Ken, Fellow Thread Members,
You may want to print this one out and read it at your leisure. It's the first article of a three part series in this month's America's Network Magazine (originally Telephone Engineer). I hope you find it both instructive and pleasantly amusing.
The article is titled:
"The Past is Prologue"
America's Network pays homage to its 90-year history with a three-part retrospective.
Compiled by Mary Slepicka
americasnetwork.com
I've also copied it below for posterity.
Enjoy, Frank Coluccio
-----------------------------------------
June 1, 1999
The past is prologue
America's Network pays homage to its 90-year history with a three-part retrospective.
Compiled by Mary Slepicka
What goes around comes back around, again and again. Here are excerpts from articles, letters, editorials and advertisements appearing in the first three decades of Telephone Engineer magazine. Part two, covering 1940–1969, and Part Three, covering 1970–1999, will appear in subsequent issues of America's Network.
1909
Whatever the difficulties encountered by operating telephone companies in the
endeavor to standardize their equipment may be, there can be little question in
the minds of those familiar with modern manufacturing conditions as to the
advantages of thorough standardization to the manufacturer of the telephone
apparatus. [Editorial, June]
1910
Did you ever hear of an abracadabra? I used to hear my mother tell about it. An
abracadabra was supposed to cure fever and ague ailments when worn as an
amulet. The word is purely mystical. It's arrangement took the form of an
equilateral triangle inverted, each line being shorter than the preceding one by
the omission of the final letter of the word. The children were obliged to wear
this word for nine days. On the ninth day, they threw it off backwards, before
sunrise, into a stream running towards the east.
I am thinking that the word "telephonitis" should have some mystical treatment.
Let all the men wear it for nine days, and then follow the plan that my
grandmother prescribed for her children. Possibly after that, the going will be
better. [Sara Elizabeth Brown, "What One Woman Thinks," February]
1911
The question of what kind of poles would take the place of cedar has always
been a favorite theme of speculation. Several years ago, the cypress was looked
upon as a coming favorite, but it is constantly growing less in favor. Among the
top-notchers, oak shows the most consistent gain. Oak makes a long-lived
pole, but it is to be feared that its use will also be greatly curtailed in the future
by its scarcity. [Frank McGill Carson, "Testing the Strength of Cedar Poles,"
November]
1912
The idea of grafting advertisements upon the telephone has been patented by a
Swiss genius. The advertising announcements are to be introduced upon the
lines so as to be heard by the person calling while awaiting the response of the
operator and the response of the person called. [February]
1913
Wanted — A good, moderately fast cable splicer for new and repair work.
Must be sober and absolutely reliable. $85.00 per month straight time to right
man. Send address, with references, to Petroleum Telephone Company, Oil
City, Pa. [Classifieds, May]
1914
"Hand" telephones have just been placed in stock by the Black River Telephone
Company of Lorain, Ohio. Patrons can have them installed in their homes for a
quarter more per month than is paid for the ordinary desk telephone extension.
With the little black box from which the telephone hangs on a hook, the "hand"
telephone can be installed on the wall or a bedroom, in the kitchen or sewing
room, or any other convenient place. Physicians find the new telephone
convenient for night calls. It can be hung close to the bed and can be lifted from
its hook with one hand. [August]
1915
It was with the greatest surprise that the scientific world and particularly the
wireless men heard of the official tests made by the American Telephone and
Telegraph Company on Wednesday afternoon, September 29, when clear,
understandable speech was transmitted without the use of wires from the
Atlantic to the Pacific coast. At that moment, wireless transcontinental telephony
took its place among the great achievements of American telephone engineers
and transatlantic telephony became practically assured. ["Wireless Telephony
Outdistances Wires," November]
1916
"Mr. Bell took charge of the Kilby street end, and I of the Cambridgeport end.
On receiving the signal agreed upon through the telephone instrument, I
disconnected it from the circuit and connected the telephone instruments. I listed
for Mr. Bell's voice. I could hear only the faintest murmur, reminding me of the
first sounds I heard in the early experiments more than a year before then. For a
while it seemed that we were doomed to failure on this test. As a last resort, I
traced the wires and found a high-resistance telegraph relay in the circuit. I cut
this out, ran back to the telephone and listened. That relay had been the sole
cause of the trouble. Clearly and distinctly we could talk with perfect ease,
although we were two miles apart." [Interview with Thomas A. Watson on the
invention of the speaking telephone, April]
1917
The government is looking for several hundred experienced electricians to man
what will probably be the longest telephone system in the United States. This
system will be part of the means for coast protection. Wires will stretch from
Eastport, Maine, along the coast to the Rio Grande. [September]
1918
Mrs. Flossie Inman's $12,000 suit against the Spokane Home Telephone
Company for injuries received when a telephone "exploded" was thrown out of
court on grounds of insufficiency of evidence. Mrs. Inman claimed that the
"explosion" occurred when she took down the receiver of a telephone in a
neighbor's home. The court heard that the Inmans were not subscribers of the
telephone company and therefore were trespassers in using the telephone.
[January]
1919
After several years of intense effort, they have invented and developed a
practical system of multiplex telephony and telegraphy by the use of which it is
now possible to increase manyfold the message-carrying capacity of long
telephone and telegraph wires, especially of the open wire type. [Published
letter from Theodore N. Vail to Postmaster General announcing the Bell
System's invention of the multiplex telephone, February]
1920
Until Mr. Edison confirms the statement over his own signature, conservative
readers will remain skeptical of the truth of a report that he is making progress
toward the invention of mechanical apparatus to bring about ready
communication with the spirit world. [Editorial, December]
1921
Appraisal of the estate of the late Theodore N. Vail, former chairman of the
AT&T Co. board of directors, sets the value of the estate at $2,726,000. His
widow, adopted daughter, grandchildren, servants, and educational and
religious institutions figure the division of the estate. [June]
1922
The War Department has 8,800 miles of No. 14 B&S gauge, S and DC rubber
insulated, outside twisted pair, copper wire at New Cumberland, Pa., for sale.
This wire is in excellent condition. It will be sold at your figure, if that figure
should be reasonable. [Government advertisement, May]
1923
W.C. Lumpkin of Mattoon, Ill., heads the company which has purchased the
property of the Kewanee Home Telephone Co. from Pennsylvania interests.
[September]
1924
No community can outbuild its public utilities to any great extent. As soon as
building operations exceed the point where public utility services can be
supplied, growth must cease until the utilities catch up. [E.L. Gaines, August]
1925
Officials of the New York Telephone Company stated that a new service,
called "two-number service," is in effect between New York and Philadelphia.
In using it, the New Yorker simply gives the desired telephone number in
Philadelphia to the first operator who answers, and then holds the receiver to his
ear until the connection is established. [June]
1926
The future of the telephone business cannot accurately be gauged from the
experiences of the past fifty years. The world development of the telephone
business does not progress, uniformly, but rather by leaps and bounds. The fact
that we have more than sixteen million telephones in America today does not
mean that we will have no more than thirty-two million fifty years hence. [United
Telephone Co. Assistant General Manager Fred Coulson, March]
1927
It has been estimated that a saving in capital investment of $200,000,000 has
been made by the application of the loading principle. The modern permalloy
coil occupies only a small portion of the space of older coils and a saving of
several millions of dollars per year in capital investment has become possible
through its use. [November]
1928
The PBX switchboard stands between the operating company and the business
subscriber as one of the most important cogs in modern telephone practice. For
the small office, the No. 104 Cordless PBX Switchboard represents a logical
selection. This board is of ten lines' capacity and is designed to stand upon a
table or desk. For larger offices, Stromberg-Carlson PBX Switchboards come
in the following capacities: No. 101, 50 lines; No. 102, 100 lines; No. 106, 300
lines. [Stromberg-Carlson Telephone Mfg. Co. advertisement, February]
1929
One of these methods employs a cable buried in the ground, without conduit. In
order to protect the sheath from earth corrosion and mechanical damage, the
cable is provided with coverings of impregnated paper, jute and steel tape. The
second method consists in laying a single fibre conduit and pulling the usual type
of lead-covered cable into it by means of a power winch line. ["New Types of
Buried Toll Cables," November]
1930
We put out a call for help for one of our readers who asked for information
regarding the universal use of coin collectors or measured service in a small city
exchange. We did not have a single contributor come to bat with a suggestion.
We guess that the idea is so revolutionary that no one really has had a chance to
figure it out. [Line and Desk column, February]
1931
The International Telephone & Telegraph Corporation, through subsidiary
companies, will begin shortly the exploitation of a telephone Conversation
Recorder. By means of this device, the conversation of both parties is recorded
on a magnetic steel wire in a manner such that the message can be reproduced
at any later time. It is possible also to obliterate the message so that the wire can
be used over again. [July]
1932
(Question) What is a good method for cleaning relay and key contacts?
(Answer) The standard method consists of applying a drop or two of carbon
tetrachloride to the contact to be cleaned, using the point of a toothpick. Next,
saturate the flat end of the toothpick with carbon tetrachloride and insert
between relay contacts. The toothpick should be pulled back and forth several
times. After the dirt has been loosened and partially cleaned, they should be
flushed off with a drop of carbon tetrachloride picked up on the other end of the
toothpick. [B.C. Burden, "The Technical Clearing House," January]
1933
The Telotimer is installed on the wall, usually within easy reach of the telephone.
To obtain service, the user deposits a five-cent piece in the coin slot and turns a
key on the front of the Telotimer, which activates a set of contacts within the
device and winds and starts a clockwork movement. For a fixed period of time,
the subscriber enjoys unlimited telephone service, both incoming and outgoing.
[T.G. Martin, "Some Inside Facts About the New Telotimer," June]
1934
A large part of the bill is made up of the present Interstate Commerce
Commission Act, some sections being taken without change and others with
slight changes to adjust them to communication companies instead of railroads.
The difficulty there is to apply to telephone companies the language designed for
railroads. [F.B. MacKinnon, "Communications Bill Analyzed," March]
1935
"Hello, Bill, can you give me a hand at silo filling tomorrow?" [Bell Telephone
System advertisement on benefits of rural communications, October]
1936
Johnstown, Pa. — Twelve feet of fast-moving water around telephone central
office building during night. Operators and equipment maintenance men
marooned. No light, power or heat. Switchboard running on battery reserve
only. No boats to be had. [April]
1937
For the first time since 1931, the American Telephone & Telegraph Company
earned enough to pay the regular $9 dividend without dipping into surplus.
[March]
1938
In the magnetic telephone, which is the outcome of recent development work at
Bell Laboratories, a cone-shaped dura-lumin diaphragm is connected to one
end of an armature which lies between the poles of a U-shaped permanent
magnet. When sound waves strike the diaphragm, the armature vibrates and
varies the air-gaps between it and the pole-pieces of the magnet. This changes
the reluctance of the magnetic circuit and induces voice-frequency currents in a
coil which surrounds the armature but does not touch it. Conversely, when voice
currents are imposed on the coil, the armature and diaphragm vibrate and
reproduce speech. Thus, a single instrument serves alternately as transmitter and
receiver. [G.E. Atkins, "New Magnetic Telephone," August]
1939
Verbal brickbats and continued feuds among the members of the Federal
Communications Commission have slowed up regulatory activities and decisions
at that agency, except of a routine nature to the minimum of output. The threats
of the "ripper" reorganization bills now before Congress and of a Senate or
House investigation have caused the FCC to shunt aside many controversial
questions with the exception of a number of broadcasting issues in which they
have tried to repair the agency's fences to gain Congressional approbation.
["Hellzapoppin at FCC," March]
June 1 , table of contents
Copyright 1999 Advanstar Communications. Please send any technical comments or
questions to the America's Network webmaster.
|
