the history of the telephone-第28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！
batteries and regiments were organized into fifteen divisions。 Each group of three divisions was wired to a general； and the five generals were wired to the great Oyama himself； who sat ten miles back of the firing…line and sent his orders。 Whenever a regiment lunged forward； one of the soldiers carried a telephone set。 If they held their position； two other soldiers ran forward with a spool of wire。 In this way and under fire of the Russian cannon； one hundred and fifty miles of wire were strung across the battlefield。 As the Japanese said； it was this 〃flying telephone〃 that enabled Oyama to manipulate his forces as handily as though he were playing a game of chess。 It was in this war； too； that the Mikado's soldiers strung the costliest of all telephone lines； at 203 Metre Hill。 When the wire had been basted up this hill to the summit； the fortress of Port Arthur lay at their mercy。 But the climb had cost them twenty… four thousand lives。
Of the seven million telephones in the United States； about two million are now in farmhouses。 Every fourth American farmer is in telephone touch with his neighbors and the market。 Iowa leads； among the farming States。 In Iowa； not to have a telephone is to belong to what a Londoner would call the 〃submerged tenth〃 of the population。 Second in line comes Illinois； with Kansas； Nebraska； and Indiana following closely behind； and at the foot of the list； in the matter of farm telephones； are Connecticut and Louisiana。
The first farmer who discovered the value of the telephone was the market gardener。 Next came the bonanza farmer of the Red River Valleysuch a man； for instance； as Oliver Dalrymple； of North Dakota； who found that by the aid of the telephone he could plant and harvest thirty thousand acres of wheat in a single season。 Then； not more than half a dozen years ago； there arose a veritable Telephone Crusade among the farmers of the Middle West。 Cheap telephones； yet fairly good； had by this time been made possible by the improvements of the Bell engineers； and stories of what could be done by telephone became the favorite gossip of the day。 One farmer had kept his barn from being burned down by telephoning for his neighbors； another had cleared five hundred dollars extra profit on the sale of his cattle； by telephoning to the best market； a third had rescued a flock of sheep by sending quick news of an approaching blizzard； a fourth had saved his son's life by getting an instantaneous message to the doctor； and so on。
How the telephone saved a three million dollar fruit crop in Colorado； in 1909； is the story that is oftenest told in the West。 Until that year； the frosts in the Spring nipped the buds。 No farmer could be sure of his harvest。 But in 1909； the fruit…growers bought smudge…potsthree hundred thousand or more。 These were placed in the orchards； ready to be lit at a moment's notice。 Next； an alliance was made with the United States Weather Bureau so that whenever the Frost King came down from the north； a warning could be telephoned to the farmers。 Just when Colorado was pink with apple blossoms； the first warning came。 〃Get ready to light up your smudge…pots in half an hour。〃 Then the farmers telephoned to the nearest towns： 〃Frost is coming； come and help us in the orchards。〃 Hundreds of men rushed out into the country on horseback and in wagons。 In half an hour the last warning came： 〃Light up； the thermometer registers twenty…nine。〃 The smudge…pot artillery was set ablaze； and kept blazing until the news came that the icy forces had retreated。 And in this way every Colorado farmer who had a telephone saved his fruit。
In some farming States； the enthusiasm for the telephone is running so high that mass meetings are held； with lavish oratory on the general theme of 〃Good Roads and Telephones。〃 And as a result of this Telephone Crusade； there are now nearly twenty thousand groups of farmers； each one with a mutual telephone system； and one…half of them with sufficient enterprise to link their little webs of wires to the vast Bell system； so that at least a million farmers have been brought as close to the great cities as they are to their own barns。
What telephones have done to bring in the present era of big crops； is an interesting story in itself。 To compress it into a sentence； we might say that the telephone has completed the labor…saving movement which started with the McCormick reaper in 1831。 It has lifted the farmer above the wastefulness of being his own errand…boy。 The average length of haul from barn to market in the United States is nine and a half miles； so that every trip saved means an extra day's work for a man and team。 Instead of travelling back and forth； often to no purpose； the farmer may now stay at home and attend to his stock and his crops。
As yet； few farmers have learned to appreciate the value of quality in telephone service； as they have in other lines。 The same man who will pay six prices for the best seed…corn； and who will allow nothing but high…grade cattle in his barn； will at the same time be content with the shabbiest and flimsiest telephone service； without offering any other excuse than that it is cheap。 But this is a transient phase of farm telephony。 The cost of an efficient farm system is now so little not more than two dollars a month； that the present trashy lines are certain sooner or later to go to the junk…heap with the sickle and the flail and all the other cheap and unprofitable things。
CHAPTER VII
THE TELEPHONE AND NATIONAL EFFICIENCY
The larger significance of the telephone is that it completes the work of eliminating the hermit and gypsy elements of civilization。 In an almost ideal way； it has made intercommunication possible without travel。 It has enabled a man to settle permanently in one place； and yet keep in personal touch with his fellows。
Until the last few centuries； much of the world was probably what Morocco is to…daya region without wheeled vehicles or even roads of any sort。 There is a mythical story of a wonderful speaking…trumpet possessed by Alexander the Great； by which he could call a soldier who was ten miles distant； but there was probably no substitute for the human voice except flags and beacon…fires； or any faster method of travel than the gait of a horse or a camel across ungraded plains。 The first sensation of rapid transit doubtless came with the sailing vessel； but it was the play…toy of the winds； and unreliable。 When Columbus dared to set out on his famous voyage； he was five weeks in crossing from Spain to the West Indies； his best day's record two hundred miles。 The swift steamship travel of to…day did not begin until 1838； when the Great Western raced over the Atlantic in fifteen days。
As for organized systems of intercommunication； they were unknown even under the rule of a Pericles or a Caesar。 There was no post office in Great Britain until 1656a generation after America had begun to be colonized。 There was no English mail…coach until 1784； and when Benjamin Franklin was Postmaster General at Philadelphia； an answer by mail from Boston； when all went well； required not less than three weeks。 There was not even a hard…surface road in the thirteen United States until 1794； nor even a postage stamp until 1847； the year in which Alexander Graham Bell was born。 In this same year Henry Clay delivered his memorable speech on the Mexican War； at Lexington； Kentucky； and it was telegraphed to The New York Herald at a cost of five hundred dollars； thus breaking all previous records for news…gathering enterprise。 Eleven years later the first cable established an instantaneous sign…language between Americans and Europeans； and in 1876 there came the perfect distance…talking of the telephone。
No invention has been more timely than the telephone。 It arrived at the exact period when it was needed for the organization of great cities and the unification of nations。 The new ideas and energies of science； commerce； and cooperation were beginning to win victories in all parts of the earth。 The first railroad had just arrived in China； the first parliament in Japan； the first constitution in Spain。 Stanley was moving like a tiny point of light through the heart of the Dark Co
