousand　lead　pencils。　And　merely　to　give　these　girls　a　cup　of　tea　or　coffee　at　noon；　compels　the　Bell　Company　to　buy　yearly　six　thousand　pounds　of　tea；　seventeen　thousand　pounds　of　coffee；　forty…eight　thousand　cans　of　condensed　milk；　and　one　hundred　and　forty　barrels　of　sugar。

The　myriad　wires　of　this　New　York　system　are　tingling　with　talk　every　minute　of　the　day　and　night。　They　are　most　at　rest　between　three　and　four　o'clock　in　the　morning；　although　even　then　there　are　usually　ten　calls　a　minute。　Between　five　and　six　o'clock；　two　thousand　New　Yorkers　are　awake　and　at　the　telephone。　Half　an　hour　later　there　are　twice　as　many。　Between　seven　and　eight　twenty…five　thousand　people　have　called　up　twenty…five　thousand　other　people；　so　that　there　are　as　many　people　talking　by　wire　as　there　were　in　the　whole　city　of　New　York　in　the　Revolutionary　period。　Even　this　is　only　the　dawn　of　the　day's　business。　By　half…past　eight　it　is　doubled；　by　nine　it　is　trebled；　by　ten　it　is　multiplied　sixfold；　and　by　eleven　the　roar　has　become　an　incredible　babel　of　one　hundred　and　eighty　thousand　conversations　an　hour；　with　fifty　new　voices　clamoring　at　the　exchanges　every　second。

This　is　〃the　peak　of　the　load。〃　It　is　the　topmost　pinnacle　of　talk。　It　is　the　utmost　degree　of　service　that　the　telephone　has　been　required　to　give　in　any　city。　And　it　is　as　much　a　world's　wonder；　to　men　and　women　of　imagination；　as　the　steel　mills　of　Homestead　or　the　turbine　leviathans　that　curve　across　the　Atlantic　Ocean　in　four　and　a　half　days。

As　to　the　men　who　built　it　up：　Charles　F。　Cutler　died　in　1907；　but　most　of　the　others　are　still　alive　and　busy。　Union　N。　Bethell；　now　in　Cutler's　place　at　the　head　of　the　New　York　Company；　has　been　the　operating　chief　for　eighteen　years。　He　is　a　man　of　shrewdness　and　sympathy；　with　a　rare　sagacity　in　solving　knotty　problems；　a　president　of　the　new　type；　who　regards　his　work　as　a　sort　of　obligation　he　owes　to　the　public。　And　just　as　foreigners　go　to　Pittsburg　to　see　the　steel　business　at　its　best；　just　as　they　go　to　Iowa　and　Kansas　to　see　the　New　Farmer；　so　they　make　pilgrimages　to　Bethell's　office　to　learn　the　profession　of　telephony。

This　unparalleled　telephone　system　of　New　York　grew　up　without　having　at　any　time　the　rivalry　of　competition。　But　in　many　other　cities　and　especially　in　the　Middle　West；　there　sprang　up　in　1895　a　medley　of　independent　companies。　The　time　of　the　original　patents　had　expired；　and　the　Bell　Companies　found　themselves　freed　from　the　expense　of　litigation　only　to　be　snarled　up　in　a　tangle　of　duplication。　In　a　few　years　there　were　six　thousand　of　these　little　Robinson　Crusoe　companies。　And　by　1901　they　had　put　in　use　more　than　a　million　telephones　and　were　professing　to　have　a　capital　of　a　hundred　millions。

Most　of　these　companies　were　necessary　and　did　much　to　expand　the　telephone　business　into　new　territory。　They　were　in　fact　small　mutual　associations　of　a　dozen　or　a　hundred　farmers；　whose　aim　was　to　get　telephone　service　at　cost。　But　there　were　other　companies；　probably　a　thousand　or　more；　which　were　organized　by　promoters　who　built　their　hopes　on　the　fact　that　the　Bell　Companies　were　unpopular；　and　on　the　myth　that　they　were　fabulously　rich。　Instead　of　legitimately　extending　telephone　lines　into　communities　that　had　none；　these　promoters　proceeded　to　inflict　the　messy　snarl　of　an　overlapping　system　upon　whatever　cities　would　give　them　permission　to　do　so。

In　this　way；　masked　as　competition；　the　nuisance　and　waste　of　duplication　began　in　most　American　cities。　The　telephone　business　was　still　so　young；　it　was　so　little　appreciated　even　by　the　telephone　officials　and　engineers；　that　the　public　regarded　a　second　or　a　third　telephone　system　in　one　city　as　quite　a　possible　and　desirable　innovation。　〃We　have　two　ears；〃　said　one　promoter；　〃why　not　therefore　have　two　telephones？〃

This　duplication　went　merrily　on　for　years　before　it　was　generally　discovered　that　the　telephone　is　not　an　ear；　but　a　nerve　system；　and　that　such　an　experiment　as　a　duplicate　nerve　system　has　never　been　attempted　by　Nature；　even　in　her　most　frivolous　moods。　Most　people　fancied　that　a　telephone　system　was　practically　the　same　as　a　gas　or　electric　light　system；　which　can　often　be　duplicated　with　the　result　of　cheaper　rates　and　better　service。　They　did　not　for　years　discover　that　two　telephone　companies　in　one　city　means　either　half　service　or　double　cost；　just　as　two　fire　departments　or　two　post　offices　would。

Some　of　these　duplicate　companies　built　up　a　complete　plant；　and　gave　good　local　service；　while　others　proved　to　be　mere　stock　bubbles。　Most　of　them　were　over…capitalized；　depending　upon　public　sympathy　to　atone　for　deficiencies　in　equipment。　One　which　had　printed　fifty　million　dollars　of　stock　for　sale　was　sold　at　auction　in　1909　for　four　hundred　thousand　dollars。　All　told；　there　were　twenty…three　of　these　bubbles　that　burst　in　1905；　twenty…one　in　1906；　and　twelve　in　1907。　So　high　has　been　the　death…rate　among　these　isolated　companies　that　at　a　recent　conven…　tion　of　telephone　agents；　the　chairman's　gavel　was　made　of　thirty…five　pieces　of　wood；　taken　from　thirty…five　switchboards　of