the history of the telephone-第23部分

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ours　would　pass　before　the　last　company　would　arrive　at　the　reviewing　stand。　In　single　file　this　throng　of　Telephonians　would　make　a　living　wall　from　New　York　to　New　Haven。

Such　is　the　extraordinary　city　of　which　Alexander　Graham　Bell　was　the　only　resident　in　1875。　It　has　been　built　up　without　the　backing　of　any　great　bank　or　multi…millionaire。　There　have　been　no　Vanderbilts　in　it；　no　Astors；　Rockefellers；　Rothschilds；　Harrimans。　There　are　even　now　only　four　men　who　own　as　many　as　ten　thousand　shares　of　the　stock　of　the　central　company。　This　Bell　System　stands　as　the　life…work　of　unprivileged　men；　who　are　for　the　most　part　still　alive　and　busy。　With　very　few　and　trivial　exceptions；　every　part　of　it　was　made　in　the　United　States。　No　other　industrial　organism　of　equal　size　owes　foreign　countries　so　little。　Alike　in　its　origin；　its　development；　and　its　highest　point　of　efficiency　and　expansion；　the　telephone　is　as　essentially　American　as　the　Declaration　of　Independence　or　the　monument　on　Bunker　Hill。



CHAPTER　VI

NOTABLE　USERS　OF　THE　TELEPHONE

What　we　might　call　the　telephonization　of　city　life；　for　lack　of　a　simpler　word；　has　remarkably　altered　our　manner　of　living　from　what　it　was　in　the　days　of　Abraham　Lincoln。　It　has　enabled　us　to　be　more　social　and　cooperative。　It　has　literally　abolished　the　isolation　of　separate　families；　and　has　made　us　members　of　one　great　family。　It　has　become　so　truly　an　organ　of　the　social　body　that　by　telephone　we　now　enter　into　contracts；　give　evidence；　try　lawsuits；　make　speeches；　propose　marriage；　confer　degrees；　appeal　to　voters；　and　do　almost　everything　else　that　is　a　matter　of　speech。

In　stores　and　hotels　this　wire　traffic　has　grown　to　an　almost　bewildering　extent；　as　these　are　the　places　where　many　interests　meet。　The　hundred　largest　hotels　in　New　York　City　have　twenty…one　thousand　telephonesnearly　as　many　as　the　continent　of　Africa　and　more　than　the　kingdom　of　Spain。　In　an　average　year　they　send　six　million　messages。　The　Waldorf…Astoria　alone　tops　all　residential　buildings　with　eleven　hundred　and　twenty　telephones　and　five　hundred　thousand　calls　a　year；　while　merely　the　Christmas　Eve　orders　that　flash　into　Marshall　Field's　store；　or　John　Wanamaker's；　have　risen　as　high　as　the　three　thousand　mark。

Whether　the　telephone　does　most　to　concentrate　population；　or　to　scatter　it；　is　a　question　that　has　not　yet　been　examined。　It　is　certainly　true　that　it　has　made　the　skyscraper　possible；　and　thus　helped　to　create　an　absolutely　new　type　of　city；　such　as　was　never　imagined　even　in　the　fairy　tales　of　ancient　nations。　The　skyscraper　is　ten　years　younger　than　the　telephone。　It　is　now　generally　seen　to　be　the　ideal　building　for　business　offices。　It　is　one　of　the　few　types　of　architecture　that　may　fairly　be　called　American。　And　its　efficiency　is　largely；　if　not　mainly；　due　to　the　fact　that　its　inhabitants　may　run　errands　by　telephone　as　well　as　by　elevator。

There　seems　to　be　no　sort　of　activity　which　is　not　being　made　more　convenient　by　the　telephone。　It　is　used　to　call　the　duck…shooters　in　Western　Canada　when　a　flock　of　birds　has　arrived；　and　to　direct　the　movements　of　the　Dragon　in　Wagner's　grand　opera　〃Siegfried。〃　At　the　last　Yale…Harvard　football　game；　it　conveyed　almost　instantaneous　news　to　fifty　thousand　people　in　various　parts　of　New　England。　At　the　Vanderbilt　Cup　Race　its　wires　girdled　the　track　and　reported　every　gain　or　mishap　of　the　racing　autos。　And　at　such　expensive　pageants　as　that　of　the　Quebec　Tercentenary　in　1908；　where　four　thousand　actors　came　and　went　upon　a　ten…acre　stage；　every　order　was　given　by　telephone。

Public　officials；　even　in　the　United　States；　have　been　slow　to　change　from　the　old…fashioned　and　more　dignified　use　of　written　documents　and　uniformed　messengers；　but　in　the　last　ten　years　there　has　been　a　sweeping　revolution　in　this　respect。　Government　by　telephone！　This　is　a　new　idea　that　has　already　arrived　in　the　more　efficient　departments　of　the　Federal　service。　And　as　for　the　present　Congress；　that　body　has　gone　so　far　as　to　plan　for　a　special　system　of　its　own；　in　both　Houses；　so　that　all　official　announcements　may　be　heard　by　wire。

Garfield　was　the　first　among　American　Presidents　to　possess　a　telephone。　An　exhibition　instrument　was　placed　in　his　house；　without　cost；　in　1878；　while　he　was　still　a　member　of　Congress。　Neither　Cleveland　nor　Harrison；　for　temperamental　reasons；　used　the　magic　wire　very　often。　Under　their　regime；　there　was　one　lonely　idle　telephone　in　the　White　House；　used　by　the　servants　several　times　a　week。　But　with　McKinley　came　a　new　order　of　things。　To　him　a　telephone　was　more　than　a　necessity。　It　was　a　pastime；　an　exhilarating　sport。　He　was　the　one　President　who　really　revelled　in　the　comforts　of　telephony。　In　1895　he　sat　in　his　Canton　home　and　heard　the　cheers　of　the　Chicago　Convention。　Later　he　sat　there　and　ran　the　first　presidential　telephone　campaign；　talked　to　his　managers　in　thirty…eight　States。　Thus　he　came　to　regard　the　telephone　with　a　higher　degree　of　appreciation　than　any　of　his　predecessors　had　done；　and　eulogized　it　on　many　public　occasions。　〃It　is　bringing　us　all　closer　together；〃　was　his　favorite　phrase。

To　Roosevelt　the　telephone　was　mainly　for　emergencies。　He　used　it　to　the　full　during　the　Chicago　Convention　of　1907　and　the　Peace　Conference　at　Portsmouth。　But　with　Taft　the　telephone　became　again　the　common　avenue　of　conversation。　He　has　introduced　at　least　one　new　telephonic　custom　a　long…distance　talk　with　his　family　every　evening；　when　he　is　away　from　home。　Instead　of　the　solitary　telephone　of　Cleveland…Harrison　days；　the　White　House　has　now　a　branch　exchange　of　its　ownMain　6　with　a　sheaf　of　wires　that　branch　out　into　every　room　as　well　as　to　the　nearest　central。

Next　to　public　officials；　bankers　were　perhaps　the　last　to　accept　the　facilities　of　the　telephone。　They　were　slow　to　abandon　the　fallacy　that　no　business　can　be　done　without　a　written　record。　James　Stillman；　of　New　York；　was　first　among　bankers　to　foresee　the　telephone　era。　As　early　as　1875；　while　Bell　was　teaching　his　infant　telephone　to　talk；　Stillman　risked　two　thousand　dollars　in　a　scheme　to　establish　a　crude　dial　system　of　wire　communication；　which　later　grew　into　New　York's　first　telephone　exchange。　At　the　present　time；　the　banker　who　works　closest　to　his　telephone　is　probably　George　W。　Perkins；　of　the　J。　P。　Morgan　group　of　bankers。　〃He　is　the　only　man；〃　says　Morgan；　〃who　can　raise　twenty　millions　in　twenty　minutes。〃　The　Perkins　plan　of　rapid　transit　telephony　is　to　prepare　a　list　of　names；　from　ten　to　thirty；　and　to　flash　from　one　to　another　as　fast　as　the　operator　can　ring　them　up。　Recently　one　of　the　other　members　of　the　Morgan　bank　proposed　to　enlarge　its　telephone　equipment。　〃What　will　we　gain　by　more　wires？〃　asked　the　operator。　〃If　we　were　to　put　in　a　six…　hundred　pair　cable；　Mr。　Perkins　would　keep　it　busy。〃

The　most　brilliant　feat　of　the　telephone　in　the　financial　world　was　done　during　the　panic　of　1907。　At　the　height　of　the　storm；　on　a　Saturday　evening；　the　New　York　bankers　met　in　an　almost　desperate　conference。　They　decided；　as　an　emergency　measure　of　self…protection；　not　to　ship　cash　to　Western　banks。　At　midnight　they　telephoned　this　decision　to　the　bankers　of　Chicago　and　St。　Louis。　These　men；　in　turn；　conferred　by　telephone；　and　on　Sunday　afternoon　called　up　the　bankers　of　neighboring　States。　And　so　the　news　went　from　'phone　to　'phone；　until　by　Monday　morning　all　bankers　and　chief　depositors　were　aware　of　the　situation；　and　prepared　for　the　team…play　that　prevented　any　general　disaster。

As　for　stockbrokers　of　the　Wall　Street　species；　they　transact　practically　all　their　business　by　telephone。　In　their　stock　exchange　stand　six　hundred　and　forty　one　booths；　each　one　the　terminus　of　a　private　wire。　A　firm　of　brokers　will　count　it　an　ordinary　year's　talking　to　send　fifty　thousand　messages；　and　there　is　one　firm　which　last　year　sent　twice　as　many。　Of　all　brokers；　the　one　who　finally　accomplished　most　by　telephony　was　unquestionably　E。　H。　Harriman。　In　the　mansion　that　he　built　at　Arden；　there　were　a　hundred　telephones；　sixty　of　them　linked　to　the　long…distance　lines。　What　the　brush　is　to　the　artist；　what　the　chisel　is　to　the　sculptor；　the　telephone　was　to　Harriman。　He　built　his　fortune　with　it。　It　was　in　his　library；　his　bathroom；　his　private　car；　his　camp　in　the　Oregon　wilder…　ness。　No　transaction　was　too　large　or　too　involved　to　be　settled　over　its　wires。　He　saved　the　credit　of　the　Erie　by　telephonelent　it　five　million　dollars　as　he　lay　at　home　on　a　sickbed。　〃He　is　a　slave　to　the　telephone；〃　wrote　a　magazine　writer。　〃Nonsense；〃　replied　Harriman；　〃it　is　a　slave　to　me。〃

The　telephone　arrived　in　time　to　prevent　big　corporations　from　being　unwieldy　and　aristocratic。　The　foreman　of　a　Pittsburg　coal　company　may　now　stand　in　his　subterranean　office　and　talk　to　the　president　of　the　Steel　Trust；　who　sits　on　the　twenty…first　floor　of　a　New　York　skyscraper。　The　long…distance　talks；　especially；　have　grown　to　be　indispensable　to　the　corporations　whose　plants　are　scattered　and　geographically　misplacedto　the　mills　of　New　England；　for　instance；　that　use　the　cotton　of　the　South　and　sell　so　much　of　their　product　to　the　Middle　West。　To　the　companies　that