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Index  tQ  the 


Magazine 

Volume  XXVII,  1948 


Information  Department 

AMERICAN  TELEPHONE  AND  TELEGRAPH  COMPANY 

New  York  7,  N.  Y. 


>1 


i 


J'RINTED   IN    U.    S.    A. 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE 

VOLUME  XXVII,  1948 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

SPRING,  1948 

''We  Must  Continue  to  Go  Forward."  by  Leroy  A.  Wilson  5 

Public  Telephones :  They  Serve  Everybody,  by  T.  Hunt  Clark  ...  9 

Rural  Telephone  Progress — 1947   20 

Making  Inter-Office  Trunk  Equipment  Do  Double  Duty,  by  Ben- 
jamin K.  Boyce 23 

Business  and  People,  by  Keith  S.  McHugh 31 

It  Was  a  Tough  Winter 39 

Bell  System  Inventions  Are  Not  Suppressed,  by  Hubert  A.  Pat- 

tison   48 

W^ashington's    Xew   Federal   Dial    Switching   System,   by    George 

E.   DesJardins    50 

The   Single  Warrant :   A   Step  Ahead   in   Corporate   Finance,   by 

Frederick  A.  Wiseman  59 

Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly 70 

The  Goose  That  Lays  the  Golden  Egg 72 

SUMMER,  1948 

Exchange  Cable :  The  Drama  of  Post-war  Production,  by  Charles 

G.  Sinclair,  Jr 77 

The  License  Contract,  by  Keith  S.  McHugh 88 

The  Thirty  Millionth  Bell  Telephone  Is  Installed  in  Iowa 93 

The  Wires  W^hich  Carry  the  News  of  the  World,  by  Robert  E. 

Moore 94 

Southern  Xew  England  and  the  Telephone 104 

The    Benefit    and    Pension    Plant    Is    Thirty-five,    by    Charles   J. 

Schaefer,  Jr •  105 

Bell  System  Advertising  Wins  Award 113 

Charts  at  Works,  by  Kenneth  W.  Haenier 114 

Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly 1 24 

Ideas.  Men,  and  Things,  by  James  O.  Perrine 126 

The  Greatest  Communication  Network  in  History 135 

3 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVII 

AUTUMN,  1948 

How   Western   Electric   Serves   Telephone  Users,   by   Clifton   W. 

Phalcn    141 

A  Design  for  Living,  by  Theresa  E.  Boden 148 

Telephone  City 162 

Sorting   Two-and-a-half   Billion   Tickets   a   Year,   by   Fredric   M. 

Biathrow  and  F.  Raymond  Brewster 164 

Promoting  Safety  in  Our  Automotive  Fleet,  by  Erie  S.  Miner  ....  172 

Most  People  Are  Honest,  by  H.  Montague  Pope 185 

Telephones  of  the  World,  by  James  R.  McGozvan 192 

Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly 202 

WINTER,  1948-1949 

Six  Thousand  Telephone  Companies   Serve  U.   S..  by  A.  Roger 

Chappelka    209 

Bell  System  Patents  and  Patent  Licensing,  by  Keith  S.  McHugh  .  .  217 
The  Part  Communications.  Play  in   Civil   Defense,  by  Judson  S. 

Bradley    .' .  220 

The  Millionth  Bell  Rural  Telephone  Since  the  War  Is  Installed  .  .  .  226 
Toll  Dialing  by  Operators  Reaches  Some  300  Places,  by  Ernst  J. 

Guengerich    228 

Fair  Exchange,  by  John  Mason  Brotvn 238 

Right-of-Way  Comes  First,  by  Harry  H.  Hoopes 240 

Installation  by  Western  Electric  Company,  by  Alvin  von  Auiv  ....  249 

The  Things  Men  Live  By,  by  Walter  S.  Gifford 259 

Telephone  Facilities  for  Railroad  Reservations,  by  Justin  E.  Hoy  260 

Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly 270 

Bell  System's  Television  Networks  Connected   271 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE 

VOLUME  XXVII,  1948 
INDEX 

A 

Issue       Page 
Accounting — Billing  Systems: 

"Sorting  Two-and-a-half  Billion  Tickets  a  Year"  by  Fredric 

M.  Biathrow  and  F.  Raymond  Brewster — 5  photos   ....Au  164 

Advertising  Award: 

A.  T.  &  T.  wins  "Honorable  Mention"  for  national  maga- 
zine  advertisements   in    1947 — photo    Su  113 

American  Telephone  &  Telegraph  Company: 

"The  License  Contract"  by  K.  S.  McHugh    Su  88 

"The  A.  T.  &  T.  Company  Opens  New  Broadcasting  Studios 

in  New  York"  (In  "25  Yrs.  Ago")    . . .  .^^^ Su  124 

"The  American  Telephone  Historical  Collection"   Wi  270 

Annual  Reports: 

"We  Must  Continue  to  Go  Forward"  by  L.  A.  Wilson   Sp  5 

Arnold,  H.  D.: 

Scientific   research    Su  131 

Associated  Companies: 

"The  License  Contract"  by  K.  S.  McHugh   Su  88 

Awards — Advertising : 

A.  T.  &  T.  wins  "Honorable  Mention"  for  national  maga- 
zine advertisements  in  1947 — photo  Su  113 

B 
Bacon,  Sir  Francis: 

Scientific   experiments    Su  126 

Baekeland,  George  E.: 

Statement  on  suppression  of  patents    Sp  49 

Becquerel,  Andre: 

Scientific  research   Su  132 

"Beginning  of  Policy  of  Selling  Service  and  Not  Instruments" 

(In   "25   Yrs.   Ago")    Au  202 

Bell,  Alexander  Graham: 

Scientific  research    Su  126 

Watson  denied  that  Bell  offered  to  sell  stock  at  low  price  . . .  .Sp  22 

"Bell  System  Ideals  Are  High"    Wi  270 

"Bell   System   Inventions   Are   Not   Suppressed"   by   Hubert   A. 

Pattison    Sp  48 

"Bell  System  Patents  and  Patent  Licensing"  by  Keith  S.   Mc- 
Hugh     Wi  217 

"Bell  System's  Television  Networks  Connected" — 1   map    Wi  271 

5 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVII 

Issue  Page 
Bell  Telephone  Laboratories: 

"The  License  Contract"  by  K.  S.  McHugh    Su  88 

"The    Benefit    and    Pension    Plan    Is    Thirty-five"    by    C.    J. 

Schaefer,   Jr Su  105 

Biathrow,  Fredric  M.  and  F.  Raymond  Brewster: 

"Sorting  Two-and-a-half  Billion  Tickets  a  Year" — -5  photos.. Au  164 

Biography : 

Biathrow,   Fredric  M. — portrait    Au  138 

Boden,  Theresa  E. — portrait   Au  138 

Boyce,    Benjamin    K. — portrait    Sp  2 

Bradley,  Judson  S. — portrait   Wi  206 

Brewster,  F.  Raymond — portrait    Au  139 

Chappelka,   A.    Roger — portrait    Wi  206 

Clark,  T.   Hunt — portrait    Sp  2 

Desjardins,    George    E. — portrait    Sp  3 

Guengerich,  Ernst  J. — portrait   Wi  207 

Haemer,   Kenneth   W. — portrait    Su  75 

Hoopes,  Harry  H. — portrait   Wi  207 

Hoy,   Justin    E. — portrait    Wi  207 

McGowan,  James  R. — portrait    Au  139 

McHugh,   Keith   S. — portrait    Su  74 

Miner,  Erie  S. — portrait   Au  139 

Moore,  Robert  E. — portrait    Su  74 

Pattison,   Hubert  A. — portrait    . Sp  3 

Perrine,   James    O. — portrait    Su  75 

Phalen,   Clifton  W.— portrait    Au  138 

Pope,  H.  Montague — portrait    Au  139 

Schaefer,  Charles  J.,  Jr Su  75 

Sinclair,  Charles  G.,  Jr. — portrait   Su  74 

von  Auw,  Alvin — portrait    Wi  207 

Wilson,   Leroy   A. — portrait    Sp  2 

Boden,  Theresa  E.: 

Biographical   sketch — portrait    Au  138 

"A   Design   for   Living" — 13   photos    Au  148 

Boyce,  Benjamin  K.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait   Sp  2 

"Making  Inter-Ofifice  Trunk  E(|uipment  Do  Double  Duty" 

— 4  photos,  1  map,  2  diagrams   Sp  23 

Bradley,  Judson  S.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait    Wi  206 

"The    Part    Communications     Play    in     Civil     Defense" — 1 

photo Wi  220 

Brashear,  John  Alfred: 

Scientific  research Su  127 

Brewster,  F.  Raymond: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait  Au  139 

Brewster,  F.  Raymond  and  Fredric  M.  Biathrow: 

"Sorting  Two-and-a-half  Billion  Tickets  a  Year" — 5  photos.. Au  164 

Brown,  John  Mason: 

"Fair  Exchange"   Wi  238 

d 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVII 

Issue  Page 
Buildings — Telephone : 

"Telephone   City" — photo    Au  162 

Bush,  Dr.  Vannevar: 

Statement  on  suppression  of  patents    Sp  49 

"Business  and  People"  by  Keith  S.  McHugh  Sp  31 

C 
Cady,  Walter  Gusrton: 

Scientific  research    Su  133 

"Catalina   Radio  Telephone   System   Superseded  by   Submarine 

Cable"— ( In  "25   Yrs.  Ago")    Au  203 

Chappelka,  A.  Roger: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait   Wi  206 

"Six  Thousand  Telephone  Companies  Serve  U.   S."  by  A. 

Roger  Chappelka — 6  photos    Wi  208 

Charts: 

"Charts  at  Work"  by  K.  W.  Haenier— 10  charts Su  114 

Customer  opinion  of  service.  1946-1948 Su  119 

Distribution  of  the  world's  telephones — 1947  Su  115 

Estimated  Bell  System  exchange  cable  shipments  for  1948 
compared  with  the  expected  1948  production  of  certain 

other  items    Su  87 

Growth  in  stations,  1876-1919 Su  117 

Manual  answers,  per  cent  over  10  seconds — 1939.  1947,  1948.. Su  118 

Millions  of  telephones,  1920-1947   Su  123 

^'et  telephone  gain,   1935-1947    Su  122 

Percentage     distribution     of     telephone     plant     investment. 

1920-1947    Su  121 

Telephone  development  of  large  cities,  January   1.   1948    ....Au  198 

Telephone  movement  and  net  gain,   1920-1947    Su  120 

Telephones  in  countries  of  the  world.  January  1.  1948 Au  194 

Telephones— in    millions,    1920-1947    Su  118 

Telephones  per  100  population.  January  1,  1947 Su  116 

Telephones  per  100  population.  January  1,  1948 Au  196 

The  World's  telephones,  January  1.  1948  Au  197 

The   World's   telephones    by   continental   areas,   January    1, 

1948   Au  193 

"Charts  at  Work"  by  Kenneth  W.  Haemer — 10  charts   Su  114 

Civil  Defense: 

Bell  System  Men  in  Office  of  Civil  Defense  Planning Wi  206 

"The    Part    Communications    Play    in    Civil    Defense"    bj- 

Judson  S.  Bradley — 1  photo   Wi  220 

Clark,  T.  Hunt: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait Sp  2 

"Public  Telephones:  They  Serve  Everybody" — 9  photos   ....Sp  9 

Construction : 

"Second    Transcontinental    Route    Planned" — (In    "25    Yrs. 

Ago")    Sp  71 

Crookes,  Sir  William: 

Scientific  research   Su  129 

7 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVII 

Issue  Page 
Crystals : 

"Ideas,  Men  and  Things"  by  J.  O.  Perrine   Su  132 

Curie,  Paul: 

Scientific  research    Su  132 

Curie,  Pierre: 

Scientific  research    Su  132 

D 
Davy,  Sir  Humphrey: 

Quote  on  discovery  of  Michael   Faraday   Su  127 

Quote  on  success  through  failures   Su  126 

DeForest,  Lee: 

Scientific  research    Su  131 

"A  Design  for  Living"  by  Theresa  E.  Boden — 13  photos   Au  148 

Desjardins,  George  E.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait  Sp  3 

"Washington's    New     Federal     Dial    Switching    System" — 

4  photos    Sp  50 

DeVries,  Hugo: 

Scientific  research    Su  128 

Diagrams: 

Showing  DSA  switchboards  arranged  for  dual  use   Sp  29 

Inter-office  trunking  circuits,  showing  dual  use   Sp  27 

Round  robin  duplex  teletype  service   Su  99 

Telephone  equipment  arranged  to  give  both  customers  and 

ticket  sellers  access  to  reservation  clerks  over  the  same  # 

turret  lines    Wi  266 

Telephone  equipment  arranged  to  provide  separate  turret 
lines  for  customers  and  ticket  sellers  to  reach  reserva- 
tion clerks   Wi  267 

Dial  Systems: 

"Making  Inter-Office  Trunk  Equipment  Do  Double  Duty" 

by  Benjamin  K.  Boyce — 4  photos,  1  map,  2  diagrams  ...Sp  23 

"Six  Thousand  Telephone  Companies  Serve  U.   S."   by  A. 

Roger  Chappelka — 1   photo    Wi  212 

"Toll  Dialing  by  Operators  Reaches  Some  300  Places"  by 

Ernst  J.  Guengerich — 4  photos,  1  map   Wi  228 

"Washington's    New    Federal    Dial    Switching    System"    by 

George  E.  Desjardins — 4  photos   Sp  50 

Displays  and  Exhibits: 

"Southern  New  England  and  the  Telephone" — 2  photos    ....Su  104 

Dufay,  Charles: 

Scientific  research    Su  130 

E 

"Early  Telephone  Experiment" Sp  30 

Edison,  Thomas  A.: 

Quote  on  suppression  of  patents  Sp  49 

Scientific  research   Su  126 

8 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVII 

Issue  Page 
Employees: 

"Business  and  People"  by  Keith  S.  McHugh  Sp  31 

"The  Things  Men  Live  By"  by  Walter  S.  Gifford   Wi  259 

"We  Must  Continue  to  Go  Forward"  by  L.  A.  Wilson   Sp  5 

Employees — Classes : 

"A  Design  for  Living"  by  Theresa  E.  Boden — 13  photos   ...Au  148 
"Exchange    Cable:    The    Drama    of    Postwar    Production"    by 

Charles  G.  Sinclair.  Jr. — 9  photos.  1  chart Su  76 

F 

"Fair  Exchange"  by  John  Mason   Brown    Wi  238 

Faraday,  Michael: 

Scientific  research    Su  126 

Finance: 

"The  License  Contract"  b3'  Keith  S.  McHugh Su  88 

"The  Single  Warrant:  A  Step  Ahead  in  Corporate  Finance" 

by   Frederick  A.  Wiseman — 6  photos    Sp  59 

"W'e  Must  Continue  to  Go  Forward"  by  L.  A.  Wilson   Sp  5 

Flags: 

"The  New  Bell  Flag"— (In  "25  Yrs.  Ago")    Su  124 

Fleming,  John  Ambrose: 

Scientific  research    Su  131 

Franklin,  Benjamin: 

Scientific  research   Su  126 

G 

Galileo: 

Scientific    experiments    Su  126 

Geissler,  Heinrich: 

Scientific  research    Su  129 

Gibbs,  Josiah  Willard: 

Phase   Rule    Su  128 

Gifford,  Walter  S.: 

"The  Things  Men  Live  By"  by  Walter  S.  Gifford Wi  249 

"We  Must  Continue  to  Go  Forward"  by  L.  A.  Wilson Sp  5 

"The  Greatest  Communication  Network  in  History"   Su  134 

"The  Goose  That  Lays  the  Golden  Egg"   Sp  72 

Guengerich,  Ernst  J.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait    Wi  207 

"Toll  Dialing  by  Operators  Reaches  Some  300  Places"  by 

Ernst  J.  Guengerich — \  photos,  I  map   Wi  228 

H 

Haemer,  Kenneth  W.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait  Su  75 

"Charts  at  Work" — 10  charts    Su  114 

Henry,  William: 

Scientific  research   Su  126 

9 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVII 

Issue       Page 
Hertz,  Heinrich: 

Scientific  research    Su  130 

History : 

"The  American  Telephone   Historical   Collection" — (In  "25 

Yrs.  Ago")    Wi  270 

"Beginning  of   Policy   of   Selling   Service   and    Not    Instru- 
ments"—(In  "25  Yrs.  Ago")    Au  202 

"Early  Telephone   Experiment"    Sp  30 

"Twenty-five   Years  Ago  in   the   Bell  Telephone   Quarterly, 

April   1923"    Sp  70 

"Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the   Bell  Telephone  Quarterly, 

July   1923"    Su  124 

"Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly, 

October   1923"    Au  202 

"Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the   Bell  Telephone   Quarterly, 

January   1924"    Wi  270 

Watson  denied  that  Bell  offered  to  sell  stock  at  low  price  . . .  .Sp  22 

Hittorf,  Johann  Wilhelm: 

Scientific  research Su  129 

Hoopes,  Harry  H.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait    Wi  207 

"Right-of-Way   Comes   First" — 3   photos    Wi  240 

"How  Western  Electric  Services  Telephone  Users"  by   Clifton 

W.   Phalen— 4  photos    Au  140 

Hoy,  Justin  E.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait    Wi  207 

"Telephone  Facilities  for  Railroad  Reservations" — 5  photos, 

2  diagrams Wi  260 

I 

"Ideas,  Men,  and  Things"  by  J.  O.  Perrine   Su  126 

Independent  Telephone  Companies: 

"Six  Thousand  Telephone   Companies   Serve   U.   S."   by   A. 

Roger  Chappelka — 6  photos    Wi  208 

"Installation    by    Western    Electric    Company"    by    Alvin    von 

Auw— 6  photos    Wi  249 

Inventions : 

"Bell  System   Inventions  Are   Not  Suppressed"  by   Hubert 

A.    Pattison    Sp  48 

"Bell  System  Patents  and  Patent  Licensing"  by  Keith  S.  Mc- 

Hugh    Wi  217 

"It  Was  a  Tough  Winter"— 16  photos  Sp  39 

J 
Jewett,  Dr.  Frank  B.: 

"Addresses     Pacific    Coast    A.I.E.E.     Meeting    from     New 

York"— (In  "25  Yrs.  Ago") Au  202 

Quote  on  suppression  of  patents    Sp  49 

"Joint  A.I.E.E.  Meeting  by  Wire  and  Loudspeaker" — (In  "25 

Yrs.   Ago")    Sp  70 

10 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX.  VOLUME  XXVII 

Issue       Page 
L 
Langmuir,  Irving: 

Scientific  research    Su  131 

Lenard,  P.  E.  A.  von: 

Scientific  research    Su  129 

"The  License  Contract"  bj^  K.  S.  McHugh   Su  88 

Loudspeakers: 

"Jewett,  Dr.  F.  B.,  Addresses  Pacific  Coast  A.LE.E.  Meet- 
ing from  Xew  York" — (In  "25  Yrs.  Ago")   Au  202 

"Joint    A.I.E.E.     Meeting    by    Wire    and    Loudspeaker" — 

(In  "25  Yrs.  Ago")    Sp  70 

M 

"Making  Inter-Office  Trunk  Equipment  Do  Double  Duty"  by 

Benjamin  K.  Boyce — \  photos,  1  map,  2  diagrams Sp  23 

Management: 

"We  Must  Continue  to  Go  Forward"  by  L.  A.  Wilson   Sp  5 

Manson,  Dr.  Melville  H.: 

Statement  on  Design  for  Living  program  Au  148 

Maps: 

Bell  System  coaxial  and  radio  relay  networks  which  carry 

television    programs    Wi  271 

Facilities  added  in  Bell  Sjstem  rural  areas  during  1947   Sp  21 

Outline  map  of   Manhattan   and   the   Bronx,   showing   loca- 
tions of  central  offices    Sp  25 

States  connected  with  the  Xew  York  and  Chicago  crossbar 

toll  dialing  systems    Wi  229 

Marconi,  Guglielmo: 

Scientific  research    • Su  130 

Maxwell,  J.  Clerk: 

Scientific  research    Su  130 

McGowan,  James  R.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait    Au  139 

"Telephones    of    the    World"    by    James    R.    McGowan — 5 

charts    Au  192 

McHugh,  Keith  S.: 

"Bell  System  Patents  and  Patent  Licensing"  Wi  217 

Biographical   sketch — portrait    Su  74 

"Business  and  People"   Sp  31 

"The  License  Contract"    Su  88 

Portrait   Sp  2 

Portrait    Wi  206 

Mendel,  Gregor: 

Research  with  garden  peas   Su  128 

"The   Millionth   Bell   Rural   Telephone   Since  the   War   Is   In- 
stalled"—2  photos    Wi  226 

Miner,  Erie  S. 

Biographical  sketch — portrait Au  139 

"Promoting  Safet\'  in  Our  Automotive  Fleet" — 14  photos   ..Au  172 

11 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVII 

Issue       Page 
Mobile  Telephone  Service: 

"Six  Thousand  Telephone   Companies   Serve   U.   S."   hy   A. 

Roger  Chappelka — 1   photo    Wi  213 

Moore,  Robert  E.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait   Su  74 

"The    Wires    Which    Carry    the    News    of    the    World" — 8 

photos,    1    diagram    Su  94 

Morgan,  William: 

Scientific  research    Su  129 

Morse,  Samuel  B.: 

Scientific   research    Su  126 

"Most  People  Are  Honest"  hy  H.  Montague  Pope — 4  photos  .  . .  .  Au  185 

Motion  Pictures: 

"Sorting  Two-and-a-half  Billion  Tickets  a  Year"  by  Fredric 

M.  Biathrow  and  I".  Raymond  Brewster — 5  photos Su  170 

N 

"The  New  Bell  Flag"— (In  "25  Yrs.  Ago")    Su  124 

Newton,  Sir  Isaac: 

Scientific    experiments    Su  126 

O 
Operator  Toll  Dialing: 

"Six  Thousand   Telephone   Companies   Serve   U.   S."   by   A. 

Roger   Chappelka    Wi  212 

"Toll  Dialing  by  Operators  Reaches  Some  300  I'laces"  by 

Ernst  J.  Guengerich — 4  photos,  1   map    Wi  228 

P 
Page,  Arthur  W. : 

Quote  on  public  relations    Sp  58 

"The  Part  Communications  Play  in  Civil  Defense"  by  Judson  S. 

Bradley— 1   photo    Wi  220 

Patents: 

"Bell  System   Inventions   Are   Not  Suppressed"  by   Hubert 

A.    Pattison    Sp  48 

"Bell   System    Patents  and   Patent   Licensing"   by   Keith   S. 

McHugh    Wi  217 

"The  License  Contract"  by  K.  S.  McHugh   Su  88 

Pattison,  Hubert  A.: 

"Bell  System  Inventions  Are  Not  Suppressed"    Sp  48 

Biographical   sketch — portrait    Sp  3 

Pay  Stations: 

"Most    People    Are    Honest"    by    H.    Montague    Pope — 4 

photos  Au  185 

"Public  Telephones:  They   Serve   Everybody"  by  T.   Hunt 

Clark    Sp  9 

12 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVII 

Issue       Page 
Pensions: 

"The    Benefit   and    Pension    Plan    Is   Thirty-five"    by    C.    J. 

Schaefer.  Jr Su  105 

Perrine,  James  O.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait  Su  75 

"Ideas,  Men,  and  Things"  Su  126 

Phalen,  Clifton  W.: 

Biographical   sketch — portrait    Au  138 

"How  Western  Electric  Serves  Telephone  Users" — 1  photos..  Au  140 

Pierce,  George  Washington: 

Scientific  research    Su  133 

Plant— Central  Office: 

"Installation  by  Western   Electric   Company"  bj'  Alvin  von 

Auw— 6  photos    Wi  249 

Plant— Outside — Trucks : 

"Promoting   Safety   in    Our   Automotive   Fleet"   by    Erie   S. 

Miner — 14  photos    Au  172 

Plant — Outside — Cables : 

"Catalina    Radio    Telephone    Sjstem    Superseded    by    Sub- 
marine Cable" — (In  "25  Yrs.  Ago")    Au  203 

"Exchange    Cable:    The    Drama    of    Post-war    Production" 

by  Charles  G.  Sinclair,  Jr. — 9  photos,  1  chart Su  76 

"Making  Inter-Oflfice  Trunk   Equipment   Do   Double   Duty" 

by  Benjamin  K.  Boyce — 4  photos,  1  map,  2  diagrams  .  . .  .Sp  23 

Policies : 

"Beginning   of    Policy   of   Selling   Service   and    Not    Instru- 
ments"—(In  "25  Yrs.  Ago")    Au  202 

"Bell  System  Ideals  Are  High"— (In  "25  Yrs.  Ago")    Wi  270 

"Bell  Sj^stem   Inventions  Are  Not   Suppressed"  by   Hubert 

A.   Pattison    Sp  48 

"Bell  System   Patents  and   Patent   Licensing"   by   Keith   S. 

McHugh    Wi  217 

"The  Things  Men  Live  By"  by  Walter  S.  Giflford Wi  259 

"We  Must  Continue  to  Go  Forward"  by  L.  A.  Wilson   Sp  5 

Pope,  H.  Montague: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait    Au  139 

"Most   People  Are   Honest" — \  photos    Au  185 

Preece,  Sir  William: 

Scientific  research    Su  131 

Priestley,  Joseph: 

Scientific  research    Su  132 

"A   Privacy   Radio   System  for   Catalina   Island" — (In   "25   Yrs. 

Ago")     Su  124 

Private  Branch  Exchanges: 

"Washington's    New    Federal    Dial    Switching    System"    by 

George  E.  Desjardins — 4  photos   Sp  50 

"Promoting  Safety  in  Our  Automotive  Fleet"  by  Erie  S.  Miner 

— 14  photos  Au  172 

13 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVII 

Issue       Page 
Public  Relations: 

"Business  and  People"  by  Keith  S.  McHugh    Sp  31 

"How  Western  Electric  Serves  Telephone  Users"  by  Clifton 

W.  Phalen — 4  photos    Au  140 

"Most  People  Are  Honest"  by  H.  Montague  Pope— 4  photos.  .Au  185 

"Public  Telephones:   They   Serve    Everybody"   by   T.   Hunt 

Clark — 9  photos   Sp  9 

Quote  by  A.  W.  Page  on  Bell  System  public  relations   Sp  58 

"Right-of-Way     Conies     First"     by     Harry     H.     Hoopes — -3 

photos Wi  240 

"The  Single  Warrant:  A  Step  Ahead  in  Corporate  Finance" 

by  Frederick  A.  Wiseman — 6  photos    Sp  59 

"Six  Thousand  Telephone  Companies  Serve  U.   S."  by  A. 

Roger  Chappelka — 6  photos    Wi  208 

"Sorting  Two-and-a-half  Billion  Tickets  a  Year"  by   Fred- 

ric  M.  Biathrow  and  F.  Raymond  Brewster — 5  photos   ..Au  164 

"Telephone  Facilities  for  Railroad  Reservations"  by  Justin 

E.  Hoy — 5  photos,  2  diagrams   Wi  260 

"We  Must  Continue  To  Go  Forward"  by  L.  A.  Wilson   ....Sp  5 

Public  Telephones: 

"Public   Telephones:   They   Serve    Everybody"   by   T.    Hunt 

Clark — 9  photos Sp  9 

V 
R 

Radio: 

"The  Greatest  Communication  Network  in   History"    Su  135 

Radio  Stations: 

"The  A.  T.  &  T.  Company  Opens  New  Broadcasting  Studios 

in  New  York"— (In  "25  Yrs.  Ago") ', Su  124 

Radio — Transoceanic : 

"Transatlantic     Radio    Telephone     Experiments" — (In     "25 

Yrs.   Ago")    Sp  70 

Radio  Telephony: 

"A    Privacy    Radio    System    for    Catalina    Island" — (In    "25 

Yrs.   Ago") Su  124 

Rates — Telephone : 

"The  Goose  That  Lays  the  Golden  Egg"   Sp  72 

"We  Must  Continue  to  Go  Forward"  by  L.  A.  Wilson   Sp  5 

Rayleigh,  John  William  Strutt: 

Scientific    experiments    Su  126 

Research : 

"Ideas,  Men,  and  Things"  by  J.  O.  Perrine   Su  126 

Richardson,  O.  W.: 

Scientific   research    Su  131 

"Right-of-Way  Comes  First"  by  Harry  H.  Hoopes — 3  photos  ...Wi  240 

Roentgen,  Wilhelm  Konrad: 

Roentgen  and  X-Rays   Su  129 

"Rural  Telephone  Progress— 1947"— 1   map    Sp  20 

14 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVII 

Issue       Page 
Rural  Telephone  Service: 

"The  Millionth  Bell  Rural  Telephone  Since  the  War  Is  In- 
stalled"—2   photos    Wi  226 

"Rural  Telephones"   Wi  237 

"Six  Thousand   Telephone   Companies   Serve   U.   S."   by   A. 

Roger  Chappelka — 6  photos    Wi  208 

S 
Safety: 

"Promoting   Safety   in   Our   Automotive    Fleet"   by    Erie   S. 

Miner — 14  photos   Au  172 

Schaefer,  Charles  J.,  Jr.: 

"The  Benefit  and  Pension  Plan  Is  Thirty-five"   Su  105 

Biographical  sketch — portrait Su  75 

"Second  Transcontinental  Route  Planned" — (In  "25  Yrs.  Ago")..Sp  71 

Sinclair,  Charles  G.,  Jr.: 

Biographical    sketch — portrait    Su  74 

"Exchange   Cable:  The  Drama  of   Post-war   Production" — 

9  photos,  1  chart   Su  76 

"The  Single  Warrant:  A  Step  Ahead  in  Corporate  Finance"  by 

Frederick   A.   Wiseman — -6  photos    Sp  59 

"Six  Thousand  Telephone  Companies  Serve  U.  S."  by  A.  Roger 

Chappelka — 6  photos   Wi  208 

Snyder,  John  W.: 

Portrait   Sp  54 

"Sorting   Two-and-a-half   Billion   Tickets   a   Year" — by    Fredric 

M.  Biathrow  and  F.  Raymond  Brewster — 5  photos Au  164 

"Southern  New  England  and  The  Telephone" — 2  photos    Su  104 

Statistics — Telephone : 

"Telephones    of    the    World"    by    James    R.    McGowan — 5 

charts    Au  192 

"World's  Telephone  Statistics,  1922"— (In  "25  Yrs.  Ago")   ..Au  202 

Securities— A.  T.  &  T.: 

"The  Single  Warrant:  A  Step  Ahead  in  Corporate  Finance" 

by  Frederick  A.  Wiseman — 6  photos    Sp  59 

Watson  denied  that  Bell  offered  to  sell  stock  at  low  price  . . .  .Sp  22 

Stockholders : 

"We  Must  Continue  to  Go  Forward"  by  L.  .\.  Wilson Sp  5 

Storms : 

"It  Was  A  Tough  Winter" — 16  photos   Sp  39 

Surveys: 

Chart — Customer  opinion  of  service.   1946-1948    Su  119 

"The  Single  Warrant:  A  Step  Ahead  in  Corporate  Finance" 

by  Frederick  A.  Wiseman    Sp  63 

"Telephone  Surveys"   Wi  269 

T 
Telcmobile : 

"Public  Telephones:   They  Serve   Everybody"  by  T.   Hunt 

Clark — 2  photos   Sp  15 

15 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVII 

Issue       Page 

"Telephone  City"— photo    Au  162 

Telephone  Development: 

"The  Millionth  Bell  Rural  Telephone  Since  the  War  Is  In- 
stalled"—2  photos  Wi  226 

"The  Thirty  Millionth  Bell  Telephone  Is  Installed  in  Iowa" 

— photo   Su  93 

"Telephone   Facilities  for   Railroad   Reservations"   by   Justin    E. 

Hoy — 5  photos,  2  diagrams   Wi  260 

Telephone  Pioneers  of  America: 

"The  Things  Men  Live  By"  by  Walter  S.  Gifford Wi  259 

Telephone  Service: 

"How  Western  Electric  Serves  Telephone  Users"  by  Clifton 

W.   Phalen— 8  photos    Au  140 

"The  License  Contract"  by  K.  S.  McHugh  Su  88 

"Making  Inter-Office  Trunk   Equipment   Do  Double   Duty" 

by  Benjamin  K.  Boyce — 4  photos,  1  map,  2  diagrams   ...Sp  23 

"Public  Telephones:   They   Serve   Everybody"   by  T.   Hunt 

Clark— 9  photos    Sp  9 

"Six  Thousand   Telephone   Companies   Serve   U.   S."   by   A. 

Roger  Chappelka — 6  photos    Wi  208 

"Telephone   Service"    Wi  219 

"We  Must  Continue  to  Go  Forward"  by  L.  A.  Wilson   Sp  5 

"Telephones  of  the  World"  by  James  R.  McGowan — 5  charts   ..Au  192 

Telephones — Statistics : 

Chart — Distribution  of  the  world's  telephones — 1947    Su  115 

Chart— Growth  in   stations,   1876-1919    Su  117 

Chart — Manual    answers,    per    cent    over    10    seconds,    1939, 

1947,    1948    Su  118 

Chart— Millions  of  telephones,   1920-1947    Su  123 

Chart — Net  telephone  gain,   1935-1947    Su  122 

Chart — Telephone  movement  and  net  gain,  1920-1947   Su  120 

Chart— Telephones— in  millions,  1920-1947    Su  118 

"Charts  at  Work"  by  K.  W.  Haemer— 10  charts   Su  114 

"Telephones    of    the    World"    by    James    R.    McGowan — 5 

charts    Au  192 

Telephones — Uses : 

"Fair  Exchange"  by  John  Mason  Brown   Wi  238 

"The    Part    Communications    Play    in    Civil    Defense"    by 

Judson  S.   Bradley— 1   photo    Wi  220 

"Telephone  Facilities  for  Railroad  Reservations"  by  Justin 

E.  Hoy — 5  photos,  2  diagrams   Wi  260 

"Washington's    New    Federal    Dial    Switching    System"    by 

George  E.  Desjardins — 4  photos    Sp  50 

Telephotography : 

"The  Wires  Which  Carry  the  News  of  the  World"  by  Rob- 
ert  E.   Moore— 3  photos Su  100 

Teletypewriters : 

"The  Wires  Which  Carry  the  News  of  the  World"  by  Rob- 
ert E.  Moore — 4  photos,  1  diagram   Su  94 

16 


DELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVII 

Issue       Page 
Television: 

"Bell  System's  Television  Networks  Connected" — 1  map   ...Wi  271 

"The  Greatest  Communication  Network  in  History"    Su  135 

"Six  Thousand  Telephone   Companies  Serve  U.   S."  by  A. 

Roger  Chappelka    Wi  214 

"The  Things  Men  Live  By"  by  Walter  S.  Gifford  Wi  259 

"The  Thirty  Millionth  Bell  Telephone  Installed  in  Iowa"— photo . .  Su  93 

Thomson,  J.  J.: 

Scientific  research    Su  131 

"Toll  Dialing  by  Operators  Reaches  Some  300  Places"  by  Ernst 

J.   Guengerich — 4  photos.   1   map    Wi  228 

Training : 

"Installation  by  Western  Electric  Company"  by  Alvin  von 

Auw — 6  photos    Wi  249 

"Transatlantic  Radio  Telephone  Experiments" — 1923   Sp  70 

Treasury  Department: 

"The  Single  Warrant:  A  Step  Ahead  in  Corporate  Finance" 

by  Frederick  A.  Wiseman — 6  photos    Sp  59 

"Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly,  April 

1923"    Sp  70 

"Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly,  July 

1923"    Su  124 

"Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly,  Oc- 
tober 1923"    Au  202 

"Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly,  Jan- 
uary   1924"    Wi  270 

V 
Vail,  Theodore  N.: 

Quote  on  Benefit  Plan Wi  259 

Volta,  Alessandro: 

Scientific  research    Su  126 

von  Auw,  Alvin: 

Biographical   sketch — portrait    W^i  207 

"Installation  by  Western   Electric  Company" — 6  photos   ....Wi  249 

von  Laue,  Max: 

Scientific  research   Su  129 

W 

"Washington's  New  Federal  Dial  Switching  Sjrstem"  by  George 

E.  Desjardins — \  photos  Sp  50 

Watson,  Thomas  A. 

Watson  denied  that  Bell  oflFered  to  sell  stock  at  low  price  . . .  .Sp  22 

"We  Must  Continue  to  Go  Forward"  by  L.  A.  W^ilson Sp  5 

Western  Electric  Company: 

"Bell   System   Patents  and   Patent   Licensing"  by   Keith   S. 

McHugh    Wi  217 

"Exchange  Cable:  The  Drama  of  Post-war  Production"  bj' 

Charles  G.  Sinclair,  Jr. — 9  photos,  1  chart  Su  76 

17 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVII 

Issue       Page 
"How  Western  Electric  Serves  Telephone  Users"  by  Clif- 
ton W.   Phalen— 8  photos    Au  140 

"Installation  by  Western  Electric  Compan\'"  by  Alvin  von 

Auw — 6  photos    Wi  249 

"Most  People  Are  Honest"  by  H.  Montague  Pope — 4  photos.  .  Au  185 

Wilson,  Leroy  A.: 

Biographical   sketch — portrait    Sp  2 

"We  Must  Continue  to  Go  Forward"  by  L.  A.  Wilson   Sp  5 

"Winter,  It  Was  a  Tough"— 16  photos   Sp  39 

"Wires  Which  Carry  the  News  of  the  World,  The"  by  Robert 

E.  Moore — 8  photos,  1  diagram    Su  94 

Wiseman,  Frederick  A.: 

Portrait    Sp  3 

"The  Single  Warrant:  A  Step  Ahead  in  Corporate  Finance" 

— 6  photos    Sp  59 

"World's  Telephone  Statistics,  1922"    Au  202 


18 


im 


/■-' 


k\  1 1  '■  «^ 


"We  Must  Continue  to  Go  Forward*^  •   Leroy  A.  Wilson 

Public  Telephones:  They  Serve  Everyhody  •  T.  Hunt  Clark 

Making  Inter-Office  Trunk  Equipment  Do  Double  Duty 
Benj^^min  K.  Boycb 

Business  and  People  •  Keith  S.  McHugh 

Washington's  New  Federal  Dial  Switching  System 
George  E.  DesJardins 

The  Single  Warrant:  A  Step  Ahead  in  Corporate  Finance 
Frederick  A.  Wiseman 


nencan' Miepnom 


Bell  TelephoneA^^W 


spring  1948 


"We  Must  Continue  to  Go  Forward,"  Leroy  A.  Wilson,  5 

Public  Telephones:  They  Serve  Everybody,  T.  Hunt  Clark,  9 

Rural  Telephone  Progress — 1947,  20 

Making  Inter-Office  Trunk  Equipment  Do  Double  Duty, 
Benjamin  K.  Boyce,  23 

Business  and  People,  Keith  S.  McHugh,  31 

It  Was  a  Tough  Winter,  39 

Bell  System  Inventions  Are  Not  Suppressed,  Hubert  A.  Pattison,  48 

Washington's  New  Federal  Dial  Switching  System, 
George  E.  DesJardins,  50 

The  Single  Warrant:  A  Step  Ahead  in  Corporate  Finance, 
Frederick  A.  Wiseman,  59 

Twenty-Five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly,  70 

The  Goose  That  Lays  the  Golden  Egg,  72 

Indexes  Now  Available,  72 


y4  Medium  of  Suggestion  ^  a  Record  of  Progress 

Published  for  the  supervisory  forces  of  the  Bell  System  by  the  Information  Department  of 
American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Co.,  /p5  Broadway^  New  York  7,  N.  Y. 
Lerov  a.  Wilson,  President;  Carroll  O.  Bickelhaupt,  Sec;  Donald  R.  Belcher,  Treas. 


Who's  Who  &  What's  What 
in  This  Issue 


The  statement  which  Leroy  A.  Wil- 
son made  at  the  annual  meeting  of  stock- 
holders of  the  A.  T.  &  T.  Company  on 
April  21  is  his  first  formal  public  utterance 
since  he  was  elected  to  the  presidency  of  the 
company  two  months  earlier. 

Mr.  Wilson's  election  as  president  cli- 
maxed a  Bell  System  career  which  had  be- 
gun 26  years  before  with  the  Indiana  Bell 
Telephone  Company  when,  two  days  after 
graduation  from  Rose  Polytechnic  Institute 
in  Terre  Haute,  in  June  of  1922,  he  re- 
ported for  work  as  a  traffic  clerk  and  stu- 
dent in  Indianapolis.  During  his  years 
with  that  company  he  had  direct  charge  of 
the  telephone  operating  forces  in  several 
districts  throughout  the  state  before  return- 
ing to  Indianapolis  as  district  traffic  super- 
intendent in  1927. 

It  was  in  1929  that  Mr.  Wilson  trans- 
ferred to  the  Department  of  Operation  and 
Engineering  of  the  A.  T.  &  T.  Company 
in  New  York.  His  first  work  there  was  in 
the  traffic  division,  but  he  also  gained  ex- 


perience in  dial  equipment  engineering  and 
in  related  fields.  Ten  years  after  his  ar- 
rival in  New  York,  he  moved  from  the 
traffic  to  the  commercial  division  of  O.  & 
E.,  where  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the 
work  on  telephone  directories.  The  fol- 
lowing year  he  was  made  rate  engineer  in 
the  same  division,  and  in  1942  he  was  ap- 
pointed to  head  the  entire  commercial  di- 
vision. 

It  was  from  this  post  that  Mr.  Wilson 
was  promoted  to  an  A.  T.  &  T.  vice  presi- 
dency in  1944,  with  the  assignment  to  study 
the  revenue  requirements  of  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem. His  "Reasonable  Earnings  to  Insure 
the  Best  Service,"  published  in  this  Maga- 
zine for  Autumn  1945,  expounds  his  phi- 
losophy on  the  subject  and  directly  pro- 
motes an  understanding  of  it. 

It  is  a  coincidence  that  T.  Hunt  Clark's 
"Public  Telephones:  They  Serve  Every- 
body" appears  in  this  issue,  since  his  only 
previous    contribution,    "That    First    Call 


T.  Hunt  Clark 


Benjamin  A.  Boyce 


Keith  S.  McHu^h 


Hubert  A.  Pattison 


George  E.  Desjardins  Frederick  A.  Wiseman 


Home,"  was  published  in  the  Magazine 
for  Autumn  1945,  which  carried  Mr.  Wil- 
son's only  previous  contribution. 

An  officer  in  tvvo  wars,  Mr.  Clark  spent 
the  years  between  them  in  the  commercial 
engineering  division  of  the  New  York 
Telephone  Company;  as  secretary  to  Wal- 
ter S.  Gifford,  then  president  of  the  A.  T. 
&  T.  Co.  and  since  February  18  of  this 
year  chairman  of  the  board ;  and  in  the 
sales  and  servicing  section  of  the  commer- 
cial division  of  the  O.  &  E.  Department  of 
A.  T.  &  T.  After  discharge  in  1945 — 
with  the  rank  of  Major — from  his  duties  as 
Chief  of  the  Control  and  Communications 
Section  of  the  National  Office  of  Civilian 
Defense  in  Washington,  he  rejoined  the 
sales  and  servicing  section,  where  his  field 
has  included  public  telephone  service. 

The  report  of  the  past  year's  progress  in 
carrying  forward  the  Bell  System's  pro- 
gram of  rural  telephone  development  is 
one  of  an  annual  series  prepared  by  the 
commercial  division  of  the  A.  T.  &  T. 
Company's  Department  of  Operation  and 
Engineering.  It  is  published  in  these  pages 
as  supplementing  "More  and  Better  Tele- 
phone Service  for  Farmers,"  in  our  issue 
for  Winter  1944-45,  and  "Progress  in  Ex- 
tending Bell  Rural  Telephone  Service,"  in 
our  issue  for  Winter  1946—47. 

Making  two  telephone  circuits  grow 
where  but  one  had  grown  before  is  an  ac- 


complishment which  Benjamin  K.  Boyce 
has  opportunity  to  achieve^— thanks  to  the 
peculiar  geography  of  Manhattan  Island 
and  the  fixed  telephone  habits  of  large 
numbers  of  customers  of  the  New  York 
Telephone  Company. 

Mr.  Boyce  joined  the  Engineering  De- 
partment of  the  New  York  Telephone 
Company  in  1907,  and  served  in  various 
engineering  capacities  before  becoming  toll 
and  exchange  plant  engineer  in  1921. 
Five  years  later  he  became  chief  engineer 
of  the  Upstate  Area  of  that  company,  with 
his  headquarters  in  Albany,  and  in  1939  he 
was  appointed  to  a  like  post  in  the  Man- 
hattan Area.  After  another  tw^o  5  ears  he 
became  vice  president  and  general  manager 
of  the  Bronx- Westchester  Area,  and  since 
1942  he  has  been  Chief  Engineer,  Manhat- 
tan-Bronx-Westchester,  New  York  Tele- 
phone Company. 

A  statement  of  the  Bell  System  career  of 
Keith  S.  McHugh  will  be  found  in  the 
Magazine  for  Autumn  1947,  in  which 
was  published  his  "How  Big  Are  the  Little 
Things  in  the  Telephone  Business?" 

Joining  the  Bell  System  in  19 18,  Hubert 
A.  Pattison  was  with  the  Patent  Depart- 
ment of  Western  Electric  Company  for  26 
years.  He  was  in  charge  of  the  work  at 
Kearny  from  1922  to  1925,  and  then  until 

{Continued  on  page   iq) 


LEROY  A.  WILSON 
President,  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company 


The  New  Head  of  the  American   Telephone  and  Telegraph 

Company    Greets  the  Stockholders  at  the  Annual  Meeting 

In  New   York  on  April  21 


44 


We  Must  Continue 
To  Go  Forward" 

Lerojf  yl.  IVilson 


Two  MONTHS  AGO  your  directors 
elected  a  new  President  of  the  com- 
pany. I  am  deeply  aware  of  the  re- 
sponsibilities that  have  been  entrusted 
to  me.  I  take  heart  from  the  con- 
viction that  Bell  System  policies  and 
the  high  standards  of  performance 
achieved  over  the  years  give  us  the 
best  kind  of  foundation  for  meeting 
the  problems  and  opportunities  of  the 
future. 

It  is  a  privilege  to  join  with  you 
today  in  paying  tribute  to  the  man 
who  during  23  of  his  nearly  44  years 
of  Bell  System  service  has  headed  this 
company.  Through  successive  pe- 
riods of  boom,  depression,  and  war, 
and  through  these  post-war  years, 
Mr.  Gifford  has  kept  our  public- 
service  enterprise  on  a  true  course. 
He  has  done  so  with  untiring  patience 
and  steady  courage,  with  considera- 
tion for  the  interests  of  everyone  as- 
sociated with  the  business — whether 
as  customer,  stockholder,  or  em- 
ployee— and  with  a  personal  gra- 
ciousness  that  endears  him  to  all  who 
know  him. 


Many  minds  and  many  hands  have 
shared  in  making  our  service  every- 
where more  extensive,  more  useful, 
and  more  valuable  to  more  people. 
They  have  had,  in  Mr.  Gifford,  the 
leader  who  with  wisdom,  foresight, 
and  rare  judgment  has  made  their 
teamwork  increasingly  effective. 
That  he  is  now  serving  as  Chairman 
of  the  Board  and  is  continuing  to 
participate  actively  in  the  business  is 
a  great  comfort  to  me,  and  I  am 
sure  is  heartily  welcomed  by  the 
stockholders. 

The  Annual  Report,  which  was 
sent  to  all  stockholders  in  February, 
presented  in  detail  the  management's 
accounting  of  its  stewardship  for  the 
year  1947,  and  the  statement  which 
accompanied  dividend  checks  of  April 
15,  less  than  a  week  ago,  gave  the 
latest  financial  results  of  Bell  System 
operations. 

Since  V-J  day  the  System  has  had 
under  way  the  largest  construction 
program  in  its  history,  in  order  to 
provide  new  buildings,  central  office 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


apparatus,  telephone  lines,  and  other 
equipment  needed  to  meet  the  un- 
precedented demand  for  service  and 
to  make  the  service  better.  More 
than  seven  million  telephones  have 
been  added.  Demand  for  service 
continues  at  a  high  level,  and  to  meet 
it  we  must  keep  on  with  our  heavy 
construction  program,  which  will  re- 
quire large  additional  amounts  of 
new  capital. 

Nearly  two  billions  of  new  capital 
have  been  raised  in  the  last  24 
months.  The  greater  part  has  been 
obtained  from  long-term  debt  issues. 
Some  $785,000,000  has  come  from 
the  sale  of  convertible  debentures  and 
the  conversion  of  debentures  into 
A.  T.  &  T.  stock.  The  number  of 
stockholders  has  reached  a  record 
total  of  737,000,  an  increase  of  14,- 
000  since  the  beginning  of  this  year. 
We  heartily  welcome  those  who  are 
acquiring  shares  in  the  ownership  of 
our  expanding  business. 

The  proportion  of  debt  in  the  total 
capital  of  the  System  is  now  about 
50  percent;  approximately  one-fifth 
of  this  is  in  the  form  of  debentures 
convertible  into  stock.  Each  deben- 
ture converted  reduces  the  proportion 
of  debt,  and  with  earnings  adequate 
to  attract  additional  conversions  we 
can  in  due  course  look  forward  to  a 
lowering  of  the  current  debt  ratio. 
We  must  obtain  the  additional  capi- 
tal needed  to  provide  the  service  that 
our  customers  want,  and  at  the  same 
time  maintain  a  sound  financial  struc- 
ture, which  is  the  only  basis  for  good 
service,  good  wages,  and  protection 
of  the  savings  invested  in  the  busi- 
ness. This  means  that  earnings  must 
continue  to  provide  a  return  on  the 
stockholders'  investment  sufficient  to 
permit     the    majority    of    financing 


through  issues  of  stock  or  debentures 
that  are  later  converted  into  stock. 
Your  management  is  taking  every 
means  to  accomplish  this,  and  I  am 
confident  that  we  shall  be  successful 
in  the  future  as  in  the  past. 

More  than  20  years  ago,  speaking 
before  the  1927  Convention  of  the 
National  Association  of  Railroad 
and  Utilities  Commissioners  in  Dal- 
las, Texas,  Mr.  Gifford  stated  the 
fundamental  policy  of  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem. It  was  obvious,  he  said,  that 
the  only  sound  policy  that  will  meet 
the  System's  obligations  "is  to  con- 
tinue to  furnish  the  best  possible  serv- 
ice at  the  lowest  cost  consistent  with 
financial  safety.  This  policy  is  bound 
to  succeed  in  the  long  run  and  there 
is  no  justification  for  acting  other- 
wise than  for  the  long  run." 

The  Bell  System  has  been  success- 
ful because  it  has  lived  by  this  policy 
and  lived  up  to  it.  A  few  illustra- 
tions from  the  record  will  help  to 
show  this.  They  are  the  best  evi- 
dence too  that  the  same  policy  will 
guide  us  well  in  the  future. 

Today  we  are  able  to  provide  a 
great  deal  more  service  to  more  peo- 
ple than  20  or  25  years  ago.  The 
number  of  Bell  telephones  has  in- 
creased nearly  three  times.  The  vol- 
ume of  calls  has  increased  from  about 
18  billion  a  year  to  more  than  50 
billion.  Service  is  faster,  the  quality 
of  transmission  better,  and  errors  less 
frequent. 

The  plant  is  more  sturdy  and  the 
service  most  dependable.  The  range 
of  service  has  been  vastly  extended, 
not  only  to  bring  the  convenience  of 
the  telephone  to  the  more  remote 
areas  of  our  own  country  but  also  to 
reach  countries  all   over  the  world 


1948 


'JVe  Must  Continue  To  Go  Forward" 


and  to  serve  ships,  automobiles, 
trains,  and  aircraft.  Teletypewriter 
exchange  service  has  been  extended 
to  customers  in  all  parts  of  the 
country. 

New  types  of  facilities  are  being 
introduced,  including  coaxial  cables 
and  radio  relay  systems  which  are 
carrying  television  programs  as  well 
as  telephone  conversations.  New 
switching  systems  are  going  into  the 
plant  that  will  in  time  further  speed 
up  toll  and  long  distance  service  by 
enabling  operators  to  dial  calls  di- 
rectly from  coast  to  coast  and  by 
enabling  customers  to  dial  many  of 
their  own  toll  calls  to  points  beyond 
their  local  exchange  area.  New  tele- 
phone instruments  and  teletypewriter 
equipments  are  under  development 
which  will  further  increase  the  con- 
venience and  ease  of  communication. 

We  are  keenly  aware  that  the  prob- 
lems caused  by  the  war  and  the  un- 
precedented demands  of  the  post- 
war period  have  made  it  impossible 
to  give  service  to  all  who  want  it  and 
to  give  every  customer  the  kind  of 
service  he  wants.  Yet,  though  the 
service  today  is  not  in  every  respect 
what  we  would  like  to  have  it  and 
intend  to  make  it,  it  is  beyond  all 
comparison  better  than  it  was  20  or 
25  years  ago. 

Not  only  is  the  service  better  but 
its  value  to  the  user  is  far  greater 
than  ever  before.  For  example,  a 
telephone  user  today  on  the  average 
can  reach  three  times  as  many  tele- 
phones in  his  local  exchange  area  as 
he  could  25  years  ago.  Another  evi- 
dence of  the  increase  in  value  is  the 
tremendous  increase  in  demand.  The 
fact  is  that  generally  the  price  of  tele- 
phone  service   to  the  user  is  today 


relatively  much  less  than  it  used  to  be. 
Because  of  the  steep  rise  in  the  cost 
of  providing  service  since  the  war, 
Bell  System  companies  have  recently 
had  to  request  increases  in  telephone 
rates,  and  additional  increases  are 
necessary.  However,  may  I  point 
out  again  that  the  increases  that  have 
been  made  effective  in  the  last  year 
or  two  are  the  first  important  ones 
since  the  period  of  price  adjustment 
following  World  War  I,  and  that 
they  have  been  much  less  than  the 
rise  in  prices  generally. 

Under  the  policy  stated  in  1927, 
then,  the  quantity  of  service,  the 
quality  of  service,  and  the  value  of 
service  have  all  increased.  The  pol- 
icy also  pointed  out  that  "Payments 
to  stockholders  limited  to  reasonable 
regular  dividends  with  their  right, 
as  the  business  requires  new  money 
from  time  to  time,  to  make  further 
investments  on  favorable  terms,  are 
to  the  interest  both  of  the  telephone 
users. and  the  stockholders." 

Reasonable  and  regular  dividends 
have  been  paid  to  stockholders 
through  the  speculative  1920s, 
through  the  depression  years  of  the 
'30s,  and  through  the  war-time  and 
post-war  '40s.  As  new  money  has 
been  required,  stockholders  have  had 
the  right  from  time  to  time  to  invest 
further  in  the  company.  The  finan- 
cial integrity  of  the  business  has  been 
maintained.  Your  management  is 
keenly  aware  that  this  is  essential  to 
the  progress  of  the  business,  to  the 
improvement  and  expansion  of  the 
service,  and  to  make  possible  the 
fullest  measure  of  opportunity  to 
employees. 

In  the  same  way,  our  policy  recog- 
nizes that  it  is  to  the  advantage  of 
customers  and  stockholders  that  the 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


employees  of  the  Bell  System  be  well 
paid,  that  they  carry  on  their  work 
under  good  working  conditions,  and 
that  individual  abilities  be  discovered 
and  developed,  with  promotions 
made  from  the  ranks.  The  joint  en- 
terprise of  investors  who  are  paid  a 
reasonable  return  and  employees  who 
are  paid  good  wages  is  to  the  advan- 
tage of  both  groups,  and  also  to  the 
advantage  of  telephone  users,  who 
thereby  obtain  steadily  better  and 
more  valuable  service. 

Over  the  years  public  regulatory 
authorities  have  generally  recognized 
this.  From  the  record  of  the  past 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that 
on  the  whole  they  will  continue  to  do 
so  and  that  they  will  approve  what- 
ever increases  in  telephone  rates  may 
be  necessary  to  keep  the  telephone 
companies  financially  sound  and  in  a 
position  to  continue  their  progress  in 
increasing  the  value  of  the  service.  A 
financially  healthy  telephone  company 
is  an  asset  to  community,  state,  and 
nation;  financial  ill  health  could  only 
produce  in  the  long  run  the  most 
costly  of  service  to  the  user. 

As  Mr.  Gifford  observed  in  the 
policy  statement  of  1927,  to  which  I 
have  already  referred,  "The  margin 
of  safety  in  earnings  is  only  a  small 
percentage  of  the   rate  charged   for 


service,  but  that  we  may  carry  out 
our  ideals  and  aims  it  is  essential  that 
this  margin  be  kept  adequate.  Cut- 
ting it  too  close  can  only  result  in 
the  long  run  in  deterioration  of  serv- 
ice while  the  temporary  financial 
benefit  to  the  telephone  user  would 
be  practically  negligible." 

The  common  sense  of  this  state- 
ment is  as  obvious  today  as  it  was 
then.  A  sound  and  prospering  or- 
ganization is  the  only  kind  of  organi- 
zation that  can  continue  to  make 
progress  in  the  public  interest.  We 
cannot  rest  on  the  record  of  the  past, 
but  under  the  policy  which  has  been 
so  successful  in  the  past  we  must  con- 
tinue to  go  forward.  That  service 
be  further  expanded  and  improved; 
that  the  cost  to  the  user  continue  to 
be  as  low  as  possible;  that  employees 
find  good  pay,  opportunity,  and  satis- 
faction in  their  telephone  careers; 
that  stockholders  receive  a  reason- 
able and  regular  return  and  that  their 
savings  invested  in  the  business  be 
protected — in  meeting  these  objec- 
tives lies  the  task  of  your  manage- 
ment; a  task  that  is  accepted  with 
confidence,  with  whole-hearted  en- 
thusiasm, and  with  the  determination 
that  the  people  of  our  nation  shall 
continue  to  enjoy  the  most,  the  cheap- 
est, and  the  best  telephone  service  in 
the  world. 


A    Three-fold  Program    of  Improvement^   Instituted  since 

The   ITar^   Promises   Better   Service  for   Customers  and  a 

Consequent  Gain  in  Revenue  for  the  Bell  System 


Public  Telephones:  They 
Sen^e  Ea  erybody 

T.  Hunt  Clark 


One  of  the  first  big  post-war  sales 
and  servicing  jobs  to  get  under  way 
in  the  Bell  System's  Associated  Com- 
panies, and  one  which  is  already 
showing  important  results,  is  aimed 
at  improving  public  telephone  serv- 
ice * — and  thus  public  telephone  reve- 
nues. Important  as  public  telephone 
service  is  at  present — it  handled  more 
than  two  billion  calls  last  year — the 
companies  are  moving  aggressively 
ahead  on  a  plan  to  make  it  still  more 
so. 

Three  outstanding  factors  have 
made  this  one  of  the  lead-off  post-war 
sales  projects: 

I.  It  is  a  job  on  which  a  good 
deal  can  be  done  with  only  minor 
demands  on  the  already  over- 
loaded outside  telephone  plant  and 
central  office  facilities. 


*  This  article  refers  only  to  public  telephones ; 
i.e.,  coin  and  attended  telephones  which  are 
provided  for  the  use  of  the  general  public. 
Not  included  in  the  discussion  are  the  semi- 
public  telephones  provided  primarily  for  the 
subscriber,  with  public  use  more  or  less  inci- 
dental. 


2.  It  is  needed  to  insure  the  ade- 
quacy of  the  service  on  which  the 
entire  public  depends  so  much,  not 
only  in  emergencies  but  for  busi- 
ness and  all  sorts  of  other  oc- 
casions as  well.  It  is  particularly 
important  at  this  time  because  of 
the  number  of  people  who  have 
been  unable  as  yet  to  obtain  tele- 
phone service  of  their  own. 

3.  It  offers  attractive  opportuni- 
ties for  increasing  revenues  sub- 
stantially. 

The  public  telephone  promotion 
forces  of  the  Associated  Companies 
are  pushing  forward  on  three  pri- 
mary fronts: 

A.  Improving  service  and  reve- 
nues at  existing  public  telephones 
by  improving  the  convenience,  com- 
fort and  attractiveness  of  the  serv- 
ice. 

B.  Relieving  congestion  and  im- 
proving revenues  by  providing  ad- 
ditional public  telephones. 


lO 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


The  size  and  importance  of  public 
telephone  service  is  indicated  by  the 
fact  that  in  1947  the  more  than  two 
billion  calls  made  at  public  tele- 
phones produced  some  $150,000,000 
in  gross  revenue. 

While  public  telephones  comprise 
only  1-5  percent  of  the  System's  main 
telephones,  they  contribute  7  percent 
of  the  total  billing. 

And  every  call  is  an  opportunity  to 
create  better  public  relations. 


C.  Encouraging  the  general  pub- 
lic to  place  calls  at  public  tele- 
phones rather  than  to  use  the  pri- 
vate telephones  of  subscribers  in 
stores  and  other  business  places. 

Proof  of  the  Puddifig 

What  can  a  well  integrated,  aggres- 
sive public  telephone  promotion  pro- 
gram such  as  this  really  accomplish? 

Perhaps  the  easiest  way  to  visual- 
ize it,  and  to  prove  it,  is  to  see  its  re- 
sults in  a  medium  sized  city — one  of 
the  many  where  this  work  is  under 
way.  Let's  look  at  what  happened 
in  Winston-Salem,  N.  C,  recently. 

The  Winston-Salem  exchange  area 
has  a  population  of  119,000;  and 
last  summer,  when  the  public  tele- 
phone promotion  man  came  into  town 
to  start  work,  it  had  300  coin  tele- 
phones in  service.  The  representa- 
tive visited  all  these  locations,  and 
carried  out  such  a  program. 

He  saw  to  it  that  locations,  and 
directory,  lighting,  and  ventilating  fa- 
cilities, were  improved  where  needed. 

He  arranged  for  refinlshing  any 
booths  in  poor  condition,  and  en- 
listed the  cooperation  of  the  pub- 
lic telephone  agents — the  owners  or 
lessees  of  the  premises  where  the  tele- 


phones are  located — in  providing 
adequate  day-to-day  janitor  service. 

Fourteen  businessmen  were  per- 
suaded that  public  telephone  calls  had 
no  place  on  their  business  lines. 

In  all,  he  found  ways  to  Improve 
124  installations,  and  he  found  good 
spots  for  43  more  coin  telephones. 

So  attractive  to  the  public  were  the 
service  Improvements  he  was  able  to 
achieve  that,  a  few  months  after  the 
job  was  done,  revenue  from  the  coin 
telephones  was  found  to  be  running 
50  percent  ahead  of  the  same  period 
of  the  previous  year.  That  contrasts 
sharply  with  the  increase  of  only  0.7 
percent  In  revenues  from  coin  stations 
in  the  rest  of  the  state  of  North 
Carolina  during  the  same  period. 

Certainly  this  Is  proof  of  a  mighty 
good  pudding. 

Now  let's  look  a  little  more  closely 
at  the  three  aspects  of  this  big  pro- 
motion job. 

IMPROVING  SERVICE 

Conditions  at  all  existing  installa- 
tions are  being  thoroughly  reviewed 
for  opportunities  for  Improving  serv- 
ice to  the  public.  Special  attention  is 
paid  to  low  revenue  producers. 


Take  the  nickels,  dimes,  and  quar- 
ters collected  from  public  telephones 
last  year — 

Stack  them  up  in  one  pile  and  you 
would  have  a  monument  over  3,000 
miles  high. 

Lay  them  end  to  end  and  you 
would  have  a  metal  ribbon  over 
36,000  miles  long. 

Load  them  in  boxcars  and  you 
would  need  a  300-car  train  over  two 
miles  in  length. 


1948 


Public  Telephones:  They  Serve  Everybody 


II 


For  example,  here 
are  some  of  the  meas- 
ures being  taken  by  the 
Associated  Companies 
at  such  locations  to  im- 
prove— 

Convenience:  by  mov- 
ing the  station  to  a 
more  accessible  loca- 
tion; or  by  providing 
shelves  or  tables  for 
directories  which  are 
now  hung  from  chains; 
by  replacing  directories 
with  torn  or  missing 
leaves. 

A  bank  of  five  booths 
in  a  store  off  the  lobby 
of  an  office  building 
was  made  more  accessi- 
ble by  moving  them  out  into  the 
lobby.  Result:  an  increased  patron- 
age which  brought  with  it  an  80 
percent  increase  In  .  revenue,  or 
$3,400  more  a  year. 

Comfort  and  Appeal:  by  better 
lighting,  installing  fans  and  seats,  im- 
proving janitor  service,  and  moving 
from  excessively  noisy  locations. 

A  telephone  near  a  juke  box  is  not 
pleasant  or  easy  to  use,  and  the  pub- 
lic will  avoid  it;  whereas  it  can  be  a 
real  public  servant  In  another  spot  on 
the  premises.  The  ceiling  lights  In 
booths  are  now  being  changed  from 
25-watt  to  40-watt  bulbs  for  better 
visibility  when  dialing,  making  notes 
during  conversations,  etc. 

Privacy:  by  providing  booths  for 
public  telephones  which  formerly 
were  simply  mounted  on  a  wall. 

Recently  such  an  open  telephone  In 
a  five  and  ten  cent  store  was  replaced 
by  two  telephones  In  booths.  The 
greater  privacy  was  appreciated — to 


Installation  of  a  public  telephone  was  once  a  particularly 
noteworthy  occasion 


the  tune  of  a  200  percent  increase  in 
revenue — $1,200  more  a  year. 

Prominence:  by  adding  signs,  or 
changing  their  type  or  location,  to  ob- 
tain greater  coverage  and  visibility. 

Illuminated  signs  are  coming  into 
greater  use  at  appropriate  locations. 
Moving  the  station  to  a  more  con- 
spicuous location  is  also  an  effec- 
tive means  of  making  It  more  con- 
venient— as  was  illustrated  earlier. 
Brightly  painted  booths  at  selected 
locations  are  making  their  appear- 
ance around  the  country,  giving  pub- 
lic telephone  locations  a  bright  new 
look. 

To  carry  out  a  job  such  as  this, 
Involving  about  300,000  public  tele- 
phones, requires  a  well  planned, 
closely  coordinated  program  of  In- 
spection, prescription,  and  corrective 
action.  The  principals  concerned  are 
the  Commercial,  Plant,  and  Engi- 
neering Departments  and  our  friends 
the  public  telephone  agents. 


12 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


Work  begins  with  a  thorough  in- 
spection of  each  location  by  the  Com- 
mercial public  telephone  promotion 
people.  In  addition,  as  a  regular  and 
continuing  thing,  the  public  telephone 
coin  collectors  make  it  a  point  to  be 
on  the  look-out  for  and  to  report  any 
conditions  which  may  affect  service 
adversely.  They  are  in  an  excellent 
position,  for  example,  to  spot  missing 
equipment,  damaged  parts,  and  un- 
sightly conditions. 

In  the  plans  for  increasing  the  at- 
tractiveness of  service  at  existing 
public  telephone  locations,  the  agent 
plays  a  particularly  important  part. 
The  telephone  company  looks  to  him 


This  elaborate  telephone  booth  of  half  a  century  ago  had 
many  of  the  important  features  of  its  modern  counterpart 


to  provide  suitable  space  for  the 
equipment,  to  keep  the  facilities 
clean,  and  to  furnish  current  for 
booth  and  directory  lights.  Thus  he 
shares  with  us  the  job  of  maintain- 
ing the  installation  in  good  condition. 
For  his  part  he  is  recompensed, 
generally  by  a  commission  on  the  re- 
ceipts, so  he  has  a  stake  in  seeing  to 
it  that  his  public  telephones  are  in- 
viting to  the  public. 

The  Bell  System  pays  the  tidy  sum 
of  about  $28,000,000  yearly  to  its 
public  telephone  agents. 

To  get  the  agent  off  to  a  fresh 
start,  and  to  make  sure  that  a  good 
housekeeping  job  is  done,  some  of 
the  companies  say,  in 
effect,  "Mr.  Agent, 
this  time  we'll  clean 
up  the  booth  for  you 
and  then  you'll  see 
what  a  difference  a  little 
more  'spit  and  polish' 
makes  to  appearances 
— and,  incidentally,  to 
the  size  of  your  com- 
mission check  at  the 
end  of  the  month." 
More  often  than  not 
Mr.  Agent  is  impressed 
by  the  results  and 
this  has  a  salutary 
effect  on  his  caretak- 
ing  activities  in  the 
future. 

The  Plant  Depart- 
ment majors  in  the 
important  job  of  sched- 
uling and  taking  the 
necessary  action  to 
make  such  improve- 
ments as  refinishing 
booths,  relocating  the 
facilities,  adding  signs, 
and  so  on. 


1948 


Public  Telephones:  They  Serve  Everybody 


13 


RELIEVING     CONGESTION 

Busy,  congested  locations  are  get- 
ting first  attention,  and  new  tele- 
phones are  being  added  in  localities 
where  facility  conditions  permit. 
Close  coordination  with  the  central 
office  equipment  schedule  is  main- 
tained, to  make  sure  that  this  new 
installation  work  is  intensified  as  ad- 
ditional central  office  equipment  is 
installed. 

In  the  meantime,  the  program  pro- 
vides for  assuring  that  the  best  use  is 
made  of  what  we  have.  We  want  to 
be  sure  that  existing  public  telephones 
are  in  locations  where  they  do  the 
most  good. 

Usually  the  amount  of  money  col- 
lected from  a  public  telephone  is  a 
good  index  of  how  well  it  is  serving 
the  public.  So,  if  receipts  from  a 
low  payer  cannot  be  improved  by 
the  various  corrective  measures  men- 
tioned earlier,  it  is  moved  to  a  loca- 
tion where  it  will  be  more  useful  to 
the  public. 

However,  there  are  exceptions  to 
this.  Some  public  telephones  are 
comparatively  little  used  but  are  left 
where  they  are  because  many  people 
in  the  locality  have  no  other  tele- 
phone to  use  in  an  emergency. 

USE  OF  subscribers'  SERVICE 

The  channeling  of  bona  fide  public 
telephone  calls  over  coin  telephone 
lines  is  another  part  of  the  public 
telephone  promotion  man's  service 
improvement  job. 

In  many  instances,  without  realiz- 
ing the  disadvantages,  a  business  sub- 
scriber permits  his  customers  and  the 
general  public  to  use  his  business  tele- 
phone for  calls  which  public  tele- 
phones are  intended  to  handle. 

He  is  unaware  that  this  needlessly 


An  average  modern  public  telephone  instal- 
lation: clean-cut^  Junctional.  Note  par- 
ticularly such  points  as  the  seat  in  the 
booths  directories  on  a  well-lighted  shelf 
and  memo-sheet  holder  above  them,  and  the 
sign  at  the  top  of  the  booth  giving  the  loca- 
.    tion  of  other  public  telephones 

ties  up  his  line  and  he  may  lose  im- 
portant calls. 

He  may  find  he  has  not  collected 
for  toll  calls  that  were  made. 

If  there  are  enough  calls,  he  may 
be  depriving  himself  of  commissions 
on  these  calls  if  they  were  made  over 
a  public  telephone  on  his  premises. 

The  corrective  action  taken  is  to 
make  sure  that  attractive,  convenient 
coin  telephone  service  is  available 
nearby  and  to  move  the  subscriber's 
service  to  a  spot  less  accessible  to  the 
public. 

In  a  Texas  city,  the  public  tele- 


H 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


phone  people  worked  with  19  large 
downtown  businesses  which  were 
making  their  own  business  lines 
available  to  the  general  public.  They 
included  department  stores,  banks, 
theaters,  etc.  The  businessmen  were 
convinced  by  the  telephone  represent- 
atives that  it  would  be  to  their  ad- 
vantage to  discontinue  this  practice 
and  to  encourage  the  public  to  use 
the  coin  telephones.  Sixteen  public 
telephones  were  installed  for  public 
convenience  and  the  business  tele- 
phones were  moved.  Public  tele- 
phone revenues  at  these  locations  are 
now  $14,400  a  year — and  the  busi- 
nessmen are  getting  nice  commissions. 

Good  Service  Is  the  Aim 

Good  public  telephone  promotion 
pays  off  in  more  than  nickels,  dimes, 
and  quarters. 


The  public  relations  stake  in  the 
job  is  also  big.  Big  because  each 
day  millions  of  people  all  over  the 
country  who  use  these  facilities  are 
impressed  favorably — or  otherwise. 
The  influence,  good  or  bad,  is  cumu- 
lative, and  therefore  of  great  impor- 
tance in  molding  public  opinion  of 
the  telephone  company.  There  is 
plenty  of  evidence  of  this. 

That  people  do  appreciate  clean, 
well-equipped,  conveniently  located 
public  telephones  is  being  clearly  evi- 
denced in  Winston-Salem  and  other 
places  where  this  work  has  been  un- 
der way. 

Also  from  time  to  time  there  are 
the  dramatic  occasions  when  public 
telephones  and  public  telephone  peo- 
ple can  render  unusual  and  much 
valued  service. 

Take,  for  example,  the  recent  com- 


Modern  design  and  architectural  treatment  make  this  attended  -public  telephone 

center  attractive 


1948 


Public  Telephones:  They  Serve  Everybody 


15 


ment  of  a  commuter  who 
said  "That  job  was 
worth  four  full  pages  of 
newspaper  advertising  in 
building  good  will." 

This  is  what  inspired 
his  remark. 

He  was  one  of  thou- 
sands who  were  ma- 
rooned in  a  railroad  sta- 
tion when  the  "big  snow" 
hit  the  New  York  area 
right  after  Christmas 
and  badly  disrupted  train 
and  bus  service.  The 
situation  at  this  station 
was  particularly  acute, 
and  the  public  telephones 
in  the  station  were 
jammed  in  the  emer- 
gency. 

To  do  what  they 
could  to  meet  the  urgent 
needs  of  the  situation, 
the  New  York  Tele- 
phone Company  dis- 
patched a  number  of  special  repre- 
sentatives to  the  location.  Equipped 
with  armbands  reading  "Telephone 
Company,"  they  stationed  themselves 
at  the  public  telephones  and  rendered 
all  kinds  of  special  assistance.  They 
made  change,  gave  out  long  distance 
call  information,  and  made  additional 
directories  available. 

Because  of  the  excessively  heavy 
traffic,  there  were  long  dial-tone  and 
circuit  delays.  Some  users  became 
impatient,  and  with  others  unfamiliar 
with  dial  coin  telephone  service  did 
not  wait  for  dial  tone  and  lost  their 
nickels.  As  well  as  they  could,  the 
representatives  made  refunds. 

Several  of  the  representatives, 
with  the  railroad  company's  assist- 
ance, set  up  shop  in  a  ticket  seller's 


An  outdoor  public  telephone.  When  shortages  of  equip- 
ment have  made  it  impossible  to  provide  residence  tele- 
phones., booths  such  as  this  have  brought  service  to 
housing  developments  which  otherwise  would  have  been 
entirely  without  it 


booth  and  hung  up  a  sign  reading 
"New  York  Telephone  Company 
Representative."  A  special  line  to 
the  "A"  board  was  installed,  and 
when  anyone  was  particularly  over- 
wrought and  ran  into  delay  in  com- 
pleting his  call,  the  representative 
undertook  to  relay  the  message  to  the 
called  number.  This  ticket  window 
did  a  land  office  business  and  in  a 
small  way  assumed  the  proportions 
of  a  general  information  bureau. 

For  the  better  part  of  a  week,  as 
long  as  the  emergency  lasted,  these 
special  emissaries  of  helpfulness  and 
good  will  were  on  the  job. 

Special  Services  and  Equipment 

This  awareness  of  public  needs  and 
reaction  shows  itself  in  a  variety  of 


i6 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


Atelemobile  brings  the  convenience  of  telephone  service  to  a  dog  show  which^  like  many 
other  public  gatherings^  would  otherwise  be  without  it 


Interior  of  a  telemobiUy  showing  the  arrangement  of  space  to  accommodate  booths y  waiting 

customers^  and  attendant 


1948 


Public  Telephones:  They  Serve  Everybody 


17 


other  very  practical  ways 
in  tiie  public  telephone 
promotion  job.  For  ex- 
ample, the  increasing 
number  of  public  tele- 
phone installations  at 
outdoor  locations  recog- 
nizes that  they  are  some- 
times better  public  serv- 
ants out-of-doors  than 
indoors. 

The  end  of  a  transit 
line,  or  a  transfer  point 
in  the  outskirts  of  a  city, 
is  illustrative.  Here  peo- 
ple often  need  to  make 
calls  after  the  stores  in 
the  neighborhood  are  all 
closed. 

Missed  the  bus!  Train 
delayed  !  Must  call 
home  !  The  outdoor  pub- 
lic telephone  meets  the 
need.  Many  more  of 
them  are  coming  into 
use. 

The  outdoor  location  is  also  play- 
ing an  important  part  in  many  new 
residential  areas  where  facility  short- 
ages prevent  furnishing  main-station 
telephone  service  for  the  time  being 
and  where  suitable  indoor  locations 
are  not  available. 

In  some  places  they  are  also  being 
placed  experimentally  along  super- 
highways where  roadside  commercial 
establishments  to  house  indoor  pub- 
lic telephones  are  often  non-existent 
or  few  and  far  between. 

There  are  other  new  developments 
designed  to  do  whatever  can  be  done 
to  provide  convenient  public  tele- 
phone service  wherever  it  is  needed. 

The  telemobile,  an  attended  pub- 
lic telephone  center  on  wheels,  with 
about  six  booths,  space  for  an  attend- 


One  type  of  telecart^   luhich  brings  coin-box  telephone 
service  to  bedridden  patients  in  veterans^  hospitals 


ant,  and  seats  for  customers,  is  often 
used  to  meet  the  special  needs  for 
service  at  county  fairs,  important 
golf  tournaments,  dog  shows,  and 
similar  occasions.     They  get  around. 

Their  war  record  is  distinguished. 
Some  of  them  served  on  the  decks  of 
battleships  in  dock,  and  others  served 
at  desert  military  posts.  They  were 
widely  used  where  indoor  space  could 
not  be  obtained  immediately  and 
where  speed  in  establishing  service 
was  important. 

The  telecart,  the  tea  wagon  tele- 
phone, is  a  war  baby  originally  de- 
veloped to  bring  telephone  service  to 
the  bedridden  patients  in  military 
hospitals.  It  did  its  job  well  and  is 
still  used  widely  in  the  hospitals  of 
the  Veterans  Administration. 


i8 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


Colorful  booth  installations  attract  attention — and  customers. 

York  City  subway  station 


This  pair  is  in  a  New 


Today,  advance  planning  in  coop- 
eration with  the  V.  A.  is  making  it 
possible  to  equip  these  hospitals  with 
suitable  telephone  outlets,  with  the 
result  that  a  nurse  can  plug  in  a 
telecart  for  service  at  the  bedside  of 
any  bedridden  veteran. 

For  the  wheel-chair  patient,  public 
telephones  are  installed  in  over- 
sized booths,  big  enough  to  accom- 
modate his  chair.  For  those  with  in- 
jured hearing,  hard-of-hearing  (am- 
plifying) sets  are  provided;  and  for 
men  on  crutches  there  are  booths 
with  and  without  seats,  so  they  may 
choose  whichever  is  more  convenient. 

You  may  never  have  seen  Gelett 
Burgess'  purple  cow,  but  in  New 
York  City  and  perhaps  in  other 
places  you  can  see  gay  red  tele- 
phone booths.  They  are  intended  to 
and  do  attract  attention  and  custom- 


ers in  places  where  they  might  other- 
wise be  overlooked. 

So  far,  the  attention-getting  rec- 
ord of  these  booths  is  remarkable. 
Repainting  a  booth  red,  and  thus  im- 
pressing on  passers-by  its  convenient 
availability,  generally  increases  the 
revenue  about  25  percent. 

Coupled  with  other  improvements, 
revenue  increases  have  been  even 
greater.  Public  telephone  people 
have,  for  example,  removed  a  group 
of  four  booths,  installed  three  red 
booths  a  few  feet  away  at  a  better 
location  with  improved  lighting  and 
directory  facilities,  and  have  found 
that  the  increased  usage  thus  stimu- 
lated has  stepped  up  revenues  by  780 
percent — a  rate  of  $1,600  a  year. 

Outdoor  booths  at  gas  stations  are 
going  up  in  the  color  motif  of  the 
gasoline  company  whose  products  are 


1948 


Public  Telephones:  They  Serve  Everybody 


19 


sold  there — another  example  of  the 
variety  of  possibilities  for  using  color 
in  this  field. 

The  use  of  striking  color  is,  of 
course,  appropriate  only  at  selected 
locations  and,  as  you  might  expect, 
intelligence  and  taste  are  necessary  to 
achieve  pleasing  and  effective  results. 

Multiple  Objectives 

The  attractive  color  treatment  is 
illustrative  of  the  new  attention  which 
the  promotion  people  and  engineers 
are  turning  to  the  job  of  improving 
public  telephone  service  and  revenues. 
The  possibilities  of  improving 
lights,    booths,     directory    facilities, 


signs  and  booth  ventilation  are  all 
being  studied.  The  result  will  no 
doubt  be  still  further  improvements 
in  the  appearance,  as  well  as  the  gen- 
eral convenience,  of  public  telephone 
installations.  Meanwhile,  the  pres- 
ent fuller  utilization  of  existing  fa- 
cilities— booth  fans.  Illuminated  signs, 
special  exterior  finishes,  and  the  like 
— is  already  bringing  benefits  to  the 
users  of  this  most  necessary  service. 
More  modern  and  convenient  pub- 
lic telephone  service,  more  widely 
used  by  a  more  satisfied  public,  with 
increasing  revenues  to  the  companies, 
are  the  aims  of  this  big  nickel,  dime, 
and  quarter  job. 


Who's  Who  &  What's  What 

{Continued  from  page  3) 

1944  he  was  at  W.  E.  headquarters  in  New 
York,  where  his  duties  included  contract 
negotiations.  In  1944  he  became  assistant 
general  patent  attorney  of  the  A.  T.  &  T. 
Company,  and  since  1945  has  been  general 
patent  attorney. 

Since  1937,  when  he  transferred  to  the 
then  Procurement  Division,  now  the  Bu- 
reau of  Federal  Supply,  of  the  U.  S.  Treas- 
ury Department  at  Washington,  George 
E.  DesJardins  has  been  interested  in  the 
Federal  Government's  utilities  services. 
With  a  background  of  an  electrical  engi- 
neering degree  from  the  University  of 
Maine,  he  has,  as  engineer  and  economist 
in  the  service  of  the  Federal  Government, 
been  engaged  in  studying  some  of  its  tele- 
phone and  communications  problems.  The 
answer  to  one  of  them  is  the  recently  in- 
stalled Federal  Government  Inter-Agency 
Dial  Switching  System,  which  he  helped 
develop  over  a  period  of  ten  years  and 
which  he  discusses  in  this  issue. 

Among   his   present   responsibilities   is  a 
project  of  current  interest  to  the  Bell  Sys- 


tem operating  companies.  This  is  the  U.  S. 
Treasury's  "consolidated  telephone  con- 
tract" program,  covering  some  40  major 
city  areas,  where  substantially  all  telephone 
service  to  Governmental  activities  may  be 
procured  under  a  series  of  nfaster  contracts 
between  the  Bureau  of  Federal  Supply  and 
the  various  companies.  Mr.  DesJardins, 
working  with  the  companies'  tariffs  arni 
engineers,  sets  up  schedules  of  rates  ap- 
plicable to  each  area,  which  schedules  are 
used  in  operating  under  the  contracts. 
The  resulting  simplified  operation  is  mu- 
tually advantageous. 

Although  Frederick  A.  Wiseman's 
article  in  this  issue  appears  as  a  sequel  to 
"The  Biggest  Offer  Ever,"  which  he  con- 
tributed to  the  Magazine  for  Winter 
1947—48,  it  describes  an  operation  which 
preceded  the  1947  convertible  debenture 
offer  and  greatly  simplified  the  handling  of 
it.  Mr.  Wiseman's  Bell  System  career  is 
recounted  briefly  in  the  earlier  issue. 

The  aerial  photographs  on  pages  24 
and  5 1  were  obtained  from  Fairchild  Aerial 
Surveys  Inc. 


Rural  Telephone  Progress— ig4j 


The  aggressive  nation-wide  Bell  System 
program  for  providing  telephone  service  for 
another  million  customers  in  rural  areas  is 
moving  along  ahead  of  schedule.  This 
plan,  of  unprecedented  proportions,  was 
announced  in  1945  as  the  first  post-war 
step  in  resuming  the  active  extension  and 
improvement  of  telephone  service  in  rural 
areas.  Considering  the  magnitude  of  the 
undertaking  and  the  serious  shortage  of  all 
kinds  of  supplies,  it  looked  like  a  three-  to 
five-year  job. 

Actually,  by  the  end  of  1947,  only  a 
little  over  two  years  after  V-J  Day,  the 
Bell  Companies  had  added  700,000  tele- 
phones in  rural  areas:  70  percent  of  the 
job  had  been  done  in  about  half  the  time. 
To  do  it,  new  rural  customers  were  con- 
nected at  a  rate  many  times  faster  than 
ever  before  in  the  Companies'  history. 

During  1947  alone,  309,000  were  con- 
nected— a  pace  which  brought  telephone 
service  to  about  1,000  additional  rural 
families  each  working  day  of  the  year. 

Today,  as  a  result  of  this  record  per- 
formance and  the  active  rural  programs  in 
other  telephone  companies  throughout  the 
country,  it  is  estimated  that  about  42  per- 
cent of  the  farms  of  the  country  have  tele- 
phone service.  This  compares  with  32  per- 
cent at  the  beginning  of  1945. 

Back  of  the  progress  made  on  the  Bell 
System  rural  extension  program  is  the 
story  of  the  work  of  literally  an  army  of 
engineers  and  rural  experts  who  have  given 
their  full  time  to  the  job.  Despite  unusual 
difficulties,  they  have  built  enough  new 
rural  pole  line  in  the  last  two  years  to 
stretch   twice  around   the  world.      In   the 


same  period  300,000  miles  of  wire  have 
been  strung. 

In  addition,  they  have  made  a  real  start 
toward  improving  and  modernizing  rural 
telephone  service.  Lines  which  had  been 
temporarily  overloaded  to  provide  service 
for  people  without  any  service  at  all  are 
being  relieved ;  the  aim  is  to  reduce  the 
number  of  parties  on  a  line  to  not  more 
than  eight  and  ultimately  to  less  than  eight. 
And,  as  rapidly  as  possible,  the  older  crank- 
type  telephones  are  being  replaced  by  the 
most  up-to-date  types  of  hand  sets. 

Probably  nothing,  however,  expresses  so 
well  what  has  been  accomplished  thus  far 
as  the  testimony  of  the  people  themselves; 
people  in  out-of-the-way  rural  places  all 
over  the  country  who  have  been  brought 
closer  to  each  other  and  to  the  outside  by 
these  new  telephone  lines. 

For  example,  when  the  168  rural  fami- 
lies scattered  over  some  60  square  miles  in 
and  around  the  virtually  isolated  communi- 
ties of  Bayside  and  Bonnie  View  in  south- 
east Texas  were  connected  to  the  new  rural 
telephone  lines  which  were  built  into  their 
neighborhood  last  fall,  they  spoke  of  it  as 
one  of  the  most  important  events  of  the 
year.  They  compared  the  importance  of 
the  48  miles  of  new  rural  pole  line  serving 
them  to  the  new  network  of  improved 
highways  just  being  completed  in  the  area. 
And  this  is  understandable,  for  telephone 
service  has  removed  the  serious  obstacle  of 
distance.  Friends,  relatives,  business  asso- 
ciates, doctors,  and  police  were  now  as  close 
as  their  telephones. 

This    freedom    from    isolation    was    at- 


Rural  Telephone  Progress — 1947 


21 


FACiLiTIES   ADDED   IN   BELL   SYSTEM   RURAL  AREAS   DURING   1947 

SaSWII  IT  8.S.CEKSIIS  SEOtttPHICtL   tCGIOHS 


tained  in  thousands  of  remotely  located 
communities  all  over  the  country  in  1947 
as  Bell  System  pole  line  building  crews 
moved  in. 

A  tow-headed  West  Virginia  mountain 
boy  expressed  it,  in  his  own  way,  when  he 
spotted  telephone  linemen  heading  his  way. 
"They're  coming!"  he  shouted.  "The  line- 
men are  coming.  They  say  we'll  get  our 
telephone  before  the  end  of  the  week,  and 
so  will  Grandma!" 

City  comforts  drop  off  quickly  up  the 
road  where  the  boy  lives,  some  miles  from 
Charleston,  West  Virginia.  The  strip  of 
macadam  soon  dwindles  to  a  meandering 
dirt  road,  impassable  in  winter.  A  rail- 
road spur  provides  the  only  other  connec- 
tion with  the  outside  world. 

For  weeks  the  families  in  the  valley  and 
on  the  surrounding  slopes  had  watched  in- 
tently while  telephone  construction  crews 
pushed  ahead  slowly,  blasting  holes  in  the 
rock}'  soil  to  set  each  pole,  in  many  places 
cutting  and  clearing  the  dense  growth  of 
trees  and  underbrush  so  trucks  and  ma- 
chinery could  get  through,  and  oftentimes 


carrying  materials  into  place  by  hand  where 
the  mountains  were  too  steep  for  trucks  to 
get  in. 

The  promise  of  telephone  service  in  the 
valley  was  being  met.  It  would  provide  an 
important  new  link  with  the  outside  world 
for  all  the  families  in  the  valley,  all  the 
3^ear  around,  no  matter  how  hard  the 
winter. 

An  Oklahoma  farmer  who  recently  wrote 
to  the  telephone  company  expressed  it  still 
another  way: 

"I  watched  your  crew  for  days — cutting 
right-of-ways,  dynamiting  every  pole  hole, 
and  then  finally  connecting  our  service. 
Your  company  has  taken  our  farm  area 
out  of  isolation.  The  telephone  has  given 
us  added  protection  from  careless  people 
who  are  responsible  for  our  forest  fires, 
and  lawless  elements  who  sometimes  in- 
vade the  farm  districts.  Most  of  our  fami- 
lies live  far  apart  and  a  good  distance  from 
public  transportation,  and  with  the  tele- 
phone they  can  expedite  assistance." 

More,  probably,  than  any  one  else,  farm 
people  know  this   feeling  of  security.      It 


22 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


comes  of  incidents  such  as  that  which  oc- 
curred outside  Rugby,  North  Dakota  re- 
cently, when  the  teacher  of  a  rural  school 
was  able  to  telephone  and  get  badly  needed 
medical  help  for  one  of  her  pupils.  The 
school  telephone  had  been  installed  only  a 
short  time  before ;  it  was  one  of  many  con- 
nected to  a  network  of  new  telephone  lines 
built  into  the  neighborhood. 

The  Texas,  West  Virginia,  Oklahoma, 
and  North  Dakota  experiences  mentioned 
briefly  here  are  only  typical.  They  echo 
hundreds  of  others  across  the  country  and 
can  be  repeated  in  every  state.  They  mark 
the  steady  progress  of  the  most  intensive 
rural  telephone  building  program  ever  un- 
dertaken by  the  Bell  System. 

This  rapid  progress  in  the  building  pro- 
gram would  not  have  been  possible  with- 
out the  fullest  use  of  fast,  economical  con- 


struction methods  developed  and  perfected 
by  telephone  engineers  in  recent  years. 
Stronger  wire  cut  down  the  number  of 
poles  required  considerably:  poles  are  now 
set  farther  apart.  Better  tools  have  helped 
to  speed  up  the  lineman's  job:  portable 
power-driven  augers  now  dig  pole  holes 
where  rock  doesn't  interfere;  plows  dig 
trenches,  bury  wire,  and  cover  it,  all  in  one 
operation  in  localities  where  soil  conditions 
permit.  In  addition,  with  the  close  co- 
operation of  the  REA  and  private  power 
companies,  the  important  new  techniques 
of  using  the  same  wires  to  provide  both 
power  and  telephone  service  and  of  using 
the  same  poles  to  carry  both  power  and 
telephone  wires  are  being  introduced  as 
rapidly  as  practicable. 

As  for  what's  ahead — the  Bell  System 
rural  program  will  continue  to  be  pushed 
ahead  at  all  practicable  speed  in  1948. 


It  is  safe  to  say  that  at  least  a  hundred  persons  have  told  me 
during  the  last  forty  years  that  Professor  Bell  tried  to  sell  to 
them,  or  to  their  fathers  or  uncles,  or  intimate  friends,  his 
telephone  stock  at  a  very  low  figure — ^$10  a  share  is  the  price 
usually  mentioned — and  that,  to  their  everlasting  regret,  they 
missed  this  opportunity  to  become  rich  by  refusing  Bell's  offer 
with  some  such  cynical  remark  as,  "I  have  no  money  to  throw 
away  on  such  foolishness  as  a  telephone."  It  is  a  pathetic  pic- 
ture that  this  conjures  up,  but  all  these  stories  are  untrue, 
for  neither  the  great  inventor  nor  any  of  his  associates  ever 
peddled  a  share  of  Bell  stock.  If  either  of  us  sold  any  it  was 
through  a  broker  on  the  stock  exchange  after  it  had  a  market 
value  above  par. 

A  popular  variation  of  this  story  is  that  some  one  owned  a 
big  block  of  telephone  stock,  and  being  in  financial  trouble  gave 
it  to  a  creditor,  who  took  it  unwillingly  as  a  thing  of  no  value, 
but  who  afterwards  became  wealthy  from  it,  while  the  hard- 
up  man  who  brought  him  his  fortune  struggled  on  in  dire 
poverty.     This  is  also  fiction. 

From   "Exploring  Life,"   the  Autobiography    of 
Thomas  A.  Watson.     Appleton,  publisher,  1Q26. 


Dual  Use  of  Central-office   Mechanisms  for  Two   Types  of 

Traffic  with  Different  Busy-hour  Peaks  Makes  Additional 

Facilities  Available  for  Customers 


Making  Inter-OfRce  Trunk 
Equipment  Do  Double  Duty 

Benjamin  K.  Boyce 


A  CONSTANT  PROBLEM  of  telephone 
engineers  is  to  have  enough  equip- 
ment where  it  is  needed  when  it  is 
wanted,  since  wide  swings  in  custom- 
ers' requirements  occur  daily.  In 
general,  the  equipment  needs  of  the 
busy  hours  of  the  busy  season  must 
be  taken  into  consideration. 

Fortunately,  one  of  the  useful 
properties  of  telephone  circuits  is 
that  they  may  be  rearranged — in- 
terconnected, disconnected,  extended, 
reduced,  within  certain  limits — for 
longer  or  shorter  periods,  to  form 
new  or  additional  direct  circuits  to 
this  point  or  that  and  for  one  reason 
or  another. 

It  is  principally  with  toll  circuits 
that  this  is  done,  and  with  them  it  is 
a  not  unusual  occurrence.^  Some  of 
these  rearrangements  can  be  planned 
in  advance — as  when  it  is  apparent 
that  extra  toll  circuits  will  be  neces- 
sitated by  differences  in  day  and  eve- 

1  See  "On  Watch— All  Over  the  Map,"  Quar- 
terly, April  1939. 


ning  traffic  or  to  provide  for  sched- 
uled conventions  or  sporting  events 
or  seasonal  usage.  Others  must  be 
made  on  an  emergency  basis,  because 
of  unpredictable  changes  in  traffic 
flow. and  because  of  circuit  interrup- 
tions. 

It  is  feasible  to  provide  for  and 
schedule  a  similar  rearrangement  of 
local  circuits  under  certain  special 
conditions.  These  conditions  include 
the  existence  in  one  local  exchange 
area  of  many  central  offices  with  a 
myriad  of  inter-office  trunking  cir- 
cuits among  them,  and  a  geographi- 
cal or  other  situation  which  is  con- 
ducive to  the  flow  of  telephone  traffic 
in  different  directions  at  more  or  less 
regular  times  and  in  substantial  quan- 
tities. 

These  special  conditions  prevail  in 
the  Manhattan  local  exchange  area. 

Manhattan  is  what  most  people 
mean  when  they  say  New  York,  al- 
though it  is  but  one  of  the  five 
boroughs  which  comprise  New  York 


24 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


<^  ;:.■ 'AiriiSi^^ 

L-  '■ 

^i^ 

-^m 

^ 

/^ 

^^^^^^pil^B^Qe^^^9H^9B^SN||^^DflH^^~> 

ig^ 

^ 

n 

^2^c2BIHSi2i^^BC!K 

^r^ 

^^^'l       .■ 

*! 

Manhattan  Island^  looking  northward  from  the  Battery  toward  the  Bronx.     In  the 

foreground  are  the  skyscrapers  of  the  downtown  financial  district;  at  the  left  is  the  Hudson 

River,  with  a  bit  of  New  Jersey  beyond;  and  at  the  right  is  the  East  River ^  which  separates 

Manhattan  from  Brooklyn  and  Queens  Boroughs 


City.  It  is  a  long,  narrow  island, 
two  and  a  half  miles  at  its  greatest 
width,  and  more  than  I2  miles  from 
its  upper  limit,  the  Harlem  River, 
to  its  lower  extremity,  the  Battery, 
which  looks  out  upon  the  waters  of 
New  York  harbor.  Manhattan  has 
a  permanent  population  of  nearly 
2,000,000,  which  is  more  than  dou- 
bled each  week-day  by  an  influx  of 
transients  and  commuters. 

A  few  blocks  above  the  Battery  is 
Wall  Street,  on  and  about  which  are 
grouped  many  large  financial  insti- 
tutions. Northward  are  found  light 
manufacturing  and  mercantile  indus- 
tries and  wholesale  and  retail  mer- 
chandising; from  42nd  to  59th 
Streets  is,  broadly  speaking,  the  re- 


gion of  theaters,  hotels,  department 
stores,  and  specialty  shops  of  many 
kinds. 

North  of  59th  Street,  which  may 
be  said  to  be  a  dividing  line,  Man- 
hattan is  largely  residential  in  char- 
acter; and  above  Manhattan  lies  the 
almost  wholly  residential  borough  of 
the  Bronx.  South  of  59th  Street  the 
business  of  Manhattan  carries  on. 

It  is  the  clear-cut  difference  be- 
tween the  two  sections,  residential 
and  business,  which  creates  the  cor- 
responding difference  in  the  charac- 
teristics of  local  telephone  usage. 
And  it  is  the  latter  difference  which 
makes  possible  the  dual  use  of  central 
office  equipment  on  which  inter-office 
trunking  circuits  terminate. 


1948 


Inter-Office  Trunk  Equipment  Doing  Double  Duty 


25 


Manhattan  and  the  Bronx  in  outline. 
The  figures  represent  the  number  of  local 
central  offices  of  the  New  York  Telephone 
Company  in  buildings  at  approximately 
those  locations  on  the  first  of  May 


Opportunities  for  Dual  Use 

The  business  area  of  Manhattan, 
south  of  59th  Street,  is  served  by 
some  54  panel  dial  and  crossbar  dial 
central  offices. 

In  these  offices  the  busy  hour  for 
originating  calls  is  usually  in  the  fore- 
noon, and  in  some  of  them  the  vol- 
ume of  business  handled  in  the  morn- 
ing busy  hour  amounts  to  as  much  as 
17  percent  of  the  day's  total  traffic — 
which  is  at  the  rate  of  handling  the 
entire  day's  traffic  in  six  hours.  In 
general,  the  afternoon  traffic  is  much 
less  than  the  morning's;  in  the  eve- 
ning, with  business  buildings  virtu- 
ally empty  of  the  day's  throng,  the 
traffic   is   only   a   small    fraction   of 


26 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


the  morning  busy  hour.  The  conse- 
quence is  a  surplus  of  unused  cen- 
tral office  equipment  during  after- 
noon and  evening  hours. 

The  residential  section  of  Manhat- 
tan, north  of  59th  Street  in  general, 
is  served  by  27  central  offices.  In  the 
Bronx  there  are  another  32. 

Here,  typically,  the  volume  of 
traffic  is  spread  throughout  the  en- 
tire day,  without  the  pronounced 
morning  busy  hour  that  occurs  in  the 
central  offices  serving  the  business 
section.  There  is,  nonetheless,  a 
large  evening  requirement  for  equip- 
ment in  central  offices  serving  a  resi- 
dential area. 

Now  it  isn't  practicable,  in  a  met- 
ropolitan area  such  as  Manhattan,  to 
combine  in  a  single  central  office  some 
subscriber  lines  from  the  downtown 
business  section  with  others  from  the 
uptown  residential  section  and  thus 
obtain  a  composite  volume  of  traffic 
in  the  morning  and  evening  busy  pe- 
riods. But  it  is  possible  to  combine 
certain  elements  of  the  inter-office 
trunking  circuits  within  a  central  of- 
fice so  as  to  use  them  with  the  busi- 
ness-area central-office  trunks  during 
the  morning  peak  hour  and  then  to 
use  them  again  with  residential-area 
central-office  trunks  during  the  eve- 
ning peak  hour. 

This  is  possible  because,  in  central 
offices  serving  residential  areas,  the 
incoming  trunks  from  business-area 
central  offices  will  have  a  pronounced 
morning  peak,  when  the  business  lines 
are  most  active,  with  much  less  eve- 
ning traffic;  while  in  the  same  resi- 
dential-area central  offices  the  incom- 
ing trunks  from  residential  offices  in 
the  same  neighborhood  will  carry 
their  peak  loads  in  the  evening — 
with  a  somewhat  smaller  volume  of 


traffic  in  the  morning.  This  is  prob- 
ably due  to  a  high  volume  of  "neigh- 
bor calling"  during  the  evening,  when 
people  are  usually  at  home. 

In  other  words,  the  opportunity 
exists  in  certain  central  offices  serv- 
ing residential  areas  to  use  incoming 
trunk  equipment  from  business-area 
central  offices  during  the  morning 
peak  and  then  to  re-use  the  same 
equipment  in  the  evening  by  discon- 
tinuing use  of  the  equipment  with 
trunks  from  business-area  offices  and 
using  it  with  trunks  from  residen- 
tial-area offices  in  the  same  neighbor- 
hood. The  dual  use  of  this  equip- 
ment, at  the  morning  and  evening 
peaks  when  it  is  most  needed,  is  ob- 
tained by  bridging  together  (cross- 
connecting)  the  incoming  trunks  from 
the  business-area  and  residential-area 
central  offices  at  the  residential  office 
which  they  both  enter. 

Because  the  process  is  as  simple  as 
it  sounds  involved,  let's  illustrate  by 
means  of  an  example : 

Assume  there  are  25  trunks  in  a 
group  from  a  downtown  Manhattan 
business-area  central  office — say  Bar- 
clay-7 — to  an  uptown  residential-area 
central  office — say  Audubon-3 — both 
offices  having  panel  dial  equipment. 

The  evening  traffic  on  this  trunk 
group  being  lighter  than  the  morn- 
ing traffic,  it  is  possible  to  discontinue 
10  of  these  circuits  during  the  eve- 
ning. The  local  Audubon-3-to-Audu- 
bon-3  group  ^  normally  has  70  trunks 
and  this  group,  having  an  evening 
busy  hour,  is  badly  overloaded  in  the 
evening,  but  is  entirely  adequate  in 
the  morning.  We  can  then  use  the 
10  trunk  equipments  not  required  in 

-  Calls  within  the  same  panel-dial  central 
office  are  trunked  from  calling  to  called  line. 


1948 


Inter-Office  Trunk  Equipment  Doing  Double  Duty 


27 


BARCLAY  7 
CALLING  LINES 


INTER-OFFICE 
TRUNKS— 1-15 

INTER-OFFICE 
TRUNKS— 16-25 
MADE   BUSY 
IN  EVENING 


INTRA-OFFICE 
TRUNKS— 1-70 


TO 

AUDUBON  3 
CALLED  LINES 


DUAL  USE 
SELECTORS 


INTRA-OFFICE 

TRUNKS— 71-80 

MADE  BUSY  IN  MORNING 


Certain  elements  of  the  inter-office  trunking  circuits  within  a  central  office  may  be  made 
to  do  double  duty  by  bridging  together  incoming  trunks  from  central  offices  having 
different  busy-hour  peaks.     For  a  fuller  explanation  of  the  situation  assumed  in  this 

sketchy  see  the  accompanying  text 


the  evening  from  Barclay-7  to  Audu- 
bon-3  to  increase  the  local  group 
from  70  to  80. 

These  10  trunks  from  Audubon-3 
and  from  Barclay-7  would  both  be 
bridged  on  the  same  set  of  incoming 
trunk  equipments  at  Audubon-3.  In 
the  morning  busy  hour,  the  10  trunks, 
71  to  80  Audubon-3-to-Audubon-3, 
would  be  made  busy  at  Audubon  by 
means  of  a  key,^  and  during  that  pe- 
riod these  trunks  would  be  used  only 
in  the  group  from  Barclay-7  to  Audu- 
bon-3. 

In  the  evening,  the  busy  test  would 
be  removed  from  the  trunks  71   to 


3  The  use  of  keys  for  making  the  trunks  busy 
is  necessary  as  so  far  it  appears  to  be  unrea- 
sonably expensive  and  complicated  to  equip  the 
trunks  so  that  when  one  is  in  use  in  one  office 
it  would  automatically  be  made  busy  at  a  re- 
mote central  office.  Also  in  such  a  case  it  is 
satisfactory  to  leave  these  ten  trunks  perma- 
nently bridged ;  i.e.,  when  one  of  them  is  being 
used  as  a  local  Audubon-3  trunk,  the  conductors 
from  Barclay-7  will  remain  bridged  on  the  con- 
nection. The  transmission  loss  resulting  from 
these  bridged  conductors  can  be  tolerated  on 
such  a  local  connection. 


80  in  the  Audubon-3-to-Audubon-3 
group  and  trunks  1 6  to  25  In  the  Bar- 
clay-7-to-Audubon-3  group  would  be 
made  busy  by  a  separate  key.  In  this 
way,  dual  usage  of  these  10  Incoming 
trunk  equipments  is  obtained  by  the 
use  of  additional  outgoing  trunk 
equipments  for  the  Audubon-3  local 
group  and  by  utilizing  certain  spare 
make-busy  switches  which  were  avail- 
able In  both  of  these  buildings.  Two 
additional  keys  have  to  be  provided 
at  the  Audubon-3  central  office,  one 
for  making  the  trunks  busy  in  Bar- 
clay-7 In  the  evening  and  the  other 
for  making  the  trunks  busy  In  Audu- 
bon-3 in  the  morning. 

This  arrangement  for  the  dual  use 
of  inter-office  trunk  equipments  is  in 
effect  In  New  York  City  (Manhat- 
tan, Bronx,  and  Brooklyn)  to  pro- 
vide 255  additional  trunk  circuits  In 
26  different  trunk  groups.  The  larg- 
est Increase  in  any  trunk  group  to 
which  this  plan  was  applied  was  a 
group  of  70  circuits  in  the  morning, 


28 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


Panel  dial  selector  frames  in  a  Manhattan  central  office 


which  was  increased  to  92  in  the  eve- 
ning. In  one  case  where  this  ar- 
rangement was  used,  we  were  experi- 
encing over  3,000  overflows  *  from 
the  local  trunk  group  daily.  These 
overflows  were  of  course  largely  in 
the  evening  busy  hour.  After  this 
trunk  group  had  been  increased  in 
the  manner  just  described,  the  over- 
flows were  reduced  to  the  small  num- 
ber {2,S)  which  would  normally  be 
expected  on  a  group  the  same  size. 
We  were  thus  able  to  effect  a  substan- 
tial service  improvement  in  these  21 
offices  at  a  nominal  expense  and  at  a 


*  Offered  calls  which  could  not  be  completed 
because  all  inter-office  trunks  to  the  called  cen- 
tral office  were  in  use. 


time  when  it  otherwise 
would  have  been  impos- 
sible for  us  to  obtain 
equipment  promptly  for 
providing  these  extra 
trunks. 

In  these  oflUces  we 
shall  continue  this  ar- 
rangement after  normal 
(post-war)  conditions 
have  been  restored,  in 
order  to  obtain  the  sav- 
ing in  inter-office  trunk 
equipments. 

As  THE  SIZE  of  the  city 
increases,  there  is  a  de- 
creasing number  of  di- 
rect trunk  groups  from 
the  business-area  central 
offices  to  the  residential- 
area  central  oflices,  and 
a  corresponding  increase 
in  the  number  of  oflices 
reached  via  the  tandem 
systems. 

A  careful  study  of  our 
tandem  board  situation 
showed  that,  with  the  routings  as 
they  now  exist,  the  equipment  at  our 
tandem  boards  from  business-area  of- 
fices has  a  peak  in  the  morning  and 
the  equipment  from  certain  residen- 
tial-area offices  has  a  peak  in  the  eve- 
ning. 

In  a  few  such  cases  it  was  found 
that  incoming  tandem  equipment  from 
business  offices  having  a  morning  busy 
hour  could  be  reduced  in  number  in 
the  evening,  and  this  released  equip- 
ment was  used  on  trunk  groups  from 
residential  offices  having  an  evening 
busy  hour.  Traffic  routed  via  a  tan- 
dem board  is  made  up  of  many  widely 
diversified  types  of  traffic,  and  ac- 
cordingly there  is  a  tendency  to  have 


1948 


Inter-Office  Trunk  Equipment  Doing  Double  Duty 


29 


CANAL  6  DSA  SWITCHBOARD 


ACADEMY  2 
CALLING  LINES 


ACADEMY  2 
ANSWERING  JACKS 


DIAL  "O"  trunks: 

ADDITIONAL 
TRUNKS  USED 
ONLY  DURING 
EVENING  HOURS 


DIAL  "O"  TRUNKS 


CANAL  6 
CALLING  LINES 


CANAL  6 

ANSWERING  JACKS 
( 


ACADEMY  2  DSA  SWITCHBOARD 


DIAL  "O"  TRUNKS 

Where  a  DSA  switchboard  in  the  busi- 
ness district  {as  represented  by  Canal  6) 
has  a  daytime  busy-hour  peak  and  a 
light  evening  load,  while  at  a  DSA  board 
in  the  residential  area  {as  represented 
by  Academy  2)  the  opposite  condition 
prevails,  certain  ''dial  zero''  trunks  in 
the  residential-area  office  may  be  pro- 
vided to  carry  some  part  of  the  even- 
ing load  to  the  other  DSA  board 


the  morning  and  evening  peaks 
equalized  to  some  extent.  We  did, 
however,  find  19  offices  where  we 
were  able  to  add  66  trunks  to  their 
tandem  groups  by  this  same  dual-use 
method  without  any  great  expense." 

A  SOMEWHAT  SIMILAR  ARRANGEMENT 

was  found  to  be  very  helpful  in  ob- 
taining greater  utilization  of  "DSA" 


5  These  cases  were  handled  the  same  as  inter- 
office trunks  with  one  exception.  In  the  case  of 
inter-office  trunks,  the  dual-use  trunks  in  each 
group  were  permanently  bridged,  the  transmis- 
sion loss  being  unimportant.  With  tandem 
trunks,  transmission  is  much  more  important 
and  the  dual-use  trunks  were  all  wired  through 
private  line  test  jacks  by  means  of  which  the 
trunks  can  be  opened  up  to  one  of  the  offices 
when  they  are  being  used  by  the  other  office. 
The  keys  for  making  the  trunks  busy  were  used 
exactly  the  same  as  for  the  inter-office  trunks. 


positions   in   both   business-area    and 
residential-area  central  offices.® 

The  DSA  switchboard  positions  in 
the  downtown  business-area  offices 
were  heavily  loaded  in  the  morning, 
but  there  were  spare  positions  in  the 
evening,  whereas  certain  residential- 
area  offices  had  substantial  peaks  in 
their  DSA  position  requirements  in 
the  evening.  In  such  cases,  arrange- 
ments were  made  so  that  the  "dial 
zero"  trunks  in  the  residential-area 
office  which  normally  terminate  on 
the  local  DSA  board  would,   in  the 


8  DSA  positions,  so-called,  are  manual  switch- 
board positions  in  dial  central  offices.  By  dial- 
ing "o"  (zero),  the  customer  reaches  a  DSA 
operator  who  will  assist  him  in  completing  a 
local  call  with  which  he  may  be  having  diffi- 
culty,  and   will   complete  certain  toll  calls. 


30 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


evening,  be  extended  from  the  local 
DSA  board  to  the  DSA  boards  in  the 
downtown  business-area  offices. 

Such  an  arrangement  required  very 
little  equipment,  and  provided  sub- 
stantial relief  to  the  DSA  switch- 
boards in  the  residential-area  offices. 
At  one  time  in  Manhattan,  traffic 
equivalent  to  a  load  for  30  DSA  po- 
sitions was  being  transferred  from 
residential-area  offices  to  business- 
area  offices  in  the  evening. 

Beating  the  Equipment  Shortage 

The  problem  of  dual  use  of  various 
types  of  telephone  plant  in  metro- 
politan areas  is  being  given  careful 
consideration. 

In  the  New  York  City  area,  the 
problem  is  complicated  by  the  very 
size  of  the  trunk  plant  involved.  We 
have,  however,  been  able  to  accom- 
plish substantial  results  in  equipment 


savings  by  the  application  of  dual  use 
of  incoming  selectors  in  the  dial  of- 
fices in  metropolitan  areas. 

The  instances  of  the  dual  use  of 
facilities — of  certain  central  office 
dial  equipment,  and  of  DSA  switch- 
boards— here  described  give  an  illus- 
tration of  some  of  the  things  being 
done  in  the  New  York  City  area  to 
improve  local  exchange  service.  Simi- 
lar arrangements  are  in  effect  in  other 
cities  of  this  country,  and  in  still 
others  are  being  planned  or  studied. 

If  this  is  not  literally  following 
the  injunction  to  make  two  blades  of 
grass  grow  where  but  one  had  grown 
before,  at  least  it  is  in  the  direction 
of  making  some  of  our  equipment  do 
about  twice  as  much  work  as  before. 
And  that  is  not  only  money-saving 
efficiency;  it  is,  in  these  days  of  all 
sorts  of  shortages,  one  means  of  giv- 
ing our  customers  more  and  better 
service. 


Early  Telephone  Experiment 

A  Bell  telephone  has  been  put  in  operation  between  the  office  of 
J.  Lloyd  Haigh,  of  81  John  street,  and  his  steel  works  in  South 
Brooklyn,  where  the  wire  for  the  great  cables  of  the  bridge  are  being 
made.  The  wire  passes  through  Buttermilk  channel  and  across  the 
East  river,  and  is  about  five  miles  long.  Conversation  is  carried  on 
with  ease,  and  a  kiss,  given  close  to  the  instrument  at  one  end  of  the 
route  was  distinctly  heard  at  the  other. 


An  exchange  thinks  that  the  proposed  kissing  by  telephone  must 
be  something  like  starting  out  for  a  clam-bake  dinner  and  getting 
nothing  but  fog.  The  allusion  to  a  fishing  smack  in  this  simile  is 
obvious. 

Newspaper  items  of  1877. 


The  A,  T.  &f  T,  Vice  President  in  Charge  of  Public  Relations 

Points   Out^  in  a    Ta/k  before  the  Minnesota   Employers^ 

Association^  that  Businesses  Must  Be  Good  Citizens 


Business  and  People 


Keith  S.  McHugh 


Whoever  first  put  the  two  words 
-public  relations  together  hatched  up 
quite  a  bit  of  trouble,  because  ever 
since  then  people  have  been  trying  to 
explain  what  the  words  mean. 

Each  of  you  probably  has  his  own 
idea ;  but  I  get  the  most  help  from 
thinking  that  public  relations  means 
simply  the  kind  of  relations  a  busi- 
ness has  with  people,  and  what  you 
do  to  try  to  make  them  as  good  as 
you  can. 

It's  the  same  for  companies  as  it  is 
for  individuals — ^you'll  be  liked  more, 
or  less,  according  to  the  way  you  act 
and  the  way  you  talk.  The  only  dif- 
ference is  that  a  company  has  more 
chances  to  make  mistakes;  and  the 
bigger  the  company,  the  easier  it  is 
for  people  to  have  their  doubts  about 
you. 

The  reasons  for  this  have  probably 
already  occurred  to  you,  but  they  may 
bear  a  few  minutes'  discussion  again. 

If   you    don't   mind   one   personal 


This  is  the  text  of  an  address  to  the  Minne- 
sota Employers'  Association  in  Minneapolis  on 
January  30. 


recollection,  I  think  it  will  help  to 
bring  out  how  the  problem  gets  big- 
ger as  the  organization  increases  in 
size.  I  was  raised  in  a  small  town 
in  Colorado,  and  as  soon  as  I  was 
old  enough  I  used  to  work  after 
school  and  during  vacations.  At  one 
time  or  another  I  worked  for  quite  a 
few  different  people.  But  in  every 
case,  the  man  I  worked  for  was  the 
boss.  He  didn't  have  a  boss  himself 
who  reported  to  someone  else  who 
had  still  another  boss  further  up  the 
line. 

My  boss  was  always  president,  sec- 
retary, treasurer,  general  sales  man- 
ager, and  everything  else.  He  had 
no  labor  relations  except  with  me 
and  maybe  a  few  other  people  who 
were  working  for  him  too.  He  never 
heard  of  public  relations;  but  with  no 
organization  except  one  or  two  or 
three  hired  hands  whom  he  could 
keep  an  eye  on  directly,  he  had  the 
full  responsibility  and  at  the  same 
time  the  full  opportunity  to  deal  face 
to  face  with  every  one  of  his  cus- 
tomers,   every   supplier    from   whom 


32 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


he  bought  his  merchandise,  and  every 
other  person  with  whom  his  business 
had  dealings. 

Maybe  he  didn't  do  a  perfect  job, 
but  he  had  every  chance  personally 
to  make  the  most  of  every  occasion. 
He  got  to  know  in  a  very  exact  way 
just  what  his  customers  liked  and 
didn't  like,  because  they  kept  telling 
him  to  his  face.  Also,  he  learned  at 
first  hand  that  what  people  thought 
of  his  business  depended  a  lot  more 
on  what  he  did  than  on  the  way  he 
talked,  and  that  he  couldn't  say  one 
thing  and  do  another  and  get  by  with 
it  for  long. 

In  short,  he  was  in  a  position  to 
acquire  from  the  ups  and  downs  of 
everyday  experience  a  lively  and  im- 
mediate sense  of  the  things  that  pub- 
lic relations  vice  presidents  nowadays 
make  speeches  about.  What's  more, 
nobody  who  came  in  with  a  complaint 
ever  got  lost  in  the  wrong  depart- 
ment! 

Obviously,  I'm  not  going  to  say  that 
a  business  will  have  good  public  re- 
lations just  because  it  is  small.  But 
the  man  who  is  running  a  small  busi- 
ness gets  a  wonderful  head  start — if 
he  wants  to  make  the  most  of  it — 
from  being  continuously  and  directly 
exposed  to  the  experience  of  having 
to  get  along  with  the  people  who 
make  up  his  particular  public. 

He  has  another  advantage  too. 
People  are  not  suspicious  of  him  just 
on  account  of  his  size. 

It's  the  most  natural  thing  in  the 
world  for  human  beings  to  be  wary 
when  anything  begins  to  look  too  big. 
Primitive  people  stand  in  awe  of 
mountains.  The  man  who  has  never 
seen  an  elephant  is  inclined  to  be 
cautious    when    he    first    meets    one. 


He  would  be  foolish  if  he  weren't. 
In  much  the  same  way,  the  public 
becomes  wary  as  the  size  of  a  busi- 
ness increases,  and  this  in  itself  tends 
to  give  a  big  company  certain  public 
relations  problems  on  top  of  those 
that  it  shares  with  all  business. 

Free  Bushiess  a?id  F?'ee  Opinion 

The  growth  of  big  companies  is  not 
the  only  reason  why  business  in  gen- 
eral has  become  thoughtful  about 
public  relations.  We  are  getting  to 
be  more  aware  of  what  has  always 
been  true :  that  in  a  country  like  ours, 
where  opinion  has  the  freedom  that 
we  also  want  for  business,  the  free- 
dom of  business  is  dependent  on  the 
freedom  of  opinion.  To  say  this  is 
also  to  say  that  business  will  have 
freedom  only  where  opinion  has 
power;  for  if  opinion  ever  loses  its 
power,  it  will  be  because  it  is  no 
longer  free — in  which  case  business 
will  be  captive  also. 

So  if  business  wants  freedom,  it 
must  expect  that  its  limits  will  be  de- 
fined by  the  public's  judgment.  It 
seems  to  me  well  for  any  business  to 
remember  this  and  take  comfort  from 
it,  particularly  when  the  public  takes 
a  different  view  of  what  it  wants 
from  what  the  business  thinks  it 
ought  to  want.  On  these  occasions, 
no  less  than  on  others,  the  public  is 
the  boss  and  we  shall  be  wise  to  rec- 
ognize the  fact,  reflecting  the  while 
that  if  the  public  lost  its  power  over 
us,  we  would  still  be  the  losers  any- 
way. I  offer  this  as  a  consoling 
thought  against  the  day  when  the 
public,  which  is  moved  by  emotion  as 
well  as  by  reason,  in  seeking  to  pro- 
tect its  own  interest  does  something 
to  injure  your  capacity  to  serve  it. 


1948 


Business  and  People 


22 


Yet  injurious  action  is,  after  all,  a 
thing  we  are  anxious  to  avoid. 

What  then  shall  we  do? 

The  first  half  of  the  logic  of  the 
matter,  in  the  view  I  have  given  you, 
is  that  it  is  desirable  for  any  business 
to  recognize  that  it  ought  to  depend 
on  the  public's  judgment. 

The  second  half  is  that  it  is  de- 
sirable for  the  public — from  its  own 
standpoint — to  give  business  the  free- 
dom it  needs  to  serve  people  well. 

If  this  reasoning  is  sound,  then  it 
seems  to  me  that  two  things  follow: 

First,  business  and  the  public  must 
understand  each  other;  if  we  are 
going  to  depend  on  the  public's  opin- 
ion, we  must  give  the  public  enough 
knowledge  about  us  to  reach  accurate 
conclusions,  and  we  must  also  obtain 
a  fair  understanding  ourselves  as  to 
how  the  public  thinks,  and  what  it  is 
likely  to  think  about  anything  we  do. 

Second,  in  addition  to  obtaining 
understanding,  a  business  must  do 
the  things  the  public  likes.  But  no 
business  can  do  this  unless  it  likes 
the  public — that  is,  unless  it  sincerely 
wants  to  serve  the  public  well.  I 
know  I  am  dealing  in  the  obvious,  but 
the  obvious  is  fundamental  and  can- 
not be  ignored.  Doing  what  people 
like  every  time  we  have  the  chance  is 
the  foundation  of  good  public  rela- 
tions and  we  cannot  shut  our  eyes 
to  it. 

Also,  since  any  business  knows  that 
there  are  times  when  it  cannot  do 
what  the  public  likes,  it  has  all  the 
more  reason  to  do  everything  it  can 
whenever  it  can. 

Size,  as  I  have  said,  is  something  of 
a  handicap  in  making  yourself  liked, 
because  of  the  human  tendency — and 
also  the  ingrained  American  tradition 


— to  be  suspicious  of  size.  Further, 
as  an  organization  grows,  the  mile- 
age within  it  increases  and  top  man- 
agement is  likely  to  disappear  over 
the  horizon  from  the  places  where 
the  public  is  expressing  its  moods. 
But  these  handicaps  only  mean  that 
more  must  be  done  to  overcome 
them.  How  to  begin?  A  good  be- 
ginning, it  seems  to  me,  is  not  to  for- 
get the  simple  things  we  would  never 
have  a  chance  to  forget  if  each  one 
of  us — like  my  old  bosses  in  Colo- 
rado— were  the  whole  works  in  his 
own  enterprise. 

You  know  as  well  as  I  do  what 
some  of  these  things  are : 

Putting  yourself  in  the  customer's 

place. 
Telling  why  you  take  any  particu- 
lar action. 
Giving  reasons  when  you  give  an- 
swers. 
Really   exerting  yourself   to    meet 

the  customers'  wishes. 
Meeting     the     commitments     you 

make. 
Dealing  sympathetically  with  com- 
plaints. 
Not   pushing   a   customer   around 
from  one  person  in  the  organi- 
zation to  another. 
Regarding    each    person    you    are 

dealing  with  as  an  individual. 
Remembering  that  employees  are 

people. 
Being  courteous  and  polite  out  of 

sincere  friendliness. 
Being    good    citizens    and    good 
neighbors   in    the   towns   where 
you  live. 
These  are  some  of  them. 

Yet,  simple  as  these  things  sound, 
for  some  reason  no  business  can  do 
them  without  continuous,  conscious, 
directed  effort. 


34 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


It  takes  time,  effort,  and  money  to 
put  them  over  and  make  them  really 
live. 

It  takes  preaching  and  it  takes  ex- 
ample. 

And  it  must  start  at  the  top. 

Courtesy  is  no  substitute  for  effi- 
ciency. But  it  takes  nothing  away 
from  it,  and  it  can  add  enormously 
to  it.  Everybody  likes  to  be  treated 
politely  and  as  an  individual.  More- 
over, people  who  exercise  courtesy 
find  that  they  enjoy  it.  It  is  such  a 
mighty  asset — this  thing  in  human 
nature  that  makes  it  possible  for  a 
business  to  render  service  that  is 
genuinely  friendly. 

A  considerate,  courteous,  friendly 
attitude  really  can  become  part  of 
a  person's  nature,  inwardly  felt  as 
well  as  outwardly  expressed.  It  may 
often  need  to  be  taught,  but  that  does 
not  mean  that  it  need  ever  be  unreal. 
In  our  own  business  we  speak  of  the 
"extra"  courtesies  that  may  be  ren- 
dered; I  think  that  means  extra  in 
the  sense  of  possibly  going  beyond 
the  immediate  expectation  of  the  cus- 
tomer, but  not  in  the  sense  of  tacking 
on  an  artificial  frill. 

I  doubt  if  any  sizable  business  has 
yet  gained — I  don't  mean  just  for 
itself,  but  for  employees  and  cus- 
tomers as  well — all  the  advantages 
that  come  out  of  thoughtful  and  con- 
siderate attention  to  the  particular 
personal  problems  and  needs  of  indi- 
vidual customers. 

The  plain  fact  is  that  the  "little 
things"  are  not  really  little  things  at 
all.     They  are  tremendous. 

If  we  allow  them  to  become  little, 
that  will  only  be  because  our  per- 
spective on  them  is  not  as  good  as  the 
customer's. 


Moreover,  they  are  not  little  to 
the  employee  who  performs  them, 
any  more  than  they  are  to  the  per- 
son for  whom  they  are  performed. 
The  employee  wants  it  realized,  and 
it  should  be  made  known  to  him  that 
it  is  realized,  that  in  doing  the  great 
big  little  things  well  he  is  making  the 
most  of  his  job. 

I  don't  think  we  can  ever  afford 
to  forget  that  the  more  any  business 
does  to  treat  everybody  it  deals  with 
as  an  individual,  the  more  it  will  in- 
evitably and  at  the  same  time  be 
treating  each  employee  as  an  indi- 
vidual. 

There  are  many  reasons  for  this, 
but  consider  only  one :  no  employee 
can  treat  a  customer  as  a  real  indi- 
vidual unless  he  knows  and  under- 
stands the  company's  policies.  He  in 
turn  must  have  been  treated  as  an 
individual  to  have  this  understanding. 

''Overtones'' 

The  establishment  of  standards, 
and  regular  measurement  against 
them,  can  contribute  to  the  consider- 
ate and  friendly  treatment  of  indi- 
vidual customers,  in  basically  the 
same  way  that  they  are  used  to  re- 
duce errors  and  improve  the  more 
routine  features  of  over-all  perform- 
ance. It  is  not  much  harder  to  know 
whether  employees  are  courteous 
than  it  is  to  know  whether  they  come 
to  work  on  time.  What  is  more,  the 
men  and  women  who  are  working  at 
a  job  like  to  know  that  performance 
is  measured  against  human  and  not 
merely  mechanical  standards.  The 
gains  that  may  be  accrued  from  this 
kind  of  management  will  be  real  and 
not  artificial.  They  can  become  a 
genuine  part  of  the  character  of  the 
organization  and  the  people  in  it. 


1948 


Business  and  People 


3S 


In  our  business  we  use  the  phrase 
"overtones  of  service"  to  try  to  de- 
scribe some  of  the  attributes  I  have 
been  talking  about.  To  the  public  it 
will  make  no  sense — and  I  don't  see 
how  it  could — if  the  individual  over- 
tones which  a  customer  may  hear  in 
the  words  and  actions  of  an  em- 
ployee, and  which  are  encouraged  by 
management,  are  not  matched  by 
what  I  might  call  the  "overtones  of 
corporate  acts"  for  which  the  man- 
agement is  directly  responsible. 

An  example  will  illustrate  what  I 
mean. 

A  while  ago  a  woman  came  to  one 
of  our  business  offices  to  pay  her  bill. 
She  explained  to  the  cashier  that  she 
was  a  bit  late  in  paying  because  her 
little  girl  had  been  sick  and  she  didn't 
want  to  leave  her  alone.  However, 
she  hadn't  wanted  to  put  off  paying 
the  bill  any  longer,  so  she  had  finally 
decided  to  leave  the  house  for  an 
hour  or  so  and  come  down  to  our 
office. 

The  cashier  said  she  was  sorry, 
thanked  the  customer  for  the  pay- 
ment and  for  the  trouble  she  had 
gone  to,  and  expressed  the  hope  that 
her  daughter  would  soon  be  well 
again.  Later,  after  she  thought  the 
woman  had  had  time  to  get  home, 
the  cashier  called  her  to  ask  whether 
everything  was  all  right. 

I  think  that  was  a  nice  thing  to  do, 
and  I  imagine  you  do  too. 

But  if  you  think  so,  what  do  you 
suppose  our  customer  thought  of  it? 
She  was  quite  overwhelmed,  and  said 
so.  She  thought  the  company  was 
tops.  And  her  whole  picture  of  us 
was  created  by  one  simple,  friendly 
act. 

When  an  employee  has  so  effec- 
tively created  so  favorable  an  impres- 


sion, it  would  seem  a  pity  for  the 
management  to  nullify  the  gain  by 
handling  some  corporate  matter  in  a 
tactless  or  inconsiderate  way.  What 
would  this  customer  have  thought, 
for  example,  if  she  had  looked  in  the 
newspaper  after  talking  with  our 
friendly  cashier  and  seen  something 
about  the  telephone  company  that 
made  us  seem  mulish,  thoughtless, 
arrogant,  or  all  three?  How  could 
she  reconcile  two  such  different  ideas  ? 
Obviously  she  couldn't. 

Spreadi?ig  Knowledge 

Now  I  would  like  to  say  just  a  little 
about  the  other  side  of  the  relation- 
ship between  business  and  people — 
the  spreading  of  knowledge  and  un- 
derstanding. 

To  the  man  who  is  running  his  own 
business,  every  part  of  what  he  is 
doing  is  mighty  important.  None  of 
the  parts  get  any  less  important  when 
somebody  else  is  doing  them  for  him. 
x^lso,  the  man  who  is  running  his  own 
business  has  all  the  knowledge  about 
it  that  there  is.  He  may  not  have 
enough  knowledge  to  make  a  success 
of  it,  to  be  sure ;  but  everything  there 
is,  he  has. 

That  stops  being  so  when  he  gets 
to  be  a  corporation  with  a  lot  of 
employees.  The  corporation  has  a 
policy — ^but  how  much  do  the  em- 
ployees know  about  it?  The  em- 
ployees know  a  lot  about  what  the 
customers  and  the  public  think — but 
how  much  of  what  they  know  does 
the  corporation  know? 

To  come  anywhere  near  matching 
the  efficiency  of  a  one-man  business 
in  these  respects,  there  must  be  ample 
communication,  and  it  must  be  two- 
way.  As  a  part  of  it,  aside  from  the 
technical  knowledge  and  training  that 


36 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


employees  need  to  perform  their  par- 
ticular jobs,  it  seems  to  me  that  all 
the  men  and  women  in  a  company 
ought  to  have  at  least  enough  infor- 
mation about  the  organization,  poli- 
cies, objectives,  and  problems  of  the 
business  to  understand  the  general 
functioning  of  the  organism  of  which 
they  are  a  part.  If  the  people  who 
are  in  business  do  not  understand 
what  it  is  all  about,  it  is  hard  to  see 
how  the  public  can  be  expected  to 
understand  it. 

Giving  Out  the  Facts 

After  what  a  company  does,  and 
what  the  employees  know  and  think 
about  it,  probably  next  in  importance 
in  contributing  to  the  public's  state  of 
mind  is  what  the  business  says  about 
itself. 

Some  companies  say  very  little,  I 
imagine  pretty  much  on  the  theory 
that  what  they  are  doing  speaks  for 
itself. 

Perhaps  so;  but  I  would  prefer  not 
to  take  that  chance.  Our  own  feel- 
ing as  a  public  service  organization  is 
something  like  this : 

The  public  is  our  big  boss,  and 
there  is  no  question  whatever  that 
public  opinion  controls  our  enter- 
prise. It's  our  job  and  responsibility 
to  give  the  best  telephone  service  we 
can,  and  we  have  pledged  ourselves 
to  do  that. 

We  don't  believe,  however,  that 
the  public  should  be  left  unaware  of 
what  is  entailed  in  the  job  entrusted 
to  us.  We  think  we  ought  to  tell  the 
story  candidly,  completely,  and  con- 
tinuously. 

Public  opinion  may  sometimes  be 
fractious,  and  sometimes  slow  in  com- 
ing to  a  fair  conclusion;  but,  given 
the  facts,  it  can  be  trusted  to  come  up 


eventually  with  sensible  answers.  If 
the  facts  are  not  known,  however, 
you  couldn't  really  blame  the  average 
American  for  thinking  that  we  might 
give  better  telephone  service  than  we 
do  if  we  used  bailing  wire  for  cir- 
cuits and  charged  half  the  price. 

An  important  part  of  our  point  of 
view  is  that  the  public  in  the  first 
place  is  entitled  to  know  whatever  it 
wants  to  know  about  us. 

Should  we  just  answer  questions, 
then,  and  stop  there? 

Well,  no — for  the  reason  that 
while  a  lot  of  people  are  in  fact  in- 
terested enough  to  ask  us  a  lot  of 
questions,  usually  the  first  thought  of 
most  Americans  each  morning  is  not 
to  wonder  how  the  telephone  com- 
pany is  getting  along.  They're  more 
likely  to  be  interested  in  the  weather, 
and  where  their  rubbers  are  if  it's 
raining. 

To  get  understanding,  it  is  up  to 
us  to  spread  knowledge  of  the  facts 
about  the  business.  This  we  do  out 
of  the  conviction,  and  on  the  basis  of 
a  great  deal  of  evidence,  that  more 
public  knowledge  makes  for  more 
and  better  telephone  service. 

Keepifig  on  the  Track 

My  main  reason  for  mentioning 
some  of  our  own  ideas  about  inform- 
ing the  public  is  to  point  out  that  we 
have  thought  it  right  to  stay  on  our 
own  track  with  our  own  story  about 
our  own  business — the  only  field  in 
which  we  are  entitled  to  be  consid- 
ered expert.  It  seems  to  me  that  the 
more  this  is  done  by  business,  the 
better  will  be  the  evidence  presented 
to  the  public  as  a  whole  and  the  bet- 
ter informed  American  public  opin- 
ion will  be. 

Another  thing  that  seems  to  me 


1948 


Business  and  People 


37 


important  in  thinking  about  public 
opinion  and  public  relations  is  the 
idea  of  continuity. 

Winds  of  opinion  are  always  chang- 
ing, just  as  a  customer  can  come  into 
a  store  one  morning  as  sweet  as  pie 
and  be  back  in  a  fret  in  an  hour.  As 
public  wishes  and  views  change — as 
they  will,  for  example,  with  changes 
in  economic  and  social  conditions — 
business  must  constantly  face  new 
problems  and  be  alert  to  meet  them. 
Yet  a  business  which  has  developed 
out  of  experience  a  sound  fundamen- 
tal policy  is  likely  to  be  better  able  to 
cope  with  change  than  one  that  has 
not. 

Such  a  policy  necessarily  is  one  that 
recognizes  the  likelihood  of  change, 
and  allows  for  it.  Indeed,  it  de- 
mands that  the  business  keep  chang- 
ing on  its  own  initiative,  preferably 
ahead  of  the  public.  It  asks  for  con- 
tinuous, objective  self-criticism,  and 
expects  that  habits  will  not  be  al- 
lowed to  harden. 

This  kind  of  policy  also  contem- 
plates that  things  which  are  impor- 
tant in  the  long  run — including  the 
things  that  help  toward  improving 
public  relations — will  not  be  tossed 
overboard  to  meet  the  exigencies  of 
the  moment,  will  not  be  jettisoned 
for  opportunism. 

Good  Citizenship 

Most  of  what  I  have  been  saying  has 
been  about  customers  and  employees. 
But  all  the  people  you  have  public  re- 
lations with  aren't  customers.  Every 
place  where  you  operate  or  which 
your  business  touches  is  full  of  peo- 
ple who  have  ideas  about  you  simply 
as  citizens,  and  one  of  the  things  they 
get  opinions  about  is  what  kind  of 
citizen  you  are. 


With  every  employee  a  citizen  too, 
the  character  of  his  citizenship  re- 
flects yours,  and  the  community's  idea 
of  the  quality  of  your  citizenship  is 
pretty  largely  conditioned  by  how  it 
regards  him. 

This  subject  has  many  aspects,  but 
I  will  mention  only  one.  That  is  the 
question  of  encouraging  local  man- 
agement to  look  on  good  citizenship 
as  a  natural  part  of  their  job  re- 
sponsibility. 

No  community  will  regard  an  or- 
ganization as  a  part  of  the  commu- 
nity unless  the  organization  shows 
that  it  wants  to  take  its  fair  part  in 
local  affairs.  The  people  of  the  com- 
munity have  two  bases  for  judgment : 
first,  the  company's  own  behavior  as 
a  citizen,  as  made  manifest  by  its 
local  representatives;  and,  second, 
the  things  which  the  company's  local 
representatives  do  as  individual  citi- 
zens themselves. 

Mere  location  is  not  enough.  It 
is  quite  possible  to  be  located  in 
Blankville  for  a  hundred  years  and 
still  be  an  outsider;  but  for  the  con- 
cern that  is  really  in  quest  of  good 
public  relations,  to  remain  an  out- 
sider is  the  last  thing  in  the  world 
that  it  wants. 

Of  course,  asking  local  manage- 
ment to  make  you  a  good  citizen  in 
Blankville  also  means  giving  local 
management  the  authority  it  needs. 
Responsibility  must  be  decentralized 
in  fact  as  well  as  in  theory.  The  peo- 
ple to  whom  you  give  the  job  of  win- 
ning respect  and  liking  for  your  or- 
ganization as  a  good  citizen  cannot 
win  such  respect  if  it  is  apparent  that 
they  cannot  act  without  approval 
from  somebody  else  two  hundred 
miles  away.     To  be  sure,  there  must 


38 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


be  continuous  communication  within 
the  organization,  but  this  ought  to 
be  for  the  purpose  of  equipping  peo- 
ple to  carry  out  their  jobs,  not  for 
the  purpose  of  preventing  them. 

Keeping  It  Personal 

This  idea  of  good  citizenship  em- 
braces so  many  of  the  things  that 
make  for  good  public  relations  that 
I  should  like  to  keep  it  particularly 
before  you  in  closing. 

Just  consider  some  of  the  at- 
tributes of  the  person  who  most 
quickly  comes  to  your  mind  as  a  good 
citizen. 

He's  a  good  neighbor,  to  begin 
with — friendly,  thoughtful  of  the 
wishes  of  others,  and  glad  to  lend  a 
hand  whenever  he  can  help. 

He  speaks  his  mind  on  community 
affairs,  but  before  he  does  so  he  tries 
to  make  sure  he  knows  what  he  is 
talking  about.  And  he's  ready  and 
willing,  too,  to  take  his  share  of  re- 
sponsibility. 

He  is  not  a  stuffed  shirt. 

Nor  is  he  merely  sentimental.  Af- 
ter all,  he  wants  his  neighbors  and 
fellow  citizens  to  think  well  of  him. 
He  is  anxious  to  enjoy  good  standing 
in  the  community.    He  wants  to  earn 


— and  to  keep — a  good  name  and 
reputation. 

The  business  that  is  interested  in 
staying  in  business  has  some  of  the 
same  ambitions.  It  seems  to  me  that 
a  good  way  to  realize  them  is  to  exer- 
cise some  of  the  same  virtues.  No 
doubt  you  have  noticed  that  thinking 
in  these  terms  helps  to  make  the 
whole  subject  that  I  have  been  talk- 
ing about  a  personal  matter  for  each 
of  us. 

When  you  think  of  a  citizen  you 
think  of  a  person — an  individual. 

In  the  same  way,  when  you  think 
of  a  business  being  a  good  citizen  you 
have  to  think  of  what  all  the  indi- 
vidual people  in  it — at  all  levels  in 
the  organization — are  doing  to  make 
it  so. 

To  get  and  keep  the  kind  of  repu- 
tation that  we  call  for  convenience 
"good  public  relations,"  intrinsic 
quality  of  product  and  technical 
proficiency  of  service  must  assuredly 
come  first.  But  beyond  these,  the 
things  that  each  of  us  can  do  under 
the  heading  of  good  citizenship,  with 
all  that  that  implies,  will  largely  de- 
termine the  kind  of  relations  that  any 
business  will  enjoy  with  the  people 
who  are  the  public. 


It  Was  a  Tough  Winter 


It  was  a  tough  winter  for  a  large 
part  of  the  Bell  System. 

From  the  Great  Plains  to  the  At- 
lantic, beginning  last  November  and 
continuing  well  into  March,  storm 
followed  storm:  little  storm  or  big, 
snow  or  sleet  or  even  tornado,  some 
doing  no  damage  to  telephone  plant 
and  some  doing  a  great  deal. 

Take  just  two  of  them  by  way  of 
illustration. 

In  New  York  and  a  section  of  the 
eastern  seaboard,  the  snowfall  which 
began  the  day  after  Christmas  de- 
posited a  greater  depth  of  snow  there 
than  ever  before  within  the  memory 
of  living  man  or  the  local  weather 
bureau.  It  snarled  and  practically 
halted  transportation  for  a  while, 
and  it  brought  unusual  traffic  peaks 
to  the  central  offices,  but  it  did  little 
real  harm  telephone-wise. 

Covering  a  vastly  greater  area,  the 
sleet  storm  which  started  on  New 
Year's  Eve  in  the  Texas  Panhandle 
and  swept  north-  and  east-ward  to 
the  Great  Lakes  and  lower  New  Eng- 
land created  more  havoc  than  in 
many  a  year  from  that  cause.  The 
great  weight  of  ice  on  the  wires,  in 
places  accompanied  by  strong  winds, 
leveled  15,000  poles,  put  6,000  toll 
circuits  out  of  order  for  a  time,  and 
silenced  125,000  telephones. 

To  repair  the  damage  inflicted  by 
the  season's  wintry  storms,  the  West- 


ern Electric  Company  supplied  in  a 
hurry  such  items  as  30,000  miles  of 
wire  in  cable,  15,000  miles  of  other 
wire,  and  300,000  pounds  of  miscel- 
laneous hardware — in  addition  to 
supplies  drawn  from  regular  stock 
piles.  The  men  of  the  Associated 
Companies  and  the  Long  Lines  De- 
partment carried  out  restoration  on  a 
night-and-day  schedule,  often  in  the 
face  of  rough  weather  and  bitter  cold. 

They  carried  out  the  restoration 
even  while  the  Bell  System's  service 
and  construction  program  continued 
forward  at  driving  pace. 

Consider  these  indicative  figures : 

In  those  five  storm-ridden  months, 
the  Bell  System  installed  more  than 
3,000,000  telephones,  with  a  net  gain 
— after  changes  and  removals — of 
more  than  1,300,000  telephones  for 
the  period.  And  during  the  winter 
months  just  passed  the  System  han- 
dled an  average  of  165,500,000 
telephone  calls  a  day — which  is 
14,500,000  calls  a  day  more  than  the 
average  for  the  preceding  winter. 

Old  Man  Winter  didn't  succeed  in 
slowing  up  seriously  the  System's  ef- 
forts to  build  and  install  the  equip- 
ment to  bring  service  to  the  many 
who  have  been  waiting  for  it  and  to 
provide  for  the  requirements  of  the 
coming  years.  But  the  pictures  on 
the  next  eight  pages  show  how  hard 
he  tried. 


39 


This  New  Hampshire  toll  line^ 
in  the  territory  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company^  was  temporarily  out 
of  service 


Snow-shoe  weather  is  unusual 
,    in     Connecticut^     where    the 
-^    Southern  New  England  Tele- 
phone Company  operates 


40 


In  New  Jersey,  sleet 
brought  down  electric 
power  wires  too,  and 
kerosene  heaters  had  to 
be  brought  into  some 
central  offices 


41 


The  New  Jersey  Bell  Telephoned 
Company's  outside  plant  wasX 
hard  hit  by   the  New    Years 
Day  storm 


Plant  employees  of  the  Bell 

Telephone    Company    of 

Pennsylvania    push    ahead 

with  service  restoration 


This  open-wire  toll  line  is 
in  North  Carolina^  in  the 
territory  of  the  Southern 
Bell  Telephone  and  Tele- 
graph Company 


Half  a  tree  had  to  be  hauled 
up  by  winch  line  before  the 
Michigan  Bell  Telephone 
Company  s  men  could  un- 
dertake repairs  here 


43 


Lines  of  the  Indiana  Bell  Telephone  Company  {above)  and  the  Illinois  Bell  Telephone 
Company  were  victims  of  the  New  Years  sleet 


44 


//  was  bleak  in  Iowa  as  this  crew  of  the  Northwe stein  Bell ^ Telephone  Company  went 
about  setting  a  pole  here  after  one  of  December's  storms 


I  Two  men  of  the 
[  Southwestei-n  Bell 
'  Telephone  Company 
I  tackle  wrecked  cross- 
i  arm  and  tangled 
I  wires  on  a  pole  in 
'  Arkansas 


45 


The  ski-mounted  sno-mobile 
on  the  trailer  can  carry  two 
men  over  dry  snow  at  60 
m.p.h.  with  their  repair  and 
testing  equipment.^  emergency 
rations^  snow  shoes^  and  other 
winter  necessities.  It  is  part 
of  the  winter  preparations  oj 
the  Mountain  States  Tele- 
phone and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany in  Wyoming^  whose 
Teton  Mountains  form  the 
back  drop  for  this  picture 


The  fanuary  i  sleet  storm 
invaded  the  territory  of  the 
Bell  Telephone  Company  of 
Canada  to  fell  a  pole  line  on 
the  outskirts  of  Windsor 


46 


This  Long  Lines  Department  pole, 
with  its  glistening  burden,  typifies 
many  another  of  its  fellows  from 
Texas  to  the  Atlantic  which  stood 
firm  under  such  weight  of  sleet 


Throughout  the  storm  area,  the 
Western  Electric  Company  s  dis- 
tributing houses  were  on  the  alert 
to  speed  the  supplies  on  which  res- 
toration of  service  depends 


47 


Bell  System  Inventions  Are 
Not  Suppressed 

Hubert  A.  Pattison 


Occasionally  the  charge  is  made  that  the 
Bell  System  "suppresses"  patents.  What  is 
really  meant  is  that  patented  inventions 
which  have  been  made  or  acquired  by  the 
Bell  System  are  suppressed. 

This  charge  is  false. 

In  considering  this  question,  it  is  impor- 
tant first  to  distinguish  clearly  between 
"non-use"  and  "suppression."  They  are 
not  synonymous.  Everyone  knows  of  pat- 
ented inventions  that  never  saw  practical 
use;  competent  authority  estimates  that 
probably  more  than  half  of  all  patented  in- 
ventions are  not  used  commercially. 

Experience  in  the  Bell  System  in  utiliz- 
ing its  patented  inventions  shows  that, 
while  a  high  percentage  go  into  its  plant, 
there  are  many  others  which  never  find 
their  way  into  such  equipment.  There  are 
good  reasons  for  this. 

The  use  of  all  patented  inventions  is  an 
impossibility  in  any  rapidly  advancing  art 
such  as  telephony.  Inevitably,  many  are 
ahead  of  their  time  and  must  await  the  de- 
velopment of  related  things  before  they  can 
be  put  into  the  plant.  Others  lose  out  in 
competition  with  even  better  inventions 
made  by  Bell  System  engineers  or  by  others. 
Still  others  become  obsolete  long  before 
their  term  of  17  years  expires.  To  urge  or 
imply  that  these  "unused"  patented  inven- 
tions are  "suppressed"  is  misleading  and 
false. 


What  do  we  find  when  we  use  "suppres- 
sion" correctly?  We  find  a  charge  which 
makes  no  sense  and  which  is  not  true. 

Far  from  suppressing  any  inventions, 
natural  self-interest  requires  that  the  Bell 
System  make  every  effort  to  put  new  de- 
velopments to  use  in  the  telephone  system 
wherever  their  utilization  will  result  in 
better  or  cheaper   telephone  service. 

Sometimes  a  new  device  seems  simpler 
than  it  really  is,  leading  the  public  to 
wonder  why  it  was  not  available  earlier 
and  perhaps  giving  rise  to  suspicions  of 
suppression  of  inventions.  The  introduc- 
tion of  the  hand  telephone  set,  combining 
a  transmitter  and  receiver  on  a  single 
handle,  seems  to  have  produced  such  a  re- 
action. 

Actually,  a  great  deal  more  than  the 
idea  of  mounting  the  transmitter  and  re- 
ceiver on  a  common  pick-up  frame  was 
necessary  before  a  satisfactory  telephone 
hand  set  could  be  produced.  Thus  it  was 
necessary  to  invent  a  transmitter  unit  whose 
performance  would  not  be  impaired  by 
being  used  in  any  position  or  by  being 
picked  up  and  put  down  repeatedly  in  ordi- 
nary usage.  It  was  necessary  to  find  some 
practical  way  to  prevent  interaction  be- 
tween the  transmitter  and  receiver  units, 
through  the  common  frame,  setting  up  a 
disagreeable  noise  or  howl  which  made 
commercial   use  impossible.     The  research 


Bell  System  Inventions  Are  Not  Suppressed. 


49 


required  was  unusually  difficult  and  took 
a  long  time;  without  it  the  "simple"  hand 
telephone  was  worthless  for  use  in  the  Bell 
System. 

In  short,  the  reason  why  the  hand  type 
of  telephone  set  did  not  go  into  wide- 
spread use  in  the  Bell  System  until  1927 
was  simply  because  its  development  had  to 
await  several  essential  inventions  and  not 
because  of  any  attempt  to  protect  invest- 
ment in  earlier  types  of  units. 

There  have  been  other  new  develop- 
ments in  telephone  communications  equip- 
ment which  have  been  delayed  awaiting 
further  required  research  in  the  thing  itself 
or  in  collateral  things  which  were  needed  to 
place  it  in  commercial  use.  And  they  get 
used  if  they  show  promise  of  better  or 
cheaper  service. 

The  unfounded  assertions  that  new  tech- 
nical developments  are  held  back  by  large 
companies,  in  spite  of  the  overwhelming 
evidence  of  technical  pioneering  by  such 
companies,  are  by  no  means  confined  to  the 
instance  of  the  Bell  System.  Although  the 
Bell  Sj'stem  is  not  informed  about  the  prac- 
tices of  other  companies  to  the  extent  that 
it  knows  its  own  operation,  published  evi- 
dence has  come  to  our  notice  which  shows 
that  business  in  general  is  also  innocent  of 
suppression  or  withholding  of  patented  in- 
ventions. 

The  subject  has  been  investigated  at  pub- 
lic hearings  at  the  instance  of  Congress 
several  times,  and  the  weight  of  evidence 
has  always  shown  that  there  is  no  suppres- 
sion of  patented  inventions.  Indeed,  only 
doubtful  inference  and  unsubstantiated  ru- 
mors have  been  offered  as  contrary  evi- 
dence. 

Thomas  A.  Edison,  the  great  inventor, 
testifying  before  a  committee  of  Congress 


in  191 2,  said  that  he  did  not  know  of  a 
single  case  of  suppression  of  a  useful  inven- 
tion. 

At  the  hearings  held  in  1939  by  the 
Temporary  National  Economic  Committee, 
Dr.  Vannevar  Bush  of  the  Carnegie  Insti- 
tution, and  George  E.  Baekeland,  pioneer 
manufacturer  of  plastics,  made  similar 
statements.  Mr.  Baekeland  brought  out 
in  connection  with  his  statement  that  the 
American  Chemical  Society  had  circular- 
ized its  members  asking  for  any  instances 
of  suppressed  patents  and  that  not  a  single 
example  was  reported. 

Dr.  Frank  B:  Jewett,  President  of  the 
National    Academy    of    Sciences,    said    in 

1943: 

"Personally,  during  an  experience  in  in- 
dustry of  nearly  forty  years  I  have  never 
known  of  a  single  authenticated  case  where 
a  valuable  invention  was  wilfully  sup- 
pressed. Nor  have  I  ever  known  anyone 
who  claimed  to  know  of  a  single  such  case." 

In  addition  to  making  the  fullest  practi- 
cal use  of  its  inventions  in  its  own  op- 
erations, the  Bell  System  also  makes  its 
patented  inventions  available  to  others  on 
reasonable  terms  for  a  wide  variety  of  pur- 
poses through  patent  licenses  granted  to 
other  concerns.  Such  licenses  enable  the 
licensee  to  make  use  of  any  invention  of  the 
Bell  System  in  the  apparatus  licensed, 
whether  the  Bell  System  itself  uses  that 
patented  invention  or  not.  The  Bell  Sys- 
tem's general  practices  of  making  its  in- 
ventions available  to  others  are  well-known 
in  the  communications  industry. 

As  a  broad  statement,  therefore,  it  can 
be  said  that  if  a  Bell  System  patented  in- 
vention is  not  being  used,  it  is  not  only  be- 
cause the  Bell  System  itself  has  no  present 
use  for  it  but  because  no  one  else  has  use 
for  it  either. 


l^he  Government' s  Inter- Agency  Communication  Network  of 

Manual  Switchboard  and  Tie  Ljines  Is  Now  Superseded  by  a 

More  Modern  and  Efficient  Installation 


Washington's  New  Federal 
Dial  Switching  System 

George  E.  Des Jar  dins 

Engineer,  Public  Utilities  Division,  Bureau  of  Federal  Supply, 
U.  S.  Treasury  Department 


Monday  morning,  February  2, 
1948,  was  just  another  Monday 
morning  for  many  Washingtonians; 
but  for  thousands  of  Government 
employees  the  day  had  finally  ar- 
rived when  they  would  have  to 
change  some  of  their  telephone 
habits.  The  old  direct  tie-line  and 
manual  interdepartmental  systems 
had  been  discontinued  at  the  close  of 
business  on  Friday,  January  30,  and 
by  Monday  morning  had  been  re- 
placed by  a  single  dial  system  for 
handling  inter-agency  calls.  Over 
the  week-end,  obsolescence  had  yielded 
to  the  engineer  and  his  slide  rule,  and 
the  old  had  been  replaced  by  the  new. 
Our  Federal  Government  in  Wash- 
ington and  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia's governmental  activities  are 
served  by  upwards  of  100  separate 
telephone  PBXs — private  branch  ex- 


changes. These  range  in  size  from 
small  manual  or  dial  PBXs  with  per- 
haps 10  or  20  telephones  to  the  huge 
installation  that  served  the  approxi- 
mately 20,000  War  Department  tele- 
phones during  the  latter  part  of 
World  War  II. 

These  PBXs  are  of  course  supple- 
mented by  numerous  individual  lines, 
auxiliary  lines,  private  lines,  and  the 
like;  yet  about  98  percent  of  Govern- 
ment telephone  activity  is  in  PBX 
service. 

The  administration  of  nearly  all 
our  Federal  Government  activity  is 
centralized  in  Washington.  As  a  re- 
sult, there  exists  a  considerable  com- 
munity of  interest  among  agencies, 
and  calls  to  and  from  other  agencies 
are  an  important  portion  of  the  traffic 
at  pach  PBX.  This  has  long  been  so, 
and,    together    with    the    high    con- 


JVashington  s  New  Federal  Dial  Switching  System 


51 


The  heart  of  Washington^  D.  C.     In  the  center  foreground  is  the  Capitol,  while  all  about 
are  Government  buildings  housing  agencies  which  are  now  enjoying  an  itnproved  tele- 
phone service 


centration  of  Government  agencies 
within  a  relatively  small  area  of 
downtown  Washington  (the  entire 
area  of  the  District  of  Columbia  is 
only  67  square  miles),  resulted  in  the 
establishment  about  30  years  ago  of 
what  became  known  as  the  Interde- 
partmental switchboard  for  handling 
calls  between  departments  and  agen- 
cies of  the  Government.  This  was 
a  manual  switchboard  located  in  a 
Chesapeake  and  Potomac  Telephone 
Company  building  and  maintained 
and  operated  by  C.  &  P.  personnel. 
The  Interdepartmental  system  may 
be  represented  as  a  wheel,  with  the 
Interdepartmental  board  as  the  hub 
and  with  Interdepartmental  lines 
radiating  like  spokes  from  that  hub 
to  the  various  Government  PBXs. 
All    large    Government    PBXs,    and 


most  of  the  smaller  ones,  had  such 
lines  into  that  board. 

The  operation  at  the  board  con- 
sisted of  handling  calls  between  those 
Government  agencies  having  lines  to 
the  board.  It  was  variously  referred 
to  as  the  Interdepartmental  or  Gov- 
ernment board,  since  it  handled  calls 
between  departments  and  agencies  of 
the  Government;  or  as  the  "80" 
board,  because  the  operators  at  that 
switchboard  were  reached  from  Gov- 
ernment dial  telephones  by  dialing 
"80." 

C.  &  P.  revenues  from  this  system 
were  on  the  basis  of  a  monthly  charge 
to  each  agency  for  its  lines  into  the 
switchboard,  plus  a  charge  for  each 
call  handled.  There  were  no  other 
charges,  either  for  operators  or  for 
switchboard  positions. 

As   the   use   of   the   telephone   in- 


52 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


creased,  in  step  with  the  growth  of 
Government,  the  community  of  inter- 
est between  certain  pairs  of  agencies 
increased  to  the  point  where  it  was 
found  expedient  and  economical  to 
provide  one  or  more  lines  to  connect 
their  PBXs  directly.  Such  lines  were 
furnished  by  the  C.  &  P.  at  estab- 
lished rates;  and  if  the  traffic  between 
two  agencies  was  heavy  enough  and 
the  distance  not  too  great,  the  inter- 
agency service  on  this  basis  could  be 
more  economical  than  either  via  the 
Interdepartmental  board  or  via  the 
city's  regular  central-office  telephone 
service. 

These  direct  tie-lines  came  into 
very  wide  use,  particularly  between 
the  larger  agencies,  and  an  extensive 
network  of  criss-crossing  tie-lines  was 
built  up  through  the  years.  This  net- 
work was  in  effect  superimposed  on, 
and  was  supplementary  to,  the  Inter- 
departmental line  network.  The  di- 
rect tie-lines  served  fewer  agencies 
than  the  Interdepartmental  lines,  but 
at  lower  cost  per  call. 

All  these  considerations  necessarily 
affected  the  engineering  of  line  re- 
quirements as  between  the  two  sys- 
tems, and  it  became  the  accepted  prac- 
tice to  provide  direct  tie-lines  to  carry 
the  base  traffic  among  the  heavy-use 
PBXs,  while  the  overflow  from  those 
lines,  and  all  traffic  of  the  lighter 
users,  moved  over  Interdepartmental 
lines.  In  fact,  at  dial  PBXs,  equip- 
ment was  so  wired  that  tie-line  over- 
flow automatically  moved  over  Inter- 
departmental. 

This  was  an  excellent  and  prac- 
tically fool-proof  arrangement — in 
theory.  But  in  practice  it  just  did  not 
work  out,  and  the  inter-agency  pic- 
ture resolved  itself  into  two  separate 


networks.  This  not  only  created  cer- 
tain inefficiencies,  but  the  difficulties 
experienced  in  trying  to  maintain  the 
two  networks  in  economic  balance 
were,  let  us  say,  numerous  and  per- 
plexing. The  need  for  a  more  flex- 
ible arrangement  that  would  combine 
the  best  features  of  both  had  long 
been  obvious. 

The  principal  difficulty  experienced 
with  the  dual  system  was  that  hun- 
dreds of  calls,  particularly  from  dial 
PBXs,  were  routed  over  Interdepart- 
mental lines  by  dialing  the  universal 
"80"  code  into  the  Interdepartmental 
switchboard,  rather  than  over  the  di- 
rect and  more  economical  tie-lines 
provided.  In  spite  of  repeated  in- 
structions to  the  contrary,  Govern- 
ment personnel  at  the  various  agen- 
cies, with  both  tie-lines  and  Interde- 
partmental available,  persisted  in 
dialing  "80"  instead  of  the  specific 
codes  for  particular  tie-line  groups, 
even  though  the  Interdepartmental 
routing  in  every  instance  interposed 
an  additional  operator  and  gave  gen- 
erally slower  service. 

Another  factor  militating  against 
the  proper  use  of  tie-lines  was  the 
lack  of  uniformity  in  assigning  tie- 
line  codes.  For  example,  of  those 
dial  PBXs  having  tie-lines  to  Treas- 
ury, each  one  might  well  have  as- 
signed a  different  code  to  its  Treas- 
ury lines. 

Prelimi7iary  Studies  Undertaken 

In  1936  the  idea  of  a  mechanical 
switching  arrangement  for  handling 
inter-agency  calls  began  to  arouse 
interest  in  the  then  Procurement  Di- 
vision, now  the  Bureau  of  Federal 
Supply,  of  the  Treasury  Department. 
Several  preliminary  studies  were 
made  in  the  next  few  years,  and  by 


1948 


Washingtori  s  New  Federal  Dial  Switching  System 


S3 


Clifton  E.  Mack,  Director  0/  the  Bureau  of  Federal  Supply,  inaugurates  the  new  system 
in  the  presence  of  fohn  T.  Kent  {standing).  District  Commercial  Manager — Government, 
of  the  Chesapeake  and  Potomac  Telephone  Company,  and  D.  A.  Kosh,  Chief  of  the 

Public  Utilities  Division 


1939  plans  were  under  consideration 
to  lease  such  a  switching  installation 
from  the  C.  &  P.  Company.  By  that 
time,  actually,  an  engineering  study 
of  that  installation,  including  line  and 
switch  requirements  and  tentative 
code  assignments,  and  based  on  the 
then  configuration  of  inter-agency 
traffic,  had  been  completed  and  was 
under  consideration.  But  unsettled 
world  conditions  and  then  World 
War  II  combined  to  postpone  action 
on  the  project,  at  least  until  the  nec- 
essary equipment  again  was  available. 
In  July  of  1944,  when  the  Public 
Utilities  Division  was  established  in 
the  then  Procurement  Division,  its 
engineers  resumed  study  of  the  pos- 
sible    economies     and    efficiency     of 


such  an  arrangement  under  existing 
conditions. 

The  situation  in  1944  bore  little 
resemblance  to  the  1939  picture, 
however. 

Government  telephone  growth  dur- 
ing the  war  had  been  incredible.  For 
example,  in  1939  a  28-position 
manual  PBX  with  about  3000  sta- 
tions served  the  combined  War  and 
Navy  activities.  By  1944,  the  War 
Department  PBX  alone  had  no  po- 
sitions serving  19,300  stations,  and 
Navy  had  its  own  PBX  of  62  po- 
sitions serving  about  11,400  stations. 

The  picture  had  so  changed,  in 
fact,  that  there  was  strong  sentiment 
— on  the  part  of  some  people,  at  any 
rate — in   favor  of  waiting  until  the 


54 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


war  ended  and  Government  activity 
leveled  off  before  undertaking  such  a 
project.  It  was  ultimately  decided, 
however,  that  more  could  be  gained 
by  proceeding  immediately  than  by 
postponing  the  matter  indefinitely, 
and  studies  continued. 

Old  data  were  obviously  worthless, 
and  it  was  necessary  for  engineers  of 
the  Public  Utilities  Division  and  of 
the  C,  &  P.  Company  to  start  from 
scratch,  obtain  up-to-date  traffic  data, 
develop  a  complete  new  set  of  re- 
quirements, and  design  an  entirely 
new  installation. 

The  existence  of  the  huge  War 
and  Navy  PBXs  introduced  trunking 
and  switching  considerations  that  five 
years  earlier  would  have  been  thought 


The  first  call  over  the  new  system  is  received  by  Secretary  of 

the  Treasury  Snyder^  under  whose  jurisdiction  comes  the 

Bureau  of  Federal  Supply 


fantastic.  Tying  such  PBXs,  and  a 
hundred  or  so  others,  into  a  well- 
integrated  system  wherein  any  spe- 
cific agency  could  be  reached  from  a 
telephone  in  any  other  agency  by 
dialing  a  particular  code,  was  not  a 
simple  matter.  It  raised  many  ques- 
tions and  problems  that  had  to  be  re- 
solved by  the  C.  &  P.  and  the  Public 
Utilities  Division. 

By  early  1946,  studies  had  pro- 
gressed to  the  point  where  it  was  ob- 
vious that  such  a  system  would  be  not 
only  technically  feasible  but  also  eco- 
nomically desirable.  It  was  therefore 
thought  well  to  obtain  the  reaction  of 
all  Government  agencies  in  Washing- 
ton to  the  proposal — at  least  in  prin- 
ciple. Inasmuch  as  the  proposed  sys- 
tem would  replace 
both  the  existing  di- 
rect tie-line  and  In- 
terdepartmental net- 
works, and  therefore 
would  require  100 
percent  participation 
by  Government  agen- 
cies, it  was  felt  that 
all  should  be  advised 
of  developments. 

A  meeting  was  ar- 
ranged to  which  all 
agencies  were  re- 
quested to  send  rep- 
resentatives. The 
proposal  was  pre- 
sented to  them  for 
their  consideration 
and  representatives 
of  the  Public  Utili- 
ties Division  and  the 
C.  &  P.  Company 
were  on  hand  to  an- 
swer questions.  The 
reaction  was  unani- 
mously    favorable, 


1948 


Washington's  New  Federal  Dial  Switching  System 


SS 


and  resulted  in  the  placing  of  the 
order  for  the  dial  switching  system. 

A  detailed  traffic  study  of  all  inter- 
agency traffic  as  of  August  1946  was 
made  by  the  C.  &  P.  Company,  and 
served  as  the  basis  of  the  engineer- 
ing, by  the  A.  T.  &  T.  Company  and 
the  Bell  Telephone  Laboratories,  of 
the  switching  system.  The  switching 
equipment  for  the  system,  which  was 
manufactured  by  Western  Electric, 
is  installed  on  C.  &  P.  premises. 

The  equipment  is  furnished  at 
tariff  rates.  Arrangements  have  been 
made  for  the  Public  Buildings  Ad- 
ministration to  accept  this  billing, 
and  to  pro-rate  the  charges  to  par- 
ticipating agencies.  It  has  been  pro- 
posed that  Public  Buildings  Adminis- 
tration request  a  specific  appropria- 
tion from  Congress  to  pay  these 
charges;  if  granted,  it  would  obviate 
the  allocation  of  charges  to  each 
agency.  The  lines  connecting  each 
agency  with  the  switching  center  are 
billed  directly  to  the  agency  by  the 
C.  &  P.  Company  in  the  regular 
monthly  bills. 

How  the  System  Works 

The  inter-agency  dial  switching 
system  serves  108  PBXs,  is  designed 
to  serve  130,  and  may  be  expanded 
if  necessary.  Of  the  130,  70  of  the 
more  frequently  called  PBXs  may  be 
reached  through  three-digit  codes 
running  from  130  through  199;  60 
smaller  agencies  use  four-digit  codes 
beginning  with  12 10  and  running 
through  1269.  It  will  be  noted  that 
all  codes  begin  with  "i."  This  de- 
sirable feature  is  possible  because  the 
first  level  on  first  selectors  at  all  Gov- 
ernment dial  PBXs  has  not  been  used 
for  PBX  station  numbers  and  is 
therefore  available  for  this  purpose. 


The  August  1946  study  disclosed 
that  there  were  2,269  lines  in  the  di- 
rect tie-line  network  and,  1,336  lines 
in  the  old  Interdepartmental  net- 
work: a  total  of  3,605  lines.  The 
traffic  on  these  networks,  according 
to  preliminary  estimates,  was  such 
that  a  single  integrated  system  of 
2,517  lines  could  carry  it.  Actually, 
a  total  of  2,486  lines  was  on  the  new 
system  at  the  time  of  the  cutover. 
This  number  of  lines  is  of  course, 
subject  to  modification  as  experience 
in  actual  operation  is  gained.  Reg- 
isters are  provided  for  the  various 
switch  and  line  groups  that  will  make 
it  possible  to  keep  service — and 
economy — at  the  optimum. 

The  largest  single  group  of  lines 
provided,  271,  is  to  the  former  War 
Department  PBX,  which  now  serves 
National  Defense.  On  the  other 
hand,  a  small  activity  such  as  the  Na- 
tional Mediation  Board  requires  but 
one  line. 

In  designing  the  switching  arrange- 
ments, it  was  found  desirable  to 
break  up  large  groups  of  lines  into 
separate  incoming  and  outgoing 
groups.  Generally,  if  10  or  more 
lines  are  required  to  handle  a  par- 
ticular agency's  two-way  traffic,  it  is 
more  effective,  and  it  may  be  just  as 
economical,  to  break  them  up  into 
one-way  groups.  The  difference  in 
cost  of  the  tie-line  terminal  equip- 
ments involved  in  one-way  versus 
two-way  operation  becomes  an  im- 
portant factor  in  the  economics  un- 
derlying the  engineering  of  large 
groups  of  lines. 

The  actual  switching  of  the  sys- 
tem is  done  with  step-by-step  equip- 
ment utilizing  2,854  switches.  Of 
these,  60  are  line  finders,  1,520  se- 
lectors, and   1,274  connectors.     The 


56 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


relatively  few  line  finders  required 
are  used  only  on  low-calling-rate  two- 
way  lines  from  manual  PBXs.  The 
great  majority  of  incoming  lines  are 
one-way  and  terminate  in  incoming 
selectors. 

Operation  of  the  equipment  in 
handling  a  call  is  essentially  as  fol- 
lows : 

From  a  dial  PBX,  the  calling  party 
at  the  PBX  station  picks  up  his  hand 
set,  receives  the  dial  tone,  and  dials 
the  code  assigned  to  the  particular 
agency  he  is  calling.  The  operator 
at  the  called  agency  answers,  and 
connects  him  to  the  extension  he  de- 
sires. 

From  a  manual  PBX,  the  desired 
agency's  code  is  not  dialed  until  the 
PBX  operator  has  connected  the  call- 
ing party's  line  to  one  of  the  lines 
to  the  switching  center.  When  that 
connection  has  been  made,  he  receives 
a  dial  tone,  and  proceeds  as  above. 

Advantages  of  the  System 

From  the  Government's  point  of 
view,  the  major  advantages  to  be 
gained  from  the  new  system  are : 

1.  Economy.  The  new  system 
replaces  two  less  efficient  systems, 
and  the  resulting  savings  are  esti- 
mated at  about  $85,000  per  year. 

2.  Speed.  Actual  checks  made 
of  calls  placed  at  dial  PBXs  indi- 
cate that  a  total  elapsed  time  of 
ten  seconds  or  less,  from  the  pick- 
ing up  of  the  hand-set  at  the  call- 
ing station  to  the  actual  answering 
by  the  called  party,  is  not  unusual. 

3.  Reliability.  The  system 
should  be  practically  free  from  op- 
erating interruptions  of  any  kind. 

4.  Availability.  The  system  is 
in  service  24  hours  a  day,  7  days  a 


week.  The  old  Interdepartmental 
board  was  regularly  on  a  7  A.M. 
to  5  :30  P.M.  5-day  week  schedule, 
with  but  skeleton  coverage  at  other 
times. 

The  major  advantages  to  the 
Chesapeake  and  Potomac  Telephone 
Company  are : 

1.  Utilization.  The  lines  of  the 
new  system  make  for  much  better 
utilization  of  cable  plant  than  the 
two  networks  that  it  replaced. 
Revenue  from  direct  tie-lines  is 
based  on  air-line  distance  between 
terminals,  regardless  of  the  actual 
routing  involved.  The  new  sys- 
tem will  result  in  a  larger  ratio  of 
revenue  mileage  to  route  mileage, 
since  the  location  of  the  switching 
center  in  one  of  C.  &  P.'s  down- 
town buildings  permits  tying  into 
existing  cable  very  efficiently. 

2.  Efficiency.  More  efficient 
dial  operation  replaces  the  old 
manual  system.  This  is  in  line 
with  the  present  program  of  dial 
conversion. 

3.  Reliability.  The  C.  &  P. 
also  benefits  from  the  fact  that  the 
system  should  be  practically  free 
from  operating  interruptions  of 
any  kind. 

Prehmtnary  Arrangements 

Telephone  people  don't  get  very 
excited  about  cut-overs  any  more. 
Telephone  plant  growth  is  so  rapid 
that  cut-overs  are  every-day  occur- 
rences. This  one  wasn't  quite  in  that 
category,  for  two  reasons.  First, 
this  was  a  unique  installation;  there 
wasn't  another  one  like  it  anywhere. 
Second,  there  was  the  whole  week- 
end, from  close  of  business  Friday, 


1948 


Washingtoris  New  Federal  Dial  Switching  System 


SI 


Operation  of  the  switching  equipment  is  being  explained  to  a  group  of  Government  and 

telephone  company  officials 


January  30,  to  opening  of  business 
Monday,  February  2,  in  which  to  get 
the  job  done — an  unparalleled  luxury 
in  cut-overs. 

For  weeks  before  the  cut-over,  the 
C.  &  P.  Company's  Government  Dis- 
trict office  had  hummed  with  activity, 
for  much  had  to  be  done  in  the  way 
of  education.  The  program  started 
with  the  service  engineers  who 
deal  with  the  Government  agencies. 
Through  them  the  operating  and 
supervisory  personnel  at  Government 
PBXs  were  informed  as  to  the  de- 
tails of  operation  under  the  new 
system. 

The  Bureau  of  Federal  Supply  co- 
operated in  the  educational  phase  by 
issuing  circular  letters  with  instruc- 
tions and  pertinent  information  to  all 
agencies.  These  were  directed  to  the 
"Heads  of  Departments  and  Estab- 


lishments," and  included,  among 
other  things,  a  recommended  form 
for  an  instruction  memorandum 
which  each  agency  was  requested  to 
reproduce  for  distribution  to  all  its 
personnel. 

Directory  information,  such  as  the 
code  assignments  for  the  various 
agencies,  was  made  available  to  such 
of  them  as  desired  it  for  use  in  re- 
vising their  directories.  To  those 
agencies  that  did  not  desire  to  revise 
their  directories  at  this  time,  the  C.  & 
P.  Company  furnished  a  supply  of  a 
specially  prepared  card  form  of  di- 
rectory, with  the  code  information, 
for  distribution  to  their  personnel. 
All  this  planning,  which  was  very 
effectively  coordinated,  resulted  in  a 
well-informed  group  of  prospective 
users. 

Interest    in    the    new    service    ran 


58 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


high  and  manifested  *  itself  In  the 
nearly  100,000  calls  placed  during 
the  first  24  hours.  Some  of  these 
were  undoubtedly  curiosity  calls :  a 
healthy  thing — within  limits — in  an 
installation  of  this  kind,  and  certainly 
to  be  expected.  But  it  was  not  ex- 
pected that  the  volume  would  be 
maintained  at  this  high  level.  How- 
ever, the  record  of  calls  over  the  sys- 
tem during  the  three  weeks  immedi- 
ately following  the  cut-over  indicates 
a  normal  business-day  average  of 
92,400  calls,  with  a  maximum  of 
107,400  and  a  minimum  of  87,900. 
This  looks  a  good  deal  like  enthusi- 
astic response  of  Government  per- 
sonnel to  the  excellence  of  the  service 
being  provided. 

This  general  acceptance  of  the 
new  system  is  very  gratifying  to  both 
the  Government  and  the  Chesapeake 
&  Potomac  Telephone  Company. 
Such  reaction  as  has  been  voiced  is 
also  uniformly  favorable.  Very  little 
objection  of  any  kind  has  been  heard, 
and  such  difficulties  as  have  been  ex- 
perienced were  of  little  importance. 

Although  the  fundamental  sound- 


ness of  the  project  was  well  estab- 
lished as  a  result  of  studies  under- 
taken by  Government  engineers, 
smoothness,  speed,  economy,  and  ef- 
ficiency of  operation  which  the  sys- 
tem exemplifies  is  believed  to  be  but 
the  reflection  of  the  quality  of  Bell 
System  personnel — in  the  A.  T.  &  T. 
Company,  C.  &  P.  Company,  Bell 
Laboratories,  Western  Electric — that 
made  it  possible. 

The  C.  &  P.  Company  has  been 
most  involved,  and  any  attempt  to 
mention,  by  name,  all  those  of  the 
C.  &  P.  who  shared  in  this  effort 
would  be  practically  a  roll  call  of  the 
local  group.  The  entire  C.  &  P.  or- 
ganization is  to  be  particularly  com- 
mended for  its  part  in  bringing  an 
idea  to  life. 

Continued  close  and  harmonious 
cooperation  between  that  organiza- 
tion and  the  Bureau  of  Federal  Sup- 
ply can  only  result  in  the  best  possible 
telephone  service  for  our  Federal 
Government — an  objective  which  the 
Chesapeake  &  Potomac  Telephone 
Company  and  the  Public  Utilities  Di- 
vision have  In  common. 


...  all  business  in  a  democratic  country  begins  with  public 
permission  and  exists  by  public  approval.  If  that  be  true,  it 
follows  that  business  should  be  cheerfully  willing  to  tell  the 
public  what  its  policies  are,  what  it  is  doing,  and  what  it  hopes 
to  do.  This  seems  practically  a  duty.  It  is  not  an  easy  duty 
to  perform,  for  people  who  make  up  the  public  are  generally 
busy  about  their  own  affairs  and  are  not  particularly  prone  to 
take  time  off  to  hear  about  the  telephone  business  or  any  other. 
On  the  other  hand,  I  think  it  clear  enough  that  the  public 
would  very  much  resent  it  if  a  business  now  took  the  attitude 
which  many  used  to  take,  "We'll  tell  you  nothing.  It  is  none 
of  your  affair."  The  Bell  System  endeavors  to  tell  the  public 
about  its  affairs  in  a  number  of  different  ways. 

From  "The  Bell  Telephone  System,"  by  Arthur  W .  Page,  Vice 
President,  A.  T.  ^  T.  Co.     Harper  ^  Brothers,  publishers,  194 1. 


''Opinion  Surveys*'  among  A,  T,  &f  T,  Stockholders  Helped 

In  the  Development  of  One  Document  Combining  ""Fuir^ 

And  ''Fractionary  IVarrants  and  an  Order  Form 


The  Single  Warrant:  A  Step 
Ahead  in  Corporate  Finance 

Frederick  A.  Wiseman 


In  the  past  20  years  the  American 
Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company 
has  made  four  offers  to  stockholders 
of  convertible  debentures  totaling 
more  than  one  billion  dollars. 

These  debentures,  which  are  evi- 
dence of  corporate  debt,  are  labeled 
"convertible"  because  under  certain 
conditions  they  may  be  converted  into 
shares  of  A,  T.  &  T.  capital  stock — 
which  are  certificates  of  ownership  of 
the  company.  Because  they  carry 
this  privilege  of  conversion,  the  law 
requires  that  such  debentures  must  be 
offered  first  to  existing  A,  T.  &  T. 
stockholders  for  purchase. 

The  offer  to  stockholders  is  made, 
and  their  right  to  purchase  is  repre- 
sented, by  warrants  which  are  sent  to 
them  through  the  mails.  There  are 
a  great  many  A.  T.  &  T.  stockhold- 
ers: more  than  723,000  at  the  end  of 
last  year.  In  connection  with  all  four 
debenture  offers,  about  3,750,000 
warrants  have  been  issued. 

Warrants,  since  they  are  concerned 


with  an  investment  matter,  are  nec- 
essarily phrased  in  the  rather  for- 
mal and — to  some  people,  at  any  rate 
— unfamiliar  language  of  financial 
transactions.  Also,  they  present  to 
each  A.  T.  &  T.  stockholder  the 
necessity  of  deciding  what  course, 
among  several  alternatives,  he  or 
she  should  pursue. 

All  this  has  added  up,  in  the  past, 
to  a  vast  amount  of  routine  work  for 
the  A.  T.  &  T.  Treasury  Depart- 
ment, and  to  a  good  bit  of  confusion 
among  many  stockholders,  making 
things  difficult  for  both  parties. 

Last  year,  with  a  $357,000,000 
convertible  debenture  issue  *  in  sight, 
the  Treasury  Department  set  out  to 
see  what  could  be  done  to  simplify 
the  whole  transaction. 

This  is  an  account  of  what  was 
achieved  in  connection  with  that 
issue,  and  the  way  in  which  it  was 
brought  about. 

*  See   "The   Biggest   Offer   Ever,"   Magazine 
Winter  1947-48. 


6o 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


SL*()-t/l 


1948 


The  Single  Warrant 


61 


Key  to  the  Situation: 
The  JVarratit 

The  key  to  the  situation  was  the 
warrant  itself:  what  it  did,  what  it 
required,  what  it  said,  how  it  said  it. 

What  the  warrant  must  do,  in 
terms  of  the  1947  debenture  issue, 
was  to  convey  to  every  stockholder 
the  right  to  subscribe  for  debentures 
in  the  ratio  of  $100  of  debentures 
for  every  six  shares  of  stock  held. 
For  stockholders  whose  numbers  of 
shares  were  in  even  multiples  of  six, 
that  was  easy:  for  each  multlple-of- 
six  shares,  the  right  to  subscribe  to 
an  equal  multiple-of-$ioo  in  deben- 
tures. It  was  the  fractions — the 
holdings  of  less  than  six  shares,  and 
of  numbers  of  shares  not  evenly 
divisible  by  six — which  complicated 
matters. 

What  the  warrant  would  require 
of  every  stockholder  was,  first,  a  de- 
cision as  to  what  to  do  about  his 
rights  to  subscribe  to  the  debentures 
and,  second,  a  course  of  action  to 
make  that  decision  effective.  De- 
pending on  what  he  wanted  to  do 
and  on  the  number  of  shares  of  stock 
held,  a  stockholder  might  decide  to 
subscribe  to  debentures,  to  sell  his 
rights,  to  buy  debentures* and  sell  ex- 
cess rights,  to  buy  more  rights  in  or- 
der to  purchase  more  debentures,  or 
to  transfer  some  or  all  of  his  rights 
to  somebody  else;  and  then  he  had 
to  instruct  the  A.  T.  &  T.  Company 
to  execute  his  wishes. 

What  the  warrant  must  say  was, 
of  course,  in  explanation  of  what  was 
required  and  by  way  of  instruction 
in  how  to  do  it. 

How  the  warrant  would  say  it — 
whether  clearly,  simply,  logically,  or 
otherwise — would    determine    how 


easily  the  stockholders  would  under- 
stand the  entire  transaction  and,  in 
consequence,  carry  through  correctly 
and  with  a  minimum  of  error,  con- 
fusion, and  avoidable  correspondence. 

To  appreciate  how  radical  was  the 
1947  simplification,  we  must  go  back 
a  couple  of  decades  and  look  into 
the  customary  practice. 

And  the  customary  practice  had 
long  been,  we  find,  for  an  issue  like 
the  1947  offer,  to  send  to  each  stock- 
holder: i),  a  "full"  warrant,  repre- 
senting the  right  to  subscribe  to  $100 
of  debentures  for  every  six  shares 
he  held;  2),  a  "fractional"  warrant, 
representing  his  additional  but  less 
than  six  A.  T.  &  T.  shares  and  in- 
sufficient in  themselves  for  the  pur- 
chase of  a  $100  debenture;  and,  3), 
an  order  blank  instructing  the  com- 
pany what  disposition  the  stockholder 
chose  to  make  of  his  full  warrant  and 
fractional  warrant  (if  any)  and  of 
his  privilege  of  acquiring  the  deben- 
tures. All  three  separate  documents 
were  mailed  to  stockholders  with  a 
covering  letter  from  the  president. 

It  was  customary  also  to  have  the 
"fractional"  warrant  read  "1/6  of 
$100  of  debentures,"  "2/6  of  $100 
of  debentures,"  and  so  on  up  to  "5/6 
of  $100  of  debentures."  Great  pains 
then  had  to  be  taken  to  explain  that 
a  subscription  could  not  be  made  for 
a  "fractional"  debenture. 

In  the  1 94 1  convertible  debenture 
offer,  this  source  of  confusion  was 
eliminated  when  the  "fractional" 
warrant  indicated  simply  the  num- 
ber of  "rights"  it  represented.  The 
necessary  explanation  was  made,  of 
course,  that  the  fractional  warrant 
must  be  combined  with  another  war- 
rant for  additional  rights  when  sub- 


62 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


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SPECIMEN 


A  ig2g  ''fractional"  warrant.     The  conventional  ''2/6  of  $100  of  bonds"  in  the  upper 
right  corner  confused  many  stockholders  and  caused  much  correspondence 


scribing  for  debentures.  This  step 
toward  clarifying  the  "fractional" 
warrant  has  been  referred  to  by 
brokers  as  perhaps  the  most  impor- 
tant improvement  in  the  form  of  the 
warrant  up  to  that  time. 

The  process  of  clarification  was 
continued  with  the  1946  offer  of 
convertible  debentures.  "Fractional" 
and  "full"  warrants  were  used;  but 
where  a  stockholder  received  both, 
they  were  attached,  and  were  folded 
back  to  back  to  facilitate  mailing. 
This  had  the  advantage  of  keeping 
the  two  kinds  of  warrants  from  be- 
coming separated  and  perhaps  lost; 
but  so  many  stockholders  failed  to 


unfold  and  examine  the  documents, 
and  wrote  to  the  company  about  sup- 
posedly missing  "rights,"  as  to  neces- 
sitate a  printed  letter  of  explanation. 
And  "full"  warrant,  "fractional" 
warrant,  and  order  blank  still  totaled 
three  formal  documents  to  be  exe- 
cuted and  returned  to  the  company. 

That  brings  us  up  to  1947.  And 
the  1947  convertible  debenture  issue 
would  be  the  biggest  ever. 

How  could  the  warrant,  the  key- 
stone to  the  structure  of  the  stock- 
holder relationship,  be  further  sim- 
plified. 

Boldly  the  proposal  was  made  to 


1948 


The  Single  Warrant 


63 


./  ig^i  ''fractional"  warrant.     The  wording  at  the  top  and  the  method  of  showing  the 
number  of  rights  are  considered  to  be  the  most  important  change  prior  to  1947 


combine  "full"  and  "fractional"  war- 
rants and  the  customary  order  form 
in  one  warrant  instead  of  three  sepa- 
rate documents,  and  to  explain  in 
simple  and  informal  terms  what  it 
was  all  about. 

But  it  had  never  been  done ! 

Was  that  of  itself  any  reason  why 
it  could  not  or  should  not  be  done? 

With  more  than  700,000  stock- 
holders, should  A.  T.  &  T.  experi- 
ment— or  leave  that  to  some  other 
company  with  relatively  few  stock- 
holders? 

Nobody  had  the  answers  to  those 
basic  questions.  But  we  thought  we 
knew  the  way  to  obtain  them.    How? 


Well,  it's  the  stockholders  who 
would  be  most  affected.  So  we  de- 
cided to  ask  them. 

Seeking  Stockholders'  Opinions 

There  is  in  the  Chief  Statistician's 
Division  of  the  A,  T.  &  T.  Company 
a  group  which  is  expert  in  conducting 
opinion  surveys — studies  of  "custo- 
mer attitude."  *  And  many  of  the 
principles  and  techniques  which  apply 
to  studies  carried  out  among  custo- 
mers can  apply  equally  well  to  studies 
carried     out     among     stockholders. 


*  See   "Finding   Out   What   People   Think   of 
Us,"  Magazine  Spring  1946. 


64 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


Those  specialists  were  asked  to  find 
out  how  stockholders  might  be  ex- 
pected to  feel  about  the  new  "single" 
warrant.  They  undertook,  on  a 
"sampling"  basis,  to  get  information 
about  the  new  single  warrant  on 
these  three  points : 

1,  whether  stockholders  would 
know  how  to  proceed  with  it,  as- 
suming that  they  wanted,  a),  to 
sell  all  or  part  of  their  rights;  b), 
to  use  all  or  part  of  their  rights  to 
subscribe  to  debentures;  or,  c), 
to  assign  all  or  part  of  their  rights 
to  others. 

2,  which  parts  of  the  warrant 
and  the  related  instructions  stock- 
holders would  have  difficulty  in  un- 
derstanding. 

3,  what  suggestions  for  im- 
provements could  be  obtained. 

First,  sample  specimens  of  the 
proposed  new  warrant  were  devised 
and,  after  an  almost  infinite  number 
of  revisions,  were  printed. 

Then,  through  experimental  inter- 
viewing, a  series  of  questions  and  an 
outline  for  the  interview  procedure 
were  created.  It  was  found,  inci- 
dentally, that  each  interview  would 
consume  no  less  than  three-quarters 
of  an  hour  if  thorough  coverage  was 
to  be  obtained. 

Finally,  it  was  decided  to  conduct 
extensive  interviews  with  about  200 
stockholders. 

But,  by  the  time  100  interviews 
had  been  completed,  it  was  evident 
that  so  definite  a  pattern  had  been 
set  that  the  results  thus  far  obtained 
could  be  accepted  as  reasonably  rep- 
resentative of  stockholder  reaction. 

What  was  the  pattern? 

Briefly,  the  stockholders  favored 
the  new  form  of  warrant  by  seven  to 


one.  Only  seven  percent  expressed 
no  preference. 

But  the  interviews  also  made  it 
clear  that  there  was  room  for  im- 
provement in  the  arrangement  of  the 
single  form  and  the  information  it 
contained,  and  in  the  wording.  Some 
stockholders  not  only  had  difficulties 
with  the  financial  terms — warrant, 
rights,  debenture,  and  the  like — but 
were  not  sure  what  was  meant  by 
such  words  as  void,  pending,  aggre- 
gate, assign,  remittance,  and  similar 
expressions. 

The  interviews  also  had  their 
amusing  points. 

One  stockholder,  of  foreign  ex- 
traction, when  asked  what  he  would 
do  if  he  had  15  rights  and  wished  to 
use  12  rights  in  subscription  and  sell 
the  other  three,  responded:  "I  ask 
the  man  at  the  counter." 

The  interviewer  suggested  that  he 
might  be  at  home  so  that  it  would  not 
be  convenient  to  do  that. 

The  reply  was:  "I  wait  until  I 
come  downtown  and  then  ask  the 
man  at  the  counter." 

"Suppose  you  were  ill  and  would 
not  be  able  to  come  to  the  counter?" 

"I  send  someone  to  ask  the  man  at 
the  counter." 

Another  stockholder  responded, 
tongue  in  cheek,  to  the  printed  ques- 
tion, "Disposition  of  warrants?"  on 
a  form,  that  his  warrants  should  be 
"kind  and  gentle." 

Stockholde?'  Reactions 

The  study  emphasized  the  need 
for  further  simplification  of  the  war- 
rant, and  of  the  transmittal  letter 
mailed  to  stockholders  with  the  war- 
rants. It  showed  that  improvement 
could  also  be  made  in  the  printing 
style  as  well  as  in  the  arrangement 


1948 


The  Single  Warrant 


65 


m 

1 

N^ 

r 

1 

r ' 

f0i^S< 

•''.''. 

sr^ 

^'i 

In  ihe/oregrounJ  is  the  Communications  Bureau  which  in  I92g  handled  correspondence 

with  stockholders.     In  relation  to  the  number  of  stockholders^  the  number  of  cases 

requiring  correspondence  was  more  than  twice  the  1^47  volume 


and  location  of  the  printed  matter. 
In  short,  improvement  in  every  phase 
of  the  warrant  and  related  material 
would  help  to  reduce  the  stockhold- 
ers' confusion  with  respect  to  the  ac- 
tion required  of  them  upon  receipt  of 
their  warrants. 

The  study  of  stockholder  reactions 
supplemented  the  knowledge  gained 
through  past  experience  about  diffi- 
culties stockholders  have  in  grasping 
the  significance  and  purpose,  as  well 
as  the  uses  which  may  be  made,  of 
their  warrants.  This  was  of  mate- 
rial value  in  the  final  determination 
of  what  form  of  warrant  should  be 
used.  The  next  step  was  to  review 
the  subject  with  the  lawyers.  In- 
stead of  complicating  the  warrant 
form,  the  lawyers  contributed  much 
to  the  further  simplification  of  it. 

As  finally  corrected  and  revised, 
the  new  single  warrant  presented  in 
one  piece  of  paper  what  had  before 
been  contained  for  most  stockholders 


in  three  pieces  of  paper.  (Two  war- 
rants, a  "fuir  and  "fractional,"  and 
an  order  form  for  the  stockholder  to 
use  ia  giving  instructions  as  to  the 
use  of  his  rights.) 

The  amount  of  printed  material 
on  the  new  warrant  contained  fewer 
than  half  the  printed  words  which 
had  before  appeared  on  the  three 
pieces.  The  words  used  were  easier 
for  most  people  to  understand,  and 
the  style  of  type  used  was  easier  to 
read. 

The  language  was  as  simple  and 
understandable  as  it  could  be  made 
and  the  left  hand  portion  was  given 
over  to  simple  and  concise  directions 
regarding  the  value  and  use  of  rights. 

The  stockholders  liked  the  warrant 
they  receiv^ed  in  1947,  and  frequently 
said  so.  For  those  who  did  not  ex- 
press their  opinion,  the  record  speaks. 
Fewer  letters,  fewer  telephone  calls, 
fewer  people  who  had  to  take  the 
time  and  trouble  to  come  to  the  office. 


66 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


The  new  single  warrant,  plus  other 
changes  and  improvements  associated 
with  it,  brought  forth  marked  differ- 
ences in  operating  results  between 
the  1946  and  1947  convertible  deben- 
ture issues. 

The  1947  Convertible  Debenture 
Issue  was  $357,532,600  and  was 
four  percent  larger  than  the  1946 
issue. 

The  number  of  warrants  issued  in 
1947  was  one-third  fewer. 

hnpoj'tant  Results 

Cases  requiring  correspondence  or 
telephone  communications  with  the 
stockholders  were  appreciably  fewer. 
Cases  where  the  stockholders  came 
to  the  office  because  they  wanted  to 
ask  questions  and  get  direct  answers 
were  15  percent  fewer  in  1947.  Tele- 
phone inquiries  from  stockholders 
who  needed  some  explanation  of 
their  transactions  were  28  percent 
fewer. 

There  were  nearly  6,000  more  sub- 
scribers in  1947  and  the  amount  of 
the  offer  unsubscribed  was  less  than 
in  1946.  But  the  total  hours  worked 
by  the  temporary  security  issue  or- 
ganization of  700  people  were  nine 
percent  fewer  in  1947.  Total  over- 
time hours  worked  by  the  organiza- 
tion were  60  percent  fewer  in  1947. 
This  all  means,  of  course,  that  the 
new  single  warrant  and  the  changes 
associated  with  it  made  things  easier 
for  the  stockholders  and  at  the  same 
time  the  company's  work  of  process- 
ing their  transactions  was  less  than  it 
had  been  previously.  The  results,  of 
course,  also  reflect  other  factors;  but 
underlying  them  all  was  the  new 
form  of  warrant. 

Stockholders  found  on  their  1947 


warrant  mstructions  as  to  its  use  in 
concise,  easy-to-read  language.  The 
left  end  of  the  warrant  containing 
these  instructions  also  served  another 
practical  and  useful  purpose.  As  the 
warrants  were  returned  to  the  com- 
pany with  the  stockholders'  directions 
for  subscription,  sale  of  rights,  or 
transfer,  the  left  end  was  cut  off, 
stamped  with  date  and  reference 
number,  and  filed.  The  main  sec- 
tion of  the  warrant  then  proceeded 
through  a  series  of  routine  opera- 
tions. By  promptly  establishing  a 
reference  file  of  warrants  used  in  sub- 
scription, sale,  or  transfer,  a  major 
problem  that  had  plagued  the  or- 
ganization in  preceding  issues  was 
practically  eliminated. 

This  up-to-date  file  made  it  pos- 
sible to  locate  cases  in  process  when 
stockholders  anxious  to  know  about 
their  transactions  wrote  or  tele- 
phoned. Frequently  stockholders  will 
make  inquiry  regarding  a  transaction 
or  ask  that  it  be  changed  shortly 
after  mailing  their  warrants  to  the 
company.  This  had  been  a  diflicult 
problem  to  cope  with  in  the  past  be- 
cause of  the  tens  of  thousands  of 
transactions  in  process  at  all  times 
during  the  subscription  period. 

The  new  warrant  was  an  impor- 
tant factor  in  bringing  about  the  bet- 
ter results  in  most  operations  for  the 
1947  convertible  debenture  issue.  It 
was  not  a  cure-all,  however,  in  mak- 
ing matters  easier  for  the  stockhold- 
ers. One  obvious  disadvantage  of 
the  single  warrant  was  the  fact  that 
when  a  stockholder  wanted  to  dis- 
pose of  excess  rights  (previously  rep- 
resented by  a  fractional  warrant)  it 
was  necessary  to  send  the  warrant 
to   the   company   to  be   divided   into 


1948 


The  Single  Warrant 


67 


two  warrants,  unless  the  stockholder 
wished  to  arrange  for  the  sale  of 
the  excess  rights  through  the  com- 
pany. For  a  few  this  proved  to  be 
an  inconvenience. 

The  number  of  cases  requiring  cor- 
respondence in  1947  was  equal  to 
about  fiv^e  percent  of  the  number  of 
stockholders.  More  than  100  em- 
ployees were  needed  in  the  Communi- 
cations Division  to  handle  the  work. 
'Way  back  in  1929,  before  much 
progress  had  been  made  in  the  im- 
provement of  warrant  forms,  there 
was  nearly  twice  the  amount  of  cor- 
respondence in  relation  to  the  num- 
ber of  stockholders  as  there  was  in 
1947.  A  larger  number  of  em- 
ployees was  required  in  1929  to  han- 
dle the  same  number  of  cases. 

The  information  which  the  study 
of  stockholder  reactions  made  avail- 


able showed  that  a  great  deal  could 
be  done  to  eliminate  sources  of  con- 
fusion and  misunderstanding.  There 
is  a  point,  however,  beyond  which  it 
is  not  possible  to  go. 

Technical  Requirements 

An  offer  of  securities  to  stockhold- 
ers for  subscription  must  be  in  ac- 
cord with  the  Securities  Act.  If  the 
securities  are  to  be  listed  on  an  "Ex- 
change," the  provisions  of  the  Se- 
curities and  Exchange  Act  also  apply. 
The  rules  and  regulations  issued  by 
the  Securities  and  Exchange  Com- 
mission must  also  be  complied  with. 

In  a  broad  sense,  all  must  be  in  ac- 
cord with  accepted  general  corporate 
practice.  There  can  be  no  violation 
or  conflict  with  laws  governing  the 
acts  of  corporations. 

Furthermore,  the  New  York  Stock 


Warrants  for  the  ig^i  and  previous  issues  were  numbered  and  signcJ  sioiultaneously 
on  the  printing  presses  after  they  had  been  prepared  for  each  stockholder.  This  provided 
an  alphabetical  numerical  sequence^  whether  a  stockholder  received  one  warrant  or  two 


68 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


The  machines  shown  here,  regularly  used  for  filling  in  amounts  and  signing  dividend 
checks,  were  used  on  pre-numbered  warrants  last  fall  to  fill  in  the  number  of  rights  and 

sign  them  at  the  same  time 


Exchange  and  other  exchanges  on 
which  A.  T.  &  T.  securities  are  listed 
have  rules  and  regulations  designed 
to  protect  the  investing  public  as  well 
as  to  insure  uniform  action  by  the 
membership  of  the  exchange.  Any 
issue  of  securities  must  conform  to 
such  regulations  and  customs. 

There  are  many  considerations  in 
the  development  of  a  new  form  of 
warrant.  In  addition  to  the  effect  on 
the  company,  the  stockholders,  and 
the  agent  appointed  for  the  stock- 
holders in  the  purchase  and  sale  of 
rights,  another  very  important  mat- 
ter is  the  effect  on  the  work  of  bro- 
kers who  handle  transactions  in  the 
purchase  and  sale  of  rights  or  ar- 
range subscriptions  for  their  clients. 
About  three-quarters  of  the  stock- 
holders receiving  rights  for  subscrip- 
tion to  a  convertible  debenture  issue 
sell  the  rights  to  others  who  use  them 
in  subscription.  Practically  all  of 
these  sales  pass  through  brokerage 


channels.  Because  of  the  interest 
brokerage  firms  would  have  in  any 
change  in  the  form  of  warrant,  a 
series  of  conferences  was  arranged  in 
the  fall  of  1947  with  representatives 
of  the  Association  of  Stock  Exchange 
Firms. 

The  approach  in  these  conferences 
was  the  same  as  it  had  been  with 
respect  to  the  stockholders'  inter- 
ests. Basically  whatever  arrangement 
proved  best  for  the  brokers  would  in 
the  long  run  also  be  best  for  the  com- 
pany. With  this  as  the  starting  point 
and  holding  to  the  view  that  the  prin- 
cipal objectives  were  to  insure  that 
the  company's  stockholders  would 
receive  value  for  their  rights  and 
that  the  new  issue  of  debentures 
would  be  a  success,  a  number  of  mat- 
ters were  concluded  of  mutual  bene- 
fit to  the  brokers  and  to  the  company. 
The  principal  simplification  agreed 
upon  with  the  Association  of  Stock 


1948 


The  Single  Warrant 


69 


Exchange  Firms  provided  for  the 
filing  with  the  company  of  certain 
forms  of  agreement  of  indemnifica- 
tion and  for  the  use,  where  desired, 
of  printed  facsimile  signatures  in 
place  of  a  handwritten  oflicial  signa- 
ture. While  experience  has  demon- 
strated the  need  for  rigid  require- 
ments in  the  transfer  of  ownership  of 
stock,  it  is  evident  that  somewhat 
more  liberal  treatment  can  be  applied 
in  the  case  of  rights  which  are  of 
limited  value  and  which  expire  in  a 
relatively  short  time. 

The  arrangements  agreed  upon 
with  the  stock  exchange  firms  simpli- 
fied their  work  tremendously,  while 
introducing  no  adverse  factors,  and 
met  with  general  approval  among 
financial  firms.  The  number  of  war- 
rants cancelled  and  re-issued  by  rea- 
son of  transfers  in  1947  was  down 
75  percent  compared  with  1946. 

The  procedures  developed  from 
the  discussions  with  the  Association 
of  Stock  Exchange  Firms  have  re- 
cently been  adopted  by  the  Gulf  Oil 
Company  for  its  new  issue  of  stock 
and  have  also  been  adopted  by  the 
Pacific  Gas  and  Electric  Company. 
The  latter  company  also  used  the 
single  warrant  form. 

The  material  distributed  to  bro- 
kers describing  the  use  of  printed  fac- 
simile signatures  called  for  illustra- 
tions showing  the  circumstances  and 
conditions  under  which  such  signa- 
tures would  be  accepted.  This  sug- 
gested the  need  of  a  representative 


type  of  broker's  signature.  Ordi- 
narily the  name  John  Doe  is  used  as 
an  anonymous  person.  This  hardly 
seemed  appropriate  as  the  name  of 
a  brokerage  firm  because,  like  law- 
yers, brokers  usually  have  a  com- 
posite of  many  names  in  their  firm. 
In  fact,  one  of  the  very  large  broker- 
age firms  has  such  a  long  name  and 
so  many  partners  that  it  is  commonly 
referred  to  as  "We  the  People." 

In  place  of  John  Doe  the  name 
Richard  Roe,  Dee  Coe  &  Co.,  writ- 
ten as  shown  below,  was  adopted  as 
the  illustration  of  an  official  signa- 
ture. 

This  illustration  of  a  broker's  offi- 
cial signature  appears  in  the  mate- 
rial used  for  both  the  Gulf  Oil  Com- 
pany and  the  Pacific  Gas  and  Elec- 
tric Company  issues.  Perhaps  it  may 
become  the  John  Doe  of  brokerage 
firms. 

The  warrant  used  by  the  A.  T.  & 
T.  Company  in  the  1947  issue  repre- 
sented another  step  in  the  continuing 
process  of  improvement.  Many  im- 
portant changes  have  been  made  as 
warrants  have  been  issued  from  time 
to  time  over  the  years  and  no  doubt 
changes  will  be  made  in  the  future. 
This  is  normal  progress,  and  it  is  in 
keeping  with  the  constant  endeavor 
in  the  telephone  industry  to  find  bet- 
ter ways  of  doing  its  job. 


Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the 
Bell  Telephone  Quarterly 

Items  from  Volume  II,  Number  2,  April  1923 


Transatlantic  Radio 
Telephone  Experiments 

New  honors  in  the  field  of  telephone  re- 
search were  achieved  by  Bell  System  engi- 
neers when,  on  the  night  of  January  14, 
executives  of  the  American  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Company  talked  from  the 
United  States  to  England  by  radio  tele- 
phone. 

Sitting  in  his  office  on  the  twenty-sixth 
floor  of  the  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Building,  195  Broadway,  New  York,  H.  B. 
Thayer,  president  of  the  company,  spoke 
into  a  telephone  words  which  were  carried 
over  cables  and  open  telephone  wires  to 
Rocky  Point,  L.  I.,  transmitted  through 
the  ether,  and  plainly  and  distinctly  heard 
by  a  group  of  scientists  and  newspaper  rep- 
resentatives assembled  at  New  Southgate, 
a  suburb  of  London.* 

The  Rocky  Point  sending  station  is 
owned  by  the  Radio  Corporation  of  Amer- 
ica. The  radio  apparatus  and  system  used 
was  made  possible  by  cooperation  between 
this  company  and  the  American  Telephone 
and  Telegraph  Company  and  is  the  result 
of  research  and  experimental  work  in  the 
laboratories  of  American  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Company  and  the  laboratories 
of  the  Radio  Corporation  of  America  and 
its  associated  companies. 

Transatlantic  radio  telephony  is  not  new. 
In  19 1 5  Bell  System  engineers  succeeded  in 
sending  the  human  voice  by  radio  tele- 
phone from  Arlington,  Va.,  to  Paris.  The 
experiment  of  January  14,  however,  dif- 
fered from  that  of  eight  years  before  in 
that  it  was  carried  out  along  lines  definitely 
prearranged,  the  program  extending  over  a 
period  of  exactly  two  hours.    Whereas,  in 


•See  '"Hello  England':  A  One-way  Trans- 
atlantic Talk,"  Magazine  Winter  1946-47. 


the  experiments  of  191 5,  a  few  words  and 
sentences  were  intelligible,  in  the  later  test 
thousands  of  words  were  transmitted  and 
received  in  England  so  clearly  and  dis- 
tinctly that  the  intonations  of  the  speakers 
were  recognized  by  their  friends  and  ac- 
quaintances. .  .  . 

The  transmission  of  actual  messages  was 
preceded  by  several  w^eeks  of  experimenta- 
tion in  which  isolated  words  were  used  for 
test  purposes.  In  the  course  of  these  pre- 
liminary tests  a  mass  of  data  in  regard  to 
the  transmission  characteristics  of  the  ether 
was  obtained.  It  is  believed  that  these  rec- 
ords will  be  of  considerable  value  in  the  re- 
search work  being  carried  on  by  Bell  Sys- 
tem engineers. 

i 
Joint  A.LE.E.  Meeting 
By  Wire  and  Loud- 
speaker % 

One  of  the  attractions  on  the  program 
of  the  mid-winter  convention  of  the  Ameri- 
can Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers  was  a 
joint  meeting  between  1000  members  as- 
sembled in  New  York  and  500  members 
assembled  in  Chicago.  The  meeting  was 
held  on  the  evening  of  February  14th, 
President  F.  B.  Jewett  presiding  from  New 
York.  The  two  assemblies  were  united  as 
though  in  a  single  auditorium  through  the 
agency  of  the  Western  Electric  Company's 
public  address  system  associated  with  the 
long  distance  telephone  lines  of  the  Ameri- 
can Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company, 
in  such  manner  as  to  give  two-way  loud- 
speaker operation.  By  means  of  this  in- 
stallation, papers  which  were  read  in  New 
York  were  heard  simultaneously  by  the 
audience  in  Chicago  and  papers  read  in 
Chicago  were  also  heard  at  New  York.  .  .  . 


Twenty-Jive  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly 


71 


At  each  auditorium  the  only  apparatus 
visible  was  a  small  but  very  sensitive  trans- 
mitter, which  stood  on  the  speaker's  desk, 
and  a  group  of  small  horns  suspended 
above,  from  which  the  amplified  voices 
were  emitted.  In  addition  to  the  visible 
apparatus,  powerful  vacuum  tube  ampli- 
fiers were  used  to  magnify  the  speaker's 
words.  Sets  of  these  amplifiers  as  well  as 
the  transmitters  and  horns  were  located  at 
both  New  York  and  Chicago.  The  long 
distance  wire  telephone  circuit  joining  the 
two  audiences  carried  special  equipment  so 
as  to  deliver  the  speakers'  voices  at  either 
end  with  a  minimum  of  distortion. 

A  special  telephone  circuit  also  carried 
the  speakers'  voices  to  the  radio  station 
WEAF  in  New  York,  from  which  they 
were  broadcast  to  many  thousands  of  lis- 
teners who  were  not  in  attendance  at  either 
auditorium. 

Second  Transcontinental 
Route  Planned 

Plans  are  nearing  completion  for  work 
which  will  make  available  a  second  trans- 
continental route.  The  construction  work 
which  it  is  expected  to  complete  this  year 
involves  pole  line  work,  wire  and  equip- 
ment installations  from  Denver  via  El 
Paso  to  Los  Angeles. 

Transcontinental  telephone  service  was 
first  made  available  to  the  public  in  Janu- 
ar)%  191 5.  Prior  to  that  time,  two  routes, 
both  carrjing  long  haul  circuits,  had  been 
extended  as  far  West  as  Denver.  The  (Ex- 
tension of  this  service  to  the  Pacific  Coast 
involved  the  construction  of  many  miles  of 
new  pole  line,  the  stringing  of  four  165 
(No.  8  B.W.G.)  wires  between  Denver 
and  San  Francisco,  extensive  rearrange- 
ments   of    the    existing    circuits    east    of 


Denver,  and  the  installation  of  telephone 
repeaters  and  associated  equipment  at  suit- 
able points  between  New  York  and  San 
Francisco.  High  quality  telephone  service 
has  been  furnished  over  these  circuits  since 
their  completion,  various  improvements 
having  been  made  from  time  to  time  as 
the  art  advanced.  .  .  . 

After  carefully  considering  all  of  the 
factors  involved,  it  has  been  decided  that 
the  service  as  a  whole  can  be  best  safe- 
guarded by  providing  the  additional  facili- 
ties now  required  on  a  second  route,  and 
arrangements  are  under  way  to  make  four 
165  gauge  wires  available  from  Denver  to 
Los  Angeles  via  El  Paso.  The  carrying 
out  of  this  plan  will  make  available  two 
separate  routes  carrying  long  haul  circuits 
from  the  Pacific  Coast  to  points  east  of 
Denver,  tvvo  such  routes  having  been  avail- 
able east  of  Denver  since  transcontinental 
service  was  started.  As  the  new  route  is 
largely  through  a  section  of  country  where 
few  severe  storms  are  experienced,  a  high 
degree  of  protection  to  this  very  important 
service  will  be  furnished.  In  addition,  the 
circuits  to  be  provided  on  the  new  route 
will  more  satisfactorily  handle  the  rapidly 
increasing  requirements  for  through  service 
between  Los  Angeles  and  other  southern 
California  points  and  the  East. 

The  provision  of  facilities  along  this 
route  is  in  line  with  the  plans  for  perma- 
nent extensions  of  the  trunk  lines  for 
nation-wide  service  which  contemplated  the 
provision  of  at  least  three  main  transconti- 
nental routes  with  suitable  North  and 
South  tie  lines.  One  of  the  two  new  routes 
planned  will  extend  from  New  Orleans 
and  Dallas  via  El  Paso  to  Los  Angeles, 
and  the  other  from  Minneapolis  via  Fargo 
and  Billings  to  Seattle.  The  work  being 
undertaken  this  year  fits  in  with  the  plans 
for  the  Southern  Route. 


The  Goose  That  Lays  the  Golden  Egg 

From  an  order  issued  January  2g,  ig48,  by  the  North  Carolina 
Utilities  Commission,  authorizing  a  second  increase  in  rates  for 
the  Southern  Bell  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company  in  that 
State. 


It  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  tele- 
phone service  is  different  from  that 
rendered  by  any  other  utility  in  that 
all  parts  of  the  country  are  intercon- 
nected. People  in  this  State  talk  to 
people  in  other  states;  people  in  other 
states  talk  to  people  in  this  State ;  and 
if  the  service  in  any  state  through 
which  their  conversation  is  trans- 
mitted is  poor,  the  whole  service  is 
poor,  just  as  no  chain  can  be  stronger 
than  its  weakest  link. 

In  North  Carolina  the  expansion 
program  for  this  year  calls  for  the 
expenditure  of  $15,081,000.  This 
fund  contemplates  the  building  of 
additions  to  outside  plants,  new  build- 
ings and  land,  central  office  equip- 
ment, pole  lines,  installation  of  sta- 
tions, and  additional  toll  circuits. 
Thirty-five  thousand  applications  for 
service  were  pending  on  January  i, 
1948. 

The  people  of  North  Carolina  are 
clamoring  for  this  needed  expansion. 


and  this  Commission  is  anxious  to 
see  it  carried  out,  believing  that  the 
increased  facilities  would  add  mil- 
lions of  dollars  of  profits  to  the  busi- 
ness and  other  interests  of  North 
Carolina,  while  the  crippling  of  the 
proposed  expansion  program  would 
no  doubt  mean  the  loss  of  millions  of 
dollars  to  the  people  of  the  state. 

In  view  of  the  water-logged  situa- 
tion presented  above,  this  Commis- 
sion is  anxiously  willing  to  cooperate 
with  every  state  involved  in  any  ef- 
fort to  provide  rates  which  will  as- 
sure the  company  a  fair  profit.  A 
contrary  course,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
Commission,  would  be  like  killing  the 
goose  that  lays  the  golden  egg,  for  it 
is  obvious  to  even  the  novice  that  un- 
less the  company  is  put  in  a  position 
to  give  good  service  and  provide  the 
necessary  expansion,  the  result  would 
be  disastrous,  not  only  to  the  com- 
pany but  to  the  public  as  well. 


Indexes  Now  Available 

An  index  to  Volume  XXVI  (1947)  of  the  Bell  Telephone 
Magazine  may  be  obtained  without  charge  upon  request  to 
the  Information  Department  of  the  American  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Company,  195  Broadway,  New  York  7,  N.  Y. 

A  twenty-five  year  cumulative  index,  covering  Volumes  I 
through  XXV  of  the  Bell  Telephone  Magazine  and  its 
predecessor,  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly,  may  be  ob- 
tained without  charge,  by  those  maintaining  a  file  of  the  publi- 
cation, upon  request  to  the  same  address. 


72 


f«//^c;    j:^^\^  V  a  X  -^  «»r  jl  v  mnuf^i     a.  'u/u 


Kjurnrnci     i  u^ 


Exchange  Cable  i  The  Drama  of  Post-war  Productmf^^  Aw& 
Charles  G.  Sinclair,  Jr.  ^ 

The  License  Contract  •  Keith  S.  McHugh 

The  Wires  Which  Carry  the  News  of  the  World 
Robert  E.  Moore 

The  Benefit  and  Pension  Plan  Is  Thirty-Five 
Charles  J.  Schaefer,  Jr. 

Charts  at  Work  •  Kenneth  W.  Haemer 

Ideas,  Men,  and  Things  •  J 


RRINB 


-  ./w-^"**-/.**;^^,* 


mericanlekphoTie  S^-^ekmpbCoTrfanV'Newmn 


Bdl  TelepKone/w^^ 


Summer  1948 


Exchange  Cable:  The  Drama  of  Post-war  Production, 
Charles  G.  Sinclair,  Jr.,  77 

The  License  Contract,  Keith  S.  McHugh,  88 

The  Thirty  Millionth  Bell  Telephone  Is  Installed  in  Iowa,  93 

The  Wires  Which  Carry  the  News  of  the  World, 
Robert  E.  Moore,  94 

Southern  New  England  and  the  Telephone,  104 

The  Benefit  and  Pension  Plan  Is  Thirty-Five, 
Charles  J.  Schaefer,  Jr.,  105 

Bell  System  Advertising  Wins  Award,  113 

Charts  at  Work,  Kenneth  W .  Haemer,  114 

Twenty-Five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly,  124 

Ideas,  Men,  and  Things,  James  O.  Perrine,  126 

The  Greatest  Communication  Network  in  History,   135 


^  Medium  of  Suggestion  ^  a  Record  of  Progress 

Published  J  or  the  supervisory  forces  of  the  Bell  System  by  the  Information  Department  of 
American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Co.,  /p5  Broadway^  New  York  7,  A^.  Y. 
Leroy  a.  Wilson,  President;  Carroll  O.  Bickelhaupt,  Sec;  Donald  R.  Belcher,  Treas. 


Who's  Who  &  What's  What 
in  This  Issue 


Cables  of  all  kinds,  old  and  new,  are 
familiar  items  of  telephone  plant  to 
Charles  G.  Sinclair,  Jr.,  for  his  35 
years  in  the  Bell  System  have  been  spent 
entirely  in  outside  plant  work.  He  joined 
the  New  York  Telephone  Company  in 
19 1 3,  and  after  a  period  of  field  work  in 
the  Plant  Department  he  was  assigned  to 
outside  plant  engineering.  In  1921  he 
transferred  to  the  outside  plant  section  of 
the  Department  of  Operation  and  Engi- 
neering of  the  American  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Company.  Since  February  i 
of  this  year  he  has  been  the  company's  out- 
side plant  engineer. 

At  present  Vice  President  of  the  A,  T. 
&  T.  Company  in  charge  of  the  Informa- 
tion Department,  Keith  S.  McHugh  was 
an  administrative  vice  president  of  the 
company  from  1938  to  1946,  an  assistant 
vice  president  for  four  years  before  that, 
and  commercial  engineer  from  1929  to 
1934.     In  the  ten  years  after  joining  the 


A.  T.  &  T.  Company  in  1919  he  had  been 
successively  an  engineer  with  that  com- 
pany, general  commercial  engineer  of  the 
Chesapeake  and  Potomac  Telephone  Com- 
pany at  Washington,  D.  C,  general  com- 
mercial manager  of  the  Upstate  Area  of 
the  New  York  Telephone  Company,  and 
vice  president  of  the  company.  That  is 
the  background  which  enables  him  to  dis- 
cuss the  value  of  the  historic  "license  con- 
tract" arrangement  to  a  telephone  system 
which  has  to  serve  a  continent.  Mr.  Mc- 
Hugh's  "Business  and  People"  was  pub- 
lished in  last  Spring's  issue  of  this  Maga- 
zine. 

Robert  E.  Moore  began  his  Bell  System 
service  in  St.  Louis  in  1926,  when  he  was 
employed  by  the  Southwestern  Bell  Tele- 
phone Company  as  a  commercial  repre- 
sentative. In  1927  he  was  transferred  to 
the  Long  Lines  Department  of  the  Ameri- 
can Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company  in 
St.   Louis,  where  he  served   as   telephoto- 


Charles  G.  Sinclair,  Jr. 


Keith  S.  McHugh 


Robert  E.  Moore 


Who's  Who  6?  What's  What 


IS 


Charles  J.  Schaefer,  Jr. 


Kenneth   W.  Haemer 


James  O.  Perrine 


graph  representative  and  commercial  rep- 
resentative. In  1930  he  was  appointed  di- 
vision commercial  manager  for  Long  Lines 
at  Cleveland,  remaining  in  this  position 
until  1940,  when  he  was  moved  to  his  pres- 
ent assignment  in  New  York  as  Press 
Service  Manager  for  the  Long  Lines  Com- 
mercial Department. 

Joining  the  Bell  Telephone  Company 
of  Pennsylvania  in  19 14,  Charles  J. 
ScHAEFER,  Jr.,  gained  experience  in  both 
traffic  and  commercial  work  before  he  was 
appointed  a  special  assistant  in  the  Person- 
nel and  Public  Relations  Department  there. 
In  1925  he  transferred  to  the  Personnel 
Relations  Department  of  the  A.  T.  &  T. 
Company,  where  he  is  Secretary  of  the 
Employees'  Benefit  Committee.  His  pres- 
ent article  is  his  second  discussion  of  the 
Benefit  Plan:  ten  years  ago,  in  the  Bell 
Telephone  Quarterly  for  January, 
1938,  was  published  his  contribution  on  the 
occasion  of  the  25th  Anniversary  of  the 
Plan. 

Leaving  the  advertising  field  in  1926, 
Kenneth  W.  Haemer  joined  the  Chief 
Statistician's  Division  of  the  A.  T.  &  T. 
Company,  where  he  first  worked  on  sta- 
tistical presentation  and  production.  In 
1935   he   turned  his  interest   to  methods. 


and  worked  on  the  development  of  a  gen- 
eral statistical  methods  file  which  was  pro- 
vided to  all  Bell  System  companies.  In 
1942  he  entered  military  service  in  the 
office  of  the  Commanding  General,  Army 
Service  Forces,  where  he  headed  the  sec- 
tion engaged  in  developing  and  installing 
standards  for  the  ASF  Reporting  System. 
He  returned  to  the  A.  T.  &  T.  Company 
in  1946,  and  is  now  in  the  general  sta- 
tistical analysis  section  of  the  Chief  Statis- 
tician's Division.  Mr.  Haemer  is  Chair- 
man of  the  American  Statistical  Associa- 
tion's Committee  on  Presentation,  an  editor 
of  The  American  Statistician,  and  is  the 
Telephone  Representative  on  the  ASME 
Committee  on  Graphic  Presentation,  au- 
thorized by  the  American  Standards  As- 
sociation. 

A  STUDENT  and  TEACHER  of  the  physical 
sciences,  James  O.  Perrine  had  been 
Professor  of  Electrical  Engineering  at  Yale 
University  when,  in  1921,  he  joined  the 
former  Department  of  Development  and 
Research  of  the  A.  T.  &  T.  Company, 
where  he  engaged  in  research  on  the  prop- 
erties of  materials  used  in  dial  telephone 
systems.  Since  1925  he  has  been  a  mem- 
ber of  the  company's  Information  Depart- 

{Continued  on  page  J 12) 


At  the  distant  end  of  this  machine^  installed  in  the  Western  Electric  Company's  Kearny 

fForkSy  the  new  ''alpeth"  telephone  cable  emerges,  to  be  wound  on  reels  and  shipped Jor 

urgent  service.     See  the  article  beginning  on  the  opposite  page 


^ 


Producing  more  than  Sixty  Billion  Conductor  Feet  of  Cable 

In  IQ4.8^  Much  of  It  a  New  Type^  Ranks  as  a  Great 

Industrial  Achievement  of  the  Present  Era 


Exchange  Cable:  The  Drama 
of  Post-war  Production 

Charles  G.  Sinclair^  Jr. 


In  a  conference  room  at  the  head- 
quarters of  the  Bell  System  in  New 
York,  a  group  of  men  gathered  on 
May  I,  1946,  to  discuss  a  problem  in 
exchange  cable  production  and  to 
make  a  decision  that  would  bring 
about  its  solution.  Although  the 
meeting  was  not  attended  by  any  pub- 
licity, the  decision  made  that  day  by 
those  men,  representing  the  Bell  Tele- 
phone Laboratories,  the  Western 
Electric  Company,  and  the  Opera- 
tion and  Engineering  Department  of 
the  American  Telephone  and  Tele- 
graph Company,  may  well  constitute 
a  milestone  in  the  history  of  the  tele- 
phone industry. 

During  the  war,  when  materials  and 
manpower  were  not  available  for 
many  normal  civilian  needs,  demand 
for  telephone  service  had  increased 
enormously.  The  telephone  plant 
facilities  which  had  been  provided  be- 
fore the  war  for  growth  of  the  busi- 
ness had  been  largely  exhausted,  and 
it  had  been  possible  to  augment  them 


only  very  slightly.  As  a  result,  the 
Bell  System  was  confronted  after  the 
war  with  the  necessity  of  manufactur- 
ing and  installing,  at  a  rate  never  be- 
fore contemplated,  all  the  units  that 
go  to  make  up  the  plant  facilities  re- 
quired to  give  telephone  service. 

Central-office  equipment  and  build- 
ings, telephone  instruments,  cable, 
wire,  poles,  conduit — just  to  mention 
a  few  of  the  major  items  involved — 
all  had  to  be  obtained  in  unprece- 
dented quantities  and  built  into  plant, 
if  the  demands  of  the  public  for  tele- 
phone service  were  to  be  satisfied. 
Many  of  these  items  required  large 
expansion  of  the  Western  Electric 
Company's  manufacturing  capacity 
before  they  could  be  fabricated  in  the 
necessary  volume.  Arrangements  had 
to  be  made  for  a  continuing  flow  of 
materials  into  the  manufacturing 
processes,  in  huge  quantities. 

To  meet  the  situation  posed  by  the 
pent-up  demand  and  expanding  re- 
quirements of  the  public  for  telephone 


78 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


Copper  wires  meet  aluminum  tape:  the  thin  metal  strip  is  applied  longitudinally  around 
the  paper-wrapped  core  of  telephone  wires  in  the  manufacture  of  alpeth  cable 


service  called  not  only  for  wise  plan- 
ning and  attention  to  a  thousand  de- 
tails in  order  to  create  a  well  coor- 
dinated program,  but  it  called  also 
for  great  courage  on  the  part  of  man- 
agement. 

A  myriad  of  obstacles  had  to  be 
overcome.  Materials  of  many  kinds 
had  to  be  obtained.  Many  new  em- 
ployees had  to  be  added  and  trained 
as  craftsmen:  linemen,  cable  placing 
gangs,  cable  splicers,  station  in- 
stallers. In  addition,  there  was  the 
gigantic  financial  task  of  raising  the 
required  capital.  Future  economic 
trends  were  uncertain.  To  resolve, 
in  the  face  of  this  situation,  to  pro- 
ceed as  rapidly  as  possible  to  pro- 
vide telephone  plant  facilities  that 
would  enable  the  Bell  System  to  in- 
stall telephones  at  a  rate  more  than 


twice  that  ever  previously  attained, 
truly  required  courage  of  a  high 
order. 

Among  all  the  kinds  of  telephone 
plant  for  which  provision  had  to  be 
made,  the  supply  of  adequate  quanti- 
ties of  exchange  cable  *  posed  a  prob- 
lem that  was  unique.  Study  of  the 
situation  led  to  the  conclusion  that 
it  would  be  necessary  to  produce  ex- 
change cable  at  an  annual  rate  of 
sixty  billion  (60,000,000,000)  con- 
ductor feet. 

Now,   sixty  billion  conductor  feet 
of  exchange  cable  is  a  quantity  that  is 


*ELxchange  cable  is  cable  which  is  installed 
to  provide  the  local  telephone  circuits  in  cities 
and  towns  and  their  environs  where  the  num- 
ber of  circuits  required  is  too  large  to  be  pro- 
vided by  open  wires  carried  on  pole  lines. 


^ 


1948 


Exchange  Cable 


79 


Thermoplastic  added:   the  hot  polyethylene  is  extruded  onto  the  aluminum-covered 
core  and  the  cable  then  passes  into  a  water  tank  for  cooling 


difl&cult  to  comprehend.  It  is,  just 
for  instance,  more  exchange  cable 
than  the  total  that  then  existed  in  the 
plant  of  the  Pacific  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Company  from  the  Cana- 
dian to  the  Mexican  border;  it  is — 
since  the  figure  is,  after  all,  of  as- 
tronomical proportions — just  about 
enough  to  provide  twent}'-four  pairs 
of  wires  spanning  from  the  earth  to 
th€  moon.  It  is  almost  twice  the 
amount  of  exchange  cable  produced 
for  the  Bell  System  in  1929,  the  year 
in  which  the  pre-war  peak  had  been 
attained. 

The  Eiquipment  Problem 

To  REACH  an  aliriual  rate  of  produc- 
tion of  sixty  billion  conductor  feet  re- 
quired very  large  additions  to  the 
factory  space  and  machinery  of  the 


Western  Electric  Company.  A  great 
deal  of  flexibility  is  required  in  such 
an  expansion  of  manufacturing  facili- 
ties, since  the  sizes  of  cable  required 
from  week  to  week  are  subject  to 
wide  variation. 

Cables  range  in  size  from  the  large 
ones  containing  many  hundreds  of 
wires,  for  installation  under  busy 
city  streets,  to  those  carrying  a  rela- 
tively few  wires  to  be  erected  on  pole 
lines  through  the  countryside  to  pro- 
vide telephone  service  to  the  nation's 
farms.  Consequently,  whereas  the 
sheathing  machinery  may  be  the  limit- 
ing factor  when  the  average  srze  of 
cable  is  small,  the  insulating  and 
twisting  machinery,  or  possibly  the 
stranding  machines,  tend  to  limit  pro- 
duction when  the  average  size  is 
large. 


8o 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


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0^  aw^  away:  several  turns  around  the  spool  in  the  foreground  maintain  proper  tension 
on  the  completed  alpeth  cable  J  or  winding  on  the  shipping  reel  at  the  right 


These  and  other  factors  were  fore- 
seen of  course,  and  equipment  was 
added  with  the  expectation  that,  re- 
gardless of  variations  in  the  average 
size  of  cable  that  might  be  required, 
working  some  of  the  machinery  24 
hours  per  day  and  frequently  7  days 
per  week  would  make  possible  the 
production  of  sixty  billion  conductor 
feet  of  cable  per  year. 

In  order  to  produce  equipment  for 
the  armed  forces.  Western  Electric 
Company's  Hawthorne  cable  shop 
had  been  completely  dismantled,  and 
the  capacity  of  the  Kearny  cable  shop 
had  been  greatly  reduced.  The  task 
of  reconversion  for  the  production  of 
exchange  cable  involved,  therefore, 
the  removal  of  machinery  which  had 


been  installed  to  manufacture  war 
equipment  and  the  return  from  stor- 
age and  re-installation  of  machines 
for  cable  production. 

In  order  to  provide  for  the  neces- 
sary increased  manufacturing  capac- 
ity, 75  percent  more  space  had  to  be 
obtained.  Efficient  operation  required 
that  this  additional  space  be  adjacent 
to  existing  cable  manufacturing  facili- 
ties. So  Western  established  another 
factory,  into  which  manufacturing 
facilities  for  other  products  were 
moved  from  both  the  Hawthorne 
and  Kearny  plants,  thus  making  the 
space  available  for  manufacture  of 
cable. 

To  make  so  much  more  cable  re- 
quired heavy  machinery  which  was 
extremely   scarce   and   hard   to   get. 


^ 


1948 


Exchange  Cable 


81 


Wire-drawing  machinery  to  make  the 
cable  conductors  had  to  be  increased 
by  more  than  70  percent ;  machinery  to 
apply  wood-pulp  insulation  to  the  con- 
ductors had  to  be  increased  by  75  per- 
cent; machines  to  twist  the  insulated 
wires  into  cable  pairs  required  more 
than  a  60  percent  increase.  Other 
machinery,  such  as  stranders,  cablers, 
and  dryers,  had  to  be  increased  in 
varying  proportions  up  to  100  per- 
cent. 

Contacts  with  suppliers  soon  shat- 
tered hopes  of  early  completion  of 
the  expansion  program.  In  many 
cases,  even  such  promises  as  delivery 
of  some  of  the  needed  equipment  in 
40  to  70  weeks  could  not  be  met. 
The  entire  electrical  equipment  manu- 
facturing industry,  which  provides 
the  motors  and  electrical  control  units 
needed,  was  overloaded  and  had  a 
huge  backlog  of  orders.  Widespread 
strikes  in  industries  furnishing  raw 
materials  greatly  interfered  with  ob- 
taining such  items  as  steel  for  chain 
drives,  pig  iron  for  castings,  and  even 
coal  to  furnish  the  power  needed  for 
processing  the  basic  materials. 

Careful  investigation  indicated, 
however,  that  the  necessary  materials 
for  manufacturing  cable — such  as 
copper  for  wires  and  wood  pulp  for 
insulation — although  then  largely  un- 
der government  controls,  could  prob- 
ably be  obtained  in  the  requisite  quan- 
tities— with  the  exception  of  the  lead 
for  cable  sheath. 

Aluminum  for  Lead 

Lead,  and  later  lead  alloys,  had 
been  the  traditional  material  of  which 
telephone  cable  sheath  has  been  made 
throughout  practically  the  entire  his- 
tory of  the  industry.    Its  low  melting 


point,  its  ductility,  among  other  quali- 
ties, adapted  lead  particularly  well 
to  this  use. 

Unfortunately,  however,  while  the 
last  quarter  century  has  seen  a  marked 
increase  in  demand  for  lead  for  the 
manufacture  of  storage  batteries  and 
many  other  purposes,  nowhere  in  the 
world  have  any  substantial  additional 
deposits  of  lead  ore  been  found. 
After  checking  all  the  responsible 
sources  of  information,  the  conclu- 
sion was  inescapable  that  it  would  be 
extremely  difficult,  if  not  impossible, 
to  obtain  lead  in  sufficient  quantity  to 
provide  sheath  for  the  volume  of 
cable  production  contemplated.  It 
was  this  situation  that  brought  that 
group  of  men  together  in  the  con- 
ference room  at  the  Headquarters 
Building  on  May  i,  1946. 

The  Bell  Telephone  Laboratories 
and  the  Western  Electric  Company 
had  been  studying  alternative  types  of 
cable  sheath  for  more  than  two  dec- 
ades. In  the  five  years  preceding  the 
war,  experimental  lengths  of  cable 
having  sheaths  of  material  other  than 
lead  had  been  made  available  for 
laboratory  tests.  The  most  promis- 
ing of  these  was  a  composite  sheath 
built  up  in  this  order:  around  the  core 
of  insulated  wires  was  placed  a  sheet 
of  corrugated  steel  with  a  cemented 
longitudinal  seam ;  this  was  covered  by 
a  thermoplastic  material;  and  finally 
came  an  outer  corrugated  brass 
sheath  having  an  overlapped  longitu- 
dinal seam  which  was  sealed  by  sol- 
dering. Laboratory  trials  of  this 
sheath  had  yielded  promising  indica- 
tions, and  it  was  decided  that  sheath 
of  this  general  type  offered  the  great- 
est possibility  of  providing  an  ade- 
quate outer  covering  for  that  part  of 


82 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


the  cable  production  for  which  lead 
would  be  unavailable. 

In  planning  to  go  forward  with 
this  program,  advantage  was  taken 
of  the  fact  that  other  materials  had 
become;  available  during  the  war  pe- 
riod which  offered  some  improvement 
over  the  pre-war  experirnental  cables. 
Aluminum  had  become  plentiful,  and 
it  was  decided  to  substitute  this  ma- 
terial for  the  corrugated  steel  placed 
directly  over  the  core  of  the  cable,  in 
order  to  take  advantage  of  the 
greater  electrical  conductivity  of  alu- 
minum. This  is  of  value  in  provid- 
ing shielding  for  the  cable  against  in- 
ductive disturbances  and  also  added 
protection  against  lightning  damage. 
Also,  the  possibilities  of  obtaining 
adequate  amounts  of  sheet  steel  were 
exceedingly  dim,  inasmuch  as  the  de- 
mands for  this  material  in  industry 
generally  far  exceeded  the  visible  sup- 
bly.  In  the  pre-war  samples,  a  rub- 
ber thermoplastic  material  had  been 
placed  between  the  two  metal  shells; 
but  now  a  new  material,  polyethylene, 
was  available.  This  material  is  a 
tough  plastic  having  high  dielectric 
strength  and  about  30  times  as  much 
resistance  to  water  penetration  as 
rubber. 

It  was  this  sheath  that  the  group 
meeting  on  May  i,  1946,  decided 
should  be  developed  as  an  alternative 
to  the  standard  lead  sheath  and 
brought  into  production  as  rapidly 
as  possible. 

Pressure  for  Production 

Normally  there  would  be  a  cautious 
approadi  to  any  major  change  in  de- 
sign and  materials  for  such  an  im- 
portant and  long-lived  item  as  cable. 
There  would  be  laboratory  tests  of 


a  few  saniple  lengths.  If  these  were 
promising,  field  laboratory  trials 
would  then  be  inaugurated.  If  these 
also  proved  successful,  a  few  com- 
mercial installations  would  follow. 
The  behavior  of  the  new  material 
would  be  observed  closely  over  a  pe- 
riod of  perhaps  several  years  before 
concluding  that  extensive  use  of  it  ap- 
peared advisable. 

These  steps  might  very  likely  have 
required  a  five-year  period  before 
reaching  a  decision  such  as  that  made 
in  1946.  In  1946  there  wasn't  that 
much  time. 

In  making  the  decision  to  proceed 
with  a  venture  of  this  sort,  the  proba- 
bility was  recognized  that  changes  in 
design  or  material  might  prove  to  be 
necessary  as  further  study  of  the 
sheath  and  the  facilities  needed  for 
its  manufacture  progressed.  These 
are  the  inevitable  concomitants  of 
treading  untried  paths.  ■ 

Before  many  months  had  passed, 
laboratory  study  had  indeed  deter- 
mined that  changes  in  design  would 
be  necessary  in  order  to  make  the 
outer  brass  covering  suitable.  The 
changes  found  necessary  introduced 
difficult  manufacturing  problems. 
Meanwhile,  time  was  running  on 
apace  and  provision  of  facilities  for 
producing  the  increased  amount  of 
cable,  except  for  sheath,  were  moving 
ahead  rapidly.  Another  decision  had 
to  be  made  if  we  were  not  to  lose  pro- 
duction for  want  of  sheath. 

The  decision  was  made. 

It  was  to  make  the  cable  without 
the  outer  brass  shell,  relying  upon  the 
relatively  high  impermeability  of  the 
polyethylene  material  and  the  barrier 
of  the  aluminum  tape  around  the 
core   to   exclude   moisture   from   the 


^ 


1948 


Exchange  Cable 


83 


Same  weight:  the  alpeth 
cable  at  the  left  contains 
152  pairs  of  22-gauge  cop- 
per wire^  as  against  5/ 
pairs  of  the  same  gauge  in 
the  lead-sheathed  cable  at 
the  right 


Alpeth  cable:  from  left  to 
righty  pulp-insulated  cop- 
per telephone  wires,  paper 
'jorapping,  corrugated  alu- 
minum covering,  and  outer 
sheath  of  polyethylene 
compound 


cable.  This,  of  course,  contemplated 
that  the  polyethylene  would  be  ex- 
posed to  the  elements.  To  forestall 
the  disintegration  which  might  other- 
wise result  from  the  exposure  of  such 
an  organic  material  to  sunlight  and 
atmosphere,  the  polyethylene,  nor- 
mally milky  white  in  color,  was  com- 
pounded with  carbon  black  and  an 
anti-oxidant,  as  is  commonly  done 
with  rubber  compounds  which  are  to 
be  similarly  exposed. 

This  sheath  came  to  be  known  as 
"Alpeth,"  a  name  coined  from  the 
key  letters  of  fl/uminum  and  polyethy- 
lene. 

If  the  decision  taken  in  May  of 
1946  to  proceed  without  delay  to 
manufacture  and  use  brass  sheath 
cable  was  daring,  the  decision  to  go 
forward  with  the  alpeth  sheath  was 
little    short   of    derring-do.      Alpeth 


had  not  been  subjected  to  even  the 
limited  pre-war  tests  applied  to  the 
brass  sheath.  Reliance  was  placed 
solely  upon  laboratory  study  of  the 
polyethylene  material.  True,  this 
laboratory  study  was  exhaustive,  com- 
prising exposure  to  temperature  and 
humidity  cycles  as  well  as  to  ultra- 
violet rays.  These  are  what  are 
known  as  "accelerated  aging"  tests 
and,  while  an  extremely  useful  tool 
in  appraising  the  characteristics  of  a 
material  intended  for  outdoor  use, 
they  are  rarely  relied  upon  as  a  com- 
plete substitute  for  field  trials  under 
the  conditions  of  commercial  installa- 
tions. But  time  did  not  permit  trials 
of  the  usual  kind  to  be  made. 

Experimental  lengths  of  the  new 
cable  were  made  available  early  in 
1947  for  trial  purposes.  A  wholly 
new  splicing  technique  had  to  be  de- 


84 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


Training  thousands  of  cable  splicers  in  the  technique  of  making  a  water-tight  enclosure 
comparable  to  the  lead-sleeve  wiped  joint  was  a  major  undertaking 


vised  to  provide  a  water-tight  enclo- 
sure such  as  is  afforded  by  the  lead 
sleeve  and  wiped  joints  used  to  en- 
close splices  in  lead-sheathed  cable. 
Devising  and  refining  methods  of 
splicing  represented  a  major  develop- 
ment in  itself.  Here  again,  some  of 
the  newer  materials,  such  as  neo- 
prene,  were  used  to  ensure  a  closure 
which  would  remain  water-tight  and 
durable  despite  exposure  to  sun  and 
air.  The  quick  training  in  the  operat- 
ing companies  of  thousands  of  cable 
splicers  in  the  new  techniques  was  no 
small  achievement. 

Advantages  of  Alpeth 

As  IS  USUAL  in  such  an  undertaking, 
unforeseen  contingencies  arose  and  un- 
expected obstacles  were  encountered; 
but  each  was  successfully  surmounted, 


and  in  September  of  1947  the  first 
lengths  of  cable  having  the  new  type 
of  sheath  came  off  the  production  line. 
Since  those  first  lengths  were  fabri- 
cated, last  September,  production  of 
the  new  type  of  sheath  has  increased 
steadily  until  now  about  30  percent 
of  all  the  exchange  cable  being  manu- 
factured is  made  with  the  alpeth 
sheath.  As  is  to  be  expected  in  the 
manufacture  of  an  entirely  new  prod- 
uct, the  alpeth  sheath  has  not  been 
entirely  without  faults.  These  have, 
however,  been  of  relatively  rare  oc- 
currence and  there  is  every  reason  to 
suppose  that  further  study  and  ex- 
perience will  point  the  way  to  their 
practical  elimination.  A  substantial 
amount  of  field  experience  has  been 
gained  in  the  installation  of  the  new 
cable,  so  that  we  are  now  in  a  posi- 
tion  to   appraise   its   relative   value. 


1948 


Exchange  Cable 


85 


The  new  cable  has  a  number  of 
characteristics  which  recommend  it. 
The  sheath  is  extremely  light,  with 
the  result  that  even  the  largest 
size  cables  weigh  only  about  half 
as  much  as  lead-covered  cables. 
Smaller  sized  cables  are  relatively 
even  lighter.  This  of  course  brings 
savings  in  freight  charges  and  facili- 
tates handling  the  cable  during  in- 
stallation. It  also  permits  aerial 
installation  on  smaller  and  lighter 
suspension  strand  than  would  be  re- 
quired for  lead  covered  cable. 

Advantage  is  taken  of  the  light 
weight  of  the  cable  and  the  fact  that 
the  polyethylene  has  an  extremely 
low  coefficient  of  friction  by  install- 
ing the  cable  in  conduit  in  longer 
lengths  than  would  be  practicable 
with  lead  covered  cable; 
thus  the  amount  of  splic- 
ing is  reduced.  In  many 
cases,  where  splices  are 
not  required  in  a  man- 
hole for  distribution  pur- 
poses, successive  under- 
ground sections  are 
pulled  in  one  length. 
merely  bending  the  cable 
to  rack  it  in  the  inter- 
mediate manhole,  with- 
out splicing  it.  Where 
splices  are  necessary,  the 
amount  of  work  involved 
is  somewhat  more  than 
in  the  case  of  lead-cov- 
ered cable,  but  it  is  ex- 
pected that  in  time  fur- 
ther developments  should 
substantially  eliminate 
this  disadvantage.  For 
underground  use,  the 
alpeth  sheath  has  one 
extremely  important  ad- 
vantage.    It  is  not  sus- 


ceptible to  corrosion,  which  is  a  fre- 
quent cause  of  failure  of  lead  sheath. 
Finally,  the  cost  of  the  alpeth  sheath 
is  appreciably  less  than  that  of  lead 
sheath. 

All  in  all,  it  appears  that  although 
born  as  the  child  of  necessity,  the 
new  type  of  sheath  may  well  have  a 
permanent  place  in  cable  manufac- 
ture, even  if,  in  years  to  come,  the 
supply  of  lead  should  become  suf- 
ficient to  provide  sheath  for  the 
amount  of  cable  required  to  be  manu- 
factured. 

Runaway  Demand 

Currently,  the  Western  Electric 
Company  is  producing  exchange  cable 
at  a  rate  somewhat  above  60  billion 
conductor-feet  annually :  the  goal  that 


New  materialsy  as  well  as  a  new  technique.^  are  required 
for  making  splices  in  alpeth  cable 


86 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


I 


Reels  of  exchange  cable  ready  for  shipment  from  the  Kearny  Works 
of  the  Western  Electric  Company 


was  set  at  that  meeting  on  May  i, 
1946.  It  is  indeed  fortunate  that 
this  is  so;  because,  as  the  public  de- 
mand for  telephones  has  grown  to 
proportions  far  in  excess  of  expecta- 
tions, the  requirements  for  cable  have 
grown  apace,  so  that  today  exchange 
cable  is  the  most  critical  element  of 
plant  in  providing  facilities  for  new 
telephones. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  reflect 
upon  why  this  is  so. 

To  most  readers,  the  question  will 
undoubtedly  have  occurred  as  to  why 
the  program  for  the  production  of 
cable,  central-office  equipment,  and 
telephone  instruments  was  not  in  bal- 
ance.    The  answer  is  that  it  was  I 

Sixty  billion  conductor  feet  of  ex- 
change cable  per  year  wasn't  selected 
because  of  any  cryptic  significance  of 


that  number.  On  the  contrary,  it 
was  expected  that  this  would  be  suf- 
ficient, within  a  year  or  two,  to  care 
for  all  the  held  orders  and  to  pro- 
vide cable  plant  adequate  to  meet 
the  continuing  demand  for  telephones 
— as  then  foreseen.  But  alasl  The 
unprecedented  demand  for  service 
could  not  reasonably  have  been  fore- 
seen. Even  bold  forecasts,  predict- 
ing a  considerably  greater  demand 
than  had  ever  been  experienced  be- 
fore, were  still  short  of  the  service 
customers  wanted.  Plans  for  the 
manufacture  of  central-office  equip- 
ment and  telephone  instruments  con- 
templated that,  in  addition  to  caring 
for  growth,  the  quantities  planned 
would  also  provide  for  an  active  pro- 
gram of  dial  conversions.  As  the 
unprecedented  demand  continued,  it 


1948 


Exchange  Cable 


87 


was,  of  course,  possible  to  deflect  the 
central-office  equipment  and  instru- 
ment production  originally  intended 
for  dial  conversions  to  help  meet  the 
unexpectedly  large  demand  for  addi- 
tional telephones  and  defer  dial  con- 
versions to  the  extent  necessary.  On 
the  other  hand,  in  the  case  of  ex- 
change cable  production,  there  was 
no  such  cushion  to  absorb  the  shock 
of  the  sharply  increased  demand. 
Exchange  cable  thus  became  the  bot- 
tleneck in  the  effort  to  clear  held 
orders. 

Production  at  an  annual  rate  above 
60  billion  conductor-feet  is  far  from 
an  easy  task.  It  calls  for  carrying  on 
certam  of  the  manufacturing  opera- 
tions 24  hours  a  day,  frequently  7 
days  a  week.  To  obtain  the  materials 
necessary — the  copper,  the  wood  pulp 


for  insulation,  the  lead,  the  ahiminum, 
the  polyethylene,  as  well  as  other  in- 
gredients— presents  a  Herculean  task 
of  supply,  which  is  being  met  only 
with  the  utmost  difficulty.  Within  re- 
cent months  there  have  been  times 
when  the  Western  Electric  Company 
has  had  to  scrape  the  bottoms  of  the 
bins  hard  to  keep  the  machinery  in 
operation,  so  closely  has  the  produc- 
tion program  been  geared  to  ultimate 
availability  of  materials. 

The  achievement  in  so  greatly  in- 
creasing the  volume  of  cable  manu- 
facture, while  putting  into  produc- 
tion an  entirely  new  type  of  sheath 
and  finding  the  means  of  successfully 
installing  it,  rates  as  one  of  the  great 
industrial  accomplishments  of  the 
post-war  era. 


steel 

Passenger 

Dwelling 

Freight 

W.E  Co. 

Production 

Automobile 

Units 

Cor 

Exchange 

Production 

Production 

Cable 
Shipments 

Estimated  Bell  System  exchange  cable  shipments  for  1^48  com- 
pared with  the  expected  1^48  production  of  certain  other  items. 
The  highest  pre-war  year  is  taken  as  100  percent  for  each  item 


Central  JVork  on  Common  Problems^  to  Avoid  Duplication 

and  Prevent  Waste^  Is  Assured  by  the  Relationship  between 

A,  T,  &f  T.  and  the  Operating  Bell  System  Companies 


The  License  Contract 


Keith  S,  McHugh 


The  license  contract  is  a  contract 
between  the  American  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Company  and  each  of  the 
operating  telephone  companies  of  the 
Bell  System.  Under  it,  all  work 
together  to  provide  a  coordinated 
nationwide  communication  service. 
Each  operating  company  does  locally 
the  work  that  can  best  be  done  locally, 
and  the  A.  T.  &  T.  Company  is  re- 
sponsible for  work  that  can  best  be 
done  by  a  central  organization. 

If  one  single  big  company  were 
providing  telephone  service  every- 
where, it  would  be  natural,  and  in 
fact  essential,  for  it  to  have  a  central 
staff  of  people  carrying  on  research, 
handling  patents  and  financing,  as- 
sisting the  local  operating  areas  and 
divisions,  and  making  studies  and  de- 
veloping methods  to  the  benefit  of  the 
service  in  all  places  where  the  com- 
pany operated. 

The  same  functions  are  equally 
necessary  when,  as  in  the  Bell  System, 
several  companies,  rather  than  one 
big  single  company,  have  the  respon- 
sibility together. 


Having  several  companies,  each 
responsible  for  providing  service  in 
its  own  territory,  has  been  of  great 
importance  in  making  it  possible  for 
the  Bell  System  to  give  the  best  tele- 
phone service  in  the  world,  for  it  has 
aided  in  decentralizing  responsibility 
and  authority  so  that  local  people 
who  know  local  conditions  have  the 
freedom  and  ability  to  act  as  circum- 
stances require. 

But  the  centralization  of  certain 
work  has  likewise  been  of  the  utmost 
value.  And  since  we  have  several 
companies,  instead  of  one  big  com- 
pany, assurance  that  this  central 
work  will  be  performed  is  provided 
by  a  contract  between  the  A.  T.  &  T. 
Company,  which  does  the  work,  and 
each  of  the  Bell  System  operating 
companies. 

The  name  "license  contract"  goes 
back  to  the  early  days  of  the  business, 
when  local  companies  were  first  li- 
censed to  use  Bell  telephones;  but  for 
years  the  contract  has  guaranteed 
that  the  operating  companies  will  get 
the  benefit  of  important  services  ren- 


^ 


The  License  Contract 


89 


dered  by  the  parent  company,  includ- 
ing research,  financing,  and  engineer- 
ing. To  reimburse  the  A.  T.  &  T. 
Company,  the  operating  companies 
pay  a  percentage — since  1929  it  has 
been  1V2  percent — of  their  operating 
revenues  (excluding  certain  minor 
;  items).  This  is  payment  for  value 
received  and  for  services  rendered. 

Each  of  us  knows  from  his  own 
knowledge  that  both  local  and  cen- 
tralized work  are  needed  to  give 
good  telephone  service. 

It  takes  telephone  people  in  Mem- 
phis to  provide  service  in  Memphis, 
others  in  Spokane  to  give  service  in 
Spokane,  and  so  on  in  every  com- 
munity. 

And    in    each    operating   company 
i  headquarters   there   are   people   who 
[  work  on  problems  that  affect  the  serv- 
!  ice  in  all  the  areas  where  the  com- 
pany operates.     Their  work  is  part 
[  of  the  cost  of  providing  service,  just 
as  the  wages  of  every  operator  and 
craftsman  are  part  of  the  total  cost. 
The   same   is   true   of  the   central 
group  at  Bell  System  headquarters, 
who  are  working  on  problems  that 
are   common   to    all   the   companies. 
And  just  as  some  of  the  revenues  of 
each  operating  company  must  be  used 
to  pay  the  cost  of  work  done  in  its 
own  headquarters,  so  likewise  some 
of  the  revenues  of  all  the  companies 
are  used  to  pay  the  cost  of  work  done 
at  System  headquarters. 

There  are  two  main  reasons  for 
centralizing  certain  functions: 

First,  it  is  economical  and  efficient 

— it  is  just  plain  horse-sense — to  do 

central   work   on   common   problems 

and  make  the  results  available  to  all 

I  concerned.     Duplication  of  effort  is 


avoided,  waste  prevented,  progress 
quickened. 

Second,  coordination  is  needed. 
This  is  particularly  important  in  our 
business,  because  the  very  essence  of 
telephone  service  is  to  interconnect 
people  wherever  they  may  be,  and  the 
over-all  quality  of  the  service  in  one 
place  depends  on,  and  contributes  to, 
the  quality  of  service  in  other  places. 

What  the    Operating  Companies 
Get  under  the  Contract 

The  centralized  services  ren- 
dered by  A.  T.  &  T.  under  the  license 
contract  fall  into  five  groups.  Let 
us  look  briefly  at  each : 

I.  Research  and  Development 

The  contract  provides  that  A.  T. 
&  T.  will  maintain  facilities  for 
constant  research.  The  Bell  Labo- 
ratories (owned  by  A.  T.  &  T. 
jointly  with  the  Western  Electric 
Company,  the  System's  manufac- 
turing and  supply  unit)  render  this 
service.  Each  step  forward  in  tele- 
phone progress  has  depended  on 
research.  Alexander  Graham  Bell's 
invention  was  only  the  first  of 
thousands  of  inventions  needed  to 
create  the  telephone  system.  Start- 
ing from  scratch,  the  Bell  Labo- 
ratories, which  grew  out  of  Bell's 
original  attic  workshop,  have  de- 
veloped switchboards,  cables,  better 
telephone  instruments,  modern  dial 
apparatus,  and  a  whole  vast  array 
of  devices  and  systems.  Without 
these  there  could  be  no  telephone 
service  as  we  know  it  today. 

This  great  research  organiza- 
tion— the  largest  industrial  labora- 
tory in  the  world — employs  a  staff 
of  outstanding  scientists.    For  each 


90 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


operating  company  to  try  to  dupli- 
cate it  would  be  not  merely  waste- 
ful— it  would  be  utterly  impossible, 
for  there  wouldn't  be  enough  com- 
petent scientists  to  go  'round. 

The  cost  of  research  is  a  major 
item  of  expense  among  the  license 
contract  services.  The  return  in 
value  to  the  operating  companies 
and  to  telephone  users,  however, 
is  tremendous,  for  research  has 
enormously  increased  the  scope  and 
quality  of  Bell  telephone  service 
and  has  lowered  plant  and  operat- 
ing costs — below  what  they  would 
otherwise  have  to  be — by  hun- 
dreds of  millions  of  dollars.  (Just 
to  give  one  example :  Sixty  years 
years  ago  the  cost  of  wire  in  tele- 
phone cable,  per  pair-mile  installed, 
was  more  that  ten  times  the  cost 
per  pair-mile  in  today's  2121-pair 
cable.) 

A.  T.  &  T.  pays  the  cost  of  Bell 
Laboratories'  basic  research  and 
development  work,  including  the 
acquiring  of  new  fundamental 
knowledge.  Western  Electric  pays 
for  development  and  design  work 
specifically  related  to  Western's 
products,  and  this  expense  becomes 
part  of  the  total  cost  of  equipment 
that  Western  makes  and  sells.  For 
example,  A.  T.  &  T.  would  pay  for 
developing  a  new  metal  alloy  which 
might  have  various  uses,  and  West- 
ern would  pay  for  the  design  of  a 
particular  product  in  which  the 
alloy  was  used. 

2.  Operating  Advice  and  Assist- 
ance. 

The  license  contract  provides 
that  the  A.  T.  &  T.  Company  shall 
maintain  a  staff  to  give  the  operat- 
ing   companies    assistance    in    all 


phases  of  telephony.  The  General 
Departments  of  the  A.  T.  &  T. 
Company  comprise  this  staff.  They 
furnish  advise  and  assistance  to 
the  companies  in  general  engineer- 
ing, plant,  traffic,  commercial,  ac- 
counting, patent,  legal,  administra- 
tive, personnel,  treasury  and  all 
other  matters  contributing  to  the 
efficient  and  economical  conduct  of 
the  business. 

This  staff  analyzes  experience 
and  results  in  all  territories,  and 
in  consultation  with  the  operating 
companies  develops  new  methods 
which  afford  the  basis  for  coor- 
dinated improvement  of  service. 
Such  centralized  work  is  essential 
to  bring  about  the  orderly,  eco- 
nomical introduction  of  improved 
equipment  and  more  efficient  prac- 
tices. It  makes  it  possible  readily 
to  bring  the  total  System  experi- 
ence to  bear  on  any  particular  op- 
erating problem  in  a  particular 
area.  Similarly,  it  enables  all  the 
companies  to  realize  gains  on  a 
broad  front  by  using  or  adapting 
methods  that  have  been  found  ad- 
vantageous through  localized  trial 
and  experiment.  If  there  were  no 
centralized  staff,  each  company 
would  have  to  duplicate  its  Work, 
at  much  higher  cost. 

3.  Patent  Rights 

The  A.  T.  &  T.  Company  owns 
or  has  rights  to  use  patents  cov- 
ering most  of  the  apparatus  and 
equipment  used  to  provide  tele- 
phone service. 

The  operating  companies  not 
only  obtain  the  right  to  use  these 
inventions  and  those  coming  along 
in  the  future;  the  contract  also 
obliges  the  A.  T.  &  T.  Company  to 


1948 


The  License  Contract 


91 


defend  the  companies  and  to  save 
them  from  loss  from  any  patent  in- 
fringement suits  brought  against 
them  for  using  recommended  ap- 
paratus. These  rights  and  this 
protection  are  of  very  great  value 
to  the  operating  companies. 

4.  Financial  Advice  and  Assist- 
ance 

The  A.  T.  &  T.  Company  pro- 
vides financial  advice  and  assist- 
ance to  the  operating  companies, 
including  help  in  securing  capital 
funds  for  service  improvement  and 
expansion.  An  important  part  of 
this  is  that  A.  T.  &  T.  obtains 
money  from  investors  and  keeps  a 
pool  of  funds  available.  The  op- 
erating companies  can  borrow 
from  this  pool  on  short  notice. 
This  enables  them  to  keep  their 
own  cash  balance  low,  get  money 
for  construction  as  needed,  and  re- 
pay it  later.  The  cost  of  financing 
is  kept  down — the  money  is  on 
hand  when  wanted. 

5.  Availability  of  Materials 

The  A.  T.  &  T.  Company  agrees 
to  maintain  arrangements  for  the 
manufacture  of  telephone  appara- 
tus and  materials  under  its  patent 
rights;  the  operating  companies 
are  assured  of  a  dependable  source 
of  top  quality  products  at  reasona- 
ble prices. 


economically  perform  these  services 
for  themselves,  nor  can  they  obtain 
the  rights  and  services  elsewhere. 
The  A.  T.  &  T.  Company  makes  no 
profit  out  of  the  arrangement;  in  all 
but  one  of  the  last  ten  years  the  cost 
to  A.  T.  &  T.  in  rendering  the  serv- 
ices, excluding  any  return  on  capital, 
has  been  more  than  the  payments 
made  by  the  operating  companies. 

Could  each  company  pay  its  share 
of  the  actual  total  cost  of  the  services, 
instead  of  paying  a  percentage  of 
revenue?  In  principle,  either  basis 
could  produce  satisfactory  results,  al- 
though experience  over  the  years 
shows  that  the  former  method  would 
have  cost  the  operating  companies 
more.  Also,  use  of  a  percentage  of 
revenues  has  the  practical  advantage 
of  being  simpler. 

When  an  operating  company  in- 
creases its  rates  to  customers,  pay- 
ment of  a  percentage  of  revenues 
means  of  course  that  the  amount  paid 
to  A.  T.  &  T.  for  the  license  contract 
services  is  also  somewhat  increased. 
However,  expenses  of  the  A.  T.  &  T. 
Company  in  rendering  the  services 
are  also  going  up,  for  the  same  rea- 
sons that  oblige  the  operating  com- 
panies to  increase  their  rates.  In- 
creasing the  license  contract  payments 
proportionately  with  increased  reve- 
nues helps  to  make  the  payments  come 
closer  to  meeting  the  actual  cost  of 
rendering  the  services. 


A.  T.  &  T.  Makes  No  Profit  from     The  License  Contract  Services 
The  License  Contract  Payments         Increase  Bell  System  Efficiency 


The  payments  made  to  A.  T.  &  T. 
by  the  operating  companies  are  for 
necessary  services  and  valuable  rights. 
The  companies  cannot  efficiently  or 


A  nation-wide  telephone  system 
is  possible  only  through  coordination ; 
the  license  contract  has  provided  the 
coordinating  link;  the  improved  serv- 


92 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


ice  and  lowered  cost  that  have  re- 
sulted through  the  years  have  been  of 
great  benefit  to  telephone  users. 

Unlike  a  purely  investing  company, 
which  exists  simply  to  invest  money, 
and  all  of  whose  costs  are  incurred  for 
the  benefit  of  its  stockholders  alone, 
the  A.  T.  &  T.  Company  incurs  its  ex- 
penses to  improve  and  make  more  ef- 
ficient the  oj>erations  of  the  telephone 
companies  in  which  it  owns  stock. 
Like  the  wages  of  telephone  opera- 
tors, these  expenses  are  necessary  and 
advantageous  to  users;  they  are  a 
worth-while  expenditure  in  the  con- 
duct of  the  business. 

The  very  ownership  of  the  operat- 
ing companies  by  A.  T.  &  T.  is  the 
end  result  of  financing  their  needs  for 
capital  to  build  telephone  facilities. 
In  the  early  days,  as  we  have  seen, 
local  people  who  were  starting  tele- 
phone exchanges  obtained  licenses  to 
use  Bell  telephones.  Many  of  these 
local  companies  found  it  hard  to  raise 
capital  to  build  plant,  so  the  Ameri- 
can Company  raised  money  and  ad- 
vanced it  to  them,  taking  stock  in  re- 
turn. Even  then,  a  central  source  of 
capital  was  needed  to  develop  local 


as  well   as   long   distance   telephone 
service. 

Out  of  these  beginnings,  and  out 
of  the  need  for  centralized  research 
and  for  standardization  of  methods 
and  apparatus,  the  Bell  System  of  to- 
day developed.  The  financing  activ- 
ity of  A.  T.  &  T.,  the  conduct  of 
research,  the  performance  of  the 
centralized  part  of  the  over-all  Bell 
System  telephone  job,  and  the  main- 
tenance of  a  corporate  organization 
for  these  purposes,  are  all  essential 
services  which  cannot  be  eliminated 
without  seriously  impairing  the  ef- 
ficiency of  the  nation's  telephone  serv- 
ice. They  have  been,  in  fact,  of  fun- 
damental importance  in  giving  this 
country  far  more  telephone  service, 
of  better  quality  and  value,  than 
exists  in  the  rest  of  the  world.  Long 
experience  has  demonstrated  the  need 
for  both  centralization  and  decen- 
tralization— for  doing  local  work  on 
local  problems,  central  work  on  com- 
mon problems.  And  the  license  con- 
tract, which  grew  out  of  the  original 
licensing  of  Bell  instruments,  has  con- 
tributed essentially  to  the  unmatched 
progress  of  the  telephone  in  America. 


The  Thirty  MilHonth  Bell  Telephone 
Is  Installed  in  Iowa 


The  thirty  millionth  Bell  System  tele- 
phone was  installed,  last  June  29,  in  Mar- 
shalltown,  la.  It  was  installed,  by  the 
Northwestern  Bell  Telephone  Company, 
in  the  home  of  Harold  Bragg.  Mr.  Bragg 
is  a  veteran  of  World  War  II  and  an  en- 
gineer for  a  furnace  company  in  Marshall- 
town. 

The  implications  of  the  event  are  sig- 
nificant. 

It  took  the  Bell  System  more  than  45 
years  to  attain  its  first  ten  million  tele- 
phones; it  took  not  quite  20  years  for  the 
second  ten  million ;  it  took  less  than  six 
years  for  the  third  ten  million — of  which 
8,200,000  have  been  added  since  V-J  Day. 
In  the  last  ten  years,  the  number  of  Bell 
System  telephones  in  service  has  nearly 
doubled:  from  15,460,000  to  the  present 
30,000,000. 

Mr.  Bragg  placed  the  first  call  over  the 
newly-installed  instrument  to  a  brother, 
W.  G.  Bragg,  in  Seattle,  Washington. 
Mayor  Donald  E.  Taylor  of  Marshall- 
town  followed,  and  called  his  mother  in 
Brainerd,  Minnesota. 

Next  came  a  three-way  exchange  of 
greetings  by  long  distance.  Vice  President 
Clifford  L.  Sampson  of  the  Northwestern 
Bell  Telephone  Company  placed  the  "con- 
ference" call  from  the  Bragg  residence  to 
President  Leroy  A.  Wilson  of  the  Ameri- 
can Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company, 
in  New  York,  and  to  President  Russell  J. 
Hopley  of  the  Northwestern  Company,  in 
Omaha.  Messrs.  Wilson  and  Hopley  wel- 
comed   Bragg    as    a    telephone    subscriber. 

Today's  Bell  System  plant  investment  is 
about  $8,000,000,000.  This  is  almost 
double  what  it  was  10  years  ago.  Nearly 
two- thirds  of  this  lO-year  gain  has  been 
made  since  the  war.     Similarly,  there  are 


today  about  675,000  Bell  System  employees, 
or  more  than  twice  the  total  of  a  decade 
ago.  Stockholders  of  the  American  Tele- 
phone and  Telegraph  Company,  parent 
company  of  the  System,  now  total  nearly 
750,000. 

The  number  of  telephone  conversations 
completed  daily  in  the  Bell  System  now 
exceeds  125,000,000,  as  compared  to 
around  70,000,000  per  day  ten  years  ago. 

Today  115,000,000  miles  of  wire  inter- 
connect Bell  System  telephones.  Ten  years 
ago  there  were  83,000,000  miles. 


Harold  Bragg  makes  the  first  call  as 
Installer  Thomas  Sorensen  stands  by. 
On  the  telephone  is  a  metal  plate  identify- 
ing it  as  ''The  thirty-millionth  Bell  System 
telephone^  installed  in  the  home  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Harold  Braggy  Marshalltown^  lowa^ 
June  2gj  1948" 


Tke  Bell  System's  Private-Line  Services  Enable  the 

Press  Associations  to  Supply  News    Quickly  and  Fully   to 

Papers  and  Broadcasting  Stations 


The  Wires  Which  Carry  the 
News  of  the  World 

Robert  E.  Moore 


Behind  the  news  which  you  read 
in  your  daily  newspaper  and  hear  by 
radio  there  are  complex  news-gather- 
ing and  news-writing  and  news-edit- 
ing organizations,  in  part  local  and 
in  part  nation-wide  and  even  inter- 
national. And  behind  all  but  the 
local  part  of  the  job  are  Bell  System 
services  which  are  at  work  day  and 
night  to  keep  a  continuous  stream  of 
news  flowing  throughout  the  United 
States  and  into  Canada  and  Mexico. 
These  services — chiefly  "private  line" 
facilities  of  the  Long  Lines  Depart- 
ment— require  the  use  of  about  600,- 
000  miles  of  our  circuits,  more  than 
8,700  teletypewriters,  many  hundreds 
of  switchboards,  and  vast  quantities 
of  other  equipment. 

Our  customers  who  use  all  these 
facilities  in  their  specialized  task  of 
gathering  ajid  distributing  news  are 
the  press  associations,  so  called :  The 
Associated  Press,  the  International 
News  Service,  the  United  Press  As- 
sociations, and  similar  organizations. 


Their  customers  are,  in  turn,  the  ap- 
proximately 1,750  daily  newspapers 
of  general  circulation  and  the  ap- 
proximately 1,900  commercial  radio 
stations  in  the  United  States.  There 
are  still  others  to  the  north  and  to 
the  south  of  our  borders. 

To  the  people  of  this  country  its 
newspapers  and  radio  stations  bring 
up-to-the-minute  news  of  every  sort: 
not  only  local  news  but  significant  and 
interesting  accounts  from  every  cor- 
ner of  this  land  and  from  many  a 
capital  and  focal  point  around  the 
world.  Along  with  the  news  come 
on-the-spot  photographs  of  people  and 
events  of  importance  or  of  special 
interest. 

The  American  people  are  among 
the  best  informed  in  the  world.  They 
are  also  among  the  most  critical  of 
the  timeliness  of  the  news  they  get 
and  of  the  form  in  which  it  is  pre- 
sented to  them. 

The  operations  of  the  press  as- 
sociations may  be  divided  into  three 


Wires  Which  Carry  the  News  of  the  World 


95 


The  main  news  room  in  New  York  of  one  of  the  press  associations 


broad  categories :  gathering  the  news 
and  assembling  it  at  central  points; 
editing  the  news  and  preparing  it  for 
use;  and  delivering  the  news  to  cus- 
tomers— newspapers  and  radio  sta- 
tions. 

It  is  this  last  function — transpor- 
tation— with  which  the  Bell  System 
is  so  importantly  concerned.  In 
order  to  understand  the  System's 
part,  it  is  going  to  be  necessary  to  get 
a  picture  of  the  whole  operation. 
And  although  there  are  variations 
among  them,  the  operations  of  the 
several  associations  conform  in  gen- 
eral to  the  same  pattern.  That  pat- 
tern is  of  specialization  and  depart- 
mentalization— of  organizations  so 
complicated  and  yet  so  closely  coor- 
dinated as  to  remind  one  of  assembly- 
line  production. 

In  just  about  every  city  in  the  na- 
tion— with  exceptions  to  be  noted  in 
the  next  breath — are  correspondents 
•  of  the  associations.    They  are  experi- 


enced reporters;  they  know  what  is 
newsy,  timely,  of  interest;  they  write 
their  stories  either  on  their  own  ini- 
tiative or  on  assignment — and  send 
them  in  to  the  regional  bureaus. 

In  certain  strategic  cities — and 
these  are  the  exceptions  just  referred 
to — there  are  regional  offices  or  bu- 
reaus having  staff  reporters  who  also 
originate  stories.  And  it  is  to  these 
bureaus  that  the  correspondents  send 
their  stories — stories  from  abroad  as 
well  as  from  domestic  correspondents. 

That  is  a  quick  look  at  the  first 
operation:  gathering  and  assembling 
the  news. 

The  editing  and  rewriting  of  the 
news  and  the  preparation  of  special 
features  are  handled  at  the  several 
bureaus  and  the  main  offices  of  the  as- 
sociations. These  editorial  operations 
are  expertly  done;  the  associations 
have  specialists  in  foreign  affairs,  na- 
tional politics,  sports,  finance,  and 
other  topics,  who  know  what  the  cus- 


96 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


tomcrs — newspapers  and  radio  sta- 
tions— want,  and  can  supply  it. 

So  now  the  product — news — is  all 
assembled  and  packed  and  ready  for 
shipment. 

For  shipment,  in  almost  all  cases, 
over  Bell  System  private-line  circuits 
which  may  be  thought  of  as  sort  of 
an  endless  belt  arrangement  for  con- 
veying news :  with  the  bureaus  adding 
items  as  the  belt  moves  past  them  and 
the  customers  taking  off  the  news  as 
it  reaches  them — although  without 
diminishing  the  supply. 

Let's  take  a  look,  then,  at  the 
process. 

The  teletypewriter  private-line 
networks  of  the  press  associations 
usually  consist  of  from  two  to  six  na- 


In  the  center  is  the  editorial  department  of  a 
tion  office  y  where  the  news  is  prepared  for 


tion-wide  main  trunk  line  services 
which  interconnect  the  headquarters 
and  main  bureau  offices  with  other  of- 
fices at  intermediate  cities.  These 
trunk  lines  are  used  from  i8  to  24 
hours  daily  to  disseminate  all  general 
news  reports.  The  news  stories  are 
prepared  on  teletypewriter  machines 
in  the  form  of  perforated  tape  for 
transmission  over  the  private-line  net- 
works. This  tape  is  fed  into  and  op- 
erates automatic  teletypewriter  send- 
ing equipment,  which  transmits  the 
news  over  the  private-line  services  to 
newspapers  and  radio  stations,  where 
it  is  received  simultaneously  at  all 
points  in  typewritten  page  form. 

The  headquarters  office  and  the 
bureau  offices  in  the  larger  cities  on 
the  trunk  lines  are  equipped  to  trans- 
mit and  receive,  although 
the  bulk  of  the  transmis- 
sion on  these  services 
originates  in  the  bureaus 
in  New  York,  Washing- 
ton, Chicago,  and  San 
Francisco.  About  800,- 
000  words  of  news,  for 
example,  passes  through 
the  New  York  bureau  of 
one  of  the  press  associa- 
tions each  day. 

Regional  wires,  oper- 
ating eight  to  16  hours 
daily,  branch  out  from 
cities  where  bureau  of- 
fices are  maintained;  and 
here  switching  arrange- 
ments are  provided  in 
order  to  separate  and 
permit  the  transmission 
of  news  of  particular  in- 
terest to  these  areas  in 
more  condensed  form. 
press  associa-  News  originating  at  an 
transmission     outlying  pomt   on   a   re- 


I 


1948 


fFires  Which  Carry  the  News  of  the  World 


97 


gional  circuit  is  sent  to  a  bureau  of- 
fice, and  if  it  is  other  than  local  in 
character  and  of  sufficient  impor- 
tance, it  is  re-transmitted  on  the  trunk 
system. 

As  the  size  or  circulation  of  a  news- 
paper governs  the  quantity  of  the 
news  it  requires,  it  is  apparent  that 
a  newspaper  in  a  small  city  would  be 
unable  to  handle  the  entire  wordage 
from  a  main  trunk  news  wire  but 
would  be  covered  amply  by  the  con- 
densed report  as  carried  by  a  regional 
wire.  These  regional  reports  contain 
the  principal  items  of  national  and 
international  news  together  with  full 
coverage  of  news  of  particular  inter- 
est to  the  citizens  of  that  locality. 

In  some  cases  the  main  trunk  wires 
are  "duplexed."  Nbr- 
mally  a  teletypewriter 
wire  system  operates  by 
means  of  one  two-way 
channel,  while  in  duplex 
service  it  is  possible  to 
transmit  in  two  direc- 
tions simultaneously, 
thus  giving  in  effect  tw^o 
separate  services. 

A  further  develop- 
ment of  duplex  service  is 
the  "round  robin,"  which 
is  so  called  because  of 
arrangements  which  pro- 
vide two  one-way  chan- 
nels, one  clockwise  and 
the  other  counter  clock- 
wise, on  a  route  which 
covers  a  number  of  cities 
and  terminates  at  the 
starting  point.  This  en- 
ables an  operator  at  any 
station  on  the  circuit 
which  is  equipped  for 
sending  to  transmit  copy 


to  all  the  points  around  the  "round- 
robin"  and  receive  an  identical  copy 
of  the  material  he  sent  on  a  receiving 
machine  located  beside  his  sending 
machine. 

One  particular  advantage  of 
"round-robin"  duplex  service  is  that 
the  operator  is  immediately  aware  of 
any  circuit  trouble;  for  it  follows 
that  his  received  copy,  having  gone 
around  the  entire  circuit,  will  reveal 
interruptions  on  the  circuit  as  well  as 
any  errors  that  may  have  occurred 
during  the  transmission  to  the  other 
points.  Further,  in  the  case  of  serv- 
ice failure  to  a  point  on  one  channel, 
the  arrangement  of  the  "round-robin" 
is  such  that  important  news  flashes 
can  be  sent  out  on  the  other  channel 


These  teletypewriters  of  one  of  the  press  associations 
transmit  news  at  the  rate  of  60  words  a  minute 


98 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


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A^^wj-  as  received.     Such  dispatches  by  the  hundreds  are  pounded  out  on 
press  association  teletypewriters  in  newspaper  and  radio  offices  through- 
out the  country 


and  partial  service  be  given  the  point 
in  trouble. 

Supplemental  service  is  another  of- 
fering of  considerable  value  to  the 
press. 

The  general  news  reports  have  be- 
come so  complicated  and  the  cover- 
age so  great  that  many  items  of  news 
have  to  be  curtailed  in  order  to  sup- 
ply a  complete  report.  The  result 
is  that  many  newspapers  and  radio 
stations  have  demanded  more  detailed 
news  concerning  sports,  movies,  busi- 
ness, politics,  social  activities  and 
other  items;  and  in  order  to  meet 
this  demand,  special  wires  are  now 
used  for  the  purpose  of  supplying 
this  coverage. 

By  means  of  this  supplemental 
teletypewriter  service,  which  may  be 
provided  for  a  period  of  one  or  more 
hours  to  any  or  all  of  the  points  al- 
ready receiving  service  from  a  pri- 
mary  wire,    additional    or    overflow 


traffic  may  be  delivered  without  loss 
of  time.  For  example,  in  the  handling 
of  financial  news  over  press  serv- 
ices, as  the  volume  of  sales  of  shares 
mounts  the  summaries  become  greater 
and,  as  the  closing  hours  are  reached, 
the  reports  become  so  heavy  that  ad- 
ditional services  are  needed  to  de- 
liver the  complete  report  as  quickly 
as  is  possible  after  its  compilation. 

Serving  Radio 

Radio  stations  receive  their  news 
reports  from  the  press  associations 
over  both  the  general  news  wires  and 
special  radio  news  wires. 

From  the  general  news  wires,  com- 
mentators who  present  their  broad- 
casts in  individual  style  edit  the  full 
coverage  report  to  suit  their  particu- 
lar requirements.  These  commenta- 
tors have  large  followings  and  are 
very  popular,  and  their  presentations 
are  carried  by  the  broadcasting  com- 


> 


1948 


fVires  Which  Carry  the  News  of  the  World 


99 


panics   over   their  network   stations. 

Over  the  special  radio  news  wires 
a  "processed"  report  is  sent  on  a 
regularly  scheduled  basis,  in  some 
cases  every  fifteen  minutes,  and  the 
"copy"  is  so  prepared  that  the  latest 
report  includes  last  minute  news  as 
well  as  a  resume  of  previous  news. 
This  type  of  report  is  very  popular, 
particularly  with  small  stations,  since 
there  is  no  necessity  for  further  edit- 
ing before  an  announcer  gives  it  over 
the  air. 

The  war  period  was  responsible 
for  a  great  development  in  radio 
news  broadcasting.  Before  the  war, 
not  all  radio  stations  broadcast  news, 
and  those  which  did  offered  only  a 
partial  coverage.  With  the  great 
volume  of  war  news  coming  over  the 
press  wires  continuously,  an  increas- 
ing demand  developed  for  more  fre- 
quent radio  broadcasts  of  news.  As 
a  result,  the  schedules  were  stepped 
up,  and  many  stations  broadcast  news 
reports  as  often  as  once  an  hour — 


with  more  complete  reports  every  few 
hours.  This  activity  caused  a  consid- 
erable development  of  the  already 
existing  use  of  private  lines  for  special 
radio  news,  and  was  responsible  for 
establishment  of  new  teletypewriter 
networks. 

To  illustrate  the  rapid  growth  of 
these  services: — one  network  started 
with  one  station  receiving  its  report, 
and  has  developed  in  about  seven 
years  until  it  now  involves  about 
68,000  miles  of  circuit  and  more 
than  1,000  radio  stations.  This 
network  is  nation-wide,  and  is  pro- 
vided with  switches  at  sectional  loca- 
tions so  that  it  may  be  split  into  sev- 
eral networks  or  returned  to  a  single 
operating  network  as  occasion  de- 
mands. On  these  networks  the  spe- 
cial radio  news  is  sent  from  press 
association  headquarters  or  from 
bureau  ofHce  locations  to  the  radio 
stations. 

A  similar  development  has  oc- 
curred because  of  the  increased  public 


lOO 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


interest  in  sports :  the  press  associa- 
tions have  estabhshed  special  circuits, 
operating  lo  to  12  hours  daily,  for 
the  sole  purpose  of  disseminating 
sports  news  in  far  greater  detail  than 
would  be  possible  on  the  general  news 
circuits.  Although  these  sports  serv- 
ices have  been  established  in  their 
present  form  only  since  late  in  1944, 
they  now  operate  to  a  large  number 
of  cities  and  extend  into  every  section 
of  the  country. 

On  occasions  of  special  news  events, 
it  is  necessary  for  the  press  associa- 
tions to  supplement  their  regular 
news  service  with  temporary  services, 
either  by  adding  stations  close  to  the 
news  source  or  by  establishing  a  sepa- 
rate service  from  the  news  source  to 
a  main  bureau  office. 

Some  of  the  more  important  events 
covered  in  this  manner  are  the  na- 
tional political  conventions  and  the 
national    election,    primary    elections 


A    telephotograph    operator   prepares    to 
transmit  a  photograph  by  wire 


This  telephotograph  transmitter  is   com- 
pact and  readily  portable 

each  year  in  various  states,  and  the 
baseball  world  series. 

Other  events  of  a  more  extended 
nature,  such  as  major  and  minor 
league  baseball  pennant  races,  college 
football  and  basketball  games,  usually 
require  the  rearrangement  of  exist- 
ing facilities  and  the  addition  of  ex- 
tra hours  of  service. 

Morse  Still  Used 

The  change  from  Morse  (i.e.,  code 
telegraph)  to  teletypewriter  service 
was  natural,  as  the  speed  and  depend- 
ability of  the  teletypewriter  and  the 
elimination  of  translation  from  tele- 
graph signals  to  typed  copy  exactly 
fitted  the  needs  of  press  associations 
and  newspapers.  However,  Morse 
service  still  has  its  place  in  the  press 
field,  especially  at  locations  where 
power  is  not  available  to  operate 
teletypewriter  motors  and  proper 
protection  against  the  weather  is  not 
provided  for  the  teletypewriter  ma- 
chines. Such  locations  are  common 
to  baseball  parks,  football  fields,  and 


1948 


Wires  Which  Carry  the  News  of  the  World 


lOI 


scenes  of  flood  or  disaster.  Availa- 
bility and  portability  are  also  factors 
in  favor  of  Morse  equipment. 

Prior  to  1925  Morse  service  was 
predominant  in  the  press  private  line 
field.  Practically  all  this  use  has  been 
superseded  by  teletypewriter  service, 
although  until  about  five  years  ago 
it  continued  to  be  the  most  practical 
service  arrangement  to  obtain  news 
at  temporary  locations  such  as  the 
press  boxes  at  football  and  baseball 
stadia,  conventions,  and  prize  fights, 
where  the  operation  of  teletype- 
writer service  was  not  feasible.  How- 
ever, the  press  associations  have  now 
arranged  for  the  use  of  modified 
sending  and  receiving  teletypewriter 
equipment  at  improved  and  protected 
locations  so  that  the  play-by-play  de- 
velopments of  these  news  events  may 
be  sent  directly  into  their  trunk  sys- 
tems. 

The  use  of  private  line  telephone 
service  by  the  press  associations  dur- 
ing their  early  days  was  confined 
principally  to  the  use  of  short-period 
telephone  service.  This  service  was 
used  extensively  during  the  transi- 
tional period  from  Morse  to  teletype- 
writer private  line  serv- 
ice. It  is  still  used  to  a  ":.":  ^-"^^TT^ 
limited  degree  to  de- 
liver a  brief  news  re- 
port to  small  papers 
which  specialize  in  lo- 
cal news  and  cannot  use 
or  afford  a  general  or 
regional  news  report. 
The  service  is  usually 
from  a  bureau  office 
which  operates  on  the 
main  trunk  or  regional 
teletypewriter  system 
and  from  which  reports 
are  telephoned  to  from 


one  to  three  receiving  newspapers. 
The  service  is  usually  furnished  for 
three  relatively  short  periods  each 
day,  and  enables  the  newspaper  to  re- 
ceive, edit,  and  set  in  type  as  much  of 
the  news  as  possible  in  advance  and 
then  receive  the  latest  developments 
just  prior  to  its  press  time.  This  type 
of  service  is  being  replaced  gradually 
by  teletypewriter  exchange  service 
(TWX)  and  private  line  teletype- 
writer service. 

Pictures  by  Wire 

"Pictures  by  Wire,"  better  known 
to  telephone  people  as  telephotograph 
service,  is  the  most  exacting  and  spec- 
tacular Bell  System  service  used  in 
the  press  field.  It  is  being  greatly 
expanded,  because  of  the  recognition 
of  the  news  value  of  spot  news  pic- 
tures and  the  present-day  trend  to 
publish  a  news  picture  with  a  brief 
caption  which  conveys  to  the  readers 
a  complete  news  story  and  requires  no 
further  editorial  or  printed  comment. 
News  pictures  which  are  trans- 
mitted by  wire  are  handled  for  news- 
papers throughout  the  country  by 
three    large    picture    agencies    which 


Sajel     This  photograph  was  transmitted  by  voire  bejore 

being  reproduced  here.     There  is  no  apparent  loss  of 

clarity  and  detail 


I02 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


f%      •   •      •   ••      •   •                    •   ••••  •      •        •   ^ 

•   •      ••             ••      •             •      •          •        ••  *   *i 

••   •••      •               •••••••   ••••      ••••      •   •   •   •     i 
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Perforated  tape  such  as  this  actuates  the  press  service  teletypewriters 


are  affiliated  with  the  major  press  as- 
sociations. Each  of  these  agencies 
operates  its  own  telephotograph  net- 
work system,  using  Bell  System  serv- 
ices. Their  systems  utilize  channels 
specially  adapted  for  transmission  of 
picture  material  and  also  full-period 
telephone  service — which  are  chan- 
nels normally  provided  for  ordinary 
telephone  service.  All  of  these  are 
leased  on  a  contract  basis  for  24 
hours  daily. 

Short-period  telephone  contract 
services  are  also  used  daily  on  a  part- 
time  basis,  utilizing  channels  provided 
for  ordinary  telephone  service.  By 
means  of  such  services,  pictures  are 
sent  to  newspapers  whose  addition  to 
the  network  services  is  not  justified 
from  the  expense  angle. 

In  addition  to  contract  services, 
these  agencies  are  large  users  of  toll 
message  telephone  service  for  picture 
transmission.  This  is  used  to  cover 
special  news  events  which  occur  in 
cities  not  on  their  networks.  Such 
picture  stories  are  covered  by  sending 
photographers  with  portable  trans- 
mitting equipment  to  the  place  where 
the  picture  story  occurs;  after  the 
pictures  are  obtained,  they  are  trans- 
mitted over  toll  message  telephone 
circuits  to  the  nearest  network  sta- 
tion and  from  there  sent  throughout 
the  country. 

The  telephotograph  network  of 
one  of  the  press  associations  is  now 
beginning  its  12th  year  of  operation. 
Since  it  was  almost  nation-wide  from 


the  outset,  the  basic  layout  has  not 
changed  to  any  great  extent  except 
for  the  addition  of  other  cities  to  the 
basic  network  and  the  use  of  the 
service  by  other  newspapers  in  cities 
already  connected  to  the  network. 

With  the  increasing  demand  for 
spot  news  pictures,  the  trend  is  to- 
ward the  establishment  of  regional 
or  state  telephotograph  networks. 
This,  if  continued,  will  result  in  a 
coverage  for  pictures  closely  paral- 
leling the  news  coverage  networks; 
i.e.,  with  the  main  trunk  line  for  pic- 
tures of  national  interest  and  the  re- 
gional or  state  circuits  for  pictures  of 
local  interest. 

Setting  Type  by  Wire 

An  interesting  use  of  another  Bell 
System  service,  private-line  teletype- 
writer service  for  teletypej^/f^r  op- 
eration, permits  one  of  the  large 
weekly  news  magazines  to  edit  every 
issue  in  New  York  and  yet  print  it 
simultaneously  in  Philadelphia,  Chi- 
cago, and  Los  Angeles. 

Teletypesetter  equipment  was  de- 
veloped to  provide  for  the  automatic 
operation  of  typesetting  machines. 
The  equipment  consists  of  a  perfora- 
tor and  a  teletypesetter  operating 
unit,  the  latter  being  attached  directly 
to  the  typesetting  machine.  The  per- 
forator (keyboard)  punches  code 
combinations  corresponding  to  key- 
board characters  into  a  tape,  which, 
when  fed  into  the  operating  unit  in  a 
distant  printing  plant,  will  automati- 


1948 


Wires  Which  Carry  the  News  of  the  World 


103 


cally  operate  a  linecasting  machine, 
producing  the  lines  of  t^^pecast  in  type 
metal  from  which  pages  are  printed.* 
News  material  is  received  in  the 
centralized  editorial  office  from 
branch  offices,  various  press  associa- 
1  tions,  wire  services,  staff  writers, 
I  newspapers  and  foreign  correspond- 
ents. After  being  edited,  the  mate- 
Irial  is  prepared  in  tape  form  for 
transmission  over  a  private-line  net- 
work to  the  printing  plant.  There, 
by  means  of  a  reperforator,  it  is  re- 
ceived in  the  form  of  perforated  tape. 
This  tape  is  then  fed  into  the  teletype- 
setter  operatmg  unit. 

Prior  to  transmission  to  the  print- 
ing plants,  the  editorial  office  pro- 
cures a  telet^T^e  copy  from  the  tape 
for  use  in  preparing  a  "dummy"  or 
working  duplicate  of  the  magazine. 
Changes  are  made  until  the  entire 
copy  is  estimated  to  fit  the  space  pro- 
vided for  it.  This  is  done  to  insure 
perfect  transmitted  copy,  since  the 
final  tape  transmission  operates  the 
typesetting  equipment  simultaneously 

I  in  all  three  distant  printing  plants. 
This  operation  makes  possible  the 
publication  of  the  complete  magazine 
in  identical  form  in  three  strategi- 
cally located  cities  for  simultaneous, 
economical,  nation-wide  distribution. 

Press  associations  and  large  metro- 
politan newspapers  use  Bell  System 
overseas  telephone  service  for  cover- 

*  Special  teletypewriter  equipment  was  de- 
veloped which  uses  a  six-unit  code  rather  than 
the  five-unit  code  normally  employed  for  tele- 
typewriter service,  because  of  the  large  number 
of  type  characters  involved  in  teletypesetter 
i  operation,  including  small  letters  (lower  case) 
as  well  as  capital  letters  (upper  case)  and 
figures  (upper  case)  and  other  operations  and 
special  combinations  of  letters  peculiar  to  type- 
casting. It  also  provides  for  typing  in  either 
red  or  black  for  the  identification  of  headings, 
foreign  characters,  and  special  editorial  in- 
structions. 


age  of  spot  news  events  occurring  in 
cities  throughout  the  world  where 
overseas  telephone  service  is  now 
available. 

In  addition  to  random  use  of  this 
service,  our  overseas  short-period 
telephone  contract  service  is  employed 
when  it  is  necessary  to  transmit  large 
volumes  of  foreign  news  directly  to 
New  York  after  it  has  been  assem- 
bled at  a  central  point.  It  is  then 
telephoned  to  New  York  daily  during 
the  contract  periods,  where  it  is  re- 
corded, transcribed,  edited,  and  pub- 
lished. 

Of  the  country's  English-language 
daily  newspapers,  about  95  percent 
receive  their  news  from  one  or  more 
of  the  press  associations  by  mearis  of 
Bell  System  private  line  teletypewriter 
service.  At  least  90  percent  of  the 
country's  commercial  radio  stations 
receive  news — from  16  to  24  hours 
per  day — ^by  the  same  means. 

When  it  comes  to  telephotography, 
newspapers  representing  75  percent 
of  the  daily  circulation  in  the  country 
receive  pictures  which  have  been 
transmitted  over  Bell  System  facili- 
ties; and  newspapers  representing 
about  60  percent  of  the  total  daily 
circulation  receive  pictures  from  tele- 
photograph  equipment  located  on 
their  own  premises  or  in  the  same 
city. 

Such  facts  make  clear  the  impor- 
tance of  the  Bell  System's  part  in  the 
story  which  lies  behind  the  news.  Its 
importance  is,  in  fact,  unique  among 
the  industries  to  which  the  System 
furnishes  private-line  services.  For 
it  is  by  means  of  these  services  that 
the  press  associations  both  assemble 
the  product  which  they  sell  and  then 
ship  it  out  to  their  customers. 


On  the  east  balcony  of  Grand  Central 
Terminal  in  New  York  City  is  installed  a 
full-scale  replica  of  a  colonial  New  Eng- 
and  village  called  "Main  Street,  Southern 
New  England."  Here  the  New  York, 
New  Haven  and  Hartford  Railroad  has 
H  reproduced  a  white  pillared  church  and 
other  buildings  such  as  once  stood  about  a 
village  green,  together  with  displays  of 
products  of  modern  New  England. 

The  telephone  was  invented  in  Boston. 
The  first  commercial  telephone  exchange 
was  in  New  Haven.  It  was  from  southern 
New  England  that  the  telephone  spread 
across  the  nation  and  throughout  the  world. 
Now  there  stands  on  the  balcony,  opposite 
the  white  church,  a  telephone  display  which 
is  a  cooperative  undertaking  of  four  Bell 
System  companies  serving  southern  New 
England:  New  England  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Co.,  Southern  New  England 
Telephone  Co.,  New  York  Telephone  Co., 
and  the  Long  Lines  Department  of  A.  T. 
&  T.  Co. 


Southern  New  England  and 
The  Telephone 


The  display  is  a  model  of  the  radio  relay  system  which  transmits  messages  between  New 
York  and  Boston.  Music  is  actually  broadcast  between  the  miniature  towers  visible  at 
either  side  of  the  sign,  and  can  be  interrupted  by  passing  a  hand  between  them  across  the 
radio  beam.  The  sign  invites  one  to  pick  up  a  receiver  and  ''Hear  how  Bell  System's 
Radio  Relay  transmits  telephone  conversations  and  radio  and  television  programs  between 
New  York  and  Boston."  At  the  left  is  an  illustration  of  the  first  New  Haven  switch- 
boardy  and  at  the  right  is  one  of  Bell  in  Boston 


104 


The  Methods  of  Employee  Protection  Adopted  by  the  Bell . 

System  Companies  in  I^IJ  Have  Demonstrated  Their  Value 

To  Hundreds  of  Thousands  of  Telephone  Workers 

The  Benefit  and  Pension 
Plan  Is  Thirty-five 

Charles  J,  Schaefer^  Jr. 


Thirty-five  years  ago  last  Janu- 
ary, the  Bell  System  became  one  of  a 
small  group  of  industries  which  were 
pioneering  in  the  establishment  of 
benefit  and  pension  plans  for  their 
employees.  The  plan  then  estab- 
lished by  the  System  was  sound  and 
reasonable.  It  was  entirely  "non- 
contributory"  :  that  is,  the  entire  cost 
was  borne  by  the  company.  It  was  a 
balanced  plan,  designed  to  provide 
help  of  several  kinds  to  meet  various 
needs. 

Today,  35  years  later,  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem plan  is  still  among  the  leaders. 
When  all  the  features  of  the  sickness 
disability  benefits,  the  accident  disa- 
bility benefits,  the  death  benefits,  the 
disability  pensions,  and  the  service 
pensions  are  tallied,  they  add  up  to  a 
plan  which  ranks  among  the  very 
best.* 

There   is  no  yardstick  which   can 

•  This  general  discussion  can  be  neither  com- 
plete not  definitive.  For  a  conoprehensive  and 
exact  statement  of  the  terms  and  provisions  of 
the  plan  the  reader  is  referred  to  the  pamphlet 
"Plan  for  Employees'  Pensions,  Disability  Bene- 
fits and  Death  Benefits."  The  booklet  "Facts 
about  the  Benefit  Plan"  gives  a  simple  expla- 
nation. 


measure  the  human  values  involved, 
but  a  few  figures  will  reveal  some  sig- 
nificant facts. 

During  the  first  year  of  the  plan's 
operation,  the  Bell  System  companies, 
including  Western  Electric,  paid  out 
$1,153,128  for  all  the  purposes 
covered  by  the  plan. 

In  the  35th  year  of  the  plan's  op- 
eration, 1947,  the  amount  was  $148,- 
820,000.  That  sum  was  about  8/4 
percent  of  the  System's  payroll. 

During  the  35  years  ending  De- 
cember 31,  1947,  the  total  paid  out 
under  the  plan  has  been  $1,006,755,- 
995.  This  sum  is  made  up  of  the  fol- 
lowing items : 

Sickness  disability  benefits  ....  $207,915,097 
Accident  disability  benefits  ....       26,116,448 

Death  benefits 46,140,1 18 

Disabilit}'  pensions 9.259,832 

Service  pensions  disbursed  1913- 
1927,  and  payments  to  Pen- 
sion Trust  Funds  *  1928- 
1947    717,324,500 

♦These  were  established  to  accrue  currently 
the  cost  of  future  service  pensions  on  an  actu- 
arial basis.  At  the  end  of  1947  the  aggregate 
Pension  Trust  Funds  of  the  26  Bell  System  Com- 
panies, including  Western  Electric  and  Bell 
Laboratories,  stood  at  $826,475,000. 


io6 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


Before  igij 

The  Bell  System's  benefit  and  pen- 
sion plan  went  into  effect  on  January 
I,  1 9 13;  but  it  did  not  spring  full- 
blown into  being  overnight.  A  great 
deal  of  research,  of  planning,  of  plain 
hard  work  preceded  its  adoption. 

At  the  time  when  our  plan  became 
effective  there  were,  in  addition  to 
certain  governmental  plans,  some  pen- 
sion plans  in  older  industries — more 
particularly  the  railroads.  But  by 
and  large,  such  plans  covered  only  a 
small  proportion  of  the  employees  in 
industry.  For  others,  any  forms  of 
protection,  if  provided  at  all,  were 
entirely  discretionary,  and  there  was 
little  assurance  or  uniformity  of  treat- 
ment. With  increasing  industrial  ex- 
pansion, however,  the  need  for  such 
protective  measures  for  employees 
was  becoming  more  fully  recognized. 

Before  19 13,  a  number  of  the  Eell 
System  companies  had  informal  prac- 
tices which  provided  certain  financial 
assistance  in  connection  with  disa- 
bility and  death  and  which  assisted 
in  varying  degree  those  long-service 
employees  who,  because  of  age  or 
other  infirmities,  were  unable  to  con- 
tinue on  active  duty. 

In  other  instances,  some  protection 
was  provided  by  mutual-benefit  as- 
sociations or  through  similar  em- 
ployee activities — with  or  without 
company  participation.  A  few  of  the 
older  companies  had  somewhat  uni- 
form practices  in  effect  which  pro- 
vided some  means  of  retirement  pay 
treatment  pending  the  adoption  of 
the  Bell  System  plan,  and  one  com- 
pany had  adopted  a  formal  retire- 
ment plan  as  early  as  1906. 

Our  plan,  as  adopted  by  each  of 
the  Bell  System  companies,  provided 


uniformly  substantial  benefit  and  pen- 
sion protection;  and,  through  inter- 
change agreements,  it  enabled  em- 
ployees to  transfer  between  com- 
panies in  the  System  while  continuing 
to  enjoy  the  advantages  of  the  plan. 
This  was  and  has  continued  to  be 
distinctly  advantageous  to  both  the 
employees  and  the  companies. 

In  the  past  35  years,  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem benefit  and  pension  plan  has  been 
amended  on  eleven  occasions  to  meet 
changing  conditions,  and  these  amend- 
ments have  meant  a  broadening  of 
the  provisions  of  the  plan,  to  the  ad- 
vantage of  employees. 

The  effect  of  the  System's  benefit 
and  pension  plan  upon  employees  is 
to  cushion  the  blows  of  illness,  acci- 
dent, old  age,  disability,  death.  Its 
economic  and  administrative  justifica- 
tion lies,  however,  in  its  ability  to 
maintain  within  an  essential  public 
service  an  organization  of  sustained 
spirit  and  vitality.  Contributing  sub- 
stantially to  these  attributes  are  the 
features  of  the  plan  which  provide  an 
orderly  program  of  retirement  for 
older  employees. 

The  principles  underlying  the  plan 
are  that  it  be  designed  to  meet  ef- 
fectively, for  the  future  as  well  as  the 
present,  the  needs  of  the  business; 
that  it  be  financially  secure;  and  that 
it  balance  fairly  the  particular  inter- 
ests of  telephone  workers,  telephone 
users,  telephone  stockholders.  These 
three  groups  comfM-ise  the  telephone 
business.  If  the  plan  is  to  continue — 
and  to  continue  to  be  sound — it  must 
recognize  that  their  interests  are  in- 
terdependent. 

All  of  the  plan's  benefit  and  pen- 
sion provisions  are  important  in 
achieving  these  purposes. 


1948 


The  Benefit  and  Pension  Plan  Is  Thirty-five 


107 


The  sickness,  accident,  and  death 
benefits — which,  like  pensions,  are 
*  provided  at  company  expense — bear 
a  fairly  constant  relationship  to  wage 
and  salary  payments,  and  so  they  are 
paid  out  of  current  expenses  as  re- 
quired. The  terms  and  provisions  of 
these  benefits  and  the  provisions  of 
the  pension  plan  are  summarized  on 
the  next  two  pages. 

The  Bell  System  Pension  Plan 

This  plan  is  generally  accepted  by 
pension  authorities  who  are  familiar 
with  its  provisions  as  an  exceptionally 
good  and  indeed  outstanding  indus- 
trial plan.  It  is  financially  sound,  and 
its  eligibility  provisions  treat  all  em- 
ployees alike  on  the  basis  of  their 
wages  or  salaries  and  the  length  of 
their  Bell  System  service. 

It  is  a  trusteed  plan,  for  which 
funds  are  provided  on  a  sound  ac- 
tuarial basis  so  that  pensions  will  be 
available  for  all  employees  when  they 
retire.  The  pension  bill  of  the  Bell 
System  Companies  to  insure  this  is 
estimated  to  be  about  $125,000,000 
for  the  year  1948.  Accruals  as  de- 
termined from  time  to  time  will  be 
required  yearly  to  pay  future  pen- 
sions when  the  pension  roll  will  be 
many  times  its  present  proportions. 

It  is  important — it  is  essential  to 
the  best  interests  of  every  employee 
— that  the  terms  and  conditions  of 
the  plan  be  maintained  in  accordance 
with  sound  pension  practices.  A  pen- 
sion plan  is  not  something  which  can 
be  changed  from  year  to  year;  pen- 
sion planning  is  by  its  nature  a  long- 
term  proposition,  and  must  be  so  rec- 
ognized if  it  is  to  be  more  than  a 
temporary  gesture. 

Pension  plans  cost  a  lot  of  money. 
In  order  to  provide  essential  security 


for  the  future,  there  must  be  reasona- 
ble assurance  of  meeting  the  bill  in 
the  years  ahead — in  good  years  and 
bad  years.  Without  such  security,  a 
pension  plan  is  an  unreliable  promise. 
If  it  fails  in  this  respect,  resulting 
hardship  and  distress  come  upon 
those  who  looked  forward  to  and  re- 
lied upon  its  benefits,  at  a  time  in  life 
when  they  may  be  unable  to  offset 
such  disaster. 

A  good  pension  plan  must  be 
thoughtfully  conceived,  carefully  de- 
signed, fairly  administered,  and 
soundly  financed  for  the  long  pull. 
Pensions  should  be  provided  in  rea- 
sonable amounts,  but  not  in  amounts 
so  great  as  to  make  their  continuance 
uncertain  nor  to  make  the  over-all 
cost  of  the  pension  plan  extravagant 
in  the  eyes  of  the  public. 

How  the  Bell  System  Pension  Plan 
Compares 

In  making  comparisons  between 
pensions  provided  by  the  Bell  System 
companies  and  by  other  companies, 
certain  important  factors  should  be 
given  due  weight. 

Our  plan  is  non-contributory,  and 
its  payments  are  provided  without 
any  direct  or  indirect  cost  to  em- 
ployees; therefore,  in  making  com- 
parisons with  plans  to  which  em- 
ployees contribute,  it  must  be  kept  in 
mind  that  a  part  of  the  pension  un- 
der such  plans  is  purchased  by  the  em- 
ployees' own  contributions.  On  this 
basis  it  can  be  shown  that  the  Bell 
System  pension  compares  most  favor- 
ably with  the  part  provided  solely  at 
company  expense  in  these  other  plans. 

Another  point  to  take  into  account 
is  that  while  every  Bell  employee  be- 
gins, on  the  day  he  or  she  enters  the 
(^Continued  on  page  iio) 


Summary  of  Benefits  and  Pensions 


Disability  Benefits 

Sickness  Disability,  including  injuries 
not  arising  in  the  course  of  employment 
by  the  company: 

Benefits  begin  with  4  weeks'  full  pay 
and  9  weeks'  half  pay  after  2  years'  serv- 
ice and  increase  at  intervals  of  service 
until  they  become  52  weeks'  full  pay 
after  25  years  of  service. 

Accident  Disability,  injuries  arising  in 
the  course  of  employment  by  the  com- 
pany :  .      .     « ■ 

Employee  becomes  eligible  immedi- 
ately upon  entering  the  service.  For 
total  disability,  the  benefits  are  13  weeks' 
full  pay  up  to  15  years'  service;  begin- 
ning with  15  years'  service  and  at  5-year 
intervals  thereafter  the  full-pay  benefits 
increase  by  13  weeks  until  they  are  52 
weeks'  full  pay  after  25  years'  service. 
In  each  instance,  following  the  full-pay 
period,  half-pay  continues  for  the  dura- 
tion of  total  disability. 

For  partial  disability,  the  benefits 
are  icx)  percent  of  loss  in  earning 
capacity  during  the  scheduled  full-pay 
periods  and  50  percent  of  loss  in  earn- 
ing capacity  during  the  half -pay  pe- 
riods. Payments  do  not  extend  beyond 
six  years. 


Death  Benefits 

The  underlying  purpose  of  death 
benefits  is  to  continue  the  income  for  a 
definite  period  while  dependent  relatives 
of  deceased  employees  adjust  themselves 
to  the  changed  conditions  after  earnings 
or  pensions  cease.  Death  benefits  are 
paid  to  specified  beneficiaries  for  definite 
periods  and  under  conditions  which  are 
explained  in  the  booklets  already  re- 
ferred to. 

Death  Benefits,  in  cases  of  death  re- 
sulting from  sickness  or  accidents  not 
arising  in  the  course  of  employment: 

Maximum  benefits  begin  with  4 
months'  wages  at  2  years'  service,  and  in- 
crease by  I  month's  wages  for  each  addi- 
tional year  of  service  until  they  amount 
to  I  year's  wages  after  10  years'  service. 

Death  Benefits,  in  cases  of  death  re- 
sulting from  accidents  arising  in  course 
of  employment: 

Employee  becomes  eligible  immediately 
upon  entering  the  service.  Maximum 
benefits  are  3  years'  pay,  not  exceeding 
$10,000;  but  if  a  greater  amount  could 
have  been  paid  under  the  above  sickness 
death  benefit  schedule,  the  maximum  is 
increased  to  such  amount.  In  addition 
— funeral  expense  not  exceeding  $250. 


108 


Service  Pensions 


Amount  of  Pensions 


Retirement  on  service  pension  is  pro- 
vided for  employees  coming  under  the 
following  classifications : 

Class  A — Employees  whose  age  is  60 
years  or  more  (women  55  or  more) 
and  whose  term  of  employment  has 
been  20  years  or  more. 

Class  B — Employees  whose  age  is  55 
to  59  (women  50  to  54)  and  whose 
term  of  employment  has  been  25 
years  or  more. 

Class  C — Employees  whose  age  is  less 
than  55  years  (women  less  than 
50)  and  whose  term  of  employ- 
ment has  been  30  years  or  more. 

Employees  in  Class  A  may  be  retired 
with  a  service  pension  at  their  own  re- 
quest or  at  the  discretion  of  the  Benefit 
Committee.*  Employees  in  Classes  B 
and  C,  while  not  eligible  to  be  retired 
at  their  own  request,  may  be  retired  with 
service  pensions  if  their  cases  are  ap- 
proved by  the  Committee.  An  em- 
ployee 65  years  of  age  is  retired  at  the 
end  of  the  month  in  which  that  age  is 
reached. 

Disability  Pensions 

After  15  years  of  service,  employees 
becoming  totally  disabled  by  sickness  or 
injury  outside  of  employment  become 
entitled  to  disability  pensions.  After 
expiration  of  disability  benefits,  disability 
pension  continues  as  long  as  the  em- 
ployee is  prevented  by  disability  from 
resuming  active  service.  Where  an  em- 
ployee is  also  eligible  for  a  service  pen- 
sion, that  is  granted  instead  of  the  dis- 
ability pension. 


One  percent  of  average  annual  pay 

for  last  (or  highest)  10  years  of  service 
multiplied  by  years  of  service.  Mini- 
mum pension  is  $50  per  month,  except 
that  it  may  be  less  in  disability  pension 
cases  based  on  less  than  20  years  of  serv- 
ice and  in  cases  of  part-time  employees. 

When  an  employee  retired  on  service 
pension  becomes  entitled  to  a  Social  Se- 
curity Primary  Insurance  Benefit  based 
solely  on  Bell  System  employment,  the 
service  pension  otherwise  payable  under 
the  plan,  is  reduced  by  one-half  of 
amount  of  Primary  Insurance  Benefit 
attributable  to  Bell  System  employment 
and  wages — the  part  which  results  from 
the  company's  direct  tax  contributions. 

Pension  Funds 
Service  pensions  are  paid  from  the 
pension  trust  funds,  which  are  irrevo- 
cably devoted  to  service  pension  purpose 
only;  they  are  not,  and  cannot  become, 
a  part  of  the  assets  of  any  of  the  com- 
panies. 

Supplementary  Assistance 
Benefits  outside  the  plan  may  be  paid 
as  supplementary  assistance  in  excep- 
tional cases  where  there  is  a  need.  This 
provides  a  degree  of  flexibility  for  the 
proper  administration  of  individual  cases 
when  additional  relief  is  required  be- 
yond that  which  can  be  covered  under 
reasonable  uniform  schedules  having 
general  application. 


*A  Benefit  Committee  comprised  of  five 
members  is  appointed  by  the  Board  of  Direc- 
tors in  each  of  the  Bell  System  companies  to 
administer  its  Plan.  Each  of  the  major  de- 
partments of  a  company  is  usually  repre- 
sented on  its  Committee. 


109 


110 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


business,  to  acquire  credited  service 
for  eligibility  to  the  advantages  of 
the  pension  plan,  many  other  plans 
limit  employee  participation  in  terms 
of  age,  of  earnings,  of  length  of 
service. 

A  number  of  plans  require,  for  in- 
stance, that  employees  be  25,  30,  or 
even  40  years  old  before  they  can  re- 
ceive pension  credits  or  participate 
in  the  pension  plan.  According  to  a 
recent  analysis  by  the  Bankers  Trust 
Company,  the  most  common  age  re- 
quirement is  30  years.  If  this  were 
done  in  computing  Bell  System  pen- 
sions, it  would  reduce  most  of  them 
by  very  substantial  amounts. 

Another  requirement  of  some  pen- 
sion plans  is  a  certain  period  of  serv- 
ice— usually  from  one  to  five  years — 
before  an  employee  may  participate 
in  the  pension  plan.  This  practice, 
too,  if  applied  to  Bell  System  pen- 
sions, would  reduce  them  substan- 
tially. If,  for  example,  five  years  of 
service  were  required  before  an  em- 
ployee began  to  receive  pension 
credits,  the  amount  of  the  service 
pension  would  be  reduced,  on  the 
average,  by  about  15  percent. 

Some  pension  plans  compute  pen- 
sions differently  for  employees  in  dif- 
ferent wage  or  salary  groups.  In  the 
Bell  System,  all  pensions  are  figured 
on  exactly  the  same  basis  for  every- 
body. 

Another  common  practice  in  pen- 
sion plans  is  to  "discount"  pensions 
granted  ahead  of  the  normal  retire- 
ment age.  In  these  plans,  the  normal 
retirement  age  is  usually  65 ;  and  for 
each  year  of  retirement  before  65, 
the  pension  as  computed  by  the  regu- 
lar formula  is  discounted — that  is, 
reduced — ^by  about  Msth.  On  the 
average,  Bell  System  men  retire  at 


age  62  years  and  women  at  58.  If 
the  discount  feature  common  to  most 
plans  were  applied  to  our  pensions, 
men's  pensions  in  the  average  case 
would  be  reduced  by  about  20  per- 
cent and  women's  pensions  by  almost 
50  percent. 

The  Pension  Plan  and  Social  Security 

Although  it  is  customary  in  the  great 
majority  of  industrial  plans  to  make 
adjustments  in  pensions,  directly  or 
indirectly,  because  of  Social  Security 
benefits,  this  common  practice  has 
been  subject  to  considerable  misun- 
derstanding. Many  incorrect  and 
misleading  statements  regarding  such: 
coordination  of  company  pensions 
with  the  contributory  governmental 
benefits  have  been  made.  In  view  of 
the  questions  which  sometimes  arise, 
it  may  be  of  interest  to  review  briefly 
the  underlying  principles  regarding 
the  practice  as  it  applies  to  the  Bell 
System  plan. 

When  this  plan  was  established, 
thirty-five  years  ago,  it  was  provided 
that,  if  a  governmental  agency  should 
establish  the  payment  of  pensions, 
the  full  amount  of  such  pensions 
would  be  deducted  from  the  pensions 
otherwise  payable  under  the  plan.  It 
never  was  intended  or  provided  that 
the  full  service  pensions  computed  un- 
der the  regular  one-percent  formula 
should  be  in  addition  to  pensions  or 
old-age  benefits  which  might  later  be- 
come payable  under  the  law. 

It  is  important  to  keep  this  in  mind, 
since  it  is  basic  to  a  correct  under- 
standing of  the  method  adopted  for 
the  adjustment  of  the  company's  pen- 
sions on  account  of  the  old-age  bene- 
fits which  first  became  payable  under 
the  Social  Security  Act  on  January  i, 
1940. 


1948 


The  Benefit  and  Pension  Plan  Is  Thirty-five 


III 


In  view  of  the  fact  that  employees 
must  contribute  half  the  funds  from 
which  their  old-age  benefits  are  paid 
under  the  Social  Security  system,  the 
Bell  System  pension  plan  provisions 
requiring  the  deduction  of  the  entire 
federal  old-age  benefit  from  the  com- 
pany pension  did  not  seem  proper. 
After  careful  study,  it  was  decided 
that  the  fairest  way  of  coordinat- 
ing the  pension  plan  with  the  So- 
cial Security  Act  would  be  to  de- 
duct from  the  Bell  System  service 
pension  beginning  at  65  only  one-half 
of  the  Primary  Insurance  Benefit 
based  on  Bell  System  wages  and  em- 
ployment :  the  half  representing  what 
is  payable  on  account  of  the  Com- 
pany's tax  contributions  for  those 
benefits.  In  consequence,  the  retired 
employee  now  receives  at  company 
expense  after  attaining  65  years  of 
age,  just  as  much  from  the  company 
through  the  Pension  Trust  Fund  and 
through  the  Social  Security  law  as  he 
would  have  received  directly  as  a 
company  pension  if  there  were  no  So- 
cial Security  law.  On  top  of  that,  he 
gets  the  half  of  the  Primary  Insur- 
ance Benefit  which  results  from  his 
own  contributions  under  the  Social 
Security  law. 

Social  Security  old-age  benefits  re- 
sult from  a  form  of  group  insurance 
as  contrasted  with  benefits  provided 
on  the  basis  of  individual  contribu- 
tions. As  is  true  of  any  insurance 
system,  the  Social  Security  Act  gives 
the  assurance  of  protection  to  all  who 
become  eligible  for  payments,  at  the 
general  expense  of  all  who  contribute 
in  the  form  of  taxes  to  the  fund  from 
which  the  payments  are  made.  The 
total  amount  of  Social  Security  bene- 
fits which  any  individual  may  receive 
bears  no  relation  to  the  total  of  the 


taxes  which  have  been  contributed 
either  by  him  or  in  his  behalf.  As 
under  all  insurance  systems,  some 
people  stand  to  get  more  than  others; 
some  will  receive  more  and  others 
less  than  the  total  amount  of  taxes 
which  they  and  their  employers  have 
contributed.  This  "averaging"  is  the 
fundamental  principle  on  which  all 
forms  of  insurance  are  based.  Just 
as  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  basic 
theory  of  the  Social  Security  Act  to 
relate  the  Social  Security  benefits  re- 
ceived by  an  employee  to  the  taxes  he 
has  paid,  it  is  also  inconsistent  to  re- 
late the  deductions  from  his  company 
pension  to  the  taxes  paid  by  the  com- 
pany in  his  individual  case. 

Social  Security  is  no  doubt  here  to 
stay,  and  over  the  years  companies 
are  expected  to  provide  half  the  funds 
from  which  such  benefits  are  paid.  It 
follows  that  they  must,  over  the  long 
pull,  coordinate  the  pensions  provided 
under  their  private  plans  with  Social 
Security  payments.  Money  paid  to 
the  Government  by  the  companies  to 
provide  pensions  for  their  employees 
must  be  considered  along  with  money 
paid  out  to  meet  the  expenses  of  their 
private  pension  plans.  Both  of  these 
items  represent  real  costs  to  the  com- 
pany; in  the  long  run  its  pension  plan, 
to  avoid  duplication  of  pensions  at 
company  expense  and  to  be  of  a  sound 
and  continuing  character,  must  give 
full  weight  to  the  fact  that  half  the 
Social  Security  payments  are  financed 
by  the  company. 

Most  industrial  pension  plans  to- 
day either  directly  or  through  pen- 
sion computation  formulae  deduct 
one-half  or  all  of  the  Social  Security 
old-age  benefit.  In  other  words,  in- 
dustrial pension  plans  both  old  and 


112 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


new  recognize  the  need  for  adjust- 
ments based  on  the  amount  of  Social 
Security  benefits.  The  Bell  System 
plan  is  similar  in  this  respect  to  other 
company  pension  plans. 

Security  of  the  Bell  System 
Pension  Plan 

Too  MUCH  EMPHASIS  cannot  be 
placed  on  the  prime  essential  of  any 
really  good  pension  plan:  security. 

Unless  there  is  security,  employees 
have  no  assurance  of  receiving  the 
pension  to  which  they  have  become 
eligible  upon  retirement.  When  an 
insecure  pension  plan  fails,  it  works 
grave  hardship  on  many  employees  at 
a  time  when  their  earning  powers 
have  decreased  or  ceased  entirely 
and  when  they  will  probably  have 
little  chance  to  get  going  again  to 
provide  for  their  later  years.  This 
has  been  the  unfortunate  experience 
in  a  number  of  other  plans  over  the 
years,  especially  during  depression 
periods. 


The  Bell  System  plan  is  outstand- 
ing in  respect  to  its  security.  The 
pension  funds  trusteed  under  the 
terms  of  the  plan  must  be  used  solely 
and  entirely  for  service  pension  pur- 
poses. Amounts  accrued  on  an  ac- 
tuarial basis  are  paid  into  the  funds 
currently,  to  provide  for  payment  in 
full  of  the  pensions  as  they  become 
due  and  for  the  continuation  of  such 
payments  during  the  remaining  life- 
time of  the  retired  employee.  The 
amounts  thus  provided  over  the  years 
are  sufficient  to  meet,  by  a  substantial 
margin,  all  matured  pension  liability; 
and  the  balance  in  the  funds,  with 
current  accruals  and  interest  earn- 
ings, will  provide  for  future  pensions 
as  employees  become  eligible  to  them. 

With  such  essential  security,  with 
due  recognition  of  important  pension 
principles,  and  with  the  use  of  good 
judgment,  the  Bell  System  benefit  and 
pension  plan  will  continue  in  the  years 
ahead  to  fulfill  its  important  func- 
tions, to  the  mutual  advantage  of  em- 
ployees, stockholders,  and  the  public. 


Who's  Who  &  What's  What 

{Continued  from  page  ys) 

ment,  and  assistant  vice  president  since 
1939.  Here  he  coordinates  the  lecture- 
demonstration  activities  of  the  Associated 
Companies,  assists  them  in  the  prepara- 
tion of  semi-technical  and  popular  talks 
and  demonstrations  for  various  civic  bodies 


and  public  groups,  and,  upon  invitation, 
himself  gives  talks  and  demonstrations 
throughout  the  country  before  universities 
and  colleges,  professional  and  academic 
engineering  societies,  and  similar  organiza- 
tions. Dr.  Perrine  contributed  several  arti- 
cles to  the  former  Bell  Telephone 
Quarterly  between  1925  and  1936,  and 
is  an  editor  of  the  Bell  System  Technical 
Journal. 


ANNUAL  ADVERTISING  AWARDS 

HONORABLE    MENTION    TO 

AMERICAN  TELEPHONE  &  TELEGRAPH  CO. 

BELL   TELEPHONE   SYSTEM 
& 

N.  W.  AYER  &  SON,  INCORPORATED 

FOR    A    CAMPAIGN    IN    NATIONAL    MAGAZINES 


ADMISISTRATIVE    BOARD 


fVRY    OF    AWARDS 

Katmomb  B.  Bovbn  Paiti  m  CinaiAN  Icsm  itu>«tii. 

Let  H.  itemvi.  Bwnr  Kso  >ohv  ScM\ise^ 

At»»T  Bkovm  v.  F.  McKevhu  Mai*  ^f»AO 

VMM  Ei^xcTT  %-  A.  HcNam  T^icxoftz  Snrats:! 

TAMA.  btrrixM.  HiN-mr  Oshmitu  Romst  I.  t.> 

Eswjoo  a.  BnoN  Srvwr  Pi.\ioaT  Dcanc  II  Otkmwz 

Celuj*  Cauom  Cumoxs  nmcH 

Thayu  Co<md<c&  f»mA.ti^ 


National  magazine  advertisements  of 
the  Bell  System  during  1947  have  won 
an  "Honorable  Mention"  for  the  A.  T. 
&  T.  Company  and  the  N.  W.  Ayer  & 
Son,  Inc.,  advertising  agency.  In  pub- 
lishing the  awards,  the  trade  magazine 
Advertising  &  Selling  said  in  part  of 
the  A.  T.  &  T.  series : 

"The  Bell  Telephone  System  be- 
lieves that  all  business  in  a  democratic 
country  begins  with  public  permission 
and  exists  by  public  approval.  If  this 
belief  is  true,  the  company  feels  that 
business  should  be  cheerfully  willing  to 
tell  the  public  about  its  policies,  its  pres- 
ent state  of  operation,  its  plans  for  the 
future. 

"This  is  not  an  easy  task.  The  peo- 
ple who  make  up  the  public  are  gener- 
ally busy  with  their  own  affairs  and  are 
not  particularly  prone  to  read  about  the 
telephone  business — or  any  other  busi- 
ness, for  that  matter. 

"That  the  Bell  System  has  succeeded 


in  overcoming  this  obstacle  is  shown  by 
its  Informative  Series  of  advertisement 
which  last  year  appeared  in  some  50 
national  magazines.  .  .  . 

"The  Bell  Telephone  System,  how- 
ever, measures  the  effectiveness  of  this 
campaign  not  so  much  by  readership  fig- 
ures, but  by  the  regard  the  general  pub- 
lic has  for  the  telephone  business,  its  effi- 
ciency and  courtesy,  its  standing  as  a 
good  citizen  in  the  community," 

The  first  "Honorable  Mention" 
Award  to  the  A.  T.  &  T.  Company  was 
made  in  1939  for  an  informative  adver- 
tisement appearing  in  national  maga- 
zines. During  1943,  1944,  and  1945 
the  regular  awards  were  suspended  and 
a  new  series  started  called  the  War 
Time  Advertising  Awards.  The  "100 
Best  War  Advertisements"  were  se- 
lected annually.  During  each  of  these 
three  years,  two  A.  T.  &  T.  advertise- 
ments won  places  in  this  selected  group 
of  advertisements. 


"3 


Graphic  Representation  Makes  Many  Kinds  of  Facts  Easier 

To    Understand^   and  Contributes  Much  to  the  Successful 

Operation  of  Our  Business 


Charts  at  Work 


Kenneth  TV,  Haemer 


The  telephone  business  is  made 
to  order  for  the  use  of  statistics — or 
so  it  has  been  often  said.  One  reason 
why  ours  is  a  "statistical"  business  is 
that  efficient  operation  demands  it. 
Day  by  day,  week  by  week,  month  by 
month,  year  by  year,  we  must  make 
careful  and  continuous  measurement 
of  a  great  many  different  telephone 
activities,  to  be  sure  that  the  progress 
or  performance  of  hundreds  of  tele- 
phone matters  is  as  it  should  be. 
This  enormous  need  for  facts  is  so 
important  at  all  levels  of  the  organi- 
zation that  if  opportunities  for  their 
collection  were  not  inherent  in  the 
business,  we  would  have  to  find  ways 
to  provide  them. 

Fortunately,  the  nature  of  our 
business  makes  it  relatively  easy  to 
obtain  many  of  the  statistics  we  need. 
Providing  telephone  service  is  a  re- 
tail business,  involving  millions  of  in- 
dividual transactions  daily,  most  of 
which  are  recorded.  These  records 
provide  the  feeder  material  that, 
properly   selected    and   summarized, 


becomes  one  kind  of  statistics.  In 
addition,  our  business  includes  hun- 
dreds of  measurable  operations  that 
go  on  behind  the  scenes,  out  of  sight 
and  sound  of  the  telephone  user. 
These  measurements,  too,  are  fertile 
sources  of  valuable  statistical  data. 

But  although  the  nature  of  the  job 
has  made  an  extensive  use  of  statistics 
both  necessary  and  possible,  they 
would  not  be  available  for  use  unless 
the  people  who  carry  on  the  business 
recognized  this  need  and  did  some- 
thing about  it.  Without  common 
purposes  and  uniform  operating  prac- 
tices throughout  the  Bell  System,  few 
figures  of  any  value  could  be  gathered. 
Without  an  acute  awareness  of  the 
importance  of  accurate,  detailed  data 
on  all  phases  of  operation,  many 
valuable  statistics  would  remain  un- 
reported and  unused.  This  need  for 
timely  information  on  all  aspects  of 
the  business  was  foreseen  early  in  the 
development  of  telephony,  and  it  is 
being  met  throughout  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem. 


Charts  at  Work 


115 


Pioneering  Charts  for 
Business  Use 

Charts — statistics  in  graphic  form 
— have  been  used  in  our  business  since 
long  before  figures  were  dignified  by 
the  name  statistics.  We  were  among 
the  pioneers  in  the  development  of 
charts  for  business  use;  not  only  for 
an  occasional  conference  or  special 
study,  but  as  a  basic  tool  in  the  day- 
to-day  operation  and  management  of 
the  business.  We  discovered  very 
early  that  this  method  of  putting  fig- 
ures into  picture  form  was  very  much 
better,  for  certain  purposes,  than  the 
use  of  the  same  figures  in  tabular 
form — or,  for  that  matter,  in  any 
other  form. 

Charts  have  the  advantage  of  all 
picture  forms :  they  visualize  the 
story  so  that  it  can  be  seen  at  a  glance. 
They  are  forceful,  dramatic,  eco- 
nomical of  the  reader's  time,  and  less 
likely  to  be  misinterpreted  than  other 
forms  of  presentation.  Sooner  or 
later,  every  important  measurable 
fact  about  our  business  finds  its  way 
into  a  chart. 

A  roll-call  of  even  the  more  im- 
portant uses  of  statistical  charts  in 
the  Bell  System  would  be  a  long  one 
indeed.  Many  of  these  uses  relate 
to  subjects  so  specialized  that  they 
would  not  be  appropriate  in  a  gen- 
eral article  such  as  this.  The  ex- 
amples shown  on  these  pages  were 
selected  to  illustrate  some  of  the 
more  common  every-day  uses  to 
which  charts  are  put  in  our  business. 

One  of  the  easiest  charts  to  under- 
stand is  the  pie  chart.  It  looks  sim- 
ple and  "non-statistical,"  and  there- 
fore is  very  useful  for  presenting 
facts  to  readers  untrained  in  the  use 
of  charts.    For  this  kind  of  audience 


DISTRIBUTION  of  the 
WORLD'S  TELEPHONES-1947 


BEU  SYSTEM  AND 

CONNEOING  IN  U.S. 

58.4  s; 


NOT  CONNECTING 
WITH  BEU 
SYSTEM 

3.8% 


OUTSIDE  U. 
CONNECTING 
WITH  BEU  SYSTEM 

37.8% 


Figure  i 

it  is  probably  the  best  type  of  chart 
to  use  for  showing  the  component 
parts  of  a  single  total.  The  example 
in  Figure  i  shows  how  the  world's 
telephones  were  distributed  as  of  Jan- 
uary I,  1947.  It  demonstrates  at  a 
glance,  in  a  forceful  and  direct  man- 
ner, that  more  than  half  of  the 
world's  telephones  were  in  the  United 
States  and  that  of  the  remainder  al- 
most all  could  be  connected  with  tele- 
phones in  the  United  States.  Charts 
of  this  type  are  used  principally  as 
a  means  of  explaining  such  facts  about 
the  Bell  System  to  employees,  to  the 
public,  and  to  the  owners  of  the  busi- 
ness. Management's  responsibility 
to  these  three  groups  includes  the  re- 
sponsibility of  keeping  each  informed 
about  many  such  facts,  and  very  often 
a  chart  provides  the  best  method  of 
transmitting  the  information. 

Another  simple  chart  form  is  illus- 


ii6 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


trated  in  Figure  2.  Although  this 
one  looks  a  trifle  more  "charty"  than 
the  pie  chart,  it  is  easy  to  understand. 
This  chart  simply  compares  a  series 
of  items  placed  side  by  side  to  facili- 
tate measurement.  The  thickness  of 
the  bars  has  no  meaning;  the  bars 
are  merely  lines  thickened  for  empha- 
sis and  only  their  length  is  significant. 
The  example  in  Figure  2,  borrowed 
from  "Telephone  Statistics  of  the 
World,"  shows  clearly  that  there  are 
more  telephones  per  100  persons  in 
the  United  States  than  in  any  other 
country  in  the  world.  It  also  shows 
where  each  country  stands  in  relation 
to  each  of  the  others.  Although  this 
bar  type  is  most  useful  for  such  sim- 
ple comparisons  as  this,  it  is  also  used 
for    summarizing    comparisons    that 


are  not  so  simple.  For  example,  an- 
other bar  chart,  looking  quite  similar 
to  Figure  2,  might  show,  instead,  a 
comparison  of  the  coefficients  of  cor- 
relation between  the  volume  of  tele- 
phone traffic  and  the  volume  of  busi- 
ness in  a  number  of  other  industries. 
This  points  up  the  fact  that  many 
simple-appearing  charts  are  not  easy 
to  understand  because  the  concept 
contained  in  them  is  not  a  familiar 
one.  The  picture  may  be  clear,  but 
its  meaning  will  not  be  unless  the 
reader  is  acquainted  with  the  subject 
and  with  the  particular  method  of 
measurement  used  to  portray  it. 

Charts  i   and  2  show  a  cross-sec- 
tion of  how  matters  stood  at  a  par- 
ticular   time.      They    are,    in    effect, 
"still"  pictures.     "Moving"  pictures, 
showing   the 


TELEPHONES  PER  100 

POPULATION 

li 

January  1,  1947                                                                                         ■ 

Unrtod  Stotai 

Sweden 

Canada 

New  Zeoland 

Switzerland 

Denmark 

Hawaii 

Auftralia 

Norway 

1                                  5                                 10                                15                                20                   1 

^^^^^^ 

^^ 

" 



^^^^ 

■ 

Finlond 

Netherlands 

Belgium 

^ 

I 

France 
Argentina 

Austria 

Uruguay 

^^■^ 

Czechoslovakia 

■■■■i 

Union  of  So.  Africa 

^^^B 

Chile 

I^^B 

Eire 

^^m 

Spain 

1^^ 

Cuba 

■i^ 

Japan 

^m 

Portugal 

^m 

Mexico 

^ 

Irozil 

IB 

Hungary 

■ 

Romonlo 

■ 

U.  S.  S.  R. 

^ 

1  Total  World  | 

( 

'•-'••' 

Figure  2 


changes  over  a 
period  of  time,  al- 
though not  quite 
so  simple,  are  of 
great  value  in 
tracing  the  trends 
of  the  business. 
Chart  3  is  a  good 
example  of  such 
an  action  picture. 
This  picture  of 
telephone  growth, 
viewed  in  1 9 1 9 
perspective,  was 
used  in  the  A.  T. 
&  T.  Company 
Annual  Report  of 
that  year.  Al- 
though the  num- 
ber of  telephones 
in  service  was 
small  by  today's 
standards,  it  rep- 
resented an  ex^ 
tremely     rapid 


1948 


Charts  at  Work 


117 


DIAGRAM 
SHOWING  THE  GROWTH  IN 

STATIONS 

BELL  TELEPHONE  SYSTEM 

DEC  31.  1876- DEC.  31.  1919 

^mmEZ^   TOTAL  STATIONS 

^■^■B  BELL  OWNED 

\t/M•/////////^.  BELL  CONNECTING 

On  Dec  3i.  1919  there  was  one 

8eu.  telephone  station  to  each  9 

of  the  total  population  of  the 

UNITED  States. 


growth,  and  the 
chart  shows  this 
unmistakably. 

The  current  ver- 
sion of  this  chart, 
shown  in  Figure  4. 
proves  that  in 
charts,  too,  all 
things  are  relative. 
Over  a  period  of 
about  the  same 
number  of  years. 
Chart  3  shows  an 
increase  of  about 
12  million  and 
Chart  4  about  20 
million  telephones; 
yet  because  it 
started  from  such 
a  low  point,  the 
12  million  increase 
seems  greater  than 
the  20  million. 
This  impression  is 
further  heightened 
by  the  difference  in 
the  shape  of  the 
two  charts,  and 
emphasizes  the  im- 
portance of  using 
the  same  size  and 
shape  for  charts 
that  are  to  be  com- 
pared. What  a 
careful  comparison 
of  the  two  charts 
actually  does  show 
is  that  the  relative 
increase  was  very 

much  greater  during  the  earlier  pe- 
riod, although  the  absolute  growth 
was  greater  during  the  latter  period. 

Telephone  development  statistics, 
such  as  were  shown  in  the  preceding 
charts,  are  valuable  over-all  indica- 
tors  of  how   good   a   job   we   have 


—■■■■■■■■I 


nuiUll 


12.000.000 


11,500.000 


11.000.000 


lasoaooo 


iaooo.000 


Sksoaooo 


9.ooaooo 


9,500.000 


8.000:000 


7.5oaoeo 


6w500.000P 


6.000.0003 


5.500.000  " 


5.000.000 


4.000.000 


3.500.000 


3.000.000 


2.500.000 


2.000.000 


1.500.000 


1.000,000 


soaooo 


1876  73   "80    -82    "84 


•88    "90    "92    "M    "96    "98  1900  \E    W    -06    tJS 

DECEMBER  31st  OF  EACH  YEAR. 


Figure  3 

been  doing  in  providing  telephone 
service.  If  we  were  not  doing  a  good 
job,  no  such  growth  would  have  been 
demanded  by  our  customers.  But  to 
make  sure  that  we  maintain  the  high 
standards  of  service  desired  and  that 
the  service  is  still  further  improved, 


ii8 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


TELEPHONES  -in  millions 


Connecting 


35 


1920 


1925 


1930  1935  1940 

At  End  of  Year 


1945  1947 


SUMMER 


Figure  4 

a   constant   check   must  be   kept   on  shows  that,   for  manual  telephones, 

numerous    components    of    perform-  only  about  four  percent  of  all  calls 

ance.     Chart  5   illustrates  one  such  take  more  than  10  seconds  before  the 

measure  of  performance.    This  chart  operator  answers.    This  current  per- 


MANUAL  ANSWERS 

PER  CENT  OVER   10  SECONDS 


, ,        lit         2ikI        3rd         4lh 

1    1910  1      O"-       Qlr.        Qlr.       Qtt. 
I'""'!  1947 


r  I  .]   I '  ■   '   ' ■  '    ' 


i        F        M       A       M 


Figure  S 


1948 


Charts  at  Work 


119 


formance  shows  a  definite  improve- 
ment over  the  preceding  months  this 
year,  and  is  very  much  better  than 
the  general  level  during  last  year. 
However,  it  is  still  not  as  good 
as  the  best  previous  performance, 
achieved  in  the  first  quarter  of  1939. 
No  other  method  of  presentation 
would  tell  this  story  as  quickly  or  as 
well  as  does  this  simple  chart.  To- 
gether with  many 
other  carefully 
developed  results 
pictures,  this 
chart  tells  the 
story  of  whether 
or  not  we  are  do- 
ing a  good  oper- 
ating job. 

In  addition  to 
the  many  internal 
checks  made  on 
quality  of  service, 
our  business  also 
makes  a  continu- 
ing check  on  what 
our  customers 
think  about  the 
service.  Figure 
6  is  typical  of  the 
charts  used  to  pic- 
ture the  results 
of  the  System- 
wide  Customer 
Opinion  Surveys 
that  are  made  at 
frequent  inter- 
vals,* This  chart 
shows  ver)'  clearly 
that  most  of  the 
people  who  use 
telephone  service 


think  it  is  'Excellent"  or  "good,"  and 
that  the  percentage  who  think  so  is 
slightly  higher  now  than  during  any 
preceding  survey  in  this  series.  Pub- 
lic opinion  information  such  as  this 
serves  as  a  supplement  to  internal 
service  measurement.  It  helps  to 
explain  when  and  how  our  customers 
agree  or  disagree  with  our  own  esti- 
mates of  the  kind  of  job  we  are  doing, 


CUSTOMER  OPINION  OF  SERVICE 


*  See  "Finding  Out 
What  People  Think 
of  Us."  Magazine, 
Spring  1946. 


Figure  6 


I20 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


TELEPHONE  MOVEMENT  and  NET  GAIN              ■ 

IN  BELL  SYSTEM  COMPANY  TELEPHONES                   millions             I 

r 

TOTAL  INWARD  MOVEMENT/ 

6 

4 

2 

0 
-2 

A 

^y 

^. 

.. 

* 

Vv: 

TOTAL  OUTWARD  MOVEMENT    IN 

,          /^ 

NET  GAIN 

'~^ 

1 

"-^ 

\ 

V 

1920              1925              1930              1935              1940              1945              1950                 1 

Figure  / 


and  to  point  out  the  particular  parts 
of  the  job  with  which  they  may  be 
dissatisfied,  or  about  which  they  may 
have  an  unfavorable  attitude. 

Figure  7  is  an  example  of  a  slightly 
less  simple  chart  variety.  Going  back 
to  the  subject  of  telephones  again, 
this  picture  shows  not  only  how  much 
station  activity  we  handled  but  also 
the  net  results  of  this  activity.  All 
such  net  results,  which  are  the  differ- 
ence between  an  adding  and  taking 
away,  can  be  presented  in  this  sort  of 
cause-and-effect  picture.  It  has  the 
advantage  of  telling  both  how  we 
stand  and  how  we  got  that  way.  For 
many  internal  management  uses,  this 
type  of  chart  is  of  unique  value.  The 
inclusion  of  the  background  data 
from  which  the  net  result  was  derived 
gives  it  an  entirely  different  slant 
from  any  of  the  preceding  charts. 
One  of  the  fascinating  facts  about 
charts  is  that  they  are  almost  infi- 
nitely variable.     Although  there  are 


only  a  few  basic  types  of  chart,  each 
can  be  modified  and  adjusted  to  serve 
the  specific  requirements  of  the  job 
it  has  to  do. 

Figure  8  is  a  sample  of  the  stand- 
ard method  of  linking  together  a 
series  of  cross-section  pictures  such 
as  the  pie  chart  shown  in  Figure  i. 
This  type  of  chart  is  not  only  a  great 
deal  more  compact  than  a  series  of 
pie  charts  would  be,  but  it  is  much 
more  useful  for  bringing  out  shifts  in 
the  importance  of  each  component 
over  a  period  of  time.  This  picture 
differs  from  the  type  of  picture  shown 
in  Charts  3  and  4  in  that  it  shows 
relative  amounts :  the  size  of  each 
component  is  not  measured  in  abso- 
lute terms  such  as  dollars  or  tele- 
phones, but  only  in  relation  to  the 
size  of  other  components.  This  ex- 
ample shows  that  in  1920  Land  and 
Buildings  and  Central  Oflice  Equip- 
ment combined  accounted  for  about 
29  percent  of  the  total  Plant  Invest- 


1948 


Charts  at  PTork 


121 


ment,  whereas  currently  they  repre- 
sent about  43  percent  of  the  Total 
Investment. 

At  first  glance,  the  chart  in  Figure 
9  may  seem  a  trifle  forbidding;  but 
it  is  really  simpler  than  it  seems. 
This  ingenious  chart  does  the  work 
of  two  charts.  It  shows  first,  by  the 
heavy  unbroken  curve,  how  many 
telephones  were  gained  each  year, 
and  up  to  this  point  it  is  a  simple 
trend  chart  similar  to  some  of  the  ex- 
amples already  shown.  What  makes 
this  a  chart  of  distinction  is  the  band 
of  light  broken  curves  set  behind  the 
net-gain  trend  line.  This  device 
makes  it  possible  to  see  at  a  glance 
not  only  the  number  of  telephones 
gained  each  year — as  shown  by  the 
scales  in  the  right  margin — but  also 
how  big  each  gain  was  in  relation  to 
the  number  of  stations  already  in 
service.  In  other  words,  this  chart 
shows  first  how  big  a  job  was  done  in 


terms  of  work  performed  and,  sec- 
ond, how  important  it  was  in  terms  of 
expanding  the  service. 

Similar  charts  are  used  to  picture 
other  aspects  of  the  business;  for  ex- 
ample, to  show  income  in  relation  to 
plant  investment,  and  other  ratios  in- 
dicating the  financial  health  of  the 
business.  By  such  charts  as  this,  the 
managers  of  our  business  can  see  not 
only  what  the  results  are  but  also  can 
view  them  in  their  proper  perspective. 

Moving  a  step  further  into  the  field 
of  statistical  presentation,  the  chart 
in  Figure  10  illustrates  a  form  of 
analysis  that  has  many  useful  applica- 
tions in  our  business.  It  is  generally 
known  as  a  semi-logarithmic  chart  be- 
cause one  of  the  scales  is  logarithmic 
instead  of  arithmetic.  This  type  of 
chart  is  easily  recognized  by  the  un- 
even spacing  of  the  scale  rulings. 

The  major  purpose  of  this  chart  is 
quite    diflferent    from    that    of    any 


PER  CENT 
1< 


100 


PERCENTAGE    DISTRIBUTION  OF 

TELEPHONE   PLANT   INVESTMENT 


PER  CENT 


STATION    EQUIPMENT 


100 


Figure  8 


112 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


Other  of  the  pre- 
ceding types.  In 
one  way  or  an- 
other, all  of  the 
other  examples 
pictured  magni- 
tude, that  is,  how 
big  something 
was  compared  to 
something  else,  or 
compared  to  some 
other  time.  This 
chart,  although 
magnitude  can  be 
read  from  the 
scale,  makes  no 
such  comparison 
because    it    does 


NET  TELEPHONE  GAIN 

AND  RELATION  TO  TELEPHONES  IN  SERVICE 


MIILIONS 

4 


NH  GAIN  DURING  YEAR       /' 


P£»  CEW  OF  TELEPHONES  IN  %lMKt^^ 
AT  BEGINNING  Of  YEAR     ^^ 


..I  U.I 


1940 


1945 


1950 


not  picture   size.        — ^^^^^—i 
Instead,     it    pic- 
titres     speed     of 

growth.  In  the  other  examples,  the 
basis  of  measurement  was  the  dis- 
tance between  curve  and  base  line,  or 
between  one  curve  and  another.  In 
this  chart,  the  basis  of  measurement 
is  the  slope  at  which  the  curve  moves. 
It  does  not  show,  as  it  might  seem  to 
a  reader  unfamiliar  with  this  type  of 
chart,  that  extension  telephones  now 
represent  nearly  one  half  of  the  total 
number  of  telephones.  It  does  show, 
however,  that  recently  they  have  been 
increasing  at  a  faster  rate  than  the 
total. 

The  special  feature  of  this  type  of 
presentation  is  that  a  given  percent- 
age growth  always  takes  the  same 
angle,  no  matter  where  it  occurs  on 
the  chart.  This  is  not  true  of  arith- 
metic scale  charts,  of  which  Figures 
3-9  are  typical  examples.  This  type 
of  chart  tells  a  story  that  no  other 
chart  can  tell.  It  provides  still  an- 
other means  by  which  management 


Figure  p 

can  evaluate  results  and  can  gauge 
their  significance. 

Many  other  kinds  of  charts,  on 
many  other  subjects,  and  made  for 
many  other  uses,  could  be  placed  in 
evidence  to  demonstrate  how  charts 
do  their  part  in  helping  to  provide 
good  telephone  service.  The  ten  ex- 
amples selected  here  are  a  representa- 
tive few  chosen  merely  for  purposes 
of  illustration.  Most  of  them  appear 
in  recurring  reports  or  analyses,  and 
all  of  them  are  actively  used  to  pro- 
vide a  particular  kind  of  information 
to  a  specific  audience.  Although 
most  are  extremely  simple,  and  only 
hint  at  the  analytical  uses  to  which 
charts  may  be  put,  all  of  these  exam- 
ples tell  a  pertinent  story  about  some 
measurable  fact  of  the  business. 

To  the  people  who  make  charts, 
and  to  many  more  whose  knowledge 
of  the  business  and  judgment  of  its 
condition  are  aided  by  charts,  all  of 


1948 


Charts  at  fVork 


123 


\  this  may  be  "old  stuff."     It  is  set 
i  down    here    to    indicate    to    others, 

'  whose  contact  with  graphic  presenta- 
tion may  be  limited,  that  the  making 
of  charts — like  many  another  activity 
in  the  business — is  a  specialized  art, 
representing  a  considerable  degree  of 
training  and  skill. 

In  almost  every  corner  of  the  busi- 
ness, at  all  levels  of  its  marvagement, 
ways  have  been  found  to  measure  the 
task,  to  measure  the  results,  and  to 
use  these  measurements  as  guides  to- 
ward doing  the  job  even  better.  For 
those  many  measurable  facts  of  the 
business,  whether  they  relate  to  oper- 
ating results,  to  accounting,  to  financ- 
ing, to  public  relations,  or  to  purchas- 


ing, planning,  or  research,  charts 
provide  an  invaluable  means  of  ex- 
pression. 

It  is  true  that  some  subjects  are  not 
suitable  for  chart  presentation,  and 
that  a  great  many  chartable  facts  can 
be  shown  just  as  well  or  better  by 
other  methods  of  presentation.  But 
when  a  picture  is  wanted  instead  of 
precise  figures,  and  when  the  nature 
and  importance  of  the  information 
warrants  the  preparation  of  a  picture, 
charts  are  the  answer.  These  in- 
genious devices  for  putting  figures 
into  graphic  form  are  important  tools 
of  management,  and  in  the  telephone 
business  these  tools  are  widely  and  in- 
tensively put  to  work. 


MILLIONS  OF  TELEPHONES 

50J) 

10.0 
5.0 

1.0 
0.5 

/ 

^ 

^^^ 

/ 

_^^      ^^..''^ 

N^.^,^ -^       MAW 

1^*^    ^ 

'' 

^ 

^ 



^ 

""^^ 

^ 

/ 

-^ 

^ 

EXIENSK 

r 

>N 

jy 

^ 

^ 

^ 

1  1  1  1 

t    1    J    1 

1     1     1     1 

1      1      1     1 

1     1     1     1 

1     1     1     1 

19 

20              1925             1930             1935             1940              1945              19 

50 

Figure  lo 


Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the 

Bell  Telephone  Quarterly 

Items  from  Volume  II,  Number  3,  July  1923 


The  New  Bell  Flag 

The  presidents  of  the  Associated  Com- 
panies of  the  Bell  System  met  with  the 
executives  of  the  American  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Company  for  a  five-day  confer- 
ence at  Yama  Farms,  on  May  26th.  .  .  . 
A  feature  of  the  conference  w^as  the  adop- 
tion of  a  Bell  System  flag  ...  to  be  flown 
from  hundreds  of  Bell-owned  buildings,  to 
suggest  the  national  character  of  the  serv- 
ice as  well  as  the  immense  physical  resources 
of  the  Bell  System. 

A  Privacy  Radio  System 
for  Catalina  Island 

The  radio  telephone  system  linking 
Catalina  Island,  thirty  miles  off  the  Cali- 
fornia coast,  with  Los  Angeles,  has  been 
equipped  with  a  new  development  of  Bell 
System  engineers  which  may  be  called  a 
privacy  system  for  the  radio  telephone. 
The  new  system  was  placed  in  service  on 
June  9,  and  the  preliminary  tests  and  actual 
use  in  service  show  that  speech  is  as  good 
in  quality  and  volume  as  before  its  intro- 
duction, and  is  not  intelligible  to  those  at- 
tempting to  listen  to  it  with  ordinary  radio 
receiving  apparatus. 

Not  only  does  the  wireless  link  connect 
the  island  with  Los  Angeles  but,  through 
the  trunk  lines  of  the  Bell  System,  it  puts 
the  residents  of  the  island  in  telephonic 
touch  with  every  commercial  center  of  the 
United  States.  It  was  part  of  the  longest 
telephone  circuit  on  record  when,  in  the 
opening  of  the  Havana-Key  West  sub- 
marine telephone  cable,  a  circuit  of  over 
5,000  miles  was  established,  by  radio,  by 
land  wires,  and  by  cable,  between  Catalina 
Island  and  Cuba. 


The   A.  T.&T.    Company 
Opens  New  Broadcasting 
Studios  in  New  York 

The  new  broadcasting  studios  for  use  in 
connection  with  Station  WEAF  of  the 
American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany were  formally  opened  on  the  evening 
of  April  30.  These  studios  are  located  at 
195  Broadway,  New  York  City,  and  em- 
body important  modifications  adopted  in  an 
endeavor  to  improve  the  quality  of  broad- 
casting. 

In  July,  1922,  the  company  began  broad- 
casting through  Station  WEAF  with  a 
single  studio  located  in  the  Walker-Lispen- 
ard  Building  at  24  Walker  Street.  Al- 
though this  studio  was  designed  in  accord- 
ance with  the  best  practice  known  to  the 
radio  art  at  that  time,  the  experience  of  six 
months  indicated  desirable  modifications  in 
studio  design.  It  was  also  found  that  the 
location  at  Walker  Street  was  not  suffi- 
ciently accessible  for  the  many  artists  who 
take  part  in  the  broadcasting  programs; 
consequently,  the  new  studios  are  located 
in  the  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Building 
at  195  Broadway.  Special  telephone  cir- 
cuits connect  the  studios  with  the  radio 
transmitting  equipment  at  Walker  Street. 

The  two  outstanding  improvements  in 
the  new  studios  are:  (i)  means  to  elimi- 
nate waits  in  programs  by  the  use  of  two 
studios,  and  (2)  a  more  effective  monitor- 
ing equipment  by  the  installation  of  a  novel 
announcer's  booth. 

A  large  studio  is  provided  for  bands, 
orchestras,  and  glee  clubs.  A  small  studio 
is  used  for  soloists  and  speakers.  While 
an  orchestra  is  being  assembled  about  the 
microphone  in  the  large  studio,  a  singer  or 


Twenty -five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  ^arterly  125 


speaker  is  broadcasting  from  the  small 
studio.  When  the  singer  has  completed  a 
number  and  the  orchestra  is  ready,  the 
large  studio  is  switched  on  without  any 
delay ;  hence,  it  is  possible  to  alternate  from 
one  studio  to  the  other  without  lapses  in 
the  program.  Artists  may  rest  between 
numbers,  because  the  necessity  of  singing 
six  or  seven  numbers  successively  is  elimi- 
nated. 

On  the  opening  evening,  a  special  pro- 
gram covering  a  wide  range  of  entertain- 
ment was  broadcast  for  the  benefit  of  the 
newspaper  men,  music  and  dramatic  critics, 
and  the  radio  editors  who  attended.  Mr. 
Edgar  S.  Bloom,  Vice  President  of  the 
American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany, opened  the  new  studio  and  in  the 
course  of  his  remarks  gave  a  brief  history 
of  the  Company's  broadcasting  activities. 

"The  American  Telephone  and  Tele- 
graph Company  began  broadcasting  on 
July  25,  1922,  on  360  meter  wave  length, 
being  on  the  air  twelve  hours  weekly.  On 
October  2,  1922,  we  changed  to  400  meter 
wave  length,  which  has  been  used  since 
that  time  and  we  are  now  broadcasting 
about  thirt}'  hours  weekly. 

"During  the  nine  months  that  we  have 
broadcast,  nearly  200  of  America's  leading 
statesmen  and  citizens  have  spoken  to  you 
through  WEAF,  also  many  stars  of  the 
first  magnitude  in  the  theatrical  and  mo- 
tion picture  world.  Over  200  separate  pro- 
grams have  been  broadcast  involving  a 
total  of  3,000  people  including  artists.  Ac- 
cording to  our  best  estimate,  there  are  prob- 
ably upwards  of  three-quarters  of  a  million 
radio  receiving  sets  within  the  area  easily 
reached  by  our  station,  and,  as  these  sets 
will  probably  average  not  less  than  three 
listeners  per  set,  we  have  a  possible  audi- 
ence of  between  two  and  three  million 
people." 


The  Bell  Public  Address 
System 

From  the  time  of  Stentor  down  to  a  pe- 
riod within  the  last  one  or  two  years  no 
human  being  has  ever  possessed  a  voice 
equal  to  this  character  of  mythology.  It 
remained  for  the  Bell  engineers  to  turn 
mythology  into  fact,  and  today  through  the 
Bell  Public  Address  System  any  man  can 
have  the  power  not  only  of  fifty  voices  but 
of  fifty  thousand  times  fifty  voices. 

For  outdoor  occasions,  the  projectors  are 
connected  to  square  wooden  horns  about 
fifteen  feet  long  and  having  a  cross-section 
which  varies  from  an  inch  at  the  receiver 
end  to  several  feet  at  the  mouth  of  the 
horn.  A  battery  of  eight  or  ten  of  these 
horns  spaced  uniformly  around  a  circle, 
when  supplied  with  the  highest  power  from 
the  amplifier,  will  enable  a  speaker's  voice 
to  be  heard  by  at  least  five  hundred  thou- 
sand people  gathered  within  a  diameter  of 
half  a  mile. 

Some  time  ago  one  of  these  high-power 
"loud  speakers,"  as  they  are  sometimes 
called,  was  installed  experimentally  in  the 
Catskill  Mountains,  and  under  favorable 
conditions  it  was  possible  to  hear  the  speak- 
er's voice  for  three  and  one-half  miles 
through  one  of  the  mountain  valleys.  Not 
since  the  days  of  Rip  Van  Winkle,  when 
the  mystic  crew  of  Hendrik  Hudson  were 
reputed  to  play  at  ten-pins  with  thunder 
clouds,  have  these  peaceful  valleys  reverber- 
ated to  such  a  mighty  volume  of  sound. 

The  Bell  Public  Address  System  has 
been  successfully  used  at  many  great  gath- 
erings, such  as  the  inauguration  of  Presi- 
dent Harding,  the  Arlington  ceremonies  at 
the  burial  of  the  Unknown  American,  the 
dedication  of  the  Lincoln  Memorial,  and 
other  similar  occasions. 


Things  May  Be  Temporal^  but  Ideas  Are  Ktemal:  The  Great 
Truths  of  Science  Live  and  Are  Preserved  in  the  Minds  and 

Experience  of  Mankind 


Ideas,  Men,  and  Things 


James  0.  Perrine 


The  following  paragraphs  constitute  the  major  part  of  an  ad- 
dress delivered  at  the  seventh  annual  "Science  for  Everyone" 
Congress  sponsored  by  Hartwick  College,  Oneonta,  N.  Y.,  on 
May  I,  1948. — Editor. 


The  success  of  science  involves  a 
number  of  observations  and  concepts 
of  a  great  many  people :  it  is  achieved 
by  cooperative  human  effort.  It  is  a 
story  of  the  skills  and  talents  of  men. 
Developments  and  achievements  build 
upon  ideas  and  concepts  dating  back 
through  many  years.  There  is  no 
black  magic  along  the  path  of  science, 
no  talisman  secretly  possessed  by 
scientists  which  vouchsafes  success. 
The  scientist  has  no  inner  light,  no 
esoteric  intutition.  Sir  Humphrey 
Davy,  one  of  the  greatest  of  scien- 
tists, who  lived  125  years  ago,  said: 
"Practically  all  of  the  contributions 
it  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  make 
were  suggested  to  me  by  failures." 

In  these  days  of  great  laboratories, 
both  industrial  and  university,  involv- 
ing elaborate  and  costly  apparatus 
and  thousands  of  trained  experts,  it 
is  well  to  reflect  that  most  of  the 


great  heritage  of  science  that  is  now 
ours  was  achieved  with  crude,  rudi- 
mentary, and  homespun  equipment. 
Volta,  Davy,  Faraday,  Henry,  Morse, 
Bell,  Franklin,  and  Edison  made  great 
creative  discoveries  with  simple  equip- 
ment. Galileo  and  Newton  were  able 
to  conduct  experiments  with  very  lit- 
tle apparatus,  in  ordinary  buildings. 
Even  in  the  nineteenth  century  Lord 
Rayleigh  was  famous  for  the  skill 
with  which  he  made  observations  of 
the  greatest  precision  with  apparatus 
which  he  constructed  from  pieces  of 
wire,  wood,  and  sealing  wax. 

Sir  Francis  Bacon,  born  in  1561, 
emphasized  observation  and  experi- 
ment, rather  than  blind  acceptance  of 
tradition. 

Aristotle's  naive  assumption  that 
bodies  should  fall  with  velocities  pro- 
portional to  their  weights  was  doubted 
by  Galileo.     From  the   top  of  the 


IdeaSy  Men,  and  Things 


127 


Leaning  Tower  of  Pisa,  Galileo 
showed  by  direct  experiment  that 
Aristotle  was  wrong.  For  such  doubt 
— and  other  doubts  about  the  world, 
the  stars,  the  sun  and  planets — 
Galileo  was  arrested,  threatened  with 
death,  imprisoned  for  a  while  and 
forced  to  spend  the  rest  of  his  life  in 
seclusion. 

The  effect  of  Galileo's  experiments 
and  astronomical  observations  with  a 
telescope  was  much  greater  than  the 
mere  demonstration  of  a  new  fact 
might  be  assumed  to  be,  because  it 
tended  to  destroy  the  authority  of 
Aristotle  and  to  teach  men  that  the 
validity  of  a  fact  is  to  be  tested  by 
direct  experiment  instead  of  by  quota- 
tion of  any  authority,  however  great. 

Amateurs  and  Accideiits 

Great  truths,  great  discoveries, 
great  advances  are  not  always  made 
by  experts.  In  many  instances,  im- 
portant discoveries  in  many  branches 
of  science  were  made  and  are  now 
being  made  by  amateurs.  Great  ad- 
vances in  science  have  arisen  from  a 
study  of  simple  phenomena.  New- 
ton said,  "Nature  is  pleased  with  sim- 
plicity." 

Brashear,  the  great  lens  designer 
and  polisher,  was  a  Pittsburgh  coal 
miner,  an  amateur.  He  became  a 
distinguished  scientist.  Professional 
astronomers  oftentimes  came  to  him 
for  expert  advice. 

Priestley  was  a  devout  minister, 
not  a  trained  chemist;  yet  he  dis- 
covered oxN'gen. 

Michael  Faraday,  often  called  the 
greatest  experimenter  of  all  time,  and 
one  of  the  illustrous  names  in  electri- 
cal science,  had  no  formal  training, 
no  academic  degrees.  As  a  boy  of 
humble  heritage  he  was  a  janitor  and 


bottle  washer  in  the  laboratory  of 
Sir  Humphrey  Davy.  Davy  once 
was  asked  what  was  his  greatest  dis- 
covery. Davy  promptly  answered: 
Michael  Faraday. 

Furthermore,  it  is  literally  true 
that  many  great  discoveries  were  ac- 
cidental. That  is  the  way  it  has  to 
be.  We  must  not  attach  any  stigma, 
any  criticism,  to  the  word  "accident." 
No  one  knows  what  is  ahead  in  the 
realm  of  basic  truth  and  phenomena; 
no  one  has  any  inside  track  to  truth. 

Of  course,  to  have  an  accident  hap- 
pen— to  discover  something  acciden- 
tally in  chemistry,  biology,  physics, 
electronics,  medicine,  etc. — one  must 
not  be  looking  at  something  but  must 
be  looking  for  something:  must  be 
alert,  must  have  an  open  mind,  must 
be  working,  experimenting,  testing, 
in  a  laboratory  or  field;  must  have 
a  sharp  wit  to  see  the  answer  nature 
is  ready  to  reveal.  Like  Mr.  Micaw- 
ber  in  David  Copperfield,  one  must 
expect  something  to  turn  up. 

To  discover  accidentally  is  not  rep- 
rehensible, is  not  an  indication  of  lazi- 
ness of  body  or  mind,  is  not  a  bit  of 
good  luck.  A  miner,  a  prospector 
does  not  strike  a  bonanza  while  play- 
ing gin  rummy.  He  goes  to  the  hills 
and  looks  for  gold,  silver,  coal,  gas. 
and  oil.  A  scientist  does  not  acciden- 
tally— in  the  generally  accepted  sense 
of  that  term — make  a  great  discov- 
ery while  playing  golf.  After  all, 
Isaac  Walton  made  no  significant  sci- 
entific discovery  while  angling. 

Oftentimes  the  very  new  appears 
absurd  or  contrary  to  common  sense. 
We  must  not  be  too  quick  to  scoff  at 
the  seeming  absurdity  of  a  new  idea, 
lest  we  miss  the  possible  validity  of 
that  new  idea.  Both  the  quantum 
theory  of  Planck  and  the  relativity 


128 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


theory  of  Einstein  seemed  to  be 
completely  absurd  when  introduced. 
Fowler  wrote,  in  1934:  "Nothing 
could  have  exceeded  the  apparently 
wild  extravagance  of  de  Broglie's 
first  work  on  electron  waves  which 
led  directly  to  quantum  mechanics." 

What  appears  to  be  classical 
through  the  years  may  be  nonsensical 
tomorrow.  What  appears  to  be 
iconoclastic  today  may  be  eternal 
truth  tomorrow. 

Mother  Nature  is  not  a  garrulous, 
kindly  lady  in  lavender  and  old  lace. 
She  is  a  sphinx;  she  zealously  guards 
her  broad,  basic  truths,  her  elemental 
phenomena.  She  locks  them  in  strong 
boxes.  The  jewels  in  her  treasure 
chest  are  not  presented  on  a  silver 
platter.  To  find  the  keys,  to  unlock 
the  chest,  the  scientist  must  have 
curiosity,  determination,  imagination, 
and  intelligence. 

One  example  is  often  worth  a 
dozen  arguments.  I  shall  therefore 
no  longer  recite  generalities,  but  shall 
offer  some  concrete  examples  which 
are  pertinent  to  the  thesis,  "Ideas, 
Men,  and  Things." 

Gregor  Mendel  and  His  Garden  Peas 

The  story  of  the  great  research  of  an  al- 
most unknown  Austrian  biologist,  a  monk, 
Gregor  Mendel  by  name,  is  a  thrilling  one. 

Mendel  worked  with  edible  peas  which 
he  grew  in  the  garden  of  his  monastery. 
He  cross-bred  the  peas  differing  in  one  or 
a  few  sharply  contrasting  characters.  These 
differences  he  followed  through  generations, 
always  counting  accurately  the  number  of 
plants  showing  each  character.  He  pub- 
lished his  findings  in  an  obscure  journal  in 
1866.  His  paper  reported  important  facts 
regarding  the  character  of  offspring  as  re- 
lated to  the  character  of  the  parents. 

His  article,  "Distributive  Mechanism  of 
Organic  Inheritance,"  was  sent  to  London 


and  elsewhere,  but  scarcely  any  one  paid 
any  attention.  A  great  truth,  a  great  prin- 
ciple, lay  on  the  dusty  shelves  of  the  li- 
braries of  Europe  for  a  long  time.  A  gen- 
eration later,  in  1900,  his  paper  was  dis- 
covered independently  by  three  scientists  in 
different  parts  of  Europe.  One  of  these 
was  DeVries  of  Holland.  It  was  at  once 
realized  that  a  very  important  discovery 
had  been  made,  so  important  indeed  that 
the  study  of  heredity  is  to  this  day  often 
called  Mendelism.  The  laws  of  inherit- 
ance were  found  to  be  not  peculiar  to  the 
edible  pea  but  of  universal  application  to 
plants  and  animals,  including  man. 

No  one  would  have  guessed  that  Men- 
del's study  of  peas  in  1865  would  be  of 
utmost  importance  in  the  breeding  of  cat- 
tle in  1948. 

It  takes  so  long  for  ideas  to  grow  up. 

JOSIAH  WiLLARD   GiBBS  AND  THE 

Phase  Rule 

In  the  ROSTER  of  really  great  American 
scientists  there  is  a  man  whose  name  and 
work  are  little  known  by  the  general  pub- 
lic, even  though  chemical  and  chemical  en- 
gineering careers  are  today  the  ambition  of 
many  youths. 

Josiah  Willard  Gibbs  was  a  shy,  retir- 
ing, studious  lad  at  Yale  about  1858.  He 
loved  the  classics  in  Latin  and  Greek. 
After  a  while  his  interest  turned  to  chem- 
istry, particularly  to  physical  chemistry. 
He  did  not  like  test  tubes,  crucibles  and 
malodorous  gases  too  well.  Theoretical 
considerations  challenged  his  talent  more 
than  things  in  a  laboratory. 

In  1876  he  published  a  paper  in  an  ob- 
scure journal  of  the  Connecticut  Academy 
of  Science.  This  paper  was  entitled  "On 
the  Equilibrium  of  Heterogeneous  Sub- 
stances." Few  physical  scientists  knew  of 
the  paper,  and  those  who  did  know  of  it 
did  not  recognize  its  real  worth.  A  quar- 
ter of  a  century  passed.  Then  a  German 
chemist,  Ostwald,  in  1891  translated  the 
paper  into  German;  and  later,  in  1900, 
Roozeboom  did  experimental  work  carried 
out  on  the  basis  of  Gibbs'  principles.    The 


I94B 


IdeaSy  Men,  and  Things 


1 19 


principle  called  the  Phase  Rule  is  now  rec- 
ognized as  of  the  highest  value  in  the  great 
chemical  industries  of  the  world  today. 

Salt,  water  and  coal — three  components 
in  a  chemical  plant — may  be  in  different 
phases  such  as  gaseous,  liquid,  and  solid 
under  different  degrees  of  freedom  such  as 
temperature,  pressure,  and  concentration. 
How  various  components,  different  phases, 
and  varying  degrees  of  freedom  must  be 
interrelated  and  controlled  to  produce  an 
alloy,  a  plastic,  or  a  synthetic  textile,  is 
specified  by  Gibbs'  Phase  Rule. 

The  really  important  aspect  of  Gibbs' 
Phase  Rule  is  not  the  things  involved,  but 
the  principles :  the  concept,  the  understand- 
ing. 

An  idea  tried  so  hard  to  be  born  in  1876. 
A  quarter  of  a  century  elapsed  before 
Gibbs'  Phase  Rule  received  the  recognition 
it  so  richly  deserved. 

Roentgen  and  X-Rays 

1946  WAS  THE  5OTH  ANNIVERSARY  of  the 

discovery  of  X-rays  in  1896.  That  dis- 
covery marked  the  brilliant  dawn  of  the 
present  electronic  era. 

Prior  to  Roentgen's  notable  discovery, 
Morgan,  Faraday,  Hittorf,  Geissler, 
Crookes,  and  Lenard  had  been  studying 
conduction  of  electricity  through  gases  at 
low  pressures  in  glass  tubes.  As  early  as 
1785,  William  Morgan,  in  a  paper  before 
the  Royal  Society,  referred  to  the  glow 
that  could  be  obtained  when  electricity  was 
passed  through  an  evacuated  vessel. 

The  first  systematic  and  thorough  re- 
search on  electrical  conductivity  through 
gases  was  that  of  Faraday,  in  1836.  In 
1869,  Hittorf  published  further  investiga- 
tions on  electrical  conductivity  in  gases. 
Crookes  did  a  great  deal  of  research,  and 
called  the  cathode  ra)rs  in  his  tubes,  now 
accepted  as  electrons,  the  fourth  state  of 
matter. 

In  1896,  Roentgen  covered  the  Hittorf- 
Crookes  tube  with  a  piece  of  black  paper 
in  a  study  of  the  cathode  raj^ — electrons, 
as  we  call  them  today.     When  this  was 


done,  something  extraordinary  happened. 
Some  fluorescent  crystals  glowed  brilliantly. 
The  room  was  dark,  paper  covered  the 
Crookes'  tube;  yet  some  kind  of  light,  a 
new  kind  of  light  as  it  were,  caused  the 
fluorescent  crystals  to  glow.  Then  Roent- 
gen noticed  that  the  new  kind  of  light  pene- 
trated the  paper  and  pasteboard  cover  about 
some  photographic  plates  and  blackened 
them.  The  new  kind  of  light  had  gone 
through  opaque  material. 

There  was  no  theory  that  predicated  the 
existence  of  the  X-rays.  They  were  the 
result  of  man's  study  of  electrical  phe- 
nomena dating  back  many  years.  Perhaps 
Morgan,  previously  mentioned,  produced 
X-rays  one  hundred  years  before  but  had 
not  realized  it.  Hittorf  and  Crookes  cer- 
tainly produced  X-rays  hundreds  of  times. 
Crookes  actually  fogged  a  box  of  photo- 
graphic plates  in  his  laboratory  about  1886. 
At  that  time  he  wrote  to  the  London  firm 
who  had  sold  him  the  plates  and  complained 
that  the  plates  were  defective.  When  he 
heard  of  Roentgen's  discovery,  he  realized 
that  the  allegedly  defective  plates  had  been 
blackened  by  X-rays  from  his  own  vacuum 
tubes.  He  did  not  have  the  apperceptive 
wit  to  observe  the  answer  nature  had  laid 
before  him. 

Roentgen  had  made  a  startling,  a  brand 
new,  a  really  momentous  discovery.  When 
asked  by  friends:  "What  were  your  im- 
pressions; what  were  your  inward  reac- 
tions when  you  realized  you  had  found  a 
new  kind  of  radiation;  what  did  you 
think?"  Roentgen  cogently  replied,  "I 
didn't  think,  I  investigated." 

The  nature  of  the  new  radiation  was 
not  known,  and  could  not  be  fitted  into 
the  pattern  of  contemporaneous  knowledge. 
Hence  they  were  called  X-rays.  For  many 
years  nature  kept  her  secret,  even  though 
skillful  investigators  kept  pelting  her  with 
questions.  X-rays  could  not  be  bent,  like 
light  waves,  through  a  lens.  They  seemed 
to  defj'  any  attempts  to  be  diffracted. 

Then  in  19 12 — two  score  years  later — 
Max  von  Laue  used  the  closely  packed  and 
regularly  arranged  atoms  of  a  quartz  crys- 


IJO 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


tal  as  a  diffraction  grating.  Then  X-rays 
became  a  member  of  the  electromagnetic 
family.  They  were  very  short  waves. 
Their  longer  brothers  were  ultra-violet 
light,  visible  light,  heat  waves  and  radio 
waves.  Their  wavelength  was  one  five- 
thousandth  that  of  light. 

For  a  hundred  years  men  were  on  the 
brink  of  discovery  of  X-rays.  Ideas  try  so 
very  hard  to  be  born;  it  seems  that  basic 
discoveries  need  to  be  nurtured  for  many 
years  in  the  cradle  of  time. 

Radio  Waves  and  the  Electro- 
magnetic Spectrum 

Newton,  perhaps  the  greatest  scientist  of 
all  time,  did  a  most  beautiful  experiment 
when  he  sent  a  beam  of  light  through  a 
prism.  The  white  light  was  split  into 
seven  lovely  colors:  red,  orange,  yellow, 
green,  blue,  indigo,  violet.  The  beauty  of 
the  rainbow,  the  raindrops  separating  the 
sunlight  into  brilliant  colors,  took  on  an 
even  greater  beauty:  that  of  understand- 
ing. Visible  colors,  ultra-violet  light  re- 
vealed by  fluorescent  minerals,  and  heat 
waves — all  appeared  to  be  members  of  one 
family. 

But  what  was  the  physical,  the  innate 
nature  of  these  waves?  What  was  the 
quality  of  this  family? 

The  answer  was  supplied  by  J.  Clerk 
Maxwell  in  1865.  He  studied  mathe- 
matically the  propagation  of  electric  and 
magnetic  forces  in  space,  and  found  the 
velocity  of  propagation  to  be  identical 
with  the  known  velocity  of  light.  He  set 
forth  the  brand  new  idea  that  light  waves 
were  really  electromagnetic  waves;  radio 
waves,  as  we  say  today.  Thus  he  con- 
sidered visible  light  as  a  restricted  portion 
of  a  broad  array  of  radiation  of  different 
wave  lengths  and  frequency.  He  pre- 
dicted that  longer  waves  might  exist  which 
would  be  far  too  long  to  be  seen  by  the  eye 
but  which  could  conceivably  be  produced 
and  detected  by  other  means,  perhaps  by 
distinctively  electrical  techniques. 

Here  was  a  great  question  put  to  na- 
ture, put  to  man  to  investigate. 


Again,  as  in  other  fields  of  research,  al- 
most a  quarter  of  a  century  elapsed  before 
the  right  key  was  found  to  unlock  a  par- 
ticular drawer  in  nature's  treasure  chest, 
which  contained  the  jewel  Maxwell 
thought  was  there.  In  1887,  Heinrich 
Hertz  confirmed  experimentally  Maxwell's 
theory.  Radio  waves  are  sometimes  ap- 
propriately called  Hertzian  waves.  The 
radio  waves  produced  and  detected  by 
Hertz  were  what  we  today  call  short 
waves.  His  radio  waves  were  ten  feet 
long,  100  million  cycles  per  second  in  fre- 
quency. Also  he  experimented  with  shorter 
waves:  about  two  feet  long,  500  million 
cycles  per  second  in  frequency. 

Fifteen  years  after  Hertz,  very  long 
waves  were  used  by  Marconi.  Medium- 
long  waves  were  used  for  broadcasting 
thirty  years  after  Hertz. 

1887  to  1937  is  fifty  years.  And  this 
half  century  had  to  be  eked  out  before  the 
short  waves  of  Hertz  were  put  to  use  by 
man  for  communication. 

The  electro-magnetic  family  is  a  great 
family  of  vibrations ;  there  are  about  eighty 
octaves  of  them.  The  entire  gamut  of 
these  eighty  octaves  has  been  experimen- 
tally investigated.  Long  heat  waves  have 
met  short  radio  waves.  Ultra-violet  waves 
have  met  X-rays  and  X-rays  have  met  the 
gamma  waves  emitted  by  radium.  In  the 
realm  of  electric  power  and  communica- 
tions electric  waves,  thirty  octaves  of  them, 
ranging  from  25  cycles  per  second  to 
30,000  million  cycles  per  second,  are  play- 
ing a  role  in  the  business  and  social  af- 
fairs of  man. 

Maxwell  and  Hertz,  with  their  great 
analytical  talent  and  experimental  skill, 
had  fashioned  a  great  amphitheatre  of  un- 
derstanding out  of  which  opened  many 
doors. 

It  took  a  long  time  for  the  first  short 
radio  waves  ever  produced  to  get  into  the 
affairs  of  men  and  carry  speech,  music,  and 
television  over  land  and  sea. 

Electronics  M 

More  than  a  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago, 
Dufay,  in  France,  observed  that  an  object 


1948 


Ideas,  Men,  and  Things 


131 


charged  with  electricity — a  piece  of  sulphur 
that  had  been  rubbed  with  a  woolen  cloth, 
a  glass  rod  rubbed  with  silk — lost  that 
charge  more  rapidly  when  hot  than  when 
cold.  Why  this  was  true,  no  one  hazarded 
a  guess. 

When  Edison  was  developing  the  in- 
candescent electric  light  in  1880,  he  was 
bedeviled  with  a  strange  phenomenon. 
That  the  hot  filament  of  his  light  was 
actually  boiling  out  billions  of  charges  of 
electricity  was  not  ever  dreamed  of  by 
Edison,  perhaps  the  greatest  inventor  of 
all  times.  He  was  pestered  by  an  unknown 
phenomenon.  He  thought  so  little  of  the 
annoying  and  seemingly  useless  effect  he 
encountered  that  he,  a  great  inventor  seek- 
ing to  patent  everything  he  could,  not  only 
made  known  his  observations  to  a  visitor 
from  England,  Sir  William  Preece,  but 
also  made  some  extra  lamp  bulbs  and  gave 
them  to  Preece  to  take  home  and  study  at 
his  leisure. 

It  took  two-score  years  for  John  Am- 
brose Fleming  to  develop  a  useful  electri- 
cal device,  the  Fleming  valve,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  effect  which  had  pestered 
Edison.  In  the  years  to  come,  the  Edison 
effect,  so  called — the  emission  of  electrons 
by  a  hot  object — ^which  Edison  did  not 
think  enough  of  to  investigate  further, 
will  be  considered  one  of  his  greatest  dis- 
coveries. 

Prior  to  Edison's  observation  and  Flem- 
ing's making  of  an  electronic  rectifier, 
charges  of  electricity  had  been  pulled  out  of 
a  cold  cathode  by  sheer  brute  force  of  a 
high  voltage.  But  Fleming,  J.  J.  Thom- 
son, and  O.  W.  Richardson,  at  Princeton 
about  1915,  rationalized  Edison's  observa- 
tion. It  was  discovered  that  incandescently 
hot  objects  did  in  generous  fashion  what 
Dufay  observed  over  a  hundred  years  be- 
fore: electrons,  negative  charges  of  elec- 
tricity, seemed  to  take  their  departure 
spontaneously  from  the  hot  filament. 

Before  these  observations  and  the  ra- 
tionalization of  them,  no  one  had  the 
imagination  to  predict  that  charges  of  elec- 
tricity could  exist  as  such,  separate  from 


an  atom  of  matter.  The  first  device  utiliz- 
ing this  brand  new  concept  was  the  Flem- 
ing valve,  or  rectifier.  By  it  alternating 
current  could  be  converted  to  direct  cur- 
rent. It  gave  promise  of  being,  like  a 
piece  of  natural  crystal,  a  detector  of  radio 
waves.  Today,  great  electronic  rectifiers 
are  used  in  telephony  and  broadcasting  and 
television  to  change  high-voltage  electronic 
alternating  currents  to  high-voltage  direct 
currents. 

After  Fleming  and  his  two-electrode 
valve,  a  diode,  DeForest  made  his  brilliant 
invention  of  the  three-electrode  valve. 

Following  DeForest  came  the  brilliant 
researches  of  H,  D.  Arnold  of  the  Bell 
Telephone  Laboratories  and  Irving  Lang- 
muir  of  the  General  Electric  Company. 
Greatly  improved  vacuum  pumps  made  it 
possible  for  Arnold  and  Langmuir  to  in- 
vestigate, thoroughly  understand,  and  con- 
trol the  performance  of  electrons,  unham- 
pered by  association  with  molecules  of  gas, 
in  a  very  highly  evacuated  glass  bulb. 
Nowadays  we  have  four-electrode  valves, 
tetrodes ;  and  five-electrode  valves,  pentodes. 
We  have  greatly  improved  X-ray  tubes, 
cathode  ray  tubes,  television  tubes,  and 
millions  of  vacuum  tubes  in  wire  and 
radio  communications — all  electronic  tubes. 

So  years  after  the  first  observations  in 
1880,  an  annoying  phenomenon,  not  under- 
stood, turns  out  to  be  one  of  the  really 
great  observations  of  all  time  in  the  field 
of  electricity. 

There  is  no  source  of  electricity  in  na- 
ture except  the  intractable  lightning  flash 
and  the  phenomenon  of  static  electricity, 
which  even  today  have  very  little  applica- 
tion to  the  needs  and  wants  of  man. 

But  electrons — infinitesimally  small, 
negative  charges  of  electricity — are  made 
to  do  our  bidding  in  glass  bulbs.  Some- 
times the  bulbs  are  almost  perfectly  evacu- 
ated; sometimes  the  bulbs  are  filled  with 
gases — neon,  nitrogen,  mercury  vapor. 

No  idea,  no  field  of  understanding,  no 
principles,  no  know-how  has  spent  a  greater 
period  in  the  cradle  of  time  than  has  the 
science  of  electronics.     No  field  of  phjrsics, 


132 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


of  electrical  engineering,  has  borne  greater 
fruits,  made  possible  more  and  finer  appli- 
cation to  the  affairs  of  man  than  the  open- 
ing of  nature's  treasure  chest  which  con- 
tained the  jewel  of  electronics.  Many  at- 
tempts were  made  over  a  long  period  of 
years  by  many  men  in  many  different  coun- 
tries to  find  the  keys.  Conspicuous  success 
has  been  achieved. 

It  seems  that  basic  phenomena,  ideas,  and 
techniques  have  to  be  nestled  for  so  many 
years  before  they  even  try  their  wings. 

Piezo-Electricity 

Electricity — positive  and  negative 
charges — is  present  in  all  things  at  all 
times;  it  is  here,  there,  and  everywhere. 
Every  substance  and  every  object  in  the 
universe  consists  of  a  vast  and  turbulent 
array  of  electrical  charges. 

Electricity  is  not,  in  its  own  right,  a  use- 
ful commodity  in  everyday  life.  It  is  not 
like  air,  water,  metals,  food,  flowers. 
Rather,  it  is  the  amazing  quality  of  elec- 
tricity to  enter  into  entangling  alliances 
with  various  forms  of  power  and  energy 
that  entitles  it  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the 
greatest  servants  of  man.  Electricity  is  not 
power,  not  energy.  Electricity  has  but  one 
role  to  play  in  the  affairs  of  man:  to  act  as 
the  number  one  intermediary  in  the  various 
interrelations  of  power  involved  in  heat, 
sound,  light,  chemical  and  mechanical 
power. 

In  giant  electric  generators,  mechanical 
power  derived  from  heat  and  water  power 
twists  an  armature  round  and  round. 
Power  in  an  electro-magnetic  form,  really 
in  the  form  of  electro-magnetic  waves,  is 
thus  available  to  be  guided  by  wires  to  fac- 
tory and  home,  to  be  translated  back  into 
heat  and  work,  and  of  course  to  produce 
light  too. 

However,  there  is  one  most  interesting 
and  striking  method  whereby  mechanical 
power  can  be  changed  directly  to  electrical 
power.  No  intermediate  apparatus,  like 
the  generators  of  a  power  station  or  the 
dynamic  microphone  of  communication,  is 
necessary. 


This  direct  manner  of  changing  me- 
chanical power  to  electrical  power  is  pos- 
sible because  of  the  innate  quality  of  many 
types  of  natural  crystal,  like  this  quartz 
crystal  I  have  in  my  hand.  If  I  give  this 
crystal  a  mechanical  blow,  a  pull,  a  squeeze, 
a  twist,  one  face  will  be  charged  positively, 
another  face  negatively.  The  Greeks  had 
a  name  for  it,  "piezo"  or  pressure  elec- 
tricity.* 

Crystals  were  observed  to  have  electrical 
properties  centuries  ago.  A  history  of  elec- 
tricity was  written  in  1767  by  Joseph 
Priestley,  discoverer  of  oxygen.  In  this 
history,  Priestley  talks  about  the  electricity 
of  the  tourmaline.  Tourmaline  is  a  natu- 
ral crystal. 

In  1828  Andre  Becquerel  described  ex- 
periments in  which  mechanical  stress  was 
applied  to  quartz  and  other  crystals  to  pro- 
duce an  electric  charge. 

Pierre  Curie  and  his  brother  Paul  stud- 
ied piezo-electricity  and  published  their 
findings  in  1880.  It  was  they  who  first 
thoroughly  investigated  and  rationalized 
the  pressure-electric  effect. 

Another  jewel,  literally  as  well  as  fig- 


*  At  this  point  an  experimental  demonstration 
of  converting  mechanical  energy  to  electrical 
energy  and  vice  versa  was  presented. 

A  rochelle  salt  crystal  was  given  a  heavy 
blow  with  a  mallet.  A  two-foot  neon  tube  in 
spiral  form  was  momentarily  lighted  by  the 
electrical   charge   from   the   crystal. 

The  same  crystal  was  then  connected  to  an 
amplifier  and  loudspeaker.  A  vibrating  tuning 
fork  was  placed  on  the  crystal  mounting,  with 
the  result  that  its  tone  could  readily  be  heard 
by  the  listeners.  The  tick  of  a  watch  was  made 
audible  to  the  audience. 

The  crystal  was  finally  placed  against  the 
throat  near  the  vocal  chords.  The  vibrating 
vocal  chords  activated  the  crystal  so  that  it 
could  serve  as  a  microphone.  Intelligible  speech 
was  thus  emitted  from  the  public  address  system. 

To  illustrate  the  direct  conversion  of  electrical 
energy  to  mechanical,  a  vacuum  tube  oscillator 
with  its  alternating  charge  was  connected  to  a 
quartz  crystal  wafer.  Audible  sound  due  to  the 
vibrating  crystal  was  emitted.  By  touching  the 
crystal  with  a  bit  of  cotton  on  a  small  stick  of 
wood,  the  sound  stopped.  The  vibrating  crystal 
was  thus  illustrated  to  be  the  source  of  mechani- 
cal vibrations,  of  sound.  A  tone  of  2000  cycles 
per  second  and  another  of  4CKX}  cycles  per  sec- 
ond were  used. 


1948 


Ideas,  Men,  and  Things 


133 


uratively,  was  now  found  in  nature's  treas- 
ure chest. 

Generally  speaking,  the  piezo-electric  ef- 
fect remained  a  curiosity — a  useless,  inter- 
esting phenomenon  of  the  physicist's  lab- 
oratory— for  thirty-five  years. 

Then,  during  the  war  of  1914-1918, 
Langevin  of  France  made  some  brilliant 
attempts  to  use  quartz  crj'stals  as  a  source 
of  sound  in  submarine  detection  by  the  echo 
method  under  water. 

In  the  1920s,  Professor  Pierce  of  Har- 
vard and  Professor  Cady  of  Wesleyan  Uni- 
versity made  conspicuous  contributions. 

In  recent  years,  a  number  of  researches 
in  the  Bell  Telephone  Laboratories  have 
resulted  in  a  most  comprehensive  under- 
standing of  the  properties  and  of  the  cut- 
ting of  crj'stals  for  communication  pur- 
poses. Synthetic  piezo-electric  crystals  are 
now  made  which,  in  some  respects,  have 
characteristics  comparable  to  natural  quartz 
crystals. 

Synthetic  crystals  are  grown  from  seeds 
placed  in  a  chemical  solution.  It  takes  a 
few  weeks  or  so  for  a  crystal  such  as  this 
one  in  my  hand  to  grow.  It  perhaps  took 
centuries  for  the  seeds  of  quartz  crystals  to 
grow  in  nature's  own  laboratory.  Seeds  of 
observation  and  understanding  were  found 
in  connection  with  piezo-electric  crystals 
over  one  hundred  years  ago.  It  took  a  very 
long  time  for  these  seeds  to  grow.  Who 
would  ever  have  dreamed,  one  hundred 
years  ago,  that  a  shimmering  sheet  of  rock 
would  play  a  part  in  an  electrical  system 
to  keep  almost  perfect  account  of  seconds? 
Who,  one  hundred  years  ago,  would  have 
had  the  temerity  to  predict  that  mechani- 
cally vibrating  plates  of  rock  would  play  an 
electrical  role  in  the  drama  of  sending 
articulate  speech  and  beautiful  music  to 
millions  of  homes  by  radio  broadcasting 
stations  and  in  helping  to  guide  and  dis- 
tribute hundreds  of  telephone  messages  to 
the  proper  person  or  business  office  after 
they  had  traveled  simultaneously  over  a 
single  pair  of  wires  from  a  distant  city? 


Epilogue 

The  path  to  ideas,  to  understand- 
ing, is  not  easy,  is  not  rapid,  is  not  a 
royal  road.  In  what  I  have  told 
about  a  number  of  great  scientists 
and  the  ideas  they  evolved,  and  the 
things  they  helped  produce  in  usable 
form,  you  will  readily  subscribe  to 
the  thought  already  stated  several 
times:  "Ideas  try  very  hard  to  be 
born."  It  takes  a  long  time  for  a 
youth  to  grow  up.  It  also  takes  a 
long  time  for  ideas  to  grow  up.  It 
seems  that  so  many  ideas  have  to  be 
nurtured  so  very  long  in  the  cradle  of 
time.  Sometimes  ideas  do  not  seem 
ever  to  grow  up. 

You  will  agree  with  Browning  who 
wrote :  "Ah,  but  a  man's  reach  should 
exceed  his  grasp  or  what's  a  Heaven 
for?" 

The  really  basic  problem  is  one  of 
ideas,  concepts,  principles;  of  know- 
how,  of  intangibles,  imponderables. 
The  quintessence  of  the  problem  is 
spiritual. 

Mind  you,  I  do  not  say  theological. 
I  mean  the  deep  and  broad  ethical 
and  spiritual  values;  I  mean  the 
eternal  verities. 

To  solve  this  problem  effectively 
means  education,  the  promotion  of 
concepts  of  tolerance  and  forbear- 
ance, of  world-wide  understanding — 
a  philosophy,  if  you  will.  We  must 
be  right  in  our  minds,  in  our  attitudes, 
to  prevent  all  the  physical  things  we 
have  made  from  becoming  Franken- 
stein monsters  which  destroy.  They 
can  be  blessings,  which  make  for  hap- 
piness. What  they  are  and  what  they 
become  depends  on  our  spirit. 

Things  may  be  destroyed;  struc- 
tures may  be  broken  down  by  storms 
and     earthquakes;     trains     may     be 


134 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


wrecked;  airplanes  may  crash  in  fog; 
bridges  may  be  torn  from  their  foot- 
ings by  a  rushing  torrent  of  water 
and  ice.  Telephone  cables  and  radio 
antennas  may  be  broken  down  by  ice ; 
a  telephone  central  office  connecting 
thousands  of  subscribers  may  be 
ruined  by  a  fire. 

These  are  all  great  disasters.  But, 
after  all,  only  things  are  involved. 
The  knowledge,  the  know-how,  the 
principles  of  mechanics,  the  great 
truths  of  design  and  manufacture,  the 
basic  understanding  of  chemistry,  of 
electrical  principles  and  of  electronics, 
are  still  in  the  minds  and  experience 
of  men.  In  the  treatises  and  in  the 
books  written  and  published  by  men. 
These  latter  cannot  be  lost,  cannot  be 
destroyed.  They  are  permanent,  dur- 
able, everlasting;  even  more  everlast- 
ing than  the  hills. 

The  advances  of  electrical  commu- 
nication by  wire  and  radio  will  not  of 
themselves  make  for  better  under- 
standing among  the  races  of  the 
world.     If  people  are  tolerant,  con- 


siderate, are  disposed  to  be  friendly, 
World-wide  communications  may  help. 
But  if  races  are  disposed  to  be  mad, 
inconsiderate,  obstinate,  unwilling  to 
try  to  understand  others,  rapid  com- 
munication may  excite  more  hatred, 
stir  more  stubborn  obstinacy,  more 
misunderstanding. 

But  scientists  are  basically  opti- 
mists. They,  as  well  as  other  fine 
folks  in  all  walks  of  life — in  business, 
in  education,  in  the  professions  and 
in  the  church — have  faith  in  man's 
basic  and  innate  goodness.  The  com- 
munications research  and  operating 
workers  get  a  bit  of  a  lift  and  heart- 
warming satisfaction  in  realizing  that 
they  have  learned  how  to  send,  on 
the  fantastically  swift  wings  of  elec- 
tric waves  over  wires  and  radio,  the 
words,  the  languages,  the  music  and 
the  pictures  of  man  to  the  far  curves 
of  the  world.  They  like  to  believe 
with  Pasteur  that,  in  the  long  run, 
through  the  years,  ugliness  and  igno- 
rance will  be  wiped  out  by  beauty 
and  understanding. 


The  Greatest  Communication  Network 

in  History 


The  following  statement  of  the  special  Bell  System  facilities 
provided  at  the  Republican  and  Democratic  National  Conven- 
tions in  Philadelphia  earlier  in  the  summer  was  made  on  the 
Telephone  Hour  radio  broadcast  of  June  21. — Editor. 


Tonight  the  eyes  and  ears  of  the  nation 
are  turned  toward  historic  Philadelphia, 
where  in  its  huge  Convention  Hall  an 
event  of  importance  to  all  Americans  is 
taking  place — the  national  convention  of  a 
major  political  party. 

We'd  like  to  tell  you  about  a  few  of  the 
things  the  Bell  System  has  done  to  pro- 
vide for  the  Philadelphia  conventions — 
probably  the  broadest  communications  cov- 
erage in  our  history.  Millions  of  Ameri- 
cans will  hear  the  activities  on  their  radios ; 
hundreds  of  thousands  will  view  them  on 
television  sets;  practically  all  of  us  will 
read  the  latest  reports  in  our  favorite  news- 
papers. 

Miles  of  wire,  temporarj'  switchboards, 
cable,  and  other  needed  equipment  have 
been  furnished  by  the  Bell  System  to  meet 
the  nation's  requirements  for  television, 
radio,  telephoto,  and  press  services,  in  ad- 
dition to  the  usual  heavj'  telephone  traffic. 
All  told,  some  70  special  or  additional  serv- 
ices have  been  provided. 

Months  of  preparation  preceded  today's 
first  session  in  Philadelphia's  Convention 
Hall.  Hundreds  of  telephone  people — 
engineers,  installers,  linemen,  operators — 
working  in  close  coordination,  planned,  in- 


stalled and  are  now  maintaining  and  op- 
erating this  complete  system,  one  of  our 
biggest  jobs  of  its  kind  in  70  years  of  tele- 
phone service. 

For  television,  the  Bell  System's  radio- 
relay-coaxial-cable  network  linking  seven 
East  Coast  cities,  from  Boston  to  Rich- 
mond, h^  been  augmented  by  additional 
channels  in  the  coaxial  cables. 

Reporters  and  commentators  covering 
the  conventions  are  using  private  lines  con- 
necting Convention  Hall  with  individual 
newspapers  and  the  press  associations. 

News  photo  services,  with  darkrooms  in 
Convention  Hall,  are  sending  pictures  over 
telephoto  machines  linked  by  special  cir- 
cuits with  the  picture  service  networks. 

For  radio,  new  circuits  connect  studios 
and  floor  microphones  in  the  Hall  with  the 
four  major  networks  and  individual  radio 
stations. 

Mobile  public  telephone  trailers,  addi- 
tional switchboards,  and  a  large  force  of 
operators  are  already  at  work  handling 
local  and  long  distance  calls. 

Helping  to  bring  to  the  people  of  the  na- 
tion fast  first-hand  accounts  of  these  great 
events  is  another  example  of  the  many  ways 
in  which  the  Bell  System  serves  the  public 
need  and  interest. 


^mtf  2^j^\  \.i^^^ i\umui^r  irirct^  yiuiumn  1(J^6 


MAGAZINE 


Haw  Western  Electric  Serves  Telephone  Users 
Clifton  W.  Phalen 

A  Design  for  Living  •  Theresa  E.  Boden 

Sorting  Two-and-a-half  Billion  Tickets  a  Year 
Fredric  M.  Biathrow  and  F.  Raymond  Brewster 

Promoting  Safety  in  Our  Automotive  Fleet 
Erlb  S.  Miner 

Most  People  Are  Honest  •  H.  Montague  Pope 

Telephones  of  the  World  •  James  R.  McGowan 


mcan^elephme  Sr-^elembh  Company 'Newwrk. 


Bell  TelephoneA/^^W 


Autumn  1948 


How  Western  Electric  Serves  Telephone  Users, 
Clifton  W.  Phalen,  141 

A  Design  for  Living,  Theresa  E.  Boden,  148 

Telephone  City,  162 

Sorting  Two-and-a-half  Billion  Tickets  a  Year, 
Fredric  M.  Biathrow  and  F.  Raymond  Brewster,  164 

Promoting  Safety  in  Our  Automotive  Fleet, 
Erie  S.  Miner,  172 

Most  People  Are  Honest,  H.  Montague  Pope,  185 

Telephones  of  the  World,  James  R.  McGowan,   192 

Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly,  202 


^  Medium  of  Suggestion  ^  a  Record  of  Progress 

Published  for  the  supei-visory  forces  of  the  Bell  System  by  the  Information  Department  of 
American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Co.,  /p5  Broadway^  New  Yo?-k  /,  N.  Y. 
Leroy  a.  Wilson,  President;  Carroll  O.  Bickelhaupt,  Sec;  Donald  R.  Belcher,  Treas. 


An  inspector  checks  the  adjustment  of  a  unit  of  dial  switching  equipment  to  within 
thousandths  of  an  inch  before  it  leaves  Western  Electric  s  Hawthorne  Works.  Such  pre- 
cision is  an  essential  factor  in  enabling  the  Bell  System's  operating  companies  to  provide 
swift  telephone  connections  and  clear  transmission  over  distances  short  or  long.  See  the 
article  beginning  on  the  opposite  page 


As  an  Integral  Part  of  the  Bell  System^  Our  Manufacturing 

.  And  Supply  Unit  Has  a  Vital  Share  in  Providing  the  Best 

Telephone  Service  at  the  L^owest  Possible  Cost 


How  Western  Electric  Serves 
Telephone  Users 


Clifton  J4^.  Phalen 


The  job  of  the  Bell  System  is  to 
provide  good  telephone  service — the 
kind  that  causes  people  to  say  of  it, 
"That's  good.    That's  fine." 

To  help  carry  out  this  job  the 
Western  Electric  Company — the  man- 
ufacturing and  supply  unit  of  the 
System — furnishes  to  the  operating 
telephone  companies  most  of  the 
equipment  they  use.  Western  Elec- 
tric has  been  a  part  of  the  System 
for  more  than  65  years. 

How  does  this  set-up  contribute  to 
giving  telephone  users  the  kind  of 
service  they  want?  One  way  to  an- 
swer the  question  is  to  list  some  of 
the  things  that  people  have  made  it 
clear  they  want,  and  then  consider 
Western's  work  in  relation  to  each. 

First  of  all,  the  average  person 
wants  his  service  installed  as  promptly 
as  possible  after  he  has  ordered  it. 

When  he  uses  his  telephone,  he 
wants  connections  to  go  through 
quickly. 

He  wants  to  hear  easily  regardless 
of  distance. 


He  wants  dependable  service — 
steady  and  reliable. 

He  would  like  the  service  to  show 
continuous  imptovement — to  be  "up- 
to-date"  and  not  behind  the  proces- 
sion. 

And  of  course  he  wants  his  bill  to 
be  as  low  as  possible. 

Meeting  these  wants  and  expecta- 
tions is  naturally  the  purpose  of  all 
branches  of  the  Bell  System.  But  for 
the  moment,  let's  just  consider  West- 
ern Electric's  contribution. 

Providing  Service  as  Promptly 
as  Possible 

Having  Western  a  part  of  the  Sys- 
tem has  helped  tremendously  to  get 
service  to  people  as  fast  as  possible. 
Experience  since  the  war  is  a  good 
illustration. 

In  this  post-war  period  the  Bell 
companies  have  faced  an  ov^erwhelm- 
ing  demand  for  service — the  greatest 
in  history.  And  in  response  to  this 
demand  they  have  added  far  more 


142 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


As  part  of  its  post-war  expansion  to  meet  its  responsi- 
bilities to  the  Bell  System,  Western  Electric  doubled  its 
installation  of  cabling  machines  such  as  this,  each 
costing  $iyy,ooo.  The  one  pictured  here  is  twisting  i8 
cable  units  into  the  core  of  an  i8i8-pair  cable 


telephones  than  ever  before — about 
nine  million  in  three  years. 

This  is  really  a  staggering  achieve- 
ment. To  accomplish  it,  the  compa- 
nies have  had  to  obtain  and  install 
enormous  quantities  of  central  office 
and  outside  plant  apparatus  and 
equipment,  in  addition  to  the  tele- 
phones themselves.  It  is  true  that, 
in  spite  of  all  our  efforts,  many  cus- 
tomers have  had  to  wait.  But  it  is 
also  true  that  we  have  served  millions 
of  people  far  more  rapidly  than  we 
could  possibly  have  done  if  the  Sys- 


tem had  not  had  its  own 
manufacturing  and  sup- 
ply company. 

After  the  war  a  very 
great — and  very  fast — 
expansion  of  manufactur- 
ing facilities  was  needed 
to  push  the  production 
of  telephone  equipment 
up  to  unheard-of  quanti- 
ties. Just  suppose  that 
the  System  had  had  to 
rely  on  outside  manu- 
facturers. They  would 
have  had  to  weigh  care- 
fully the  long-run  risk 
to  themselves  in  ex- 
panding to  meet  our  cur- 
rent needs.  They  would 
have  had  to  balance  their 
other  opportunities,  and 
the  wants  of  their  other 
customers,  against  the 
wants  of  the  Bell  com- 
panies. It  is  inconceiv- 
able that  they  would 
have  been  willing,  to  the 
same  degree  or  with  the 
same  speed,  to  plunge 
into  the  gigantic  task 
that  Western  Electric 
undertook. 
Western  met  the  problem  head-on. 
It  immediately  expanded  manufactur- 
ing facilities  and  took  all  the  risks 
required  to  push  production  up.  The 
result  was  that  it  speedily  broke  all 
previous  production  records  by  a 
wide  margin.  By  1947  it  was  turning 
out  more  than  five  times  as  much  dial 
central  office  equipment  as  in  an  av- 
erage year  before  the  war,  nearly  ten 
times  as  many  manual  switchboards, 
and  more  than  three  times  as  much 
cable  and  wire.  Such  performance 
has  enabled  the  operating  telephone 


1948 


How  Western  Electric  Serves  Telephone  Users 


143 


companies  to  serve  mil- 
lions of  people  much 
more  quickly  than  would 
otherwise  have  been  pos- 
sible. And  if  Western 
Electric  were  not  a  part 
of  the  Bell  System,  as 
the  right  arm  is  part  of 
the  body,  it  could  not 
have  thus  accepted  its  re- 
sponsibility to  take  full 
part  in  the  telephone  job. 

Fast  Connections  and 
Clear  Transmission 

When  a  person  gets  his 
telephone,  he  wants  to 
be  able  to  reach  other 
people  quickly  and  hear 
them  easily,  whether  he 
calls  a  neighbor  across 
the  street  or  a  cousin 
across  the  country.  How 
does  Western  Electric 
help  him  to  do  so?  Let's 
see. 

Take  the  dialing  of  a 
number.  The  housewife 
who  is  calling  the  local 
grocer  probably  hasn't 
the  faintest  idea  that  by 
the  time  she  hears  the  dial  tone — 
even  before  she  turns  the  dial — an 
astonishing  number  of  electrical  con- 
nections have  been  set  up  in  perfect 
sequence,  and  with  remarkable  speed, 
so  that  she  may  proceed  to  make  the 
call.  When  the  number  is  dialed,  the 
switching  contacts  established  during 
the  next  few  seconds  may  run  into 
the  thousands.  The  movement  of 
moving  parts  must  be  rapid,  sure, 
precise.  Contacts  must  be  perfect. 
Control  must  be  exact. 

Since  all  parts  of  the  telephone  sys- 


W est  em  Electric  s  ability  to  speed  equipment  to  repair 
the  ravages  of  disaster  contributes  immeasurably  to  the 
dependability  of  Bell  System  service.  This  picture 
shows  15  tons  of  wire  and  other  material  being  loaded  for 
delivery  by  air  to  a  storm-stricken  area 


tem  are  interconnected,  every  part 
must  be  in  balance — in  tune — with 
every  other.  The  telephone  system 
is  like  an  orchestra  with  millions  of 
instruments. 

On  the  housewife's  local  call,  the 
currents  that  flow  through  the  train 
of  connections  are  infinitely  delicate 
and  must  be  kept  "just  so"  all  along 
the  line — and  this  would  be  true 
whether  the  call  traveled  two  miles, 
or  for  two  thousand  or  more. 

The  way  a  pair  of  wires  is  fastened 
on  a  pole   20  miles  east  of   Boise, 


144 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


Idaho,  helps  to  determine  how  well 
Mrs.  John  Doe  of  Walla  Walla, 
Washington,  can  hear  her  son  who 
is  calling  her  from  Tiptonville,  Ten- 
nessee. 

When  the  temperature  drops  20 
degrees  in  Amarillo,  Texas,  the  boy 
in  Los  Angeles  says  to  the  girl  in 
New  York,  "Darling,  your  voice  is 
so  wonderful"  because  a  tiny  device 
that  took  years  to  perfect  is  built  into 
the  line  and  is  automatically  compen- 
sating for  the  effect  of  temperature 
changes  on  the  flow  of  current. 

These  examples  illustrate  the  point 
that  to  provide  fast  telephone  serv- 
ice, with  good  "hearability,"  the 
equipment  used  must  be  of  the  high- 
est quality  and  built  to  exact,  uniform 
standards.  And  as  a  practical  mat- 
ter, the  design,  manufacture  and  op- 
eration of  standard  telephone  equip- 
ment can  be  best  accomplished  when 
the  designers,  the  makers,  and  the 
operating  people  work  closely  and 
continuously  together  on  the  same 
team. 

This  might  be  less  important  if 
the  equipment  needed  were  all  very 
simple,  or  were  non-specialized  in 
character.  But  it  isn't  simple,  and 
it's  highly  specialized.  To  make  it 
rightly — to  make  it  when  and  as 
needed — to  make  it  as  economically 
as  possible — requires  the  undivided 
interest  and  attention  of  the  maker, 
as  well  as  his  utmost  skill.  Likewise, 
the  equipment  must  be. economical  to 
use  and  easy  to  maintain,  and  the 
manufacturer  cannot  cut  corners  on 
quality  for  the  sake  of  reducing  his 
costs  or  increasing  profits.  The  full- 
est and  free-est  exchange  of  informa- 
tion between  designer,  maker,  and 
user — with  nothing  held  back  because 
of  differences  of  financial  interest — 


is  an  important  part  of  the  process. 
This  identity  of  interest  and  single- 
ness of  purpose  assure  the  production 
of  high  quality,  standard  equipment 
as  no  other  manufacturing  arrange- 
ments could.  They  are  the  best  guar- 
antee that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Customer, 
when  they  reach  for  the  telephone, 
will  have  at  their  disposal  the  kind 
of  apparatus  needed  for  fast  service 
and  easy-to-hear  conversation. 

Service  That  Is  Dependable 

Top-quality  equipment  is  also  of 
the  greatest  importance  in  keeping 
telephone  service  dependable  and 
free  from  interruption.  In  addition. 
Western  Electric  plays  a  vital  part 
in  maintaining  and  restoring  service 
when  emergencies  occur.  Looking 
back  only  a  few  years,  we  have  had 
hurricanes  in  the  East  and  South, 
devastating  sleet  storms  from  the  At- 
lantic Coast  to  the  Northwest,  tor- 
nadoes, floods,  explosions  and  fires 
in  the  Middle  West  and  Southwest, 
floods  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  In  every 
case,  the  work  of  Western  Electric 
in  rushing  equipment  to  the  scene  of 
action  has  immeasurably  aided  the 
task  of  restoring  service. 

This  is  partly  because  Western,  as 
a  unit  of  the  Bell  System,  maintains 
a  coast-to-coast  warehousing  and  dis- 
tributing organization  which  is  set  up 
especially  to  meet  the  day-to-day 
needs  of  the  telephone  companies  for 
apparatus  and  materials.  These  na- 
tionwide stocks  of  supplies  are  in- 
valuable when  emergencies  occur.  So 
too  is  the  fact  that  Western  Electric 
equipment  is  standardized,  and  that 
uniform  methods  for  installing,  re- 
pairing, and  operating  it  are  known 
to  Bell  System  people  everywhere. 


1948 


How  Western  Electric  Serves  Telephone  Users 


145 


But  important  above  all  is  this: 
The  organization  that  delivers  the 
equipment  and  the  organizations  that 
deliver  the  service  have  the  same  in- 
centives and  the  same  goal,  which  is 
to  meet  the  needs  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Customer  as  well  as  they  possibly 
can.  The  Western  Electric  people 
who  fly  a  plane-load  of  wire  halfway 
across  the  country  to  a  tornado-torn 
city  have  the  same  idea  as  the  tele- 
phone men  who  install  it — to  do 
swiftly  and  surely  what  the  needs  of 
the  service  require.  Trucks,  tools,  ca- 
ble, wire,  switchboards,  poles,  brains, 
arms  and  hands — from  coast  to  coast 


— are  all  organized  together  to  get 
the  job  done.  It  is  because  Western 
Electric  and  telephone  people  work 
together  as  partners  that  this  is  so. 

Helping  to  Introduce  Service 
Improvements 

Telephone  users  expect  their  serv- 
ice to  improve  as  time  goes  along, 
and  so  it  has.  The  art  of  telephony 
is  constantly  advancing.  Despite  the 
problems  caused  by  the  war,  our  serv- 
ice today  is  infinitely  better,  more  ex- 
tensive, more  useful  and  more  valu- 
able than  20  or  25  years  ago. 


These  Western  Electric  installers  are  at  work  on  the  world's  largest  No.  4  crossbar  dial 
installation^  in  New  Yorky  which  will  enable  long  distance  operators  there  to  reach 
subscribers'  telephones  in  distant  places  directly ,  without  the  help  of  other  operators  along 
the  way.   Operator  dialing  of  toll  and  long  distance  calls  is  a  major  service  improvement 


146 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


As  particular  improvements  are  in- 
troduced, a  great  variety  of  equip- 
ment— some  newer,  some  older — 
must  all  work  together  in  the  tele- 
phone plant.  This  means  that  the 
manufacturer  must  be  set  up  to  pro- 
duce many  different  designs  of  appa- 
ratus. Most  of  these  are  made  in 
small  quantities;  only  a  few  in  large 
quantities.  To  meet  the  Bell  operat- 
ing companies'  needs,  Western  Elec- 
tric turned  out  some  47,000  different 
designs  in  1947,  and  is  ready  at  any 
time  to  make  almost  as  many  more 
for  replacement  or  repair  of  appa- 
ratus already  in  use.  This  is  quite 
different  from  the  usual  mass-produc- 
tion set-up,  though  mass-production 
methods  are  of  course  used  in  making 
the  large-quantity  items. 

The  result  is  that  the  operating 
companies  can  take  full  advantage  of 
the  steady  improvement  in  the  tele- 
phone art;  they  can  continuously  and 
efficiently  introduce  new  equipment 
that  fits  in  and  works  well  with  the 
old,  and  can  avoid  making  costly 
large-scale  plant  replacements  ahead 
of  the  time  when  it  is  economical  to 
do  so.  These  economies  to  the  tele- 
phone companies  may  mean  a  loss  in 
business  to  Western  Electric — for 
example,  because  fewer  replacements 
may  be  needed  in  the  future,  or  be- 
cause more  service  can  be  rendered 
with  relatively  less  equipment.  But 
in  this  way,  Western  helps  the  op- 
erating companies  to  get  the  most  out 
of  technological  progress,  and  make 
the  maximum  improvements  and  sav- 
ings available  to  telephone  users. 

This  process  of  change  calls  for  a 
great  deal  of  very  careful  coordina- 
tion, and  as  the  telephone  plant  be- 
comes more  complex  the  need  for  co- 
ordination increases  all  the  time.   For 


instance,  take  the  work  that  is  now 
being  done  to  provide  equipment  for 
operator  dialing  of  toll  and  long  dis- 
tance calls  between  New  York  and 
many  other  cities.  At  the  present 
time  work  is  going  ahead  on  94  or- 
ders for  equipment  in  46  central  of- 
fices in  the  New  York  area  alone,  and 
on  190  more  orders  for  equipment 
scheduled  for  installation  in  98  other 
cities.  All  of  this  apparatus  must 
be  engineered,  manufactured,  and  in- 
stalled to  meet  a  cutover  date.  To 
do  this  job,  Western  Electric  must 
have,  and  does  have,  intimate  knowl- 
edge of  Bell  System  plant  every- 
where. And  the  end  result,  for  tele- 
phone users,  is  better  service. 

Keeping  the  Cost  to  the  Customer 
As  Low  as  Possible 

The  last  point  in  our  list  was  that 
people  want  their  telephone  service 
to  be  reasonable  in  cost.  The  rela- 
tionship between  Western  Electric 
and  the  Bell  System  means  that  West- 
ern shares  in  the  System  policy  of 
trying  to  give  the  best  service  at  low- 
est cost.  In  fact,  the  basic  reason 
why  Western  is  a  part  of  the  System 
is  to  insure  that  the  manufacturer  will 
center  on  meeting  the  needs  of  the 
customer,  rather  than  on  doing  busi- 
ness in  the  way  that  will  be  most  prof- 
itable to  the  manufacturer.  Types  of 
equipment  must  be  and  are  produced 
that  result  in  operating  economies  to 
the  telephone  companies,  and  hence 
in  economies  to  the  user.  That  is  the 
idea  in  a  nutshell. 

Western  Electric's  prices  to  the 
Bell  System  companies  are  substan- 
tially lower  than  the  prices  charged 
by  other  manufacturers  of  telephone 
equipment.     It  is  interesting  too  that 


1948 


How  Western  Electric  Serves  Telephone  Users 


147 


Western's  prices  to  Bell  customers 
since  the  war  have  gone  up  much  less 
than  the  rise  in  prices  generally.  In 
June,  1948,  Western's  prices  on  the 
products  it  makes  were  up  on  the  av- 
erage only  16  percent  over  the  aver- 
age price  level  for  Western-made 
products  in  the  years  1935— 1939. 
This  remarkably  small  increase  is  far 
less  than  the  average  rise  of  75  per- 
cent in  the  prices  of  all  manufactured 
goods.  And  it  has  been  accomplished 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  wage  rates 
and  raw  material  costs  have  greatly 
increased. 

These  facts  point  to  the  company's 
good  faith  and  efficiency  in  carrying 
out  a  price  policy  that  fits  in  with  the 
over-all  Bell  System  objective  of  good 
service  at  the  lowest  possible  cost. 

Still  another  test  of  the  reason- 
ableness of  Western  Electric  prices 
is  the  company's  profit  record. 

Over  the  years  the  profits  have 
been  reasonable — very  reasonable. 

In  the  entire  period  from  1925 
through  1947,  Western  earnings  av- 
eraged 7  percent  on  its  net  invest- 
ment. This  is  the  average  of  the 
good  years,  when  earnings  were 
higher,  and  the  poorer  years,  when 
earnings  were  lower  or  losses  were 
suffered.  Compared  with  Western's 
7  percent  average,  in  the  same  pe- 
riod the  50  largest  manufacturing 
companies  in  the  country,  operating 
in  competitive  markets,  earned  an  av- 
erage of  8.7  percent  on  net  invest- 
ment. 

Another  way  to  look  at  profits  in  a 
manufacturing  and  distributing  busi- 
ness is  as  a  percentage  of  total  sales. 
During  the  period  1925— 1947,  West- 
ern's earnings  were  only  3.5  percent 
of  sales,  compared  with  5.8  percent 
for  the  50  largest  manufacturers. 


From  the  record,  it  appears  that 
Western  Electric  profits  have  been  no 
more  than  reasonable,  and  that  the 
operating  companies  of  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem have  obtained  at  reasonable 
prices  the  equipment  they  need  to 
give  good  telephone  service. 

Summing  Up 

This  country  does  have  the  best 
telephone  service  in  the  world.  One 
of  the  reasons  for  this  is  that  West- 
ern Electric  has  so  well  carried  out 
its  functions  and  responsibilities  as  a 
part  of  the  Bell  System.  Under  this 
arrangement : 

— telephone  service  has  been  pro- 
vided to  the  greatest  number  of 
people  with  the  greatest  possible 
speed 

— equipment  of  the  highest  quality, 
precision,  and  durability  has  been 
manufactured  to  uniform  stand- 
ards 

— the  reliability  of  telephone  service 
has  been  enhanced  and  emergen- 
cies have  been  met  with  unusual 
speed 

— full  advantage  has  been  taken  of 
scientific  progress  in  an  orderly  and 
economical  way 

— prices  and  profits  of  the  supply 
company  have  been  kept  reason- 
able and  the  cost  of  service  to  the 
user  held  down. 

This  has  all  been  accomplished 
through  the  operations  of  a  manu- 
facturing and  supply  organization 
working  not  toward  a  separate  end 
of  its  own  but  as  a  unit  of  the  Sys- 
tem and  toward  the  same  end  as  the 
telephone  companies — the  satisfac- 
tion of  people  everywhere  who  use 
our  service. 


A  Program  to  Enable  Bell  System  Women  to  Discover  Within 

Themselves  Interests  and  Resources  through  Which  to  Enrich 

Their  Eives  Is  Actively  in  Progress 


A  Design  for  Living 


Theresa  E.  Boden 


Health  is  not  merely  the  absence  of  illness.  Body,  mind,  and  spirit 
form  the  whole  being,  and  to  be  healthy,  a  person  must  be  happy. 
To  be  happy,  an  individual  needs  some  variety  of  interests,  and  it 
is  toward  discovering  these  that  the  Design  for  Living  program  is 
directed.  Through  Design  for  Living  may  be  developed  a  more 
nearly  self-sufficient  person,  free  from  the  frustrations  and  emo- 
tional imbalances  which,  we  recognize  today,  contribute  seriously 
to  many  illnesses.  We  in  the  medical  field  believe  that  personnel 
activities  such  as  Miss  Boden  describes  are  an  integral  and  impor- 
tant part  of  a  program  of  preventive  medicine  which  should  be 
our  greatest  contribution  to  the  business. 

Melville  H.  Manson,  M.D. 
Medical  Director,  A.  T.  &  T.  Co. 


The  need  for  social  growth  of  the  The  story  of  "A  Design  for  Liv- 
individual,  and  for  the  achievement  ing — Program  for  Self-Develop- 
of  personal  satisfactions,  is  being  rec-  ment"  is  the  story  of  how  the  Bell 
ognized  today  as  a  fundamental  ele-  System  has  pioneered  in  providing 
ment  in  the  sum  total  of  life's  fulfill-  opportunity  for  its  400,000  and  more 
ment.  Some  individuals  reveal  the  women  to  discover  the  talents  and  re- 
need  in  a  pattern  of  living  which  lacks  sources  within  themselves  which  en- 
zest,  enthusiasm,  and  real  happiness,  able  them  to  get  more  out  of  life  and 
Others  bring  their  frustrations  and  to  be  successful  in  their  relations  with 
conflicts  to  work  with  them.     Some  others. 

are   vaguely   conscious   of    inner    re-  The  program  consists,  in  skeletal 

sources    but    lack    the    incentive    or  outline,    of    a    series   of   ten   weekly 

knowledge  to  explore.    The  search  is  meetings,  at  each  of  which  a  small 

for  a  satisfying  pattern  of  life.  group  of  ten  or  a  dozen  persons  sit 


A  Design  for  Living 


149 


Colorful  publicity  helps  to  get  a  Design  for  Living  program  off  to  a  good  start.     The 

poster  and  the  enrollment  card  were  used  in  the  Ohio  company;  the  leaflets  ( from  top  to 

bottom)  in  the  New  York,  Chesapeake  &  Potomac,  and  Michigan  companies 


around  a  conference  table  with  a 
group  leader  and  discuss  a  selected 
topic  of  common  interest.  In  the 
process  of  discussion  occurs  the 
search  for,  and  appraisal  of,  individ- 
ual potentialities.  A  plan  for  self- 
development  takes  on  additional 
meaning  and  shape  with  each  discus- 
sion. 

How   enthusiastically  our  women 


have  responded  to  this  program  may 
be  gathered  from  some  of  the  com- 
ments overheard  throughout  the  Sys- 
tem. 

Says  a  young  commercial  repre- 
sentative: "So  many  ideas  hatch  and 
are  buried;  enthusiasms  lose  them- 
selves unless  there  is  a  means  of  ex- 
pressing them  and  following  them  up. 
Design    for    Living    furnishes    that 


I50 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


Design  For  Living  Activity  Introduced 


Group  Leaders  who  recently  attended  a  training  conference  held  at  the  Shoreham  Hotel, 
Washinfton,  D.  C,  under  the  direction  of  Miss  Frances  C.  Greene  of  the  American  Tele- 
phone and  Telegraph  Company  take  time  oat  to  have  their  picture  taken.    These  girls  will 
introduce  The  Design  for  Living  Activity  in  their  respective  departments. 
Standing,  lef^u^^^^ess  L.  Murray,  Washington,  Dorothy^^.^igl|^£g8hington,  Bild^ 

^^^^~"   I  '  if^fciiiltir—  "- 


trained  which  will  make  it  possible  to 
take  care  of  the  large  number  of  pend- 
ing requests  for  enrollment  when  new 
groups  are  started  in  the  fall. 

In  addition,  group  leaders  will  be 
available  and  anxious  to  assist  any 
i  lembers  who  are  interested  in  fur- 
iicring  their  education  on  any  of  the 
.  n  topics  included  in  the  Design  for 
i  i\ing  program  or  related  subjects. 

If  you  are  interested  in  this  pro- 
gram or  if  you  have  any  questions  to 
ask,  consult  your  supervisor. 

Want  to  see  a  dream  of  a  dress? 
See  "To  the  Ladies,"  page  26. 

The  girls  who  were  selected  as  Group 
Leaders  in  the  "Design  for  Living"  activity 
gave  a  tea  at  the  close  of  their  training  con- 
ference last  month.  Mrs.  L  E.  Shaw,  General 
Accounting,  Washington,  is  pouring  while 
C.  W.  Chaney,  Accounting  Personnel  As- 
sistant of  the  same  department,  looks  on. 
Others  in  the  group  are  Miss  D.  A.  Fiala, 
Group  Accounting,  Mrs.  H.  M.  Heaslej^ 
partroent,  Charleston,  W^ 


The  introduction  of  a  Design  for  Living  program  is  usually  announced  in  the  company 

magazine.     This  page  from   the   Chesapeake   and   Potomac    Telephone    Companies' 

^^Transmitter"  is  illustrative  of  that  phase  of  publicity 


means."  A  more  exuberant  business 
office  supervisor  exclaims,  "Why, 
this  is  the  biggest  thing  that  ever  hit 
the  Commercial  Department";  to 
which  another  group  member  adds, 
"This  program  not  only  helps  the 
individual  but  also  promotes  better 
employee  relationships  with  all  de- 
partments." 

An  accounting  supervisor  said  she 
had  joined  A  Design  for  Living 
group  because  "I  heard  the  other 
girls  say  how  much  these  discussions 
had  helped  them  to  meet  people  more 
easily,  and  to  have  more  confidence 
in  themselves.  It  did  that  very  thing 
for  me.  Perhaps  I  show  no  improve- 
ment as  yet,  but  the  feeling  I  have 
within  is  certainly  a  satisfaction."  A 
ticket  sorter's  remark  that  "It  has 
given  me  a  new  outlook  on  life"  rep- 
resents the  conclusion  of  several  hun- 
dred women  who  have  been  heard  to 


tell  what  the  course  has  done  for 
them. 

An  operator  plans  to  do  more 
reading  because  she  "never  knew  be- 
fore what  books  meant  in  life,"  and 
she  adds,  "Now  that  I  know  how  to 
express  myself  better,  I'm  going  to 
be  more  at  ease  when  I  talk  with  peo- 
ple and  I'm  going  to  enjoy  meeting 
people  more." 

And  this  comment  from  a  plant 
clerk  seems  to  encompass  the  objec- 
tives and  realizations  it  was  hopeu 
the  activity  would  provide  :  "The  per- 
sonal satisfactions  which  these  discus- 
sions have  left  me  with  have  opened 
up  another  world  to  me.  Now  I 
want  to  do  and  see  and  go,  whereas 
before  I  just  seemed  to  live  out  a 
routine." 

An  explanation  of  the  background 
and  objectives  of  Design  for  Living 


I 


A  Design  for  Living 


151 


Ways  of  reflecting  personality  through  home  planning 

and  decoration  have  a  strong  appeal^  as  these  girls  of  the 

New  Jersey  Bell  Telephone  Company  make  evident 


will  make  clear  why  this  program  has 
been  so  important  to  these  women. 

How  It  Began 

In  1939,  a  small  committee  was  set 
up  in  the  Personnel  Relations  De- 
partment of  the  American  Telephone 
and  Telegraph  Company  in  New 
York  to  consider  the  many  requests 
which  were  coming  in  from  telephone 
women  in  the  operating  companies 
for  courses  of  study  which  would  pro- 
vide for  effective  use  of  leisure  time. 
Women  representatives 
were  brought  together 
from  several  of  the 
companies  in  which  ex- 
periments in  self-devel- 
opment programs  had 
already  been  started. 
What  employees  were 
searching  for,  this  group 
believed,  were  means  for 
discovering  for  them- 
selves their  real  needs 
and  interests — a  con- 
tinuing plan  of  indi- 
vidual self-development. 
To  meet   this   desire,   a 


program  was  developed 
for  a  series  of  discus- 
sions on  topics  which  em- 
ployee requests  showed 
to  be  of  common  inter- 
est and  value. 

The    Chesapeake   and 
Potomac's  attractive 

pamphlet  "Let's  Talk" 
describes  these  topics: 

Conversation  :     the 
art    of    making    others 
feel  "at  home"  with  you. 
Speech:  how  to   say 
what  you  mean;  the  im- 
portance of  choosing  the 
right  words. 
Reading:  how  to  get  more   fun 
out  of  the  time  you  spend  with  books. 
Appearance:  how  to  look  your 
loveliest;  ideas  for  choosing  hats  and 
hair-dos;   your   part   in   the    fashion 
picture. 

Etiquette  :  answers  to  your  ques- 
tions on  the  social  rules. 

Entertaining:  how  to  be  the 
perfect  hostess;  planning  parties; 
menus  that  make  a  hit. 

Home  Planning  and  Decora- 
tion :  color  harmony,  fabrics,  furni- 


f     y<'i*; 

f^ 

n 

' 

:'rj 

A 

M 

1^ 

^Pm^^ 

^Bl^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B'' 

^^5^-^^ 

^  jx 

Wim^^U 

.'V^^tf^ 

^hI 

Color  harmojiy  and  its  part  in  harmonious  living  are  an 

absorbing  topic  for  this  group  of  Southern  Bell  Telephone 

and  Telegraph  Company  employees 


152 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


ture;  ideas  for  fixing 
over  your  apartment  or 
home. 

Money  Manage- 
ment: managing  your 
money — so  you  don't 
spend  more  than  you 
earn. 

Vacations  and 
Travel:  vacation  ideas; 
when  to  go  and  what  to 
do  with  your  holiday 
weeks  and  week-ends. 

Hobbies:  share  your 
favorite  with  others,  or 
start  something  new. 

It  is  important  to  note  that  discus- 
sions, not  lectures  or  talks,  provide 
the  media  for  self-expression.  A 
group  leader  trained  in  the  principles 
of  conference-method  technique  con- 
ducts the  discussions,  and  sound  and 
constructive  thinking  is  emphasized 
as  the  group  members  talk  over  their 
problems  and  needs. 

From  September  1939  through  Oc- 
tober 1 94 1,  11,000  women  employees 
had  completed  the  program.  With 
the  entry  of  the  United  States  into 


Money  management  is  a  matter  of  first  importance  not 

only  to  men  but  to  many  women  also — including  these 

members  of  the  Indiana  Bell  Telephone  Company 


Pleasing  arrangement  of  furniture  in  a  room  is  demon- 
strated in  miniature  by  this  discussion  group  of  Michigan 
Bell  Telephone  Company  women 


the  second  world  war,  telephone 
women  temporarily  set  aside  their 
personal  goals  to  give  their  free  time 
and  effort  to  the  many  war  activities 
of  those  years. 

Early  in  1945,  the  program  was 
re-introduced  throughout  the  System. 
Objectives  and  long-range  accom- 
plishments were  reconsidered  in  line 
with  the  Bell  System's  policy  of  offer- 
ing its  resources  to  employees  for  all- 
around  development  and  progress. 
The  title  "A  Design  for  Living"  was 
selected  to  further  the 
idea  that  within  this  ac- 
tivity might  be  found  the 
key  to  satisfying  experi- 
ences. Each  participant 
was  to  complete  the  de- 
sign according  to  her 
own  needs  and  desires. 


Good  Publicity  Sets 
the  Stage 

Some  company  maga- 
zines publicize  the  start 
of  this  activity  with  a 
well-illustrated      article. 


1948 


A  Design  for  Living 


^S3 


Conclusion  of  a  Design  for  Living  program  is  usually  the  occasion  for  an  event  which 

offers  gracious  hospitality  to  invited  guests.     These  hostesses  for  an  evening  are  all 

Chesapeake  and  Potomac  Telephone  Company  women 


This  is  usually  timed  with  glamorous 
cover-girl  "announcement"  posters 
for  office  and  recreation  room  bulle- 
tin boards.  The  pink  and  black  "Do 
You  Have  A  Design  for  Living?" 
from  the  Michigan  Bell  is  an  exam- 
ple. In  several  instances  the  ideas 
for  posters  and  leaflets  have  been 
suggested  and  developed  by  employ- 
ees themselves. 

When  it  is  evident  that  the  pro- 
posed program  will  be  attractive  to 
the  employee  group,  the  leader  may 
meet  with  groups  and  explain  the 
program  with  the  aid  of  pocket-sized 
folders  which  list  the  topics  to  be 
covered.  These  are  frequently  min- 
iatures of  the  poster,  as  in  New 
York's  "What  Do  You  Do  With 
Your  Time?"  A  "Sign  Me  Up  For 
Your  Design  For  Living"  enrollment 
card  enabled  Ohio  Bell  employees  to 
indicate  acceptance  and  a  preference 
as  to  the  time  of  meeting.  The  most 
recent  development  of  this  company 
has    been    the    Commercial    Depart- 


ment's slide  film,  "Your  Time  and 
My  Time,"  which  gives  a  quick  pre- 
view of  the  course,  stimulates  inter- 
est, and  helps  to  inform  supervisory 
people.  The  Chesapeake  and  Po- 
tomac company  confirms  individual 
enrollments  with  a  reminder  card  giv- 
ing day,  date,  hour,  and  room  num- 
ber of  the  first  discussion.  This  is 
signed  by  the  group  leader. 

A  Group  in  Action 

Many  different  types  and  inter- 
ests are  represented  in  A  Design  for 
Living  discussion  group.  New  em- 
ployees, some  only  a  short  time  out 
of  high  school  or  college,  exchange 
ideas  with  telephone  "veterans." 

Some  arc  there  because  of  their 
interest  in  one  special  topic.  One 
supervisor,  for  instance,  frankly  ad- 
mits she  wants  to  improve  herself 
and  a  fleeting  acquaintance  with 
Shakespeare  reminds  her  to  "mind 
your  speech  a  little  lest  it  may  mar 


1^4 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


your  fortune."  Conversation,  speech, 
reading — each  suggests  to  her  the  key 
to  further  study,  with  the  other  seven 
topics  helping  to  round  out  her  plan. 

Other  members  in  the  group  are 
perhaps  for  the  first  time  learning 
that  a  good  conversationalist  is  also 
a  good  listener;  that  the  rules  of  con- 
versation as  practiced  are  not  limited 
to  social  occasions  but  can  be  used 
to  express  thoughts  effectively  at  all 
times. 

Mending  speech  comes  to  mean  ex- 
actly that  to  each  of  the  twelve  par- 
ticipants in  this  discussion.  Each  one 
begins  to  piece  together,  repair,  and 
make  as  nearly  new,  whole,  and  per- 
fect as  possible,  the  speech  which  has 
been  damaged  by  carelessness,  lack 
of  thought,  or  lack  of  knowledge. 
Along  with  the  mending  comes  the 
development  of  poise,  self-confidence, 
and  better  judgment  in  forming  opin- 
ions. Here,  too,  begins  the  inter- 
est in  continued  self-development 
through  later  enrollment  in  English 
classes,  and  in  classes  in  voice  culture 


and  public  speaking.  Dramatics  and 
choral  work  subsequently  help  pro- 
vide further  stimulus  for  speech  im- 
provement. 

Some  join  a  group  to  get  better  ac- 
quainted with  other  employees  and 
to  be  with  people.  As  discussions 
proceed,  these  persons  find  a  mutual- 
ity of  interests  and  needs  which  en- 
courages and  promotes  desirable  re- 
lationships. 

A  young  bride  wonders  if  Money 
Management  will  help  her  with  her 
responsibility  for  making  ends  meet 
for  two.  .At  the  same  time  eleven 
other  members  of  the  group  begin 
to  see  that  the  secret  of  wise  spend- 
ing is  careful  planning,  and  that  fam- 
ily or  personal  budgets  which  help 
to  establish  financial  independence 
also  help  to  strengthen  character  and 
self-respect.  From  piggy-banks  to 
company  savings  plans,  the  group 
talks  over  its  rainy-day  problems,  be 
they  of  today  or  tomorrow. 

Older  employees,  becoming  aware 
of  the  narrow  groove  of  living  which 


The  qualities  of  leadership  are  fostered  and  developed  during  a  two  weeks'  training  course 

of  discussion-group  leaders.     These  members  of  the  Pacific  Telephone  and  Telegraph 

Company  represent  all  that  company's  areas 


1948 


A  'Design  for  Living 


155 


a  routine  of  many  years'  standing  has 
established,  hope  to  find  the  how  and 
where  of  new  interests.  Each  one  of 
the  group,  hearing  what  the  other  is 
doing,  what  she  would  like  to  do,  be- 
gins to  recognize  the  possibilities 
within  herself  for  more  satisfying  ex- 
perience. "I  haven't  enough  time," 
"It  costs  too  much,"  "I  don't  know 
how  to  get  started,"  are  some  of  the 
stumbling  blocks  which  a  group  in 
action  help  to  solve. 

In  the  discussion  on  hobbies,  the 
conclusion  is  reached  that  hobbies — 
interests,  whatever  you  wish  to  call 
the  wise  use  of  leisure  time — mean 
interesting  friends,  the  joy  of  creat- 
ing, the  satisfaction  which  comes 
from  the  discovery  and  use  of  abili- 
ties heretofore  unrecognized:  the 
completion  of  a  design  for  living. 

And  so  it  is  with  each  of  the  ten 
discussions.  Appearance  gives  each 
group  member  an  opportunity  to  re- 
late her  progress  in  self-development 
to  sound  standards  of  good  taste  in 


dress  and  general  appearance.  How 
to  dress  well  on  any  budget  acquires 
meaning  through  the  additional  use 
of  attractive  exhibits.  Color,  line, 
and  texture  are  experimented  with 
by  each  member — with  group  con- 
sensus a  powerful  stimulus  to  accept- 
ance. 

Etiquette  and  Entertaining  suggest 
that  a  knowledge  of  good  manners 
under  all  circumstances  gives  one 
poise  and  self-confidence.  Consid- 
eration for  others  is  stressed.  "How 
should  I  introduce  my  supervisor  to 
my  mother?"  "What  is  the  correct 
way  to  interrupt  a  busy  person?" 
"How  can  I  entertain  in  such  a  small 
place  without  getting  all  'fussed 
up'?"  "When  I  go  to  the  theatre, 
who  goes  down  the  aisle  first?" 

A  look-in  on  one  of  the  discussions, 
with  questions  of  this  kind  coming 
thick  and  fast  for  group  considera- 
tion, reveals  how  tremendously  im- 
portant is  the  need  to  possess  social 
skills   which   help   to   establish   what 


These  discussion  leaders  of  the  Bell  Telephone  Company  of  Canada  have  to  bear  in  mind 
the  French  and  English  cultures  which  exist  side  by  side  in  many  parts  of  the  company's 

territory 


156 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


one  group  member  defined  as  "that 
certain  manner." 

At  the  concluding  discussion  of  the 
program — usually  one  covering  the 
topic  of  most  general  interest,  such 
as  Hobbies  or  Vacations  and  Travel 
— guests  are  invited.  This  provides 
company  executives  with  an  excellent 
and  interesting  opportunity  to  ob- 
serve at  first  hand  just  what  is  being 
accomplished  with,  and  by,  the  group. 
A  Design  for  Living  becomes  some- 
thing real  and  not  just  "another 
course."  Guests  join  the  discussion. 
Plans  for  follow-up  activities  begin 
to  take  shape.  A  tea  or  informal 
buffet  provides  a  final  setting  in  which 
some  of  the  newly  acquired  skills  and 
graces  are  revealed. 

Group  Leadership  and  Individual 
Development 

In  a  meeting  of  department  heads 
of   an   operating   company   in   which 


Design  for  Living  has  been  a  con- 
tinuous activity  since  1945,  a  general 
commercial  manager  expressed  the 
opinion  that  the  development  of  su- 
pervisory people  might  advantage- 
ously include  training  in  and  experi- 
ence with  group  leadership  In  this 
activity.  He  felt  that  the  full-time 
effort  which  a  number  of  women  in 
his  organization  had  given  to  this 
work  was  being  reflected  in  their  at- 
titudes, efficiency,  and  job  relation- 
ships. 

In  many  companies,  general  traffic 
managers  have  acknowledged  the 
contribution  which  group  leader  ex- 
perience has  made  to  the  total  effort 
of  developing  latent  ability  and  tal- 
ent. Because  of  this,  consideration 
is  being  given  in  one  company  to  hav- 
ing potentially  able  women  devote 
several  months  to  full-time  work  as 
group  leaders.  These  leaders  take 
an  average  of  six  or  more  separate 


When  several  girts  who  had  completed  the  Design  for  Living  program  of  the  Illinois  Bell 
Telephone  Company  expressed  interest  in  Christmas  gift-wrappings  group  leaders 
obtained  professional  instruction  and  then  passed  along  to  their  groups  the  skill  they 

had  acquired 


1948 


A  'Design  for  Living 


157 


The  ten  discussions  which  make  up  the  Design  for  Living  ■program  are  often  extended  by 
the  members'  own  special  interest  in  some  one  of  the  original  topics.  These  culinary 
enthusiasts  of  the  Bell  Telephone  Company  of  Pennsylvania  were  pictured  during  their 

fifth  cooking  lesson 


groups  through  a  complete  series  of 
discussions. 

A  recent  comment  received  from  a 
newly  appointed  chief  operator  gives 
further  weight  to  the  value  which 
some  women  have  attached  to  their 
experience  as  a  group  leader:  "I  am 
so  thrilled  over  my  promotion.  I 
don't  think  I  could  do  it  if  I  hadn't 
been  a  group  leader;  for  it  helped  me 
so  much  to  know  how  to  express  my- 
self, to  use  good  English,  and  to  give 
me  the  confidence  you  need  in  a  big 
job." 

During  the  past  three  years,  790 
women  representing  twelve  operating 
companies  and  all  departments  have 
received  group  leader  training. 

This  training  is  received  in  a  two 
weeks'  conference  conducted  by  an 
A.  T.  &  T.  Company  representative, 
or  else  by  a  company  training  leader 
who  has  originally  received  her  train- 
ing from  the  A.  T.  &  T.  representa- 
tive. 


Training  is  concerned  especially 
with  the  general  principles  of  con- 
ference leadership,  with  study  and 
practice  in  using  the  technique.  It 
provides  sufficient  background  infor- 
mation on  the  content  of  the  ten 
topics  of  the  program  to  enable 
the  leader  to  stimulate  and  provoke 
worth-while  discussion.  It  gives 
practice  in  outlining  and  organizing 
written  material  and  lines  of  thought. 
The  leader  receives  an  introduction 
to  the  principles  of  the  listening  tech- 
nique. 

Since  most  group  leaders  must  as- 
sume also  the  responsibility  for  local 
arrangements  for  introducing  the  ac- 
tivity to  both  managerial  and  em- 
ployee groups,  the  training  confer- 
ence includes  detailed  information 
about  and  suggestions  for  publicity, 
planning,  recruiting,  and  arrange- 
ments ior  group  meetings.  This  re- 
quires a  knowledge  of  lines  of  or- 
ganization. 


158 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


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The  use  of  community  facilities 
requires  an  understanding  of  good 
public  relations,  judgment,  tact,  and 
poise;  for  this  involves  visits  or 
other  contacts  with  libraries,  schools, 
adult  education  groups,  museums, 
and  other  organizations,  together 
with  the  preparation  of  reference 
material,  exhibits,  models,  and  other 
visual  aids  for  use  during  weekly 
discussions.  These  qualities  are  en- 
couraged and  developed  to  every 
possible  extent  during  the  initial 
training  of  the  leaders  and  later  on 
through  a  planned  program  of  direc- 
tion and  guidance. 

The  coordination  of  the  work  of 
department  group  leaders  on  a  com- 
pany-wide basis  is  usually  one  of  the 
functions  of  the  woman  member  of 
the  general  personnel  staff. 

The  excellent  performance  and 
leadership  of  the  group  leaders 
throughout  the  Bell  System  have 
been  a  major  contribution  to  the  suc- 
cess of  the  program. 

Following  Through 

In  the  Commercial  Department 
program  of  the  Ohio  Bell  Company 
this  fall,  for  example,  more  than 
twenty  new  projects  and  topics  in  the 
company's  out-of-hour  activities'  pro- 
gram are  under  way.  They  give 
proof  of  the  variety  of  interests  and 
needs  of  the  women  who,  in  a  two- 
year  period,  have  found  through  A 
Design  for  Living  new  meanings  to 
life. 

Their  discussions  on  books  and 
reading,  current  events,  public  speak- 
ing classes,  book  reviews,  provide 
continuing  opportunity  for  those  who 
seek  mental  stimulation. 

Other  women  are  developing  new 
appreciation  of  the  arts,  and  their 


latent  abilities  in  these  arts,  through 
extended  courses  in  music  apprecia- 
tion, dramatic  expression,  and  vari- 
ous group  art  work. 

Classes  in  millinery,  basic  dress- 
making, tailoring,  silvermaking, 
leathercraft,  enable  them  to  wear 
beautiful  and  budget-minded  crea- 
tions of  their  own  making  and  de- 
sign and  to  augment  their  wardrobes 
with  attractive  accessories. 

Their  homes  are  being  enriched 
with  lovely  and  useful  products  of 
classes  in  ceramics  and  with  a  new 
knowledge  of  interior  decorating. 
Household  tips  and  aids  and  flower 
arranging  help  to  give  added  interest 
and  charm. 

Socially,  many  are  finding  new 
poise  and  entertainment  in  bridge  and 
dancing  classes.  For  the  athlete, 
golf,  swimming,  ice  skating,  and  cal- 
esthenics  provide  companionship  and 
recreation. 

Many  of  these  Ohio  programs 
draw  upon  the  initiative  and  inge- 
nuity of  the  telephone  women  them- 
selves in  addition  to  making  full  use 
of  community  resources  and  facilities. 
An  employee  who  had  worked  in  a 
florist  shop  during  school  years  con- 
ducts the  class  in  flower  arranging. 
Another  teaches  bridge;  another,  knit- 
ting. Outside  speakers  lead  the  dis- 
cussions on  book  reviews  and  conduct 
the  public-speaking  classes.  Expert 
private  instructors  teach  jewelrymak- 
ing,  leathercraft,  and  tailoring. 

Last  spring  a  highly  successful 
minstrel  show  illustrated  in  one  pack- 
age the  many  talents  represented  in 
a  Design  for  Living  group.  The 
artists  in  the  group  contributed  color- 
ful posters  and  invitations.  One  per- 
son with  a  literary  bent  wrote  and 
directed  the  show.    Another  trained 


1948 


A  'Design  for  Living 


159 


the  chorus.  Most  of  the 
costumes  were  designed 
and  created  by  the  girls 
themselves.  More  than 
thirty  girls  participated 
— and  they  played  to  a 
full  house ! 

Much  of  what  is  tak- 
ing place  in  Ohio  is 
being  duplicated — with 
some  interesting  varia- 
tions— in  the  other  com- 
panies in  which  the  pro- 
gram is  operating. 

In  the  Southern  New 
England  and  New  York 
companies,  local  com- 
munity adult  education 
groups  and  schools  are 
cooperating  by  arranging 
special  classes  for  telephone  employ- 
ees. Arrangements  are  made  for  se- 
lected subjects  of  interest  to  tele- 
phone people  and  at  hours  convenient 
for  their  attendance. 

In  the  Illinois  Bell  Company, 
groups  plan  a  program  of  adventures 
with  food  by  visiting  out-of-the-ordi- 
nary  local  restaurants,  each  time  com- 
bining a  taste  treat  and  fun  with  a 
search  for  new  ideas  for  entertaining. 
Food  preparation  and  planning  dem- 
onstrations have  been  a  popular  ac- 
tivity in  the  Bell  of  Pennsylvania. 

In  Michigan,  group  leaders,  in  con- 
sultation with  various  airlines,  pre- 
pared lists  of  vacation  suggestions 
and  descriptive  movies  designed  to 
meet  a  range  of  interests,  pocket- 
books,  and  time  allowances.  One  re- 
sult was  that  fifteen  girls  signed  up 
for  a  ten-day  trip  to  Havana  at  a 
very  attractive  price. 

In  the  New  Jersey  Bell  Company, 
demonstrations  in  hair  styling  and 
cosmetic     application     and     fashion 


When  these  girls  of  the  Ohio  Bell  Telephone  Company 
decided  to  carry  on  with  lessons  in  dressmakings  they 
refused  to  be  deterred  by  the  fact  that  a  Commercial  office 
was  for  the  time-being  the  only  available  space  where 
they  could  receive  instruction  after  business  hours 


shows  have  attracted  widespread  in- 
terest. 

In  the  Pacific  Company,  a  tea  and 
reception  for  a  retiring  executive  was 
planned  and  arrangements  were  car- 
ried out  by  Design  for  Living  groups. 
Three  thousand  people  attended  this 
party.  Many  compliments  were  re- 
ceived by  the  group  for  the  delight- 
ful and  effective  way  in  which  the 
affair  was  conducted. 

The  telephone  women's  clubs  of 
the  different  state  divisions  of  the 
Southern  Bell  Company  have  a  mul- 
tiplicity of  activities.  They  serve 
as  a  connecting  link  with  Design 
for  Living  by  providing  the  chan- 
nels through  which  most  of  the  fol- 
low-up activities  develop  and  operate. 
Among  these  are  the  choral  clubs 
which  perform  with  local  community 
music  groups.  Study  clubs  draw 
large  enrollments  each  season.  Ba- 
zars which  provide  the  funds  for 
many  telephone  charity  projects  and 
call  forth  a  great  deal  of  individual 


i6o 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


Mackgwund  Keading 


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!  J.  U  1  1'  I  \t     d  m  t!  I-  tn     I  Ucitis<  of  I's  !iittt«!  length. 

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ba  k  p    I   1    <r  Ihf       1  fT  Old  'n  p  it  ii.  tlu  f  oruiMny  mail  with  your  ikusm-  and 

1'  ompiin      idi    s    111    n   ^   !1  *  t   ibif  vu  rex    t^  the  fjooks,  one  at  a  timi?,  as  they 


Several    company    libraries 
have     integrated    their    ac- 
tivities with  the  Design  for 
Living  program 


Here  are  the  cover  {right) 
and  introductory  page 
{above)  of  a  booklet  of 
reading  lists  issued  by 
the  Employees^  Library 
of  the  Southern  New  Eng- 
land Telephone  Company 


talent  and  ingenuity  are  a  part  of 
tiie  program. 

In  the  Bell  Telephone  Company 
of  Canada,  where  French  culture  and 
traditions  are  deeply  rooted  along- 
side those  of  England,  the  Design 
for  Living  activity  has  presented  an 
unusual  challenge.  Interest  in  con- 
tinuing self-development  has  been 
high.  One  interesting  project  has 
been  the  preparation  of  a  thirty-five 
page  French  bibliography  with  an 
English  supplement,  covering  every 
topic  discussed  in  the  program.  This 
was  prepared  by  the  Toronto  and 
Montreal  public  libraries  in  coopera- 
tion with  the  supervising  group  lead- 
ers. 

Three  other  broad  developments 
which  have  received  their  chief  stim- 


ulus from  this  System-wide  activity 
have  also  attracted  attention. 

In  1947,  arrangements  were  made 
for  the  secretaries  or  hobby  commit- 
tee chairmen  of  the  Pioneer  chapters 
to  provide  information  and  assistance 
to  group  leaders  in  the  development 
of  common  hobby  interests  and  ac- 
tivities. 

Integration  of  company  library  fa- 
cilities with  the  Design  for  Living 
activity  has  been  accomplished  in  sev- 
eral companies.  The  librarians  of 
the  Pacific,  Bell  of  Canada,  and 
Southern  New  England  companies 
have  performed  a  great  service  to 
employees  of  these  companies  in  help- 
ing them  to  develop  good  reading 
habits.  In  Indiana,  the  Indianapolis 
Public  Library  has  provided  the  serv- 


1948 


A  Design  for  Living 


161 


ices  of  a  librarian  who  spends  two 
days  a  week  on  company  premises. 
The  formation  of  small  local  com- 
pany libraries  in  other  parts  of  the 
System  is  being  encouraged  because 
of  the  needs  of  employees  arising  out 
of  the  self-development  activity. 

Several  independent  telephone  com- 
panies have  been  interested  in  the  De- 
sign for  Living  activity.  The  train- 
ing in  group  leadership  as  well  as  the 
personal  satisfactions  arising  out  of 
group  member  activity  have  been 
mentioned  as  of  particular  interest. 
Some  of  the  Associated  Companies 
have  cooperated  with  the  independ- 
ent companies  by  providing  the  initial 
training  of  group  leaders. 

A  Summing  Up 

The  Design  for  Living  program 
is  growing.  It  is  the  employees'  own 
program,  designed  by  and  for  them. 
A  true  evaluation  of  results  must 
recognize  the  weight  of  intangibles. 
Some  of  these  are  the  new  horizons 
which  are  being  opened  to  many  in- 
dividuals whose  desire  for  self-ex- 
pression has  been  bogged  down  in 
what   it   is   now   fashionable   to   call 


frustration.  People  with  interests 
seldom  have  time  to  be  frustrated. 

Poise,  initiative,  self-confidence, 
and  self-assurance  come  from  know- 
ing the  how,  when,  and  what  in  vary- 
ing situations.  These  are  some  of 
the  social  skills  which  have  been  fos- 
tered through  group  activity.  Its 
concomitant  has  been  a  high  group 
spirit. 

Equally  important  has  been  the 
small  but  nevertheless  highly  signifi- 
cant contribution  to  the  development 
of  sound,  constructive  thinking  among 
many  individuals  upon  whom  the 
leadership  of  the  future  will  in  all 
probability  fall.  It  is  trite  to  say 
that  the  person  who  understands  why 
a  thing  is  said  is  more  likely  to  listen 
to  what  is  said.  This  is  the  kind  of 
understanding  which  these  group  dis- 
cussions, regardless  of  topic,  have 
helped  to  develop. 

Since  1945,  30,000  women  have 
sat  around  conference  tables  work- 
ing out  for  themselves  a  design  for 
living.  They  are  of  the  well-rounded 
employee  group  who  give  day-to-day 
proof  that  these  activities  can  add 
zest  and  richness  to  busy  lives. 


Telephone  City 


All  the  buildings  in  the  im- 
aginary city  pictured  on  the  op- 
posite page  are  Bell  System 
buildings.  What  is  more,  they 
are  all  either  new,  erected  since 
the  end  of  the  war,  or  buildings 
to  which  major  additions  have 
been  made  during  that  period. 
Each  is  either  already  completed 
or  will  be  substantially  com- 
pleted— with  one  or  two  excep- 
tions— by  the  end  of  this  year. 
There  are  392  buildings  in  the 
picture.  Although  the  city  is 
imaginary,  they  are  not :  each 
represents  an  actual  structure, 
and  each  is  drawn  to  scale.  In- 
cluded are  all  the  major  build- 


ing projects  since  the  war;  yet 
those  represented  are  only  one- 
seventh  of  the  total  number 
erected  during  that  time.  About 
2400  smaller  structures  are 
omitted,  simply  because  it  wasn't 
practicable  to  include  them  all. 
Types  pictured  include  cen- 
tral-office buildings,  toll  build- 
ings, community  dial  offices, 
radio  buildings,  repeater  sta- 
tions, office  buildings,  headquar- 
ters buildings.  Those  pictured 
represent  $175,000,000.  This 
is  about  60  percent  of  the  Bell 
System's  post-war  building  con- 
struction program. 


163 


Method  and  Rfficiency  Are    Requisites  of  a    Task    Which 

Constitutes  the  Largest   Work-volume  Job  of  the   System  s 

Revenue  Accounting  Forces 


Sorting  Two-and-a-Half 
Billion  Tickets  a  Year 

Fredric  M.  Biathrow  and 
F.  Raymond  Brewster 


Almost  every  business,  large  or 
small,  has  a  problem  of  sorting.  It 
may  be  the  simple  job  of  sorting  a 
few  hundred  or  thousand  cancelled 
bank  checks  or  drafts  received  with 
a  bank  statement;  it  may  be  sorting 
department  store  charge  tickets;  in 
the  case  of  the  banks  themselves,  it 
may  be  sorting  depositors'  checks  and 
checks  for  clearing  or  transit.  In 
the  telephone  business,  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem operating  companies  are  con- 
fronted with  the  huge  problem  of 
sorting  2^^  billion  telephone  tickets 
annually.  While  this  enormous  quan- 
tity of  tickets  does  not  pile  up  in  any 
one  place  or  at  any  one  time,  the  job 
of  sorting  them  requires  currently  up- 
wards of  three  thousand  Accounting 
Department  clerks  to  spend  about 
5,000,000  hours  annually  to  get  the 
job  done. 

Each    morning,    telephone    tickets 


written  at  local  and  toll  switchboards 
for  messages  completed  on  the  previ- 
ous day  are  picked  up  according  to 
predetermined  routes  and  schedules 
by  truck  or  messenger  or  are  placed 
in  the  U.  S.  mail,  and  are  delivered 
to  the  accounting  offices,  of  which 
there  are  now  93,  located  through- 
out the  United  States  and  in  the  east- 
ern part  of  Canada. 

These  tickets  are  not  just  slips  of 
paper.  They  represent  cash :  over 
one  billion  dollars  of  it  annually, 
which  is  an  important  part  of  the 
Bell  System's  annual  revenue. 

It  is  the  billing  of  this  revenue  that 
creates  the  necessity  for  sorting  the 
tickets  into  a  definite  order.  It  has 
been  found  from  experience  that  in 
keeping  the  26,000,000  customers' 
accounts  for  telephone  service,  the 
simplest  and  most  economical  plan 
is  to  have  the  records  arranged  in 


Sorting  Two-and-a-Half  Billion  Tickets  a  Year 


^'  165 


telephone-number  order  separately 
for  each  central-office  designation, 
e.g.,  Jonesville,  Main  2,  Market  3, 
and  so  on.  The  customers'  accounts 
for  each  designation  are  then  ar- 
ranged in  telephone-number  sequence. 
The  sorting  problem,  therefore,  is  to 
arrange  the  great  volume  of  tickets 
received  each  day  into  the  same  tele- 
phone-number sequence  in  which  the 
accounts  are  kept,  in  order  to  per- 
form the  billing  in  the  most  efficient 
manner. 

Not  only  must  this  sorting  job  be 
done,  but  it  must  be  so  planned  that 
the  work  will  be  completed  and  ready 
for  further  processing  so  that  the  bill- 
ing clerks  may  complete  customers' 
bills  promptly  according  to  scheduled 
bill  release  dates.  This  sorting  job 
is  the  first  step  in  a  chain  of  opera- 
tions that  culminate  with  the  mailing 


of  the  customer's  toll  service  state- 
ment with  his  monthly  bill.  Ineffi- 
cient methods  or  poor  administration 
of  this  job  could  result,  obviously,  in 
the  loss  of  many  thousands  of  hours 
of  time  and  in  wasted  and  fatiguing 
effort. 

In  the  early  days  of  telephone  his- 
tory, the  use  of  toll  service  was  not 
extensive.  The  relatively  few  toll 
tickets  required  to  record  the  out-of- 
town  calls  made  could  be  handled 
without  any  special  studies  to  deter- 
mine the  most  efficient  method  of 
sorting  them.  But  now,  with  the  ex- 
tensive use  of  toll  service,  this  one 
operation  is  the  largest  work-volume 
job  performed  by  the  revenue  ac- 
counting forces  of  the  System. 

Early  in  1946  an  intensive  study 
was  made  of  two  methods  of  sorting; 
the  so-called  "desk  method,"  used  by 


T)esk  sorting  of  tickets  requires  the  handling  of  each  ticket  four  times:  once  for  each  digit. 
The  ''two-handed"  method  is  shown  here 


1 66 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


most  of  the  System  companies,  and 
a  method  referred  to  as  the  "rack 
method,"  which  was  followed  by  a 
few  of  the  companies; — including  the 
New  England  Telephone  and  Tele- 
graph Company,  where  the  rack 
method  had  been  developed  to  the 
extent  of  producing  outstanding  re- 
sults. As  a  result  of  this  study, 
which  included  the  introduction  of 
the  rack  method  in  certain  account- 
ing offices  of  the  New  York  Tele- 
phone Company  for  comparative 
tests  with  the  desk  method,  the  rack 
sorting  method  and  technique  were 
recommended  for  general  use.  All 
System  companies  are  now  using  the 
rack  method  of  sorting  on  all  or  part 
of  their  ticket  sorting  job.  It  is  esti- 
mated that  when  the  method  is  com- 
pletely installed,  it  will  have  effected 
a  reduction  of  2,500,000  work  hours 
a  year — of  which  approximately  one 
million  has  already  been  realized. 
In  addition  to  this  advantage,  sort- 
ing clerks  changing  from  the  desk  to 
the  rack  method  generally  report  the 
rack  method  more  interesting  and 
less  fatiguing. 

The  Desk- Sorting  Method 

In  the  early  1920s  the  sorting  of 
tickets  began  more  and  more  to  be 
transferred  from  the  Traffic  Depart- 
ment to  the  Accounting  Department, 
and  the  concentration  of  this  opera- 
tion became  an  increasingly  impor- 
tant segment  of  revenue  accounting 
work. 

The  method  of  sorting  followed 
an  obvious  pattern. 

As  a  first  step,  certain  types  of  tick- 
ets which  reached  the  revenue  ac- 
counting offices  with  two  or  more 
central-office  designations  intermin- 
gled required  the  simple  sorting  of 


the  tickets  into  the  different  designa- 
tions. 

The  next  step  was  the  numerical 
sorting  for  each  central  office;  and, 
since  telephone  numbers  consist  of 
not  more  than  four  digits  (with  mi- 
nor exceptions)  and  a  party-line  let- 
ter (where  used),  the  successive  steps 
in  the  numerical  sorting  were  to  sort 
the  tickets  separately  for  each  of  the 
four  digits  beginning  at  the  left,  that 
is,  by  thousands,  hundreds,  tens,  and 
units.  This  was  accomplished  on  an 
ordinary  desk  or  table  by  holding  in 
the  left  hand  a  small  portion  of  the 
unsorted  tickets  and  picking  them  off 
one  by  one  with  the  right  hand  and 
placing  them  on  the  desk  or  table  in 
a  double  row  of  five  piles,  one  pile 
for  each  thousand  digit. 

Thus,  when  the  unsorted  tickets 
had  been  so  processed  according  to 
the  first  left-hand  digit,  they  were  in 
order  by  thousands.  These  ten  piles 
were  then  laid  aside  and  the  tickets 
for  each  thousand  digit  were  then 
similarly  sorted  by  hundreds.  Each 
of  these  hundred  digit  packs  was  then 
sorted  by  tens  and  each  of  the  ten 
digit  packs  by  units.  By  sorting  the 
tickets  successively  according  to  the 
digits  from  left  to  right,  they  became 
sorted  into  complete  numerical  se- 
quence. 

The  complete  numerical  sorting 
process  required  not  only  handling 
most  of  the  tickets  four  separate 
times,  but  also  considerable  picking 
up  of  the  ten  piles  in  each  of  the 
separate  sortings  and,  where  the  tick- 
ets for  a  given  central  office  were 
voluminous,  a  constant  straightening 
of  the  piles  to  prevent  them  from  tip- 
ping and  becoming  disarranged. 

Under  a  later  variation  of  the  desk 
method  of  sorting,  a  pack  of  unsorted 


1948 


Sorting  Two-and-a-Half  Billion  Tickets  a  Year  ,^     167 


Since  each  rack  has  100  numbered  pockets ^  the  tickets  need  to  be  sorted  only  twice:  by  the 
last  two  digits  and  then  by  the  first  two 


tickets  was  placed  on  the  desk  directly 
in  front  of  the  clerk,  who,  using  her 
hands  alternately,  picked  the  tickets 
from  the  unsorted  pack  and  placed 
them  in  ten  piles  arranged  around  the 
unsorted  tickets  and  as  close  as  prac- 
ticable, to  avoid  an  unduly  long  reach. 
This  process  was  repeated  for  each 
of  the  four  digits,  as  previously  de- 
scribed. It,  too,  required  the  han- 
dling of  the  tickets  four  separate 
times,  but  it  utilized  both  hands 
rather  than  only  one  hand  in  getting 
the  tickets  from  the  unsorted  pack  to 
the  proper  numerical  pile. 

This  so-called  "two-handed"  sort- 
ing operation  looks  complicated  at 
times,  since  it  involves  some  cross- 
hand  movement  when,  for  example, 
the  left  hand  is  moving  to  the  ex- 
treme right  to  place  a  ticket  on  the 
"9"  pile  while  the  right  hand  is  pick- 
ing up  a  ticket  and  starting  it  toward 


the  extreme  left  to  place  it  on  the 
"o"  pile. 

The  Rack-Sorting  Method 

The  next  improvement  in  sorting 
methods  was  made  by  the  Chesa- 
peake and  Potomac  Telephone  Com- 
panies, and  involved  the  development 
and  use  of  a  rack  to  aid  in  the  sorting. 
They  also  developed  a  sequence  of 
sorting  operations  which  is  described 
later.  The  original  rack  was  made 
by  a  local  tinsmith  and,  while  a  num- 
ber of  refinements  have  been  made  in 
construction,  the  present-day  rack  is 
fundamentally  the  same  as  the  orig- 
inal. 

The  rack  is  comprised  of  two  cabi- 
nets, hung  on  either  side  of  a  stand. 
Each  cabinet  consists  of  two  50- 
pocket  sorting  sections,  and  one  10- 
compartment  section  located  above 
the  top  row  of  sorting  pockets  and 


i68 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


An  instructor  emphasizes  the  importance 
unsorted  tickets  in  the  correct  position  i 


of  holding  the 
n  the  hand 


used  to  store  tickets  awaiting  sort- 
ing and  for  overflow  from  individual 
pockets.  The  lower  section  of  each 
cabinet  can  be  closed  and  latched 
against  the  upper  section,  thereby 
providing  an  orderly  and  reasonably 
safe  method  of  temporarily  storing 
tickets  prior  to  their  removal  from 
the  rack  after  the  completion  of  the 
sorting  operation.  The  sorting  sec- 
tions, combined,  have  ten  vertical  and 
ten  horizontal  rows  of  pockets.  The 
vertical  rows  are  numbered  across  the 
top  from  left  to  right,  beginning  with 
zero.  The  horizontal  rows  are  num- 
bered up  the  sides  and  center  of  the 
cabinet,  the  lowest  numbers  being  as- 
signed to  the  bottom  row.  Thus  a 
sorting  pocket  is  provided  for  each  of 
the  one  hundred  two-digit  combina- 
tions "oo"  to  "99." 


For  a  considerable  pe- 
riod after  the  first  racks 
were  put  into  use,  the 
technique  of  sorting  fol- 
lowed the  hand  move- 
ment pattern  of  the 
desk-sorting  method  first 
described,  A  pack  of 
unsorted  tickets  was  held 
in  the  left  hand  while 
the  right  hand  picked 
them  off  one  at  a  time 
and  placed  them  in  the 
proper  sorting  pocket. 
This  involved  consider- 
able hand  travel,  and 
also  a  constant  shifting 
of  the  eyes  between  the 
unsorted  tickets  and  the 
rack  pockets. 

A  study  of  this  op- 
eration, based  on  prac- 
tices developed  by  the 
New  England  Company, 
showed  that  a  substantial  saving  in 
time  and  a  considerable  lessening  of 
eye  strain  and  fatigue  had  been  ac- 
complished by  having  the  two  hands 
move  in  unison;  the  left  hand  hold- 
ing the  unsorted  tickets  and  the  right 
hand  picking  off  the  tickets  and,  with 
only  a  short  movement,  placing  them 
in  the  proper  pockets. 

The  first  step  in  the  rack  sorting 
operation  is  performed  by  referring 
to  the  last  two  digits  of  the  telephone 
number,  commonly  referred  to  as  the 
"right-hand  sorting  number,"  The 
sorting  clerks  soon  become  adept  in 
locating  the  rack  pocket  correspond- 
ing to  the  right-hand  sorting  number 
and  in  rhythmically  moving  from  one 
pocket  to  another,  accomplishing  the 
sorting  with  considerable  rapidity. 
After  all  tickets  for  a  given  sort- 


1948 


Sorting  Two-and-a-Half  Billion  Tickets  a  Year 


169 


ing  assignment  have  been 
placed  in  the  rack  pock- 
ets in  the  manner  de- 
scribed, they  are  then 
removed  in  reverse  se- 
quence order,  i.e.,  "99" 
to  "00,"  and  then  sorted 
according  to  the  two  left- 
hand  digits,  referred  to 
as  the  "left-hand  sorting 
number."  By  beginning 
the  left-hand  sort  with 
the  tickets  in  this  ar- 
rangement and  proceed- 
ing in  descending  se- 
quence to  the  double 
zero,  the  tickets,  when 
removed  from  the  pock- 
ets after  the  completion 
of  the  left-hand  sort,  are 
in  complete  numerical  se- 
quence. The  tickets  are, 
as  a  consequence,  sorted 
into  complete  telephone 
number  order  with  only  two  han- 
dlings, as  contrasted  with  the  four 
handlings  under  the  desk  method. 

Sorti?ig  for  Billmg  Periods 

Thus  far  we  have  described  the 
sorting  operation  as  it  would  be  per- 
formed if  the  tickets  for  a  single 
day's  business  were  sorted  into  com- 
plete numerical  sequence.  However, 
it  is  not  economical  to  complete  the 
sorting  of  tickets  for  each  individual 
day's  business.  That  is  because  such 
an  arrangement  would  require  sev- 
eral rehandlings  of  all  tickets,  in  a 
series  of  special  assembling  opera- 
tions, to  bring  together  in  chrono- 
logical order  for  a  full  billing  pe- 
riod all  tickets  for  each  telephone 
number. 

Under     the     rack     method,     such 


Proudly  on  her  own!  A  new  sorting  clerk  puts  into  prac- 
tice her  lessons  on  proper  position  of  the  hands 


special  assembling  work  is  entirely 
avoided  for  most  central  offices. 
This  is  done  by  sorting  each  day's 
tickets  for  a  full  billing  period  into 
the  same  racks  according  to  the  right- 
hand  sorting  number  only.  When  the 
last  date  in  the  billing  period  has 
been  sorted,  the  tickets  for  the  earli- 
est date  are  at  the  bottom  in  each 
pocket.  The  regular  secondary  sort- 
ing of  these  tickets  according  to  the 
left-hand  sorting  number  then  pro- 
duces directly  the  required  numerical 
and  chronological  arrangement  of 
the  tickets  for  the  full  billing  period, 
the  earliest  date  being  at  the  top,  as 
it  should  be  for  billing  purposes. 

For  the  larger  central  offices, 
where  the  volume  of  tickets  may  be 
too  great  to  warrant  deferring  the 
sorting  by  the  left-hand  sorting  num- 
ber until  the  end  of  the  billing  pe- 


170 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


This  photograph  of  the  set  used  in  shooting  the  motion  picture  ''Sorting  Toll  Tickets'' 
illustrates  what  goes  on  behind  the  scenes  to  counterfeit  reality.  The  three  pictures  on 
pages  i6y,  168,  and  i6g  are  from  this  "movie"  while  the  first  picture  {page  i6§)  is  from 

"An  Orchid  for  Peggy" 


riod,  some  intermediate  sorting  by 
the  left-hand  sorting  number  may  be 
required — in  which  case  some  special 
assembling  work,  would  be  necessary. 
The  rack  method  does,  nonetheless, 
reduce  substantially  the  number  of 
times  the  tickets  are  handled,  not 
only  because  of  the  sorting  of  two 
digits  at  a  time  but  because  of  the 
elimination  or  reduction  of  the 
amount  of  special  assembling  time 
involved. 

Instruction  through  Motion  Picture 

The  success  of  the  racks  is  due  net 
only  to  the  device  itself  but  in  large 


degree  to  the  use  of  the  proper  tech- 
nique in  the  handling  of  the  tickets. 

It  was  first  thought  that  this  tech- 
nique could  be  described  in  writing 
with  sufficient  effectiveness  to  permit 
instructors  to  teach  it  successfully  to 
sorting  students.  It  soon  developed, 
however,  that  this  could  not  be  sat- 
isfactorily achieved  by  depending  on 
text  alone  to  convey  the  exact  man- 
ner of  handling  the  tickets. 

Even  though  classes  for  super- 
visors and  staff  people  were  held  with 
instruction  from  people  skilled  in  the 
technique,  it  became  evident  that  the 
process  of  transmitting  this  skill  to 
the  several  thousand  clerks  required 


1948 


Sorting  Two-and-a-Half  Billion  Tickets  a  Year 


171 


for  this  work,  and  to  the  added  thou- 
sands who  would  be  employed  over 
the  months  to  replace  those  who  re- 
signed or  were  promoted,  would  un- 
duly defer  the  realization  of  the 
important  economies  that  could  be 
effected.  It  would  also  be  difficult 
to  preserve  the  exact  technique  over 
a  period  of  time  because  of  changes 
in  supervisory  personnel. 

Methods  people  in  the  A.  T.  &  T. 
Comptroller's  Department  had  al- 
ready had  experience  with  sound- 
motion  pictures  in  meeting  other  tech- 
nical training  problems,  and  it  was 
decided  to  produce  a  picture  which 
would  provide  demonstration  by 
skilled  sorting  people.  As  a  result, 
a  training  picture  entitled  "Sorting 
Toll  Tickets"  was  produced  with  the 
assistance  of  the  Film  and  Display 
Division  of  the  A.  T.  &  T.  Informa- 
tion Department  and  was  distributed 
to  all  Bell  System  companies.  This 
picture  provides  expert  effective  visual 
aid  for  instructors'  use  in  the  account- 
ing offices.  An  Instructor's  Guide 
was  issued  with  the  picture  as  an  in- 
tegral part  of  the  training  program 
to  assist  instructors  in  the  use  of  the 
film.  Also,  a  set  of  12  still  pictures 
illustrating  the  key  points  in  the  sort- 
ing technique  was  prepared  as  an 
additional  visual  aid  during  training 
and  to  assist  supervisors  in  correcting 
any  sorting  faults  which  might  sub- 
sequently develop.  The  motion  pic- 
ture has  proved  successful  in  provid- 
ing the  offices  with  uniform  expert 
instruction  and  demonstration  of  the 
precise  technique  which  will  produce 
the  best  results. 


Motion  pictures  produced  with 
other  objectives  have  been  found  use- 
ful also  in  providing  demonstration 
of  the  performance  of  varfous  op- 
erations. The  Accounting  Depart- 
ment film  "An  Orchid  for  Peggy" 
included  several  scenes  in  which  the 
two-handed  method  of  sorting  tick- 
ets was  clearly  demonstrated — al- 
though the  purpose  of  the  picture 
was  primarily  to  show  the  accounting 
clerks,  especially  those  of  short  serv- 
ice, through  the  medium  of  a  story 
treatment  the  importance  of  clerical 
assignments,  such  as  ticket  sorting, 
in  the  over-all  job  of  giving  telephone 
service.  Another  Accounting  Depart- 
ment picture,  "The  Truth  About  An- 
gela Jones,"  now  in  production,  while 
designed  to  bring  out  the  need  for 
clerks  to  do  a  quality  job  and  to  ac- 
cept the  quality  standards  expected 
by  the  public,  will  include  a  sequence 
built  around  rack  sorting  and  will 
incidentally  show  clearly  the  tech- 
nique of  this  method. 

Future  developments  may  bring 
about  changes  in  toll  operations  and 
in  the  recording  of  toll  calls.  Never- 
theless, as  already  stated,  the  present 
requirements  are  that  2^  billion 
tickets  a  year  must  be  sorted  numeri- 
cally and  chronologically.  This  is 
in  fact  a  stupendous  job.  Intensive 
study  has  resulted  in  a  substantial 
saving  in  time  and  in  making  the  op- 
eration more  interesting  to  the  per- 
sonnel, and  it  may  be  found  by  con- 
tinued study  of  the  sorting  processes 
that  still  further  advances  can  be 
made. 


The  Bell  System  s  Motor  Vehicle  Safety  Program  Aims  to 

Eliminate  Personal  Injuries  and  Make  More  Rfficient  the 

Transportation  of  Men^  Tools,  and  Materials 


Promoting  Safety  in  Our 
Automotive  Fleet 

Rrle  S.  Miner 


The  problem  of  fostering  safe  driv- 
ing has  become  increasingly  impor- 
tant in  the  Bell  System  with  the 
growth  in  traffic  on  the  nation's 
streets  and  highways  and  in  the  num- 
ber of  telephone  company  motor  ve- 
hicles. 

The  Bell  System  automotive  fleet 
is  the  largest  fleet  of  commercial  ve- 
hicles in  the  world.  These  cars, 
trucks,  and  miscellaneous  rolling 
stock  cover  some  600,000,000  miles 
a  year.  Traveling  the  normal  dis- 
tance apart  on  the  highway,  they 
would  make  a  continuous  procession 
across  the  country  from  coast  to 
coast. 

It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  the  op- 
erators of  telephone  company  ve- 
hicles who  begin  each  day's  work  by 
driving  onto  the  streets,  roads,  and 
highways  from  company  garages  lo- 
cated in  towns  and  cities  throughout 
the  country  recognize  that  they  play 
an  important  part  in  demonstrating 
safe  and  courteous  driving.     It  is  a 


tribute  to  the  sincere  efforts  of  these 
employees,  resolved  to  drive  each 
mile  during  each  day  alert  to  the  haz- 
ards of  both  vehicular  and  pedestrian 
travel,  that  their  success  has  been 
demonstrated  over  and  over  again  by 
excellent  safety  records. 

One  widespread  idea  that  has 
made  the  prevention  of  accidents 
unnecessarily  difficult  is  the  ground- 
less belief  that  motor  vehicle  acci- 
dents are  the  inevitable  price  we 
have  to  pay  for  technological  prog- 
ress in  transportation.  Experience 
has  proved  that  such  accidents  are 
preventable,  and  can  be  decreased  by 
intelligent  planning — just  as  in  other 
fields. 

As  is  generally  known,  organized 
fact  collecting,  analysis,  planning,  and 
practical  application  of  findings  have 
made  possible  real  progress  in  gen- 
eral accident  reduction  in  the  Bell 
System.  The  same  approach  is  be- 
ing applied  to  assure  safe  operation 
of  the  Bell  System  fleet. 


Promoting  Safety  in  Our  Automotive  Fleet 


^'    173 


The  Old  Way  ...  and  the  New 

Modern  power  equipment  makes  the  telephone  job  less  arduous,  more  efficient 

and  safer 


The  features  which  comprise  such 
a  comprehensive  safety  program  in- 
clude : 

( 1 )  Improved  selection,  training, 
and  supervision  of  drivers,  and 
the  maintenance  of  their  interest 
and  good  attitude; 

(2)  proper  care  of  the  vehicles 
through  modern  maintenance 
methods,  and; 

(3)  design  of  motor  vehicles  and 
equipment  to  best  meet  the 
needs  of  the  business. 

Selection  of  Drivers 

The  fleet  consists  of  half-ton 
trucks,  of  which  the  installation  type 
is  representative;  other  trucks,  rang- 
ing in  size  from  three-quarter-ton 
load  capacity  up  to  5-  and  even  10- 
ton  capacity;  and  passenger  cars  for 
supervisors  in  the  field.     There  are, 


in  addition,  trailers,  pole-hole  dig- 
gers, pole  derricks,  platform  ladder 
trucks,  tractors,  bulldozers,  air  com- 
pressors, trenching  machines,  various 
kinds  of  wire  and  cable  plows,  and 
other  miscellaneous  types  of  vehicles. 
All  these  require  operators  trained 
and  always  alert  to  assure  their  safe 
and  efficient  operation. 

Most  of  the  trucks  and  cars  mak- 
ing up  the  Bell  System  fleet  have  for 
their  main  purpose  the  transportation 
of  men,  tools,  and  materials;  and,  in 
many  cases,  the  provision  also  of 
power-operated  devices  for  work  on 
the  job.  Thus  the  employees  who 
drive  vehicles  generally  do  so  as  only 
a  part,  but  a  very  important  part,  of 
their  regular  telephone  jobs. 

These  employees  are  selected  on 
the  basis  of  being  physically  and 
mentally   qualified   after   training   to 


174 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


Bad  weather  creates  hazardous  driving  conditions,  which  require  watchful  driving  to 
overcome.     Note  the  crew  compartment  behind  the  cab  of  this  construction  truck 


perform  safely  all  the  telephone 
tasks  to  which  they  will  be  assigned. 
The  amount  of  driving  each  day  by 
the  many  drivers  necessarily  varies 
widely  with  geographic  conditions, 
job  locations,  and  types  of  work. 
Nevertheless,  special  emphasis  is 
placed  on  selecting  employees  who 
possess  proper  physical  and  mental 
qualifications  and  attitudes  for  devel- 
oping into  satisfactory  drivers. 

Physical  examinations  of  new  emr 
ployees  who  are  to  drive  cars  gen- 
erally devote  special  attention  to  eye- 
sight, hearing,  heart  and  blood-pres- 
sure tests.  Then  initial  road  tests 
are  usually  given  to  help  determine 
individual  training  requirements. 

In  several  companies,  it  has  been 
found  desirable  to  give  drivers  peri- 


odic physical  examinations  and  road 
tests.  Neither  initial  nor  periodical 
examinations  and  tests  given  have 
been  found  to  be  a  "cure-all"  for  mo- 
tor vehicle  accidents;  their  primary 
purpose  is  to  enable  individuals  to  im- 
prove themselves  as  drivers  by  com- 
pensating for  any  weaknesses,  not  to 
deprive  them  of  the  privilege  of  driv- 
ing. Also,  periodic  testing  of  drivers 
calls  to  their  attention  physical  de- 
fects which  may  be  corrected,  and, 
furthermore,  heightens  their  interest 
in  careful  driving. 

The  relatively  few  chauffeurs  and 
drivers  of  the  longer-mileage  sup- 
ply and  delivery  trucks  are  usually 
given  more  rigid  physical  examina- 
tions than  the  drivers  who  operate 
vehicles  shorter  mileages  as  a  part 


1948 


Promoting  Safety  in  Our  Automotive  Fleet 


175 


of  their  regular  jobs.  Yet  all  ex- 
aminations and  road  tests  must  be 
sufficiently  thorough  to  measure  the 
individual's  driving  knowledge,  skills, 
and  attitudes,  so  that  training  and 
remedial  measures  may  be  initiated 
to  offset  any  weaknesses  revealed. 
The  same  general  procedure  which 
has  been  found  to  be  essential  in 
determining  the  training  needs  of  em- 
ployees who  are  to  become  cable 
splicers,  linemen,  installers,  switch- 
men, and  other  craftsmen,  applies  in 
the  same  way  to  finding  out  training 
requirements  of  the  operators  of  the 
automotive  fleet. 

Training  Motor  Vehicle  Drivers 

The  most  important  part  of  the 
fleet  safety  program,   strongly  justi- 


fied from  humanitarian  and  economic 
points  of  view,  is  that  of  training. 
The  need  for  training  in  safety  is 
never  ending.  It  begins  when  the 
employee  enters  the  business,  and 
should  continue,  as  required,  to  the 
day  he  leaves  the  service. 

The  method  of  training  employees 
to  drive  company  vehicles  is  usually 
governed  by  the  number  employed  at 
one  time  in  a  particular  location.  In 
cities  where  centralized  schools  can 
be  organized,  new  drivers  receive  the 
benefit  of  classroom  instruction  in 
addition  to  road  tests  and  supple- 
mentary training  under  actual  operat- 
ing situations.  Under  other  condi- 
tions, all  road  tests  and  necessary 
training  are  given  by  supervisors  or 
other  qualified  personnel.     Many  of 


Thorough  inspection  and  maintenance  of  motor  vehicles,  in  company  garages  from  coast 
to  coast ^  have  a  major  share  in  the  Bell  System's  safety  program 


176 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


the  latter  have  completed  supervisory 
training  courses  on  safe  driving  es- 
tablished at  over  30  colleges  and 
universities. 

The  complete  training  of  drivers 
is  one  of  the  major  responsibilities 
of  the  supervisor.  He  must  know 
what  is  taught  at  the  Company 
schools;  he  must  be  familiar  with 
each  man's  ability,  attitude,  and  hab- 
its as  a  driver;  and  he  must  see  that 
the  training  is  done  effectively  if  the 
safety  program  is  to  be  successful. 

It  is  common  practice  to  give  "re- 
fresher" courses  on  a  periodic  basis, 
and  seasonal  reminders — being  par- 
ticularly careful  of  children  going 
to  school  and  at  play,  and  alert  to 
winter  driving  hazards.  Again,  the 
method  of  giving  this  training  de- 
pends upon  the  number  of  employees 
at  a  particular  location.  A  usual 
method  is  to  provide  a  suitable  class- 
room and  make  full  use  of  discussion 
and  visual  aids.  Many  excellent 
sound  motion  pictures  and  strip  films 
are  available  and  have  been  used  ex- 
tensively. So  have  model  demonstra- 
tion boards  with  miniature  trucks 
and  cars  which  portray  in  a  realistic 
manner  the  causes  of  accidents  and 
their  prevention.    Other  training  me- 


The  tough  part  of  the  motor  ve- 
hicle safety  problem  is  that  driving 
smoothly  and  safely  for  a  block,  for 
a  mile,  a  day,  a  month,  a  year  is  not 
enough.  Each  driver  must  practice 
continuously  the  highest  type  of  self 
control,  must  keep  alert,  must  adjust 
his  driving  to  meet  traffic,  road,  and 
weather  conditions. 


More  than  60  percent  of  the  System's  motor 

vehicles  are  half-ton  trucks^  of  which  the 

installation  type  is  representative 


dia  include  blackboard  illustrations, 
charts  and  diagrams,  bulletin  boards, 
posters,  company  magazines,  monthly 
accident  reports,  and  safety  meetings. 

Not  only  is  it  necessary  to  be 
sure  that  regular  operators  of  the  ve- 
hicles are  fully  trained,  but  the  sub- 
stitute drivers  and  the  engineers  and 
other  employees  who  drive  cars  oc- 
casionally must  also  be  safe,  courte- 
ous, and  efficient.  It  is  also  necessary 
to  train  construction  forces  in  the 
safe  operation  of  all  the  auxiliary  mo- 
tor and  power  equipment — derricks, 
winches,  cable  plows,  trailers,  pole- 
hole  diggers,  tractors,  trenching  ma- 
chines, and  others — enumerated  pre- 
viously. 

All  this  training  of  75,000  regular 
and  occasional  Bell  System  drivers 
has  further  safety  value,  since  it  en- 
ables them  to  operate  their  own  cars 
properly  when  off  the  job  and  thus 
add  to  the  over-all  safety  on  the 
streets,  roads,  and  highways  of  the 
nation. 

It  has  been  said  that  a  supervisor 
must  be  first  of  all  a  teacher.  This 
includes  not  merely  initial  instruc- 
tion but  "follow-up" — maintaining 
the  employee's  interest  and  correct 
attitude  and  many  other  things  nec- 
essary to  get  results.  The  impor- 
tance of  this  is  illustrated  by  one  As- 


1948 


Promoting  Safety  in  Our  Automotive  Fleet 


^11 


sociated  Company  division  that  made 
a  remarkable  reduction  in  accidents 
after  the  foremen  and  other  supervi- 
sors had  been  with  their  drivers  on 
the  road  for  a  sufficient  time  to  ob- 
serve the  driving  skills  and  habits 
of  their  men  and  had  then  re- 
trained them  as  required.  This  was 
a  real  application  of  the  Bell  System 
"Safety  Observation  Plan,"  *  which 
has  for  its  purpose  the  detection  of 
unsafe  practices  and  their  correction 
before  accidents  occur. 

While  the  success  of  any  safety 
program  is  usually  a  reflection  of  the 
interest  maintained  by  management 
in  the  prevention  of  accidents,  it  is, 
after  all,  the  first  line  supervisor  or 
foreman  with  whom  the  employee 
comes  in  daily  contact.  It  is  the  fore- 
man who  is  actively  engaged  in  di- 

*  See  "The  Bell   System's  Safety  Observation 
Plan,"'  Magazine,  Summer  1944. 


recting  the  operations  on  the  job  and 
it  is,  therefore,  necessary  that  he  be 
properly  trained  to  fulfill  his  obliga- 
tions of  seeing  that  his  men  drive 
safely.  The  types  of  supervisory 
training  which  are  helpful  to  the 
foremen  in  this  endeavor  include : 
Vocational  Instructor  Training,  de- 
signed to  teach  the  foreman  how  to 
teach;  Human  Relations  Course;  and 
Job  Planning. 

Creating  Driver  Interest 

An  employee  may  possess  the  nec- 
essary skills  and  knowledge  for  safe 
driving  and  yet  be  involved  in  acci- 
dents unless  he  has  the  proper  atti- 
tude and  always  keeps  his  mind  on  his 
driving  when  operating  his  vehicle. 

The  Bell  System  companies  are 
using  many  methods  to  create  and 
maintain    interest    and    develop    the 


Plowing-in  telephone  cable  presents  potential  hazards  which  call  for  careful  planning  of 
the  project  and  equally  careful  training  in  the  necessary  precautions 


178 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


proper  attitudes  for  safe  driving.  In 
addition  to  the  means  already  men- 
tioned, a  number  of  other  projects  in 
the  fleet  safety  programs  are  de- 
signed primarily  to  create  and  main- 
tain the  interest  and  correct  attitude 
of  drivers. 

Safe  Driver  Award  Plans 

The  companies  have  found  such  plans  to 
be  of  value  in  stimulating  and  maintaining 
drivers'  interest  in  safety.  They  vary  some- 
what in  kind  and  method  of  presentation. 
A  usual  procedure  is  to  present  at  suitable 
annual  meetings  card  certificates  showing 
the  number  of  years  the  employee  has  op- 
erated a  car  without  an  accident.  Some- 
times it  has  been  found  possible  to  have  the 
State  Commissioner  of  Motor  Vehicles  or 
some  other  state  or  city  official  present  upon 
such  an  occasion.  Photographs  of  these 
meetings  and  further  recognition  to  the  out- 
standing drivers  often  appear  in  the  com- 
pany magazines  and  safety  publications. 


Hundred-thousand-Mile  Clubs 

In  addition  to  cards,  special  recognition 
is  given  to  drivers  who  have  operated  their 
vehicles  ten  years  (about  100,000  miles) 
without  an  accident.  The  awards  are  pre- 
sented by  officials  of  the  company  at  annual 
meetings  attended  by  the  drivers  or  even  all 
the  employees  in  a  district.  Upon  the  com- 
pletion of  fifteen  or  twenty  years'  safe  driv- 
ing, employees  may  be  given  further  recog- 
nition. 

Safety  Contests 

In  this  activity  the  accident  summaries 
are  used  to  engender  friendly  competition 
and  rivalry  between  districts  and  Areas. 
Suitable  plaques  and  awards  are  presented 
to  the  winners. 

Driver's  Resolutions 

Employees  in  some  companies  are  given 
opportunity  to  sign  cards  containing  a  reso- 
lution to  drive  safely  both  on  and  off  the 
job  during  the  coming  year.  The  cards  are 
kept  by  the  employees  and  serve  as  a  re- 


How  accidents  happen,  and 
how  they  can  be  avoided, 
are  shown  on  demonstra- 
tion boards  with  miniature 
vehicles 


Vehicles  on  the  board  at  the 

right    are     maneuvered    by 

means  of  electrical  controls 


1948 


Promoting  Safety  in  Our  Automotive  Fleet 


179 


About  20yOOO  safety  posters^   -printed  in 

colors^  are  used  monthly  in  the  Bell  System. 

Many  are  reminders  to  drive  safely 


minder  of  the  safe  driving  precautions  to 
be  observed. 

Steering-Wheel  Cards 

These  cards,  about  the  size  of  an  ordi- 
nar}'  post  card,  contain  brief  printed  in- 
structions or  reminders  and  are  placed  on 
the  steering  wheels  of  vehicles.  New  cards 
with  different  wording  are  used  each  week 
for  perhaps  25  consecutive  weeks.  These 
have  a  definite  educational  value  as  well. 

FiRST-AiD  Training 

Experience  has  shown  that  persons 
trained  in  first  aid  understand  better  the 
seriousness  of  injuries  and  will  do  more  to 
keep  from  becoming  involved  in  accidents. 

It  should  not  be  assumed  that  all 
these  activities  are  under  way  at  the 
same  time  in  all  Bell  System  com- 
panies. It  is  recognized  that  any 
employee  stimulation  which  becomes 
monotonous  loses  its  appeal.  For 
this  reason  certain  projects  may  be 
discontinued  and  others  introduced 
in  the  effort  at  all  times  to  do  things 


which  seem  to  be  most  successful  in 
developing  smooth,  courteous,  effi- 
cient drivers,  always  mindful  of  the 
rights  of  pedestrians  and  other  mo- 
torists. 


i8o 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


Motor  Vehicle  Accident  Data 
and  Their  Use 

All  kinds  of  records  are  needed 
in  the  Bell  System  for  efficient  op- 
eration. In  order  to  determine  the 
effectiveness  of  the  motor  vehicle 
safety  activities,  accident  reports  are 
carefully  recorded  and  summarized. 
The  summaries  are  compared  with 
the  results  for  other  periods,  and 
any  trends  which  are  developing  are 
noted.  Thus  information  is  provided 
for  the  purpose  of  showing  where 
special  attention  might  most  profit- 
ably be  applied. 

This  information — the  facts  be- 
hind the  accidents — may  indicate  a 
need  for  change  in  design  of  equip- 
ment; change  in  practices;  or  the 
introduction  of  special  training  to 
correct  unsafe  acts  or  driving  habits 
— speeding,  following  too  closely, 
lack  of  concentration. 

Accident  reports  and  records  are 
not  an  end  in  themselves.  They  are 
valuable  if  used  to  determine  the 
progress  being  made,  conditions  and 
driving  practices  which  cause  acci- 
dents, remedial  measure  to  be  intro- 
duced to  correct  adverse  trends :  in 
general,  the  basis  for  a  sound  motor 
vehicle  accident  prevention  program. 

It  is  essential  that  drivers  appre- 
ciate the  need  for  traffic  laws  as  nec- 
essary to  both  the  movement  of  traf- 
fic and  the  prevention  of  accidents. 
Bell  System  drivers  do  understand 
this;  and,  furthermore,  they  know 
that  drivers  who  disregard  the  rights 
of  others  must  be  restrained  from  do- 
ing so,  and  in  extreme  cases  denied 
the  privilege  of  driving  if  they  persist 
in  the  practice.  This  makes  for  an 
appreciation  of  the  need  for  efficient 
law  enforcement   and   for  measures 


which  are  aimed  at  saving  life  and 
property  through  the  prevention  of 
accidents  to  other  motorists  and  pe- 
destrians. 

To  help  this  realization,  the  tele- 
phone companies  furnish  their  em- 
ployees an  illustrated  booklet  con- 
taining the  city  and  state  driving 
regulations,  operating  practices,  or 
rules  for  safe  driving  and  procedures 
to  follow  in  reporting  accidents  if 
they  occur.  Operating  practices  cov- 
ered in  the  booklets  are  exemplified 
by  the  following: 
Traffic  signs  and  Parking 

lights  Inattention 

Traffic  lanes  Taking  chances 

Intersections  Right  and  left  turns 

Following  too  close      Passing 
Weather  conditions        Use  of  horn 
Fog,  snow,  sleet  and      Hand  signals 

rain  Speeding 

Pedestrians — chil-  School  buses  and 

dren  trolleys 

These  efforts  have  resulted  in 
splendid  cooperation  between  Bell 
System  drivers  and  city  and  highway 
police.  Evidence  of  this  is  the  at- 
tendance of  city  and  state  police  of- 
ficers at  safety  award  meetings  and 
their  commendations  given  for  the 
courteous  operation  of  telephone 
company  cars.  Bell  System  employ- 
ees are  often  called  upon,  in  turn, 
to  give  police  organizations  the  bene- 
fit of  Bell  System  first  aid  training 
and  safety  experience,  and  often  re- 
ceive favorable  publicity  in  the  news- 
papers for  safe  driving. 

Modern  Maintenance  Methods 
Promote  Safety 

In  no  other  field  of  accident  pre- 
vention is  it  so  evident  that  the  in- 
efficiencies which  cause  accidents  are 
the  same  as  those  which  lead  to  other 
production  losses. 


1948 


Promoting  Safety  in  Our  Automotive  Fleet 


181 


A  trailer  equipped  with 
motion-picture  projector  and 
screen  and  with  other  display 
items  takes  classroom  safety 
training  to  men  on  the  job 
in  remote  locations 


Above:  Inside  the  trailer^ 
men  compare  pictures  of  the 
unsafe  and  safe  methods  of 
performing  a  task.  Right: 
The  mobile  training  unit 
reaches  a  construction  crew 
out  in  the  great  open  spaces 


Experience  has  definitely  proven 
that  safety  and  efficiency  go  hand  in 
hand.  This  seems  particularly  true 
in  providing  adequately  maintained 
motor  vehicle  equipment  that  is  safe 
for  employees  to  operate  on  the 
streets,  roads,  and  highways,  through 
all  kinds  of  traffic  and  varying 
weather  conditions. 

Preventive  maintenance  assures 
that  vehicles  will  be  able  to  get  safely 
to  their  destinations  and  not  be  held 
up  for  emergency  repairs,  reduces  to 
a  minimum  the  possibility  of  acci- 
dents caused  by  mechanical  failures, 
and  maintains  the  condition  and  ap- 
pearance of  the  vehicles  so  that  driv- 
ers will  be  proud  of  their  vehicle. 

Bell  System  companies  have  long 
recognized  the  value  of  properly 
maintained  garages.  A  clean,  or- 
derly,    good-looking    garage,     stock 


room,  and  storage  yard  reduce  the 
possibility  of  accidents  to  the  garage 
forces  and  to  motor  vehicle  drivers 
while  entering  or  leaving  the  garage 
or  yard.  A  properly  maintained 
garage  can  be  an  incentive  for  driv- 
ers to  keep  their  cars,  tools,  and 
equipment  in  good  condition  and  to 
drive  and  work  safely  during  the  day. 
Drivers  are  trained  to  understand 
the  fundamentals  of  mechanical  con- 
struction and  operation  of  their  ve- 
hicle and  equipment,  and  the  value  of 
preventive  maintenance.  The  value 
of  checking  steering,  brakes,  horn, 
lights,  tires,  and  windshield  wipers 
before  leaving. the  garage  each  morn- 
ing and  reporting  each  defect  at  the 
end  of  the  day's  work  are  included 
in  the  training.  This  is  because  al- 
most all  motor  vehicle  failure  is  pro- 
gressive,  and  many  of  the  troubles 


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Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


which  lead  to  eventual  breakdown 
can  be  discovered  and  reported  by 
the  driver.  This  is  another  way  of 
preventing  accidents  before  they  hap- 
pen. 

Fitting  Motor  Vehicles  for 
the  Work  To  Be  Done 

Motor  vehicle  equipment,  like 
telephones  and  switchboards  and  all 
the  other  types  of  telephone  plant, 
is  constantly  being  improved  to  meet 
the  particular  needs  of  the  service. 

In  this  evolutionary  process,  one 
of  the  main  features  always  given 
consideration  by  Bell  System  auto- 
motive engineers  is  to  build  safety 
into  design  and  use  of  the  equipment. 

In  addition  to  making  equipment 
safe  to  use  and  the  work  less  burden- 
some, it  is  designed  with  the  comfort 
and  convenience  of  the  employees  in 
mind.  Examples  include  the  devel- 
opment of  the  crew  compartment  on 
trucks  behind  the  regular  three  man 


cab,  space  for  storage  of  lunch  boxes, 
heaters  (when  necessary),  and  drink- 
ing water  coolers. 

In  the  use  of  motor  vehicles  and 
the  many  kinds  of  construction  ap- 
paratus, employees  are  encouraged 
to  observe  and  report  upon  operat- 
ing practices  and  upon  design  fea- 
tures of  the  equipment  which  can 
be  improved  from  the  standpoint  of 
safety  or  efficiency. 

Improved  and  modern  automotive 
equipment  has  done  much  over  a  pe- 
riod of  years  to  make  telephone  work 
less  burdensome  as  well  as  safer. 
This  is  the  natural  result  of  placing 
special  emphasis  on  all  mechanical 
devices  which  will  save  time  and 
promote  efficiency.  A  few  outstand- 
ing examples  illustrate  the  modern 
method  of  utilizing  automotive  power 
equipment  rather  than  hand  power: 
digging  holes  with  pole-hole  diggers; 
handling,  setting,  and  moving  poles 
with  power  winches  and  derricks;  us- 


A  lOOfiOO-Mile-Club  dinner.     The  12  men  in  the  foreground  have  driven  20  years 

each  without  an  accident 


1948 


Promoting  Safety  in  Our  Automotive  Fleet 


183 


THIS  CERTIFIES  THAT 


HAS  COMPLETED  TEN  YEARS  OF  SAFE  DRIVING  AND  IS  HEREWITH  MADE 
A  MEMBER  OF  THE  BEU  TELEPHONE  HUNDRED  THOUSAND  MILE  CIU8 
M*n>h*rihip  No  Awarded 

THE  BELL  TELEPBOKE  COMPAHT 
or  PENNSYLVANIA 


Awards  and  certificates  are  presented  to  employees  who  have 
established  outstanding  records  for  safe  driving 


ing  power  reels  for  taking  down  wire 
and  removing  cable;  and  using  pole 
and  cable-reel  trailers.  The  use  of 
power  winches  for  lifting  heavy 
loads,  pulling  in  and  removing  aerial 
and  underground  cable,  and  many 
other  operations  has  lightened  bur- 
dens and  made  telephone  work  easier, 
safer  and  more  efficient. 

Printed  instructions  covering  the 
methods  of  using  automotive  equip- 
ment and  construction  apparatus  in- 
clude safety  precautions.  The  cable 
splicer  working  with  a  truck  equipped 
with  a  platform  ladder  would  have 
a  practice  covering  the  raising  and 
lowering  of  the  ladder.  This  prac- 
tice contains  such  statements  as: 

"Before  erecting  the  ladder,  be 
sure  to  learn  and  understand  all 
the  safety  and  general  precau- 
tions involved." 

".  .  .  make  sure  that  any  signals 
are  thoroughly  understood  by 
all  persons  concerned." 


"Immediately  after  entering  the 
platform,  attach  both  safety 
chains  to  the  D  rings  of  your 
body  belt." 

In  the  final  analysis,  the  success 
of  the  motor  vehicle  accident  pro- 
gram rests  in  the  hands  of  the  75,000 
regular  and  occasional  operators  of 
the  motor  vehicle  equipment.  That 
is  the  reason  safety  programs  are 
designed  to  utilize  every  possible  edu- 
cational method  to  develop  in  each 
driver  an  understanding  of  the  ap- 
proved techniques  of  skillful  driving, 
as  well  as  a  feeling  of  his  responsibil- 
ities to  himself,  his  organization,  the 
pedestrian,  and  other  users  of  the 
highway. 

That  this  approach  has  been  suc- 
cessful is  evidenced  by  the  number 
of  times  that  telephone  company  em- 
ployees who  operate  motor  vehicles 
have  won  high  honors  when  they 
have  competed  with  other  fleets  op- 


184 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


The  National  Safety  Council  reports 
32,300  persons  killed  last  year  and 
100,000  left  with  some  permanent 
impairment,  due  to  motor  vehicle  ac- 
cidents in  the  United  States.  The 
estimated  property  damage  was  $l,- 
100,000,000,  plus  an  additional  cost 
of  $1,550,000,000  for  medical  ex- 
penses, overhead  costs,  and  value  of 
services  lost  to  the  nation  because  of 
these  motor  vehicle  accidents  during 
the  year. 


erating  in  the  same  city  or  locality. 
The  good  safety  record  of  Bell  Sys- 
tem drivers  as  a  whole  parallels  the 
fine  safety  record  of  the  employees 
of  the  entire  communications  indus- 
try shown  each  year  in  figures  pub- 
lished by  the  National  Safety  Coun- 
cil. These  figures  continue  to  show 
that  the  communications  industry  has 
the  best  accident  record  in  American 
industry. 

Although  the  employees  in  the  tel- 
ephone companies  are  justly  proud 
of  their  safety  records,   it  is  recog- 


nized that  the  problem  is  a  never 
ending  one.  The  general  traffic  con- 
ditions probably  will  not  improve 
very  rapidly  as  more  vehicles  fill  the 
highways.  With  this  there  will  be 
new  drivers  coming  into  the  business, 
and  new  types  and  designs  of  motor 
vehicles  and  power  equipment  requir- 
ing special  training  and  attention. 
Telephone  service  is  essential  in  rain, 
sleet  or  sunshine.  The  fleet  of  well 
kept  Bell  System  cars  will  be  on  the 
road  in  all  kinds  of  weather.  Each 
driver,  trying  to  be  courteous  and 
careful,  knows  that  an  extra  measure 
of  caution  and  concentration  goes  a 
long  way  in  preventing  accidents. 

While  the  purpose  of  organized 
safety  is  primarily  to  prevent  suffer- 
ing, heartaches,  and  financial  losses 
to  employees,  their  families,  and  oth- 
ers, a  good  record  demonstrates  that 
steps  have  also  been  taken  to  improve 
public  relations,  reduce  costs,  and 
otherwise  increase  the  eflficiency  of 
operations. 

It  makes  sense — because  by  doing 
things  the  safe  way  all  are  gainers. 


M^  ma  mwjsim 

This  creed  is  standard  equipment  on  the 

instrument  panel   of  every    Bell   System 

motor  vehicle 


Mechanical    Prevention    and    Legal    Penalties    Det^   the 

Minority   IV ho  Seek  to  Defraud  the   Telephone   Companies 

For  Services  Rendered  at  Coin  Telephones 


Most  People  Are  Honest 

H,  Montague  Pope 


It  was  in  the  year  1889  that  the 
first  public  coin  telephone  was  in- 
stalled, in  Hartford,  Connecticut,  on 
the  ground  floor  of  the  old  Hartford 
Bank,  at  the  corner  of  Main  Street 
and  Central  Row.  Other  public  coin 
telephones  soon  were  installed  in 
Connecticut,  and  were  gradually  in- 
troduced in  other  sections  of  the 
country. 

The  telephone  industry  in  those 
early  days  was  a  fast-growing  one — 
as,  in  fact,  it  still  is — and  with  the 
installation  of  the  ever  increasing 
number  of  telephones  in  homes  and 
business  concerns,  the  need  for  pub- 
lic telephones  became  increasingly  im- 
portant. Compared  with  that  first 
public  coin  telephone,  installed  in 
1889,  there  are  now  in  service  in 
this  country  nearly  720,000  Bell  Sys- 
tem public  and  semi-public  multi-slot 
coin  telephones,  and  more  than  3,000 
attended  public  telephones.  In  addi- 
tion, independent  telephone  compa- 
nies have  about  75,000  public  tele- 
phones in  service.  In  1947,  public 
telephones  produced  approximately 
$200,000,000  in  revenue.* 


Coin  telephones  have  tempted 
some  people  to  beat  the  telephone 
companies  out  of  legitimate  charges 
for  the  services  they  furnish,  through 
the  use  of  slugs  in  lieu  of  United 
States  nickels,  dimes,  and  quarters. 
Over  the  years,  the  use  of  slugs  had 
become  increasingly  prevalent,  until 
Bell  System  losses  reached  a  peak  in 

1933- 

It  was  a  serious  problem  for  the 
telephone  companies,  for  it  was  ap- 
parent that  losses  would  continue  to 
increase  unless  decisive  efforts  were 
made  to  combat  the  fraudulent  use 
of  slugs.  The  situation  was  can- 
vassed, and  consideration  was  given 
to  such  steps  as  designing  new  coin 
telephones,  modifying  existing  coin 
telephones,  attacking  the  sources  of 
slugs,  seeking  the  enactment  of  State 
laws  or  the  strengthening  of  existing 
laws,  and  invoking  existing  Federal 
laws. 

The  improvement  of  coin  tele- 
phones is,  like  the  improvement  of 
all  items  of  telephone  equipment,  a 

*  See  "Public  Telephones,"  Quarterly,  Oc- 
tober 1939;  and  "Public  Telephones:  They 
Serve  Everybody,"  Magazine,  Spring  1948. 


i86 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


The  Gray  Telephone  Pay  Sta- 
tion Company' s  first  coin  tele- 
phone apparatus — minus  trans- 
mitter and  receiver^  but  with  a 
support  for  the  left  elbow.  The 
year  was  i88g 

matter  for  continuing  study.  The 
decision  was,  therefore,  as  a  first 
step,  to  alter  and  refine  the  arrange- 
ments in  present  coin  telephones  for 
detecting  and  rejecting  slugs. 

The  metal  box  housing  the  coin 
collection  and  rejection  features  of 
the  public  telephone  has  been  kept 
as  small  as  possible,  and  there  are, 
therefore,  some  limitations  as  to 
what  modifications  can  be  made  in 
the  existing  telephones.  Bell  System 
coin  telephones  have  been  made  by 
Western  Electric  Company  since 
1934,  and  engineers  of  American 
Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company, 
Bell  Telephone  Laboratories,  and 
Western  Electric  Company  have  co- 
operated in  introducing  new  features 


in  the  coin  rejecting  mechanism  to 
the  extent  possible  in  the  space  avail- 
able. These  new  features  have  been 
principally  two. 

The  coin  gauges  at  the  top  of  the 
coin  box  were  formerly  of  nickel- 
plated  brass,  while  the  new  gauges 
are  of  steel  and  made  to  more  exact 
specifications,  with  limits  closer  to 
the  sizes  of  coins.  This  prevents  the 
use  of  over-sized  slugs,  and  mini- 
mizes the  wear  on  the  gauges.  The 
coin-chute  runways  through  which 
the  coins  pass  are  now  made  to  more 
rigid  specifications,  thus  increasing 
the  eflliciency  of  the  rejecting  features 
of  the  mechanisms  and  making  them 
less  subject  than  formerly  to  defor- 
mation through  wear. 

Jurying  Up  the  Sources 
of  Slugs 

A  DIFFERENT  ATTACK  waS  upon  the 

supply  of  slugs  that  could  be  used 
Instead  of  5^,  10^  and  25^  United 
States  coins. 

One  of  the  first  steps  was  to  deter- 
mine the  sources  of  slugs  and  to  take 
such  action  as  seemed  appropriate  to 
reduce  the  supply  to  a  minimum. 

Many  manufacturers  of  marking 
devices  made  trade  checks,  tokens, 
key  tags,  and  similar  Innocent  items 
in  sizes  approximating  the  sizes  of 
nickels,  dimes,  and  quarters;  and 
many  of  them  soon  found  their  way, 
through  fraudulent  use.  Into  coin  tele- 
phones. In  the  early  1930s  the  na- 
tional trade  association  of  the  Indus- 
try was  approached  and,  when  in- 
formed of  the  fraudulent  use  of  mem- 
bers' products,  heartily  cooperated 
with  the  Bell  System.  At  an  annual 
meeting  of  members,  the  group  unan- 
imously   agreed   not    to    make    such 


1948 


Most  People  Are  Honest 


187 


products  in  sizes  susceptible  of  mis- 
use. 

Not  long  thereafter,  certain  mem- 
bers were  requested  to  quote  prices 
on  coin-size  slugs  in  orders  as  large 
as  one-ton  lots.  To  their  great 
credit,  these  members  replied  that  no 
member  of  their  association  would  be 
a  party  to  business  of  such  a  ques- 
tionable nature. 

Another  problem  arose  when  legit- 
imate manufacturers  found  it  neces- 
sary, in  the  course  of  making  their 
products,  to  create  waste  punchings 
of  metal  which  sometimes  were  of 
coin  sizes.  In  some  instances  these 
punchings  found  their  way  into  coin 
telephones.  The  managements  of 
these  factories,  when  informed  of 
what  was  happening,  immediately 
took  steps  to  keep  the  punchings 
from  leaving  the  factories.  Occa- 
sionally it  was  difficult  to  determine 
the  source  of  the  punchings,  but 
vigilance  on  the  part  of  telephone 
employees  usually  resulted  in  its  dis- 
covery and  elimination. 

There  have  been  many  instances 
of  business  concerns  distributing  ad- 
vertising discs  of  coin  size — some  of 
which  have  subsequently  been  found 
in  coin  telephones.  Manufacturers 
and  distributors  were  interviewed, 
and  when  informed  that  the  slugs 
were  being  used  fraudulently,  agreed 
to  destroy  their  supplies  of  such  discs 
and  cancel  pending  orders  for  addi- 
tional slugs.  One  interesting  case 
was  a  religious  organization  which 
distributed  25-cent-size  discs  having 
a  brief  prayer  on  each  side.  When 
informed  of  the  misuse  of  these 
"prayer  slugs,"  the  organization  im- 
mediately canceled  all  orders  for 
additional  discs. 


Because  of  the  cooperation  of  le- 
gitimate manufacturers,  slugs  even- 
tually became  scarce.  This  appar- 
ently suggested  a  lucrative  field  to 
certain  individuals  and  concerns,  who 
thereupon  went  into  the  slug  manu- 
facturing business  in  a  big  way.  Some 
of  them  had  in  their  factories  various 
types  of  coin-operated  merchandising 
machines,  including  coin  telephones, 
presumably  to  enable  them  to  design 
slugs  which  these  machines  could  not 
reject.  An  idea  of  the  character  of 
these  concerns  may  be  obtained  from 
the  following  excerpt  from  an  adver- 
tisement of  one  of  them : 

*'We  are  the  leading  supply  house 
for  slot  machine  slugs.     These  are 


A  later  Gray  models  with  coin  slot 
in  the  big  bell^  above  the  initials  of 
the  Southern  New  England  Tele- 
phone Company 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTtJMN 


sold  for  use  only  in  gambling  devices. 
.  .  .  They  work  just  like  real  money, 
oftentimes  better.  When  money  has 
become  worn  it  sometimes  will  fail 
to  work  the  machine.  Our  slugs 
never  fail.  .  .  .  These  slugs  are  not 
sold  to  be  used  in  telephones  or  other 
legal  machines.'* 

The  last  sentence  of  the  quotation 
was  in  large  print,  and  in  effect  ac- 
tually informed  people  that  the  slugs 
could  be  used  to  operate  telephones 
or  other  legal  machines. 

There  was  in  1933,  due  probably  to 
general  economic  conditions,  a  definite 
increase  in  slug  usage  not  only  in  tele- 


This  Gray  i)istru»ic)U  had  not 
only  an  elbow  rest  but  slots  for 
half-dollars  and  ''cartwheel"  silver 
dollars  as  well  as  J  or  the  usual 
smaller  coins 


phones  but  in  coin-operated  merchan- 
dising machines,  postage  stamp  ma- 
chines, railway  turnstiles,  automats, 
and  similar  devices;  and  the  opera- 
tors of  coin  collecting  devices  were 
determined  to  combat  this  fraudulent 
use. 

The  Bell  telephone  companies  in- 
tensified their  efforts  to  reduce  the 
use  of  slugs.  Analyses  were  made  to 
determine  periodically  the  extent  of 
use  at  each  coin  telephone,  and  slugs 
were  classified  by  types.  As  new 
types  of  slug  showed  up,  their  source 
was  usually  discovered — although 
that  was  often  not  easy  to  find. 

Where  the  use  of  slugs  in  a  given 
coin  telephone  was  heavy,  the  agent 
on  whose  premises  it  was  located  was 
interviewed  and  the  situation  was  ex- 
plained to  him — including  the  effect 
of  such  fraudulent  use  in  reducing  his 
commissions.  The  agents  cooperated 
with  the  telephone  companies  on  the 
side  of  law  and  order,  and  sometimes 
were  able  to  point  out  probable  sus- 
pects. Their  assistance  resulted  in  a 
number  of  arrests  by  city  police,  fol- 
lowed by  convictions  in  the  courts, 
and  the  newspaper  accounts  of  the 
convictions  unquestionably  contrib- 
uted to  the  reduction  of  slug  usage. 
In  some  situations  where  all  efforts 
failed  to  reduce  the  use  of  slugs,  the 
coin  telephones  were  removed  and  re- 
established in  other  locations.  Dur- 
ing the  last  war,  oddly  enough,  the 
shortage  of  metal  increased  the  diffi- 
culty of  slug  makers,  and  as  a  con- 
sequence contributed  to  the  reduction 
of  slugs. 

There  is  one  case  on  record  where 
the  user  of  slugs  in  a  coin  telephone 
was  apprehended  through  the  use  of 
finger-prints.  In  this  instance  a  long 
distance  call  of  several  hundred  miles 


Most  People  Are  Honest 


1^9 


was  made;  and  immediately  after  the 
call  the  plain  brass  slugs  used  were 
removed  by  city  police  and  taken  to 
headquarters,  where  they  were  photo- 
graphed and  the  finger-prints  identi- 
fied. The  user  of  the  slugs  and  his 
associate  were  quickly  arrested,  and 
were  later  released  after  each  had 
put  up  $i,ooo  bond.  The  two  men 
forfeited  their  $2,000,  and  their  au- 
tomobile was  confiscated  by  the  po- 
lice, since  it  contained  a  sack  full  of 
brass  slugs  similar  to  those  used  in 
making  the  long  distance  call.  Crime 
does  not  pay! 

Laws  and  Law-breakers 

By  1933,  the  majority  of  states  had 
enacted  laws  to  prohibit  the  use  of 
slugs  and  penalize  the  users;  but  few 
statutes  prohibited  the  manufacture, 
sale,  or  distribution  of  slugs. 

Soon  thereafter,  several  states  en- 
acted laws  to  prohibit  the  manu- 
facture, sale,  or  distribution  of  slugs 
with  fraudulent  intent,  or  with  knowl- 
edge or  reason  to  believe  that  such 
slugs  were  for  fraudulent  use.  Ex- 
cept in  a  few  cases,  these  state  laws 
were  not  very  effective,  for  the  rea- 
son that  it  was  too  difficult  for  a  dis- 
trict attorney  to  prove  fraudulent 
intent.  The  manufacturer  or  distrib- 
utor could  always  proclaim  his  inno- 
cence and  deny  any  attempt  to  de- 
fraud. 

While  amendments  to  Minnesota 
and  Ohio  statutes  were  being  consid- 
ered by  the  state  legislatures,  a  sug- 
gestion was  made  that  the  amend- 
ments should  include  a  provision  that 
"knowledge  or  reason  to  believe" 
may  be  shown  by  proof  tjiat  any  law- 
enforcement  officer  has,  prior  to  the 
commission  of  the  offense  with  which 
the  defendant  is  charged,   informed 


A  modern  coin  telephone 

the  defendant  that  slugs  of  the  kind 
were  being  used  unlawfully  or  fraud- 
ulently to  operate  coin  collecting  de- 
vices designed  to  be  operated  by  law- 
ful coins  of  the  United  States.  Both 
states  in  1941  had  this  provision  en- 
acted into  the  law.  In  addition,  the 
Ohio  statute  has  a  provision  to  pro- 
hibit the  advertising  of  slugs  for  the 
operation  of  illegal  machines. 

In  a  Federal  District  Court  an  in- 
dictment was  brought  against  a  man 
on  three  counts :  ( i )  for  possessing 
500  falsely  made  and  counterfeited 
coins  in  resemblance  and  similitude 
of  the  genuine  five-cent  coin  of  the 
United  States,  all  with  intent  to  de- 
fraud; (2)  for  the  unlawful  sale  of 
100  of  said  coins,  with  intent  to  de- 
fraud; and  (3)  for  unlawfully  issu- 
ing 100  tokens  and  devices  of  metal 


190 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


and  its  compounds  Intended  to  be 
used  as  money  for  and  instead  of  the 
five-cent  piece  authorized  by  law,  all 
without  being  lawfully  authorized  to 
do  so. 

The  facts  in  this  case,  as  brought 
out  by  the  district  attorney,  briefly 
are  as  follows:  The  defendant  op- 
erated a  novelty  store  where  he  sold 
certain  coin  slugs  to  the  public,  pur- 
chasing them  at  wholesale  and  sell- 
ing them  at  some  profit.  Two  types 
of  slugs  were  involved,  one  of  them 
selling  for  $1.00  a  hundred  and  the 
other,  which  the  defendant  called  his 
DeLuxe  type,  sold  for  $1.20  per  hun- 
dred. Thus  for  $1.20  one  might  ob- 
tain from  the  defendant's  store  slugs 
which  if  used  for  nickels  would  have 
a  "value"  of  $5.00.  In  this  case  the 
Government  presented  a  comparative 
table  of  the  contents  of  the  genuine 
nickel  prescribed  by  Federal  statute 
and  the  contents  of  these  slugs : 


Genuine  Nickel 

75% 
25% 


Copper 
Nickel 


Coin  Slug 

Copper  63  % 
Nickel  17.60% 
The  remainder 
consisted  of  Zinc, 
Cadmium  and 
Iron. 


The  comparative  weight  and  size 
of  the  genuine  nickel  under  the  Fed- 
eral statutes  and  the  coin  slugs  is- 
sued by  defendant  were  as  follows : 


Genuine  Nickel 
77.16  grains 


Coin  Slug 
76.90  grains 


There  is  a  variance  of  weight  al- 
lowed by  statute  of  3  grains,  so  the 
coin  slugs  were  within  the  variance 
allowed  by  law  and  may  be  said  to 
be  exactly  of  the  same  weight  as  the 
genuine  nickel.    The  statute  does  not 


fix  the  dimensions,  but  the  standard 
diameter  and  thickness  of  the  gen- 
uine nickel  as  compared  with  the  coin 
slug  were  as  follows : 

Genuine  Nickel    Coin  Slug 
Diameter       .835   inch  .833   inch 

Thickness      .078   inch  .075   inch 

The  coin  slugs  had  inscriptions  on 
one  side  reading  "No  cash  value" 
and  on  the  other  side  "Good  for 
amusement  only."  The  slugs  in  this 
respect  did  not  resemble  the  genuine 
nickel,  and  obviously  were  not  in- 
tended to  be  passed  physically  from 
hand  to  hand  as  money.  The  mode 
of  use  in  this  case  was  to  pass  the 
coin  by  a  mechanical  device  which 
cannot  read,  and  therefore  it  was  im- 
material what  inscription  appeared 
on  the  slug.  In  all  other  respects  the 
slug  so  closely  resembled  the  genuine 
nickel  in  size,  weight,  and  metal  com- 
pound that  it  avoided  detection  by 
the  mechanical  devices  used  in  vend- 
ing machines  and  coin  telephones. 

It  was  apparent  that  such  slugs 
were  intentionally  issued  to  be  used 
as  and  in  place  of  genuine  five-cent 
coins.  The  defendant  was  found 
guilty  and  penalized. 

Another  case  of  a  concern  manu- 
facturing in  a  big  way  slugs  identical 
in  size  with  United  States  coins  re- 
sulted in  the  factory  being  raided  by 
local  police  in  cooperation  with  Fed- 
eral authorities.  In  this  factory  were 
found  mechanisms  of  various  coin- 
operated  machines,  including  coin  tel- 
ephones. All  slugs  were  confiscated, 
and  the  tools  for  making  them;  the 
makers  were  subsequently  indicted  by 
a  Grand  Jury,  tried  in  a  Federal 
court,  found  guilty,  and  sentenced  to 
imprisonment. 

There    have   been,    on    the    other 


1948 


Most  People  Are  Honest 


191 


hand,  cases  which  Federal  judges  de- 
cided not  to  bring  to  trial,  appar- 
ently believing  the  laws  against  coun- 
terfeiting were  not  adequate.  This 
led  to  an  amendment  of  the  counter- 
feiting laws  making  the  manufacture, 
sale,  or  distribution  of  slugs  for 
fraudulent  use  illegal.  The  amend- 
ment was  approved  by  Congress  on 
April  I,  1944,  and  became  Public 
Law  No.  278.  The  law  is  now  in- 
corporated in  the  revised  Title  18  of 
the  United  States  Code,  Section  491, 
approved  June  25,  1948,  as  Public 
Law  772.  In  this  amendment  there 
is  a  provision  defining  "knowledge  or 
reason  to  believe"  along  the  same 
lines  as  in  the  state  laws  of  Minne- 
sota and  Ohio  previously  mentioned. 
Public  Law  No.  772  should  elim- 
inate the  manufacture  of  slugs  as  a 
business  venture,  although  it  may  be 
that  some  will  occasionally  be  made 
in  the  kitchens  of  a  few  people,  just 
as  counterfeit  money  is  sometimes 
made.     To  combat  the  manufacture 


of  slugs  for  fraudulent  purposes 
should  now  be  much  easier  because 
of  the  heavy  penalties  for  violating 
the  Federal  counterfeiting  laws. 

The  combined  effect,  from  the 
standpoint  of  the  Bell  System,  of  all 
these  coordinated  activities — includ- 
ing the  skill  of  the  engineers  in  im- 
proving the  coin  telephone,  the  coop- 
eration of  legitimate  manufacturers, 
and  the  assistance  of  State  and  Fed- 
eral authorities — has  progressively 
lessened  the  slug  problem.  The 
temptation  to  use  slugs  has  been 
largely  eliminated,  and  the  relatively 
few  who  still  try  find  it  tougher  go- 
ing and  with  less  and  less  likelihood 
of  success.  Bell  System  losses  from 
slugs  are  now  less  than  one-tenth  of 
what  they  were  in  1933. 

This  article  must  not  be  construed 
as  reflecting  on  the  American  public 
generally.  Its  author  still  believes, 
despite  the  evidence  here  adduced, 
that  most  people  are  honest. 


"Our  concern  as  applied  to  the  telephone  companies  is  not  confined  to  its 
financial  ills  as  related  to  our  investment  needs,  because  we  are  free  to  and  do 
buy  something  else.  We  don't  have  to  buy  them.  But  there  is  another  worry 
there,  and  I  daresay  this  applies  to  all  business  men  in  the  community. 

"In  New  England,  to  carry  on  a  nation-wide  competitive  business,  we  need 
the  very  best  of  service  in  competition  with  companies  in  New  York  and  else- 
where.    We  are  situated  at  a  disadvantage. 

"The  telephones  are  most  useful,  too,  in  the  insurance  business.  We  must 
have  excellent  service  to  remain  in  a  competitive  position.  Unless  the  tele- 
phone industry  can  earn  a  fair  return,  business  and  wage  earners  in  our  State 
are  injured  even  more  than  is  the  company  itself." 

From  a  statement  by  Lee  P.  Stack,  vice  president  of  John  Han- 
cock Mutual  Life  Insurance  Company  in  charge  of  finance  and 
investments,  before  the  Department  of  Public  Utilities  of  Mas- 
sachusetts, September  28,  ig48. 


The  Annual  Bulletin  of  the  A,  T,  &f  T.  Company  Is  the 

Only  Publication  Which  Regularly  Summarizes  the  Number 

Of  Telephones  in  Service  on  This  Planet 


Telephones  of  the  World 

James  R.  McGowan 


The  bulletin  "Telephone  Statis- 
tics of  the  World — January  i, 
1948,"  recently  issued  by  the  Chief 
Statistician's  Division  of  the  Ameri- 
can Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany, shows  that  at  the  beginning  of 
this  year  there  were  60,600,000  tele- 
phones in  service  throughout  the 
world,  or  one  telephone  for  every  38 
persons.  This  compares  with  one 
telephone  for  every  800  persons  at 
the  beginning  of  the  century.  Dur- 
ing the  intervening  years,  the  world's 
population  has  increased  by  about  45 
percent,  while  the  total  number  of 
telephones  has  grown  by  almost 
3,000  percent.  Twenty-nine  years 
after  the  telephone  was  invented, 
the  world  had  six  million  telephones 
in  service — which  was  the  number 
added  to  the  global  total  in  the  year 
1947  alone. 

Telephone  service  has  been  so  de- 
veloped and  improved  in  recent  years 
that  the  ideal  of  universal  service 
seems  almost  to  have  been  attained. 
Today,  approximately  57,900,000 
telephones — a  communication  net- 
work comprising  96  percent  of  the 
world's    telephones — are    potentially 


within  the  reach  of  any  Bell  System 
subscriber.  Communications  experts 
have  worked  vigorously  and  continu- 
ously through  international  telecom- 
munications organizations  to  stand- 
ardize equipment  and  operating 
methods  so  that  telephone  subscrib- 
ers of  each  country  may  be  linked 
with  those  of  other  nations,  in  their 
homes  and  places  of  business,  on 
ocean  liners,  on  coastal  and  harbor 
craft,  on  trains,  automobiles,  planes. 

At  the  beginning  of  1948  there 
were  34,867,000  telephones  in  serv- 
ice in  the  United  States,  or  57.5  per- 
cent of  the  world's  total.  During 
1947  the  United  States  had  a  net 
gain  of  three  and  one-quarter  million 
telephones,  which  was  more  than  half 
of  the  increase  in  the  world  total. 
The  second  largest  national  network 
of  telephone  facilities,  that  of  the 
United  Kingdom,  augmented  its  tele- 
phone total  by  almost  300,000,  or 
five  percent  of  the  world's  net  gain. 

In  the  Western  Hemisphere  out- 
side the  United  States,  the  gain  in 
telephones  during  1947  amounted  to 
some  350,000.  The  combined  area 
of  Asia,  Africa,  and  Oceania,  which 


Telephones  of  the  World 


193 


THE  WORLD'S  TELEPHONES  BY  CONTINENTAL  AREAS 
January  1,  1948 » 

Areas 

Total  Telephones 

Privately  Owned 

.Automatic 
(or  Dial) 

Connecting  with 
Bell  System 

Number 

% 

of 
Total 
World 

Per 
100 
Popu- 
lation 

Number 

%of 
Total 
Tele- 
phones 

Number 

%of 
Total 
Tele- 
phones 

Number 

%of 
Total 
Tele- 
phones 

North  America 
(less  United 

States) 

United  States  . 

South  America.  . . 

Europe 

2,717,000 

34,867,000 
1,489,000 

17,717,000 

1,800,000 

660,000 

1,350,000 

60,600,000 

4.5 

57.5 
2.5 

29.2 

3.0 

1.1 

2.2 

100.0 

4.2 
24.2 
1.4 
3.0 
0.2 
0.4 
1.3 
2.6 

2,383,500 

34,867,000 

791,500 

2,650.000 

210,000 

9,000 

99,000 

41,010,000 

87.7 

100.0 

53.2 

15.0 

11.7 

1.4 

7.3 

67.7 

1,560,000 

20,850,000 

1,048,000 

11,170,000 

740,000 

437,000 

820,000 

36,625,000 

57.4 
59.8 

70.4 
63.0 
41.1 
66.2 
60.7 
60.4 

2,686,000 

34,854,000 

1,400,000 

16,400,000 

680,000 

560,000 

1,340,000 

57,920,000 

98.9 
100  # 
94.0 
92.6 
37.8 
84.8 
99.3 
95.6 

Asia 

Africa 

Oceania 

World 

'  Partly  estimated,  all  data  having  been  adjusted  to  January  1,  1948. 
#  Less  than  0.05  per  cent  do  not  connect. 

in  the  aggregate  is  peopled  by  more 
than  three-fifths  of  the  world's  popu- 
lation, added  approximately  400,000 
telephones  to  the  total  number  for 
those  three  continents.  However, 
more  than  one-half  of  this  latter  fig- 
ure represents  the  net  telephone  gain 
in  Japan  alone. 

In  a  consideration  of  the  world's 
telephone  gain  by  years  subsequent 
to  World  War  II,  it  is  well  to  bear 
in  mind  the  fact  that  much  of  the 
so-called  "gain"  in  number  of  tele- 
phones in  service  throughout  the 
world,  outside  the  Western  Hemi- 
sphere, comprises  restoration  of  war- 
damaged  telephone  plant.  Such  gain, 
therefore,  does  not  in  all  instances 
represent   new   telephone   expansion. 

Europe,  with  four  times  the  popu- 
lation of  the  United  States,  has  one- 
half  as  many  telephones  as  we  have 
in  this  country.  By  January  i,  1948, 
Europe,  with  3.0  telephones  per  100 
of  the  population,  had  attained  ap- 
proximately the  same  telephone  de- 
velopment as  that  reached  by  the 
United  States  in  the  year  1903. 


Of  all  the  countries  of  the  world, 
Belgium  has  the  greatest  population 
density,  with  719  inhabitants  to  the 
square  mile,  and  has  6.3  telephones 
per  100  of  the  population.  The 
United  States,  with  48  inhabitants 
to  the  square  mile,  has  one-fifteenth 
Belgium's  population  density  but  has 
almost  four  times  its  telephone  den- 
sity. 

A  bulletin  on  telephone  statistics 
of  the  world  has  been  published  by 
the  A.  T.  &  T.  Company  each  year 
since  19 12,  except  during  those  pe- 
riods of  World  Wars  I  and  II  when 
telecommunications  data  on  a  world 
basis  were  not  available.  Certain  of 
the  charts  and  tables  presented  in 
the  current  publication  are  repro- 
duced here. 

The  map  reproduced  in  the  bulle- 
tin shows  the  radio  network  of  the 
Bell  System  as  of  January  i,  1948. 
Your  voice  can  be  transmitted  from 
any  telephone  instrument  in  the 
United  States  to  almost  any  other 
telephone  on  any  other  continent. 
Although    spoken    words    were    first 


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196 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


TELEPHONES  PER  TOO   POPULATION 

• 

January  1,  1948 

COUNTRY  AND 
CITY 

UNITED  STATES 

San  Francisco 
SWEDEN 

Stockholm 
HAWAII 

Honolulu 
CAh4ADA 

Toronto 
NEW  ZEALAND 

Wellington 
SWITZERIAND 

Geneva 
DENAAARK 

Copenhagen 
NORWAY 

Oslo 
AUSTRALIA 

Melbourne 
ICELAND 

Reykjavik 
UNITED  KINGDOM 

London 
FINLAND 

Helsinki 

BaGlUM 

Brussels 
NETHERLANDS 

The  Hague 
FRANCE 

Paris 
AUSTRIA 

Vienna 
ARGENTINA 

Buenos  Aires 
GERMANY  ® 

Hamburg  Altona 
URUGUAY 

Montevideo 

CZECHOSLOVAKIA 
Prague 

CHILE 

Santiago 
ITALY 

Milan 
EIRE 

Dublin 

^Wi-Srid 
CUBA 

Havana 
JAPAN 

Kyoto 
PUERTO  RICO 

Son  Juan 
PORTUGAL 

Lisbon 

HUNGARY 

Budapest 
VB4EZUELA 

Caracas,  D.F. 

A^EXICO 

Mexko  D.F. 
BRAZIL 

Rio  de  Janeiro 

WORLD 
)          /                 10                            20                            30                            4 

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0          Excluding  lh«  Russian  Zon«  of  Occupation. 

This  chart  shows  relative  telephone  development  of  principal  countries  of  the  world 

and  certain  major  cities 


1948 


Telephones  of  the  World 


197 


THE  WORLD'S  TELEPHONES 


MILLIONS 
70 


TOTAL  WORLD'S 
TELEPHONES 


NOT  CONNECTING 
WITH  BELL  SYSTEM 


At  End  of  Year 


Growth  of  connecting  telephones  during  the  past  two  decades  reflects  the  extension 

of  overseas  service 


lephones 
3er  100 
pulation 

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79,581 
104,300 

15,174 
17,132 

103,858 

48,462 

371,399 

61,107 

53,952 

48,032 

116,946 

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199 


200 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


Problems  other  than  those  of  a 
technical  nature  have  been  encoun- 
tered during  the  years  of  effort  to 
standardize  international  communica- 
tion service.  The  Marconi  Wireless 
Company  vainly  sought  in  IQJI  for 
a  Mohammedan  who  was  an  expert 
radio  engineer.  A  contract  had  been 
signed  with  King  Ibn  Saud  for  the 
construction  of  a  radio  station  in 
Mecca,  but  no  one  of  a  faith  other 
than  Mohammedan  was  allowed  to 
enter  the  sacred  city  to  carry  out  the 
work.  Thus  was  the  sudden  Arabian 
leap  from  the  archaic  to  the  modern 
— from  the  centuries-old  methods 
such  as  messenger  on  camel  follow- 
ing a  time-worn  trail — made  compli- 
cated. To  solve  the  problem.  King 
Ibn  Saud  sent  four  of  his  subjects  to 
England  for  a  course  of  instruction 
in  the  new  electronic  methods  of  com- 
munication. 


successfully  sent  across  the  ocean  in 
19 1 5,  another  12  years  were  needed 
before  overseas  telephony  was  suffi- 
ciently stable  to  be  offered  to  the  pub- 
lic. When  New  York  and  London 
were  first  connected  for  commercial 
radiotelephone  service,  in  January, 
1927,  the  cost  of  a  three-minute  con- 
versation was  $75.  Some  2,000  calls 
were  flashed  across  the  Atlantic  that 
year.  By  1939,  the  cost  of  a  similar 
call  had  been  brought  down  to  $12, 
and  most  territories  of  the  world 
were  within  voice  reach  of  the  United 
States.  In  1947,  half  a  million  radio- 
borne  conversations  were  made  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  points 
overseas. 

Interesting  problems  are  not  in- 
frequently encountered  during  the 
process  of  gathering  facts  for  a  pres- 


entation of  statistics  on  world  tele- 
phone development. 

Data  in  the  bulletin  are  shown,  in 
so  far  as  possible,  as  of  the  end  of 
the  calendar  year.  However,  many 
of  the  large  foreign  administrations 
make  their  statistics  available  as  of 
the  end  of  their  fiscal  years,  which 
of  course  vary;  and  other  administra- 
tions do  not  make  their  official  sta- 
tistics available  until  eighteen  months 
after  the  end  of  the  period  under  con- 
sideration. Adjustments  are  there- 
fore necessary  in  summarizing  world 
totals  as  of  the  beginning  of  the  year. 
Disparity  in  the  time  element  requires 
still  other  adjustments  in  arriving  at 
equitable  development  figures  in  com- 
parison of  telephones  in  respect  to 
population;  for  censuses,  being  time- 
consuming  and  costly,  are  taken  only 
at  long  intervals.  Attention  must 
be  given  to  intercensal  growth  rates 
coupled  with  annual  official  demo- 
graphic statistics  such  as  those  per- 
taining to  birth  and  death  rates;  to 
gains  and  losses  through  interna- 
tional migration;  to  population  shifts 
due  to  changes  in  land  areas;  to  long 
and  short-term  economic  factors;  and 
to  other  important  considerations. 

Official  figures  obtained  direct 
from  foreign  administrations  or 
companies  are  used  whenever  they 
can  be  procured.  Not  only  are  some 
400  foreign  correspondents  queried 
by  letter  and  questionnaire  for  statis- 
tical data,  but  annual  reports  and 
technical  magazines  published  in  any 
one  of  several  languages  and  issued 
by  the  various  administrations  or  by 
private  operating  companies  are  read 
and  annotated,  as  are  governmental 
statistical  abstracts  and  demographic 
bulletins.     Publications  issued  by  the 


1948 


Telephones  of  the  World 


201 


Bureau  of  the  International  Tele- 
communications Union  at  Bern,  Swit- 
zerland, are  read  for  items  of  cur- 
rent interest,  such  as  changes  in  the 
personnel  or  the  corporate  structure 
of  telecommunications  organizations. 
An  address  file  of  all  regular  corre- 
spondents is  maintained. 

In  some  cases  estimates  must  be 
resorted  to,  nonetheless,  and,  where 
these  are  necessary,  many  factors  are 
taken  into  consideration.  A  file  is 
maintained  on  news  items  of  those 
events  throughout  the  world  which 
may  affect  telecommunication  or 
population  data.  Widespread  disas- 
ters, such  as  hurricanes;  innovations, 
changes  in  ownership,  traffic  data, 
conferences,  new  construction,  war 
damage,  manufacturing  output — re- 
ports on  all  such  are  taken  into  ac- 
count in  an  effort  to  arrive  at  fair 
estimates.  Official  data  published 
subsequent  to  such  estimates  have 
shown  the  estimated  figures  to  have 
been  gratifyingly  close. 

Communicating  with  European  ad- 
ministrations is  relatively  simple,  for 
the  majority  of  the  telephone  sys- 
tems on  that  continent  are  under  sin- 
gle administrations  and  the  informa- 
tion is,  therefore,  readily  available. 
In  some  countries,  however,  many 
organizations  must  be  queried  for 
the  required  data.  Telephone  devel- 
opment statistics  of  the  some  5,800 
non-Bell  telephone  companies  operat- 
ing throughout  the  United  States,  as 
well  as  those  of  the  Bell  System,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  obtained  without 
difficulty.  Standardized  terms  and 
uniform  systems  of  reporting  tele- 
phone development  data  in  the 
United  States  simplify  the  assembling 


of  such  statistics  for  the  total  in- 
dustry in  this  country. 

Still  other  considerations  compli- 
cate the  work  of  assembling  tele- 
phone data.  Certain  administrations 
— fortunately  they  are  few — are  re- 
luctant to  supply  information.  One 
or  two  reply  that,  to  their  regret,  the 
desired  information  is  not  available. 
One  or  two,  notably  the  U.  S.  S.  R., 
have  never  replied  at  all.  It  may  be 
added  that,  possibly  by  way  of  com- 
pensation, an  occasional  estimate  af- 
fably supplied  is  all  too  obviously 
founded  upon  conjecture  and  facile 
assumption  rather  than  upon  harsh 
fact.  Such  estimates  are  apt  to  err 
on  the  side  of  generosity. 

In  compiling  traffic  data,  it  is  noted 
that  many  foreign  telephone  systems 
have  various  categories  of  calls,  such 
as  those  with  Avis  d'appel  or  Pre- 
avis  (messenger  calls),  "lightning" 
calls,  urgent  calls,  and  fixed  time 
calls,  which  are  charged  for  at  higher 
rates  and  have  priority  over  ordinary 
messages.  In  times  of  peace,  all  calls 
in  the  United  States  are  on  a  light- 
ning or  urgent  basis,  without  priori- 
ties, and  are  charged  for  at  the  nor- 
mal or  ordinary  rate. 

The  annual  survey  of  world  tele- 
phones published  by  the  American 
Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company 
is  the  only  publication  which  sum- 
marizes the  number  of  telephones 
throughout  the  world.  Inasmuch  as 
warld  totals  of  telephone  develop- 
ment do  not  appear  in  any  other  pub- 
lication, this  survey  has,  in  the  past, 
been  extensively  reprinted  and  ana- 
lyzed, both  in  the  United  States  and 
abroad. 


Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the 
Bell  Telephone  Quarterly 

Items  from  Volume  II,  Number  3,  October  1923 


Dr.  F.  B.  Jewett  Addresses 
Pacific  Coast  Meeting 
from  New  York 

On  October  4TH,  the  Pacific  Coast  Con- 
vention of  the  American  Institute  of  Elec- 
trical Engineers  met  in  Del  Monte,  Cali- 
fornia, to  confer  the  Edison  Medal,  and 
as  President  of  the  Institute  at  the  time 
the  award  was  made,  it  was  the  duty  of 
Dr.  F,  B.  Jewett  to  make  the  presentation 
speech.  The  medalist  this  year  is  Profes- 
sor R.  A.  Millikan  of  the  California  Insti- 
tute of  Technology.  As  Dr.  Jewett  was 
unable  to  leave  New  York,  arrangements 
were  made  to  transmit  his  speech  over  the 
transcontinental  telephone  line.  The  Pa- 
cific Telephone  and  Telegraph*  Company 
installed  loud  speaking  equipment  at  Del 
Monte  so  that  the  entire  convention  could 
hear  the  speech. 

From  "Notes  on  Recent  Occurrences." 

World's  Telephone 
Statistics,  1922 

During  the  year  192 1,  1,083,409  tele- 
phones were  added  to  the  telephone  systems 
of  the  world,  an  increase  of  5-2%,  bringing 
the  total  number  of  telephones  in  the  world 
on  January  i,  1922  to  21,948,960.  Of  this 
total,  13,875,183,  or  63.2%,  were  in  the 
United  States,  of  which  13,380,219,  or 
96%,  were  connected  to  the  Bell  System. 
The  number  of  telephones  in  all  the  coun- 
tries of  Europe  combined  was  5,606,252, 
or  25.5%  of  the  world's  total;  all  other 
countries  had  2,467,525,  or  only  11.3%  of 
the  world's  telephones.  At  the  beginning 
of    1922,   the   total   number  of   telephones 


in  the  world  was  equivalent  to  1.3  for 
each  100  of  the  world's  population,  as 
against  1.2  at  the  beginning  of  192 1.  .  .  . 
Over  one-half  of  the  total  net  gain  in 
the  telephones  in  the  world  during  1 921 
occurred  in  the  United  States;  and  this 
despite  the  fact  that  the  extent  of  telephone 
service  relative  to  population  is  very  much 
greater  in  the  United  States  than  in  any 
other  country.  In  all  Europe  the  gain  in 
telephones  during  1921  was  only  342,085, 
as  compared  with  545,804  in  the  United 
States.  On  January  i,  1922,  Europe  still 
had  but  1.2  telephones  per  100  population, 
as  against  12.7  in  the  United  States  on  the 
same  date.  The  relative  number  of  tele- 
phones in  Europe  today  is  no  greater  than 
that  which  existed  in  the  United  States  in 
1900. 

From  an  article  by  Seymour  L.  Andrew, 
former  A.    T.   &   T.   Chief  Statistician. 

Beginning  of  Policy  of 
Selling  Service  and  Not 
Instruments 

The  greatest  thing  that  Gardiner 
Greene  .Hubbard  did  in  his  administration 
of  the  telephone  was  establishing  the  busi- 
ness policy  of  the  telephone  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  renting  telephones  and  not  selling 
them.  As  attorney  for  the  Gordon  Mac- 
Kay  Shoe  Machinery  Company  he  saw  that 
principle  in  practice.  He  realized  that  it 
was  the  wisest  principle  on  which  to  build 
up  the  telephone  business.  As  he  was 
Trustee,  he  was  able  to  adopt  it  without 
gaining  first  the  consent  of  anyone,  and  he 
held  to  it  persistently  against  both  the  se- 
vere pressure  of  lack  of  money  and  the 
united   opposition   of   all    the   others   con- 


Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly    ,^     203 


cerned.  Even  Mrs.  Hubbard,  his  own 
wife,  at  one  time  went  to  Mr.  Watson  in 
the  shop  to  beg  him  to  join  them  and  to 
add  what  influence  he  might  have  with  Mr, 
Hubbard  to  persuade  him  to  sell  telephones 
instead  of  renting  them,  so  much  more 
money  would  be  received  in  that  way  and 
they  needed  money  so  badly.  But  Mr. 
Hubbard  stood  firm.  He  had  the  power 
and  nothing  could  move  him  from  the 
policy.  And  the  whole  business  structure 
of  the  Bell  System  is  built  upon  his  posi- 
tion ;  if  he  had  yielded,  it  could  not  have 
been.  The  renting  of  telephones  led  to  the 
licensing  system,  and  the  licensing  system 
led  to  the  sale  of  service  only.  This  indif- 
ference to  money,  so  characteristic  of  him, 
was  the  concomitant  of  his  far-sighted  wis- 
dom and  his  determination  to  bring  the 
right  thing  about. 

From  "Two  Founders  of  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem" by  the  late  W .  C.  Langdon,  A.  T. 
^  T.  Historical  Librarian. 

Catalina  Radio  Telephone 
\    System  Superseded  by 
Submarine  Cable 

The  radio  telephone  system  which  for  the 
I  past  three  years  has  connected  the  Island 
of  Santa  Catalina  with  the  rest  of  the  Bell 
Telephone  System  was  closed  down  on  Au- 
gust first.     An  enlarged  service  to  the  Is- 


land is  now  being  given  over  two  submarine 
telephone  cables,  which  were  laid  to  the 
Island  a  few  weeks  before  the  closing  of 
the  radio. 

The  passing  of  this  radio  system  is  of 
more  than  usual  interest,  both  from  an 
historical  and  a  technical  standpoint.  It 
was  the  first,  and  so  far  as  known,  the  only 
radio  telephone  system  which  has  ever  given 
a  commercial  telephone  service,  meeting  in 
both  transmission  and  signaling  (although 
not  as  regards  secrecy  or  economy)  the 
ordinary  requirements  of  wire  telephone 
circuits.  .  .  . 

Some  six  weeks  before  the  radio  was 
taken  out  of  service,  a  "privacy"  system  was 
installed  in  connection  with  it.  In  this 
system  the  transmission  was  sent  out  in 
such  form  that  the  ordinary  radio  receiving 
sets  could  not  pick  up  the  messages  and 
convert  them  into  understandable  speech. 
The  system  was  not  "secret"  in  the  sense 
that  one  familiar  with  the  methods  used 
could  not  construct  a  set  which  could  listen 
to  it.  Such  a  set,  however,  would  be  much 
more  complicated  than  the  ordinary  set, 
and  the  added  complication  would  be  of 
no  value  except  for  picking  up  transmission 
over  the  system.  It  gave  a  degree  of  pri- 
vacy, therefore,  something  comparable  to 
that  obtained  by  a  lock  and  key,  which  may 
not  prevent  a  property  from  being  broken 
into,  but  which  does,  in  general,  furnish  a 
high  degree  of  privacy  to  it. 

From  "Notes  on  Recent  Occurrences." 


204 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


Who's  Who  &  What's  What 

(Continued  from  page  139) 

charge  of  a  newly  organized  section  of  the 
department,  the  position  he  now  holds.  His 
previous  contributions  have  been  "Office 
Standards  and  Costs  as  Applied  to  Public 
Utilities,"  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly 
for  April  1930,  and  "Bills  for  13,000,000 
Customers,"  in  this  Magazine  for  Febru- 
ary 1942. 

Various  assignments  in  the  Plant  De- 
partment of  the  Southwestern  Bell  Tele- 
phone Company,  including  central-office  re- 
pairman, division  plant  engineer,  general 
plan  installation  supervisor,  and  general 
plant  training  supervisor,  occupied  Erle 
Miner  from  1922  to  1929,  This  experi- 
ence gave  him  a  first-hand  view  of  the 
System's  training  and  safety  programs  from 
both  the  practical  and  the  administrative 
standpoints.  In  1929  he  was  transferred 
to  the  Department  of  Operation  and  Engi- 
neering of  A.  T.  &  T.,  to  work  on  plant 
training  problems,  and  in  1937  he  became 
safety  engineer — the  position  he  now  holds. 
His  most  recent  previous  contribution  to 
this  Magazine  was  "The  Bell  System's 
Safety  Observation  Plan,"  published  in  the 
Summer  1944  issue. 

Born  in  Torquay,  England,  and  educated 
in  that  country,  H.  Montague  Pope  had 


been  engineer  of  outside  plant  construction 
in  South  Wales  for  the  National  Telephone 
Company  before  coming  to  the  United 
States  in  1909.  Here  he  became  a  plant 
engineer  for  the  former  New  York  and 
New  Jersey  Telephone  Company.  After 
military  service  in  World  War  I  he  was 
transferred  to  the  commercial  engineer's 
staff,  and  in  1921  he  became  a  member  of 
the  Department  of  Operation  and  Engi- 
neering of  the  A.  T.  &  T.  Company.  In 
1933  he  was  appointed  commercial  prob- 
lems engineer,  and  ran  smack  up  against 
the  problems  he  discusses  in  this  issue. 
This  is  not  his  first  contribution  to  this 
Magazine,  for  his  "Independent  Tele- 
phone Companies"  appeared  in  the  issue  for 
May  1941 ;  but  it  is  his  last,  for  Monty 
Pope  retired  from  the  company  on  Septem- 
ber 30. 

For  the  third  consecutive  year  since  the 
war,  and  for  the  third  time  from  the  pen 
of  James  R.  McGowan,  telephone  statis- 
tics of  the  world  are  back  in  the  pages  of 
this  Magazine.  Mr.  McGowan's  eleven 
years  of  A.  T.  &  T.  service  with  the  Chief 
Statistician's  Division,  devoted  to  studying 
and  reporting  on  the  statistics  and  econom- 
ics of  foreign  telephone  development,  were 
interrupted  by  more  than  four  years  of 
military  duty,  spent  in  statistical  and  ad- 
ministrative work  with  the  Signal  Corps  in 
Washington  and  with  the  Economics  Divi- 
sion of  Military  Government  in  Berlin. 


me  js.js.  V  1 1  'T^  1  \umaer  rour         yy  mit^r  /y^o -^  y 


13 

Six  Thousand  Telephone  Companies  Serve  U.  S.      ^^ffc  ^,. 

A.  Roger  Chappelka  ^^8a^  ^'^ 

Bell  System  Patents  and  Patent  Licensing  •  Keith  S.  McHugh  '  '^f^ 

The  Part  Communications  Play  in  Civil  Defense 
JuDSON  S.  Bradley 

Toll  Dialing  by  Operators  Reaches  Some  300  Places 
Ernst  J.  Guengerich 

Right-of-Way  Comes  First  •  Harry  H.  Hoopes 

Installation  by  Western  Electric  Company  •  Alvin  von  Auw 

Telephone  Facilities  for  Railroad  Reservations 
Justin  E.  Hoy 


mean 


Telephone  ^-Hm^rSj  Company  'VewiorkA 


Bell  TclcphomM^m^ 

PF'inter  1948-49 


Six  Thousand  Telephone  Companies  Serve  U.  S., 
A,  Roger  Chappelka,  209 

Bell  System  Patents  and  Patent  Licensing, 
Keith  S,  McHugh,  217 

The  Part  Communications  Play  in  Civil  Defense, 
Judson  S.  Bradley,  220 

The  Millionth  Bell  Rural  Telephone  Since  the  War  Is  Installed,  226 

Toll  Dialing  by  Operators  Reaches  Some  300  Places, 
Ernst  J.  Guengerichy  228 

Fair  Exchange,  John  Mason  Brown,  238 

Right-of-Way  Comes  First,  Harry  H.  Hoopes,   240 

Installation  by  Western  Electric  Company, 
Alvin  von  Auw,  249 

The  Things  Men  Live  By,  Walter  S.  Giford,  259 

Telephone  Facilities  for  Railroad  Reservations, 
Justin  E.  Hoy,  260 

25  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly,  270 

Bell  System's  Television  Networks  Connected,  271 


^  Medium  of  Suggestion  ^  a  Record  of  Progress 

'Published  J  or  the  supervisory  forces  of  the  Bell  System  by  the  Information  Department  of 
American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Co.,  /p5  Broadway^  New  York  7,  N.  Y. 
Leroy  a.  Wilson,  President;  Carroll  O.  Bickelhaupt,  4$'^^.;  Donald  R.  Belcher,  Treas. 


Who's  Who  &  What's  What 
in  This  Issue 


Few  people  realize  how  many  companies 
are  engaged  in  furnishing  telephone  service 
to  this  country.  Even  fewer  appreciate 
the  complexities  involved  in  coordinating 
the  facilities  and  services  of  all  these  com- 
panies in  a  nation-wide  service  which  en- 
ables "anyone,  anywhere,  to  pick  up  a  tele- 
phone and  talk  to  anyone  else,  anywhere 
else,  quickly,  clearly,  and  at  reasonable 
cost."  A.  Roger  Chappelka  is  well 
posted  on  the  situation,  however,  because 
for  the  past  six  years  he  has  headed  an  A. 
T.  and  T.  group  handling  inter-company 
compensation  matters.  This  activity  has 
included  not  only  revisions  of  settlement 
arrangements  with  connecting  companies 
but  the  development  of  arrangements  with 
them  for  coordinating  new  services,  such  as 
mobile  telephone  service  and  community 
dial  operation.  Joining  the  Ohio  Bell 
Telephone  Company  in  1921,  he  was  a 
division  commercial  engineer  with  that 
company  when,  in  1926,  he  transferred  to 
the   American   Telephone   and    Telegraph 


Company  in  New  York,  in  the  commercial 
results  and  practices  section  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Operation  and  Engineering. 

A  STATEMENT  of  the  Bell  System  career  of 
Vice  President  Keith  S.  McHugh  was 
published  in  the  issue  of  this  Magazine 
for  Summer  1948,  to  which  he  contributed 
a  discussion  and  analysis  of  "The  License 
Contract." 

Several  Bell  System  officials  have 
had  unusual  opportunities  to  serve  their 
country  in  connection  with  the  establish- 
ment of  the  Office  of  Civil  Defense  Plan- 
ning and  the  development  of  its  program. 
Its  first  director  was  Russell  J.  Hopley, 
president  of  the  Northwestern  Bell  Tele- 
phone Company,  who  took  a  leave  of  ab- 
sence of  nearly  a  year,  at  the  request  of 
Defense  Secretary  Forrestal,  to  organize 
the  enterprise  from  the  ground  up.  Upon 
his  return  to  the  Northwestern  Bell  com- 
pany   last    November,    Mr.    Hopley    was 


A.  Roger  Chappelka 


Keith  S.  McHugh 


Judson  S.  Bradley 


Who's  Who  &  What's  What 


207 


Ernst  J.   Guengerich 


Harry  H.  Hoopes 


Ah 


m  A\ 


awarded  the  first  Certificate  of  Apprecia- 
tion ever  to  be  granted  by  the  unified 
National  Military  Establishment,  for  his 
"exceptionally  meritorious  service." 

The  organization  of  the  Office  of  Civil 
Defense  Planning  has  been  kept  small,  but 
its  director  was  able  to  enlist  the  services 
of  executives  in  various  branches  of  indus- 
stry.  From  the  Sj^stem,  the  chief  of  the 
technical  division  was  Horace  H,  Nance, 
Engineer  of  the  Long  Lines  Department; 
and  Allan  G.  Barry,  operating  vice  presi- 
dent of  the  Wisconsin  Telephone  Company, 
served  briefly  as  chief  of  the  organization 
planning  division.  Communications  ad- 
visor was  Herbert  J.  Schroll,  assistant  vice 
president  of  the  New  York  Telephone 
Company,  whose  length  of  service  equaled 
Mr.  Hopley's,  and  who  now,  after  his  re- 
turn to  New  York,  is  still  retained  as  a 
consultant.  Members  of  the  advisory  panel 
for  communications  services  are  Theodore 
Berrier,  A.  T.  and  T.  assistant  vice  presi- 
dent, and  John  B.  Rees,  now  operating 
vice  president  of  the  New  Jersey  Bell  Tele- 
phone Company.  Mr.  Hopley  has  been 
succeeded  by  Aubrey  H.  Mellinger,  former 
president  of  the  Illinois  Bell  Telephone 
Company  and  now  retired  from  that  post. 

The  communications  aspects  of  the  Civil 
Defense  program  are  reported  in  this  issue 


by  JuDSON  S.  Bradley,  who,  after  sev- 
eral years  of  editorial  and  publishing  ex- 
perience, joined  the  General  Information 
Department  of  the  Southern  New  England 
Telephone  Company  in  1925.  Five  years 
later  he  became  a  member  of  the  corre- 
sponding department  of  the  A.  T.  and  T. 
Company,  and  he  has  been  since  1943  the 
editor  of  this  Magazine. 

Thirty-seven  years  in  Traffic  work  have 
given    Ernst   J.    Guengerich    a    pretty 

{Continued  on  page  272) 


Justin  E.  Hoy 


Long  distance  cables  stride  across  the  countryside  on  private  right-of-way. 
See  '' Right-of-fVay  Comes  Firsty"  beginning  on  page  240 


Cooperation   and  Coordination   throughout  the  Industry  in 

Working  Out  Common  Problems  Provide  a  Unijied 

Telephone  Service  for  the  Nation 


Six  Thousand  Telephone 
Companies  Serve  U.  S. 

A.  Roger  Chappelka 


About  6,000  separate  telephone  com- 
panies join  in  furnishing  our  nation's 
telephone  service.  Only  twenty-three 
of  these  are  Bell  companies.  The  re- 
mainder are  non-Bell,  or  "Independ- 
ent"; in  other  words,  they  are  in- 
dependently owned  and  operated  and 
not  a  part  of  the  Bell  System. 

A  few  round  numbers  will  indicate 
the  size  and  importance  of  the  In- 
dependent group  in  the  industry. 
Eleven  thousand  Independent  ex- 
changes, scattered  from  coast  to  coast, 
serve  some  6,000,000  telephones. 
The  toll  circuits  connecting  Bell  and 
Independent  exchanges  handle  nearly 
500,000,000  messages  a  year.  The 
annual  revenue  from  these  messages  is 
$250,000,000. 

The  Independent  companies  vary 
considerably  in  size.  The  smallest 
ones  may  serve  fewer  than  a  dozen 
telephones,  often  connected  to  some 
simple  switching  device  on  the  wall  of 
a  country  store  or  an  owner's  resi- 
dence.   The  largest  Independent  sys- 


tem serves  more  than  1,000  localities 
in  19  states.  Some  of  the  larger 
cities  served  by  Independent  com- 
panies are  Erie,  Pa.,  Fort  Wayne, 
Ind.,  Lincoln,  Neb.,  Long  Beach,  Cal., 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  Santa  Monica,  Cal., 
and  Tampa,  Fla. 

The  problem  of  coordinating  the 
operations  of  so  many  separate  com- 
panies— Bell  and  Independent — is 
complex,  and  requires  properly  timed 
action  on  many  widely  diversified  in- 
ter-company problems. 

Bell-and-Independent  Codrdi?iation 

Independent  and  Bell  people  have 
been  for  many  years  working  to- 
gether, thinking  together,  and  plan- 
ning together.  Both  recognize  the 
importance  of  maintaining  two  strong 
groups  in  the  telephone  industry.  The 
effectiveness  of  the  coordination  be- 
tween these  two  groups  can  be  demon- 
strated in  many  ways. 

When  you  listen  to  your  favorite 
radio    program,    for    example,    you 


no 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


Toll  offices  of  Independent  telephone  companies  have  been  expanded  and  are  working  at 
full  capacity  to  keep  pace  with  the  increasing  volume  of  calls 


probably  are  not  aware  that  Inde- 
pendent companies  may  be  providing 
some  of  the  network  facilities.  When 
you  talk  with  a  distant  toll  operator, 
you  cannot  tell  whether  she  is  a  Bell 
or  an  Independent  employee.  Even 
when  you  drive  along  the  highways, 
it  is  difficult  to  tell  whether  the  tele- 
phone line  at  the  side  of  the  road  is 
Bell  or  Independent.  Except  to  tele- 
phone people,  it  isn't  of  any  particu- 
lar importance. 

After  half  a  century,  what  prob- 
lems can  still  exist  that  require  coor- 
dination? 

The  answer  to  this  question  is  two- 
fold. 

First  is  the  day-to-day  job  of  keep- 
ing the  facilities  and  operations 
of  6,000  telephone  companies  ef- 
fectively coordinated  so  that  na- 
tion-wide service  is  practical. 


Second  is  the  joint  planning  and 
introduction  of  new  services, 
techniques,  and  methods  which 
make  improved  and  added  serv- 
ices available  to  all  telephone 
users,  whether  Bell  or  Inde- 
pendent. 

The  Day -to- Day  Job 

Of  these  two  divisions  of  the  work, 
the  day-to-day  job  may  seem  to  be 
the  less  spectacular.  So  let's  look  at 
a  few  selected  items  to  illustrate  its 
character  and  importance. 

A  good  lead-off  item  is  message  toll 
telephone  service. 

There  has  been  a  tremendous 
growth  in  this  business.  The  volume 
of  business  over  individual  toll  routes 
fluctuates  for  such  reasons  as  changes 
in    customer    requirements,    seasonal 


1948-49 


Six  Thousand  Telephone  Companies 


211 


variations,  and  usage  peaks  caused 
by  special  events.  There  is,  there- 
fore, a  continuing  job  of  following  the 
volume  of  toll  business  and  taking 
steps  to  insure  that  adequate  but  not 
excessive  toll  facilities  are  maintained. 
When  a  change  in  toll  facilities  is  to 
be  made,  it  may  involve  either  Bell 
or  Independent  companies,  or  both. 
Hence  the  need  for  coordinated  plan- 
ning by  the  several  companies  furnish- 
ing the  required  facilities. 

Another  good  illustration  is  the 
continuing  work  associated  with  the 
private  line  services. 

Numerous  extensive  networks  are 
presently  serving  such  customers  as 
the  press,  broadcasting  companies, 
pipe  line  companies,  and  government 
agencies.  Most  of  these  networks 
involve  both  Independent  and  Bell 
facilities.     Frequent  changes  in  loca- 


tions of  stations  are  necessitated  by 
changes  in  customers'  requirements. 
The  broadcasting  companies  and  the 
press  in  particular  originate  a  sub- 
stantial volume  of  requests  for  short- 
term  additions  to  their  networks. 
These  added  stations  are  used  in  cov- 
ering news,  sports,  and  other  events 
of  special  interest.  The  event  may 
take  place  in  either  a  Bell  or  an  Inde- 
pendent exchange.  In  many  of  these 
cases  there  is  no  chance  for  advance 
planning.  The  news  event  breaks 
and  the  service  is  wanted  immediately. 
Here  again,  prompt,  effective  action 
on  the  part  of  the  companies  involved 
is  imperative. 

There  are  occasions  also  when  one 
company  may  ask  another  for  infor- 
mation or  advice  on  day-to-day  main- 
tenance problems,  improvement  of 
traffic  operating  performance,  or  some 


Independent  companies  recognize  that  good  business-office  service  includes  arrangements 
for  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  their  customers 


212 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


similar  matter,  in  order  to  promote 
further  coordination  of  over-all  serv- 
ice. On  such  occasions,  for  example, 
a  Bell  plant  man,  if  asked  to  do  so, 
would  be  glad  to  suggest  how  a  spe- 
cific central-office  equipment  problem 
could  be  overcome;  or  a  traffic  rep- 
resentative might  have  information 
on  Bell  System  operating  experience 
which  would  be  helpful  to  an  Inde- 
pendent company  in  improving  the 
performance  of  its  operating  force. 
The  larger  Independent  companies 
render  similar  assistance,  of  course, 
to  the  smaller  Independent  com- 
panies. 

The  negotiating  of  inter-company 
agreements  covering  the  division  of 
responsibilities  and  revenues  on  serv- 
ices involving  the  use  of  both  Bell 
and  Independent  facilities,  and  the 
handling     of     inter-company     settle- 


The  entire  telephone  industry  is  actively  engaged  in  ex- 
tending rural  telephone  lines,  to  bring  service  to  an  increas- 
ingly greater  number  of  farms 


ments,  is  another  important  phase  of 
the  day-to-day  job. 

Coordination  of  New  Services  and 
Projects 

The  introduction  of  new  services, 
new  equipment,  and  better  and  more 
economical  ways  of  doing  the  job 
requires  close  coordination  between 
Bell  and  Independent  companies.  To 
demonstrate  the  importance  of  Bell- 
Independent  teamwork  here,  let's  con- 
sider the  following  projects. 

Nationwide  Operator  Toll  Dialing 

This  project  provides  that  the  toll 
operator  at  the  originating  end  of  a 
toll  call  will  dial  straight  through  to 
the  called  telephone  without  assistance 
of   intermediate    operators,    whether 
the  call  is  to  a  neighboring  town  or 
across  the  country.*    The 
T*'""'    ™«»^—      result    is    a    faster    and 
/         more  efficient  toll  service. 
This  is  a  fundamental 
change.     It  requires  the 
highest   degree   of   Bell- 
Independent       coordina- 
tion,  including  both  the 
operating   and  manufac- 
turing branches.      It   in- 
volves such  far-reaching 
matters  as  establishment 
of  a  universal  numbering 
plan    for   all    exchanges, 
use     of     matching     dial 
equipment     at     terminal 
and    intermediate    ex- 
changes, and  a  layout  of 
toll  circuits   designed  to 
provide  the  most  efficient 
arrangement    of    direct 
and  alternative  routes. 


See  page  228. 


1948-49 


Six  Thousand  Telephone  Companies 


213 


Community  Dial  Central  Office 
(CDO)   Conversions 

A  CDO  is  a  type  of  dial  central  of- 
fice where  the  equipment  is  housed  at 
one  location  while  the  operators  re- 
quired to  handle  toll,  information, 
and  assistance  calls  are  located  in 
another  office  or  even  in  another  ex- 
change. Plans  for  the  next  few  years 
include  conversions  from  manual  to 
CDO  operation  in  a  large  number  of 
smaller  exchanges. 

Past  experience  and  present  plan- 
ning emphasize  the  need  for  coordi- 
nation and  cooperation  on  the  part  of 
all  companies,  both  Bell  and  Inde- 
pendent, involved  in  a  new  CDO 
project.  For  example,  the  engineer- 
ing of  a  CDO  requires  consideration  of 
inter-company  plans  for  toll  plant  lay- 
out and  operation  as  well  as  local  re- 
quirements. Actually,  it  may  develop 
that  the  most  effective  arrangement 
is  to  handle  the  operator  office  work 
(information,  assistance,  etc.)  for  a 
new  CDO  in  the  nearby  central  office 
of  a  company  other  than  the  one  own- 
ing the  CDO. 

An  Independent  company,  consider- 
ing for  the  first  time  the  desirability 
of  introducing  community  dial  opera- 
tion in  one  of  its  exchanges,  can  often 
benefit  from  the  experience  of  other 
companies  which  have  dealt  previ- 
ously with  such  problems;  and  where 
two  companies  may  be  involved  in  a 
CDO  project,  there  are  important  cost 
and  service  advantages  to  both  com- 
panies in  effective  joint  action. 

Mobile  Telephone  Service 

Another  example  of  cooperative 
Bell-Independent  thinking  and  plan- 
ning is  the  recent  introduction  of  mo- 
bile telephone  service.  It  was  clear 
from  the  start  that  most  careful  at- 


Several  Independent  companies  are  fur- 
nishing mobile  telephone  service  through 
facilities  such  as  this 

tention  would  have  to  be  given  to  the 
problems  of  all  companies  to  utilize 
fully  the  limited  number  of  available 
radio  telephone  frequencies  and  to 
secure  participation  by  all  companies 
within  reach  of  a  mobile  station. 

Joint  work  of  Bell  and  Independ- 
ent people  has  made  this  service  a 
reality  in  many  parts  of  the  country. 
On  January  i,  1949,  Bell  companies 
were  providing  mobile  telephone  serv- 
ice in  133  areas,  and  Independent 
companies  were  providing  service  in 
another  eight. 

The  area  covered  by  a  mobile  serv- 
ice station  is  broad :  approximately  20 
to  25  miles  in  radius,  on  the  average. 


214 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


In  many  cases,  therefore,  it  covers 
the  exchanges  of  more  than  one  tele- 
phone company.  Thus  the  133  Bell 
service  areas  include  about  1,500  Bell 
exchanges  and  1,000  Independent  ex- 
changes. Arrangements  have  been 
made  for  participation  by  all  com- 
panies within  such  areas,  resulting  in 
a  uniform  service  offering  to  the  cus- 
tomers of  all  companies  involved. 

Complete  and  efficient  mobile  serv- 
ice coverage  of  a  highway  requires 
the  spacing  of  stations  without  re- 
gard to  ownership  of  exchanges.  All 
companies  along  the  highway  work 
together  in  the  basic  planning  to  de- 
termine the  most  efficient  location 
of  stations,  and  joint  decisions  are 
reached  regarding  which  companies 
are  to  provide  the  equipment  and  op- 
erate the  various  stations. 

Television  Networks 
Television,  which  is  rapidly  devel- 
oping in  this  country,  introduces  many 
new  problems  which  require  Bell- 
Independent  coordination.  Already 
there  are  more  than  50  stations  on  the 
air.  Another  400  are  under  construc- 
tion or  have  applied  for  construction 
permits.  A  dozen  television  stations 
are  presently  planned  in  Independent 
exchanges.  It  is  reported  that  over 
a  million  receiving  sets  are  in  use. 

Broadly,  the  telephone  company 
participation  may  involve  facilities  to 
meet  administrative  requirements,  to 
connect  the  studio  with  the  trans- 
mitter, to  pick  up  local  programs,  and 
to  connect  with  networks.  Careful 
planning  by  Bell  and  Independent 
companies  together  is  often  required 
to  serve  this  new  industry  adequately. 

Extended-Area  Service 
Expansion  of  suburban  areas,  im- 
provements   in    transportation,    and 


similar  factors  have  substantially  in- 
creased the  extent  of  many  metropoli- 
tan areas.  The  same  factors  have 
likewise  strengthened  the  ties  between 
adjacent  communities.  To  meet  cus- 
tomer service  requirements  which  re- 
sult from  these  changing  conditions, 
it  is  often  desirable  to  replace  short- 
haul  toll  service  with  flat-rate  or  mes- 
sage unit  calling.  This  service  is  com- 
monly termed  "extended-area  serv- 
ice." 

Enlarged  areas  for  extended-area 
service,  in  a  number  of  instances,  in- 
volve both  Bell  and  Independent  ex- 
changes in  a  single  project.  In  such 
situations,  the  division  of  ownership 
calls  for  joint  decisions  on  such  mat- 
ters as  determining  the  exchanges  to 
be  made  a  part  of  the  extended  area 
and  developing  the  most  appropriate 
services  and  rates  for  each  of  these 
exchanges. 

Rural  Development 

The  progress  made  since  the  war 
in  improving  rural  service  and  devel- 
opment is  another  example  of  joint 
Bell-Independent  effort.  Since  V-J 
Day,  the  Bell  System  alone  has 
added  more  than  1,000,000  rural 
telephones. 

One  of  the  basic  problems  is  ade- 
quate coverage  of  the  widespread 
areas  far  from  population  centers, 
and  both  Bell  and  Independent  com- 
panies are  actively  engaged  in  the 
development  of  less  expensive  ways 
of  bringing  telephone  service  to 
farms.  Stronger  wire  has  been  de- 
veloped, permitting  longer  spans  and 
fewer  poles;  single  pole-lines  often 
carry  both  telephone  and  power  cir- 
cuits; power-line  carrier  equipment 
now  permits  telephone  conversations 
to  ride  electric-power  wires  under  cer- 


1948-49 


Six  Thousand  Telephone  Companies 


215 


tain  conditions;  even  two-way  radio 
has  been  used  in  some  cases  to  reach 
farms  in  remote  locations. 

Such  developments  have  contrib- 
uted to  the  great  progress  since  the 
war.  The  program  is  a  continuing 
one,  and  Bell-Independent  teamwork 
and  interchange  of  experience  will 
continue  to  make  important  contribu- 
tions to  the  further  progress  to  be 
achieved  by  the  industry. 

Bell  Organization  for  Coordinating 
with  Independent  Companies 

Cooperation  between  Bell  and  In- 
dependent companies  is  necessarily  on 

an  organized  basis. 


It  is  not  possible  to  blueprint  the 
job  and  organization,  however,  be- 
cause there  is  considerable  variation 
in  requirements  among  the  various 
Bell  companies.  Some  factors  affect- 
ing force  requirements  are: 

The  number  and  size  of  connecting 
Independent  companies. 

The  range  and  amount  of  day-to- 
day work  in  coordinating  Bell- 
Independent  operations. 

The  activity  and  interest  of  Inde- 
pendent companies  in  dial  con- 
versions, mobile  telephone  serv- 
ice, operator  toll  dialing,  and 
other  new  projects. 


Rapid  progress  is  being  made  among  Independent  companies^  as  well  as  in  the  Bell 
System,  in  the  installation  of  dial  equipment 


2l6 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


The  territorial  characteristics  of  a 
Bell  company  may  affect  the  degree  to 
which  the  organization  can  be  cen- 
tralized. Bell  companies  operating 
in  a  single  state  or  compact  area  have 
the  greatest  opportunity  for  centrali- 
zation. Multi-state  Bell  companies 
usually  require  one  group  at  general 
headquarters  and  other  groups  at 
state  or  division  headquarters.  Fur- 
ther decentralization  is  possible 
through  delegation  of  some  responsi- 
bilities to  district  managers  and  local 
managers. 

Maintaining  liaison  with  connect- 
ing Independent  companies  is  a  Com- 
mercial Department  responsibility. 
The  Commercial  group  charged  with 
that  responsibility  also  arranges  for 
participation  by  other  departments  in 
handling  Individual  problems  as  they 
arise.  Representatives  of  the  En- 
gineering and  Traffic  Departments 
would  participate  in  an  Independent 
CDO  project,  for  example.  An  Ac- 
counting representative  might  take 
part  in  a  discussion  of  how  best 
to  maintain  records  covering  inter- 
changed business.     Plant  people  par- 


ticipate in  cases  involving  mobile  tele- 
phone service  and  other  services 
utilizing  facilities  of  both  Bell  and 
Independent  companies.  Since  sev- 
eral Bell  departments  are  often  in- 
volved in  a  single  project,  most  Bell 
companies  have  committees  for  coor- 
dinating interdepartmental  participa- 
tion. 

In  most  states  the  Independent 
companies  have  State  Telephone  As- 
sociations which  are  of  assistance  in 
matters  affecting  the  Independent 
companies  of  that  state.  The  Bell 
companies  work  with  their  respective 
associations  on  common  problems. 
The  United  States  Independent  Tele- 
phone Association  ("USITA")  deals 
with  matters  affecting  the  entire  In- 
dependent industry.  Its  activities  in- 
clude education  and  information  and 
it  deals  with  legislative,  regulatory, 
and  other  matters  of  national  impor- 
tance to  Independent  companies. 

Six  THOUSAND  COMPANIES  are  pro- 
viding a  unified  telephone  service  for 
our  nation.  The  industry  intends  to 
keep  it  so. 


The  Bell  System  Makes  Available  upon  Reasonable  lermsy 
To  All  Who  Desire  Them^  Non-exclusive  Licenses  under  Its 

Patents^  for  Any  Use 


Bell  System  Patents  and 
Patent  Licensing 

Keith  S.  McHugh 


Inventions  originating  in  Bell  Sys- 
tem companies  play  an  important  role 
in  the  telephone  business  in  this  coun- 
try. They  also  have  extensive  appli- 
cation in  other  industries.  This  article 
discusses  Bell  System  policy  in  patent- 
ing its  inventions  and  in  licensing 
others  to  use  them. 

What  is  a  patent,  and  why  is  it  of 
direct  benefit  both  to  the  inventor  and 
the  public?  The  granting  of  a  patent 
under  our  law  is  in  principle  a  simple 
exchange  of  values  between  the  in- 
ventor on  one  hand  and  the  public  on 
the  other.  The  public  receives  a  clear, 
permanent  and  open  disclosure  of  an 
invention  which  might  otherwise  be 
kept  secret.  The  inventor  receives  on 
his  part  an  exclusive  right  to  his  in- 
vention for  the  duration  of  the  patent 
period  (seventeen  years  in  this  coun- 
try), which  is  intended  to  allow  time 
to  develop  the  product,  get  it  into 
manufacture,  market  it,  and  derive  a 
profit  from  it.     At  the  end  of  this 


period  anyone  may  use  the  invention 
freely. 

The  Bell  System's  interest  in  pat- 
ents comes  about  both  by  the  nature 
of  its  business  and  from  the  extensive 
work  of  research  and  development 
which  it  carries  on  in  order  to  be  able 
at  all  times  to  furnish  the  public  the 
best  possible  telephone  service.  This 
activity  of  research  and  development 
is  of  long  standing  and  is  essential  to 
satisfactory  and  continuing  progress 
in  the  constant  effort  to  find  new  and 
better  ways  of  doing  the  job  in  an  in- 
dustry involving  intricate  apparatus 
and  many  complex  operations. 

Out  of  the  research  and  development 
work  carried  on  by  Bell  System  scien- 
tists and  engineers  come  many  inven- 
tions. These  inventions  contribute 
significantly  to  the  art  of  telephony 
and  improved  service  to  the  user. 
Most  of  them  originate  in  the  Bell 
Telephone  Laboratories,  the  System's 


2l8 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


research  and  development  organiza- 
tion. Some  also  originate  in  the 
American  Company  itself,  in  the 
Western  Electric  Company,  the  Sys- 
tem's manufacturing  organization,  and 
in  other  companies  of  the  Bell  System. 

It  is  the  practice  to  apply  for  United 
States  patents  upon  the  more  impor- 
tant of  these  inventions  so  that  the 
Bell  System's  right  to  use  its  own  in- 
ventions in  furnishing  communica- 
tions service  may  receive  the  assur- 
ance provided  by  the  patent  laws. 

Another  reason  for  applying  for 
patents  on  these  inventions  is  that  a 
patent  establishes  a  right  in  an  inven- 
tion which  enables  the  patent  holder 
to  grant  licenses  to  others  and  thus  to 
realize  values  of  the  invention  in  ad- 
dition to  the  values  derived  from  using 
the  invention  himself.  Bell  System 
patents  often  have  a  trading  value  in 
acquiring  the  right  to  use  inventions 
of  others  which  are  needed  in  furnish- 
ing the  best  possible  communications 
service;  in  fact,  licensing  others  to  use 
the  Bell  System's  patented  inventions 
is  sometimes  the  only  way  by  which 
such  rights  can  be  obtained.  Beyond 
this,  patents  are  valuable  assets  in 
that  others  often  are  willing  to  pay 
royalties  for  the  right  to  use  the 
System's  patented  inventions. 

Some  600  license  agreements  under 
which  rights  are  granted  to  more  than 
400  widely  varied  businesses  are  in 
effect.  Negotiations  are  in  progress 
with  a  number  of  other  concerns,  and 
requests  for  licenses  are  coming  in 
steadily.  Some  of  the  important  uses 
for  which  licenses  have  been  granted 
under  Bell  System  patents  are  tele- 
phone instruments  and  switchboards; 
submarine  and  other  types  of  cable; 
loading  coils,  repeaters,  and  carrier 
systems;   radio   communications   sys- 


tems; broadcast  transmitters  and  re- 
ceivers; sound  recording  and  repro- 
ducing apparatus;  hearing  aids;  pub- 
lic address  systems;  and  medical  and 
scientific  equipment. 

It  is  the  Bell  System's  policy  to  make 
available  upon  reasonable  terms,  to 
all  who  desire  them,  non-exclusive 
licenses  under  its  patents,  for  any  use. 
In  order  to  realize  the  value  of  the  in- 
ventions, it  is  necessary  to  employ  dif- 
ferent types  of  patent  license  agree- 
ments in  different  situations,  of  which 
the  following  are  some  illustrations : 

(a)  Licenses  are  exchanged  with 
other  patent  owners,  either  with  or 
without  royalties,  so  that  each  gets 
the  particular  rights  he  desires 
under  the  patents  of  the  other. 

(b )  Licenses  are  granted  to  man- 
ufacturers to  make,  use,  and  sell  ap- 
paratus to  others  on  a  royalty  basis. 

(c)  Licenses  are  granted  on  a 
royalty  basis  to  those  who  desire  to 
use  specified  apparatus  in  their  own 
businesses  (as  distinct  from  those 
who  sell  such  apparatus  to  others). 
Such  licenses  include  the  right  to 
have  the  licensed  apparatus  made 
by  anyone  for  the  licensee. 

Most  of  the  System's  license  agree- 
ments fall  within  (a)  or  (b)  above, 
or  a  combination  of  the  two.  For  ex- 
ample, licenses  are  granted  to  manu- 
facturers covering  telephone  systems 
and  apparatus  for  sale  to  operating 
telephone  companies,  both  Bell  and 
non-Bell. 

Where  the  proposed  licensee  has 
patents  upon  inventions  which  the  Sys- 
tem desires  to  use  in  the  communica- 
tions business,  a  non-exclusive  license 


1948-49 


Bell  System  Patents  and  Patent  Licensing 


•^    219 


under  such  patents  is  always  expected 
and  any  difference  between  values  in- 
volved is  adjusted  through  royalties. 
In  all  cases  the  System  seeks  to  fix 
the  terms  of  licenses  to  others  under 
System  patents,  whether  in  the  form 
of  royalties  or  licenses  to  it,  or  both, 
in  such  a  way  as  to  be  reasonably  re- 
lated to  the  value  of  the  patented  in- 
ventions covered  by  the  license. 

What  has  been  said  above  relates 
to  the  licensing  of  concerns  and  indi- 
viduals in  this  country.  The  same 
general  philosophy  applies  to  patent 
license  negotiations  with  foreign  con- 


cerns, although  there  are  different 
conditions,  such  as  patent  and  other 
laws,  trade  and  currency  regulations, 
etc.,  which  must  be  considered  in  such 
negotiations.  Proposed  patent  license 
agreements  with  foreign  concerns  are 
reviewed  with  the  State  Department 
to  be  sure  that  they  are  consistent 
with  our  Government's  foreign  eco- 
nomic policy. 

For  the  general  convenience  of  all 
those  desiring  licenses  under  Bell  Sys- 
tem patents,  the  Western  Electric 
Company  has  been  designated  as  the 
agency  to  make  agreements  for  rights 
under  all  Bell  System  patents. 


Have  you  ever  stopped  to  ask  yourself  just  what  it  is  you  really  want 
in  telephone  service?  I  expect,  when  you  boil  it  down,  it's  about  as 
simple  as  this : 

You  want  to  get  the  person  you  are  calling  quickly,  whether  he's 
around  the  block  or  across  the  continent.  You  want  to  hear  his  voice 
clearly,  and  know  that  he  is  understanding  you  just  as  clearly.  You 
want — and  expect — your  telephone  service  to  be  available  to  you  24 
hours  a  day,  and  in  using  that  service  you  want  to  feel  that  you  are 
being  treated  in  a  friendly  way  by  people  who  know  their  jobs. 

And,  of  course,  you  want  these  qualities  at  reasonable  cost. 

Now  the  fact  of  the  matter  is,  these  are  the  very  things  we  have  al- 
ways tried  to  give  you.  The  aim  of  the  Bell  System  has  been — and  is — 
to  supply  you  with  telephone  service  that  is  high  in  value,  low  in  cost. 

We  intend  to  keep  making  it  better  all  the  time,  so  that  its  value  to 
you  will  grow  as  your  need  for  it  increases. 

An  announcement  on  the  Telephone  Hour  radio  program. 


^' Civil  Defense  for  National  Security"  Reports  on  the  Steps 

Necessary  to  Minimise  the  Effects  of  Enemy  Action  Against 

the  Unarmed  People  of  this  Country 


The  Part  Communications 
Play  in  Civil  Defense 


Judson  S.  Bradley 


The  Selective  Service  law  is  in 
effect.  The  Army,  the  Navy,  and  the 
Air  Force  have  been  consolidated  un- 
der one  head,  and  are  being  strength- 
ened in  both  personnel  and  equip- 
ment. A  National  Security  Council, 
a  National  Security  Resources  Board, 
a  Munitions  Board,  a  Research  and 
Development  Board  have  been  estab- 
lished and  are  functioning. 

These  steps  are  held  to  be  essen- 
tial, in  this  era  of  troubled  peace,  to 
the  defense  of  our  country. 

Another  step  is  essential  to  com- 
plete the  nation's  defensive  organiza- 
tion: a  structure  of  c'wil  defense,  to 
enable  Americans  to  prepare  to  pro- 
tect themselves  and  their  productive 
capacity  in  the  eventuality  that  war 
should  ever  be  brought  to  these 
shores.  And  the  need  is  greater  now 
than  ever  in  the  past  because  of  the 
indiscriminate  and  incalculable  blows 
of  modern  warfare. 

That  step  is  in  the  process  of  being 
taken.     Already  there  is  a  plan:  a 


plan  of  Civil  Defense  for  National 
Security. 

Communications  hold  a  key  posi- 
tion, as  would  be  natural,  in  the  plan 
and  in  operations  under  the  plan. 
But  to  understand  their  role,  one 
must  first  understand  what  the  plan 
includes,  the  organization  it  proposes, 
and  the  methods  and  extent  of  the 
organization's  operations. 

On  March  27,  1948,  the  Secretary 
of  Defense  created  an  Office  of  Civil 
Defense  Planning,  and  appointed  to 
it  a  Director,  who  was  instructed : 

"To  prepare  and  to  submit  to  the 
Secretary  of  Defense  a  program  of 
Civil  Defense  for  the  United  States, 
including  a  plan  for  a  permanent  fed- 
eral civil  defense  agency  which,  in 
conjunction  with  the  several  states 
and  their  subdivisions,  can  undertake 
those  peacetime  preparations  which 
are  necessary  to  assure  an  adequate 
civil  defense  system  in  the  event  of 
war." 


Communications  and  Civil  Defense 


221 


By  last  Fall  the  assigned  task  was 
completed,  and  the  Secretary  of  De- 
fense made  public  on  November  14 
the  300-page  document  which  the  Di- 
rector of  Civil  Defense  Planning  had 
submitted  to  him. 

Civil  Defense  the  report  defines  as 
"the  mobilization,  organization,  and 
direction  of  the  civilian  populace  and 
necessary  supporting  agencies  to  mini- 
mize the  effects  of  enemy  action  di- 
rected against  people,  communities, 
industrial  plants,  facilities  and  other 
installations — and  to  maintain  or  re- 
store those  facilities  essential  to  civil 
life  and  to  preserve  the  maximum 
civilian  support  of  the  war  effort." 

The  Civil  Defense  concept  is  es- 
sentially that  of  self-help,  placing  full 
responsibility  for  operation  in  the 
States  and  their  communities. 

The  basic  unit  is  the  individual. 
Given  information  and  training — first 


aid,  fire  prevention,  detection  of  con- 
taminated areas,  and  such — he  must 
look  out  for  himself. 

The  basic  group  is  the  family. 
With  some  or  all  of  its  members  simi- 
larly trained,  it  too  must  take  care  of 
itself. 

The  basic  organization  is  the  com- 
munity. Making  use  of  existing  mu- 
nicipal agencies,  trained  volunteers, 
and  available  skills  and  experience, 
it  should,  as  a  general  proposition, 
undertake  to  meet  whatever  emer- 
gency befalls. 

Only  when  confronted  by  a  situa- 
tion beyond  its  own  capacity  to  handle 
would  a  community  call  upon  the 
mobile  reserves.  These,  set  up  on  a 
scheme  of  mutual  assistance,  could  be 
moved  into  an  overwhelmed  com- 
munity from  locations  throughout  a 
state  or  adjoining  states.  A  mobile 
reserve  unit  would  include  provisions 


Ill 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


for  affording  such  services  as  rescue, 
medical,  fire  fighting,  debris  clearance, 
radiological  defense,  emergency  feed- 
ing, and  repair. 

A  disaster  beyond  the  combined 
scope  of  the  community  and  the  mo- 
bile reserves  would  necessitate,  as  the 
ultimate  recourse,  calls  upon  the  mili- 
tary services  for  assistance. 

Implicit  in  the  Civil  Defense  con- 
cept Is  also  the  availability  of  the 
organization  for  service  in  case  of 
peace-time  disaster,  whether  fire, 
flood,  tornado,  explosion,  or  other 
catastrophe. 

The  Civil  Defense  Organization 

The  Civil  Defense  program  con- 
templates a  nation-wide  peace-time 
organization  which  could  be  quickly 
expanded  and  made  effective  in  the 
event  of  a  national  emergency.  It 
would  function — broadly  speaking — 
along  these  lines: 

A.  There  would  be  at  the  top  a 
national  Office  of  Civil  Defense.  Its 
head  would  be  a  Director,  assisted  by 
a  staff  and  by  four  principal  aides. 
The  latter  would  be  Deputy  Directors 
in  charge  of  Plans  and  Operations, 
Medical  and  Health  Services  and  Spe- 
cial Weapons  Defense,  Technical 
Services  (including  Communications), 
and  Training.  This  national  organi- 
zation would  be  and  could  remain 
small;  it  would  exist  primarily  to  fur- 
nish leadership  and  guidance  in  or- 
ganizing and  training  people  for  civil 
defense  tasks. 

B.  Regional  offices,  established  per- 
haps on  a  geographic  basis  paralleling 
the  Army  Area  Commands,  would  be 
in  charge  of  Regional  Coodlnators, 
who  would  be  responsible  for  coor- 
dinating  Civil    Defense   matters   be- 


tween Federal  and  State  organiza- 
tions, and  with  the  military  and  other 
agencies  which  might  be  involved. 

C.  Within  each  State,  the  responsi- 
bility for  the  operation  of  Civil  De- 
fense would  rest  with  the  Governor, 
who  would  appoint  a  State  Director 
of  Civil  Defense.  The  latter  would 
be  assisted  by  an  organization  rather 
similar  to  that  outlined  in  A  above, 
coordinated  with  existing  state  gov- 
ernmental agencies;  and  his  responsi- 
bility would  be  both  to  direct  civil 
defense  operations  within  the  State 
and  to  coordinate  them  with  those  of 
other  states  and  of  the  national  or- 
ganization. 

D.  The  national  and  state  organi- 
zations exist  primarily  In  order  that 
Civil  Defense  may  function  effectively 
at  the  local  level.  For  that  is  where 
the  blows  of  war  fall:  on  people  and 
places.  It  Is  Important  that  Civil 
Defense  make  full  use  of  existing 
agencies  of  local  government,  coor- 
dinating them  with  such  added  agen- 
cies as  are  not  ordinarily  found  in 
normal  peace-time  local  government. 
It  Is  here,  the  report  recognizes,  that 
all  Civil  Defense  planning  meets  Its 
ultimate  test:  the  handling  of  emer- 
gency conditions  encountered  at  the 
local  level — in  the  community — dur- 
ing actual  operations.  The  local  or- 
ganization described  In  the  report  Is 
intended  simply  as  representative, 
since  local  circumstances  may  cause 
administrative  needs  to  vary.  As  out- 
lined there,  the  Mayor  or  comparable 
civic  ofliclal  would  be  the  responsible 
head  of  Civil  Defense  at  the  level  at 
which  It  would  actually  operate.  He 
would  establish  an  Advisory  Council 
of  representative  citizens,  and  he 
would  have  reporting  to  him  a  Direc- 


1948-49 


Communications  and  Civil  Defense 


123 


tor  of  Civil  Defense,  who  would  be 
assisted  by  four  deputy  directors. 
These  four  would  exercise  adminis- 
trative supervision,  respectively,  over 
the  following  division : 

1.  Communications,  Engineering 
and  Public  Works,  Rescue, 
Transportation,  and  Air  Raid 
Warning  and  Aircraft  Ob- 
servers; 

2.  Plant  Protection,  Warden  Serv- 
ices, Fire  and  Police  Services, 
and  Mutual  Aid  and  Mobile 
Reserves; 

3.  Radiological,  Chemical,  and 
other  Special  Weapons  Defense, 
and  Medical  and  Health  Serv- 
ices; 

4.  Evacuation  and  Civilian  War 
Aid. 

All  of  these  are  coordinated,  di- 
rected, and  controlled  by  communica- 
tions :  communications  of  various 
kinds  in  various  quantities,  but  all 
with  a  common  requisite — adequacy 
and  reliability. 

"Fortunately,"  says  the  report  of 
the  Office  of  Civil  Defense  Planning, 
"in  the  United  States  there  is  a  com- 
munications system  of  top  efficiency 
and  adaptability  ...  all  the  varied 
segments  of  the  American  communi- 
cations system  are  available  and  are 
willing  to  assist." 

Communications'  Role 

For  administrative  purposes, 
communications  for  Civil  Defense  are 
grouped  in  three  classifications:  Gen- 
eral Communications,  Radio  Broad- 
casting and  other  Radio  Services,  and 
Air  Raid  Warning  and  Aircraft  Ob- 
servers Communications. 

Taking  them  up  in  that  order,  let 
us  think  of  general  communications  in 
terms  of  its  most  essential  local  use: 


at  the  local  control  center.  The  con- 
trol center  would  be  the  place  from 
which  civil  defense  operations  are  di- 
rected in  an  emergency.  Its  com- 
munication facilities  should  be  of  the 
utmost  efficiency  and  reliability,  and 
adequate  to  all  needs. 

From  the  control  center,  wardens 
and  emergency  groups  would  be  di- 
rected, and  to  it  they  would  make 
their  reports. 

Here  contact  would  be  maintained 
with  control  centers  of  neighboring 
communities,  to  facilitate  mutual  as- 
sistance, and  from  here  local  civil 
defense  units  would  be  dispatched  to 
help  in  organizing  assistance. 

The  local  control  center  would 
maintain  direct  contact  with  the  local 
fire  and  police  departments  (although 
the  departments  should  maintain 
their  communication  systems  for  their 
own  exclusive  use). 

It  would  communicate  with  key 
radio  broadcasting  stations;  and  it 
would  receive  and  transmit  informa- 
tion concerning  water  supply,  public 
utilities,  transportation  and  evacua- 
tion operations,  and  radiological  and 
chemical  defense. 

And  it  would  receive  and  transmit 
air-raid  warning  information  to  desig- 
nated officials  and  perhaps  operate 
warning  sirens  and  public  address 
systems. 

In  general,  existing  telephone,  tele- 
graph, and  radio  facilities  and  serv- 
ices should  be  used  insofar  as  possi- 
ble ;  but  provision  should  also  be  made 
for  emergency  means  of  communica- 
tion. Those  might  include  such 
means  as  mobile  radio  telephone,  air- 
to-ground  radio,  walkie-talkie  facili- 
ties, and  messengers.  Some  or  all  of 
these  would  be  essential  during  and 
after  major  attacks  which  disrupted 


124 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


other  forms  of  communication;  for 
use  during  mass  exacuation  and  by 
mobile  reserve  units;  and  for  both  air 
and  ground  reconnaissance  after 
chemcial  or  atomic  attack. 

All  existing  communications  facili- 
ties should  be  maintained  by  their 
owners;  and  expansion,  repairs,  and 
restoration  should  likewise  be  their 
owners'  responsibility,  plus  such  co- 
ordination and  other  assistance  as 
Civil  Defense  might  need  to  give. 

Throughout  the  entire  discussion 
of  the  vital  importance  of  communi- 
cations in  the  Civil  Defense  program, 
emphasis  is  placed  on  using  standard 
equipment  and  arrangements  wher- 
ever possible. 

Radio  broadcasting  is,  of  course, 
an  important  means  of  one-way  com- 
munication. 

Radio  stations  can  be  used  in  times 
of  peace  to  inform  the  general  public 
of  its  responsibilities  under  the  Civil 
Defense  program.  In  time  of  emer- 
gency, broadcasting  of  accurate  and 
believable  facts,  warnings,  and  other 
information  should  contribute  im- 
measurably in  maintaining  morale  and 
preventing  panic  and  confusion.  Cer- 
tain broadcasting  stations  would  be 
designated  to  serve  as  master  stations 
for  the  operational  guidance  of  all 
other  broadcasting  stations  within  a 
given  area.  The  use  of  broadcasting 
facilities  would  depend,  however,  on 
the  extent  to  which  and  the  conditions 
under  which  radio  silence  might  be 
imposed  for  reasons  of  military 
security. 

Under  a  carefully  organized  plan, 
amateur  radio  operators  should  be 
capable  of  making  important  con- 
tributions to  civil  defense,  by  provid- 
ing   supplementary    emergency    com- 


munications channels — especially  after 
an  attack.  Study  of  this  nation-wide 
resource  is  proposed  as  a  part  of  the 
Civil  Defense  program. 

The  air-raid  warning  system  of 
the  Civil  Defense  program  would  be 
dependent  upon  the  military  air  de- 
fense for  news  of  impending  air  at- 
tack, which  it  would  pass  on  in  turn 
to  key  individuals  and,  through  its 
local  control  centers,  to  the  public. 
Civil  Defense  could  also  make  con- 
structive contributions  to  military  air 
defense,  particularly  through  civilian 
aircraft  observer  activities. 

The  U.  S.  Air  Force  has  estab- 
lished an  Air  Defense  Command,  to 
defend  this  country  in  the  air.  It  will 
have  an  air  defense  control  center  in 
each  of  the  air  defense  control  areas 
it  will  set  up  to  cover  the  country;  and 
each  such  control  center  will  have 
communication  facilities  to  connect  it 
with  all  sources  of  information  about 
air  activity  in  the  area. 

The  air  defense  control  center  will 
be  operated  by  the  Air  Force,  but  it 
would  also  be  the  operating  center  for 
a  Civil  Defense  air-raid  warning 
chief.  Because  he  would  be  right  in 
the  middle,  he  would  have  instant 
access  to  all  information  about  air  at- 
tack, to  pass  on  to  Civil  Defense  or- 
ganizations. To  the  extent  that  they 
met  his  needs,  each  air-raid  warn- 
ing chief  would  make  use  of  regu- 
lar commercial  telephone  facilities. 
Other  possibilities  include  printer 
telegraph  equipment  standing  by  to 
transmit  pre-punched  warning  codes, 
and  the  transmission  of  secret  codes 
from  radio  broadcasting  stations  by 
means  of  sub-audible  frequencies. 

Despite  modern  electronic  warning 
equipment,  a  supplementary  system  of 


1948-49 


Communications  and  Civil  Defense 


11$ 


civilian  aircraft  observers  will  un- 
doubtedly be  needed  to  assist  the  Air 
Force  in  maintaining  effective  air  de- 
fense and  air  raid  warning  operations. 
The  local  Civil  Defense  organization 
should  be  ready,  in  cooperation  with 
the  commander  of  the  area  air  de- 
fense control  center,  to  recruit  and 
organize  the  aircraft  observers  and 
to  select  the  observation  posts.  Since 
all  this  would  have  for  its  purpose  the 
instant  reporting,  to  the  proper  air 
defense  control  center,  of  aircraft 
seen  or  heard,  the  means  of  communi- 
cation would  be  of  prime  importance. 
It  would  be  the  responsibility  of  the 
chief  of  the  communications  division 
of  the  Civil  Defense  organization  to 
determine  what  those  means  should 
be  and  to  see  that  they  were  planned 
in  advance  and  made  available  against 
the  need. 

The  Planning  Goes  Ahead 

Pending  submission  of  the  report 
"Civil  Defense  for  National  Security" 
to  the  Eight)^-first  Congress,  the 
small  Civil  Defense  Planning  group 
which  prepared  it  continues  with  the 
preparation  of  plans  and  training 
material. 

Action  by  the  Congress  could 
quickly  create  within  the  Federal  gov- 
ernment an  Office  of  Civil  Defense 
which  would  make  effective  the  rec- 
ommendations of  the  report.  This 
organization  would  function  on  the 
national  level,  as  outlined  earlier,  in 
assisting  the  states  to  establish  their 
own  organization  and  thereby  en- 
couraging the  local  communities  to 
establish  theirs. 

As  these  steps  were  taken,  com- 
munications  would   come   more   and 


more  into  the  foreground  of  the  pic- 
ture. Until  then  they,  like  other 
proposals  of  the  report,  rest  largely 
at  the  planning  stage. 

The  planning  has  been  serious  and 
realistic.  Representatives  of  the  com- 
munications industries  have  been  ac- 
tive in  the  preparation  of  the  report, 
and  numerous  others  have  been  mem- 
bers of  the  advisory  panel  on  com- 
munications services.  As  a  conse- 
quence, the  communications  companies 
are  fully  aware  of  their  responsibili- 
ties and  prepared  to  meet  them. 

"The  United  States  is  fortunate  in 
having  the  most  extensive  and  finest 
communications  system  in  the  world," 
says  the  report  of  the  Director  of 
Civil  Defense  Planning.  Only  a  few 
years  ago,  that  system  demonstrated 
its  capacity  to  assume  vast  burdens  in 
contributing  to  the  military  victories 
of  this  nation.  It  demonstrated,  at 
the  same  time,  its  potentialities  for 
Civil  Defense.  They  are  even  greater 
now. 

Newspapers  throughout  the  coun- 
try hailed  "Civil  Defense  for  Na- 
tional Security"  as  a  report  of  first 
importance,  and  paid  their  respects  to 
the  patriotic  and  disinterested  Amer- 
icans who  devoted  their  time  and 
energy  to  its  preparation.  Perhaps  it 
will  be  sufficient  here  to  quote  from 
the  New  York  Times  of  last  Novem- 
ber 14: 

"We  commend  [the  plan]  to  Con- 
gress and  to  all  citizens  as  a  reason- 
able and  important  document.  .  .  . 
The  sooner  a  Civil  Defense  act  is 
passed  here  and  put  into  effect,  the 
better  it  will  be.  This  is  an  act  of 
prudence  that  should  not  be  long 
delayed." 


The  Pacefarniy  near  Burlington^  North  Carolina 

The  Millionth  Bell  Rural  Telephone 
Since  the  IVar  Is  Installed 


The  millionth  rural  telephone  to  be 
added  by  the  Bell  System  since  the  war 
was  placed  in  service  by  the  Southern  Bell 
Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company  last 
December  i6  in  the  farm  home  of  W.  J. 
Pace,  in  the  bright-leaf  tobacco  section  of 
North  Carolina,  thirteen  miles  from  Bur- 
lington. 

With  the  addition  of  these  million  new 
telephones,  there  are  now  more  than 
2,300,000  Bell  System  telephones  serving 
rural  areas:  65  percent  more  than  there 
were  on  V-J  Day.  As  a  result  of  the  rec- 
ord performance  of  the  Bell  Companies 
and  the  active  rural  building  programs  of 
other  telephone  companies,  about  45  per- 
cent of  the  farms  of  the  country  now  have 
telephone  service. 


The  first  call  from  the  new  telephone 
was  made  to  President  Harry  S.  Truman 
in  Washington  by  U.  S.  Senator  J.  Mel- 
ville Broughton  of  North  Carolina,  who 
introduced  Mr.  Pace  to  the  Chief  Execu- 
tive. 

Other  participants  in  the  ceremonies  at 
the  Pace  farm  included  W.  Kerr  Scott, 
governor-elect  of  North  Carolina,  himself 
a  farmer  and  dairyman,  who  spoke  by  tele- 
phone with  Leroy  A.  Wilson,  president  of 
the  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company  in  New  York.  Mr.  Pace  also 
talked  with  Mr.  Wilson.  Also  present 
were  other  state  government  officials,  agri- 
cultural leaders,  and  representatives  of  the 
telephone  industry,  including  Hal  S. 
Dumas  of  Atlanta,  president  of  Southern 


The  Millionth  Rural  Telephone 


227 


Bell  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company, 
and  Frank  S.  Barnes  of  Rock  Hill,  S.  C, 
president  of  the  United  States  Independent 
Telephone  Association. 

During  the  ceremonies,  Governor-elect 
Scott  characterized  the  installation  as  sym- 
bolic of  the  progress  being  made  in  elimi- 
nating the  isolation  of  the  farmer.  "Good 
roads,  electricity,  and  telephones  are  not 
luxuries  for  the  farmer;  they  are  necessi- 
ties," he  said. 

Mr.  Dumas  said  that  the  Bell  Companies 
would  continue  to  push  their  rural  expan- 
sion and  improvement  program,  but  em- 
phasized that  large  amounts  of  money 
would  be  needed  to  do  the  job.  "The 
rural   telephone   expansion   program,*   un- 


*  See  "More  and  Better  Service  for  Farmers," 
Magazine  Winter  1944-45 ;  and  "Progress  in 
Extending  Bell  Rural  Telephone  Service," 
Magazine  Winter  1946-47. 


dertaken  by  the  Bell  System  in  1945  when 
men  and  materials  again  became  available 
following  the  war,  called  for  the  addition 
of  a  million  telephones  in  rural  areas 
within  five  years,"  he  said. 

"This  was  the  first  postwar  step  in  re- 
suming the  active  extension  and  improve- 
ment of  service  in  rural  areas.  The  job 
has  been  done  in  a  little  over  three  years 
despite  serious  shortages  of  supplies  of  all 
kinds. 

"To  accomplish  this  task  meant  adding 
rural  telephones  at  the  average  rate  of 
more  than  1,000  every  working  day — over 
three  times  the  rate  of  any  previous  period 
in  Bell  System  history. 

"The  attainment  of  the  Bell  System's 
initial  postwar  objective  does  not  mean 
that  the  task  of  bringing  service  to  rural 
America  is  finished.  The  work  will  go 
right  on,"  Mr.  Dumas  said. 


Mrs.  Pace  uses  the  new  telephone  as  husband  and  p-anddaughter  look  on 


operation  of  the  New    York  and  Chicago  Toll  Crossbar 

Switching  Systems  Represents  the  Latest  W^ord  in  Machine 

Handling  of  Long  Distance  Trajic 


Toll  Dialing  by  Operators 
Reaches  Some  300  Places 

Ernst  J.  Guengerich 


The  Bell  System  made  its  biggest 
forward  step  in  toll  dialing  with  the 
cutovers  last  December  of  the  toll 
crossbar  systems  in  New  York  and  in 
Chicago. 

These  mechanical  switching  sys- 
tems are  like  local  dial  offices  in  many 
respects;  but,  instead  of  serving  local 
customers  and  handling  local  calls, 
they  serve  toll  operators  and  handle 
toll  calls.  Outward  toll  operators  in 
New  York  and  Chicago  now  dial 
through  their  toll  crossbar  systems  to 
reach  customers  in  distant  cities.  Op- 
erators in  distant  cities  dial  customers 
in  New  York  and  Chicago,  and  also 
switch  through  the  New  York  and 
Chicago  toll  crossbar  systems  to  reach 
other  cities.  In  other  words,  a  toll 
crossbar  system  acts  as  a  tandem 
board  for  outward  calls,  as  an  inward 
board  for  incoming  calls,  and  as  a 
through  board  for  completing  switches 
through  a  switching  center  such  as 
New  York  or  Chicago. 

The  name   "toll  crossbar"   comes 


from  the  use  of  the  crossbar  switch 
for  setting  up  connections  and  certain 
distinctive  toll  features  which  distin- 
guish this  system  from  others,  such 
as  step-by-step  and  crossbar  tandem, 
which  also  are  used  for  toll  dialing. 
Toll  dialing  replaces  the  "ringdown" 
method  of  handling  toll  calls,  under 
which  an  operator  rings  on  a  toll 
circuit  to  attract  an  operator's  at- 
tention in  the  distant  city,  asks  for  a 
local  number  or  for  a  circuit  to  an- 
other city,  and,  on  through  calls,  rings 
again  at  the  end  of  conversation  to 
have  the  connection  released. 

Under  the  toll  dialing  method,  the 
operator  dials  or  "key  pulses"  a  series 
of  digits  which  actuate  dial  equip- 
ment to  reach  the  called  number,  and 
all  connections  are  released  automati- 
cally when  the  operator  disconnects. 

Historical  Background 

The  study  of  an  improved  toll 
switching  system  began  shortly  after 
the  end  of  World  War  I,  to  meet  the 


Toll  Dialing  by  Operators 


iig 


States  connected  with  the  New  York  and  Chicago  crossbar  toll  dialing  systems 


urgent  demand  for  better  means  for 
handling  toll  traffic  in  the  larger  cities. 

The  first  approach  was  a  dial  sys- 
tem using  panel  equipment,  and  a  trial 
installation  was  made  in  Seattle, 
Washington,  in  1925.  This  system, 
which  is  still  in  service,  permitted 
nearby  points  to  dial  Seattle  numbers, 
but  the  operation  was  slow  and  the 
possibilities  for  general  use  did  not 
warrant  further  study. 

A  study  was  then  made  of  straight- 
forward toll  circuits  with  high-speed 
manual  switchboards :  an  arrange- 
ment similar  to  the  trunking  arrange- 
ment between  local  manual  offices  in 
a  multi-office  city.  Under  this  sys- 
tem, when  an  operator  takes  up  a 
trunk,  a  signal  automatically  lights  at 
the  distant  office;  and  when  she  dis- 
connects at  the  end  of  conversation, 
she   sets   a   release   signal.     A   four- 


position  switchboard  similar  to  a  local 
B  board  was  tried  out  in  New  York 
City  in  1935,  and  experience  with  it 
showed  that  considerable  improve- 
ment could  be  made  in  manual  toll 
operation. 

By  this  time  it  appeared,  however, 
that  a  dial  system  might  be  developed 
which  would  not  cost  a  great  deal 
more,  and  that  the  real  answer  lay  in 
complete  mechanization.  Develop- 
ment was  directed  to  toll  dialing,  and 
the  design  of  the  toll  crossbar  sys- 
tem as  we  know  it  today  began  to  take 
shape. 

At  that  time,  the  range  of  toll  dial- 
ing was  limited  to  a  few  hundred 
miles  and  it  was  expected  that  ring- 
down  or  straightforward  operation 
would  continue  for  many  years  over 
the  longer  circuits.  Provision  was 
made,  therefore,  for  handling  traffic 


230 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


Operators  at  a  toll  switchboard  in  New  York.     The  girl 

in  the  foreground  is  using  the  keys  which  take  the  place 

of  the  dial.     Beside  them  is  the  bulletin  listing  the  codes 

for  frequently  called  points 


tion  of  calls  to  and  from 
manual  ringdown  and 
straightforward  trunks. 
A  No.  4  board  was  in- 
cluded for  handling  calls 
from  the  manual  trunks 
and  for  giving  assistance 
to  operators  in  other 
cities  when  difficulty  was 
met  in  dialing  a  number. 
The  toll  crossbar  switch- 
ing systems  now  serving 
New  York  and  Chicago 
are  of  the  same  type  as 
the  one  in  Philadelphia 
except  that  no  No.  4 
boards  are  provided. 
Straightforward  opera- 
tion has  been  dropped, 
dialing  now  is  practical 
over  any  distance,  and 
the  program  for  convert- 
ing ringdown  circuits  to 
dial  is  expected  to  move 
so  rapidly  that  new  No, 
4  switchboards  for  ring- 
down  trunks  would  have 
a  relatively  short  life 
and  therefore  would  not 
be  justified. 


from  such  manual  circuits  by  develop- 
ing the  No.  4  switchboard  as  an  aux- 
iliary feature  of  the  toll  crossbar  sys- 
tem. Completion  of  development 
work  was  delayed  by  the  beginning  of 
World  War  II,  and  the  first  toll  cross- 
bar system  was  not  placed  in  service 
until  the  one  in  Philadelphia  was  cut 
over  in  August  1943.* 

The  Philadelphia  system  provided 
for  completing  outward,  inward,  and 
through  calls  by  operator  dialing  or 
key  pulsing,  as  well  as  for  the  comple- 

•See    "A    Dial    Switching    System    for    Toll 
Calls,"  Magazine,  Winter  1943-44. 


The  Toll  Dialt?ig  Network 

When  the  Philadelphia  toll  cross- 
bar system  was  placed  in  service,  it 
was  the  center  of  a  toll  dialing  net- 
work of  some  30  toll  centers,  the 
most  distant  of  which  was  Richmond, 
about  250  miles  away.  Most  of  the 
others  were  within  a  radius  of  100 
miles  of  Philadelphia. 

New  York,  Chicago,  and  Phila- 
delphia now  are  part  of  a  greatly  ex- 
panded toll  dialing  network  which 
includes  125  toll  centers,  each  of 
which  has  a  number  of  tributary  com- 


1948-49 


Toll  Dialing  by  Operators 


231 


munities  also  reached 
by  toll  dialing.  These 
are  scattered  across  the 
country  from  as  far 
south  as  Miami  and  as 
far  west  as  Sacramento, 
Cal.,  and  Portland,  Ore. 
Operators  in  these  125 
toll  centers  now  are  com- 
pleting calls  to  a  total 
of  some  300  cities  and 
towns  within  the  net- 
work by  dialing  over  di- 
rect circuits  and  through 
switching  centers. 

In  this  network.  New 
York,  Chicago,  and 
Philadelphia  are  the 
key  switching  centers. 
These  tie  together  the 
self-contained  dialing 
networks  covering  lim- 
ited areas  which  have 
been  in  operation  for  a 
number  of  years  in  East- 
ern Pennsylvania,  Vir- 
ginia, Ohio,  and  else- 
where. 


The  No.  5  Switchboard,  for  handling  calls  which  cannot 

be  dialed  through  the  equipment.     This  type  of  board, 

which  handles  calls  from  operators,  corresponds  to  the 

local  DSA  board  for  handling  calls  from  customers 


Equipment  Features 

A  TOLL  CROSSBAR  SYSTEM  COnsistS  of 

two  basic  parts. 


One  is  a  series  of  frames  and  cross- 
bar switches  on  which  are  terminated 
the  various  trunks  which  are  to  be 
connected.  These  consist  of  tandem 
trunks   from  outward  positions,   toll 


Delayed-Call,  and  other  assistance 
operators.  Paths  or  links  are  pro- 
vided between  these  frames  for  con- 
necting tandem  trunks  to  toll  circuits 
on  outward  calls,  for  connecting  toll 
circuits  to  switching  or  operator 
trunks  for  incoming  calls,  and  for  con- 
necting toll  circuits  to  other  toll  cir- 
cuits on  through  calls. 

An  incoming  and  an  outgoing  trunk 
on  these  frames,  and  the  links  con- 


circuits  to  and  from  other  cities,  toll  necting  them,  are  in  use  until  the  end 

switching  trunks  to  local  offices  in  the  of  a  conversation.     The  frames  and 

city  where  the  toll  system  is  located,  crossbar  switches  on  which  the  trunks 

and  trunks  for  reaching  Information,  are  terminated  correspond  to  the  an- 


232 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


swering  jacks  and  multiple  of  a  man- 
ual toll  switchboard,  and  the  links 
between  the  frames  correspond  to  the 
cords  used  by  an  operator  in  establish- 
ing connections. 

II 

In  place  of  an  operator,  however,  a 
toll  crossbar  system  has  "control"  ap- 
paratus which  establishes  the  connec- 
tion. This  control  apparatus  is  the 
other  basic  part  of  the  toll  crossbar 
system. 

It  consists  of  controllers,  senders, 
markers,  and  other  equipment  whose 
function  it  is  to  receive  an  order  in  the 
form  of  electrical  pulses,  to  set  up 
the  required  connection  to  the  proper 
trunk,  and  to  pass  along  any  further 
information  in  the  form  of  electrical 
pulses  which  are  needed  to  complete 
the  connection  in  the  next  office. 

This  equipment  is  in  use  only  from 
the  time  an  operator  takes  up  a 
trunk  to  the  crossbar  system  until  the 
connection  is  established.  The  length 
of  time  a  sender  is  held  ranges  from 
about  8  to  12  seconds,  and  the  hold- 
ing time  on  controllers  and  on  markers 
is  measured  in  fractions  of  a  second. 
As  soon  as  the  control  equipment  has 
finished  setting  up  one  call,  it  is  ready 
for  the  next  one. 

This  division  of  the  toll  switching 
system  into  two  basic  parts — frames 
with  connecting  links,  and  entirely 
separate  control  apparatus — is  neces- 
sary in  order  to  make  most  effective 
use  of  the  costly  toll  switching  equip- 
ment and  to  obtain  the  necessary 
flexibility  in  operation. 

In  addition  to  the  dial  equipment 
in  the  New  York  and  Chicago  toll 
crossbar  systems,  special  switchboards 
known  as  No.  5  boards  are  provided 


for  handling  calls  which   cannot  be 
dialed  through  the  equipment. 

The  No.  5  board  corresponds  to 
the  DSA  board  used  in  local  dial  of- 
fices for  handling  assistance  traffic 
from  customers.  The  No.  5,  how- 
ever, has  double  plugs  and  twin  jacks 
in  order  to  provide  the  same  grade  of 
transmission  on  calls  completed  at  the 
switchboard  as  on  calls  dialed  through 
the  machine. 

Besides  trunks  from  and  to  the  dial 
equipment,  the  No.  5  board  has  spe- 
cial facilities  by  means  of  which  an 
operator  can  tell  when  all  the  toll  cir- 
cuits in  any  group  are  busy  and  when 
one  or  more  circuits  are  idle.  This 
indication  helps  the  No.  5  operator 
complete  calls  that  have  been  delayed 
by  a  "No  Circuit"  condition  on  which 
an  outward  operator  has  requested 
assistance. 

Each  position  is  equipped  with  a 
key  set  of  ten  keys,  numbered  i  to  o 
and  bearing  the  same  letters  as  on  a 
telephone  dial.  There  is  a  separate 
"key  pulsing"  key  which  is  operated 
first  to  connect  the  key  set  with  the 
cord  the  operator  is  using,  and  an- 
other key  which  is  operated  after  the 
digits  of  the  desired  number  have 
been  pulsed  to  indicate  to  the  machine 
that  no  more  digits  are  coming. 
These  key  sets  take  the  place  of  the 
dials  generally  used  on  the  smaller 
DSA  boards. 

How  Calls  are  Handled 

The  cut-overs  of  the  New  York  and 
Chicago  toll  crossbar  systems  made  no 
change  in  the  way  customers  place 
their  toll  calls,  but  it  did  change  the 
method  operators  in  these  and  other 
cities  use  in  completing  such  calls  to 
points  in  the  toll  dialing  network. 
When  an  outward  operator  in  Chi- 


J 


1948-49 


Toll  Dialing  by  Operators 


cago,  for  example,  receives  a  call  for 
a  New  York  number,  such  as  PEnn- 
sylvania  1-2345,  she  takes  up  an  idle 
tandem  trunk  to  the  machine  and  "key 
pulses"  the  code  "212"  followed  by 
two  letters  of  the  office  name  and  the 
remaining  digits,  1-2345. 

The  control  mechanism  in  Chicago 
uses  the  code  "212"  to  select  an  idle 
circuit  to  New  York,  and  pulses  the 
called  number  forward  into  the  New 
York  switching  system. 

The  New  York  machine  uses  the 
code  "PE  i"  to  select  an  idle  trunk 
to  the  PEnnsylvania  i  office,  and 
transmits  the  remaining  digits  to  the 
local  office. 

The  dial  equipment  in 
the  local  office  sets  up 
the  connection  and  starts 
ringing  the  called  num- 
ber. 

The  key  set  on  the 
outward  position  with 
which  the  operator  key 
pulses  the  code  and  num- 
ber is  similar  to  the  one 
on  the  No.  5  board  al- 
ready described.  The 
operator  obtains  the 
code  for  New  York, 
"212,"  from  a  position 
bulletin  which  lists  the 
codes  for  frequently 
called  points.  If  the  op- 
erator receives  a  call  for 
a  point  not  on  the  po- 
sition bulletin,  she  refers 
to  the  route  desk  for  the 
needed  information. 

If  the  called  telephone 
is  busy,  the  busy  signal 
is  received  by  the  Chi- 
cago operator  and  by  the 
customer.  The  operator 
disconnects  and  makes 


another  attempt  a  few  minutes  later. 
When  the  Chicago  operator  discon- 
nects from  the  tandem  trunk,  the 
whole  connection  is  released — includ- 
ing the  links  in  the  Chicago  machine, 
the  New  York  circuit,  the  links  in  the 
New  York  machine,  the  switching 
trunks  to  the  PEnnsylvania  i  office, 
and  the  equipment  in  the  local  office. 

If  the  call  had  been  placed  without 
the  called  number,  the  Chicago  oper- 
ator would  have  first  reached  the  New 
York  information  bureau.  She  does 
this  by  key-pulsing  the  code  "212" 
as  before  to  reach  New  York  and 
then  "131,"  which  is  the  universal  toll 
code   for  information.      Having   ob- 


Dial  senders  and  marker  connectors:  essential  parts  of 
the  control  apparatus  of  a  toll  crossbar  system 


234 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


tained  the  number,  the  Chicago  op- 
erator disconnects  and  again  pulses 
the  New  York  code  followed  by  the 
number.  The  procedure  is  the  same 
as  when  a  customer  dials  information, 
learns  the  number,  hangs  up,  and  then 
dials  the  number. 

When  a  Chicago  customer  reports 
that  he  is  ready  to  talk  on  an  incom- 
ing call  by  saying,  for  example,  "New 
York  operator  68 1  is  calling  me,"  the 
Chicago  operator  pulses  the  New 
York  code  212  followed  by  11-681. 
The  New  York  machine  on  receipt  of 
the  digits  11-681  connects  with  oper- 
ator 681,  who  has  the  original  ticket 
and  who  will  then  complete  the  con- 
nection. The  digits  "11"  are  pre- 
fixed by  the  operator  who  handles  the 
report  in  all  cases  when  a  connection 
is  to  be  made  to  an  outward  delayed- 
call  operator. 

A  CODE,  such  as  2 1 2  for  New  York,  is 
assigned  to  each  direct  circuit  group 
connected  to  a  toll  crossbar  system. 
Dialing  is  not  limited  to  direct  cir- 
cuit points,  however,  and  codes  also 
are  listed  on  the  switchboard  bulletin 
for  points  reached  over  built-up  cir- 
cuits. 

If  a  Stamford,  Connecticut,  opera- 
tor receives  a  call  for  Chicago, 
CAlumet  4-1234,  she  finds  from  the 
bulletin  that  the  route  is  "New  York 
312  +  2L."  This  tells  the  Stamford 
operator  that  she  should  take  up  a 
New  York  circuit  and  dial  312  fol- 
lowed by  two  letters  of  the  office 
name  and  the  called  number.  The 
digits  312  are  used  by  the  New  York 
machine  to  select  a  circuit  to  Chicago. 
The  digits  CA  4  are  used  by  the  Chi- 
cago machine  to  select  a  trunk  to  the 
CAlumet  4  ofl^ice,  and,  finally  the 
digits  of  the  called  number,  1234,  are 


used  by  the  local  dial  system  to  reach 
the  desired  telephone. 

The  Stamford  operator  actually 
dialed  the  code  and  number,  since  the 
Stamford  switchboard  is  equipped 
with  dials  rather  than  with  key  sets 
such  as  are  used  in  New  York  and 
Chicago. 

In  the  example  just  described,  if 
all  of  the  circuits  from  New  York  to 
Chicago  had  been  in  use,  the  Stam- 
ford operator  would  have  received  a 
slow  flash  called  the  "overflow"  sig- 
nal on  a  cord  of  her  position.  When 
a  circuit  becomes  free,  the  signal 
changes  to  a  rapid  flash,  called  the 
"re-order,"  and  the  operator  discon- 
nects and  dials  the  code  again.  In 
the  event  that  all  circuits  again  be- 
come busy  between  the  time  the  re- 
order signal  was  received  and  the 
Stamford  operator  dials  the  call 
again,  Stamford  again  receives  the 
overflow  signal.  Experience  has 
shown,  however,  that  in  a  high  pro- 
portion of  cases  an  operator  does 
secure  a  circuit  after  receipt  of  a  re- 
order signal. 

The  calls  described  so  far  have  all 
been  between  dialing  points,  but  many 
cities  have  not  yet  been  converted  to 
dial  operation  or  have  not  yet  been 
connected  to  the  dialing  network. 
Arrangements  have  had  to  be  made, 
therefore,  to  connect  toll  oflfices 
equipped  for  toll  dialing  with  points 
still  reached  over  ringdown  circuits. 
For  example,  on  a  call  from  Stam- 
ford to  Pittsburgh,  which  can  be 
reached  only  over  ringdown  circuits, 
the  Stamford  operator  takes  up  a  cir- 
cuit to  New  York  and  dials  the  code 
"122"  as  shown  on  her  bulletin.  On 
receipt  of  this  code  the  New  York 
machine  connects  a  trunk  to  a  manual 


1948-49 


Toll  Dialing  by  Operators 


-^3$ 


tandem  operator  in  New  York  who 
has  direct  access  to  the  Pittsburgh 
circuits  in  the  multiple.  When  the 
tandem  operator  is  connected,  the 
Stamford  operator  hears  an  "order" 
tone  and  passes  the  order  for  a  Pitts- 
burgh circuit.  The  tandem  operator 
connects  to  an  idle  circuit,  which  is 
rung  automatically;  and  when  the 
Pittsburgh  operator  answers,  the  call 
is  completed  in  the  manner  usual  un- 
der ringdown  operation. 

On  a  call  in  the  reverse  direc- 
tion, from  Pittsburgh  to  Stamford 
3-1234,  connection  has  to  be  made 
from   a    ringdown   circuit   to    a    city 


which  can  be  reached  from  New  York 
only  by  dialing.  In  this  case  the  Pitts- 
burgh operator  takes  up  a  circuit  to 
New  York,  as  indicated  on  the  switch- 
board bulletin,  which  shows  the  route 
to  Stamford  as  "Via  New  York." 
When  the  New  York  operator  is 
reached,  Pittsburgh  asks  for  Stam- 
ford and  New  York  replies  with  the 
phrase  "Dialing."  This  indicates  that 
the  New  York  operator  dials  Stam- 
ford numbers.  Pittsburgh  gives  the 
Stamford  number,  3-1234,  to  the 
New  York  operator,  and  she  takes  up 
a  tandem  trunk  to  the  machine  and 
key-pulses  the  Stamford  code  057  fol- 


Frames  with  crossbar  switches  for  terminating  incoming  and  outgoing  trunks  in 

crossbar  system 


toll 


236 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


lowed  by  the  digits  of  the  called  num- 
ber. 

The  Stamford  code  and  the  fact 
that  Stamford  is  reached  over  dialing 
circuits  are  shown  on  the  switchboard 
bulletin  at  the  New  York  "through" 
position.  The  New  York  machine, 
on  receipt  of  the  code  057,  connects 
with  a  Stamford  circuit  and  trans- 
mits the  called  number  3-1234  to 
the  Stamford  dial  equipment,  which 
makes  the  connection  with  the  desired 
telephone. 

At  the  present  time,  the  New  York 
and  Chicago  toll  crossbar  systems  are 
limited  to  dialing  a  maximum  of  14 
digits,  which  is  enough  for  all  direct 
and  one-switch  calls.  When  a  call  re- 
quiring two  or  more  switches  and 
more  than  14  digits  is  involved,  which 
happens  on  two  or  three  percent  of 
the  traffic,  it  has  to  be  passed  to  an 
inward  operator  at  an  intermediate 
office  for  completion.  The  "Inward 
Operator"  code  "121"  is  used  for 
this  purpose  as  well  as  for  other  cases 
where  an  outward  operator  requires 
assistance  at  a  terminating  or  at  an 
intermediate  office. 

Advantages  of  Toll  Crossbar 
System* 

The  advantages  of  the  New  York 
and  Chicago  toll  switching  systems  in 
speed  of  completion,  dependability, 
uniformity  of  service,  and  prompt  re- 
lease of  circuits  at  the  end  of  conver- 
sation are  similar  to  the  advantages 
of  local  dial  service  as  compared  to 
manual  operation. 

On  those  toll  calls  which  are  com- 
pleted   by   the    toll    dialing   method 


•See  "Operator  Toll  Dialing:  A  New  Long 
Distance  Method,"  Magazine,  Summer  1944; 
and  "Operator  Toll  Dialing:  The  Coming 
Way,"  Magazine,  Winter  1947-48. 


through  these  switching  systems,  ma- 
chine handling  of  tandem,  through, 
and  inward  connections  improves  the 
over-all  speed  of  service  by  10  to  30 
seconds. 

Since  the  cord  connections  inherent 
with  ringdown  operation  at  the  tan- 
dem board  and  at  distant  offices  are 
eliminated,  the  hazards  of  accidental 
interruptions  or  of  cut-offs  are  greatly 
reduced. 

Service  is  more  uniform,  because 
sufficient  equipment  is  provided  to 
handle  the  calls  expected  during  the 
busy  hours  of  the  busy  season  and  it 
is  all  available  24  hours  a  day  and 
every  day  of  the  year  to  handle  un- 
expected peaks  in  off  hours. 

As  the  hang-up  of  the  customer  re- 
leases the  connection  at  once  in  local 
dial  operation,  so  the  disconnect  of 
the  outward  operator  on  dialed  toll 
calls  releases  the  toll  circuit  and  all  of 
the  equipment  connected.  The  de- 
crease in  connection  time  and  faster 
release  at  the  end  of  conversation  is 
expected  to  bring  about  a  correspond- 
ing decrease  in  toll  circuit  require- 
ments. 

In  Chicago  and  New  York,  about 
20  and  30  percent  respectively  of  the 
toll  circuits  are  now  connected  to  the 
toll  crossbar  switching  systems.  These 
percentages  will  increase  rapidly  as 
other  crossbar  systems  are  installed 
during  1949  in  Cleveland,  in  San 
Francisco-Oakland,  and  in  Boston, 
and  toll  dialing  equipment  of  differ- 
ent type  is  provided  in  other  cities. 
Further  installations  are  planned  for 
future  years. 

Outlook  for  the  Future 

The  New  York  and  Chicago  toll 
switching  systems  at  the  moment  rep- 
resent the  latest  word  in  machine  han- 


1948-49 


Toll  Dialing  by  Operators 


237 


dling  of  long  distance  traffic.  How- 
ever, development  of  new  features  is 
well  under  way,  and  it  is  expected 
that  in  a  few  years  a  nation-wide  toll 
dialing  plan  can  be  placed  in  effect 
which  will  do  away  with  the  present 
limitations  and  ultimately  will  make 
it  possible  for  a  toll  operator  any- 
where to  dial  a  telephone  in  any 
other  city  in  the  country.  These 
new  developments  will  provide  auto- 
matic alternative  routing  in  case  all 


circuits  on  the  first  route  are  busy, 
and  will  employ  a  nation-wide  num- 
bering plan  which  will  greatly  sim- 
plify the  routing  of  calls  and  reduce 
the  number  of  digits  required  for  any 
call  to  a  maximum  of  1 1. 

When  these  new  facilities  are 
placed  in  service,  it  is  expected  that 
the  handling  of  toll  calls  by  operators 
will  be  substantially  as  fast  and  as 
convenient  as  the  dialing  of  local  calls 
by  customers. 


Rural  Telephones 


The  axxouncement  that  the 
i,ooo,oooth  Bell  System  rural  tele- 
phone to  be  added  since  the  war  has 
been  installed  in  a  North  Carolina 
farmhouse  calls  to  public  attention 
the  speed  with  which  the  telephone 
company  has  moved  in  recent  years 
to  extend  and  improve  telephone 
service.  Soon  after  the  end  of  the 
war  in  1945  the  Bell  System  set  up 
a  goal  of  1,000,000  rural  telephones 
in  five  years.  The  job  has  been  done 
in  only  a  little  more  than  three  years 
despite  serious  shortages  of  all  sorts 
of  supplies. 

Fulfillment  of  such  a  task  meant 
that  rural  telephones  had  to  be  in- 
stalled at  the  rate  of  more  than  1,000 
every  working  day,  more  than  three 
times  the  rate  of  any  previous  period 
in  Bell  System  history.  Vast  amounts 
of  materials  and  equipment  were  re- 


quired. One  and  one-quarter  million 
telephone  poles  had  to  be  erected, 
while  the  length  of  telephone  wire 
required — about  500,000  miles — was 
enough  to  stretch  around  the  earth 
twenty  times. 

As  a  result  of  the  work  by  Bell 
System  companies  and  the  active 
building  programs  of  other  telephone 
companies  the  number  of  American 
farm  homes  that  now  enjoy  the  bene- 
fits of  this  service  is  impressive.  It 
is  estimated  that  about  45  per  cent 
of  the  farms  of  the  country  have 
telephones,  more  than  at  any  time  in 
the  nation's  history.  This  compares 
with  32  per  cent  at  the  beginning  of 
1945  and  25  per  cent  early  in  1940. 
Still  the  task  is  far  from  finished ; 
the  work  goes  on,  and  we  are  assured 
that  future  progress  will  be  rapid. 

From  the  New  York  Times. 


Fair  Exchange 

John  Mason  Brown 


He  had  done  it  the  year  before  with  the 
spring  of  a  clock.  By  wire  from  one  room 
to  another  he  had  managed  to  transmit  a 
twanging  sound.  Then  on  March  lO, 
1876  (oh,  noteworthy  date  which  our  chil- 
dren often  make  regrettable),  Alexander 
Graham  Bell  took  the  next  step  forward. 
Also  by  wire  he  at  last  succeeded  in  sending 
his  own  voice  from  one  room  to  another. 
He  was  able  to  cajole  his  little  contraption 
into  conveying  a  single  sentence. 

The  sentence  was  full  of  urgency  and 
business,  and  as  brief  as  all  of  us  think 
other  people's  phone  calls  should  be.  "Mr. 
Watson,  come  here,  I  want  you."  That 
was  all.  No  hellos,  no  goodbyes,  no  talk 
about  the  weather,  no  chitchat,  no  gossip — 
the  perfect,  if  abandoned,  model  for  all  sub- 
sequent conversations  transmitted  by  such 
means.  But  the  telephone  was  here  to  stay, 
adding  to  the  blessings  of  mankind  and  the 
problems  of  parents.  If  its  coming  has 
caused  the  world  to  shrink,  it  has  also  di- 
minished the  chances  fathers  and  mothers 
might  have  of  talking  to  their  friends,  once 
their  young  reach  the  age  when  they,  too, 
discover  the  telephone. 

It  is  we,  the  parents,  who  speed  this  dis- 
covery. For  our  vanity  we  pay  heavily. 
Moreover,  we  deserve  to.  When  they,  the 
children,  are  what  the  garment-makers  and 
the  whimsy-manufacturers  refer  to  as  tiny 
tots  (whose  heads  are  as  yet  undersized  for 
telephonic  needs),  we  think  it  cute  to  lift 
them  on  our  laps,  to  hold  the  receiver  first 
to  their  ears,  then  to  cup  the  mouthpiece 
to  their  lips,  nudging  them  all  the  while 
into  terrified  talk  with  Granny  or  Grand- 
pop,  with  Uncle  P.  or  Cousin  Joe. 

We  do  this  wreathed  in  smiles,  but  prod- 
ding  arduously,    prompting   anxiously,    on 


feast  days  or  on  anniversaries  when  long 
distance  has  annihilated  geography.  We 
do  this  when  such  epigrams  as  "Mewwy 
Chwistmas,  Gwanny!"  or  "I'se  fine.  Is 
you  ?"  travel  a  thousand  miles,  demanding 
the  services  of  how  many  linemen,  opera- 
tors, and  technicians  Walter  Gifford  only 
knows.  Little  do  we  realize  that,  by  hav- 
ing done  this,  we  have  undone  ourselves. 

In  contemporary  life  the  mastery  of  the 
telephone  is  a  proof  of  the  approach  of  age. 
Like  the  first  tooth,  the  last  diaper,  and  the 
formula  no  longer  needed ;  like  those  great 
moments  when  rolling  over  is  transformed 
into  crawling  and  crawling  into  perilous 
steps ;  like  those  releasing  days  when  shoe- 
laces and  neckties  can  at  last  be  tied  and 
handkerchiefs  used  with  accuracy;  like 
those  genuine  occasions  when  the  scooter 
succeeds  the  velocipede  and  the  bicycle  ousts 
the  scooter ;  when  parents'  freezing  arms 
are  replaced  by  waterwings  and  waterwings 
by  breast  strokes ;  or  when  play  school  turns 
into  day  school,  and  short  pants  into  long, 
the  full  uninhibited  employment  of  the  tele- 
phone comes  as  a  milepost  on  the  difficult 
path  to  growing  up. 

"He  is  very  good  at  the  telephone,"  we 
say  of  a  seven-year-older,  meaning  that  he 
can  take  messages  with  as  much  accuracy  as 
the  operator  of  a  hotel  switchboard.  Al- 
though this  may  be  true,  all  things  consid- 
ered it  is  the  most  niggardly  of  praise.  The 
stubborn  fact  is,  however,  that  the  children 
we  go  to  such  pains  to  initiate  soon  take 
over. 

At  breakfast  or  after  school  hours  and 
during  the  whole  of  their  vacations  when 
they  are  home,  they  cannot  be  pried  away 
from  the  telephone.  A  receiver  becomes 
their  third  ear;  a  mouthpiece,  their  extra 


Fair  Exchange 


239 


lip.  Where  formerly  they  functioned  as 
ventriloquists'  dummies  for  our  guiding 
whispers  ("Say,  'How  are  you,  Grand- 
pop?'";  "Say,  'Thanks  for  the  present'"; 
"Say,  'Love  to  Granny'  " ;  "Say,  'I  had  a 
very  nice  time'"),  they  blossom  suddenly 
into  filibusterers.  They  could  not  talk 
with  more  relish,  at  greater  length,  about 
less  on  the  phone  if  they  were  adults.  Be- 
fore you  can  say  Alexander  Graham  Bell, 
they  own  the  controlling  stock  in  the  house- 
hold installation. 

My  younger  boy,  being  seven,  is  not  yet 
an  habitual  dialer.  Even  so,  he  has  his  fun 
with  the  telephone.  It  ranks  high  among 
his  toys.  Our  mounting  bills  indicate  that 
he  has  a  train-dispatcher's  interest  in  time. 
Not  time  as  it  remains  stationary  on  his 
battered  and  unwound  alarm  clock.  No, 
time  as  it  is  considerately  vocalized  by  the 
telephone  company  for  those  without  sun- 
dials or  watches.  He  never  tires  of  the 
voices,  melodious  or  metallic,  which  merely 
by  dialing  ME  7-1 2 12  can  be  provoked 
into  announcing,  "When  you  hear  the  sig- 
nal," etc.  What  is  far  worse  from  the 
point  of  the  family  budget,  he  has  long 
since  learned  that  he  can  get  the  same  re- 
sults by  trying  nervous.  Luckily,  his  in- 
terest in  the  weather  has  not  as  yet  be- 
come as  great  as  his  interest  in  time,  and 
WE  6-1 2 12  has  not  taken  its  place  among 
his  private  numbers. 

He  has  his  serious  uses  for  the  phone — 
birthday  parties,  motion-picture  dates,  and 
occasional,  very  abrupt  conversations  with 
his  contemporaries.  These  consist  mainlv 
of  "Yes,"  "No,"  "Why,"  "Sure,"  and 
"When."  As  a  rule,  in  spite  of  all  ad- 
monitions, they  end  with  the  replaced  re- 
ceiver serving  as  a  substitute  for  a  more 
courtly  "Goodbye." 

My  eleven-year-old  boy  has,  like  his 
friends,  reached  years  of  greater  communi- 
cation on  the  telephone.  They  call  each 
other  incessantly  at  all  hours  on  matters 
which,  to  them,  are  never  trivial.  Subjects 
as  imperative  as  tomorrow's  homework; 
who  has  mumps,  measles,  or  appendicitis; 


who  got  what  prize  from  what  cereal ;  who 
listened  to  which  radio  program;  who  has 
read  what  comic;  who  has  heard  from 
Charlie  Atlas;  or  how  much  fishing  tackle 
or  bicycle  equipment  has  arrived  from 
Sears-Roebuck — all  these  are  topics  of  in- 
terminable interest  which  keep  me  and  the 
wires  burning. 

Youngsters  do  not  salute  each  other  on 
the  phone  the  way  their  elders  do  or,  for 
that  matter,  the  way  their  elders  would 
like  them  to.  I  can't  help  shuddering  when 
I  hear  my  older  son  greet  a  friend  with  a 
curt,  "Hello,  whadda  ya  want?"  Nothing 
more  than  that,  though  the  friend  may  have 
nothing  more  unfriendly  on  his  mind  than 
to  invite  him  for  a  week-end  or  to  a  birth- 
day party.  I  shudder  with  equal  violence 
when,  instead  of  mustering  a  "Thanks," 
he  says,  "Well,  so  long.  I'm  listening  to 
Henry  Morgan." 

My  wife  and  I  already  sense  that,  so  far 
as  our  telephone  is  concerned,  we  are  fight- 
ing a  losing  battle.  What  we  are  now  sur- 
viving are,  of  course,  only  preliminary 
skirmishes.  Our  telephone  will  not  be  en- 
tirely lost  to  us  until,  one  inevitable  after- 
noon, we  hear  one  of  our  boys,  in  an  un- 
reliable voice,  whisper  "dearest"  or  "dar- 
ling" into  our  phone. 

We  may  regret  it  when  our  young  have 
sprouted  to  the  point  where  our  telephones 
become  theirs.  But  let  any  of  us  hear  their 
voices  when,  from  a  friend's  house,  they 
are  calling  us  at  home,  or  we  are  long- 
distancing  from  a  journey,  and  all  is  for- 
given. No  letters,  however  eloquent,  can 
say  what  their  young  voices  say  merely 
by  being  heard.  When  they  speak  un- 
prompted ;  when  the  talk  is  at  last  two- 
way;  when  the  interchange  of  ideas  and 
interests  is  genuine,  then  Bell  becomes  our 
hero,  and  all  those  bills  sent  in  by  his  com- 
pany dwindle  into  insignificance. 

Drama  critic,  war  correspondent,  essay- 
ist, Mr.  Brown  is  an  associate  editor 
of  "The  Saturday  Review  of  Literature" 
— from  which  publication  the  foregoing 
is  reprinted  in  part,  by  permission. 


Negotiations  before   Construction   Provide   Routes  over 

Privately-owned  Property  for  the  Long  Lines  Department' s 

Nation-wide  Telephone  Network 


Right-of-Way  Comes  First 

Harry  H.  Hoopes 


During  1947  the  Long  Lines  De- 
partment of  the  American  Telephone 
and  Telegraph  Company  engaged  in 
purchasing  rights  of  way  in  17  States 
for  25  new  main  telephone  lines  and 
six  branch  lines  which  total  3,368 
miles  in  length.  The  lines  were 
constructed  generally  on  privately 
owned  land.  To  build  a  telephone 
line  on  other  peoples'  property  is 
a  privilege,  certainly.  How  is  that 
privilege  obtained  so  extensively? 

It  is  obtained  by  men  whose  title 
defines  their  work:  Right-of-Way- 
Men.  For  each  individual  property 
crossed  by  the  line,  a  separate  nego- 
tiation by  a  Right-of-Way  man  is  re- 
quired to  secure  the  necessary  right 
of  way.  In  the  Long  Lines  Legal 
Department  are  half  a  hundred  of 
these  employees,  working  out  of  Divi- 
sion Headquarters  offices  throughout 
the  country,  whose  responsibility  it  is 
to  obtain,  as  not  only  a  privilege  but 
a  purchased  right,  the  essential  per- 
mission which  must  precede  construc- 
tion. 

When   a   new   line    is   to   be   con- 


structed, the  first  step  is  the  selection 
of  a  tentative  route  by  the  Engineer- 
ing Department,  usually  from  road 
and  topographical  survey  maps.  Nat- 
urally, the  shortest  practicable  route 
between  key  cities  is  selected.  After 
it  has  been  drafted  on  the  maps,  rep- 
resentatives of  the  Engineering  De- 
partment drive  over  the  roads  near- 
est the  route,  to  make  a  preliminary 
investigation  of  the  physical  nature 
of  the  land. 

If  the  selected  route  looks  feasible, 
aerial  photographs  showing  the  area 
involved  are  usually  ordered  from 
the  Department  of  Agriculture, 
which  has  an  aerial  survey  of  a  large 
part  of  the  United  States.  There 
are,  however,  some  sections  that 
have  not  yet  been  photographed; 
and  if  the  route  crosses  the  area 
where  photographs  are  not  available, 
or  where  existing  photographs  are 
out  of  date,  the  company  often  has 
commercial  aerial  photographers  take 
pictures  of  the  section. 

As  soon  as  the  aerial  photographs 
are  obtained,  they  are  turned  over  to 


Right-oJ-Way  Comes  First 


241 


the  RIght-of-Way  Men,  with  the 
tentative  route  indicated  on  each 
print.  The  prints  furnished  are  about 
24  inches  square  and  are  photo- 
graphed to  a  scale  of  660  feet  to  the 
inch,  so  that  each  print  covers  about 
three  miles  of  line.  The  detail  on 
these  photographs  is  quite  remark- 
able, showing  the  roads,  streams  and 
waterways,  woodland,  all  intervening 
fence  lines,  and  buildings.  Obviously, 
they  are  a  great  help  to  the  Right-of- 
Way  Man  in  negotiating  for  the 
rights  of  way.  The  property  owners 
too  are  usually  very  much  interested 
in  seeing  an  aerial  photograph  of 
their  property. 


Fortified  with  these  photos,  the 
Right-of-Way  Man  is  prepared  to 
proceed  with  his  job  of  securing  the 
rights  of  way. 

Before  approaching  the  owners, 
the  company  makes  a  careful  investi- 
gation of  the  nature  of  the  property, 
land  values,  and  other  considerations, 
in  order  to  determine  a  fair  and 
equitable  price  to  be  paid  for  the 
right  of  way.  This  price  is  based  on 
a  certain  sum  per  pole,  if  a  pole  line; 
or  per  lineal  rod  (i634  feet),  if  a 
buried  cable.  It  is  important  to  treat 
all  property  owners  along  a  given  sec- 
tion of  a  line  alike.  There  are  a  few- 
unusual  circumstances  which  in  some 


A  tentative  long  distance  route  as  drawn  on  an  aerial  photograph.     Even  as  reduced  for 
publication^  rivery  roads^  buildings^  woods  ^  and  fields  are  clearly  distinguishable 


242 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


cases  justify  a  different  rate  of  com- 
pensation. 

Securing  the  Options 

The  first  phase  of  securing  the 
rights  of  way  is  the  "optioning." 

It  is  the  custom  of  the  company  to 
take  only  an  option  on  the  initial 
contact,  jFor  which  a  nominal  consid- 
eration is  paid.  This  instrument 
provides  that,  if  and  when  the  option 
is  exercised,  the  company  will  pay  the 
balance  of  the  price  agreed  upon. 
This  practice  was  adopted  as  a  pre- 
cautionary measure;  in  the  event  that 
the  cable  route  is  changed  and  the 
property  is  entirely  avoided,  only  the 
nominal  consideration  paid  for  the 
option  is  expended. 

At  the  time  the  option  is  taken, 
the  Right-of-Way  Man  is  just  feeling 
his  way  along.  First,  he  must  ascer- 
tain the  name  of  each  property  owner 
and  his  place  of  residence,  if  not  on 
the  premises.  Then,  when  the  owner 
is  located,  in  addition  to  securing  the 
option,  he  must  obtain  other  informa- 
tion regarding  the  location  of  prop- 
erty lines,  names  of  adjoining  owners, 
information  regarding  liens  against 
the  property,  and  other  data,  if  pos- 
sible, for  checking  titles.  The  County 
records  are  searched,  to  trace  owner- 
ship down  to  date  on  each  property. 
This  search  may,  and  not  infrequently 
does,  disclose  that  there  are  outstand- 
ing interests  about  which  the  Right- 
of-Way  Man  was  not  informed. 

After  a  substantial  section  of  the 
line  has  been  optioned,  the  Engineer- 
ing Department  is  advised,  so  it  may 
proceed  with  an  investigation  of  the 
physical  nature  of  the  land  on  each 
property.  In  this  way  the  most  de- 
sirable location  for  the  line  is  finally 
selected.     Once  this  has  been  done, 


the  route  is  immediately  surveyed, 
measured,  and  staked.  The  meas- 
urements are  then  converted  into  sta- 
tion numbers,  which  are  inscribed  on 
the  stakes.  From  these  station  num- 
bers the  Right-of-Way  Man  can 
ascertain  the  exact  distance  across 
each  property,  thereby  determining 
the  amount  due  each  owner  for  the 
right  of  way. 

The  job  of  having  the  final  grants 
executed  represents  a  tremendous 
amount  of  work.  The  complex  titles 
in  many  cases  involve  property  in 
which  the  fee  is  vested  in  unsettled 
estates.  Frequently,  minors  or  in- 
competents are  involved.  In  such 
cases  guardians  must  be  appointed, 
and  court  approval  must  be  obtained 
for  the  guardian  to  execute  the  grant. 
Locating  and  communicating  with 
non-resident  heirs  presents  another 
difficult  problem;  sometimes  the  ad- 
dress of  a  non-resident  is  not  known. 
In  addition  to  having  the  grants  ex- 
ecuted, there  are  releases  which  must 
be  secured  from  holders  of  liens 
against  the  properties  involved.  Cer- 
tificates of  acknowledgment  must  be 
executed  by  authorized  officers  for 
each  signature,  so  that  the  instrument 
may  be  placed  on  record.  In  some 
estates,  from  ten  to  twenty  heirs  may 
be  involved,  and  they  may  be  scat- 
tered throughout  the  United  States; 
nevertheless,  all  these  persons  must 
be  reached  to  execute  the  grant  in  or- 
der to  close  one  property  of  perhaps 
only  a  few  hundred  feet. 

Construction  Begins 

After  the  final  grants  are  taken, 
the  construction  work  gets  under  way. 
The  first  step  is  clearing  the  right  of 
way.    For  a  typical  coaxial  cable  job, 


194B-49 


Right-of-JVay  Comes  First 


243 


■  wlih  ^^ 

cliilnir  the  rlKhu  tn-rein  prmnt^^^l^w^M^^WTifaotf 
■tlon*  fTwm  lh»  •urfaci-  ttOd  «ut«urf«c«  of  MM 
aid  itrlp  th*  utiti'Tsround  v-mblat,  mwi-* 


ftouiidAry  of  Mid  OR*  rod  Urtp  »h»H  b*  K  line  iwmkt  to  und 
pr  tiK-atUn  tndloktvd  vpon  aurfAcr  mark«-r9  »rt  at  Inl^rv&iit  <.n  Th«  land  of  tli«  utittrriictieit  *. 

lU  »^\\ JS  ..   .-.  -   -t sir  .h»'.r»,  exe^-uloro,  ad)n)nlalraiui>.  suu««a!iors  Ai-i  ■  ^-.k:-'-.  '-^ 

V>  "nltted  Ml  »ald  Hrlp.    Th»  >tsnl<><->  nKn-'-  to  juy  (..r  ■ijiu^fi  to  fencM  atiJ   k' 
^n  RfoMRtid  »y»teni». 


|R«  land'  i»i  ■■■  Ul^        ^^1  aiiil  from 

and   within  avv«n  r**l  th«r(H>f,  to  Inmall  Ka'*^''  in  any   fanca  rrcaair-a 
othrr  I'omjtany.    Tha        flaStflrly 


cir*:ii'J9  and  api>urtcaan<>»  of  aiiy 
ind    f Its   tMl      OBiBi 


h«  nr.1  <«bl«  laid.  «h!i  h  . 
I  landa.   Th«  un4«r»i(n*d  f- 

,:!t  il.i,;  1  „  utrj,  tur.  .hall 


17, 


CB3S3SS23? 


.10   47  .  .J.  Fl^tte  City,  Missouri.    « 


STATE  OF*MISSOURI, 

PUtte 


COUNTY 

appeared       ''**-***   *---»*v^vw.^,     ^*»*w--,     ->...- 

single;   IlnoTB  McClaic  sni  ^er„'.le 
husbanl^;   IVrfa  Ode  and  Valtcr  C'.e, 


Mgncd  auibofitv.  on  thji 
Alna  Hancock,  widov;'  Vlr.f ! 


day  person 

-Id  Scot 


t.'K. 


<kscribeti  iii,  aiKi 


aztd  acknowledged  that  . 


husbfind;   Johr.  Hancock, 


descnbed  in,  ar 
A^liced  ihat^" 
free  act  aR<i  deeii. 


//  took  the  signatures  of  ten  persons  having  an  interest  in  the  property  to  validate  this 

grant  of  right  of  way 


for  Instance,  this  includes  opening  all 
fences  and  installing  appropriate 
gates  for  the  crews  to  use,  cutting 
down  trees  and  pulling  the  stumps, 
grading  creek  and  road  banks,  and 
digging  pits  on  each  side  of  hard  sur- 
faced roads  for  the  purpose  of  driv- 
ing pipes  under  the  roads. 

The  cable  reels  are  delivered  at 
their  designated  locations.  The 
rooter  plow  makes  its  run.  The  ca- 
ble-laying plow  lays  the  cable  in  the 
slot.  Splicing  pits  are  dug,  and  the 
cable  is  spliced  and  tested  and  made 
ready  for  service.  And  the  clean-up 
crew  sees  that  the  right  of  way  is 
left  in  good  workmanlike  condition. 

Following  the  construction,  the 
Right-of-Way  Man  is  confronted 
with  one  more  task.  A  settlement 
for  crop  or  other  damages  resulting 


from  the  construction  work  must  be 
made  with  each  owner  or  tenant. 
The  damages  which  may  arise  from 
the  construction  cannot  be  antici- 
pated, so  they  must  be  adjusted  after 
the  line  is  constructed.  On  many 
jobs,  the  line  is  actually  in  service  be- 
fore the  damage  claims  are  settled. 
When  a  new  line  is  to  be  built,  the 
right  of  way  must  be  acquired  before 
any  construction  activities  can  begin. 
Actually,  the  entire  project  hinges  on 
the  results  of  the  Right-of-Way  Man 
in  his  negotiations  with  the  property 
owners.  Rights  for  every  property 
must  be  secured.  There  can  be  no 
missing  links  in  the  chain.  For  if 
the  Right-of-Way  Man  fails  to  se- 
cure the  right  of  way  on  one  prop- 
erty, this  makes  it  necessary  to  re- 
route the  line  to  avoid  the  property. 


244 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


Such  a  change  in  the  route  may  well 
result  in  a  substantial  change  in  line 
on  several  adjoining  properties.  Some 
of  the  properties  on  which  options 
have  already  been  taken  may  be 
missed  entirely.  In  such  cases,  the 
Right-of-Way  Man  must  reach  the 
owners  involved,  to  arrange  for  the 
new  location.  As  well  as  causing  the 
Right-of-Way  Man  considerable  ad- 
ditional work,  a  change  in  the  line 
causes  the  engineers  no  end  of  trouble 
re-surveying,  changing  station  num- 
bers, and  changing  the  over-all  length 
of  the  line,  which  in  turn  involves  the 
loading  layout  and  repeater  locations. 
Indeed,  the  failure  of  the  Right-of- 
Way  Man  to  secure  rights  on  a  single 
property  could  be  serious. 

Additional  Duties 

The  Right-of-Way  Man  is  not  in- 
fallible. There  are  at  times  instances 
where  he  is  not  successful  and  the  im- 
portance of  the  project  is  such  that 
the  company  is  forced  to  resort  to 
eminent-domain  proceedings.  But  in 
the  past  dozen  years  it  has  been  nec- 
essary to  acquire  rights  through  such 
proceedings  in  only  fifty  instances. 
This  is  but  a  tiny  percentage  of  the 
thousands  of  properties  involved. 

In  addition  to  securing  rights  of 
way  for  new  lines,  the  Right-of-Way 
Man  does  a  great  deal  of  other  work 
in  connection  with  the  maintenance  of 
existing  lines.  Replacement  work 
must  be  done  periodically,  and  fre- 
quently new  poles  or  guys  are  added 
to  strengthen  the  lines.  The  cutting 
of  dangerous  and  interfering  trees 
must  be  attended  to  from  time  to 
time.  This  maintenance  work  almost 
always  requires  additional  rights, 
which  the  Right-of-Way  Man  must 


secure.  There  is  also  the  matter  of 
purchasing  building  sites  for  the  con- 
struction of  repeater  stations  and 
micro-wave  radio  relay  stations.  And 
the  settlement  of  claims  against  the 
company  and  of  claims  of  the  com- 
pany against  others  is  included  in  his 
duties. 

While  the  Right-of-Way  Man  en- 
counters a  variety  of  difficulties,  there 
are  compensating  elements.  Fortu- 
nately, most  of  the  people  of  our 
country  are  fine,  progressive,  and 
public  spirited  citizens.  In  most 
cases,  the  owner  does  not  wish  to 
stand  in  the  way  of  progress,  and  it  is 
his  genuine  desire  to  cooperate,  rather 
than  the  payment  he  receives  for  the 
right  of  way,  that  prompts  him  to 
grant  the  company  a  right  of  way 
across  his  property.  Of  course,  there 
are  bound  to  be  a  few  exceptions;  but 
a  great  majority  of  property  owners 
are  extremely  interested  in  the  tre- 
mendous development  in  the  field  of 
communications  today.  Many  of  them 
feel  that  in  granting  the  company  a 
right  of  way  across  their  land,  they 
are  making  an  individual  contribu- 
tion toward  the  communication  sys- 
tem of  the  nation. 

The  Kind  of  Job  It  Is 

Right-of-way  work  is  a  highly  spe- 
cialized job,  and  certain  fundamental 
qualifications  are  required. 

First  of  all,  a  Right-of-Way  Man 
should  have  more  than  average 
"P.Q.,"  *  which  is  a  measure  of  what 
a  person  does  about  things  and  peo- 
ple. It  is  a  yardstick  of  the  traits  re- 
quired to  get  along  with  people. 
Really,  his  "P.Q."  is  more  important 
than  his  ''I.Q." 

He  must  be  somewhat  of  a  vaga- 

•  I.E.,  "Personality  Quotient." 


1948-49 


Right-qf-Way  Comes  First 


245 


bond,  since  a  great  amount  of  travel 
is  involved  in  the  work.  A  Right-of- 
Way  Man  drives  his  car  from  25,000 
to  30,000  miles  in  a  normal  year. 

He  should  be  quite  willing  to  live  a 
good  part  of  the  time  in  hotels  and 
eat  restaurant  food — not  to  mention 
an  occasional  lunch  of  cheese  and 
crackers  plus  a  bottle  of  pop,  which 
is  a  popular  country  grocery  store 
lunch. 

The  ability  to  plow  a  straight  fur- 
row, milk  a  cow,  husk  a  shock  of  corn, 
or  cut  up  a  cord  of  wood  at  times 
makes  a  very  favorable  impression  on 
a  farmer. 

Each  job  is  in  many  respects  like 
each  individual:  no  two  are  quite 
alike.  Many  are  rush  jobs.  The 
physical  nature  of  the  land  varies  on 
nearly  every  job.  On  one  job,  a 
great  deal  of  woodland  is  involved, 
on  another  there  are  rugged  moun- 
tains to  cross.  Some  lines  pass  al- 
most entirely  through  wide  open 
spaces ;  others,  through  numerous  vil- 
lages and  towns  along  the  route. 
Some  areas  are  composed  of  large 
tracts;  others,  of  very  small  prop- 
erties. 

All  these  conditions  have  some  ef- 
fect in  the  securing  of  rights  of  way. 
For  this  reason,  no  two  jobs  of  com- 
parable length  are  completed  in  the 
same  amount  of  time.  The  time  re- 
quired to  secure  the  rights  of  way  on 
a  new  line  is  quite  unpredictable.  In- 
creasing the  number  of  Right-of-Way 
Men  on  a  job  does  not  necessarily  re- 
sult in  the  job's  being  completed  in  a 
shorter  time.  Certain  situations  arise 
on  every  job  which  take  time  to  iron 
out,  and  there  are  no  short-cuts. 

In  spite  of  the  complications  in- 
volved in  securing  rights  of  way, 
many   jobs — not   only   the    rights   of 


way  but  the  engineering  and  construc- 
tion as  well — are  completed  in  fast 
time.    By  way  of  illustration : 

A  few  years  ago  a  new  line  was  to 
be  constructed  between  two  key  cities 
over  a  distance  of  approximately 
eighty  miles.  This  was  a  super  rush 
job;  so  much  so,  in  fact,  that  the  right 
of  way  was  scheduled  to  be  optioned 
and  paid  off  in  six  weeks.  This  was 
a  rather  large  order,  but  it  was  ac- 
complished in  six  weeks  from  the  day 
the  first  option  was  taken.  The  con- 
struction forces  began  work  on  part 
of  the  line  in  less  than  four  weeks 
after  the  optioning  was  begun.  The 
Plant  Department  was  able  to  pro- 
ceed with  its  construction  on  the  en- 
tire line  in  six  weeks  to  the  day! 

In  addition  to  optioning  the  eighty 
miles,  twenty  miles  of  the  original 
route  had  to  be  re-routed  after  it 
had  been  optioned.  This  required 
the  optioning  of  an  additional  twenty 
miles  on  the  re-route,  or  a  total  of 
100  miles  optioned  in  the  six-week 
period.  Six  Right-of-Way  Men  did 
this  job,  including  the  purchase  of  five 
repeater  stations  sites. 

Never  a  Thill  Moment 

Contacts  with  property  owners 
along  the  route  of  a  line  are  not  with- 
out their  interesting  incidents. 

Some  time  ago  a  construction  gang 
of  a  dozen  men  was  digging  holes  for 
the  construction  of  a  pole  line,  which 
ran  diagonally  across  a  twentv-acre 
field  adjoining  some  farm  build- 
ings. The  farmer  and  his  wife  had 
already  granted  the  right  of  way,  of 
course;  but  the  farmer  believed  for 
some  reason  that  he  should  have  been 
paid  a  larger  sum,  and  he  decided  not 
to  permit  the  line  to  be  constructed 
across  his  farm  until  he  received  ad- 


246 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


Since  most  Long  Lines  cables  run  cross-country^  much  of  the  Right-qf-Way  Man^s  time 
and  effort  are  spent  in  rural  areas — as  in  the  instance  pictured  here 


ditional  compensation.  So  he  ordered 
the  men  out  of  his  field.  The  fore- 
man immediately  got  in  touch  with 
the  Right-of-Way  Man,  who  tried  to 
reason  with  the  owner.  As  a  last  re- 
sort, the  Right-of-Way  Man  told  the 
crew  that  it  could  go  ahead  with  the 
work. 

The  farmer  then  went  to  his  barn 
and  turned  out  into  the  field  a  vicious 
bull.  In  less  time  that  it  takes  to  tell, 
all  the  men  were  out  of  the  field  and 
some  had  put  two  or  three  fences 
between  them  and  the  bull,  which  was 
pawing  up  the  earth  and  bellowing. 
The  Right-of-Way  Man  again  at- 
tempted to  reason  with  the  farmer, 
and  also  exhibited  to  him  the  right- 
of-way  grant  that  he  and  his  wife 
had  previously  executed.  To  this  the 
farmer's  response  was,  "Why  don't 
you  show  that  paper  to  the  bull?" 

An  example  of  how  important  it 
is  for  the  Right-of-Way  Man  to  fa- 
miliarize himself  fully  with  the  prop- 


erties under  negotiation  was  the  ac- 
quisition of  right  of  way  from  a  very 
obdurate  property  owner  in  the  South. 
When  the  Right-of-Way  Man 
called  regarding  the  right  of  way, 
the  owner  virtually  turned  his  back 
and  walked  away  and  would  not  dis- 
cuss the  matter  at  all.  From  the  re- 
cords it  was  learned  that  the  tract 
in  question  was  bounded  on  one  side 
by  the  run  of  Goose  Creek.  It  was 
observed  from  certain  indications  on 
the  ground,  confirmed  by  local  in- 
quiry, that  the  creek  had  changed  its 
course.  As  a  result,  the  tract  had  ap- 
parently decreased  in  size  approxi- 
mately eight  acres,  which  were  not  in 
the  possession  of  the  true  owner,  the 
individual  from  whom  the  right  of 
way  had  to  be  acquired.  Armed  with 
this  Information,  the  Right-of-Way 
Man  called  on  the  property  owner 
and  immediately  asked  whether  an 
agreement  could  be  reached  regard- 
ing the  right  of  way  if  he  were  shown 


1948-49 


Right-of-Way  Comes  First 


247 


that  he  was  the  true  owner  of  eight 
acres  of  land  which  he  did  not  know 
about.  He  agreed  to  the  proposition 
that,  if  the  Right-of-Way  Man  could 
prove  the  point,  there  would  be  no 
further  difficulty  about  the  right  of 
way.  Accordingly,  he  was  shown 
that  the  deeds  under  which  his  title 
was  derived  had  always  referred  to 
the  run  of  the  creek  as  the  boundary 
line  on  that  side,  and  that  when  the 
creek  had  changed  its  course  the  old 
boundary  line  continued  to  be  the 
true  one. 

The  owner  was  delighted  to  obtain 
this  information  and  had  a  survey 
made,  which  indicated  that  actually 
some  fifteen  additional  acres  thus 
rightfully  belonged  to  him.  Needless 
to  say,  the  right  of  way  was  obtained 
without  further  difficulty. 

Another  trying,  if  rather  amusing, 
incident  occurred  several  years  ago 
during  the  building  of  an  important 
re-route. 

It  was  absolutely  necessary  that  the 
projected  line  cross  the  property'  of 
an  old  hermit.  He  heard  that  the 
Right-of-Way  Man  intended  to  call 
on  him,  and  proceeded  to  hide  out 
every  time  he  appeared.  After  sev- 
eral attempts,  the  Right-of-Way  Man 
learned  from  neighbors  that  the  old 
hermit  was  an  accomplished  violinist, 
who  many  years  before  had  won  an 
old-time  fiddlers'  contest  in  a  nearby 
city.  With  this  information,  the 
Right-of-Way  Man  managed  to  ap- 
proach the  old  fellow  one  morning. 
The  hermit  was  ready  to  run,  but 
the  Right-of-Way  Man  quickly  told 
him  he  merely  wanted  to  hear  him 
play  his  violin.  The  hermit  melted 
somewhat  and  consented  to  play. 
Prompted     by     the      Right-of-Way 


Man's  praise,  the  old  fellow  pro- 
ceeded to  fiddle  for  some  seven 
hours.  Being  unable  to  approach  the 
business  at  hand,  the  Right-of-Way 
Man  finally  stopped  the  old  man,  an- 
nouncing that  he  was  so  pleased  with 
the  performance  that  he  wished  to 
take  his  picture.  The  fiddler  was 
delighted  to  pose  for  several  shots 
with  his  violin  under  his  chin.  By 
this  time,  he  had  been  completely  won 
over,  and  the  grant  was  secured. 

The  Right-of-Way  Man's  report 
to  the  office  said  "Mr.  X  signed  up, 
but  he  was  damned  liberal  with  my 
time."  This  narrative  will  explain 
what  a  Right-of-Way  Man  means 
when  he  reports  that  he  Is  fiddling 
around  with  a  property  owner. 

Dealing  ixtth  People 

One  of  the  most  important  aspects 
of  a  Right-of-Way  Man's  job  is  "Pub- 
lic Relations." 

Indeed,  a  Right-of-Way  Man  is  a 
public  relations  man.  On  his  initial 
contact,  his  most  important  respon- 
sibility is  to  establish  friendly  rela- 
tions with  every  individual  with  whom 
he  deals  in  his  negotiations  for  rights 
of  way.  Unless  he  succeeds  in  this, 
he  will  be  unable  to  obtain  all  the 
rights  he  needs. 

Once  friendly  relations  are  estab- 
lished, it  is  most  important  that  they 
be  preserved,  and  the  Right-of-Way 
Man  exerts  himself  to  the  utmost  to 
see  that  this  is  done.  Yet  one  act  of 
negligence,  a  discourtesy  to  an  owner, 
or  lack  of  reasonable  consideration 
for  his  property,  on  the  part  of  any 
telephone  employee,  can  ruin  the 
friendly  relations  previously  estab- 
lished. 

The    importance    of   good    public 


248 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


relations  with  property  owners  may 
be  illustrated  by  the  following  figures. 
In  1947,  the  year  in  which  most  of 
the  right-of-way  for  1948  construc- 
tion was  purchased,  the  A.  T.  &  T. 
Long  Lines  Department  acquired 
completed  rights  of  way  for  1,843 
miles  of  new  lines,  crossing  approxi- 
mately 5,300  properties,  obtained 
861  mortgage  releases,  and  pur- 
chased 179  repeater  station  sites. 
About  1,525  miles  of  new  lines,  cross- 
ing approximately  4,600  properties, 
were  optioned;  1,027  grants  were 
taken  for  reroutes  and  maintenance 
work  and  18  repeater  station  sites 
were  purchased  on  existing  lines; 
2,265  claims  for  damages,  arising 
from  plant  construction  and  mainte- 
nance, were  settled.  These  activities 
entailed  negotiations  by  Right-of- 
Way  Men  with  some  27,000  indi- 
viduals. Added  to  those  were  many 
contacts  with  city  councils,  boards  of 
county  commissioners,  zoning  boards, 
and  other  governmental  agencies. 

The  Operating  Companies  of  the 
Bell  System  also  are  actively  engaged 
in  a  great  expansion  program,  and 
their  right-of-way  problems  are  much 
the  same.  This  is  particularly  true 
as  regards  the  extension  of  toll  lines, 


which  are  constructed  almost  entirely 
on  private  property. 

Thus  the  number  of  individuals 
dealt  with  in  the  acquisition  of  rights 
of  way  is  very  large,  representing  a 
cross  section  of  our  country.  Every 
negotiation  or  contact  creates  some 
impression  in  the  mind  of  the  indi- 
vidual. Whether  it  is  good  or  bad  is 
up  to  the  representative  who  makes 
the  contact.  The  Right-of-Way  Men 
are  well  aware  of  this,  and  endeavor 
to  conduct  themselves  and  their  deal- 
ings appropriately. 

The  activities  of  the  three  groups 
involved  in  constructing  a  new  line 
function  somewhat  as  a  football  team. 

The  engineers  act  as  the  quarter- 
back, selecting  the  route  and  laying 
out  the  line.  This  might  be  consid- 
ered calling  the  signals. 

The  Right-of-Way  Men,  who  open 
the  holes,  are  the  blockers,  running 
the  interference,  so  to  speak. 

The  construction  forces  are  the  ball 
carriers,  laying  the  cable  and  meeting 
the  service  dates.  This  might  be 
termed  making  the  touchdowns. 

Of  course  the  touchdowns  win  the 
game,  but  the  blockers  do  help  make 
it  possible  to  march  down  the  field. 


Serving  Bell  System  Companies  from  Coast  to  Coasts  the 

Men  of  Western  Electric  s  Installation  Division  Form  a 

Mobile  Force  Which  Is  Unique  in  American  Industry 


Installation  b}^  Western 
Electric  Company 

Alvin  von  Auw 


Between  the  supply  and  the  de- 
mand, between  the  high-level  produc- 
tion of  Western  Electric's  factories 
and  the  need  of  the  Bell  System's  op- 
erating companies  for  more  central- 
office  facilities,  stands  the  Western 
Electric  installer. 

Meet  the  installer. 

He  is  a  member  of  a  big  and  versa- 
tile branch  of  the  Bell  System :  West- 
ern Electric.  It  manufactures  for  the 
System  companies  equipment  of  many 
kinds,  and  buys  from  others  what  it 
doesn't  make.  It  keeps  quantities  of 
supplies  at  hand  for  those  companies, 
through  its  28  distributing  houses 
from  coast  to  coast.  It  installs  the 
central-office  equipment  it  makes, 
through  which  one  telephone  may  be 
connected  with  any  other  telephone 
almost  an}'where. 

This  last  is  what  the  installer  does, 
of  course.  He  is  a  member  of  West- 
ern Electric's  Installation  Division. 

For  more  than  three  years  now, 


the  installer  has  occupied  a  decidedly 
important  spot  in  the  Bell  System 
scheme  of  things.  For  it  is  his  job 
to  make  ready  for  service  the  intri- 
cate central-office  equipment  so  vital 
to  the  System's  program  of  expan- 
sion. 

Western  Electric's  Installation  Di- 
vision is  a  force  unique  in  American 
industry.  It  is  a  mobile  force,  and  a 
competent  one.  It  has  to  be.  West- 
ern's army  of  installers  must  be  de- 
ployed in  widely  scattered  locations, 
some  jobs  calling  for  man  power  run- 
ning into  the  hundreds,  some  for  as 
few  as  two  or  three  men.  For  every 
type  of  manual,  carrier,  and  dial  equip- 
ment Western  Electric  makes,  the  in- 
stallation army  must  provide  a  match- 
ing skill.     And  it  does. 

The  Bell  System  maintains  in  this 
country  a  force  equivalent  in  size  and 
skill  to  whatever  routine  or  emer- 
gency tasks  its  public  responsibilities 
may  require  of  it.     The  Installation 


250 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


Central-office  installers  don^t  come  ready  made;  their  job  takes  training.     In  the  face  of 

an  unprecedented  increase  in  its  installation  force^  Western  Electric  turned  to  classroom 

instruction  to  supplement  on-the-job  training 


Division  is  a  part  of  that  force :  one 
whose  skill  and  experience  in  central- 
office  installation  operations  may  be 
applied  at  whatever  points  the  needs 
of  the  telephone  system  demand. 

The  Installation  Division  is  an 
organization  in  which  youth  and  ex- 
perience have  joined  forces  to  face 
the  heaviest  construction  program  in 
Bell  System  history.  Long-service 
installers  have  shared  their  knowl- 
edge with  the  thousands  of  young 
men  who,  since  the  war,  have  joined 
the  ranks  of  Installation.  Today  the 
average  installer  is  25^  years  of  age. 
Chances  are  he's  a  veteran,  for  about 
67  percent  of  the  Division's  present 


force  saw  service  in  World  War  II. 
To  the  life  many  installers  lead, 
the  word  "routine"  scarcely  applies. 
They're  on  the  move,  seeing  new 
places,  new  faces,  and  developing — 
if,  indeed,  they  do  not  already  pos- 
sess it — the  self-reliance  that  comes 
from  meeting  and  overcoming  a  di- 
versity of  challenges,  on  and  off  the 
job. 

The  post-war  years  have  been  the 
most  active  in  all  of  Installation's 
history.  On  V-J  Day  there  were  less 
than  5,000  people  on  the  Division's 
rolls;  today  there  are  some  22,000. 
And  the  measure  of  the  increase  is 
the  measure  of  the  job  Installation 
has  been  called  upon  to  perform. 


1948-49 


Installation  by  Western  Electric  Company 


251 


Under  the  sharp  eye  of  an  experienced  instructor^  a  student  installer  practices  the 
connecting  and  soldering  operation  as  one  step  in  the  far-reaching  training  program 


In  the  campaign  to  reduce  the 
telephone  companies'  "held  orders" 
for  service,  the  installers  are  shock 
troops.  During  these  strenuous  post- 
war years,  the  installer  has  kept  pace 
with  the  rising  tide  of  production  in 
Western  Electric's  factories;  he  has 
pared  installation  intervals  in  order 
to  provide  more  central-office  facili- 
ties for  a  telephone-hungry  America. 
For,  month  after  month  following 
the  end  of  the  war,  as  more  and 
more  Americans  applied  for  telephone 
service,  the  number  of  orders  for 
service  unfilled  because  of  lack  of  cen- 
tral office  facilities  mounted — despite 
Installation's  progressively  higher 
levels  of  activity. 


In  the  long  run  this  sustained  ef- 
fort paid  off.  By  mid-summer  of  last 
year  came  the  turning  point :  the  curve 
of  orders  held  for  lack  of  central- 
office  facilities  turned  downward  from 
a  peak  of  1,634,117  in  June  1947. 
At  this  writing,  such  orders  stand  at 
something  less  than  two-thirds  of 
that.  There's  still  a  big  job  ahead, 
but  installers  may  well  take  pride  in 
what  has  been  done  to  date. 

Post-war  Trainifig 

The  man-power  to  meet  post-war 
installation  demands  did  not  come 
ready-made.  It  took  training.  And 
the  training  took  planning. 

Normally,  "rookie"  installers  are 


252 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


trained  on  the  job  through  experi- 
ence, in  close  association  with  expe- 
rienced long-service  installers.  But 
when,  during  the  latter  days  of  the 
war,  the  Installation  Division  began 
to  take  the  measure  of  the  peace-time 
job  ahead,  it  was  immediately  appar- 
ent that  on-the-job  training  of  the 
thousands  of  new  men  required  would 
be  impractical,  and  would  dilute  the 
experience  level  of  the  force  to  a  dan- 
gerous low.  Against  the  day  of 
victory,  then,  the  Division  planned 
an  extensive  program  of  classroom 
training  to  supplement  job  training. 
Courses  were  outlined  in  detail:  some 
to  run  for  as  long  as  36  days,  some 
for  as  little  as  one.  Textbooks  were 
prepared  and  training  aids  built. 

At  its  peak.  Installation's  nation- 
wide "vocational  school"  was  com- 
prised of  some    100  branches   in   80 


Behind  a  manual  switchboard:  adding  new  central-office 
facilities  without  interrupting  service  over  existing  lines 


cities  and  towns.  During  1946  the 
average  working  day  found  10  per- 
cent of  the  field  force  in  the  class- 
room; in  1947,  six  percent.  Training 
in  1947  accounted  for  approximately 
381,000  man-days. 

Training  courses  are  divided  into 
three  levels:  "basic,"  "technical  ex- 
tension," and  "supervisory."  The 
latter  is  especially  important  in  an  or- 
ganization with  a  supervisory  force 
which  today  numbers  approximately 
75  percent  of  the  total  force  which 
existed  on  V-J  Day.  Today  the  train- 
ing program  in  Installation  has  passed 
its  peak.  The  force  is  stabilizing  and 
for  the  most  part — thanks  to  the  in- 
tensive instructional  effort  of  the  first 
two  post-war  years — already  posses- 
ses the  skills  required  of  it. 

Basic  training  continues  for  re- 
placement personnel,  and  supervisory 
training  will  go  forward 
as  well.  But  the  need 
for  organized  class-room 
training  in  advanced  in- 
stallation techniques  has 
largely  passed,  since 
"graduates"  of  the  train- 
ing program  have  dem- 
onstrated in  sufficient 
numbers  that  their  in- 
struction has  given  them 
the  fundamental  know- 
how  which  will  enable 
them  to  develop  ad- 
vanced skills  on  the  job. 


Getting  the  right  man 
to  the  right  place  at  the 
right  time  is  no  mean 
feat  even  in  normal 
times  for  an  organiza- 
tion with  the  number 
and  variety  of  tasks  In- 
stallation faces.     It  is  a 


1948-49 


Installation  by  Western  Electric  Company 


253 


problem  enormously  increased  and 
made  more  complex  by  the  height- 
ened tempo  of  post-war  activity  and 
the  seven-fold  increase  in  the  force. 
Training  and  placement  of  a  vastly 
expanded  force,  however,  are  but 
two  of  the  problems  Installation  is 
meeting  and  overcoming  to  reach  its 
unprecedented  post-war  goals.  Some 
of  the  difficult  conditions  with  which 
the  installer  has  coped  include  ma- 
terial shortages,  building  construc- 
tion delays,  transportation  difficulties, 
trucking  and  other  strikes,  and  the 
serious  housing  shortage  which  has 
hampered  assignment  of  personnel. 
While  the  housing  shortage  cannot  be 
said  to  have  been  solved,  installers 
have  found  the  necessary  accommoda- 
tions, thanks  to  advance  surveys  by 
supervisors,  the  ingenuity  of  installers 
themselves — some  own  trailers — and 
the  help  and  hospitality  of  telephone 
company  people.  And  whatever  the 
problems,  installers  have  faced  them 
with  the  resourcefulness  which  has 
evolved  in  this  organization  over  the 
years  as  a  result  of  the  widespread 
nature  of  its  work. 

A  look  at  the  record  will  demon- 
strate how  effectively  these  problems 
have  been — in  military  parlance — 
neutralized.  A  total  of  2,052,000 
dial  lines  and  7,471  new  and  re-used 
local  manual  and  toll  switchboard  po- 
sitions was  installed  in  1948.  These 
figures  are  40  percent  and  five  per- 
cent respectively  over  1947,  the  sec- 
ond of  three  successive  years  which 
have  seen  previous  installation  rec- 
ords shattered. 

Installers  are  as  "deadline-con- 
scious" as  newspaper  reporters.  Of 
the  33,150  orders  started  during 
1948,  95  percent  started  on  original 
schedule.       Of    the    33,507    orders 


completed  in  the  same  period,  91 
percent  were  completed  on  original 
schedule. 

Nation-wide,  Unified,  Flexible 

The  geography  of  the  Installation 
Division  is  nation-wide.  Right  now, 
installers  are  working  in  approxi- 
mately 1,700  buildings  in  about  1,500 
different  cities  and  towns  from  coast 
to  coast.  The  Division's  operating 
organization  is  divided  into  three 
zones — Eastern,  Central  and  West- 
ern. To  each  zone  manager,  five 
area  managers  report.  The  15  areas 
are  further  subdivided  into  districts, 
headed  by  superintendents  who,  in 
turn,  direct  the  activities  of  area 
supervisors  stationed  in  centers  of 
heavy  installation  activity.  Organi- 
zation on  this  geographical  basis  per- 
mits effective  liaison  with  Bell  tele- 
phone company  people  from  the 
headquarters  to  the  local  level. 

The  flexibility  feature  of  a  unified 
nation-wide  installation  force  is  an 
important  advantage  to  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem. It  is  an  asset  clearly  demon- 
strated in  emergencies.  Take  the 
case  of  the  fire  in  River  Grove,  Illi- 
nois, a  suburb  of  Chicago.  In  that 
instance,  installers  from  nearby  and 
from  beyond  the  state's  borders  were 
mobilized  in  less  than  24  hours,  and 
proceeded  with  the  hurry-up  instal- 
lation of  an  entirely  new  central  of- 
fice, a  job  which  they  completed  in 
the  record  time  of  1 1  days. 

As  it  is  in  emergencies,  so  it  is  with 
the  Installation  Division's  regular 
line-of-duty  contribution  to  Bell  Sys- 
tem service.  The  Division  takes  as 
its  province  very  nearly  the  entire 
area  of  the  Bell  System.  And  within 
that  area,  wherever  the  work  is,  there 
you  will  find  the  installer. 


^54 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


A  5  y -volume  * '  Handbook ' ' 

Coordinating  and  servicing  these 
far-flung  operations  is  the  business  of 
Installation's  "general  staff,"  quar- 
tered at  30  Church  Street,  in  New 
York,  a  stone's  throw  from  Bell  Sys- 
tem headquarters  at  195  Broadway. 
Uniformity  of  policies  and  practices, 
of  installation  techniques  and  stand- 
ards on  a  nation-wide  basis,  are  some 
of  the  contributions  this  group  makes 
to  the  nation-wide  telephone  service 
of  the  Bell  System.  It  is  this  uni- 
formity, made  effective  nationally 
through  common  management,  which 
permits  two  installers  from  widely 
separated  points  to  be  assigned  to  the 
same  job  and  go  to  work  at  once  as 
a  team — and  permits  a  supervisor  to 
get  a  job  rolling  promptly  and  effec- 
tively with  a  crew  in  which  he  cannot 
see  a  single  familiar  face. 

This  uniformity  of  practice  is  sym- 
bolized by  the  installer's  "handbook" 
— not  one  volume  but  a  veritable  five- 
foot  shelf  of  installation  knowledge 
running  to  57  volumes.  Each  job 
supervisor  is  equipped  with  those  vol- 
umes pertaining  to  his  assignments, 
and  may  order  additional  volumes  as 
the  need  arises.  For  each  type  of 
equipment  the  Division  installs,  this 
encyclopedic  work  sets  forth  the  re- 
quirements, as  established  by  Bell 
Telephone  Laboratories;  the  tools, 
and  the  methods  to  be  employed. 

The  "handbook"  began,  more  than 
40  years  ago,  as  a  pocket-size  pam- 
phlet. As  central  offices  grew  in  size 
and  complexity  the  "handbook"  grew 
too,  keeping  pace  with  the  develop- 
ment of  the  art  and  substituting  uni- 
form practice  for  the  "tricks  of  the 
trade"  that  characterized  early  instal- 
lation activity.    Today  its  57  volumes 


incorporate  the  engineering  develop- 
ments and  the  accumulated  experi- 
ence of  installers  over  a  period  of 
decades — experience  analyzed,  codi- 
fied, and  disseminated  through  In- 
stallation's central  staff  for  the  in- 
formation and  action  of  all  installers 
everywhere. 

The  handbook  is  a  "how  to  do  it" 
manual.  For  the  "what,"  the  "where" 
and  the  "how  much"  of  each  indi- 
vidual job,  installers  look  to  the 
Equipment  Engineers  for  specifica- 
tions and  blueprints.  For  jobs  engi- 
neered by  Western  Electric,  these 
specifications  and  blueprints — and  the 
blueprints  may  run  into  the  thou- 
sands for  each  of  the  larger  projects 
— are  supplied  by  the  Hawthorne  or 
Kearny  Works  Equipment  Engineers. 
On  orders  engineered  by  a  telephone 
company,  the  specifications  and  blue- 
prints— both  telephone  company  and 
Western  Electric  prints — are  sup- 
plied by  the  telephone  company's 
engineers.  In  either  case.  Installa- 
tion's job  is  based  directly  upon  the 
requirements  of  the  telephone  com- 
pany and — beyond  the  telephone  com- 
pany— the  needs  of  the  community. 

Men,  Tools,  and  Equipfnent 

The  tools  it  takes  to  do  the  job 
are  brought  in  by  the  crew,  or  are 
provided  by  the  area  office  from  other 
jobs  or  from  Installation's  central 
stock-keeping  organization  at  the 
Hawthorne  Works  in  Chicago.  In- 
stallation is  a  highly  specialized  ac- 
tivity, and  requires  many  tools  of 
special  design  not  generally  found  in 
other  industries.  With  the  growth 
of  radio  and  allied  industries,  how- 
ever, many  tools  once  exclusive  with 
Installation  have  become  standard 
and  readily  obtainable  from  outside 


1948-49 


Installation  by  Western  Electric  Company 


255 


sources.  Nonetheless,  of  the  tools  the 
installer  uses  today — from  those  in  the 
kit  that  hangs  from  his  belt  to  the 
most  elaborate  test  sets — a  large  per- 
centage were  designed  by  the  person- 
nel of  the  Division  itself,  and  repre- 
sent the  latest  refinements  in  a  process 
of  evolution  over  more  than  half 
a  century  of  installation  work. 

And  with  the  installation  crew 
come  not  only  the  tools  required  for 
the  job  but  the  furniture  and  fixtures 
as  well — the  desks  and  files  and 
lockers.  For  when  a  job  supervisor 
takes  over  a  new  assignment,  he 
moves  in  and  "sets  up  shop"  in  every 
sense  of  the  phrase.  On  or  before 
"start  date,"  he  and  an  advance  guard 
of  installers  set  up  an  office  and  a 
storeroom  and  arrange  for  the  re- 
ceipt of  equipment. 
Then  the  decks  are  clear 
for  the  material  to  roll 
in,  and  for  the  men  who 
will  transform  that  ma- 
terial into  a  fully  opera- 
tive nerve  center  for 
speechways. 

In  case  of  a  10.000- 
line  crossbar  dial  ex- 
change of  the  latest  type, 
the  material  may  weigh 
in  at  more  than  300  tons. 
Normal  installing  in- 
terval for  such  a  project 
is  29  weeks.  To  make 
it  ready  for  active  duty 
will  require  a  crew  num- 
bering loi  men  at  the 
peak  and  56  on  the  av- 
erage. The  man-power 
required  for  each  suc- 
ceeding phase  of  the  op- 
eration will  have  been 
determined  by  reference 


to  Manning  Requirements^  a  manual 
which  details  the  number  of  men 
needed  for  typical  installations. 

Three  hundred  tons  of  equipment, 
then,  and  10 1  men.  To  tell  what  the 
latter  do  to  the  former  involves  some 
sizable  statistics.  Before  the  job  is 
done,  the  crew  will  have  run  more 
than  10,000,000  feet  of  wire  in  cable 
and  secured  it  to  racks.  They  will 
have  soldered  more  than  a  million 
wire  ends,  each  to  its  proper  terminal. 
And  they  will  have  tested  and  checked 
the  adjustments  of  some  125,000 
items  of  electromagnetic  apparatus. 

The  installer's  is  the  final  respon- 
sibility for  seeing  to  it  that  all  the 
Western  Electric  products  that  go 
into  a  central  office — the  coils  from 
Haverhill,  the  switches  from  Duluth, 


An  installer  "fanning"  switchboard  cables  at  an  office 
linkframe 


256 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


Making  ready:  Members  of  Western  Electric' s  Installation  Division  are  installing  cable 
rack  and  auxiliary  framing  before  erecting  frames  for  a  crossbar  central-office  installation 


the  cabling  from  Tonawanda,  the  dial 
and  manual  assemblies  from  Haw- 
thorne and  Kearny,  the  cords  from 
Point  Breeze — that  all,  including  the 
material  furnished  by  outside  sup- 
pliers, live  up  to  the  Bell  System 
standards  when  they  have  been  as- 
sembled as  a  working  unit.  Not  till 
every  circuit  has  been  tested  and  the 
completed  project  "verified"  in  every 
respect  does  Installation  put  the  final 
OK  on  Western  Electric's  product. 

The  roving  engineers  from  the 
staff  of  the  Installation  Division's 
Engineer  of  Quality,  Wage  and  Busi- 
ness Practices  constantly  make  quality 
samplings  of  jobs  in  every  area  from 
coast  to  coast.  This  quality  control 
organization  supplies  management 
with  a  steady  flow  of  information  on 
the  quality  level  being  maintained  by 


the  field  forces,  thus  insuring  that 
prompt  action  may  be  taken  when- 
ever necessary  to  uphold  predeter- 
mined standards  of  workmanship. 
Installation's  monthly  Quality  Report 
sets  forth  the  relative  quality  stand- 
ings of  all  areas.  Symbol  of  top 
standing  is  the  "orchid"  awarded 
each  month  with  suitable  notice  in 
The  Observer,  the  Installation  Divi- 
sion's employee  paper. 

Installation's  emphasis  on  quality 
first,  last,  and  always  derives  from  an 
ingrained  sense  of  the  direct  relation 
between  equipment  standards  and  Bell 
System  service  standards.  There  is, 
of  course,  strong  logic  in  a  relation- 
ship between  supplier  and  customer 
which  places  responsibility  for  the 
quality  of  equipment  upon  the  manu- 
facturer of  that  equipment.      From 


1948-49 


Installation  by  Western  Electric  Company 


ISI 


The  final  stages  of  installation  of  a  crossbar  central  office.     Compare  this  orderly  mass 
of  intricate  equipment  with  the  view  on  the  opposite  page 


this  viewpoint,  installation  can  be 
considered  as  an  extension  of  West- 
ern Electric's  manufacturing  process : 
manufacturing  which  is  completed  on 
the  customer's  premises.  Thus,  in- 
stallation is  the  last  link  in  the  chain 
of  services  Western  Electric  performs 
in  providing  central  office  and  PBX 
equipment  to  the  telephone  companies 
of  the  Bell  System. 

Time  was  when  the  cutover  of  a 
100,000-line  project  like  that  de- 
scribed above  was  an  occasion  for 
celebration  and  speech-making  by  dig- 
nitaries, both  corporate  and  municipal. 
Today  there  just  isn't  time.  Installa- 
tion assignments  come  thick  and  fast 
these  days  and  every  assignment, 
large  or  small,  comes  "Urgent! 
Rush!"  Nowadays,  when  a  job  has 
been  certified  ready  for  service,  the 


installer  cannot  wait  for  dedication 
ceremonies.  He's  off  to  a  new  job, 
perhaps  in  the  same  town,  perhaps  a 
hundred  miles  away. 

That  next  job  may  not  be  a  big 
city  project  like  the  10,000-liner. 
This  time  you're  just  as  likely  to  find 
the  installer  crouched  behind  the 
switchboard  of  a  small  town,  adding 
facilities  to  the  telephone  network — 
and  doing  it  without  interrupting  ex- 
isting service.  Or  you  may  find  him 
at  work  in  the  desert  or  on  a  moun- 
tain top,  putting  in  repeater  stations 
on  carrier  lines  or  the  equipment  for 
a  micro-wave  radio  relay  station. 

Whatever  the  job,  large  or  small, 
today's  conditions  place  a  constant 
demand  on  the  installer's  ingenuity 
and  resourcefulness.  And  he  is  meet- 
ing the  demand. 


258 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


The  ^^  Itinerant  hist  a  Her" 
of  Installation 

That's  in  the  tradition  of  Western 
Electric  installers;  a  tradition  that 
goes  back  to  the  days  of  the  "first  in- 
staller," Charles  Brady,  who  worked 
out  of  the  Clinton  Street  Shop  in 
Chicago  in  the  1880s. 

Installation  was  a  one-man  opera- 
tion in  those  days,  and  so  was  equip- 
ment engineering.  In  one  corner  of 
the  shop  E.  G.  Hovey  wrote  switch- 
board specifications;  in  another  cor- 
ner Charles  Brady  built  and  wired 
the  board  to  meet  those  specifications. 
Then,  the  shop  work  completed — 
history  has  it — Charles  would  pack 
up  his  gear,  set  his  derby  at  a  rakish 
angle,  and  sally  forth  to  the  installa- 
tion on  the  customer's  premises. 

So  much  for  history:  now  a  little 
about  the  "mythology"  of  Installa- 
tion. What  Mike  Fink  is  to  the 
riverman  and  Paul  Bunyan  is  to  the 
woodsman,  the  Itinerant  Installer  is 
to  Installation.  And  there  are  tales 
told  of  the  Itinerant  Installer  that 
rival  those  of  other  heroes  of  Ameri- 
can legend.  The  chronicler  of  the 
deeds  of  the  Itinerant  Installer  has 
been  silent  of  late  years,  and  perhaps 
there  are  men  in  the  Installation  Di- 
vision now  who  have  never  heard  of 


him.  Perhaps  there  are  even  some 
who,  having  heard  of  him,  do  not  be- 
lieve. For  such  sceptics  the  chronicler 
had  an  answer.  To  old  installers  he 
counselled  as  follows: 

"Tell  'em  about  the  super-solderer 
he  was.  How  he  tapped,  laid, 
webbed,  clamped  and  tested  a  10,500 
multiple  through  15  sections  in  two 
hours  and  17  minutes.  Tell  'em  how 
he  memorized  every  blueprint  ever 
sent  out  by  Hawthorne  or  Kearny. 
How  he  used  to  shoot  trouble  with 
his  special  trouble  gun.  And  never 
missed.  Give  'em  the  lowdown  on 
how  he  used  to  grab  two  handsful  of 
20-foot  superstructure  bars  and  put 
up  more  ironwork  in  12  minutes  than 
the  shop  could  ship  in  two  weeks. 
He  could  sew  cable  with  his  bare  feet 
while  he  ran  it  with  his  hands.  .  .  . 
He  began  to  live  on  that  day  in  the 
dim  past  when  the  first  solder-slinger 
wiped  the  tip  of  his  gas-heated  iron 
with  a  horny  thumb.  He  lives  today 
and  will  continue  to  live  as  long  as 
Crabtree  Corners  needs  20  more  an- 
swering jacks  or  a  more  urban  center 
needs  another  unit  of  crossbar.  He 
lives  in  the  hearts  of  installers  every- 
where. .  .  .  They  know  not  whereof 
they  speak,  those  who  say  the  Itin- 
erant Installer  never  lived." 


The  Things  Men  Live  By 

Walter  S.  Gifford 


The  following  are  excerpts  from  an  ad- 
dress by  the  Chairman  of  the  Board  of 
the  A.  T.  ^  T.  Company  at  the  Char- 
ter Night  dinner,  on  November  5,  194S, 
of  the  new  Pioneer  chapter  named  in 
his  honor. 

Looking  back  over  my  years  in  the 
business — fort}^-four  and  one-half,  in 
fact — I  can  think  of  no  enterprise  I 
would  rather  have  been  in.  This  is  not 
because  I  became  the  top  of  manage- 
ment, with  its  responsibilities,  but  be- 
cause, as  the  years  went  by,  while  every- 
thing wasn't  always  to  my  liking,  I  felt 
that,  fundamentally,  management  was 
interested  in  fair  treatment  of  employees 
and  in  seeing  that  each  made  the  most 
of  his  or  her  abilities  and  that  promo- 
tions were  made  as  they  were  earned. 

Telephone  Pioneers  have  not  only 
pioneered  in  the  art  of  telephony  but  in 
equitable  treatment  of  employees.  In 
19 1 3,  thirty-five  years  ago,  for  instance, 
the  Bell  System  pioneered  in  establish- 
ing a  benefit  plan  which  provided  sick- 
ness, accident,  and  death  benefits  and 
pensions  without  cost  to  employees. 
How  important  that  step  was  is  seen 
by  the  fact  that  the  pension  funds,  paid 
for  entirely  by  the  [Bell  System]  com- 
panies, now  amount  to  over  $850,000,- 
000. 

Today,  many  unions  are  seeking  such 
benefits  in  other  industries,  and  some 
strikes  have  been  called  in  trying  to  get 
them.  We  got  them  thirty-five  years 
ago — not  by  strikes  or  threats  of  strikes 
but  because  our  management  pioneered 
in  labor  relations  as  well  as  in  technical 


developments — and  it  wasn't  paternal- 
ism, which  I  for  one  would  have  re- 
sented. In  putting  the  plan  into  effect, 
Mr.  Vail,  who  was  then  president  of 
the  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company,  said,  "This  is  justice,  and 
without  justice  and  sympathetic  inter- 
est we  cannot  hope  to  do  a  thoroughly 
good  piece  of  work." 

So  also  have  been  the  many  improve- 
ments in  working  conditions  over  the 
years.  In  fact,  it  is  hard  to  find  any 
business  that  offers  as  much — and  I 
think  there  is  no  business  that  offers 
more — for  those  who  have  spent  a  sub- 
stantial part  of  their  lives  in  it  or,  in- 
deed, for  those  who  are  just  starting  in 
it  .  .  . 

We  have  all  felt,  over  the  years,  the 
inspiration  of  "the  message  must  get 
through."  iVIuch  of  the  joy  of  living 
would  be  lost  if  the  younger  members  of 
our  enterprise,  who  some  day  will  be 
members  of  the  Telephone  Pioneers, 
fail  to  recognize  the  intangible  thrill 
that  comes  of  loyalt>',  not  necessarily  to 
an  organization,  although  that  means 
a  great  deal  to  those  who  feel  it,  but 
loyalty  to  an  ideal,  to  a  job  well  done, 
and  particularly  to  a  job  well  done  that 
means  so  much  to  the  welfare  and  hap- 
piness of  so  many.  Those,  after  all,  are 
the  things  that  men  live  by ;  they  are  the 
kind  of  things  that  make  life  exciting 
and  worth  while.  .  .  . 

Our  country  leads  the  world  today. 
We  in  the  telephone  business  will  see 
to  it,  I  am  sure,  that  our  telephone  serv- 
ice continues  to  be  the  best  in  the  world. 


Effective  Handling  of  the  Sale  of  Pullman  Space  Depends 
On   Three  Principal  Factors:    Traffic  Volume^  People^  and 

Telephone  Equipment 


Telephone  Facilities  for 
Railroad  Reservations 


Justin  E.  Hoy 


Editor's  note:  This  article  is  based  on  information  gathered  for  a  talk 
which  the  author  was  invited  to  present  at  the  1Q48  Annual  Con- 
ference of  the  Communications  Section  of  the  Association  of  American 
Railroads,  held  at  Colorado  Springs,  Colo.,  September  28— JO. 


The  use  of  telephone  service  In  the 
handling  of  space  reservations  Is  a 
subject  of  importance  to  both  the  rail- 
roads and  the  telephone  companies. 

To  the  railroads,  telephone  service 
is  important  because  it  is  a  vital  link 
in  the  sale  of  "space" — "uppers," 
"lowers,"  "roomettes,"  drawing 
rooms,  and  other  accommodations. 
Providing  the  service  is  a  major  op- 
eration requiring  many  people  and 
representing  a  sizable  item  of  expense 
to  the  railroads;  and  it  involves  a 
great  many  contacts  with  the  public 
and  thus  affords  many  opportunities 
for  building  good  public  relations. 

The  matter  is  of  importance  to  the 
telephone  companies  because  for  prac- 
tically every  unit  of  space  sold  at 
least  one  telephone  conversation  takes 
place,  and  frequently  more. 


For  both  the  railroads  and  the  tele- 
phone companies,  the  problem  of 
handling  reservations  is  of  increasing 
importance  because,  as  time  goes  on, 
more  and  more  space  is  being  made 
available  for  reservation. 

Railroads  follow  in  general  one 
basic  plan  in  handling  space  reserva- 
tions at  a  centralized  bureau. 

The  customer  may  either  go  in  per- 
son to  a  ticket  office  to  make  his  reser- 
vation or  he  may  call  the  reservation 
bureau  by  telephone.  If  he  goes  in 
person  to  a  ticket  office,  a  ticket  seller 
telephones  the  bureau  to  secure  the 
space  assignment.  In  this  instance 
one  telephone  call  takes  place. 

If,  on  the  other  hand,  he  calls  the 
bureau,  he  is  told  that  the  reservation 
will  be  held  for  him  for  a  stated  in- 
terval, during  which  he  must  go  to  a 


Telephone  Facilities  J  or  Railroad  Reservations 


261 


An  example  of  what  railroad  people  mean  by  "space":  an  outside-looking-in  view  of  a 
new  type  of  drawing  room,  with  berths  for  four  and  seats  for  seven^  in  a  post-war 

stainless  steel  sleeping  car 


ticket  office  to  pick  up  his  transporta- 
tion ticket.  When  he  appears  at  the 
ticket  office,  the  ticket  seller  confirms 
the  space  by  telephoning  the  bureau. 
In  this  latter  instance,  two  telephone 
conversations  take  place. 

While  it  is  true  that  there  are  some 
deviations  from  this  basic  pattern,  by 
far  the  majority  of  space  sold  follows 
one  of  the  two  methods  just  de- 
scribed. 

Most  of  the  larger  railroads  have 
established  centralized  bureaus  to 
handle  reservations,  and  it  will  be  the 
purpose  of  this  article  to  discuss  some 
typical  telephone  installations,  and 
their  operation  in  the  bureaus  which 
control  space  assignments;  the  more 
common  problems  being  encountered; 
and  some  of  the  steps  which  have 
been  taken  to  help  solve  these  prob- 
lems. 


It  is  true,  of  course,  that  in  many 
cities  the  volume  of  telephone  calling 
about  reservations  is  not  enough  to 
warrant  centralized  reservation  bu- 
reaus. But  to  the  extent  that  tele- 
phone service  is  used  in  making  reser- 
vations, the  underlying  communica- 
tion principles  are  the  same.  It  is 
also  true  that  in  many  instances  the 
reservation  job  is  only  a  part  of  a 
larger  operation  in  the  centralized 
bureau,  which  may  also  have  other 
functions :  the  handling  of  informa- 
tion calls,  the  operation  of  message 
desks  where  communication  to  out- 
of-town  points  is  concentrated.  How- 
ever, this  article  will  stick  to  that  por- 
tion of  the  bureau  definitely  assigned 
to  the  reservation  job. 

It  may  be  helpful,  along  about 
here,  to  take  a  look  at  the  types  of 
space  available  for  reservation. 


262 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


Originally,  sleeping  accommoda- 
tions on  trains  consisted  only  of  the 
traditional  "upper"  and  "lower." 
Now  these  accommodations  have  been 
expanded  to  include  sections  (a  com- 
bination of  an  upper  and  a  lower 
berth),  roomettes  (a  small  room  con- 
taining one  berth  and  lavatory  facili- 
ties), bedrooms  (larger  rooms,  usu- 
ally having  two  berths),  drawing 
rooms,  compartments,  and  even  apart- 
ments. In  addition  to  sleeping  ac- 
commodations, many  railroads  are 
expanding  the  practice  of  reserving 
seat  space  in  coaches. 

To  complicate  further  the  job  of 
the  railroad  reservation  people,  Pull- 
man cars  themselves  differ  greatly  in 
make-up.  One  car  may  contain  ten 
sections  and  two  drawing  rooms. 
The  car  next  to  it  may  contain  eight 
sections,  one  drawing  room  and  two 
compartments. 

Again,  many  trains  change  in  the 
character  of  their  make-up  between 
point  of  origin  and  destination.  For 
example,  a  train  traveling  between 
New  York  and  Chicago  may  pick  up 
or  drop  off  Pullman  cars  at  stated 
points  along  the  way.  A  certain  car, 
which,  let  us  say,  is  to  be  dropped  off 
at  Cleveland,  is  therefore  suitable  for 
assignment  to  passengers  traveling  to 
certain  points  between  New  York 
and  Cleveland,  but  It  would  not  be 


suitable  for  assignment  to  passengers 
traveling  beyond  Cleveland. 

All  of  this  means  that  before  the 
train  starts  its  run,  railroad  reserva- 
tion people  have  had  to  assign  par- 
ticular space  in  particular  cars  to  par- 
ticular ticket  holders  who  wish  to 
travel  to  a  particular  city  at  a  particu- 
lar time  of  the  day. 

The  statistics  in  the  box  may  help 
visualize  the  size  of  the  problem  con- 
fronting the  railroads  in  handling 
such  space  assignments. 

Keservation  Bureau  Operations 

Now  let's  take  a  look  at  the  inner 
workings  of  a  reservation  bureau. 

Each  item  of  space  that  is  available 
for  assignment  is  represented  by  a 
block  on  a  card  9  inches  long  and  3^2 
inches  wide,  and  the  type  of  space, 
such  as  lower,  roomette,  and  so  on,  is 
designated  in  the  block.  Each  of 
these  cards  is  called  a  diagram,  and 
one  is  maintained  for  each  car  that 
contains  reserved  space.  Since  space 
is  sold  in  advance,  a  separate  dia- 
gram for  each  date  is  also  necessary. 
Usually  all  of  the  diagrams  for  one 
car  for,  say,  30  consecutive  dates  are 
made  up  in  a  pack. 

The  diagram  packs  for  any  one 
train  are  usually  closely  associated  in 
a  diagram  rack.  As  reservations  are 
made,  suitable  notations  are  entered 


Approximate 

Figures 

FOR  Thirty-Day  Period 

AT  Four 

Typical  Reservation  Bureaus 

Location  of  the 

Number  of  Units  of  Space 

Numb 

er  of  Incoming 

Reservation  Office 

Available  for  Reservation 

Telephone  Calls 

New  York 

113,250 

234,000 

Cleveland 

39,000 

51,000 

Chicago 

36,000 

51,000 

San  Francisco 

90,000 

108,000 

1948-49  Telephone  Facilities  for  Railroad  Reservations 


263 


in  the  corresponding 
blocks  by  the  reservation 
clerks  to  indicate  that 
the  space  has  been  sold 
or  is  being  held  on  reser- 
vation. Each  day,  dia- 
grams for  that  date  are 
removed  from  the  packs 
and  forwarded  to  the 
train  and  corresponding 
diagrams  representing 
the  30th  day  hence  are 
added  to  the  packs. 

The  volume  of  calls 
received  at  a  reservation 
bureau  requires  a  num- 
ber of  reservation  clerks. 
Since  the  clerks  must 
have  access  to  the  dia- 
grams in  order  to  han- 
dle the  calls,  all  of  the 
larger  reservation  bu- 
reaus have  to  be  set  up 
into  different  units,  each 
unit  handling  calls  for 
certain  trains  only.  In 
this  way,  reservation 
clerks  need  access  to  only 
a  portion  of  the  total 
number  of  diagrams  in 
the  bureau.  Because 
each  clerk  in  any  one  unit 
must  have  quick  access  to 
all  of  the  diagrams  in 
the  unit,  the  physical  design  of  the 
diagram  racks  limits  the  number  of 
people  who  can  answer  calls  in  a 
single  unit  to  a  maximum  of  about  12. 

Two  types  of  diagram  racks  are 
most  commonly  used.  One  consists 
of  a  series  of  open-ended  pigeon  holes 
mounted  in  the  center  of  a  long  table 
accessible  to  clerks  sitting  on  both 
sides.  The  rack  itself  may  slide  up 
and  down  the  length  of  the  table  so 


m^^mm^r^T^T^ 


ii*ff 

It 

fnt 

R 

D^r  a 

13  - 

2 

J 

4"      ' 

3 

g    ^'  " 

^'5 

r~' 

7 

10 

3 

=^:i!i:"£ 

r.  .-^'--z 

There  is  a  diagram  such  as  these  for  every  car  which  has 
reserved  space,  for  every  day  it  runs 


that  each  pigeon  hole  is  within  reach 
of  any  clerk. 

The  other  type  is  circular  In  design 
and  consists  of  a  rotating  drum  around 
which  Is  a  circular  table.  The  drum 
Is  made  up  of  tiers,  so  that  it  can  be 
revolved  in  sections,  and  thus  every 
clerk  sitting  at  the  table  has  access  to 
the  diagrams  mounted  In  the  drum. 
In  addition  to  the  diagrams,  the  cir- 
cular   drums    frequently    contain    a 


264 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


series  of  peg  panels,  one  panel  repre- 
senting each  car  for  which  there  is 
a  corresponding  diagram  pack  and 
each  peg  representing  a  unit  of  space. 
The  pegs  in  the  panels  permit  the 
reservation  clerks  to  tell  at  a  glance, 
without  referring  to  the  diagram 
packs,  what  space  is  available.  As 
space  is  sold,  the  corresponding  pegs 
are  removed  from  the  panel. 

Telephone  Requireme?jts 

From  that  brief  description  of  the 
bureau  operation,  the  telephone  re- 
quirements begin  to  become  apparent. 
In  the  first  place,  where  bureaus 
are  subdivided  into  units,  screening 
of  incoming  calls  is  necessary  to  de- 
termine which  unit  should  get  the 
call.  This  means  that  switchboard 
service  is  necessary.     This,   in  turn. 


means  that  lines  from  the  switch- 
board to  the  answering  positions 
manned  by  reservation  clerks  are  also 
necessary.  Further,  since  incoming 
calls  are  received  from  ticket  sellers 
as  well  as  from  prospective  customers, 
lines  from  the  ticket  offices  to  the  res- 
ervation bureau  are  also  necessary. 

With  respect  to  the  answering 
equipment  at  the  reservation  unit, 
order  turret  equipment  of  some  sort 
is  indicated.  Many  installations  em- 
ploy No.  4  order  turrets,  which  are 
small  key  boxes  in  which  one  incom- 
ing line  from  the  switchboard  ter- 
minates. In  addition,  there  is  an 
overflow  line  which  is  common  to  a 
number  of  positions.  With  this  equip- 
ment, the  reservation  clerks  who  are 
ready  to  receive  calls  are  indicated  to 
the   P.B.X.    operators   by  means   of 


These  racks  slide  along  the  table,  and  the  diagrams  in  the  pigeon  holes  are  available  to 
clerks  on  both  sides.     The  flush-type  key  telephone  equipments  are  No.  4  turrets 


1948-49  Telephone  Facilities  for  Railroad  Reservations 


26  s 


The  three  iters  0/  this  "drum"  revolvCy  the  diagrams  are  between  the  panels^  and  each  peg 
represents  a  unit  of  space.     No.  100  key  telephone  equipment  is  at  the  left  of  each  clerk 


lamps  at  the  switchboard  and  incom- 
ing calls  are  completed  only  to  these 
positions.  The  presence  of  overflow 
calls  is  made  known  to  reservation 
clerks  by  means  of  overflow  lamps 
at  the  key  boxes  and  these  calls  may 
be  answered  by  any  clerk  in  the  unit — 
usually  the  first  one  to  become  avail- 
able. 

Other  installations  employ  different 
types  of  order  turret  equipment,  such 
as  the  No.  2  turret,  or  100  or  lOi 
key  equipment.  These  types  of  equip- 
ments permit  clerks  to  answer  any  of 
several  lines  (usually  all  the  lines  in 
the  unit)  and  are  necessary  in  instal- 
lations where  lines  from  the  ticket 
sellers  are  separate  from  the  lines 
used  to  complete  incoming  calls  from 
the  switchboard. 


Regardless  of  the  type  of  answer- 
ing equipment  employed,  one  of  the 
primary  requirements  in  the  way  of 
telephone  equipment  in  reservation 
bureaus  is  the  provision  of  adequate 
monitoring  equipment.  This  appara- 
tus may  be  designed  to  permit  super- 
visors to  know  which  reservation 
clerks  are  busy  and  which  are  ready 
to  receive  calls;  to  know  how  many 
calls  are  waiting  at  the  P.B.X.  and 
for  what  units  they  are  waiting;  to 
observe  the  handling  of  calls;  and  to 
be  able  to  assist  reservation  clerks  in 
handling  certain  calls.  Proper  cover- 
age of  answering  positions  within  the 
bureau  as  well  as  effective  handling 
of  calls  are  two  essentials  to  the  suc- 
cessful operation  of  a  reservation  bu- 
reau, and  adequate  monitoring  equip- 


266 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


Pit  I  if  JWli  i!ff  TITTi  it'P 

^"*^.|TURRET  lines!  ^-"^ 


ITICKET  SELLERl 


Too  few  people  within 
the  bureau  to  han- 
dle calls  even  were 
the  telephone  facili- 
ties increased. 

Enough  people  within 
the  bureau  but  not 
enough  people  at 
certain  units  to  han- 
dle the  traffic. 

Too  many  inexperi- 
enced people  in  the 
bureau. 


Is  the  answer  to  these 
situations  more  tele- 
phone equipment? 

Many  railroad  men 
say,  "No.  We  haven't 
the  people  to  answer  the 
lines  we  have  now,  so 
why  put  in  more?" 

Is  the  answer  more 
people? 

Many  railroad  men 
say,  "Yes,  of  course. 
But  there  we're  on  the  horns  of  a 
dilemma.  On  the  one  hand,  we're 
selling  all  the  space  we  have  now 
and  more  employees  would  only 
increase  our  operating  costs;  they 
couldn't  possible  increase  our  operat- 
ing revenues.  Yet,  on  the  other  hand, 
we  agree  that  poor  service  to  the 
customer  is  poor  business  for  the  rail- 
road." 

To  arrive  at  a  workable  answer  to 

these  problems,  it  has  been  necessary 

for    telephone    people    and    railroad 

people  to  join  in  exhaustive  studies, 

to  determine  the  factors  which  give 

tending  between  the  switchboard      rise  to  the  problems  and  what  might 

and  the  bureau  to  handle.  be  done  to  remedy  the  situation. 

Too  few  positions  at  each  reserva-         They  have  arrived  at  some  answers. 

tion  unit  to  handle  the  calls  di-  Briefly,  the  situation  boils  down  to 

rected  to  it.  a  consideration  of  three  main  topics: 


One  arrangement  of  telephone  equipment  gives  both  cus- 
tomers and  ticket  sellers  access  to  the  reservation  clerks 
over  the  same  turret  lines 


ment  helps  bring  about  these  two 
essentials. 

Operational  Problems 

What  are  some  of  the  problems 
which  sometimes  arise  in  the  opera- 
tion of  reservation  bureaus? 

The    most    common    seem    to    be 
these : 

Too  many  calls  from  the  public  at 
certain  times  for  the  P.B.X. 
trunk  groups  to  handle. 

Too  many  calls  from  ticket  sellers 
and  the  public  for  the  lines  ex 


1948-49  Telephone  Facilities  for  Railroad  Reservation:^ 


267 


Traffic.     People.     Tele- 
phone Equipment. 

With  respect  to  the 
traffic,  it  has  been  deter- 
mined that  the  railroads 
themselves  can  do  many 
things  to  reduce  the 
loads  handled  by  reser- 
vation bureaus.  For  ex- 
ample, some  roads  fol- 
low a  plan  which  makes 
it  unnecessary  for  ticket 
sellers  to  call  the  bureau 
to  confirm  space  assign- 
ments when  customers 
pick  up  tickets  after  hav- 
ing made  a  reservation 
by  telephone.  This  plan 
naturally  reduces  the 
number  of  calls  directed 
to  the  bureau.  Other 
railroads  have  been  re- 
designing diagram  racks, 
and  by  shifting  the  dia- 
grams held  in  certain 
units  have  decreased  the 
answering  time  and  the  holding  time 
on  calls  to  the  bureau. 

With  respect  to  people,  the  burden 
of  improvement  to  be  made  is  again 
on  the  railroad.  Just  as  it  takes  coal 
to  fire  a  steam  engine,  fuel  oil  to  run 
a  diesel,  it  takes  adequate  personnel  to 
run  a  reservation  bureau.  An  adequate 
number  of  people  must  be  provided 
to  insure  good  service.  However, 
much  can  be  done  to  improve  the  ef- 
fectiveness of  the  people  on  the  job 
through  proper  training  programs. 
In  addition,  effective  force  program- 
ming— i.e.,  having  the  right  number 
of  positions  occupied  at  the  right  time 
— will  result  in  better  service  without 
necessarily  involving  force  increases. 
Another  important  item  with  respect 
to   people   concerns   supervision.      It 


jiff  I  if  f-tfiiri  ifitif  ii  m\ 

N    ^^^     I       ITURRET  lines!        i  ^^^^     / 


ISWITCHBOARDi 


TICKET  SElUr] 


A  different  arrangement  provides  separate  turret  lines 
for  customers  and  ticket  sellers  to  reach  the  reservation 

clerks 


is  generally  agreed  that  supervision 
should  be  adequate  to  render  assist- 
ance where  needed  and  direct  the  as- 
signment of  clerks  to  specific  positions. 

The  task  of  determining  what  tele- 
phone equipment  and  how  much  of  it 
is  required  to  handle  the  traffic  is 
one  which  the  telephone  companies 
have  long  been  willing  to  assume. 
With  the  assistance  of  Traffic  Depart- 
ment people,  Bell  System  sales  and 
servicing  representatives  have  for 
years  been  designing  "tailor-made" 
telephone  systems  to  handle  individ- 
ual reservations  jobs  most  effectively. 

While  it  is  fundamentally  the  rail- 
roads' responsibility  to  determine 
what  they  want  communications  serv- 
ice to  do  for  them,  nevertheless,  tele- 
phone company   representatives   fre- 


268 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


quently  are  able  to  assist  in  working 
out  operations  and  routines  which  re- 
sult in  better  service  to  the  prospec- 
tive traveler  when  he  calls  the  res- 
ervation bureau.  Traffic  Department 
people  have  done  much  in  working 
out  force  requirements  with  the  rail- 
roads, and  much  has  been  done  to  de- 
velop improved  training  methods  and 
procedures.  Complete  surveys  and 
studies  of  particular  telephone  re- 
quirements are  made  from  time  to 
time  for  the  railroads  operating  res- 
ervation bureaus  in  practically  all  of 
of  the  larger  cities  throughout  the 
System. 

Constructive  Efforts 

Response  to  the  activities  of  tele- 
phone company  people  on  the  part  of 
the  railroads  has  been,  in  many  cases, 
highly  appreciative. 

Two  examples  may  be  cited  here : 
In  Cleveland,  the  performance  at 
a  particular  reservation  bureau  was 
not  satisfactory.  Reservation  clerks 
were  slow  in  answering  incoming  calls, 
and,  when  calls  were  answered,  long 
delays  were  encountered  in  complet- 
ing transactions.  In  technical  terms 
this  bureau  was  suffering  from  '*slow 
answers"  and  long  "holding  time." 
A  survey  pointed  out  the  need  for 
( I )  a  revised  system  of  filing  dia- 
grams, (2)  redesign  of  diagram  racks 
and  seating  arrangements,  (3)  a  tele- 
phone system  which  would  direct  in- 
dividual calls  to  available  clerks,  and 
(4)  a  training  program  for  reserva- 
tion clerks.  All  of  the  recommended 
changes  were  made,  and  as  a  result 
answering  time  dropped  from  an  av- 
erage of  42  seconds  to  4  seconds  and 
the  holding  time  from  280  seconds 
to  120  seconds. 


In  Los  Angeles,  where  another  bu- 
reau was  rendering  an  unsatisfactory 
grade  of  service,  a  survey  revealed 
among  many  things  that  ( i )  the  num- 
ber of  reservation  clerks  on  duty  was 
too  low,  and  as  a  consequence  unan- 
swered calls  were  backing  up  at  the 
switchboard,  (2)  supervision  was  in- 
adequate, (3)  routines  for  handling 
waiting  lists  and  reservations  on  popu- 
lar trains  were  causing  serious  bottle- 
necks, (4)  the  high  inexperience  fac- 
tor among  reservation  clerks  called 
for  more  extensive  training,  and  (5) 
a  number  of  improvements  could  be 
made  in  office  layout  and  practices. 

Corrective  steps  included  the  fol- 
lowing: ( I )  the  number  of  employees 
in  the  bureau  was  increased  to  provide 
full  coverage  of  all  positions  between 
8:30  A.M.  and  5:30  P.M.,  (2)  the 
number  of  supervisors  was  doubled, 

(3)  a  complete  training  course  was 
prepared  and  given  to  all  employees, 

(4)  monitoring  equipment  was  in- 
stalled and  hourly  schedules  of  obser- 
vation were  established,  and  (5)  spe- 
cial diagram  racks  were  constructed 
and  the  telephone  equipment  was 
changed  to  meet  the  new  operating 
requirements. 

One  result  of  these  steps  was  a  re- 
duction in  answering  time  on  incom- 
ing calls  from  an  average  of  45  sec- 
onds to  18  seconds.  In  a  letter  to  the 
telephone  company,  the  general  pas- 
senger agent  of  the  railroad  stated: 
"This  tremendous  improvement  has 
only  been  accomplished  through  the 
valuable  assistance  rendered  by  pro- 
fessional advice  received  through  the 
presence  of  your  representatives  who 
have  been  so  generous  with  their  time 
and  effort." 

This  job  of  studying  telephone  re- 
quirements and  designing  telephone 
facilities  is  not  completed.     Perhaps 


I94^~49  Telephone  Facilities  for  Railroad  Reservations 


26g 


it  never  will  be.  On  all  sides  is  evi- 
dence of  change.  The  railroads  are 
streamlining;  service  to  the  passenger 
is  the  key-note.  Practices  and  rail- 
road equipment  which  were  good  yes- 
terday are  not  satisfactory  today.  In 
like  manner,  telephone  equipment  ar- 


rangements which  were  good  yester- 
day may  not  suffice  today.  It  is  a  dis- 
tinct challenge  to  Bell  System  people 
to  keep  abreast  of  these  changing  re- 
quirements, and  to  make  telephone 
service  for  handling  the  reservations 
job  most  effective  and  most  pleasing. 


Despite  popular  interest  in  the  failure  of  the  polls  to  predict  the  elec- 
tion, our  interviewers  report  that  public  reaction  to  our  questionnaire 
seems  to  be  as  cooperative  and  friendly  as  ever.  Apparently  our  cus- 
tomers do  not  bracket  the  election  polls  and  telephone  company'  surveys 
together.     Neither  do  we. 

Our  surveys  do  not  attempt  to  forecast  future  action  as  did  the  elec- 
tion polls.  Ours  are  designed  to  give  us  more  accurate  knowledge  of 
what  people  are  currently  thinking  about  telephone  matters.  This 
knowledge  makes  for  sounder  business  judgment  in  cases  where  there  is 
uncertainty  or  difference  of  opinion  about  the  attitude  or  the  wishes  of 
the  telephone  users  as  to  a  specific  policy,  practice,  or  service. 

One  of  the  errors  of  the  election  polls  seems  to  have  been  that  their 
measurement  stopped  too  soon  and  failed  to  note  a  changing  trend. 
Telephone  surveys  are  useful  in  establishing  continuing  trends  by  which 
we  may  see  whether  the  opinion  of  the  public  is  changing  for  better  or 
for  worse  on  the  broad  issues  that  affect  our  public  relations. 

From  a  letter  transmitting  results  of  a  recent  survey  on  "Trends  of 
Customer  Opinion"  to  the  Associated  Companies  of  the  Bell  System. 


Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the 
Bell  Telephone  Quarterly 

Items  from  Volume  III,  Number  1,  January  1924 


Bell  System  Ideals 
Are  High 

Certainly  the  Bell  System  Is  big;  but 
mere  bigness  is  not  necessarily  great  or 
wholesome;  and  neither  is  it,  as  some  peo- 
ple seem  to  imagine,  necessarily  baneful  or 
menacing.  Everything  depends  on  its  na- 
ture, its  ideals  and  purposes,  in  short,  on 
its  spiritual  quality.  How  does  the  Bell 
System  stand  spiritually?  Does  it  meet 
the  tests? 

Men  whom  I  greatly  respect,  outsiders 
who  have  no  reason  to  be  biased  and  of 
whose  competence  and  independence  I  have 
knowledge,  have  written  to  me  and  said  to 
me  that  the  Bell  System  in  their  judgment 
is  the  cleanest  and  best  managed  big  busi- 
ness in  the  world.  I  have  had  some  oppor- 
tunity to  form  a  judgment  in  the  matter. 
And  I  am  prepared  to  say  that  I  know  of 
no  other  which  can  be  rated  above  it.  I 
know  of  no  other  enterprise,  private  or  pub- 
lic, which  has  higher  purposes  or  sounder 
ideals  of  service.  The  Bell  System  has 
seemed  to  me  to  be  honest  in  its  purposes 
and  endeavors  and  clean  in  its  practices. 
It  is  aboveboard  and  frank.  It  puts  its 
cards  on  the  table.  It  welcomes  govern- 
ment regulation  and  cooperates  cordially 
with  government  agencies.  It  believes  in 
the  integrity  of  American  institutions  and 
in  the  honesty  of  purpose  of  American  offi- 
cial servants.  It  cooperates  with  them  to 
serve  the  public. 

It  seeks  to  be  fair  to  its  owners,  its  em- 
ployees, and  its  consumers.  It  has  as  its 
primary  or  guiding  principles  to  keep  its 
business  on  a  sound  and  conservative  basis, 
to  give  to  its  owners  a  fair  return  on  their 
investment,  to  render  to  its  consumers  the 


best  possible  service  at  the  lowest  cost ;  and 
it  succeeds  in  giving  them  a  service  which 
is  worth  to  them  very  much  more  than  it 
costs  them. 

The  Bell  service  is  public  minded.  It  is 
democratic  in  its  responsiveness  to  public 
sentiment  and  needs.  It  evidences  in  as 
high  degree  as  any  other  agency  I  have 
known  a  concern  for  the  public  welfare. 
Its  personnel  is  animated  by  a  spirit  of 
service. 

From  "The  Achievement  of  Telephone 
Pioneers"  by  former  Vice  President 
David  F.  Houston. 


The  American  Telephone 
Historical  Collection 

The  American  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company  has  started  at  its  headquarters 
building,  195  Broadway,  New  York,  an 
historical  collection  of  pictures  and  papers 
of  all  kinds,  letters,  note-books,  documents, 
to  perpetuate  the  personalities  and  the  rec- 
ords of  the  men  who  have  done  vital  work 
in  the  development  of  the  Telephone.  It 
has  officially  been  given  the  name  of  the 
American  Telephone  Historical  Collection. 
It  is  as  the  other  half  of  the  Bell  System 
Museum  of  instruments  and  apparatus  at 
the  Western  Electric  building.  The  two 
are  intended  to  supplement  each  other,  the 
Museum  emphasizing  the  technical  side, 
the  consecutive  development  of  the  tele- 
phone equipment;  and  this  new  Collection 
emphasizing  the  human  side,  the  collabor- 
ating sequence  of  men  in  the  telephone  or- 
ganization. 

From  an  article  by  the  late  William 
Chauncy  Langdon,  the  first  curator. 


270 


Bell  System  Coaxial  and  Radio  Relay  Networks  Which  Carry 
Television  Programs 


Bell  System  s  Television  Networks  Connected 


The  Bell  System's  east  coast  and  mid- 
western  inter-city  networks  for  television 
transmission  were  linked  on  January  1 1 , 
bringing  network  television  to  the  greatest 
potential  audience  in  television  history: — a 
fourth  of  the  nation's  population,  living  in 
and  about   14  major  American  cities. 

The  link  connecting  the  Eastern  and 
Midwestern  networks  is  the  new  Phila- 
delphia-Pittsburgh-Cleveland coaxial  ca- 
ble, which  was  placed  in  operation  last 
fall  for  long  distance  telephone  service. 
The  combined  network  includes  television 
stations  in  Boston,  New  York,  Philadel- 
phia, Baltimore.  Washington,  Richmond, 
Pittsburgh,  Buffalo,  Cleveland,  Detroit, 
Toledo,  Chicago,  Milwaukee,  and  St. 
Louis. 

The  Bell  System's  combined  television 
network  extends  over  1,740  route  miles  of 
coaxial  cable  and  370  route  miles  of  radio 
relay,  and  provides  about  5,000  miles  of 
television  channels.  The  network  grew 
from  a  95-mile  coaxial  cable  installed  in 
1936  between  New  York  and  Philadel- 
phia. After  the  war,  which  interrupted 
television  development,  regular  network 
television   transmission   between  Washing- 


ton and  New  York  was  inaugurated  on 
February  12,  1946,  over  Bell  System  fa- 
cilities for  use  by  broadcasters  without 
charge.  Baltimore  was  added  to  this  net- 
work in  October  1946. 

Using  radio  relay.  Bell  System  engineers 
extended  the  New  York- Washington  net- 
work northward  to  Boston  in  November 
1947.  Richmond  was  connected  to  the 
network  by  a  coaxial  cable  channel  from 
Washington  a  few  months  later.  On  May 
I,  1948,  free  experimental  service  was  dis- 
continued and  the  Bell  System  television 
network  service  was  placed  on  a  commer- 
cial basis.  On  September  20  last  year,  the 
Bell  System  brought  inter-city  television 
service  to  a  new  region  when  it  intercon- 
nected seven  major  Midwestern  cities. 

The  present  combined  network  requires 
large  amounts  of  complex  equipment. 
Along  the  routes,  for  example,  are  540 
amplifiers,  which  maintain  the  energy  of 
the  television  signal  as  it  travels  from  city 
to  city.  Some  250  additional  amplifying 
devices  in  the  television  terminals  in  tele- 
phone buildings  in  each  city  on  the  net- 
work are  used  to  put  the  broadcasters'  pro- 
grams on  the  channels. 


271 


1^1 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


Who's  Who  &  What's  What 

{Continued  from  page  2oy) 

good  idea  of  what  it's  all  about.  He  quali- 
fies as  expert,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  in  such 
abstruse  matters  as  dial  switching  systems, 
and  for  the  last  decade  and  more  he  has 
directed  most  of  his  efforts  toward  traffic 
requirements  for  toll  crossbar  and  toll 
step-by-step  switching  systems  and  the  de- 
velopment of  toll  dialing  methods.  Start- 
ing with  the  Missouri-Kansas  Telephone 
Company  as  a  student  in  191 2,  he  was  a 
toll  traffic  supervisor  with  the  South- 
western Bell  Telephone  Company  at  St. 
Louis  when,  in  1927,  he  transferred  to  the 
Traffic  division  of  the  A.  T.  and  T.  Com- 
pany's Department  of  Operation  and  En- 
gineering, working  on  toll  results.  Two 
years  later  he  joined  the  group  concerned 
with  peg  counts  and  coefficients,  and  since 
1938  he  has  been  with  the  traffic  operating 
arrangements  group. 

When  this  Magazine  wanted  an  au- 
thentic description  of  the  job  of  the  Right- 
of-Way  Man,  it  turned  to  a  member  of 
the  Long  Lines  Department  whose  nearly 
23  years  of  right-of-way  experience  include 
assignments  in  Pennsylvania,  the  middle 
West,  the  Rocky  Mountain  states,  and 
New  Brunswick  and  Nova  Scotia.  After 
experience  with  the  Bell  Telephone  Com- 
pany of  Pennsylvania  and  the  Southern 
Bell  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company, 
Harry  H.  Hoopes  joined  the  Long  Lines 
organization  in  1926,  and  was  made  a 
rights-of-way  supervisor  in  1929.    His  base 


is  the  division  headquarters  in  Philadel- 
phia, but  proofs  of  his  article  were  mailed 
to  him  at  Uniontown,  Pa.,  and  were  re- 
turned  from   Carlisle. 

A  member  of  the  Public  Relations  Divi- 
sion of  the  Western  Electric  Company  since 
1939,  Alvin  von  Auw  took  time  out  to 
serve  as  Air  Combat  Intelligence  officer  on 
active  duty  in  the  Pacific  Theater  in  World 
War  n,  from  which  he  was  released  as 
Lieutenant,  USNR,  He  resumed  his  for- 
mer post  as  information  supervisor,  and  has 
only  recently  been  appointed  editor  of 
"WE,"  a  new  quarterly  magazine  for  all 
W.  E.  employees.  He  has  contributed 
several  articles  to  this  Magazine  on  vari- 
ous company  operations,  the  most  recent  of 
which  was  "Distribution  by  Western  Elec- 
tric," in  the  issue  for  Autumn  1947. 

From  1929,  when  Justin  E.  Hoy  joined 
the  Southwestern  Bell  Telephone  Com- 
pany, to  1946,  when  he  became  a  member 
of  the  A.  T.  and  T.  Company's  O.  &  E. 
Department,  he  had  been  successively  a 
salesman  of  directory  advertising;  a  sales- 
man of  exchange,  toll,  and  PBX  services; 
and  sales  supervisor  and  sales  training  su- 
pervisor. At  the  time  he  left  Kansas  City 
for  New  York,  he  was  supervising  the 
Southwestern  company's  servicing  work 
with  large  business  firms  in  the  K.  C.  di- 
vision ;  and  he  has  since  been  occupied  in 
the  sales  and  servicing  section  of  the  Com- 
mercial division  of  A.  T.  &  T.  He  con- 
tributed "Helping  Customers  Improve 
Telephone  Usage  Habits"  to  the  issue  of 
this  Magazine  for  Summer  1947. 


Index  to  the 


Bell  Telephone 
Magazine 

Volume  XXVIII,  1949 


Information  Department 

AMERICAN  TELEPHONE  AND  TELEGRAPH  COMPANY 

New  York  7,  N.  Y. 


PRINTED   IN    U.    S.    A. 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE 

VOLUME  XXVIII,  1949 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

SPRING,  1949 

Moving  Ahead  on  Two  All-Important  Jobs,  by  Leroy  A.  Wilson  . .  5 
Television  Strides  Ahead  in  Seven-League  Boots,  by  Harry  H. 

Carter 9 

Looking  A-head  with  the  Bell  System 20 

Merr}'  Christmas  in  the  Toll  Offices,  by  Cyril  K.  Collins 27 

You  Can  Tell  by  the  Teller,  by  Arthur  F.  Leet 39 

Purchasing  by  the  Western  Electric  Company,  by  George  deMare . .  45 

Index  Now  Available   54 

Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly 55 

San  Francisco's  Chinatown  "Goes  Dial,"  by  Wheeler  F.  Schall  ...  57 
The  Winter's  Toll  \\'as  Heavy  from  Texas  to  the  Dakotas,  by 

Judson  S.  Bradley 66 

SUMMER,  1949 

Where  Do  We  Go  from  Here  ?  by  Harry  Disston 83 

The  Bell  Statue  at  Brantford 96 

Helen  Keller  \'isits  the  Bell  Lalxjratories 97 

The  Role  of  Communications  in  Red  Cross  Operations,  by  Wade 

Jones   99 

Progress  of  the  Rural  Service  Program 108 

Robert  Devonshire's  L^tterbook,  by  Ralph  E.  Mooney 110 

Desert  Isle  Books 122 

Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly 124 

Bell  Laboratories  and  Western  Electric  to  Operate  Sandia  Labora- 
tory for  AEC 125 

AUTUMN,  1949 

A  Look  Around — And  Ahead,  by  Leroy  A.  Wilson 133 

Long  Distance  Finds  the  Way,  by  William  H.  Nunn 137 

Pension  Minimums  Are  Raised 148 

3 


BELL  TELEPHONR  MACAZLWE  L\WEX.  VOLUME  XXVIII 

War-Time  Taxes  on  Conimiinication  Services  in  1949 149 

Giving  New  Life  to  Old  Equipment,  by  Philip  H.  Miele 154 

Their  Politeness  Goes  Deep 164 

Private   Line   Services   for   the   Aviation   Industry,   by   Henry    V. 

Roumjort 165 

Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly 175 

WINTER,  1949-1950 

Bell  System  Participation  in  the  Work  of  the  ASA,  by  Harold  S. 

Osborne 181 

Carrier  Is  King,  by  Charles  M.  Mapcs 191 

Mr.  Gififord  Retires 204 

This  Country  Leads  the  World  in  Telephones,  by  Eli::abeth  Wren- 
shall 206 

Service    Aids    for    Home    Owners,    Architects,    and    IrJuilders,    by 

Adolph  F.  Michel  and  T.  Hunt  Clark 217 

Some  Early   Long  Distance   Lines   in  the   Ear  West,   by    Walter 

Black  jord,  Sr.,  and  Joy  F.  Huff  on  227 

Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly 238 


4;. 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE 

VOLUME  XXVIII,  1949 
INDEX 

A 

Issue       Page 

"Advance  Arrangements  for  Telephone  Convenience"  by  Adolph 

F.  Michel  and  T.  Hunt  Clark— 7  photos   Wi  217 

American  National  Red  Cross: 

"The  Role  of  Communications  In  Red   Cross  Operations" 

by  Wade  Jones — 6  photos Su  99 

American  Standards  Association: 

"Bell   System    Participation   in   the   Work   of  the   ASA"   by 

Harold  S.  Osborne — 4  photos   Wi  181 

A.  T.  &  T.— Construction: 

"Moving  Ahead  on  Two  All-Important  Jobs"  by  Leroy  A. 

Wilson — 1  photo   Sp  7 

Annual  Meetings: 

"Moving  Ahead  on  Two  All-Important  Jobs"  by  Leroy  A. 

Wilson — 1  photo   Sp  7 

Annual  Report,  1948: 

"Bell  System  Taxes,  1948"   Sp  38 

"Telephone  Service"  . Sp  19 

Awards : 

"Bell  System  Film  Receives  Award"   Au  147 

B 

Bell,  Alexander  Graham: 

"The  Bell  Room  at  Salem"  (In  "25  Yrs.  Ago")   Su  124 

"The  Bell  Statue  at  Brantford" — 2  photos Su  96 

"Helen  Keller  Visits  the  Bell  Laboratories" Su  97 

"Robert  Devonshire's   Letterbook"  by  Ralph   E.   Mooney — 

10  photos  Su  110 

"Bell    Laboratories   and    Western    Electric   to    Operate    Sandia 

Laboratory  for  AEC"   Su  125 

"The  Bell  Room  at  Salem"  (In  "25  Yrs.  Ago")   Su  124 

"The  Bell  Statue  at  Brantford" — 2  photos Su  96 

"Bell  System  Film  Receives  Award"  Au  147 

"Bell  System  Participation  in  the  Work  of  the  ASA"  by  Harold 

S.  Osborne— 4  photos  Wi  181 

"Bell  System  Taxes,  1948"  Sp  38 

5 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVIII 

Issue  Page 
Bell  Telephone  Laboratories: 

"Bell  Laboratories  and  Western  Electric  to  Operate  Sandia 

Laboratory  for  AEC"   Su  125 

"Helen  Keller  Visits  the  Bell  Laboratories" Su  97 

"The  'Transistor'  " Wi  240 

Biography: 

Blackford,  Walter,  Sr. — portrait   Wi  239 

Bradley,  Judson  S. — portrait   Sp  3 

Carter,  Harry  H. — portrait Sp  3 

Clark,  T.  Hunt— portrait  Wi  179 

Collins,  Cyril  K. — portrait   Sp  3 

deMare,  George — portrait  Sp  3 

Disston,  Harry — portrait Su  126 

Gifford,  Walter  S.— portrait  Wi  204 

Hutton,  Joy  F.— portrait  Wi  239 

Jones,  Wade — portrait  Su  126 

Leet,  Arthur  F. — portrait  Sp  2 

Mapes,  Charles  M. — portrait Wi  178 

Michel,  Adolph  F.— portrait  Wi  179 

Miele,  Philip  H. — portrait   Au  131 

Mooney,  Ralph  E. — portrait Su  127 

Nunn,  William  H. — portrait   Au  130 

Osborne,  Harold  S. — portrait  Wi  178 

Roumfort,  Henry  V. — portrait Au  131 

Schall,  Wheeler  F. — portrait  Sp  3 

Wilson,  Leroy  A. — portrait   Sp  2 

Wilson,  Leroy  A. — portrait  Au  130 

Wrenshall,  Elizabeth — portrait Wi  179 

Blackford,  Walter,  Sr.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait  Wi  239 

Blackford,  Walter,  Sr.,  and  Joy  F.  Hutton: 

"Some    Early    Long   Distance    Lines    in    the    Far    West" — 

7  photos,  1  map   Wi  227 

Bradley,  George  L.: 

Furnished  telephone  capital  Su  118 

Bradley,  Judson  S.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait    Sp  3 

"The  Winter's  Toll  Was   Heavy  From   Texas  to  the  Da- 

kotas" — 16  photos   Sp  66 

Business  Offices: 

"You  Can  Tell  by  the  Teller"  by  Arthur  F.  Leet — 4  photos  .  .Sp  39 

C 
Campbell,  George  A.: 

Invented  Electric  Wave  Filter — 1  photo Wi  195 

"Carrier  Is  King"  by  Charles  M.  Mapes— 4  photos,  5  charts  .  . . .  Wi  191 
Carter,  Harry  H.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait    Sp  3 

"Television     Strides    Ahead    In    Seven-League    Boots" — 8 

photos  Sp  9 

6 


BELL  TELEPHOXE  MAGAZINE  INDEX.  VOLUME  XXVIII 

Issue       Page 
Cartoons : 

"Fantastic  or  not.  Gentlemen,  we  have  just  been  chosen  by 

the  Book-of-the-Month  Club"  Su  122 

Charts: 

The  frequency  bands  used  in  the  Bell  System's  wire  com- 
munication system  Wi  198 

Intercity  circuit  miles  in  Bell  Sj'stem Wi  203 

Radio  frequency  bands  used  by  the  Bell  System Wi  199 

Relative  sizes  of  communication  carrier  "packages" Wi  193 

Size   of    12-channel    Nl    terminal   contrasted   with    that    of 

12-channeI  K  terminal   Wi  201 

Cheever,  Charles  A Su  120 

Civil  Aeronautics  Administration: 

"Private    Line    Services    for    The    Aviation    Industry"    by 

Henry  V.  Roumfort — 8  photos   Au  165 

Clark,  T.  Hunt: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait  Wi  179 

Clark,  T.  Hunt  and  Adolph  F.  Michel: 

"Advance    Arrangements    for    Telephone    Convenience" — 7 

photos    Wi  217 

"Service  Aids  for  Home  Owners,  Architects,  and  Builders" 

by  Adolph  F.  Michel  and  T.  Hunt  Clark— 7  photos Wi  217 

Collins,  Cyril  K.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait    Sp  3 

"Merry  Christmas  in  the  Toll  Offices" — 8  photos   Sp  27 

Commercial  Department: 

"Where  Do  We  Go  From  Here?"  bj'  Harry  Disston — 13 

photos Su  83 

Cornish,  T.  E Su  120 

Craig,  Cleo  F.: 

"Progress  of  the  Rural  Service  Program" Su  108 

D 

dcForest,  Lee: 

Invented  Audion — 2  photos Wi  194 

deMare,  George: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait   Sp  3 

"Purchasing  bj'  the  Western  Electric  Company" — 6  photos  .  .Sp  45 

"Desert  Isle  Books" Su  122 

Devonshire,  Robert: 

"Robert    Devonshire's   Letterbook"   by   Ralph    E.    Mooney 

—10  photos Su  110 

Dial  Telephone  System: 

"Long  Distance  Finds  the  Way"  by  William  H.   Nunn — 

6  photos Au  137 

"Looking  Ahead  with  the  Bell  System" Sp  20 

"San  Francisco's  Chinatown  'Goes  Dial' "  by  Wheeler  F. 

Schall— 8  photos  Sp  57 


I 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVIII 

Issue       Page 
Directories : 

Cartoon — "Fantastic  or  not,  Gentlemen,  we  have  just  been 

chosen  by  the  Book-of-the-Month  Club"   Su  122 

"Desert  Isle  Books"  Su  122 

Disasters : 

"The  Role  of  Communications  In  Red  Cross  Operations" 

by  Wade  Jones — 6  photos   Su  99 

"The  Winter's   Toll   Was   Heavy   from   Texas   to   the   Da- 

kotas"  by  Judson  S.  Bradley — 16  photos Sp  66 

Disston,  Harry: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait    . Su  126 

"Where  Do  We  Go  From  Here?" — L3  photos Su  83 

Distributing  Houses: 

"Giving  New  Life  to  Old  Equipment"  by  Philip  H.  Miele 

— 1  map,  7  photos   Au  154 

E 

Economics : 

"A  Look  Around — And  Ahead"  by  Leroy  A.  Wilson Au  133 

"Moving  Ahead  on  Two  All-Important  Jobs"  by  Leroy  A. 

Wilson — 1  photo   Sp  5 

"This  Country  Leads  the  World  in  Telephones"  by  Eliza- 
beth Wrenshall— 3  photos  Wi  206 

Engineering : 

"Carrier  Is  King"  by  Charles  M.  Mapes — 4  photos,  5  charts.  .Wi  191 

"Private    Line    Services    for    The    Aviation    Industry"    by 

Henry  V.  Roumfort — 8  photos Au  165 

"Advance   Arrangements    for    Telephone    Convenience"    by 

Adolph  F.  Michel  and  T.  Hunt  Clark— 7  photos Wi  217 

"Television    Strides    Ahead    In    Seven-League    Boots"    by 

Harry  H.  Carter — 8  photos   Sp  9 

"Where  Do  We  Go  From  Here?"  by   Harry  Disston — 13 

photos Su  83 

Equipment : 

"Giving  New  Life  to  Old  Equipment"  by  Philip  H.  Miele — 

1  map,  7  photos   Au  154 

"Merry  Christmas  in  the  Toll  Offices"  by  Cyril  K.  Collins 

— 8  photos  Sp  27 

"Moving  Ahead  on  Two  All-Important  Jobs"  by  Leroy  A. 

Wilson — 1  photo   Sp  7 

"Television    Strides    Ahead    In    Seven-League    Boots"    by 

Harry  H.  Carter — 8  photos   Sp  9 

"You  Can  Tell  by  the  Teller"  by  Arthur  F.  Leet — 4  photos  .  .Sp  39 

Exhibits : 

"Looking  Ahead  with  The  Bell  System" — 12  photos Sp  20 

"Robert  Devonshire's  Letterbook"  by  Ralph  E.  Mooney — 

10  photos Su  110 

8 


BELL  TELEPHOXE  MAGAZIXE  IXDEX.  VOLUME  XXVIII 

Issue       Page 
F 
Finance: 

"Moving  Ahead  on  Two  All-Important  Jobs"  by  Leroy  A. 

Wilson — 1  photo  Sp  7 

G 
Gifford,  Walter  S.: 

"Mr.  Gifford  Retires"—!  photo  Wi  204 

"Giving  New  Life  to  Old  Equipment"  by  Philip  H.  Miele — 1 

map.  7  photos   An  154 

Gower,  Frederick  A Su  120 

Grosvenor,  Mrs.  Gilbert: 

"The  Bell  Statue  at  Brantford"— 2  photos Su  96 

H 

Haigh,  J.  Lloyd  Su  120 

"Helen  Keller  Visits  the  Bell  Laboratories" Su  97 

History : 

"Robert  Devonshire's  Letterbook"  by  Ralph  E.  Moonej- — 

10  photos  Su  110 

"San  Francisco's  Chinatown  'Goes  Dial' "  by  Wheeler  F. 

Schall — 8  photos   Sp  57 

"Some  Early   Long  Distance  Lines  in  the   Far  West"  by 
Walter  Blackford.  Sr..  and  Joy  F.  Hutton — 7  photos, 

1  map Wi  227 

"Television    Strides    Ahead    In    Seven-League    Boots"    by 

Harrj-  H.  Carter — 8  photos  Sp  9 

"Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly, 

April  1924" .Sp  55 

"Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly. 

July  1924"   Su  124 

"Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterh-, 

October  1924"   Au  175 

"Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterh*. 

January  1925" .Wi  238 

Hubbard,  Gardiner  G.: 

"Robert  Devonshire's  Letterbook"  by  Ralph  E.  Mooney — 

10  photos  Su  110 

Human  Relationships: 

"A  Look  Around — And  Ahead"  by  Leroy  A.  Wilson Au  133 

Hutton,  Joy  F.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait  Wi  239 

Hutton,  Joy  F.  and  Walter  Blackford,  Sr.: 

"Some   Early   Long  Distance   Lines  in   the   Far   West" — 7 

photos,  1  map  Wi  227 

I 

"An  Instrumentality  of  Service"  (In  "25  Yrs.  Ago")   Wi  238 

9 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVIII 

Issue       Page 
J 
Jones,  Wade: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait    Su  126 

"The  Role  of  Communications  In  Red  Cross  Operations" — 

6  photos  Su  99 

K 
Keller,  Helen: 

"Helen  Keller  Visits  the  Bell  Laboratories" Su  97 

L 

Leased  Wires: 

"Private  Line  Services  for  The  Aviation  Industry"  by  Henry 

V.  Roumfort — 8  photos Au  165 

"The  Role  of  Communications  In  Red   Cross   Operations" 

by  Wade  Jones — 6  photos   Su  99 

Leet,  Arthur  F.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait    Sp  2 

"You  Can  Tell  by  the  Teller" — 4  photos Sp  v39 

Long  Distance: 

"Carrier  Is  King"  by  Charles  M.  Mapes — 4  photos,  5  charts.  .Wi  191 

"Long  Distance  Finds  the  Way"  by  William   H.   Nunn — 

6  photos Au  137 

"Merry  Christmas  in  the  Toll  Offices"  by  Cyril  K.  Collins 

— 8  photos  Sp  27 

"Private    Line    Services    for    The    Aviation    Industry"    by 

Henry  V.  Roumfort — 8  photos   Au  165 

"The  Role  of  Communications  In  Red  Cross   Operations" 

by  Wade  Jones — 6  photos   Su  99 

"Some  Early   Long  Distance   Lines  in  the  Far  West"   by 

Walter  Blackford,   Sr.,  and  Joy  F.   Hutton — 7  photos, 

1  map Wi  227 

"A  Look  Around — And  Ahead"  by  Leroy  A.  Wilson Au  L33 

"Looking  Ahead  with  The  Bell  System"— 12  photos   Sp  20 

M 

Mapes,  Charles  M.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait  Wi  178 

"Carrier  Is  King"— 4  photos,  5  charts Wi  191 

Maps: 

Location  of  Western  Electric  Distributing  Houses  Au  155 

The  Mother  Lode  Country  Wi  228 

"The   Meaning   of   Research   to  the   Telephone   Investor"    (In 

"25  Yrs.  Ago")    Sp  55 

"Merry  Christmas  in  the  Toll  Offices"  by  Cyril  K.   Collins— 

8  photos  Sp  27 

Michel,  Adolph  F.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait  Wi  179 

10 


BELL  TELEPHOXE  MAGAZIXE  JSDEX.  J'OLU.UE  XXVIII 

Issue       Page 
Michel,  Adolph  F.  and  T.  Hunt  Clark: 

"Advance    Arrangements    for    Telephone    Convenience" — 7 

photos    \Vi  217 

"Service  Aids  for  Home  Owners,  Architects,  and  Builders" 

—7  photos   Wi  217 

Miele,  Philip  H.: 

Biographical    sketch — portrait    Au  131 

"Giving  Xew  Life  to  Old  Equipment" — 1  map,  7  photos  .  ..  .Au  154 

"Mr.  Gifford  Retires"—!  photo  Wi  204 

Mooney,  Ralph  E.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait    Su  127 

"Robert  Devonshire's  Letterbook" — 10  photos   Su  110 

Motion  Pictures: 

"Bell  S3stem  Film  Receives  Award"  Au  147 

"You  Can  Tell  b}-  the  Teller"  by  Arthur  F.  Leet — i  photos  . .  Sp  39 

"Moving   Ahead   on   Two   All-Important   Jobs"    by    Leroy    A. 

Wilson — 1  photo   Sp  7 

N 

Nason,  Rev.  Elias Su  120 

New  York  Times: 

"Desert  Isle  Books"  Su  122 

Nunn,  William  H.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait  Au  130 

"Long  Distance  Finds  the  Waj" — 6  photos Au  137 

O 

Osborne,  Harold  S.: 

"Bell  System   Participation  in   The  Work  of  the  ASA" — 

4  photos ; Wi  181 

Biographical  sketch — portrait  Wi  178 

P 
Paintings : 

"Rockwell   Lineman   Picture   Given   to  John   J.   Toolan" — 

photo    Au  153 

"Pan-American  Radio  Convention"  (In  "25  Yrs.  Ago")   Au  176 

"Pension  Minimums  Are  Raised"   Au  148 

Personnel — Linemen : 

"Rockwell   Lineman   Picture   Given   to  John  J.    Toolan" — 

photo    Au  153 

Personnel — Operators : 

"Long  Distance  Finds  the  Waj"  bj'  William  H.   Nunn — 

6  photos Au  137 

"Merrj-  Christmas  in  the  Toll  Offices"  bj'  Cyril  K.  Collins 

— 8  photos  Sp  27 

"San  Francisco's   Chinatown  'Goes  Dial' "  by   Wheeler   F. 

Schall — 8  photos   Sp  57 

"Their  Politeness  Goes  Deep"   Au  164 

"You  Can  Try,  Can't  You?"  Au  174 

11 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVIII 

Issue       Page 
Personnel — Tellers : 

"Vou  Can  Tell  by  the  Teller"  b\'  Arthur  F.  Leet — 4  photos.  .Sp  39 

Planned  Facilities: 

"Advance    Arrangements    for    Telephone    Convenience"    by 

Adolph  F.  Michel  and  T.  Hunt  Clark— 7  photos Wi  217 

"Service  Aids  for  Home  Owners,  Architects,  and  Builders" 

—7  photos Wi  217 

Plant: 

"Bell  System  Participation  in  the  Work  of  the  ASA"  by 

Harold  S.  Osborne — 4  photos Wi  181 

Plant— Central  Office: 

"Merry  Christmas  in  the  Toll  Offices"  by  Cyril  K.  Collins 

— 8  photos  Sp  27 

Plant — Outside: 

"Carrier  Is  King"  by  Charles  M.  Mapes — 4  photos,  5  charts.  .  Wi  191 

Plant — Outside — Cables : 

"Southern  Transcontinental  Line"  (In  "25  Yrs.  Ago")   Sp  55 

"Television    Strides    Ahead    In    Seven-League    Boots"    by 

Harry  H.  Carter — 8  photos   Sp  9 

Policies : 

"A  Look  Around — And  Ahead"  by  Leroj^  A.  Wilson Au  133 

"Moving  Ahead  on  Two  All-Important  Jobs"  by  Leroy  A. 

Wilson — 1  photo   Sp  7 

Preece,  Sir  William  Henry   Su  •  120 

"Private   Line   Services   for  the   Aviation   Industry"   by   Henry 

V.  Roumfort — 8  photos  Au  165 

"Progress  of  the  Rural  Service  Program"  by  Cleo  F.  Craig Su  108 

Public  Relations: 

"Merry  Christmas  in  the  Toll  Offices"  by  Cyril  K.  Collins 

—8  photos  Sp  27 

"You  Can  Tell  by  the  Teller"  by  Arthur  F.  Leet— 4  photos.  .Sp  39 

Public  Telephones: 

"We  Call  Them  Outdoor  Booths"   Wi  237 

"Purchasing   by   the   Western   Electric    Company"    by    George 

deMare — 6  photos  Sp  45 

R 

Radio: 

"Carrier  Is  King"  by  Charles  M.  Mapes — 4  photos,  5  charts.  .Wi  191 

Radio — Amateurs : 

"The  Role  of  Communications  In  Red   Cross   Operations" 

by  Wade  Jones — 6  photos   Su  99 

Radio — Mobile : 

"The  Role  of  Communications  In  Red   Cross   Operations" 

by  Wade  Jones — 6  photos Su  99 

Radio  Relay: 

"Television    Strides    Ahead    In    Seven-League    Boots"    bj' 

Harry  H.  Carter — 8  photos Sp  9 

12 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVIII 

Issue       Page 
Rates — Telephone : 

"Moving  Ahead  on  Two  All-Important  Jobs"  by  Leroy  A. 

Wilson — 1  photo  Sp  7 

Repair  Shops: 

"Giving  Xew  Life  to  Old  Equipment"  by  Philip  H.  Miele 

— 1  map,  7  photos Au  154 

Research: 

"The  Meaning  of  Research  to  the  Telephone  Investor"  (In 

"25  Yrs.  Ago") Sp  55 

"Robert    Devonshire's    Letterbook"    by    Ralph    E.    Mooney — 

10  photos  Su  110 

"The  Role  of  Communications  In  Red  Cross  Operations"  by 

Wade  Jones — 6  photos Su  99 

Roosevelt,  Hilborne  L Su  119 

Roumfort,  Henry  V.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait   Au  131 

"Private     Line     Services     for     the     Aviation     Industrj" — 8 

photos Au  165 

"Royalty  Visits  Walker  Street"  (In  "25  Yrs.  Ago")   Au  175 

Rural  Telephone  Service: 

"Progress  of  the  Rural  Service  Program"  b}'  Cleo  F.  Craig.  .Su  108 

S 
Sanders,  Thomas: 

"Robert  Devonshire's  Letterbook"  by  Ralph  E.  Mooney — 

10  photos  Su  110 

"San  Francisco's  Chinatown  'Goes  Dial' "  by  Wheeler  F.  Schall 

— 8  photos  Sp  57 

Schall,  Wheeler  F.: 

Biographical   sketch — portrait    : Sp  3 

"San   Francisco's   Chinatown   "Goes   Dial'" — 8   photos    Sp  57 

"Service  Aids  for  Home  Owners,  Architects,  and  Builders"  by 

Adolph  F.  :Michel  and  T.  Hunt  Clark— 7  photos Wi  217 

"Some  Early  Long  Distance  Lines  in  the  Far  West"  by  Walter 

Blackford,  Sr.,  and  Joy  F.  Hutton — 7  photos,  1  map  .  . .  .  Wi  227 

"Southern  Transcontinental  Line"  (In  "25  Yrs.  Ago")   Sp  55 

Storms: 

"The  Winter's  Toll  Was  Heavy  From   Texas  to  the   Da- 

kotas"  by  Judson  S.  Bradley — 16  photos Sp  66 

T 
Taxes: 

"Bell  System  Ta.xes,   1948"    Sp  38 

"War-Tinie  Taxes  on  Communication  Services  In  1949"   ...Au  149 

Telephone  Development: 

'  "Where  Do  We  Go  From   Here?"  by  Harry   Disston — 13 

photos Su  83 

Telephone  Pioneers  of  America: 

"The  Bell  Statue  at  Brantford" — 2  photos Su  96 

13 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVIII 

Issue       Page 
Telephone  Service: 

"Advance    Arrangements    for    Telephone    Convenience"    by 

Adolph  F.  Michel  and  T.  Hunt  Clark— 7  photos  Wi  217 

"Bell  System  Participation  in  the  Work  of  the  ASA"  by 

Harold  S.  Osborne — 4  photos   Wi  181 

"Carrier  Is  King"  by  Charles  M.  Mapes — 4  photos,  5  charts.  .Wi  191 

"The  Future  Holds  Great  Promise"  Sp  26 

"Giving  New  Life  to  Old  Equipment"  by  Philip  H.  Miele 

— 1  niap,  7  photos   Au  154 

"An  Instrumentality  of  Service"  (In  "25  Yrs.  Ago")    Wi  238 

"Long  Distance  Finds  the  Way"  by  William   H.   Nunn — 

6  photos Au  137 

"Merry  Christmas  in  the  Toll  Offices"  by  Cyril  K.  Collins 

— 8  photos  Sp  27 

"Moving  Ahead  on  Two  All-Important  Jobs"  by  Leroy  A. 

Wilson — 1  photo Sp  7 

"Private  Line  Services  for  the  Aviation  Industry"  by  Henry 

V.  Roumfort — 8  photos Au  165 

"Progress  of  the  Rural  Service  Program"  by  Cleo  F.  Craig.  .Su  108 

"The  Role  of  Communications  In  Red  Cross  Operations" 

by  Wade  Jones — 6  photos   Su  99 

"San   Francisco's   Chinatown  'Goes   Dial'  "  by  Wheeler   F. 

Schall — 8  photos Sp  57 

"Some   Early   Long  Distance  Lines  in  the  Far  West"  by 

Walter  Blackford,   Sr.,  and  Joy  F.   Hutton — 7  photos, 

1  map Wi  227 

"Telephone  Service" Sp  19 

"Their  Politeness  Goes  Deep"  Au  164 

"This  Country  Leads  the  World  in  Telephones"  by  Eliza- 
beth Wrenshall — 3  photos,  3  charts   Wi  206 

"Where    Do   We    Go    From    Here?"    by    Harry    Disston — 

13  photos  Su  83 

"You  Can  Tell  by  the  Teller"  by  Arthur  F.  Leet — 4  photos.  .Sp  39 

Telephone  Service — Foreign: 

"We  Call  Them  Outdoor  Bootlis"   Wi  237 

"The  Telephone's   Part  in   Defense   Test    Day"    (In    "25    Yrs. 

Ago")  Au  175 

Telephones — Statistics : 

"Progress  of  the  Rural  Service  Program"  by  Cleo  F.  Craig.  .Su  108 
"This  Country  Leads  the  World  in  Telephones"  by  Eliza- 
beth Wrenshall— 3  photos  Wi             206 

"U.  S.  Now  Has  40,000,000  Telephones"  Au  136 

"Where    Do    We    Go    From    Here?"    by    Harry    Disston — 

13  photos  Su  83 

Telephotography : 

"Transmission    of    Pictures    Over    Telephone    Wires"    (In 

"25  Yrs.  Ago")    Su  124 

14 


BELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVIII 

Issue       Page 
Teletypewriters : 

"Merry  Christmas  in  the  Toll  Offices"  by  Cyril  K.  Collins 

— 8  photos  Sp  27 

"Private  Line  Services  for  the  Aviation  Industry"  by  Henry 

V.  Rounifort — 8  photos   Au  165 

"The  Role  of  Communications  In  Red  Cross  Operations" 

by  Wade  Jones — 6  photos   Su  99 

"Television  St-ides  Ahead  In  Seven-League  Boots"  by  Harry 

H.  Carter — 8  photos  Sp  9 

"Their  Politeness  Goes  Deep"  Au  164 

"This  Country  Leads  the  World  in  Telephones"  by   Elizabeth 

Wrenshall— 3    photos Wi  206 

Training : 

"Merry  Christmas  in  the  Toll  Offices"  by  Cj'ril  K.  Collins 

— 8  photos  Sp  27 

"You  Can  Tell  by  the  Teller"  by  Arthur  F.  Leet — 4  photos.  .Sp  39 

"The  'Transistor'  " Wi  240 

"Transmission  of  Pictures  Over  Telephone  Wires"  (In  "25  Yrs. 

Ago")    Su  124 

"Twenty-five    Years    Ago    in    the    Bell    Telephone    Quarterly, 

April  1924"    Sp  55 

"Twenty-five    Years    Ago    in    the    Bell    Telephone    Quarterly, 

July  1924"   Su  124 

"Twenty-five    Years    Ago    in    the    Bell    Telephone    Quarterly, 

October  1924"   Au  175 

"Twenty-five    Years    Ago    in    the    Bell    Telephone    Quarterly, 

January  1925"   Wi  238 

U 

U.  S.  Atomic  Energy  Commission: 

"Bell  Laboratories  and  Western  Electric  To  Operate  Sandia 

Laboratory  for  AEC"   Su  125 

"U.  S.  Now  Has  40,000,000  Telephones"  Au  136 

W 

"War-Time  Taxes  on  Communication  Services  in  1949" Au  149 

Watson,  Thomas  A.: 

"Robert  Devonshire's  Letterbook"  by  Ralph  E.  Mooney — 

10  photos  Su  110 

"We  Call  Them  Outdoor  Booths"  Wi  237 

Western  Electric  Company: 

"Bell  Laboratories  and  Western  Electric  to  Operate  Sandia 

Laboratory  for  AEC"   Su  125 

"Giving  New  Life  to  Old  Equipment"  by  Philip  H.  Miele 

— 1  map,  7  photos   Au  154 

"Purchasing  by  the  Western  Electric  Company"  by  George 

deMare — 6  photos  Sp  45 

"The  Winter's  Toll  Was  Heavy  From  Texas  to  the   Da- 

kotas"  by  Judson  S.  Bradley — 16  photos   Sp  66 

15 


DELL  TELEPHONE  MAGAZINE  INDEX,  VOLUME  XXVIII 

Issue       Page 
"Where    Do    We    Go    From    Here?"    by    Harry    Disston — 13 

photos     Sp  83 

Wilson,  Leroy  A.: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait    Sp  2 

Biographical  sketch — portrait   Au  130 

"A  Look  Around — And  Ahead"  Au  133 

"Moving  Ahead  on  Two  All-Important  Jobs" — 1  photo Sp  7 

"Television    Strides    Ahead    In    Seven-League    Boots"    by 

Harry  H.  Carter — 1  photo   Sp  9 

"The  Winter's  Toll  Was  Heavy  From  Texas  to  the  Dakotas" 

by  Judson  S.  Bradley — 16  photos   Sp  66 

Wrenshall,  Elizabeth: 

Biographical  sketch — portrait   Wi  179 

"This  Country  Leads  the  World  in  Telephones" — 3  photos, 

3  charts  Wi  206 

Y 
"You  Can  Tell  by  the  Teller"  by  Arthur  F.  Leet— 4  photos Sp  39 


16 


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MAGAZINE 


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Moving  Ahead  on  Two  All-Important  Jobs  •  Leroy  A.  Wilson 

Television  Strides  Ahead  in  Seven-League  Boots 
Harry  H.  Carter 

Looking  Ahead  with  the  Bell  System 

Merry  Christmas  in  the  Toll  Offices  •  Cyril  K.  Collins 

You  Can  Tell  by  the  Teller  •  Arthur  F.  Leet 

Purchasing  by  the  Western  Electric  Company  •  George  deMare 

San  Francisco's  Chinatown  "Goes  Dial"  •  Wheeler  F.  Schall 

The  Winter's  Toll  Was  Heavy  from  Texas  to  the  Dakotas 
JuDSON  S.  Bradley 

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mcan'Telephmc  Sr-O'ekm-aph  Ccrmpanv  'VewYoik. 


Bell  Tdd^ov[c}4am^ 


spring  1949 


Moving  Ahead  on  Two  All-Important  Jobs, 
Leroy  A.  Wilson,  5 

Television  Strides  Ahead  in  Seven-League  Boots, 
Harry  H.  Carter,  9 

Looking  Ahead  with  the  Bell  System,  20 

Merry  Christmas  in  the  Toll  Offices,  Cyril  K.  Collins,  27 

You  Can  Tell  by  the  Teller,  Arthur  F.  Leet,  39 

Purchasing  by  the  Western  Electric  Company, 
George  deMare,  45 

Index  Now  Available,  54 

25  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly,  55 

San  Francisco's  Chinatown  "Goes  Dial," 
Wheeler  F.  Schall,  57 

The  Winter's  Toll  Was  Heavy  from  Texas  to  the  Dakotas, 
Judson  S.  Bradley,  66 


A  Medium  of  Suggestion  ^  a  Record  of  Progress 

Published  J  or  the  supervisory  forces  of  the  Bell  System  by  the  Information  Department  of 
American  Telephoxe  and  Telegraph  Co.,  795  Broadway,  New  York  7,  N.  Y. 
Leroy  A.  Wilson,  President;  Carroll  O.  Bickelhaupt,  Sec;  Donald  R.  Belcher,  Treas. 


Who's  Who  &  What's  What 
in  This  Issue 


Leroy  A.  Wilson 

The  second  of  President  Leroy  A. 
Wilson's  notable  statements  to  stockhold- 
ers at  the  A.  T.  &  T.  annual  meeting  heads 
this  issue,  his  first  having  appeared  here 
just  a  year  ago,  not  long  after  his  election 
to  the  Company  presidency  on  February 
1 8,   1948.     That  election  climaxed  a  Bell 


System  career  which  had  begun  26  years 
before  with  the  Indiana  Bell  Telephone 
Company  when,  two  days  after  graduation 
from  Rose  Polytechnic  Institute  in  Terre 
Haute,  in  June  of  1922,  he  reported  for 
work  as  a  traffic  clerk  and  student  in  In- 
dianapolis. During  his  years  with  that 
company  he  had  direct  charge  of  the  tele- 
phone operating  forces  in  several  districts 
throughout  the  state  before  returning  to 
Indianapolis  as  district  traffic  superintend- 
ent in  1927. 

Mr.  Wilson  transferred  in  1929  to  the 
Department  of  Operation  and  Engineering 
of  the  A.  T.  &  T.  Company  in  New  York. 
His  first  work  there  was  in  the  Traffic  di- 
vision, but  he  also  gained  experience  in 
dial  equipment  engineering  and  in  related 
fields.  Ten  years  after  his  arrival  in  New 
York,  he  moved  from  the  Traffic  to  the 
Commercial  division  of  O.  &  E.,  where  he 
was  placed  in  charge  of  the  work  on  tele- 
phone directories.  The  following  year  he 
was   made   rate   engineer   in   the   same   di- 


Harry  H.  Carter 


Cyril  K.  Collins 


Arthur  F.  Leet 


Who's  Who  &  What's  What 


George  deMare 


Wheeler  F.  SchaU 


Judson  S.  Bradley 


vision,  and  in  19^2  he  was  appointed  to 
head  the  entire  Commercial  division. 

It  was  from  this  post  that  Mr.  Wilson 
was  promoted  to  an  A.  T.  &  T.  vice  presi- 
dency in  1944,  with  the  assignment  to  study 
the  revenue  requirements  of  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem ;  and  it  was  during  this  period  that  he 
contributed  "Reasonable  Earnings  to  In- 
sure the  Best  Service"  to  the  Magazine 
for  Autumn  1945. 

"Behind  today's  news  are  long  yester- 
days .  .  .  that  have  brought  television  to 
its  present  stage  .  .  ."  notes  Harry  H. 
Carter  at  the  beginning  of  his  article.  He 
knows  a  good  deal  about  those  yesterdays, 
because  his  term  as  General  Commercial 
Manager  of  A.  T.  &  T.'s  Long  Lines  De- 
partment covers  a  period  of  22  years.  That 
is  less  than  half  of  his  Bell  System  career, 
which  began  in  1903  with  the  New  Eng- 
land Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company 
in  Belfast,  Maine.  He  had  gained  experi- 
ence in  both  Plant  and  Traffic  work  by 
19 10,  when  he  was  transferred  to  the 
Commercial  Department ;  and  had  been 
successively  Division  Commercial  Superin- 
tendent, General  Sales  Manager,  and 
Metropolitan  Division  Manager  of  the 
New  England  Company  before  his  transfer 
in  1927  to  become  head  of  the  Long  Lines 
Commercial  Department  in  New  York. 


Few  toll  traffic  men  are  popular  with  their 
own  families  at  Christmas,  because  they 
spend  so  much  of  that  festive  day  where 
the  twinkling  lights  are  on  the  switchboards 
instead  of  on  Christmas  trees.  That  is  a 
requirement  of  the  job  which  they  accept 
not  too  unwillingly,  however,  because  they 
know  their  presence  in  the  traffic  rooms 
may  help  other  people's  Christmas  tele- 
phone calls  go  through  more  quickly.  As 
chairman  of  the  special  Bell  System  com- 
mittee to  study  the  Christmas  service  prob- 
lem, Cyril  K.  Collins  spent  a  good  part 
of  last  Christmas  Day  at  the  Long  Lines 
Department  in  New  York,  and  discusses 
the  problem  with  that — among  other  mat- 
ters— freshly  in  mind.  Joining  the  Bell 
System  in  1924,  Mr,  Collins  had  16  years 
of  Traffic  Department  experience  with  the 
New  York  Telephone  Company  and  the 
New  Jersey  Bell  Telephone  Company,  be- 
coming successively  District  Traffic  Super- 
intendent, Toll  Results  Supervisor,  and 
Traffic  Methods  Supervisor.  In  January 
of  1 94 1  he  was  transferred  to  the  Traffic 
division  of  the  Department  of  Operation 
and  Engineering  in  the  A.  T.  and  T.  Com- 
pany, where  he  headed  the  group  concerned 
with  force  adjustment,  peg  counts,  and  ex- 
pense analyses.  Two  years  later  he  was 
{Continued  on  page  $6) 


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//  <:«/^/^  p/ow  train  negotiates  a  steep  hill  on  the  Harrisburg-Pittsburgh  section  of  the 
Philadelphia-Cleveland  coaxial  cable  link  joining  the  Bell  System's  Eastern  and  Mid- 
Western  television  networks.     See  the  article  beginning  on  page  p 


In  His  Statement  at  the  Annual  Meeting  of  Stockholders 

Of  A.  T.  &f  T.,  the  Company  s  President  Points  Out  the 

Major  Problems  and  How  They  Are  Being  Met 


Moving  Ahead  on  Two 
All-Important  Jobs 

Leroy  A.  fVilson 


During  this  post-war  period,  the 
Bell  System  has  been  moving  at  full 
speed  and  with  utmost  energy  to  ac- 
complish two  all-important  jobs. 

The  first  was  to  provide  service  to 
all  who  were  waiting  for  telephones 
at  the  war's  end — to  meet  the  enor- 
mous new  post-war  demand — and  to 
get  the  quality  of  service  back  to  the 
high  pre-war  level. 

The  great  efforts  we  have  made 
have  brought  outstanding  results, 
though  we  fully  realize  that  there  is 
still  more  to  be  done.  We  have  in- 
stalled over  10,000,000  new  tele- 
phones since  the  end  of  the  war. 
While  there  is  still  a  waiting  list, 
those  who  are  waiting  have  for  the 
most  part  applied  for  service  in  re- 
cent months.  We  are  filling  the 
great  majority  of  all  new  applications 
promptly  and  are  continuing  our  ef- 
forts to  get  on  a  basis  where  we  can 
serve  every  new  customer  without  de- 
lay.    Over-all  service  quality,  as  was 


pointed  out  in  the  Annual  Report 
mailed  to  stockholders  in  February, 
is  rapidly  being  restored  to  pre-war 
excellence,  and  today  I  am  glad  to  be 
able  to  add  that  in  some  respects  the 
service  is  better  than  ever. 

Our  second  continuing  and  essen- 
tial post-war  job  has  been  to  bring 
about  a  proper  repricing  of  telephone 
service,  to  meet  the  steep  climb  in 
operating  costs  and  to  insure  the 
financial  good  health  of  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem in  the  face  of  the  general  infla- 
tion of  our  national  economy.  Here 
too  we  have  made  much  progress — 
and  also  have  much  more  to  do.  I 
should  like  to  review  this  phase  of 
our  efforts  briefly  with  you  at  this 
time,  and  think  you  may  be  inter- 
ested first  in  some  of  the  facts  about 
our  increases  in  costs. 

To  ATTRACT  and  keep  in  the  busi- 
ness the  kind  and  number  of  people 
needed  to  meet  our  post-war  service 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


obligations  to  the  public,  wages  have 
been  greatly  increased.  Further  up- 
ward adjustments  in  wages  made  in 
the  latter  part  of  1948  and  early  this 
year  have  increased  expenses  by  more 
than  $100,000,000  annually.  The 
total  effect  of  the  three  rounds  of 
wage  increases  in  the  Bell  System 
Companies  since  the  end  of  the  war 
has  been  to  increase  expenses  of  the 
System  by  over  $380,000,000  a  year. 
In  addition  to  wages,  the  System 
in  1948  expended  approximately 
$175,000,000  for  sickness,  accident, 
and  death  benefits  to  employees  or 
their  dependents;  for  disability  pen- 
sions; for  payments  into  Pension 
Trust  Funds;  and  for  Social  Security 
old-age  benefit  purposes.  The  Bell 
System  has  been  a  pioneer  in  this  field 
since  19 13,  when  our  Benefit  Plan 
was  established,  and  is  in  the  fore- 
front of  industry  generally  with  re- 
spect to  pensions  and  other  employee 
benefits. 

Higher  wages  to  the  much  larger 
number  of  employees  needed  to  care 
for  the  increased  volume  of  business 
are  not  the  only  reason  for  the  higher 
over-all  cost  of  operations  today. 
The  System  has  been  obligated  to  ex- 
pand to  meet  the  heaviest  new  de- 
mand for  service  in  history,  at  a  time 
when  the  prices  of  practically  all  ma- 
terials, as  well  as  the  cost  of  labor, 
have  risen  sharply.  The  increase  in 
revenues  from  the  greatly  increased 
volume  of  business  does  not  offset 
the  increase  in  expenses.  On  the  con- 
trary, while  revenues  have  about  dou- 
bled since  the  last  pre-war  year,  ex- 
penses are  now  two  and  a  half  times 
what  they  were. 

Telephone  companies  are  different 
from  most  other  businesses  with  re- 


spect to  the  expansion  of  their  serv- 
ices. The  average  business  can  de- 
cide for  itself  whether  to  expand,  and 
when,  and  how  much.  We,  however, 
render  a  public  service,  and  in  each 
community  where  we  operate  every 
person  who  wants  telephone  service 
depends  on  us.  He  cannot  get  what 
he  wants  from  someone  else.  It  is 
our  obligation,  therefore,  as  well  as 
our  wish,  to  do  everything  we  rea- 
sonably can  to  meet  the  public's 
needs.  That  is  our  job,  and  the  Bell 
System  is  proud  of  its  accomplish- 
ment since  the  war  in  handling  the 
unprecedented  demand  for  service. 

Although  expansion  has  already 
been  tremendous,  still  more  is  re- 
quired to  meet  the  continuing  de- 
mand. So  far,  as  I  have  said,  the 
System  has  added  some  10,000,000 
telephones,  including  1,100,000  rural 
telephones,  which  we  are  continuing 
to  install  at  the  fastest  pace  in  his- 
tory. We  have  also  greatly  in- 
creased long  distance  facilities.  In 
order  to  do  all  this,  the  System  has 
increased  Its  capital  from  slightly 
more  than  four  billion  dollars  at  the 
end  of  the  war,  when  we  were  serv- 
ing some  22,000,000  telephones,  to 
nearly  seven  billion  dollars  today, 
when  there  are  32,000,000  tele- 
phones in  service.  While  the  num- 
ber of  telephones  has  gone  up  some- 
what less  than  one  half,  the  capital 
required  by  the  System  has  gone  up 
nearly  75  percent.  The  average  new 
telephone  requires  much  more  capital 
than  did  the  old,  reflecting  the  higher 
costs  of  materials  and  labor  in  the 
post-war  years. 

Prices  for  telephone  service  are 
subject  to  public  regulation.  In  most 
industries,   companies   change   prices 


1949 


Moving  Ahead  on  Two  All-Important  Jobs 


themselves,  in  accordance  with  chang- 
ing conditions  of  supply  and  demand, 
fluctuations  in  operating  costs,  com- 
petitive factors,  and  so  on.  In  the 
telephone  business,  however,  when 
price  increases  become  necessary  we 
must  apply  to  the  proper  regulatory 
authorities  for  permission  to  put 
them  into  effect.  In  most  instances, 
the  hearings  which  are  held  have 
been  rather  lengthy.  As  a  result,  al- 
most without  exception,  rate  increases 
to  date  have  been  authorized  well 
after  the  time  when  they  became 
needed.  It  is  of  the  greatest  impor- 
tance to  the  future  of  telephone  serv- 
ice that  the  moderate  increases  in 
rates  which  are  necessary  be  granted 
by  the  regulatory  authorities  as 
promptly  as  possible. 

Since  1946,  when  the  first  requests 
for  higher  rates  were  made  by  the 
Bell  System  Companies,  increases  to- 
talling $218,000,000  annually  have 
been  authorized  or  made  effective. 
You  will  note  that  this  is  a  great  deal 
less  than  the  increase  in  expense  of 
over  $380,000,000  a  year  resulting 
from  post-war  wage  increases  alone. 
The  Companies  have  applications 
pending  for  additional  increases  in 
rates  amounting  to  about  $230,000,- 
000  annually,  and  other  applications 
will  be  made.  This  is  necessary  be- 
cause we  must  not  only  meet  the  in- 
creased costs  of  labor  and  materials 
and  the  depreciation  charges  on  the 
higher  investment,  but  must  also  pay 
to  investors  a  reasonable  return  on 
the  almost  doubled  amount  of  capi- 
tal needed  to  provide  service. 

Public  regulation  of  the  tele- 
phone business  and  public  utilities 
was  very  properly  initiated  many 
years  ago  to  insure  that  the  com- 
panies would  give  good  service  and 


President  Leroy  A.  Wilson  discusses  a 
point  with  a  stockholder  at  the  close  of  the 
annual  meeting.  In  the  background  is 
Carroll  0.  Bickelhaupt,  Vice  President 
and  Secretary 

that  their  rates  and  earnings  would 
not  be  unreasonable.  It  was  clear 
that  the  companies  should  not  be  per- 
mitted to  take  advantage  of  the 
users  of  the  service.  It  was  also 
clear  that  guarding  against  overpric- 
ing and  excessive  earnings  was  not 
the  only  responsibility  resting  on 
those  who  regulate  public  service 
companies.  They  likewise  have  the 
responsibility  to  see  that  the  com- 
panies do  not  lose  their  ability, 
through  loss  of  credit  or  for  any 
other  reason,  to  provide  the  service 
the  public  wants;  and  along  with  this 
they  have  a  responsibility  to  see  that 
the  savings  which  people  invest  in  the 
companies,  in  order  that  the  public 
may  be  served,  are  fully  safeguarded. 
Over  the  years,  regulatory  bodies 
have  recognized  that  earnings  must 


8 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


be  adequate  to  attract  and  protect  the 
savings  of  investors,  and  it  is  impera- 
tive in  the  interest  of  good  telephone 
service  that  they  continue  to  do  so. 
In  this  post-war  period,  while  in- 
creases in  Bell  System  telephone  rates 
have  varied  for  different  classes  of 
service  in  different  places,  the  amount 
of  increases  already  granted,  plus  the 
total  amount  for  which  applications 
are  now  pending,  comes  to  less  than 
20  percent  of  revenues.  Additional 
applications  for  increases  will  be  nec- 
essary in  the  future;  but,  assuming 
no  further  rise  In  costs,  we  are  hope- 
ful that  these  can  be  held  to  a  mini- 
mum, and  that  in  the  long  run  the 
over-all  Increase  In  telephone  rates  In 
this  post-war  period  will  amount  on 
the  average  to  only  a  penny  or  so 
per  call. 

This  is  of  course  far  less  than  the 
Increases  generally  in  the  cost  of  liv- 
ing since  pre-war  years.  It  is  far  less 
than  the  rise  in  telephone  wage  rates, 
which  have  more  than  doubled.  It 
is  far  less,  too,  than  the  Increase  in 
the  cost  of  raw  materials  widely  used 
in  telephone  equipment;  copper  and 
lead,  for  example,  have  about  dou- 
bled and  tripled  in  price,  respectively. 
Comparing  such  increases  In  costs 
with  the  over-alh  Increase  In  tele- 
phone rates  granted  and  asked  for,  it 
is  evident  that  a  great  deal  has  been 
accomplished  through  telephone  sci- 
ence and  the  improvement  of  operat- 
ing methods,  to  the  advantage  of  em- 
ployees, customers,  and  stockholders. 

Further  evidences  of  progress  are 
to  be  found  in  the  new  and  improved 
services  which  are  even  now  fore- 
shadowing the  telephone  art  of  to- 
morrow. The  plans  of  past  year^ 
are  being  transformed  into  the  reali- 


ties of  today — more  dial  service, 
faster  and  more  accurate  handling  of 
long  distance  calls  dialed  straight 
through  to  the  distant  telephone  by 
the  operator,  more  service  to  auto- 
mobiles and  other  vehicles,  more 
rural  telephone  service,  television 
transmission  over  coaxial  cables  and 
radio  relay,  direct  dialing  by  tele- 
phone users  of  more  out-of-town  calls 
over  short  distances,  and  so  on. 

This  outlook  again  brings  out  the 
great  value  of  keeping  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem In  a  prosperous  condition  to 
move  ahead.  A  Bell  System  ready 
and  able  to  Invest  largely  in  the  bet- 
terment of  essential  services  is  im- 
portant to  the  prosperity  of  the  na- 
tion. An  active  construction  pro- 
gram on  sound  and  useful  projects, 
and  an  accompanying  high  level  of 
telephone  employment,  are  in  them- 
selves desirable.  Most  important  of 
all,  they  lead  to  the  creation  of  fa- 
cilities and  services  which  the  coun- 
try can  use  to  Its  Increasing  economic 
advantage. 

We  are  sure  that,  given  the  in- 
creases in  rates  which  are  a  "must" 
to  assure  future  progress,  the  Bell 
System  will  be  able  to  provide  more 
valuable  service  to  the  millions  of 
telephone  users  and  greater  oppor- 
tunity for  the  employees  who  serve 
them.  We  shall  continue  every  effort 
to  accomplish  the  moderate  and  fair 
repricing  that  the  good  of  the  service 
requires;  and  we  shall  do  this  with 
full  confidence  that  wise  regulation, 
in  the  future  as  in  the  past,  will 
permit  earnings  that  will  provide  a 
steady  and  fair  return  to  all  who  in- 
vest their  savings  in  this  business. 


Beli  System   Facilities   Link    Cities  from    the    Atlanfic  to 

The  Mississippi  in  a  Network  for  the  Transmission  of  Video 

Programs  by  Cable  and  Radio 


Tele^ision  Strides  Ahead 
In  Se\^en-Lea2:ue  Boots 


Harry  H.  Carter 


A   NEW    COMMUNCATIONS    WORLD    IS 

coming  into  being.  In  the  present 
state  of  television,  nothing  is  static; 
today's  achievement  is  tomorrow's 
commonplace.  A  fascinating  vital- 
ity, a  headlong  progress,  is  the  dis- 
tinguishing feature  of  this  latest  field 
to  engage  the  energies  and  resources 
of  the  Bell  System. 

Television  has  occupied  so  many 
headlines  in  the  past  year  that  it 
would  be  easy  to  assume  all  these  ad- 
vances just  happened,  and  quite  re- 
cently at  that.  But,  as  those  wise  in 
the  ways  of  scientific  and  commercial 
development  know,  such  is  not  the 
case.  Behind  today's  news  are  long 
yesterdays  of  effort  on  the  part  of  the 
individuals  and  organizations  that 
have  brought  television  to  its  present 
stage  and  labor  to  push  it  forward 
into  a  finer  tomorrow. 

The  Bell  System's  connection  with 
television  comes  about  in  a  manner 
almost    classic     in    the     history     of 


the  telephone  company's  relationship 
with  a  new  field  of  communication. 
Television  is  communication,  of 
course.  And  communication  is  the 
business  of  the  Bell  System.  Q.  E.  D. 
Since  the  birth  of  the  telephone 
some  seventy-five  years  ago,  each  new 
service  has  been  an  outgrowth  of  its 
predecessor.  Local  telephoning  .  .  . 
long  distance  .  .  .  then  radioteleph- 
ony  to  cities  beyond  the  sea.  .  .  . 
Lately  we  have  extended  telephoning 
to  mobile  vehicles,  trains,  and  planes. 
For  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century 
a  giant  network  of  specal  telephone 
wires  has  sped  programs  between 
radio  stations.  Recently,  new  values 
have  been  introduced  into  our  net- 
works— this  time  their  ability  to 
carry  television  programs  both  lo- 
cally and  from  city  to  city.  Striding 
forward  in  the  fresh  field  of  video, 
the  Bell  System  nonetheless  remains 
within  its  familiar  basic  field:  com- 
munication. 


lO 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


President  Leroy  A.  Wilson  of  the  A.  T.  and  T.  Company 

was  televised  last  January  ii  during  the  program  on  the 

occasion  of  the  linking  of  the  Bell  System's  two  major 

television  networks 


Early  this  year,  when  we  joined 
our  Eastern  and  Midwestern  tele- 
vision networks,  programs  could  then 
flash  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi. An  area  where  one-fourth 
of  the  nation  lives  had  been  brought 
within  range  of  the  Bell  System's 
inter-city  channels.  In  the  opinion 
of  the  industry,  this  was  a  tremen- 
dous milestone,  and  a  portent  of 
larger  television  networks  in  the  fu- 
ture. 

At  the  premiere  marking  the  occa- 
sion, many  a  telephone  man  fell  to 
thinking  back  over  the  years  to  the 
research  and  commercial  develop- 
ment which  preceded  this  important 
event.  On  April  7,  1927,  to  begin 
with,  the  Bell  Telephone  Laborator- 


ies first  demonstrated 
city-to-city  television 
transmission  by  both 
wire  and  radio.  From 
Washington  by  wire  cir- 
cuit, and  from  Whip- 
pany,  N.  J.,  by  radio 
facilities,  television  pic- 
tures of  Herbert 
Hoover,  then  Secretary 
of  Commerce,  and  of 
an  entertainment  pro- 
gram were  seen  in  the 
Laboratories  headquar- 
ters in  New  York  by 
Walter  S.  Gifford,  then 
President  of  the  A.  T. 
&  T.  Company,  and  a 
group  of  scientists  and 
journalists. 

Although  television 
transmission  remained 
in  the  laboratory  stage 
until  the  present  decade, 
additional  achievements 
were  announced  periodi- 
cally— some  so  special- 
ized as  to  be  significant  only  to  scien- 
tists, but  others  whose  importance 
was  evident  even  to  the  average  in- 
terested person.  Examples  of  these 
developments  appear  in  the  box  on 
page  12. 

As  those  listings  indicate,  the  late 
1930s  hinted  strongly  that  the  era 
of  commercial  usage  was  not  far  off. 
Today's  television  networks  grew 
from  a  94^-mile  coaxial  cable  in- 
stalled in  the  Fall  of  1936  between 
New  York  and  Philadelphia.  In  the 
next  few  years,  many  important  ad- 
vances in  inter-city  television  trans- 
mission were  first  worked  out  over 
this  cable.  However,  during  World 
War  II,  Bell  System  television  devel- 
opment was  halted  and  the  coaxial 


1949 


Television  Strides  Ahead 


II 


cable  was  returned  to 
general  telephone  com- 
munication service. 

Out  of  the  Laborat07-y 

With  the  war  over, 
the  television  industry 
expanded  rapidly  and 
our  activities  were  re- 
sumed. Since  then,  each 
year  has  been  marked 
by  an  accelerated  pro- 
gram as  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem has  made  intensive 
efforts  to  solve  the  diffi- 
cult problems  involved 
in  placing  an  extensive 
network  service  at  the 
disposal  of  television 
broadcasters. 

Step  One  in  this  lat- 
est phase  took  place  on 
February  12,  1946, 
when  network  television 
transmission  between 
Washington  and  New 
York  was  inaugurated  over  Bell  Sys- 
tem coaxial  cable  facilities  on  an  ex- 
perimental basis,  such  service  permit- 
ting trial  use  by  the  broadcasters  with- 
out charge.  Services  at  the  Lincoln 
Memorial  were  televised  and  trans- 
mitted to  broadcasting  stations  in 
New  York  of  the  National  Broad- 
casting Company,  the  Allen  B.  Du- 
Mont  Laboratories,  and  the  Colum- 
bia Broadcasting  System. 

As  the  months  passed,  our  service 
was  increasingly  used — particularly 
for  programs  originating  in  New 
York  and  transmitted  to  Philadel- 
phia and  Washington — and  in  Oc- 
tober, 1946,  Baltimore  was  joined  to 
this  network. 

So  far,  coaxial  cable  had  been  the 


Herbert  Hoover^  then  Secretary  of  Commerce.^  appeared 
in  Washington  during  the  first  public  demonstration  of 
television  given  by  the  Bell  Telephone  Laboratories  on 
April  7,  79^7.     His  face  was  clearly  seen  in  New  York 


type  of  carrier  relied  upon  for  such 
television  transmission,  but  now  the 
Bell  System  added  a  second  string  to 
its  bow:  radio  relay.  Using  this 
system,  which  beams  the  signal 
through  the  air  from  tower  to  tower. 
Bell  System  engineers  extended  the 
New  York-Washington  network  to 
Boston  in  November,  1947.  A  few 
months  later,  Richmond  was  con- 
nected to  the  network  by  means  of  a 
coaxial  cable  channel  from  Washing- 
ton. And  so  the  situation  remained 
until  May  i,  1948,  when  free  experi- 
mental service  was  discontinued  and 
Bell  System  television  network  trans- 
mission was  placed  on  a  commercial 
basis. 

Charges    for    inter-city    television 


12 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


Some  Bell  System  Highlights  in  Television 
Research    and    Network   Development 


April  7,  1927  Inter-city  television 
transmission  first  demonstrated  to  the 
public  by  the  Bell  Telephone  Labora- 
tories. From  Washington  by  wire 
circuit  and  from  Whippany,  N.  J., 
by  radio  facilities,  television  pictures 
of  Herbert  Hoover,  then  Secretary  of 
Commerce,  and  of  an  entertainment 
program  were  seen  in  the  Laborator- 
ies in  New  York  by  Walter  S.  Gif- 
ford,  then  president  of  the  A.  T.  and 
T.  Company,  and  a  group  of  journal- 
ists and  scientists. 

April  16,  1927  Both  image  and  sound 
(video  and  audio)  were  sent  on  the 
same  frequency  band  by  a  single  radio 
transmitter  from  Whippany  to  the 
Bell  Laboratories  in  New  York. 

May  23,  1929  Original  Espenschied- 
Affel  patent  application  for  coaxial 
cable  was  filed.  The  application 
specified  the  cable  was  to  be  used  as 
a  wide  band  (wide  frequency  range) 
long  distance  transmitting  medium — 
both  for  telephone  and  for  television 
transmission. 

June  27,  1929  Color  television  first 
demonstrated  at  the  Bell  Telephone 
Laboratories  in  New  York. 

April  9,  1930  Two-way  television  in 
connection  with  telephone  demon- 
strated publicly  between  the  A.  T.  and 
T.  Company  Headquarters  building 
and  the  Bell  Telephone  Laboratories 
in  New  York.  Persons  in  booths  at 
the  two  ends  of  the  two-mile  "line" 


were  able  to  both  see  and  talk  with 
each  other.  The  demonstration  for 
public  and  press  was  continued  for 
more  than  a  year. 

October  5,  1936  First  coaxial  cable  in- 
stalled between  New  York  and  Phila- 
delphia, available  for  tests  for  multi- 
channel telephone  use. 

November  9,  1937  Television  trans- 
mitted over  coaxial  cable  from  New 
York  to  Philadelphia.  The  television 
image  contained  only  240  lines,  as  op- 
posed to  the  525-line  image  of  today. 

May  21,  1940  Television  images  of 
441  lines  and  using  a  frequency  band 
of  about  2,700,000  cycles  transmitted 
over  coaxial  cable  from  New  York  to 
Philadelphia  and  back  to  New  York, 
a  distance  of  nearly  200  miles.  This 
demonstration  was  repeated  before 
audiences  of  scientists  and  engineers 
twice  within  a  year. 

June  24,  1940  Republican  National 
Convention  televised  in  Philadelphia, 
and  transmitted  to  the  National 
Broadcasting  Company's  studio  in 
New  York  for  local  television  broad- 
casts. 

May  21,  1 94 1  Television  images  trans- 
mitted 800  miles  by  connecting  the 
ends  of  coaxial  tubes  in  a  cable  be- 
tween Stevens  Point,  Wis.,  and 
Minneapolis,  so  that  the  images  were 
sent  uninterruptedly  back  and  forth 
in  the  cable. 


1949 


Television  Strides  Ahead 


13 


service  follow  somewhat  the  same 
scheme  as  do  those  for  radio  broad- 
casting network  service.  The  rates 
for  either  monthly  or  occasional  serv- 
ice are  based  on  the  air-line  mileage 
of  the  inter-city  and  local  channels 
involved,  plus  charges  for  station 
connections.  In  addition,  the  rates 
for  the  audio  channels  needed  in  con- 
nection with  television  are  those  usual 
for  such  service. 

The  Big  Night 

Thus  far,  our  channels  had  paral- 
leled the  Atlantic,  but  on  September 
20  of  last  year  a  new  region  was 
brought  within  the  scope  of  inter-city 
television  service  as  the  Bell  System 


linked  together  seven  major  Mid- 
western cities :  Buffalo,  Cleveland, 
Toledo,  Detroit,  Milwaukee,  Chi- 
cago and  St.  Louis.  Finally  came 
television's  biggest  night  to  date  : 
January  11,  1949.  Then  it  was  we 
connected  our  two  networks,  and 
Americans  in  fourteen  metropolitan 
centers  were  given  an  opportunity  to 
view  the  same  program  simultane- 
ously as  it  traveled  over  a  Bell  System 
network  extending  2,100  miles. 

The  Bell  System  and  the  four 
great  television  broadcasting  systems 
jointly  presented  a  90-minute  pro- 
gram to  signalize  what  Leroy  A. 
Wilson,  President  of  the  A.  T.  &  T. 
Company,    described    as    a    "fine    ex- 


The  final  splice  is  made  in  the  coaxial  cable  between  Pittsburgh  and  Cleveland  which 
united  the  Eastern  and  Mid-Western  television  networks 


14 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


A  radio   relay   station  of  the  type   now 

being  built  to  transmit  telephone  calls  and 

television  programs 

ample  of  effective  teamwork"  be- 
tween Bell  System  people  and  those 
in  the  television  industry.  This  pro- 
gram, broadcast  by  more  than  thirty 
stations,  featured  notables  speaking 
from  New  York,  Washington,  and 
Chicago;  a  new  Long  Lines  Depart- 
ment film,  "Stepping  Along  With 
Television";  and  entertainment  pro- 
vided by  the  four  networks.  On  this 
occasion  Mr.  Wilson  tied  the  Bell 
System's  work  in  television  to  its 
basic  responsibility,  telephony,  by 
saying  "The  development  of  better 
long  distance  service  has  resulted  in 
facilities  which  can  carry  television 
programs,  and  therefore  enable  us  to 
help  serve  the  public  in  this  field." 


From  Washington,  Wayne  Coy, 
Chairman  of  the  Federal  Communi- 
cations Commission,  compared  the 
joining  of  the  two  regions  by  tele- 
vision to  "those  waves  of  progress 
[which]  took  the  form  of  the  over- 
land trails  and  national  roads  with 
their  covered  wagons,  the  canals,  the 
railroads,  the  telegraph,  the  tele- 
phone, the  airplane. 

"In  the  twenties  it  was  the  radio 
networks. 

"Tonight  it  is  an  electronic  tele- 
vision highway  from  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  to  the  Mississippi  River." 

After  touching  on  the  years  of  re- 
search represented  and  the  size  of  the 
network,  Mr.  Coy  continued,  "To- 
night's linking  of  the  East  with  the 
Midwest  instantly  opens  up  a  vast 
new  area  of  program  resources  for 
the  television  set-owners  in  each  sec- 
tion— programs  in  the  fields  of  edu- 
cation, the  arts  and  sciences,  news 
and  entertainment — programs  that 
can  deepen  our  understanding  of  de- 
mocracy. 

"Triumphant  as  this  occasion  is, 
we  know  that  it  is  only  one  more  for- 
ward step  in  television's  march  of 
progress.  This  progress  will  go  on 
and  on  until  .  .  .  eventually,  na- 
tional television  network  service  is 
brought  to  every  part  of  our  coun- 
try.  .   .   ." 

The  presidents  of  the  four  net- 
works then  appeared  on  the  opening 
program  to  discuss  various  aspects  of 
the  television  industry.  They  were : 
Allen  B.  DuMont,  head  of  the  Du- 
Mont  Laboratories;  Niles  Tram- 
mell,  of  NBC;  Frank  Stanton, 
CBS;  and  Mark  Woods,  ABC.  In 
addition,  Vincent  Impellitteri,  presi- 
dent of  the  City  Council  of  New 
York   (representing  Mayor  William 


1949 


Television  Strides  Ahead 


15 


O'Dwyer,  who  was  unable  to  be 
present),  and  Mayor  Martin  Ken- 
nelly  of  Chicago  spoke  from  their 
home  cities. 

The  event  attracted  wide  attention 
in  the  trade  and  general  press.  The 
New  York  Times  commented  edi- 
torially on  the  extension  of  the  net- 
work: "Its  importance  as  a  technical 
triumph,  of  which  both  the  television 
broadcasters  and  the  American  Tele- 
phone and  Telegraph  Company  may 
be  justly  proud,  was  self-evident  to 
those  in  New  York  who  watched 
Mayor  Martin  Kennelly  as  he  spoke 
in  Chicago,  some  700  air  miles 
away." 

The  following  day,  regular  com- 
mercial service  was  available  to  tele- 
vision broadcasters,  and  from  Wash- 
ington the  next  week  all  stations  on 
the  enlarged  Bell  System  network 
broadcast  the  Inauguration. 

Behind  the  Scenes 

The  performance  challenged  the 
skill  of  every  telephone  man  involved, 
and  one  broadcasting  company  presi- 
dent termed  the  Bell  System  part  in 
the  premiere  "a  splendid  job." 

The  television  industry  is  so  eager 
to  bring  network  programs  to  a 
larger  public  that  the  Bell  System  is 
expanding  its  facilities  as  early  as 
possible,  and  under  such  circum- 
stances our  technicians  must  often 
work  with  somewhat  limited  equip- 
ment and  under  less  than  ideal  con- 
ditions. The  present  television  situ- 
ation reminds  old  radio  broadcasting 
hands  of  conditions  when  their  field 
was  very  new.  On  the  opening 
night,  for  example,  technicians  oper- 
ated the  television  network  in  tem- 
porary control  rooms  in  all  but  two 
of  the  cities. 


Preparations  for  the  opening  had 
been  going  on  for  more  than  two 
months,  as  the  link  between  the  two 
networks — the  newly-introduced  co- 
axial cable  between  Philadelphia  and 
Cleveland — was  lined  up  and  tested. 
Such  testing,  which  involves  many 
changes  and  adjustments,  continued 
until  the  initial  program  was  to  go  on 
the  air. 

And  there  were  of  course  those 
standard  hectic  moments  which  cause 
people  in  show  business  to  look  upon 
a  bad  dress  rehearsal  as  essential  to 
a  good  performance.  On  the  night 
before  the  premiere,  for  example,  a 
pilot  elimination  filter  failed  in  a  re- 
ceiving terminal  at  New  York.  Al- 
though a  new  one  was  rushed  in  from 
Western  Electric,  there  still  was  a 
joker :  such  filters  take  hours  to  warm 
up  to  the  temperature  at  which  they 
will  operate  without  playing  hob  with 
pictures  on  the  television  receiving 
sets. 

P.S.  That  trouble  was  ultimately 
licked — and  the  picture  d'td  get 
through. 

Coaxial  and  Radio  Relay 

As  SUGGESTED  previously,  there  are 
two  types  of  facilities  in  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem television  networks — coaxial 
cable  *  and  radio  relay. 

Coaxial  cables,  which  are  some- 
what larger  in  diameter  than  a  silver 
dollar,  usually  contain  eight  copper 
tubes  each  about  the  size  of  a  foun- 
tain pen.  Through  the  center  of 
each  tube  runs  a  copper  wire,  the  size 
of  a  pencil  lead,  which  is  held  in  place 
by  insulating  discs.  Since  the  tube 
and  inner  wire  have  a  common  axis, 
they  are  co-axial — which  accounts  for 
the  name  given  both  the  cable  and  its 

*  See  page  23. 


i6 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


tubes.  To  prevent  either  telephone 
or  television  transmission  from  fad- 
ing out  over  long  distances,  amplify- 
ing stations  are  placed  every  eight 
miles  along  the  cable  route. 

Properly  equipped,  each  of  these 
tubes  carries  high  frequency  signals 
used  to  transmit  hundreds  of  tele- 
phone conversations  or,  when  addi- 
tional equipment  is  installed,  a  single 
television  program.  (As  each  co- 
axial tube  only  transmits  in  one  di- 
rection, two  tubes  are  needed  for  a 
telephone  conversation.)  Coaxial 
cable  is  usually  buried  under  ground; 
and  its  installation  is  not  only  an  ex- 
acting job  but  it  makes  an  exciting 
scene,  for  the  construction  crews  with 
their  mighty  plows  must  conquer 
timberland,  rivers,  boulders,  and 
mountain  ranges. 

Radio  relay,  the  second  medium, 
is  a  means  of  communication  in  which 
radio  signals  are  beamed  across  the 
country  from  tower  to  tower.  Dif- 
fering from  ordinary  radio,  it  uses 
super-high  frequencies  called  micro- 
waves, which  are  about  the  length  of 
a  cigarette.  In  this  system,  the  sig- 
nal beam  can  be  focussed  like  a 
searchlight  and  a  clear  line  of  sight 
must  exist  between  the  relay  build- 
ings, which  have  directional  antennas 
and  are  situated  about  twenty-five 
miles  apart. 

Along  these  routes  and  in  the  tele- 
vision terminals  of  cities  on  the  Bell 
System  networks  are  large  amounts 
of  complex  equipment.  In  the  net- 
work now  in  operation,  for  example, 
770  amplifiers  maintain  the  signal 
energy  as  it  travels  from  city  to  city 
and  some  340  additional  amplifying 
devices  in  the  terminals  in  key  tele- 
phone buildings  are  necessary  to  put 


the  broadcasters'  programs  on  the 
channels. 

Checking  and  More  Checking 

In  addition  to  those  telephone  men 
who  were  trained  in  handling  local 
phases  of  the  program,  several  hun- 
dred Long  Lines  and  Associated 
Company  craftsmen  were  trained 
during  1948  in  the  operation  of  the 
inter-city  television  circuits. 

Every  day,  in  the  control  rooms 
along  the  routes,  the  technicians  who 
maintain  and  operate  the  television 
networks  line  up  and  adjust  the  fa- 
cilities before  broadcasts  are  sched- 
uled to  begin.  Shortly  before  a  show 
is  to  start,  test  pictures  and  patterns 
are  also  sent  out  to  stations  about  to 
receive  a  particular  program,  such 
pre-broadcast  tests  being  made  to 
check  the  fidelity  of  the  transmission 
signal.  In  addition,  during  the  ac- 
tual broadcast  Long  Lines  and  Asso- 
ciated Company  technicians  observe 
the  picture  and  sound  quality  on  moni- 
toring equipment. 

Above  all,  these  technicians  must 
meet  that  conspicuous  test  of  good 
workmanship :  the  switch.  This  is  a 
swift  re-arrangement  of  network 
channels.  Guided  by  the  broadcast- 
ers' schedules,  the  technicians  must 
be  prepared  to  add  or  cut  stations 
from  the  networks  as  well  as  to  shift 
to  whatever  station  is  to  originate  a 
program.  In  addition,  these  pre- 
cisionists  must  test  the  performance, 
coordinate,  and  switch  the  accom- 
panying sound  channels,  which  are 
routed  over  separate  circuits. 

Finally,  they  give  routine  perform- 
ance tests  to  the  hundreds  of  ampli- 
fying devices  in  the  television  termi- 
nals  and   in   the   stations   along   the 


1949 


Television  Strides  Ahead 


17 


coaxial  cable,  to  make  sure  they  are 

in  proper  operating  condition.  And 
the  radio  relay  equipment  must  also 
undergo  similar  inspection  and  ad- 
justment. 

How  much  television  broadcasters 
use  these  inter-city  facilities  is  illus- 
trated by  program  transmission  on  a 
typical  recent  day.  Broadcasters  used 
our  television  channels  between  New 
York  and  Washington  on  an  average 
of  30  hours  per  day,  which  is  more 
than  seven  times  as  much  as  when 
service  was  first  put  on  a  commercial 
basis  in  May  a  year  ago.  Between 
New  York  and  Chicago,  such  usage 
averages  about  25  hours  per  day — 
more  than  four  times  that  when  serv- 
ice on  this  route  was  opened  last 
Januai;y. 

A  Gro'wi?ig  Service 

Growth  is  the  very  theme  of  televi- 
sion today.  Plans  for  increasing  our 
facilities  depend,  of  course,  on  the  de- 


velopment and  needs  of  the  television 
industry.  A  highly  fluid  situation, 
it  is  consequently  under  constant  re- 
view by  the  interested  parties.  The 
Bell  System  position  was  stated  by 
Mr.  Wilson  when,  in  announcing 
the  inaugural  program  marking  the 
linking  of  our  networks  last  Jan- 
uary, he  referred  to  our  intention 
of  providing  those  inter-city  facilities 
"which  will  make  it  possible  for  the 
television  industry  to  bring  programs 
to  a  constantly  expanding  audience." 
To  implement  this  position,  our 
plans  call  for  more  television  channels 
along  the  existing  main  routes  of  the 
Bell  System  television  networks  and 
extensions  as  well  from  the  present 
network  to  additional  cities.  Under 
the  1949  program,  for  example,  more 
cities  in  New  England,  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  and  the  Midwest,  and 
on  the  West  Coast  will  be  provided 
with  service.  Extensions  to  still  more 
points    are    planned    for    1950    and 


The  control  room  of  a  television  transmitting  station 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


A  Bell  System  technician  checks  the  quality  of  television 

image  and  sound  on  monitoring  equipment  at  a  control 

center  along  one  of  the  television  networks 


later.  More  than  that, 
not  only  has  the  Long 
Lines  recently  doubled 
the  number  of  channels 
on  Its  main  trunk  route 
between  Philadelphia 
and  Chicago  but  it  put 
these  channels  into  serv- 
ice ahead  of  the  date 
originally  set. 

Such  a  revision  in 
schedule  was  no  light 
change  to  undertake,  as 
it  raised  a  whole  series 
of  problems  in  plan- 
ning, timing,  technique, 
supply,  construction, 
and  manpower.  It  is, 
however,  excellent  evi- 
dence of  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem's response  to  the 
requirements  of  the  tele- 


vision industry  as  well 
as  a  splendid  example 
of  coordination  on  the 
part  of  its  various  com- 
ponents— the  Bell  Lab- 
oratories, the  Western 
Electric  Company,  the 
Associated  Companies, 
and  the  Long  Lines  De- 
partment. 

On  the  West  Coast, 
a  radio  relay  circuit  is 
being  built  this  year  be- 
tween Los  Angeles  and 
San  Francisco,  which 
will  form  the  basis  for 
network  service  in  that 
area.  And  all  during 
1949,  work  is  going  for- 
ward on  the  Important 
radio-relay  project 
which  will  provide  more 


Some  of  the  terminal  equipment  of  the  Bell  System^ s  long 

distance  micro-wave  radio  relay  system  in  the  Long  Lines 

building  in  New  York 


1949 


Television  Strides  Ahead 


19 


television  and  long  distance  telephone 
service  between  New  York  ajid  Chi- 
cago, and  beyond  to  Des  Moines  next 
year.  In  1950,  television  service 
from  Des  Moines  will  be  extended  to 
Minneapolis  and  St.  Paul  by  coaxial 
cable. 

Improved  equipment,  which  in- 
cludes a  new  vacuum  tube  developed 
by  the  Bell  Telephone  Laboratories, 
will  mark  this  new  radio  relay  system, 
making  it  an  advance  over  the  facili- 
ties between  New  York  and  Boston 
introduced  in  November,  1947.  To 
speed  the  project,  the  Western  Elec- 
tric Company  has  established  an 
especially  fast  manufacturing  sched- 
ule for  the  new  relay  equipment  to 
go  into  the  key  terminals  and  the  33 
intermediate  stations  along  the  route. 


In  addition  to  benefiting  from  the 
experience  already  gained  in  operat- 
ing other  Bell  System  radio  relay 
systems,  the  new  facilities  will  be 
simpler  to  maintain,  more  reliable, 
and  will  ultimately  provide  more 
channels  than  any  other  micro-wave 
system  in  service. 

By  its  activities  in  the  field  of 
television,  the  Bell  System  is  playing 
a  role  in  the  latest  and  most  exciting 
communications  development.  But 
there  is  more  to  the  story  than  that. 
For  as  its  projects  come  to  life,  they 
make  clear  how  the  teamwork  of 
Bell'  System  men  and  women,  busy  in 
scores  of  departments  of  the  various 
cooperating  companies,  can  create  a 
new  service  for  the  benefit  of  the 
public. 


Neither  chance  nor  mere  good  fortune  has  brought  this  na- 
tion the  finest  telephone  service  in  the  world.  The  service 
Americans  enjoy  in  such  abundance  is  directly  the  product  of 
their  own  imagination,  enterprise  and  common  sense.  .  .  . 

In  this  climate  of  freedom  and  responsibility,  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem has  provided  service  of  steadily  increasing  value  to  more 
and  more  people.  Our  policy,  often  stated,  is  to  give  the  best 
possible  service  at  the  lowest  cost  consistent  with  financial  safety 
and  fair  treatment  of  employees.  We  are  organized  as  we  are 
in  order  to  carry  that  policy  out.  Bell  Telephone  Laboratories 
leads  the  world  in  improving  communication  devices  and  tech- 
niques. Western  Electric  Company  provides  the  Bell  operat- 
ing companies  with  telephone  equipment  of  the  highest  quality 
at  reasonable  prices,  and  can  always  be  counted  on  in  emer- 
gencies to  deliver  the  goods  whenever  and  wherever  needed. 
The  operating  telephone  companies  and  the  parent  company 
work  together  so  that  improvements  in  one  place  may  spread 
quickly  to  others.  Because  all  units  of  the  System  have  the 
same  service  goals  great  benefits  flow  to  the  public. 

From  the  A.  T.  £3°  T.  annual  report  for  1948. 


Above^  dialing  long  distance  calls.     Operators  use  sets  of  keys  on  the  switchboard  shelf 

to  dial  straight  through  to  distant  telephones.      Toll  dial  networks  now  reach  some  joo 

cities  and  are  expanding.     New  equipment  and  methods  make  possible  this  important 

step  toward  faster^  more  accurate  long  distance  service 


Visitors  to  Bell  System  exhibit  now  touring  the  country  listen  to  a  demonstration  of  long 

distance  dialing.     Other  demonstrations  of  new  telephone  developments^  shown  at  the 

exhibit,  are  among  the  pictures  on  the  following  pages 


20 


Looking  Ahead  with 
The  Bell  System 


New  developments  in  telephone 
service  are  shown  in  the  pictures 
on  the  opposite  page  and  the  pages 
which  follow. 

They  are  new  products  of  Bell 
Telephone  Laboratories,  newly 
made  in  Western  Electric  factories, 
and  they  form  an  important  part 
of  the  Bell  System's  great  post- 
war program  of  expansion  and  im- 
provement. 

The  list  is  impressive :  direct 
dialing  of  calls  by  long  distance 
operators  .  .  .  the  automatic  re- 
cording of  accounting  details  of 
toll  calls  .  .  .  more  telephones  in 
cars,  boats,  and  moving  trains  .  .  . 
long  distance  calls  and  television 
beamed  by  radio  .  .  .  new  net- 
works of  an  improved  type  of 
telephone  cable  .  .  .  crystals  iden- 
tical    with     natural     quartz,     but 


grown  artificially  ...  a  new  am- 
plifier little  bigger  than  a  pencil 
eraser  .  .  . 

Several  of  these  recent  develop- 
ments of  telephone  research  were 
demonstrated  to  stockholders  who 
attended  the  Annual  Meeting  of 
the  A.  T.  and  T.  Company  in  New 
York  on  April  20.  An  exhibition 
of  them  is  going  on  tour  through- 
out the  country,  so  that  telephone 
workers  and  telephone  users  will 
have  opportunity  to  see  the  new 
devices  in  operation. 

Some  are  still  in  the  experimen- 
tal stage ;  others  are  already  being 
put  to  use  on  a  wider  and  wider 
scale.  But  all  hold  out  for  the 
future  the  promise  of  a  tele- 
phone service  that  grows  steadily 
in  its  usefulness  and  value  to  the 
user. 


21 


Telephone  customers  in  certain  metropolitan  areas  can  now  dial  calls  to  nearby  places 
in  the  same  way  that  they  dial  local  calls.  An  electrical  ''brain"  receives  the  dialed 
number  and  completes  the  call^  while  an  Automatic  Message  Accounting  system  gathers 

the  information  necessary  for  billing 


Dr.  Va)inevar  Bush^  one  of  America  s  foremost  scientists  and  an  A.  T.  &  T.  Company 

Director,  views  the  Automatic  Message  Accounting  equipment  in  the  touring  Bell 

System  exhibit.     The  machine  punches  coded  patterns  on  paper  tape  to  reco7-d  all  the 

information  necessary  for  billing  thousands  of  toll  calls 


22 


0-TEUV!S(0| 


Exhibit  visitors  see  a  demonstration  of  how  radio  beams  ^  relayed  from  station  to  station  y 
can  transmit  ''bundles"  of  telephone  conversations  andy  in  addition^  television  programs. 
Another  means  of  accomplishing  this  is  the  coaxial  cablcy  shown  below.  A  new  develop- 
ment will  enable  each  pair  of  tubes  in  this  cable  to  carry  either  1800  telephone  conver- 
sations or  600  conversations  and  two  television  channels  simultaneously 


At  lefty  one  step  in  fabricat- 
ing coaxial  cable  in  the  Point 
Breez€y  Marylandy  plant  of 
the  Western  Electric  Com- 
panyy  the  manufacturing 
and  supply  unit  of  the  Bell 
System.  A  section  of  the 
cable  is  shown  below 


^3 


The  transistor^  a  new  and  amazingly  simple  electronic  amplifier^  is  demonstrated  above. 
The  tiny  equipment  at  the  top  of  the  display  panel  does  the  work  of  the  bulkier  arrange- 
ment of  vacuum  tubes  at  the  bottom.     Transistors  are  based  on  an  entirely  new  principle 
and  seem  destined  for  many  applications  in  telephony 


The  transistor' s  importance  to  the  future 

of  communications  is  far  greater  than  its 

tiny  size  would  suggest.     Two  types  are 

shown  above 


With  natural  quartz  hard  to  get,  slices  of 
this  synthetic  crystal  will  be  used  in  carry- 
ing several  conversations   over  the  same 
wires  at  the  same  time 


24 


Traveling  telephones — the  Bell  System's  new  mobile  service — are  now  in  use  in  most 

major  cities  and  on  many  highways.     The  service^  first  introduced  in  1^46^  serves  cars^ 

boatSy  and  trains.     Above^  Miss  Joan   Blair,  a  great-granddaughter  of  Alexander 

Graham  Bell,  uses  a  mobile  telephone 


Building  for  the  future  has  called  for  the  biggest  Bell  System  construction  program  in 

history.     Here  a  telephone  building  is  being  enlarged  to  house  additional  dial  equipment. 

In  less  than  four  years,  busy  Western  Electric  factories  have  turned  out  enough  equipment 

and  apparatus  to  serve  10,000,000  new  telephones 


25 


Telephone  service  in  rural  areas  is  rapidly  being  extended  and  improved  by  Jast^  eco- 
nomical construction  methods  and  important  new  techniques.  Power-driven  pole-hole 
diggers  like  the  one  above  have  helped  the  Bell  System  add  a  million  telephones  in  farm 
areas  since  the  war,  increasing  the  number  of  rural  telephones  in  service  by  6^  per  cent. 


The  Future  Holds  Great  Promise 


The  telephone  is  seventy-three 
years  old  this  year.  Its  develop- 
ment within  a  single  lifetime  has 
been  a  modern  miracle.  Yet  this 
is  only  the  beginning.  The  future 
will  see  greater  progress  than  the 
past  has  ever  known. 

The  telephone's  future  is  being 
built  on  firm  foundations:  on  the 
ceaseless  search  for  new  and  better 
devices  and  methods;  on  the  loy- 
alty and  skill  of  hundreds  of  thou- 


sands of  men  and  women  who 
build  an'd  operate  the  voiceways; 
on  the  confidence  of  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  people  in  all  walks  of 
life  who  invest  their  savings  to  en- 
large and  improve  the  telephone 
plant. 

These  have  given  America  the 
best  telephone  service  the  world 
knows  today — and  for  tomorrow 
they  hold  out  the  promise  of  still 
greater  things  to  come. 


26 


Forces  Must  Be  Increased  by  as  Much  as  yo  Percent ^  Many 

Circuits  Re-arranged^  and  Other  Special  Measures  Taken^  to 

Meet  the  Great  One- Day  Traffic  Peak  of  the  Year 


Merry  Christmas  in  the 
Toll  Offices 


Cyril  K.  Collins 


Merry  Christmas! 

The  exchange  of  this  greeting  by 
telephone  with  relatives  and  friends 
in  distant  places  is  becoming,  in  more 
and  more  American  families,  an  event 
looked  forward  to  with  as  much 
eagerness  as  is  the  decoration  of  the 
Christmas  tree  by  those  gathered  at 
home.  This  widespread  custom  de- 
velops a  peak  in  long  distance  calling 
at  Christmas  time  which  far  exceeds 
the  capacity  of  the  vast  toll  networks 
of  the  country  and  presents  the  tele- 
phone companies  with  one  of  their 
most  challenging  service  problems. 

The  volume  of  long  distance  calls 
offered  during  Christmas  Eve  and  on 
Christmas  Day  is  far  greater  than  in 
any  similar  period  of  the  year.  On 
Christmas  Day,  the  volume  in  many 
cities  is  more  than  50  percent  higher 
than  on  an  ordinary  day;  in  some, 
the  increase  is  100  per  cent  or  more. 

The  problem  of  handling  this  great 
volume  is  complicated  by  the  fact  that 


these  holiday  calls  do  not  follow  the 
pattern  of  the  normal  traffic  for  which 
the  toll  circuit  layout — the  great  na- 
tion-wide network  of  voice  pathways 
— is  designed.  As  compared  to  an 
ordinary  day,  Christmas  calls  to  near- 
by points  are  relatively  light.  On  the 
other  hand,  traffic  to  more  distant 
points  increases  tremendously.  Inter- 
state toll  calls  range  up  to  more  than 
four  times  a  normal  day;  calls  be- 
tween certain  states  increase  as  much 
as  eight  to  ten  times;  and  over  some 
transcontinental  routes  the  increase  is 
even  more.  This  heavy  traffic  to 
distant  points  results  in  severe  con- 
gestion on  the  longer-haul  circuit 
routes. 

The  situation  on  the  telephone 
highways  at  Christmas  time  is  not 
unlike  that  which  exists  on  automo- 
bile highways  around  many  large 
cities  in  the  latter  part  of  a  beautiful 
summer  Sunday  afternoon,  when  all 
cars  turn  toward  home.     The  local 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


streets,  so  busy  on  a  weekday,  are 
nearly  deserted.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  main  arteries  are  congested,  cars 
are  lined  up  bumper  to  bumper,  and 
hours  are  required  to  travel  distances 
which  may  be  covered  in  minutes  on 
an  ordinary  day. 

Christmas  holiday  traffic  has 
other  unusual  characteristics  which 
make  the  calls  more  difficult  to 
handle,  and  take  more  operating  time 
per  call,  than  on  normal  days. 

Calls  fan  out  much  more  to  small 
communities,  greatly  increasing  the 
amount  of  switching  involved. 

More  calls  are  placed  without  the 
called  number,  people  answer  the 
telephone  more  slowly,  conversation 
time  is  longer.  More  calls  come 
from  public  telephones,  more  "don't 
answers"  are  encountered,  than  on 
a  normal  day. 


The  time  required  to  record  calls 
is  increased  because  of  the  diverse 
nature  of  requests  and  the  necessity 
for  quoting  delays  and  explaining  the 
situation  to  customers. 

Additional  operating  time  is  con- 
sumed in  securing  route  and  rate  in- 
formation to  points  infrequently 
called. 

The  number  of  switchboard  sig- 
nals to  be  answered  is  increased  by 
requests  from  customers  for  informa- 
tion about  calls  previously  placed. 

The  net  effect  is  that  the  increase 
in  requirements  for  circuits,  switch- 
boards, and  operators  is  much  greater 
than  the  increase  in  calls. 

Despite  greatly  expanded  oper- 
ating forces  and  the  use  of  every 
available  toll  facility,  many  calls  en- 
counter delay.  Although  the  great 
majority  of  calls  are  completed,  some 
are  not.     The  customers'  consequent 


Every  toll  switchboard  position  is  filled  on  Christmas  Day.     In  this  central  office^  the 

teams  of  girls  at  the  temporary  tables  are  helping  to  speed  the  calls  by  relieving  the 

switchboard  operators  of  certain  details 


1949 


Merry  Christmas  in  the  Toll  Offices 


29 


Tickets  for  completed  Christmas  calls  come  to  these  positions  for  filing.     Other  tickets 
are  dispatched  to  delay ed-c all  operators^  who  try  to  complete  the  connections  over  the 

the  circuits  to  the  called  places 


disappointment  is  a  matter  of  real 
concern  not  only  to  the  operators  who 
have  tried  to  put  the  calls  through 
but  to  the  supervisory  and  executive 
groups  of  a  business  which  exists  for 
the  purpose  of  providing  such  con- 
nections promptly  and  satisfactorily. 

The  telephone  companies  take  ex- 
traordinary steps  in  preparation  for 
the  holiday,  so  that  the  greatest  pos- 
sible number  of  people  may  exchange 
greetings  by  telephone  at  Christmas 
time. 

They  re-arrange  existing  and  pro- 
vide additional  toll  circuits.  They 
have  supplemental  operating  posi- 
tions installed. 

They  introduce  special  procedures 
to  utilize  available  facilities  most 
efficiently.  They  provide  and  train 
a  great  many  operators. 

And  they  do  a  good  deal  of  special 
advertising  so  that  people  may 
understand  the  situation. 


Re-arranging  Toll  Circuits 

The  objective  of  holiday  circuit 
planning  has  been  to  re-arrange  toll 
circuits  to  meet  as  closely  as  possible 
the  flow  of  traffic,  and  to  relieve 
large  switching  centers  where  the 
switchboard  positions  are  inadequate 
to  handle  the  tremendously  increased 
work  load  under  the  conditions  that 
exist  on  Christmas. 

As  long  as  20  years  ago,  long-haul 
circuits  were  re-arranged,  and  some 
circuits  terminating  at  switching 
offices  were  "patched"  *  together 
to  provide  temporary  direct  circuits 
and  thereby  decrease  the  amount  of 
traffic  which  otherwise  would  have  to 
be  handled  at  the  switching  offices. 
At  first,  re-arrangements  involved 
primarily  the  shifting  of  some  of  the 

*  Two  circuits  may  be  "patched"  together  at 
a  test  board  to  become  one  direct  circuit,  by 
connecting  them  with  a  "patching"  or  connect- 
ing cord. 


30 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


Operating  forces  in  toll  offices  across  the  country  last 
Christmas  were  increased  on  the  average  about  yo  percent. 
These  force  clerks  in  a  toll  office  are  preparing  assign- 
ments of  operators  for  the  day 


transcontinental  circuit  terminations 
from  congested  centers  to  smaller 
offices.  As  time  went  on,  this  activ- 
ity was  extended  until,  in  1940,  60 
percent  of  the  long-haul  circuit 
groups  were  involved  in  re-arrange- 
ments and  some  200  temporary  di- 
rect-circuit groups  were  established 
in  order  to  decrease  switching. 

During  the  war  years,  however, 
circuit  re-arrangements  for  Christ- 
mas were  largely  limited  to  those 
providing  all  possible  facilities  for 
training  camps,  embarkation  points, 
and  military  hospitals,  so  that  the 
men  and  women  in  the  services  could 
talk  to  their  families  or  sweethearts. 

Following  the  war,  re-arrange- 
ments of  circuits  for  the  holiday  were 
resumed,  and  reached  an  all-time  high 


in  1948.  The  Traffic 
Department  circuit  con- 
trol bureaus — in  New 
York,  Chicago,  Cleve- 
land, and  San  Francisco 
— issued  orders  to  es- 
tablish over  900  tem- 
porary direct-circuit 
groups  for  last  Christ- 
mas. 

Such  re-arrangements 
are  a  very  large  under- 
taking. An  immense 
amount  of  preparatory 
work  has  to  be  done  by 
the  Long  Lines  and  As- 
sociated Company  cir- 
cuit people  to  deter- 
mine, from  studies  of 
traffic  of  the  previous 
Christmas,  which  new 
direct-circuit  groups 
would  be  the  most 
helpful. 

The  over-all  patch- 
ing requirements  are 
then  worked  out  among  the  compan- 
ies involved,  and  the  total  number  of 
circuits  to  be  removed  from  normal 
groups  in  order  to  make  up  the  tem- 
porary direct  groups  is  determined. 

The  various  plant  testboard  groups 
are  queried  to  determine  the  specific 
circuits  and  associated  facilities  to  be 
used  for  the  patches.  The  entire  net- 
work is  then  reviewed  to  determine 
possibilities  for  additional  circuits  for 
the  more  seriously  overloaded  groups 
and  replacements  for  the  circuits  used 
to  create  temporary  direct  groups. 

Final  circuit  plans  are  then  trans- 
mitted to  toll  line  engineers  of  all  the 
Associated  Companies,  listing  the 
new  direct  groups,  the  type  of  traffic 
to  be  handled,  and  instructions  as  to 
any  routing  changes  involved. 


1949 


Merry  Christmas  in  the  Toll  Offices 


31 


And,  before  Christ- 
mas, a  complete  check 
is  made  to  see  that  all 
planned  re-arrange- 
ments have  actually 
been  completed. 

The  execution  of  the 
circuit  patches  and  re- 
arrangements requires 
quite  a  plant  organiza- 
tion job  and  an  in- 
crease of  the  plant 
forces  on  duty.  Phys- 
ically, it  is  possible  to 
patch  any  circuit  to  any 
other  circuit.  How- 
ever, where  different 
types  of  circuits,  termi- 
nal arrangements,  and 
signalling  facilities  are 
in  use,  extra  work  is 
required  to  make  such 
circuits  work  properly 
when  patched.  In  ad- 
dition, amplifying  ad- 
justments are  required 
in  many  cases  to  insure  that  the  two 
parts  of  the  new  circuit  will  work  to- 
gether as  though  they  were  one. 
Careful  coordination  in  all  these 
changes  is  required  among  the  test 
men  at  all  offices  involved. 

Throughout  the  holiday  period, 
special  consideration  is  given  to  force 
coverage  in  the  traffic  circuit  control 
bureaus  and  in  the  plant  test  and  ter- 
minal rooms,  to  insure  prompt  action 
in  case  of  trouble  with  the  equipment. 
Linemen  and  cablemen  are  on  duty 
where  the  situation  requires,  and  ar- 
rangements are  made  so  that  those 
not  on  duty  may  be  reached  if  the 
need  arises.  Plant  administrative  of- 
fices are  also  covered  as  required. 

It  is  fortunate  that,  in  recent  years, 
there  have  been  no  storms  of  serious 


Use  of  teletypewriter  circuits  to  advise  toll  offices   of 
delays  at  an  important  switching  point  enables  operators 
to  give  correct  information  to  customers  and  also  leaves 
voice  circuits  free  for  talking 


proportions  over  a  wide  section  of 
the  country  on  Christmas.  There 
have  been,  however,  a  number  of  lo- 
calized storm  troubles  which  have 
added  to  the  difficulties  of  the  day. 

Supplemental  Operating  Positions 
and  Other  Special  Facilities 

In  most  toll  offices,  the  number 
of  switchboard  positions  installed  is 
not  sufficient  to  meet  the  requirements 
on  Christmas,  because  of  the  in- 
creased volume  of  holiday  traffic  and 
greater  work  time  per  call.  This  is 
particularly  true  at  large  switching 
offices.  Much  development  work  has 
been  done,  and  local  ingenuity  exer- 
cised, in  an  effort  to  provide  "relief" 


32 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


With  operating  requirements  at  a  peak, 
most  toll  operators  work  on  Christmas 
day  and  do  so  cheerfully,  realizing  that 
they  are  making  a  vital  contribution  to 
the  holiday  happiness  of  the  American 
public.  They  appreciate  that  a  Christ- 
mas message  is  one  of  the  most  impor- 
tant of  the  year;  if  calls  cannot  be  com- 
pleted, they  are  as  disappointed  as  the 
customer.  Absence  on  Christmas  is  con- 
sistently lower  than  on  an  average  day, 
showing  the  additional  effort  operators 
make  to  overcome  obstacles  of  all  kinds 
in  order  to  be  on  duty.  It  is  a  tribute 
to  their  spirit  of  service  that  many  vol- 
unteer to  work  beyond  their  normal  as- 
signment when  the  need  is  indicated. 


short  of  installing  regular  positions 
for  this  one-day  peak. 

All  possible  work  auxiliary  to  the 
actual  establishing  of  connections  is 
removed  from  the  switchboards  and 
handled  on  temporary  tables  equipped 
for  this  purpose — including  recording 
calls  from  customers  and  orders  for 
circuits  from  other  operators,  sorting 
and  filing  delayed  tickets,  and  giving 
reports  to  customers  about  the  prog- 
ress of  their  calls. 

Local  dial  office  switchboards 
which  are  not  heavily  loaded  on 
Christmas  are  adapted  for  handling 
long  distance  calls. 

Outward  toll  positions  are  ar- 
ranged for  handling  inward  and 
through  calls,  where  advantageous, 
to  balance  the  load  between  boards. 

A  number  of  offices  have  installed 
arrangements  for  making  posted  de- 
lay information  available  to  opera- 
tors promptly  by  means  of  distinctive 
tones  which  are  associated  with  the 
circuit  groups  involved. 


Special  Operating  Methods  arid 
Procedures 

Over  the  years,  many  special  oper- 
ating methods  have  been  used  in  an 
effort  to  make  most  efficient  use  of 
the  available  facilities.  While  these 
methods  differ  in  various  details,  they 
all  have  the  general  objective  of  util- 
izing a  higher  percentage  of  the  avail- 
able circuit  time  for  conversation  by 
reducing  the  amount  of  operating 
work  that  has  to  be  done  over  the 
circuits. 

One  method  was  the  "utility" 
method,  whereby  a  team,  consisting 
of  a  circuit  operator  and  two  report 
operators  for  dealing  with  customers, 
is  used  at  each  end  of  a  circuit  group. 
There  was  also  an  "operator  per  cir- 
cuit" method,  under  which  one  oper- 
ator is  assigned  at  each  office  for  each 
circuit.  Then  there  was  the  "con- 
centration" method,  where  special  op- 
erators have  control  of  one  circuit 
group. 

Under  these  methods,  the  same  op- 
erators handled  outward,  inward,  and 
through  calls.  A  teletypewriter  was 
sometimes  used  with  these  methods, 
to  reduce  further  the  amount  of  op- 
erating work  done  over  the  telephone 
circuit. 

All  of  these  special  methods  were 
helpful  in  obtaining  more  efficient  cir- 
cuit usage;  but  they  did  so,  necessar- 
ily, at  the  cost  of  greatly  increased 
requirements  in  switchboard  positions 
and  operators.  As  the  number  of 
circuit  groups  over  which  calls  had 
to  be  handled  on  a  delay  basis  in- 
creased, it  was  more  and  more  diffi- 
cult to  provide  the  necessary  facilities 
and  operators.  Also,  these  methods 
required  a  very  high  degree  of  co- 
ordination and  teamwork  between  the 


1949 


Merry  Christmas  in  the  Toll  Offices 


33 


operators  involved  at  both  ends  of 
the  circuits,  and  this  coordination 
could  be  obtained  only  by  means  of 
intensive  training  and  actual  practice. 
In  the  over-all,  it  was  not  found 
practicable  to  train  the  number  of  op- 
erators required  in  the  more  compli- 
cated methods  for  use  only  on  one 
day  in  the  year. 

For  these  reasons,  special-method 
operation  has  been  used  in  the  past 
few  years  on  only  a  relatively  small 
number  of  the  most  congested  circuit 
groups  and  has  been  limited  generally 
to  the  "concentration"  method,  which 
is  the  least  complicated  of  the  special 
methods  and  requires  the  smallest 
number  of  positions  for  a  given  num- 
ber of  circuits. 

There  are,  nevertheless,  special 
procedures  of  a  super- 
visory and  management 
nature  which  are  used 
to  facilitate  call  han- 
dling and  improve  com- 
pletion and  speed  of 
service  under  the  un- 
usual and  difficult  con- 
ditions at  Christmas 
time.  Many  of  these 
special  procedures  are 
of  a  technical  nature  re- 
lating to  the  application 
of  the  operating  prac- 
tices. Others  are  more 
general  and  include 
such  features  as  the  fol- 
lowing : 

— providing  posted 
delay  information  to 
selected  built-up  points 
by  means  of  telet}'pe- 
writer  networks  be- 
tween toll  centers,  so 
that  operators  need  not 
go  to  intermediate  of- 


fices on  every  call  to  learn  of  the 
situation; 

— providing  additional  ready-ref- 
erence routing  material  and  called- 
place  directories  to  expedite  handling 
of  calls; 

— cancelling  alternate  routes  which 
would  be  ineffective  in  periods  of  con- 
gestion ; 

— dividing  circuit  groups  direction- 
ally,  and  rotating  the  use  of  some  cir- 
cuits among  several  originating  of- 
fices, to  facilitate  the  movement  of 
traffic; 

— re-arranging  the  position  layout 
to  provide  more  positions  for  han- 
dling delayed  calls. 

Special  precautions  are  taken  to  in- 
sure that  emergency  calls  are  recog- 
nized and  promptly  handled. 


''Patching"  two  circuits  together  creates  a  direct  circuit 
to  by-fass  a  switching  office.     Some  patches  are  made  at 
Traffic  switchboards^  as  herCy  and  others  at  Plant  test- 
boards     More  than  ^o  were  made  last  Christmas 


34 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


The  attitude  and  manner  of  the  op- 
erators have  a  definite  effect  on  cus- 
tomers' opinion  of  the  service  when 
calls  cannot  be  handled  promptly. 
Particular  care  is  exercised  that  at- 
tentiveness  and  courteous  considera- 
tion be  shown  on  all  calls.  When  a 
call  cannot  be  completed  on  Christ- 
mas Day  because  of  a  circuit  delay, 
the  operator  is  prompt  to  offer  to  try 
to  complete  it  the  following  day.  Af- 
ter Christmas,  chief  operators  often 
call  or  write  to  express  their  regret 
to  customers  whose  calls  could  not 
be  completed  on  the  holiday. 

The  Operating  Force 

Obtaining  and  training  the  neces- 
sary people  to  meet  the  greatly  in- 
creased operating  requirements  for 
the  holiday  period  is  a  major  prob- 
lem. 

Adequate  forces  must  be  provided 
at   all   switchboards    and   temporary 


tables  to  insure  prompt  answer  to  sig- 
nals, to  apply  the  special  procedures 
in  effect,  and  to  use  the  available  cir- 
cuits efficiently. 

Good  answering  service  is  particu- 
larly important  at  inward,  through, 
and  delayed-call  positions  in  toll  of- 
fices, and  at  toll  switching  and  infor- 
mation positions  in  local  offices,  since 
slow  service  at  these  points  has  a  far- 
reaching  and  cumulative  effect  on  the 
service  in  other  offices. 

The  magnitude  of  the  force  and 
training  task  is  indicated  by  the  fact 
that  operating  forces  in  toll  offices 
across  the  country  this  past  Christ- 
mas were  increased  on  the  average 
about  70  percent. 

Estimates  of  Christmas  traffic  and 
force  requirements  have  to  be  made 
sufliciently  in  advance  to  insure  ade- 
quate time  in  which  to  carry  out  the 
plans  for  securing  additional  people, 
completing  the  required  training,  and 
installing  any  additional  operating  fa- 


This  display  board  in  the  Long  Lines  circuit  control  office  in  New  York  gives  a  visual 
record  of  the  status  of  all  long  distance  circuits  out  of  the  city^  including  those  temporarily 

''patched"  for  Christmas  traffic 


1949 


Merry  Christmas  in  the  Toll  Offices 


3S 


cilities  to  be  provided.  Judgment, 
and  experience  with  previous  holiday 
conditions,  are  needed  to  allow  for 
unusual  local  circumstances  and  to 
compute  separately  the  force  needed 
for  each  different  class  of  work. 
There  Is  always  the  danger  of  under- 
estimating the  force  requirements, 
since  work  time  per  call  Is  so  much 
higher  than  under  normal  conditions. 
In  order  to  provide  the  required 
number  of  people,  every  available 
source  must  be  drawn  upon,  includ- 
ing, in  addition  to  the  regular  force, 
former  employees,  clerical  forces,  em- 
ployees from  local  offices,  and  em- 
ployees borrowed  from  other  depart- 
ments, and  still  a  good  deal  of 
overtime  work  Is  necessary. 

The  advance  training  for  the 
holiday  is  a  big  undertaking.  It  is 
necessary  to  review  with  all  toll  cen- 
tral office  people  the  operating  prac- 
tices related  to  the  handling  of  calls 
under  congested  circuit  conditions, 
which  they  use  only  infrequently;  to 
retrain  many  of  the  force  for  operat- 
ing at  a  different  type  of  switchboard; 
and  to  provide  special  training  for 
those  who  will  be  involved  in  a  spe- 
cial-method operation  or  work  at  a 
temporary  table  position.  Basic 
training  must  be  given  to  the  large 
number  of  temporary  people  who 
have  had  no  previous  toll  experience. 
All  this  must  be  started  many  weeks 
before  Christmas,  to  cover  the  entire 
force  and  to  allow  time  for  the  prac- 
tice which  is  needed  to  develop  skill 
and  efficiency. 

As  Christmas  Day  draws  near, 
telephone  buildings  take  on  a  festive 
appearance,  with  Christmas  trees  and 
decorations  skillfully  arranged,  usu- 
ally by  the  girls  themselves.    In  build- 


Preparations  among  the  employees  for 
Christmas  are  not  exclusively  concerned 
with  the  problem  of  handling  telephone 
traffic — recognition  also  is  given  to  the 
spirit  of  the  holiday  season.  Tradition- 
ally thoughtful  of  others,  groups  of  op- 
erators and  other  telephone  women  com- 
bine their  efforts  to  provide  a  merrier 
Christmas  for  the  unfortunate.  Thou- 
sands of  dolls  are  obtained  and  dressed 
for  distribution  to  underprivileged  chil- 
dren; some  groups  of  telephone  men  and 
women  "adopt"  needy  families  and  send 
clothing  and  baskets  of  food;  others  send 
gifts  to  wounded  veterans;  some  spread 
their  cheer  through  churches,  institu- 
tions, and  charitable  groups. 


Ings  large  enough  to  have  cafeterias, 
attractive  and  appetizing  food  awaits 
the  employees  in  plenty,  whether  their 
needs  be  a  complete  Christmas  dinner 
or  merely  a  refreshing  snack. 

Independent  Companies 

The  task  of  completing  toll  calls 
during  the  holiday  season  requires 
the  closest  cooperation  and  teamwork 
in  all  the  nation's  telephone  ex- 
changes. Bell  or  Independent.  There 
are  approximately  6000  independ- 
ently-owned telephone  companies  in 
the  country,  serving  some  six  million 
telephones.*  These  companies  play 
an  important  part  In  moving  holiday 
toll  traffic,  and  the  service  they  ren- 
der on  interconnecting  calls  has  a 
large  bearing  on  the  over-all  quality 
of  service.  Every  year,  as  a  part  of 
the  Christmas  planning,  meetings  and 
discussions  are  held  with  the  Inde- 
pendent companies  to  review  the  sig- 
nificant holiday  practices  and  pro- 
cedures. 


*  See    "Six    Thousand    Telephone    Companies 
Serve  U.  S.,"  Magazine,  Winter,  1948-49. 


36 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


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//^^r^  tfr^  a/^w  examples  of  how  the  telephone  companies  fulfill  their  obligation  to  keep 
the  public  informed  about  the  traffic  situation  on  Christmas  Day 


1949 


Merry  Christmas  in  the  Toll  Offices 


37 


Overseas  Calling 

There  is  also  a  tremendous  increase 
in  calls  to  overseas  points  at  Christ- 
mas time. 

The  first  overseas  Christmas  call 
took  place  between  the  United  States 
and  England  in  1927;  from  the  44 
Christmas  messages  handled  on  a 
single  circuit  that  first  year,  the  vol- 
ume has  grown  to  more  than  3400 
messages,  reaching  out  to  80  coun- 
tries. Overseas  calls  in  1927  were 
handled  on  three  switchboard  posi- 
tions in  New  York;  now  over  150 
positions  and  550  operators  are  used 
in  the  four  cities  where  the  radio  cir- 
cuits are  terminated:  New  York, 
Miami,  San  Francisco,  Seattle. 

Christmas-day  calls 
completed  number  about 
twice  those  of  an  aver- 
age business  day.  In  or- 
der to  accomplish  this, 
many  preparations  are 
required.  An  estimate 
is  made  of  the  total 
number  of  calls  which 
can  be  handled  in  both 
directions  over  the 
maximum  facilities 
which  can  be  provided. 
An  agreement  is  reached 
with'  each  foreign  coun- 
try as  to  the  maximum 
periods  during  which 
each  circuit  will  be  op- 
erated on  Christmas. 

Calls  are  booked  at 
each  end,  in  accordance 
with  the  service  sched- 
ules agreed  upon  and 
the  capacity  of  the  cir- 
cuits provided.  Circuit 
usage  is  divided  on  the 
basis  of  relative  book- 


ings at  both  ends,  and  calls  are  com- 
pleted in  the  order  of  booking. 
Ninety  percent  of  the  Christmas  over- 
seas traffic  is  booked  in  advance,  and 
in  some  years  booking  has  com- 
menced as  early  as  the  preceding  July. 
One  of  the  chief  difficulties  in  com- 
pleting overseas  calls  lies  in  the  fact 
that  only  15  percent  of  the  calls  orig- 
inate or  terminate  at  the  city  where 
the  radio  circuit  is  terminated.  An 
additional  20  percent  involve  cities 
reached  by  direct  circuit,  leaving  65 
percent  originating  or  terminating  in 
cities  requiring  one  or  more  switches 
on  this  continent.  Thus  the  circuit 
delays  encountered  on  land  traffic  also 
handicap  the  completing  of  overseas 
calls. 


Despite  the  pressure  of  so  many  calls ^  the  Christmas  spirit 
pervades  the  telephone  buildings,  and  there  the  operators 
can  obtain  a  turkey  dinner — or  just  a  snack  during  a 
relief  period      ' 


38 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


hiforming  Our  Customers 

The  telephone  companies  have 
long  recognized  that  a  wide  public 
understanding  of  the  toll  situation  at 
Christmas  time  is  very  helpful. 

Use  is  made  of  advertising,  and 
other  media  such  as  bill  inserts  and 
radio  announcements,  to  inform  the 
public  in  advance  of  the  holiday  that 
( I )  toll  calling  on  Christmas  Eve  and 
Christmas  Day  is  at  a  peak  and  those 
who  call  may  encounter  delays,  (2) 
the  telephone  companies  are  stretch- 
ing their  facilities  to  the  limit  to  put 
calls  through  but  no  amount  of  dili- 
gence and  effort  can  prevent  some  de- 
lays because  of  the  tremendous  vol- 
ume of  calls  on  these  two  days,  and 
(3)  calls  made  before  December  24 
or  after  December  25  will  avoid  the 
rush  and  get  faster  service. 

The  tolerance  and  cooperative  at- 
titude of  customers  whose  calls  are 


delayed  indicate  that  they  appreciate 
that  the  telephone  companies  are  do- 
ing their  utmost  under  difficult  con- 
ditions. 

Considering  the  tremendous  in- 
crease in  volume  and  the  other  un- 
usual characteristics  of  the  traffic,  the 
problem  of  giving  the  American  peo- 
ple good  service  on  their  long  dis- 
tance calls  at  Christmas  time  is  one 
of  the  most  difficult  ever  presented  to 
the  men  and  women  of  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem. It  is  being  attacked  with  vigor 
and  imagination,  and  considerable 
progress  has  already  been  made. 
Nevertheless,  much  remains  to  be  ac- 
complished. And  all  who  are  con- 
cerned with  the  problem  are  continu- 
ing to  seek  better  ways  to  use  the 
available  facilities,  so  that  more  and 
more  people  can  talk  to  anyone,  any- 
where, at  Christmas  time. 


Taxes  paid  by  the  [Bell  System]  Telephone  Companies  in 
1948  amounted  to  $292,477,000,  and  Federal  excise  taxes  paid 
by  customers  and  remitted  by  the  Companies  to  the  United 
States  Treasury  came  to  $406,000,000 — a  total  of  about 
$700,000,000,  or  nearly  $2  a  month  for  every  telephone  in 
service.  Telephone  excise  taxes  paid  by  customers  are  more 
than  double  the  increase  in  telephone  rates  since  the  war.  Taxes 
paid  by  the  Telephone  Companies  and  Western  Electric  ex- 
ceeded the  total  amount  which  remained  available  for  interest 
and  dividends. 

From  the  A.  T.  ^  T.  annual  report  for  1948. 


A  Hundred  Million   Personal  Contacts  a    Year   IVith 

Customers    Give    These   Young    Women    Great    Opportunity 

To  Ram  Good  Will  for  Themselves  and  Their  Companies 


You  Can  Tell  by  the  Teller 


Arthur  F.  Leet 


The  operating  companies  of  the 
Bell  System  believe  that  you  can  tell 
by  the  teller  the  character  and  spirit 
of  the  organization  she  represents. 

The  teller  is  the  pleasant  young 
woman  in  the  telephone  business  office 
to  whom  customers  pay  their  bills; 
and,  as  in  the  case  of  the  organization 
itself,  she  must  be  accurate  and 
prompt  in  attending  to  customers. 
But  efficiency  is  not  enough.  In  deal- 
ing with  customers  there  must  also  be 
courtesy,  understanding,  a  sincere  in- 
terest in  trying  to  please,  and  evi- 
dence of  a  helpful  attitude.' 

The  opportunities  the  teller  has  to 
demonstrate  this  spirit  of  the  organ- 
ization are  important  for  two  rea- 
sons. First,  it  is  fitting  that  a  cus- 
tomer coming  to  an  office  to  pay  us 
his  good  money  should  be  made  to 
feel  that  his  patronage  is  appreciated. 
Second,  there  are  about  100,000,000 
contacts  a  year  with  customers  who 
come  to  the  public  offices  to  pay  their 
bills. 

To  make  this  idea  of  pleasing  serv- 
ice a  reality  requires  special  attention 


to  selecting  for  tellers  women  who 
will  be  both  efficient  and  qualified  to 
do  a  good  customer  relations  job.  It 
also  requires  giving  the  tellers  proper 
training  and  providing  working  con- 
ditions, arrangements,  and  supervi- 
sion to  carry  forward  the  idea.  The 
results  have  been  gratifying.  This 
concept  of  the  tellers'  responsibilities 
makes  the  job  more  interesting  to 
them.  The  response  of  the  public  in- 
dicates appreciation.  It  does  not  take 
any  more  time  to  be  courteous  and 
try  to  please  customers,  experience 
shows,  than  it  does  to  be  indifferent. 

The  company  selects  for  public- 
office  teller  positions  personable 
young  women  who  are  alert  and  ac- 
curate, with  quick  minds,  poise,  ready 
smiles  and  good  voices,  and  with  the 
ability  to  express  themselves.  Prefer- 
ably they  should  show  promise  of  ad- 
vancing to  even  better  jobs.  These 
tellers  usually  are  chosen  from  women 
who  have  been  trained  and  have  had 
at  least  several  weeks'  experience  in 
handling  payments  received  by  mail. 
They    are,    therefore,    proficient    in 


40 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


The  teller  personifies  the  character  and  spirit  of  the  organization  she  represents 


1949 


You  Can  Tell  by  the  Teller 


41 


many  clerical  operations  which  they 
will  perform  on  their  new  jobs  as 
public  office  tellers. 

Training  and  Supervision 

Before  beginning  to  work  as  public- 
office  teller,  each  candidate  receives 
three  to  five  days'  classroom  instruc- 
tion. While  most  of  the  training 
concerns  the  principles  of  the  job, 
much  of  it  consists  of  practicing  the 
handling  of  payments  at  a  "dummy" 
payment  counter,  with  the  instructor 
acting  the  part  of  the  customer.  Con- 
tinuously during  this  training,  special 
emphasis  is  given  to  the  customer  re- 
lations aspects  of  the  job,  along  with 
the  procedures  for  the  proper  han- 
dling of  money  and  the  associated  rec- 
ord work.  In  teaching,  the  instruc- 
tors use  a  written  manual  covering 
theory  and  details  of  practice  cases. 
Very  effective  use  is  made  of  a  Bell 
System  motion  picture  entitled  "You 
Can  Tell  By  The  Teller."  This 
movie,  which  shows  customers  paying 
their  bills  at  a  business  office,  illus- 
trates the  value  of  the  customer  re- 
lations aspects  of  the  job  as  well  as 
efficient  clerical  procedures. 

Tellers  are  taught  to  greet  the  cus- 
tomer with  a  friendly  smile  and  a 
cheerful  "Good  morning,"  "How  are 
you?"  or  other  appropriate  saluta- 
tion; to  use  their  "Paid"  stamp 
quietly;  to  avoid  giving  customers  an 
unwanted  bulk  of  change  and  to 
count  out  the  change  into  the  cus- 
tomer's hand;  to  notice  the  name  on 
the  bill  and  thank  the  customer  by 
name  if  the  name  appears  to  be  his. 

Of  course,  the  tellers'  training  also 
includes  clerical  proficiency.  They 
are  taught  proper  methods  and  hand 
motions,   and  how  to   recognize   im- 


mediately the  various  types  of  stand- 
ard United  States  paper  money  and 
coins  and  what  to  do  if  some  one 
presents  to  them  what  appears  to  be 
non-standard  money.  Effective  use 
is  made  here  of  the  well-known  mo- 
tion picture  "Doubtful  Dollars," 
which  shows  how  to  distinguish  be- 
tween good  and  bad  money. 

The  student  is  coached  until  she 
is  ready  to  meet  her  public.  Then 
she  is  assigned  to  a  position  at  the 
payment  counter  in  a  public  office  to 
receive  actual  payments  from  cus- 
tomers. The  instructor  stays  at  her 
side  as  long  as  necessary  to  dev*elop 
her  proficiency  in  all  aspects  of  her 
new  job.  Then  and  only  then  does 
the  instructor  deliver  her  protege  to 
the  supervisor  who  will  guide  and 
coach  the  new  teller  in  her  daily 
work. 

It  is  a  part  of  the  job  of  supervis- 
ory people  to  maintain  the  interest 
of  their  forces  and  inculcate  a  pride 
of  accomplishment  in  the  way  their 
people  do  their  jobs — from  the 
standpoint  of  both  efficiency  and 
"overtones."  So  strongly  is  this  idea 
ingrained  that  many  supervisory  offi- 
cials, when  visiting  business  offices, 
have  developed  a  habit  of  always 
making  a  sample  count  of  the  number 
of  contacts  a  teller  has  and  seeing  on 
how  many  she  smiles  and  puts  the 
change  in  the  customer's  hand.  The 
tellers  are  kept  informed  of  the  im- 
pressions of  supervisory  people  re- 
garding their  work  and  of  the  com- 
ments of  customers. 

Office  Quarters  and  Equipment 

The  Associated  Companies  further 
promote  good  payment  service  by 
seeing  that  the  offices  where  people 


42 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


Before   her  assignment  as   a  public-office  teller,   each 
candidate  receives  three  to  five  days'  classroom  instruc- 
tion.    Much  of  it  comes  at  a  ''dummy''  payment  counter, 
with  an  instructor  playing  customer 


come  to  pay  their  bills  are  convenient 
for  customers  and  employees  and  are 
well  designed  and  appropriately  fur- 
nished and  decorated.  This  in- 
volves, first,  care  in  establishing  and 
equipping  offices,  taking  into  consid- 
eration such  matters  as  population 
growth,  location  of  shopping  centers, 
and  transportation;  and,  second, 
good  taste  in  office  design,  selection 
of  furnishings,  and  decorative  treat- 
ment. 

The  companies  also  try  to  plan 
layouts,  arrangements,  and  construc- 
tion details  to  keep  the  offices  quiet. 
Tellers'  cages  with  grills  or  un- 
sightly barriers  between  the  tellers 
and  customers  generally  have  been 
replaced   with   open   payment   count- 


ers or  desks.  Over  the 
years,  many  changes  in 
the  design  of  payment 
counters  have  been  in- 
corporated to  make 
them  still  more  con- 
venient for  customers 
and  tellers.  The 
changes  included  a 
more  convenient  height 
of  counter;  reduced 
width  of  the  counter, 
making  it  easier  for 
tellers  to  pick  up  bills 
and  money  and  to  pay 
out  change  into  the 
customer's  hand;  and 
improved  ventilation  at 
tellers'  positions.  Tell- 
ers are  equipped  with 
foot  stools  and  com- 
fortable "posture-type" 
chairs.  All  these  things 
are  done  to  assure  good 
working  conditions  and 
give    the    tellers    the 

proper  tools  to  make  their  jobs  easy 

and  attractive. 


What  the  Public  Thinks 

"This  story  sounds  fine,"  some  peo- 
ple might  say;  "but  is  the  kind  of 
service  described  here  actually  being 
given  in  the  business  offices — and 
does  it  pay  off?" 

In  answer  to  the  first  question — 
all  of  the  Associated  Companies  rec- 
ognize the  importance  of  good  over- 
tones as  well  as  good  techniques  in 
handling  public-office  payments,  and 
the  ideas  and  training  procedures 
here  described  have  spread  fast 
among  them.  As  regards  the  sec- 
ond question — sincerely  trying  to 
please  customers  has  brought  Its  re- 


1949 


You  Can  Tell  by  the  Teller 


43 


ward  through  apprecia- 
tive comments  from 
many.  Here  are  a  few 
samples : 

A  customer  in  an 
Eastern  city  wrote  to 
the  telephone  company: 
"I  want  to  compliment 
you  and  your  courteous 
employees.  It  was  a 
real  joy  to  be  spoken 
to  and  dealt  with  so 
politely.  I  am  sure 
there  are  many  who 
agree  with  me  and  in- 
deed you  have  much  to 
be  proud  of." 

A  lady  called  a  Mid- 
western business  office 
to  ask,  "Where  does 
your  company  get  the 
lovely  girls  for  cash- 
iers? They  are  such 
nice  girls,  as  well  as 
efficient.  I  certainly 
think  your  company 
uses  good  judgment  in  selecting  these 
girls.  I  just  want  the  girls  and  the 
management  to  know  it." 

A  vice  president  of  a  Midwestern 
advertising  agency  said,  "I  am  al- 
ways impressed  with  the  personal 
and  courteous  service  rendered  by 
the  telephone  company  in  this  busi- 
ness office.  Your  charming  girls 
make  it  a  pleasure  for  me  to  pay  my 
bill.  I  like  the  way  they  greet  me 
with  a  smiling  'Hello,'  take  my  bill 
and  money  and  tell  me  it  is  $4.58  out 
of  $10  and  then  give  me  my  change 
with  a  'Thank  you,  Mr.  Davis.' 
That  kind  of  service  is  so  far  su- 
perior to  anything  I  have  seen  that  I 
cannot  leave  without  telling  you  how 
I  feel." 


Tellers  are  trained  to  count  the  change^  aloud^  into  the 
customer  s  handy  so  that  he  can  verify  the  accuracy  of  the 
amount  and  be  free  to  leave  with  his  money  in  his  hand 


A  man  approached  a  supervisor  in 
a  Western  business  office  and  said, 
"When  I  got  up  this  morning  I 
thought  it  was  going  to  be  a  bad  day 
for  me  and  I  thought  it  would  be  a 
good  day  to  pay  my  telephone  bill. 
But  when  I  got  to  the  cashier's 
counter,  she  greeted  me  with  'Good 
morning'  and  a  smile.  After  giv- 
ing me  my  receipt  and  change,  she 
thanked  me  by  name.  I  wanted  you 
to  know  about  it,  because  I  feel  it 
will  change  my  entire  day  for  me." 

The  sales  manager  of  a  packing 
house  was  so  pleased  at  the  payment 
service  he  received  when  he  paid  his 
bill  that  he  suggested  to  men  at  his 
table  at  a  Chamber  of  Commerce 
banquet   that   they   should   visit   the 


44 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


Modern  payment  counters  are  both  convenient  for  the  transaction  of  business 
and  attractive  in  appearance 


telephone  company  business  office  and 
study  the  tellers'  methods. 

Other  customers  have  said  such 
things  as:  "We  don't  mind  paying 
when  we  get  such  a  pleasant  smile" ; 
"My  but  the  service  here  is  marve- 
lous" ;  "I  always  like  to  pay  my  phone 
bill — you  girls  have  such  a  delightful 
manner." 

What  the  Tellers  Think 

Many  tellers  have  voluntarily  made 
to  their  supervisors  comments  which 
indicate  that  tellers  enjoy  real  pride 
of  accomplishment  in  their  customer 
relations  and  find  the  work  of  han- 
dling payments  pleasant  and  inter- 
esting.    For  example : 

A  teller  in  an  Eastern  office  re- 
marked, "I  now  have  a  swell  time 
walking  out  to  lunch  because  it  seems 
as  if  everybody  on  the  street  speaks 
to  me." 

Another  teller  in  a  Midwestern 
city  commented  on  her  discovery  that 
a  pleasant  voice  and  a  smile  caused  a 
similar  reaction  in  the  people  whom 


she  greeted;  and  said  that  to  her 
amazement,  when  she  tried  it  out  on 
her  friends,  it  worked  as  well  as  it 
did  in  the  office. 

In  one  office,  a  customer  walked 
away  from  the  counter  with  a  big 
smile  on  his  face,  and  the  teller  said 
to  the  other  girls  in  the  group, 
"That's  why  I  like  my  job:  I  smile, 
the  customer  smiles — why  we  might 
get  all  the  people  in  town  smiling." 

Experience  in  this  work  of  receiv- 
ing payments  affords  another  demon- 
stration that  in  many  different  types 
of  activity  there  are  real  opportuni- 
ties to  contribute  to  good  service  and 
good  customer  relations,  even  though 
these  opportunities  may  not  be  self- 
evident  at  first  sight.  Receiving  a 
payment  seemingly  is  a  minor  opera- 
tion which  takes,  on  the  average, 
only  22  seconds.  But  the  number  of 
payments  is  so  large  that  in  total  the 
person-to-person  contacts  with  cus- 
tomers are  an  important  factor  in 
satisfactory  customer  relations. 


From  2J^OOO  Suppliers  Come  the  Raw  Materials  and  the 

Stocks  of  JOyOOO  Different  Items  Needed  for  Operation  and 

Maintenance  of  the  Bell  System 


Purchasing  b}^  the  Western 
Electric  Company 

George  deMare 


This  is  the  fifth  in  a  series  of  articles  describing  the  Western  Electric 
Company's  operations  and  its  place  in  the  Bell  System  organization. 
See  in  the  Magazine  the  following:  "Nassau:  The  Bell  System's 
Conservation  Specialist,"  Winter  ig46—47;  "Distribution  by  Western 
Electric  Company,"  Autumn  1947;  "How  Western  Electric  Serves 
Telephone  Users,"  Autumn  194S;  "Installation  by  Western  Electric 
Company,"  Winter  1948-49. — Editor. 


As  THE  manufacturing  and  supply 
unit  of  the  Bell  System,  the  Western 
Electric  Company  plans  and  executes 
one  of  the  largest  and  most  complex 
procurement  programs  in  industry. 

The  Bell  System's  intricate  and 
delicately  balanced  $8,500,000,000 
plant  requires  year-in  and  year-out 
sustenance  in  the  form  of  raw  mate- 
rials of  all  types,  from  steel  to  acid 
soda,  from  aluminum  to  mercury, 
from  molybdenum  to  zinc,  to  be  con- 
verted by  Western  into  plant  equip- 
ment; and  it  also  requires  accessory 
finished  products  from  other  suppli- 
ers that  range  from  paper  clips  to 
hea\T  trucks,  from  moisture-resistant 
silk  to  porcelain  knobs,  from  light 
bulbs  to  nylon  yarns — some  30,000 
different  items. 


The  responsibility  for  procuring 
this  raw  material  and  these  finished 
items  falls  mainly  upon  Western  Elec- 
tric, and  more  particularly  upon 
Western  Electric's  Purchasing  Divi- 
sion. The  logical  and  successful  pro- 
gram by  which  Western  has  largely 
undertaken  purchasing  operations  for 
the  Associated  Companies  is  based  on 
the  inherent  advantages  and  savings 
of  scientific  centralized  purchasing. 
The  story  of  this  scientific  centralized 
purchasing  operation  for  the  System's 
23  Associated  Companies  is,  in  the 
main,  a  story  of  impressive  economies 
together  with  assured  high  standard 
of  quality  and  dependability  of  supply 
of  the  items  procured — advantages 
which  for  several  decades  and  partic- 
ularly during  times  of  emergency  and 


46 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


war  have  been  demonstrated  again 
and  again. 

The  instrument  which  lies  at  the 
foundation  of  this  centralized  pur- 
chasing operation  is  the  Standard 
Supply  Contract  which  each  of  the  23 
Bell  telephone  companies  has  entered 
into  with  Western  Electric.  This 
contract  requires  Western  Electric  to 
do  everything  it  reasonably  can  to 
supply  the  Bell  telephone  companies 
with  whatever  they  may  want,  when 
they  want  it;  but  it  does  not  bind  the 
telephone  companies  to  purchase  ex- 
clusively from  or  through  Western 
Electric.  The  fact  that  the  telephone 
companies  look  to  Western  for  such  a 
large  proportion  of  their  material 
needs  is  evidence  that  they  find  it  ad- 
vantageous to  do  so. 

Some  of  the  advantages  of  this  sys- 
tem may  become  even  more  apparent 
by  considering  what  the  cost  of  pur- 


On  this  circular  file  at  one  of  Western  Electric' s  Works 

are  the  names  and  addresses  of  thousands  of  suppliers 

from  whom  Westerrfs  Purchasing  men  buy 


chasing  operations  would  be  if  there 
were  no  Western  Electric  purchasing 
and  distributing  units  for  the  Asso- 
ciated Companies.  Each  telephone 
company  or  group  of  companies 
would  then  have  to  maintain  its  own 
purchasing  and  stores  organizations 
and  be  obliged  to  purchase  in  smaller 
quantities.  The  cost  to  each  company 
of  maintaining  its  own  purchasing  and 
stores  organization  would  obviously 
greatly  increase  the  cost  of  procuring 
and  distributing  the  materials.  It 
was  such  a  situation,  in  fact,  which 
brought  about  the  present  program  of 
centralized  purchasing  by  Western 
for  the  whole  System. 

A  Billion  Dollars'  Worth  oj 
Shopping 

The  magnitude  of  this  job  under 
ordinary  circumstances  is  quite  appar- 
ent, but  in  a  time  of  expansion  it  be- 
comes truly  impressive. 
Since  V-J  Day,  West- 
ern's Purchasing  people 
have  spent  more  than 
$1,000,000,000  in  buy- 
ing raw  materials  and 
supplies  for  the  Bell 
System  from  27,000 
firms  in  more  than 
2,600  cities  and  towns 
throughout  the  48 
States  as  well  as  in  sev- 
eral foreign  countries. 

These  purchasing  op- 
erations fall  naturally 
into  two  major  cate- 
gories :  first,  procure- 
ment of  raw  materials, 
machinery,  and  supplies 
for  use  by  the  Company 
itself  in  manufacturing 
the  equipment  it  pro- 
duces for  the  Bell  Sys- 


1949 


Purchasing  by  the  Western  Electric  Company 


47 


tem;  and,  second,  the 
procurement  of  finished 
items  which  Western 
does  not  manufacture 
but  which  it  is  called 
upon  to  supply  to  the 
telephone  companies  to 
fill  their  varied  needs. 
Last  year  alone.  West- 
ern's Bell  System  pur- 
chases— both  raw  ma- 
terials and  finished 
products — totaled  ap- 
proximately half  a  bil- 
lion dollars. 

To  purchase  these 
raw  materials  and  the 
thousands  of  items  em- 
braced in  the  classes  of 
finished  products  re- 
quires more  than  just 
going  to  the  corner 
store  and  giving  an  order.  West- 
ern is  committed  to  make  every  rea- 
sonable effort  to  supply  what  the  Bell 
System  wants  when  it  wants  it  at 
the  lowest  price  consistent  with  qual- 
ity and  service.  This  means  that 
three  factors  must  be  considered: 
(i)  finding  and  developing  reliable 
sources  of  supply;  (2)  setting  up 
standards  of  quality  and  insuring  that 
the  quality  of  the  materials  purchased 
meets  those  standards;  and  (3)  get- 
ting the  best  price  obtainable  under 
the  circumstances  for  the  product. 

Finding  Reliable  Sources  of  Supply 

Finding  and  developing  reliable 
sources  of  supply  is  one  of  Western 
Electric  Purchasing  Division's  main 
jobs.  And  it  is  a  complex  one.  Pur- 
chasing specialists  travel  by  plane, 
train,  bus,  and  automobile  as  many  as 
100,000  miles  a  year  to  secure  needed 


When  Western  Electric  goes  shopping  for  the  thousands  of 

items  the  Bell  System  useSy  it  does  so  in  orderly  fashion 

by  means  of  contracts  such  as  this 


materials  and  supplies  for  the  Bell 
System.  One  Western  Electric  buyer 
made  a  single  trip  of  7,000  miles 
through  the  Northwest  and  Mountain 
States  areas  to  secure  additional 
lodgepole  pine  telephone  poles, 
while  another  traveled  throughout 
the  south  in  search  of  additional 
southern  pine  poles,  and  still  another 
cruised  the  locust-tree  country  from 
Virginia  to  the  Mississippi  to  dis- 
cover new  sources  of  supply  for  locust 
insulator  pins. 

Developing  reliable  sources  of 
supply  often  requires  special  effort 
and  ingenuity. 

Take  the  case  of  zinc.  Zinc  was 
one  of  the  raw  materials  so  urgently 
needed  during  the  recent  expansion 
in  Western's  telephone  instrument, 
strand,  and  pole-line  hardware  pro- 
grams, to  help  the  Bell  System  meet 
the  backed-up  demand  for  telephone 


48 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


In  a  typical  post-war  year,  the  W.  E. 
Purchasing  group  bought  millions  of 
dollars'  worth  of  raw  materials  from 
suppliers  in  the  United  States  and  all 
over  the  world,  including  about  90,000 
tons  of  steel,  more  than  100,000  tons  of 
copper,  more  than  100,000  tons  of  lead, 
7,000  tons  of  cable  paper,  6,500  tons  of 
wood  pulp  for  cable  insulation,  7,000,- 
000  pounds  of  cotton  yarn,  and  2,000,- 
000  pounds  of  acetate  rayon  yarn. 


service.  Zinc  is  chiefly  used  in  West- 
ern's manufacturing  operations  for 
die  casting,  galvanizing,  and  in  the 
brass  mills  at  Hawthorne  Works. 
When  these  programs  were  ex- 
panded, Western  required  almost 
double  the  amount  of  zinc  ordinarily 
needed.  And  this  came  at  a  time 
when  one-fourth  of  the  zinc  industry 
was  shut  down  by  labor  disputes  and 
zinc  was  at  the  height  of  its  demand. 

By  intensive  negotiations,  West- 
ern's purchasing  men  not  only  broad- 
ened their  domestic  sources  but  also 
managed  to  secure  supplies  of  the 
metal  from  the  Hudson  Bay  region 
and  British  Columbia,  to  borrow 
from  a  commercial  die  caster  while 
supplies  were  being  developed,  and 
to  ease  the  brass  situation  in  the 
Hawthorne  Works  by  purchasing 
300,000  pounds  of  scrap  brass  cart- 
ridge shells. 

In  addition,  by  arranging  for  sup- 
pliers to  hold  impurities  below  their 
normal  maximum  limits,  substitutions 
of  more  plentiful  grades  were  made 
for  the  scarce  grades  on  which  West- 
ern was  previously  dependent. 

Western's  purchasing  specialists, 
accustomed  to  meeting  such  situa- 
tions, took  this  one  in  their  stride  as 
almost  a  routine  assignment. 

In  the  case  of  many  finished  items, 


however,  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to 
assist  suppliers  in  one  way  or  another 
to  enable  them  to  meet  Western's  re- 
quirements. For  example,  in  order 
to  interest  printers  in  making  the 
large  expenditures  required  for  addi- 
tional equipment  needed  in  publishing 
the  ever-growing  Bell  System  tele- 
phone directories,  Western  found  it 
necessary  to  negotiate  long-term  con- 
tracts with  certain  of  its  printing  con- 
tractors covering  periods  up  to  ten 
years.  Three  such  contracts  were  re- 
cently made  involving  a  total  of  $1,- 
250,000  in  new  equipment,  plus 
$500,000  in  new  buildings.  These 
arrangements  insured  a  shortened  de- 
livery period  for  telephone  direc- 
tories, and  gave  the  telephone  com- 
panies better  directories  at  a  lower 
cost  per  thousand  printed  pages. 

Another  case  involved  the  produc- 
tion of  steel  wire.  It  appeared  that, 
owing  to  the  steel  shortage,  Western 
might  fail  by  25  per  cent  to  meet  the 
Bell  System's  requirements  for  one 
recent  year.  Western's  established 
suppliers  had  excess  wire  drawing  fa- 
cilities, but  were  unable  to  obtain  rod 
from  the  rolling  mills — which  in  turn 
were  unable  to  obtain  billets.  To 
solve  this  problem.  Western  pur- 
chased 9,000  tons  of  special  billets 
from  one  mill,  had  them  converted 
into  rod  by  another,  and  had  the  rod 
delivered  to  the  suppliers  who  had 
extra  facilities  for  drawing  it  into 
wire.  This  was  a  costly  procedure; 
but  it  gave  the  telephone  companies 
desperately  needed  wire  not  other- 
wise obtainable,  and  enabled  them  to 
expedite  telephone  service  to  thou- 
sands of  new  subscribers. 

Still  another  instance  indicates  once 
more  the  advantages  of  having  a  cen- 


Purchasing  by  the  Western  Electric  Company 


1949 

tralized  purchasing  unit  capable  of 
making  unusual  arrangements  to  se- 
cure vital  raw  materials.  In  one  year 
the  Bell  System  expansion  program 
required  up  to  50,000,000  duct  feet 
of  clay  conduit.  This  exceeded  the 
productive  capacity  of  the  four  plants 
producing  clay  conduit  after  V-J  Day. 
It  was  thus  necessary  for  Western  to 
assist,  in  financing  the  rehabilitation 
of  three  plants  which  had  been  shut 
down  for  many  years,  to  have  another 
plant  completely  rebuilt,  and  to  in- 
crease manufacturing  facilities  in  ex- 
isting plants. 

These  are  a  few  of  many  examples 
which  demonstrate  the  unusual  efforts 
which  Western  must  make  to  keep 
the  world's  greatest  communications 
system  supplied  with  sufficient  mater- 
ials for  its  efficient  functioning — ef- 
forts which  it  would  be  difficult  for  a 
number  of  smaller  competing  pur- 
chasing units  to  match. 


49 


Maintaining  Bell  System  Sta?idards 

Having  found  and  developed  sup- 
pliers capable  of  producing  the  ma- 
terials in  sufficient  quantities.  West- 
ern must  concern  itself  with  the  qual- 
ity of  the  products. 

To  insure  the  high  quality  required 
by  the  Bell  System,  specifications  for 
most  items  are  prepared  by  A.  T.  & 
T.,  Western  Electric,  or  Bell  Labo- 
ratories engineers,  and  these  specifica- 
tions may  indicate  not  only  the  stand- 
ards considered  essential  for  each 
item  but  frequently  even  the  method 
of  manufacturing  it.  In  the  case  of 
such  items  as  lead  sleeving,  telephone 
poles,  directory  paper,  and  galva- 
nized steel  strand,  for  example,  the 
quality  must  often  be  unusual.  Stand- 
ards of  durability,  weight,  thickness 
and,  in  the  case  of  paper,  bursting  or 
tearing  strength  as  well  as  other  qual- 
ifications must  conform  to  precise  tol- 
erances in  order  to  meet  the  heavy 


From  factories  such  as  this^  Western  Electric  obtains  raw  and  finished  plastic  materials 
in  dozens  of  forms  for  making  telephone  products 


i 


50 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


duty  that  will  be  imposed  upon  the 
product. 

These  standards  are  carefully  in- 
sured by  Western's  Supplies  Inspec- 
tion organization,  which  has  165  in- 
spectors throughout  35  states  in  over 
350  towns  and  cities  in  the  country 
inspecting  items  for  Bell  System  use. 
Such  items  as  timber  products,  pole 
line  hardware,  power  plants,  and 
over  4,000  others  must  pass  the  tests 
given  them  by  Western's  Telephone 
Division  supplies  inspection  group  be- 
fore they  are  delivered  to  the  Asso- 
ciated Companies. 

Such  exacting  requirements  are 
usually  included  as  specifications  in 
the  contracts  entered  into  between 
Western  Electric  and  its  suppliers. 

Best  Obtai7iable  Price 

Purchasing  for  the  Bell  System  at 
the  lowest  obtainable  price,  with  due 


regard  for  service  and  quality,  is  of 
course  a  primary  and  ever  present  ob- 
jective. To  secure  the  lowest  price, 
Western's  purchasing  men  must  be 
conversant  with  the  fundamental  fac- 
tors that  control  cost  movements. 
They  must  know  the  costs  of  raw  ma- 
terials, labor,  and  overhead  necessary 
to  produce  the  material  and  still  al- 
low the  supplier  a  reasonable  profit. 
They  must  also  know  the  relation- 
ships between  supply  and  demand. 
Favorable  prices  are  then  secured  in 
the  main  by  buying  in  large  quantities, 
consummating  purchases  under  fa- 
vorable market  conditions,  and  ne- 
gotiating contracts  which  are  fair  to 
the  supplier  as  well  as  to  Western. 
Perhaps  a  clearer  picture  of  the 
operations  involved  in  purchasing  for 
the  Bell  System  may  be  presented  by 
following  a  typical  purchasing  opera- 
tion from  estimated  requirements  to 
delivery. 


This  is  one  step  in  the  process  of  producing  copper  in  a  refinery.     It  is  then  cast  into 
bars  before  being  purchased  by  the  Western  Electric  Company 


1949 


Purchasing  by  the  Western  Electric  Company 


51 


Through  conferences  with  the  tele- 
phone companies,  Western's  Distrib- 
uting Houses  gather  estimates  for 
materials  expected  to  be  needed  for  a 
year  ahead.  In  addition  to  the  an- 
nual estimates,  the  telephone  com- 
panies furnish  Western  with  quarterly 
forecasts  of  anticipated  requirements 
for  certain  major  items.  These  fore- 
casts, covering  the  immediate  future, 
are  reconciled  by  the  Distributing 
Houses  as  necessary  because  of  their 
stock  conditions  and  past  experience. 
They  are  then  forwarded  to  the  Pro- 
gram Planning  Department  of  West- 
ern's Telephone  Division,  which  uses 
them  as  a  basis  for  determining  the 
quantities  of  material  currently  re- 
quired to  be  manufactured  or  pur- 
chased, long  before  any  actual  orders 
are  received  from  telephone  com- 
panies. 

After  these  forecasts  have  been 
carefully  analyzed  they  are  converted 
into  "authorizations  to  purchase"  is- 
sued to  the  Purchasing  Division. 

It  is  then  the  responsibility  of  the 
Purchasing  Division  to  determine  the 
best  method  for  making  these  pur- 
chases and  meeting  these  require- 
ments. Shall  it  be  a  single  contract 
for  the  entire  quantity  over  a  speci- 
fied period?  Shall  the  quantity  be 
divided  between  two  or  more  sup- 
pliers? Shall  the  contract  period  be 
long  or  short?  Who  shall  be  asked 
to  bid  and  on  what  basis? 

Take  an  item  like  inked  ribbons. 
Western  purchases  well  over  $100,- 
000  worth  of  inked  ribbons  a  year 
for  the  Bell  System.  They  are  used 
for  typewriters,  tabulating  machines, 
adding  machines,  etc.  Excluding  all 
insufficiently  established  or  inexperi- 
enced companies,  there  are  some  41 


In  an  average  year,  Western's  Pur- 
chasing people  comb  the  Nation  for  the 
thousands  of  finished  products  essential 
to  the  Bell  System's  proper  functioning. 
These  include  such  items  as  thousands  of 
motor  vehicles,  124,000,000  pounds  of 
telephone  directory  paper,  750,000  tele- 
phone poles,  1,125,000  crossarms,  35,- 
000,000  feet  of  clay  conduit,  31,000,000 
pounds  of  steel  line  wire,  140,000,000 
feet  of  steel  strand,  and  36,000,000 
pounds  of  pole-line  hardvv^are — as  w^ell  as 
abrasives,  building  materials,  ceramics, 
chemicals,  fuels,  office  supplies,  paints 
and  varnishes,  textiles,  tools,  wearing 
apparel,  leather  products,  furniture, 
and  hospital,  laboratory,  and  restaurant 
supplies. 


suppliers  of  inked  ribbons  having  suf- 
ficient production  capacity.  Careful 
study  of  these  suppliers  by  purchas- 
ing experts   reduced  the  list  to    10. 

Now  came  the  work  of  soliciting 
bids  for  the  different  varieties  of 
inked  ribbons  to  be  covered  by  con- 
tracts, each  with  its  individual  price. 
Finally,  when  the  bids  came  in,  com- 
parisons had  to  be  made  with  the  re- 
sults of  laboratory  tests  for  each  type 
of  ribbons  and  also  to  see  whether 
saving  could  be  effected  by  dividing 
the  business  among  different  suppli- 
ers. The  business  was  then  split  be- 
tween two  sources  which  were  capable 
of  meeting  the  requirements  as  to 
quality  and  at  the  most  economical 
price. 

Or  take  an  item  like  floor  wax. 
The  Bell  System's  bill  for  floor  wax 
is  some  $200,000  per  year.  But  that 
is  not  all.  More  important  than  the 
original  cost  is  the  maintenance  cost 
and  the  possible  damage  to  linoleum 
floors,  if  the  wax  is  inferior.  The 
cost  of  linoleum  in  use   in  the   Bell 


5^ 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


Steel  from  factories  like  this  enters  into  the  manufacture 
of  various  items  of  telephone  equipment 


System  exceeds  $10,000,000.  A.  T. 
&  T.  has  figures  to  show  that  the 
maintenance  cost  of  linoleum  is  some 
$3,500,000  per  year.  The  figures 
also  show  that  improvements  in  wax 
developed  by  Bell  System  engineers 
over  a  period  of  15  years  and  now 
specified  in  suppliers'  contracts  have 
saved  the  System  some  $1,000,000 
per  year  in  reduced  maintenance  costs. 
It  can  thus  be  seen  that  the  original 
cost  was  not  the  only  or  the  most  im- 
portant factor  in  this  purchase  but 
that,  as  in  many  other  similar  in- 
stances, years  of  cooperative  effort 
between  the  supply  specialists  of  A. 
T.  &  T.,  Western  Electric's  purchas- 
ing specialists,  and  the  suppliers  were 
required  to  evolve  the  present  stand- 
ards and  produce  current  results. 


Finally,  let  us  take 
an  item  designed  espe- 
cially for  Bell  System 
use,  requiring  special 
tools  and  techniques. 
Such  an  item  would  be 
the  truck  bodies  for 
vehicles. 

There  are  a  number 
of  important  different 
body  designs  for  Bell 
System  trucks.  These 
range  from  the  small 
installation  truck,  with 
its  specially  designed 
body  with  drawers  and 
compartments  for  in- 
stallers' equipment 
mounted  on  a  half-ton 
chassis,  to  the  big  con- 
st ruction  trucks 
mounted  on  2-  to  5- 
ton  chassis  which  are 
equipped  to  pull  line 
wire,  dig  pole  holes, 
and  perform  other  op- 
erations. These  truck  bodies  are  not 
easy  to  manufacture,  and  suppliers 
who  can  produce  them  in  strict  ac- 
cordance with  A.  T.  &  T.  specifica- 
tions, and  at  the  same  time  produce 
them  economically,  are  difficult  to 
find.  This  is  particularly  so  when 
the  demand  is  heavy  and  old-line  sup- 
pliers have  more  orders  than  they 
can  handle,  with  the  result  that  new 
suppliers  must  be  developed.  To  se- 
cure such  bodies  with  the  present  steel 
shortage.  Western  entered  into 
agreements  with  three  suppliers  to 
produce  aluminum  bodies. 

These  examples  illustrate  some- 
thing of  the  complexity  of  purchasing 
for  a  delicately  balanced  and  highly 
intricate  nation-wide  telephone  sys- 
tem. 


1949 


Purchasing  by  the  Western  Electric  Company 


SZ 


The  Purchasing 
Organization 

The  600  people  of  the 
Purchasing  Division 
who  perform  this  major 
task  are  organized  Into 
four  groups. 

They  are :  ( i )  the 
group  responsible  for 
the  procurement  of  raw 
materials  and  supplies 
used  in  Western's  manu- 
facturing plants,  such 
as  copper,  lead,  steel, 
brass,  lumber,  machin- 
ery, apparatus,  tools 
and  equipment;  (2) 
the  group  responsible 
for  Bell  System  outside 
plant  materials,  includ- 
ing such  items  as  tele- 
phone poles,  crossarms, 
insulators,  clay  conduit, 
motor  vehicles,  and 
tools;  (3)  the  group 
responsible  for  the  procurement  of 
Bell  System  inside  plant  material, 
covering  such  Items  as  paper,  printed 
matter,  office  and  janitors'  supplies; 
and  (4)  the  group  responsible  for 
recommendation  of  procedures  for 
coordinating  purchasing  activities, 
supervision  of  clerical  methods,  and 
studies  of  markets  and  material  costs. 

Reporting  to  each  purchasing  agent 
within  each  group  are  the  assistant 
purchasing  agents  responsible  for  the 
work  of  the  buyers  under  their  super- 
vision. Each  assistant  purchasing 
agent,  with  his  group  of  buyers,  is  ex- 
perienced in  handling  a  particular 
group  of  related  or  analogous  prod- 
ucts, such  as  automotive  equipment, 
which  includes  items  like  trucks,  pas- 
senger cars,  gasoline,  batteries,  lubri- 


These  logs  are  on  the  way  to  become  telephone  poles. 
Western  purchased  more  than  y^Ofioo  poles  in  1948 


cants,  tires  and  tubes;  or  building 
equipment,  which  Includes  such  items 
as  fans,  paints,  and  commercial  re- 
frigerating equipment;  or  the  ceram- 
ics group,  with  such  items  as  clay  con- 
duit, insulators,  porcelain  tubes,  and 
pipe. 

But  efficient  purchasing  requires 
that  the  men  not  only  know  their  ma- 
terials, suppliers,  and  markets,  but 
that  they  understand  and  be  familiar 
with  local  markets  also.  And  for 
that  they  must  be  on  the  spot — at  the 
Works,  at  the  28  Distributing 
Houses,  and  in  the  field. 

For  this  reason,  purchasing  units 
are  stationed  at  each  of  Western's 
manufacturing  plants  to  buy  for  their 
respective  locations,  while  local  buy- 
ers are  also  maintained  at  the  Distril)- 


54 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


uting  Houses.  Each  local  buyer  is 
actually  a  member  of  the  Distributing 
House  organization  at  which  he  is 
stationed,  and  his  duties  are  to  assist 
in  the  proper  placement  of  orders  on 
contract  suppliers,  to  purchase  miscel- 
laneous non-contract  material,  and  to 
represent  the  Purchasing  Division  in 
the  field  by  giving  information  on  lo- 
cal conditions  and  potential  sources  of 
supply. 

The  purchasing  activities  of  all  dis- 
tributing houses  except  those  on  the 
Pacific  Coast  are  coordinated  by  the 
headquarters  supervisor  of  Distribut- 
ing House  buying.  In  addition,  there 
is  a  Pacific  Coast  purchasing  agent 
who  acts  as  a  general  representative 
of  the  Purchasing  Division  and  assists 
the  Distributing  House  managers  in 
that  area  with  their  local  buying 
problems.  He  also  negotiates  cer- 
tain contracts  for  such  materials  as 
are  required  from  coast  suppliers  and 


coordinates  his  activities  through  a 
headquarters  purchasing  agent. 

These  purchasing  men  know  their 
markets,  know  their  materials,  know 
their  suppliers.  They  understand 
their  suppliers'  problems  and  by  their 
knowledge,  ingenuity,  and  skill  have 
through  war  and  emergencies  not 
only  uncovered  many  reliable  and  val- 
uable sources  of  materials  and  sup- 
plies for  the  System  but  also  helped 
Western's  suppliers  meet  the  Bell 
System's  requirements. 

Thus,  year  after  year  Western's 
purchasing  job  means  keeping  open 
hundreds  of  raw  material  and  main- 
tenance supply  lines  to  the  System  it- 
self. From  thousands  of  cities  and 
towns,  from  27,000  suppliers — a 
cross  section  of  American  industry — 
Western's  Purchasing  men  continue 
to  gather  the  tens  of  thousands  of 
items  needed  in  the  maintenance  and 
operation  of  the  Bell  System. 


Index  Now  Available 

An  index  to  Volume  XXVII  (1948)  of  the  Bell  Tele- 
phone Magazine  may  be  obtained  without  charge  upon  re- 
quest to  the  Information  Department  of  the  American  Tele- 
phone and  Telegraph  Co.,  195  Broadway,  New  York  7,  N.  Y. 


Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the 

Bell  Telephone  Quarterly 

Items  from  Volume  III,  Number  2,  April  1924 


The  Meaning  of  Research 
To  the  Telephone  Investor 

In  forecasting  problems  and  supplying 
their  answers,  the  development  and  re- 
search staff  functions  as  a  reconnaissance 
agency  which  thoroughly  investigates  the 
future,  keeping  the  operating  and  service 
branches  of  the  telephone  army  which  are 
to  follow  supplied  with  exact  information 
as  to  the  technical  and  industrial  terrain 
over  which  they  will  pass.  In  this  way 
the  objectives  of  the  future  can  be  planned 
and  attained  with  much  greater  facility 
and  economy  than  would  otherwise  be  pos- 
sible. 

Research  helps  to  give  not  only  better 
service  at  a  reduced  cost  to  those  who  use 
the  telephone  but  also  increases  the  variety 
of  services  offered.  It  is  important,  there- 
fore, not  only  to  the  executives  of  the  Sys- 
tem but  to  the  telephone  user  because  if  as- 
sures him  the  best  service  our  knowledge 
of  natural  laws  makes  possible.  It  fur- 
thermore safeguards  the  investor  and  as- 
sures him  that  those  spending  his  money 
have  the  broadest  view  of  what  science 
holds  in  store  and  that,  as  new"  discoveries 
are  made,  they  will  be  woven  into  the 
plant,  which  his  money  has  built,  with  the 
maximum  of  efficiency  and  economy  and 
in  such  a  way  as  to  yield  the  best  returns. 

There  are  several  methods  of  depicting 
a  corporation's  business  and  financial  stand- 
ing. One  of  these,  and  perhaps  the  one 
most  usually  appealed  to,  is  the  balance 
sheet.  But  the  balance  sheet  tells  of  the 
past  while  research  forecasts  the  future; 
and  the  Bell  System,  while  proud  of  its 
balance  sheet,  faces  the  problems  and  op- 
portunities of  the  future  with  the  largest 


research  and  development  staff  in  the  world, 
with  a  successful  record  of  achievement 
behind  it. 

— From  an  article  by  R.  W. 

King  and  G.  C.  Southworth. 

Southern  Trans- 
continental Line 

The  new  Southern  Transcontinental 
Line — a  through  route  from  Denver  to 
Los  Angeles  by  way  of  El  Paso,  Tucson, 
and  Phoenix — was  placed  in  service  on 
the  afternoon  of  December  22,  1923  and 
a  Chicago-Los  Angeles  circuit  connected 
up  just  in  time  to  carry  its  share  of  the 
heavy  holiday  traffic  to  and  from  the  south- 
western section  of  the  United  States. 

This  circuit  .  .  .  2937  miles  in  length, 
is  the  longest  through  circuit  in  the  world. 
It  is  more  than  500  miles  longer  than  the 
Chicago-San  Francisco  circuit,  more  than 
1200  miles  longer  than  the  New  York- 
Havana  circuit,  and  more  than  1 500  miles 
longer  than  the  New  York-New  Orleans 
circuit.  The  longest  known  through  cir- 
cuits in  any  country  of  Europe,  from  Berlin 
to  Essen,  342  miles,  and  from  London  to 
Glasgow,  418  miles,  do  not  compare  with 
it  in  length. 

The  engineering  and  construction  of 
these  long  circuits  was  a  notew^orthy 
achievement.  For  a  greater  part  of  the 
circuit  the  wires  were  run  on  existing  pole 
lines,  but  two  long  stretches  of  entirely 
new  poles  were  required,  one  covering 
seventy-five  miles  between  Denver  and 
Colorado  Springs  and  the  second,  about 
ninety  miles  in  length,  between  San  An- 
tonio and  Rincon. 

Among  the  most  serious  of  the  problems 


56 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRINGi 


encountered,  from  the  construction  stand- 
point, was  the  difficulty  of  transporting  the 
large  amount  of  materials  required.  The 
varied  topographical  and  climatic  conditions 
met  with  in  the  course  of  the  work  may 
be  understood  when  it  is  remembered  that 
at  one  point — Raton  Pass,  near  the  Colo- 
rado-New Mexico  border — the  altitude  is 
7,600  feet ;  while  at  another — near  Salton, 


just  over  the  California  boundary  fromi 
Arizona — the  line  dips  into  a  depression  2001 
feet  below  sea  level.  In  building  the  line,! 
the  telephone  construction  trucks  had  toi 
make  their  way  over  mountain  roads,  des-i 
ert  sands,  lava  beds,  cactus  country  andi 
arid  lands  reclaimed  by  irrigation. 

— From  Notes  on  Recent 
Occurrences. 


Who's  Who  &  What's  What 

(Continued  from  page  3) 

moved  to  the  group  handling  toll  service 
results  and  central  office  training ;  and  in 
1945  he  became  Traffic  Results  Engineer. 
In  June  1949  he  was  transferred  to  the 
Commercial  division  as  Sales  and  Servic- 
ing Engineer. 

Joining  the  Bell  Telephone  Company  of 
Pennsylvania  at  Pittsburgh  in  1923, 
Arthur  F.  Leet  transferred  two  years 
later  to  the  Commercial  Results  section  of 
the  O.  &  E.  Department  of  A.  T.  &  T. 
There  his  work  has  included  the  develop- 
ment of  coin  telephone  collection  procedures, 
analysis  of  business  office  results,  and  esti- 
mates of  Commercial  expenses.  At  present 
he  is  engaged  in  the  improvement  of  bill 
forms  and  billing  procedures,  of  business 
office  methods  in  connection  with  custom- 
ers' payments,  and  in  the  safeguarding  of 
collections. 

Seven  years  as  associate  editor  of  Collier's 
Magazine  are  reflected  in  George  de 
Mare's  organization  of  the  article  on  the 
Western  Electric  Company  as  purchasing 
agent  for  the  Bell  System  and  his  exposition 
of  how  the  Company  executes  that  complex 
function.  Leaving  Collier's  in  1943,  he 
joined  the  Public  Relations  division  of 
Western  Electric,  and  is  at  present  man- 
aging editor  of  JVE,  Western  Electric's 
new  quarterly  publication. 

With   the   Pacific  Telephone   and   Tele- 


graph Company  since  1924,  Wheeler  F. 
ScHALL  has  spent  the  ensuing  quarter  cen- 
tury in  publicity,  information,  and  advertis- 
ing activities  in  the  Information  Depart- 
ment— except  for  four  years  in  the  business 
offices  of  the  Commercial  Department.  He; 
is  now  staff  supervisor  in  the  Company's! 
Northern  California  and  Nevada  Area  in- 
formation office,  and  writes  of  the  passing, 
of  San  Francisco's  most  famous  central 
office  with  all  the  familiarity  of  an  "Old' 
China  Hand." 

Last  winter's  storms  are  long  since  past, 
but  their  severity  was  so  extreme  as  to  take 
JuDSON  S.  Bradley  on  a  brief  trip  into 
Nebraska,  Missouri,  Oklahoma,  and  Texas 
to  observe  their  effect  upon  telephone  serv- 
ice. In  Omaha  he  was  able  to  learn  from 
Gen.  Lewis  A.  Pick,  director  of  "Operation 
Snowbound,"  and  from  Mr.  Donald 
Stout,  assistant  manager  of  the  Red  Cross 
Mid-western  area,  something  of  the  part 
which  the  telephone  played  in  their  wide- 
spread rescue  operations.  In  the  sleet  area 
to  the  southward,  he  had  opportunity  to  ob- 
serve the  progress  of  service  restoration  and 
to  talk  not  only  with  the  men  from  many 
states  who  were  rebuilding  the  lines  but 
with  others  who  were  directing  operations. 
Joining  the  Information  Department  of  the 
Southern  New  England  Telephone  Com- 
pany in  1925,  after  several  years  of  edi- 
torial and  publishing  experience,  he  trans- 
ferred five  years  later  to  the  corresponding 
department  of  the  A.  T.  &  T.,  where  he 
has  been  for  the  past  six  years  editor  of 
this  Magazine. 


Only    Chinese   Telephone    Central   Office   outside   of  China 

Yields  to  Progress  as  Switchboard  Is  Removed  and  Unique 

Building  Becomes  Business   Office 


San  Francisco's  Chinatown 
"Goes  Dial" 

IVheeler  F.  Schall 


San  Francisco's  picturesque  China- 
town telephone  central  office,  estab- 
lished in  1894,  and  the  only  Chinese 
telephone  office  outside  of  China 
itself,  has  "gone  dial." 

At  an  early  hour  on  January  22, 
1949,  the  final  cutover  of  all  tele- 
phones in  Chinatown  to  dial  opera- 
tion was  accomplished  by  the  Pacific 
Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company, 
without  incident  or  public  ceremony. 
The  telephones  of  700  subscribers 
had  previously  been  changed  to  dial 
service  in  November  1948.  The 
second  cutover,  involving  an  addi- 
tional 1,400  subscribers,  completed 
the  conversion  project,  and  old 
CHina  5  officially  became  YUkon  2. 

While  to  many  San  Franciscans 
the  change  marked  the  end  of  an 
interesting  chapter  in  local  his- 
tory, Chinatown's  12,000  inhabitants 
looked  on  the  transition  as  another 
milestone  in  the  Americanization  of 
their  colony.  Despite  their  deep 
regard  for  tradition,  San  Francisco's 


Chinese  are  forward-looking  citi- 
zens, keenly  interested  in  civic  prog- 
ress and  advancement  of  Western 
culture. 

Switchboards  are  being  removed 
from  the  pagoda-roofed  telephone 
building  at  743  Washington  Street, 
and  its  ornate  interior  will  be  con- 
verted to  business-office  purposes. 
Equipment  for  Chinatown's  new  dial 
service  is  housed  in  the  company's 
main  operating  building  on  nearby 
Bush  Street.  The  Chinese  opera- 
tors have  been  offered  work  oppor- 
tunities in  other  central  offices. 

The  history  of  the  China  exchange 
requires  a  flashback  to  the  begin- 
nings of  Chinatown,  on  a  foggy 
morning  in  February  1849,  when  the 
sailing  vessel  Eagle,  back  from  a 
cruise  in  Far  Eastern  waters,  dropped 
anchor  in  San  Francisco  Bay  at  the 
foot  of  Clay  Street.  The  Eagle 
carried  in  her  hold  a  cargo  of  tea  and 
silk — and    three    Chinese :    two    men 


58 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


and  a  woman.  This  trio  had  heard 
in  Canton  of  the  discovery  of  gold 
in  Gum  Shan,  or  Gold  Mountain, 
as  the  Chinese  called  America.  They 
had  come  to  San  Francisco  to  ac- 
quire a  fortune  of  a  few  hundred 
dollars  each.  After  that  they  would 
return  to  China  to  live  out  their  lives 
in  comfort,  die  in  state,  and  be  buried 
among  their  ancestors  with  ceremony 
befitting  Chinese  of  high  social  rank. 
These  three  persons  were  the  first 
Chinese  immigrants  to  set  foot  in 
San  Francisco — or  in  California, 
for  that  matter.  Strangers  in  a 
strange  land,  forlorn  and  disconso- 
late, they  trudged  off  the  wharf 
under  the  weight  of  their  bundled 
possessions  and  slowly  climbed  the 
muddy  trail  which  led  to  the  Plaza. 
Here  they  attracted  a  lot  of  atten- 


tion with  their  oriental  dress  and 
"pig-tails." 

As  trading  vessels  carried  the  news 
of  the  gold  rush  around  the  world, 
it  was  not  long  before  the  "cousins" 
of  these  Chinese  pioneers  began  to 
arrive  in  increasing  numbers.  In- 
coming ships  brought  at  first  a  few, 
then  a  score,  and  by  the  end  of  1850 
they  were  arriving  in  droves.  Cali- 
fornia needed  the  manpower,  and 
the  Chinese  were  not  only  welcomed 
but  were  urged  to  induce  their  coun- 
trymen to  come.  By  1852,  the 
Chinese  male  population  of  Cali- 
fornia was  estimated  at  22,000. 

A  majority  of  these  immigrants 
went  directly  to  the  gold  fields. 
There  they  were  not  so  kindly  re- 
ceived as  in  San  Francisco.  They 
worked  long  hours,   found  profit  in 


The  Chinatown  central  office  in  San  Francisco  which  was  removed  from  traffic  service 
early  this  year.  The  golden  dragons  sprawled  against  a  rose  background  near  the  roo/y 
and  the  elaborate  gilded  wood  carvings^  have  been  retained  as  the  building  is  converted 
to  business-office  use.  At  the  desk  in  the  center  of  the  picture  sits  Loo  Yee  Kern^  China- 
town manager.     Behind  him  to  his  left  are  R.  f.  fVood,  traffic  chiefs  and  Florence 

ChoWy  then  chief  operator 


1949 


San  Francisco's  Chinatown  ''Goes  DiaP* 


59 


The  operating  room  oj  the  Chwatown  central  office  which  was  destroyed  in  the  fire  of  igo6. 
In  the  foreground  stands  Loo  Kum  Shee^  first  manager  and  father  of  Loo  Yee  Kern 


"diggings"  which  the  white  miners 
had  abandoned  as  worthless,  and 
lived  frugally,  hiding  most  of  their 
earnings  away  for  the  great  day  of 
return  to  China. 

In  the  meantime,  a  minority  of 
Chinese,  mainly  merchants  and  deal- 
ers in  coolie  labor,  remained  in  San 
Francisco.  These  were  the  found- 
ers of  the  settlement  in  the  heart  of 
the  city  which  eventually  became 
known  as  "Chinatown." 

*  *  Invisible  Spirits' ' 

The  Chinese  were  quick  to  adopt 
American  machines  and  inventions 
— except  one.  The  exception  to  the 
rule  was  located  on  Bush  Street  near 
the  southern  end  of  Chinatown,  in  a 
telephone  office.  There,  by  the  early 
'eighties,  one  could  go  and  talk  to  in- 
visible spirits  of  persons  far  away — 
even  as  far  as  Sacramento.  Now, 
the  Chinese  were  not  afraid  of  most 
machines,  because  they  could  see 
how  they  worked.     But  talking  to  a 


little  black  box  on  the  wall  and  hav- 
ing it  talk  back,  sometimes  in  a  for- 
eign tongue,  was  surely  the  work  of 
evil  spirits,  and  they  would  have 
none  of  it. 

However,  one  by  one,  the  bolder 
merchants  and  labor  contractors 
ventured  to  use  the  public  telephone 
in  the  Bush  Street  telephone  office. 
With  no  bad  luck  befalling  them, 
they  repeated  the  experience  until 
superstition  gradually  disappeared 
and  the  telephone  became  a  factor 
in  the  daily  business  activities  of 
Chinatown's  business  men.  It  was 
several  years,  however,  before  it  was 
accepted  in  the  Chinese  home  for 
social  use. 

Most  of  the  early  Chinese  tele- 
phone business  was  conducted  over 
long  distance  lines.  Practically  all 
of  the  calls  were  placed  from  points 
outside  of  San  Francisco  by  farm- 
ers having  produce  to  sell,  and  by 
persons  seeking  Chinese  laborers. 
These  calls  would  come  into  the  Bush 
Street   office   of   the   telephone   com- 


6o 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


Switchboard  and  operators  of  the  Chinatown  central  office  in   igoi.     Chinese  men 
continued  to  serve  as  operators  until  igo^-o^ 


pany  with  the  request  to  have  a  par- 
ticular Chinese  merchant  or  labor 
contractor  in  Chinatown  called  to  the 
telephone. 

The  company  maintained  a  corps 
of  messenger  boys  to  hunt  up  Chinese 
wanted  on  the  telephone.  Finding 
the  right  person  in  a  settlement  of 
some  20,000  was  no  easy  chore,  but 
the  boys  gradually  learned  to  know 
their  customers'  names  and  favorite 
haunts.  If  the  person  wanted  was 
not  found  in  his  usual  place  of  busi- 
ness, the  messenger  would  track  him 
down  and  send  him  to  the  Bush  Street 
office  to  answer  his  waiting  call. 

A  Chinese  customer  seldom  liked 
to  go  to  the  telephone  office  alone. 
When  summoned  for  a  call,  he  would 
round  up  a  coterie  of  his  country- 
men to  go  along — placing  his  faith 
in  the  safety  of  numbers,  even 
against  the  designs  of  evil  spirits. 
Thus  they  would  come  in  such  num- 
bers, many  perhaps  out  of  curiosity, 
that  before  long  the  office  became  a 
sort  of  community  house. 


Eventually,  a  public  telephone  was 
installed  at  a  more  convenient  loca- 
tion, in  the  office  of  the  Chinese 
newspaper  Mun  Kee.  This  was 
sometime  prior  to  1891 — the  exact 
date  is  not  known.  Thereafter,  all 
Chinese  telephone  business  was  trans- 
acted there. 

As  the  Chinese  became  more  fa- 
miliar with  the  telephone,  they  real- 
ized its  value  in  business  and  began 
to  ask  for  service  in  their  stores  and 
offices.  In  1894,  a  small  switch- 
board was  installed  in  a  building  at 
the  corner  of  Washington  and  Du- 
pont  streets.  (Dupont  was  later 
renamed  Grant  Avenue.)  This  ex- 
change served  37  telephones  in 
Chinatown,  but  was  not  connected 
to  the  San  Francisco  system. 

The  Chinese  became  increasingly 
enthusiastic  about  telephone  service, 
and  applications  mounted  steadily. 
Soon  it  became  necessary  to  provide 
a  new  switchboard  and  expand  cen- 
tral-office facilities.  The  new  instal- 
lation was  placed  in  service  in  1898, 
with  200  business  stations  connected. 


949 


San  Francisco's  Chinatown  "Goes  Dial* 


6i 


This  was  the  first  Chinatown  cen- 
tral office  to  be  connected  with  the 
i  Pacific  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company  system  serving  the  rest  of 
San  Francisco,  and  provided  exclu- 
sively for  the  use  of  the  Chinese. 
A  Chinese  manager  was  placed  in 
charge.  He  solicited  subscribers, 
kept  accounts,  collected  bills,  and 
hired  and  paid  his  own  operators. 
Subscribers  talked  exclusively  in  Chi- 
nese. This  custom  gave  San  Fran- 
cisco the  unique  distinction  of  having 
the  only  telephone  office  in  the  world 
conducted  in  an  alien  tongue. 

The  First  Manager 

Chinatown's  first  telephone  man- 
ager was  Loo  Kum  Shu,  a  native 
Californian,  born  near  Marysville  in 
1864.  His  grandfather  was  among 
the  first  Chinese  immigrants  to  land 
in  California,  arriving  soon  after 
gold  was  discovered  by  Marshall  at 
Sutter's  Mill.  Loo  Kum  Shu's 
father  was  employed  by  the  Pacific 


Mail  Steamship  Company  until,  on 
an  ill-fated  voyage,  he  was  lost  at  sea. 

Loo  Kum  Shu,  then  eight  years 
old,  was  placed  in  the  home  of  Mrs. 
Florence  Bokee,  an  American  mis- 
sionary, who  taught  him  to  speak 
English  and  raised  him  as  her  own 
son.  He  received  his  elementary 
education  in  the  Chinese  Mission 
School,  at  Jackson  and  Dupont 
streets,  where  Mrs.  Bokee  was  a 
teacher.  He  continued  his  schooling 
at  the  University  of  California,  where 
he  was  graduated. 

Loo  Kum  Shu  managed  the  China- 
town telephone  exchange  for  28 
years.  The  office  early  became  one 
of  the  show  places  of  San  Francisco, 
and  welcomed  thousands  of  visitors 
from  all  parts  of  the  world.  A 
genial  host,  Loo  Kum  Shu  made 
many  friends,  and  became  one  of  the 
best-known,  best-liked  citizens  of  the 
community.  He  died  December  8, 
1926,  at  the  age  of  62.  His  funeral 
was  one  of  the  largest  ever  held  in 


This  group  of  Chinatown  operators  represents  a  total  of  i/f/  years  of  service 


62 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


An  operator  at  the  Chinatown  central  office  switchboard 


Chinatown.  The  service,  a  quaint, 
age-old  ceremony,  was  held  in  the 
open  air  in  historic  Portsmouth 
Square. 

Offices  Old  and  New 

The  Chinatown  telephone  office 
remained  at  the  corner  of  Washing- 
ton and  Dupont  streets  until  1902. 
In  that  year  the  company  purchased 
a  building  at  743  Washington  Street, 
and  remodeled  the  interior  especially 
to  accommodate  an  exchange  which 
would  be  unique  in  every  respect  and 
worthy  to  become  a  showplace  of 
San  Francisco. 

The  switchboard  was  ebony-fin- 
ished, and  above  it  two  golden 
dragons  sprawled  against  a  rose  back- 
ground. The  ceiling  was  softly 
tinted  and  richly  embellished  with 
gilded  wood  carvings  of  intricate  de- 


sign and  exquisite  work- 
manship. Walls  were 
done  in  black  lacquer 
trimmed  with  red  and 
gold.  By  night  the  of- 
fice was  illuminated 
with  huge  Chinese  lan- 
terns, the  most  elab- 
orate to  be  found  in  all 
Chinatown.  By  day  it 
drowsed  in  the  soft 
mellow  light  that  fil- 
tered through  quaint 
oyster-shell  windows. 
And  from  the  depths 
of  a  richly  tapestried 
shrine  near  the  en- 
trance, a  Chinese  god 
kept  watch  over  the  af- 
fairs of  the  little  office. 
This  ornate  exchange 
was  destroyed  in  the 
great  San  Francisco  fire 
of  1906.  Nothing  was  saved  but  a 
part  of  the  underground  plant.  The 
ruins  had  not  yet  ceased  to  smoulder 
when  plans  were  under  way  for  ^a 
new  telephone  system  for  Chinatown, 
complete  with  a  central  office,  larger 
and  better  than  the  one  destroyed. 

The  company  erected  its  new  Chi- 
nese central-office  building  on  the  site 
of  the  one  razed  by  the  fire,  and  in- 
stalled an  eight-position  switchboard 
of  the  latest  design.  The  new  office 
was  placed  in  service  in  August  1909, 
with  approximately  800  telephones 
connected.  This  office  served  China- 
town continuously  under  manual 
operation  until  the  system  was  con- 
verted to  dial. 

The  new  China  office  was  con- 
structed along  true  oriental  lines  to 
harmonize  with  its  surroundings,  al- 
though the  interior  was  not  as  ornate 


1949 


San  Francisco's  Chinatown  "Goes  Dial" 


63 


as  that  of  its  predeces- 
sor. It  was  unique, 
nevertheless,  and  re- 
mained a  showplace  of 
San  Francisco,  welcom- 
ing thousands  of  visi- 
tors every  year. 

Chinese 
Operators 

Most  of  the  25  Chi- 
nese operators  who 
worked  in  the  central 
office  followed  tele- 
phone work  as  a  family 
tradition.  Employment 
there  gave  a  mark  of 
standing  in  the  commu- 
nity, and,  as  such,  was 
passed  from  parent  to 
child.  In  fact,  several 
of  the  operators  were 
daughters  and  grand- 
daughters of  men  operators  who 
handled  calls  in  the  old  China  ex- 
change of  50  years  ago.  Mothers 
who  operated  the  switchboard  saw  to 
it  that  their  daughters  were  properly 
trained  and  educated  for  the  work. 
Each  was  made  an  accomplished 
linguist,  who  spoke  not  only  impec- 
cable English  but  also  five  Cantonese 
dialects :  the  Som  Yup,  Heong  San, 
Gow  Gong,  Say  Yup,  and  Aw  Duck. 
Calls  to  China  telephone  subscrib- 
ers were  made  in  the  usual  way  from 
San  Francisco  telephones.  How- 
ever, some  of  the  old-time  subscribers 
persisted  in  asking  to  speak  to  Lin 
Yung  or  Ah  Wong  without  giv- 
ing the  telephone  number.  Conse- 
quently, a  new  operator  spent  a  part 
of  her  first  three  weeks'  training 
studying  the  names,  addresses,  and 
telephone    numbers    of    some    2500 


A  service  representative  accepts  a  customer  s  payment 


subscribers  listed  in  the  China  tele- 
phone directory.  Within  a  few 
weeks  the  new  operator  was  usually 
able  to  recognize  the  party  wanted, 
whether  asked  for  in  English  or  in 
Chinese.  Little  wonder,  with  serv- 
ice like  that,  the  practice  of  calling 
by  name  instead  of  telephone  number 
continued  to  the  last! 

Choy  Chan  was  one  of  the  first 
women  operators  to  replace  the  men 
who  originally  staffed  China  office. 
As  a  girl,  she  was  a  messenger  whose 
duty  it  was  to  summon  Chinese  cus- 
tomers to  the  telephone  to  answer 
long  distance  calls.  When  Choy 
Chan's  father,  Chan  Yung  Lai,  one 
of  the  first  men  operators,  retired, 
she  took  his  place  at  the  switchboard. 
As  late  as  1901,  in  the  days  of  the 
Manchu  Dynasty,  Chan  wore  a 
queue    which    he    wound    in    a    coil 


64 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


around  his  head  to  keep  it  from 
tangling  with  the  switchboard  keys. 
With  the  creation  of  the  Manchurian 
Republic,  queues  of  the  Westernized 
Chinese  were  doffed.  Today,  the 
granddaughters  of  Chang  Yung 
Lai's  contemporaries  sit  at  their 
switchboards  wearing  up-to-date 
dress  and  hair  styles  like  other 
American  girls. 

Chinatown's  unique  telephone  di- 
rectory might  be  called  America's 
only  "hand-painted"  directory,  since 
all  names,  addresses,  and  numbers 
were  lettered  by  hand  in  Chinese 
characters.  The  China  directory 
was  set  up  by  street  addresses  rather 
than  alphabetically,  because  the  Chi- 
nese language  has  no  A-Z  alphabet 


The  first  Chinatown  central  office  switch- 
board of  the  Pacific  Telephone  and  Tele- 
graph Company,  which  handled  50  lines. 
This  picture,  taken  about  i8g5,  shows 
Suey  Sing  Ching,  operator;  Chan  Yung 
Lai,  standing;  and  the  latter  s  son,  Albert 
Bew  Chan,  ready  to  summon  a  customer 
to  receive  a  long  distance  call 


as  we  know  it.  Approximately  2800 
of  these  books,  which  were  exclu- 
sively for  Chinatown  users,  were  de- 
livered. For  other  San  Francisco 
telephone  users,  the  Chinese  names 
and  numbers  are  printed  in  English 
in  the  regular  city  telephone  direc- 
tory. 

The  lettering  of  the  Chinese  direc- 
tory was  done  by  a  young  Chinese, 
and  required  about  two  weeks  to 
complete.  The  finished  pages  were 
then  made  into  engravings  ready  for 
the  regular  American  printing  proc- 
ess. The  expert  letterer  used  a  thick 
sepia  ink  called  "mock"  taken  from 
the  ink  bag  of  a  cuttlefish  caught 
in  the  ocean  near  Monterey.  Pur- 
chased in  dried  pieces  and  ground  in 
a  mortar,  the  ink  was  mixed  with 
water  and  poured  over  a  sponge 
which  served  as  an  inkwell.  The 
letterer  used  a  small  brush  called 
"put." 

Telephoning  in  Chinatow?i 

Telephone  habits  of  the  Chinese 
are  quite  different  from  those  of 
other  San  Franciscans,  since  they  keep 
their  shops  open  until  late  at  night 
and  sleep  most  of  the  morning.  The 
peak  calling  hour  of  the  day  comes 
from  3  to  4  P.M.,  when  numerous 
social  conversations  are  carried  on. 
A  secondary  peak  calling  hour  is 
from  1 1  A.M.  to  noon,  when  China- 
town's late  risers  begin  to  stir  and 
start  the  day's  business.  These  call- 
ing habits  make  an  interesting  con- 
trast with  the  peak  hours  for  San 
Franciscans  in  general,  which  are 
from  9  to  II  A.M.,  4  to  5  P.M.,  and 
6  to  8  P.M. 

Life  in  Chinatown  is  full  of  activ- 
ity. Chinese  operas  occupy  the  at- 
tention of  many  from  7  to  12  every 


1949 


San  Francisco's  Chinatown  *'Goes  DiaP* 


6s 


evening.  Immediately  after  the 
opera,  it  is  the  custom  to  return  home 
and  telephone  for  food  and  refresh- 
ments. Chinese  telephone  users  fre- 
quently retire  at  midnight  when,  sit- 
ting up  in  bed,  they  call  up  friends 
for  lengthy  conversations.  China 
exchange  operators  were  not  sur- 
prised to  find  calls  continuing  from 
midnight  until  four  or  five  o'clock  in 
the  morning.  Chinese  women,  like 
their  American  sisters,  often  market 
by  telephone,  and  excel  in  making 
innumerable  calls  to  bargain  for  the 
lowest  possible  prices.  This  tele- 
phone bargaining,  of  course,  makes 
for  a  high  number  of  calls  per  day. 

Tong  wars  used  to  make  life  inter- 
esting for  the  telephone  operators  in 
the  old  days.  When  such  a  conflict 
arose,  every  member  of  the  staff  was 
subject  to  immediate  call  to  duty. 
The  echo  of  the  first  shot  had  scarcely 
died  before  every  position  on  the 
switchboard  was  filled.  This  would 
be  none  too  soon,  for  the  telephone 
calling  rate  soon  shot  up  fantastically 
as  the  Chinatown  populace  rushed  to 
warn  relatives.  As  tong  wars  were 
always  scheduled  to  start  at  the  same 
time  in  all  cities,  there  would  be  a 
deluge  of  long  distance  calls  to  China- 
towns through  the  United  States. 
These,  and  the  local  calls,  far  ex- 
ceeded the  capacity  of  the  boards  and 
the  ordinary  daily  calling  rate  of 
10,000.  Delays  piled  up  while 
anxious  relatives  pleaded  and  the 
operators,  queues  bobbing,  worked 
at  top  speed.  Quite  a  contrast  to  the 
peaceful  Chinatown  of  today. 

Quong  Lee,  a  Chinese  merchant  in 
the  heart  of  the  oriental  colony,  was 
among  the  first  150  subscribers  on 
the  Pacific  Coast,  and  the  first  Chi- 
nese    telephone     subscriber     in     the 


Exterior  of  the  former  China  5  central 
office  in  San  Francisco 

world.  His  name  appears  in  the  ini- 
tial San  Francisco  telephone  directory 
dated  June  i,  1878,  and  his  grandson 
is  still  a  subscriber  with  the  same 
name  in  the  same  location. 

Loo  Yee  Kern,  son  of  the  original 
manager  Loo  Kum  Shu,  is  the  pres- 
ent manager  of  the  China  telephone 
exchange.  Kern  took  his  first  tele- 
phone job  at  the  age  of  eight,  when 
he  and  his  brother  distributed  Chi- 
nese telephone  directories  in  a  little 
pushcart  which  they  wheeled  all  over 
Chinatown's  14  blocks.  He  learned 
to  operate  the  switchboard  at  the  age 
of  13.  Florence  Chow,  his  sister,  was 
the  chief  operator. 

And  even  though  the  telephone 
traflSc  of  the  Chinese  no  longer  has 
its  crossroads  at  743  Washington 
Street,  the  little  pagoda-roofed  "doll 
house"  still  beckons  to  visitors, 
proud  of  its  part  in  San  Francisco's 
colorful  Chinatown. 


Freakish    Weather^   Bringing    B/izzards   in    the   North   and 

Sleet  further  South^   Tests  the  Bell  System  s   Telephone  Plant 

and  Its  Recuperative  Powers 


The  Winter's  Toll  Was  Heavy 
From  Texas  to  the  Dakotas 


Judson  S.  Bradley 


Nature  laid  a  heavy  hand  last  win- 
ter on  much  of  our  country's  central 
West,  from  the  Canadian  border  al- 
most to  the  Gulf.  Extending  from 
the  Rocky  Mountains  across  the  high 
plains  to  the  middle  of  Nebraska,  the 
blizzards  were  the  severest  within 
the  memory  of  man.  Further  south, 
a  series  of  sleet  storms  cut  a  wide 
swath  across  Texas,  Oklahoma,  Ar- 
kansas, Kansas  and  Missouri  to  cre- 
ate one  of  the  major  service  disasters 
of  Bell  System  history.  And  while 
that  is  by  no  means  a  roster  of  all  the 
weather  that  occurred — as  Southern 
California,  for  example,  can  testify — 
it  was  upon  the  territories  of  the 
Northwestern,  the  Mountain  States, 
and  the  Southwestern  Bell  Tele- 
phone Companies  that  the  major  and 
most  extensive  storms  fell. 

The  winter's  storms  are  here 
spoken  of  collectively,  which  may  be 
misleading.  For  not  only  were  they 
different  in  calendar  and  geography, 


but  they  were  different  in  kind  and 
hence  in  effect.  And  it  is  a  bit  of  a 
paradox  that  in  the  north,  where 
day  after  day  of  dry  snow  driven 
by  bitter  winds  brought  damage, 
suffering,  and  death  in  a  vast  area, 
telephone  plant  stood  up  well  and 
telephone  service  was  a  carrier  of 
important  tidings  and  a  bringer  of 
needed  help;  while  further  to  the 
south  the  ice  and  sleet  caused  nothing 
much  more  serious  than  inconven- 
ience to  the  people  in  the  affected  ter- 
ritory and  yet  laid  low  telephone 
plant  which  it  is  costing  about  $io,- 
000,000  to  restore. 

Spring  follows  even  the  toughest 
winter,  and  all  repairs  were  made 
and  service  was  fully  restored  long 
since — thanks  to  the  Bell  System's 
nation-wide  resources  and  the  flexi- 
bility of  its  organization.  But  a 
good  many  people  are  going  to  think 
and  talk  for  years  to  come  of  the 
Blizzard  of  '49  as  old-timers  do  of 


JVinter^s  Toll  from  Texas  to  the  Dakotas 


67 


Traffic  on  U.  S.  Highway  jo  was  completely  blocked^  but  traffic  over  the  voice  highways 

beside  the  road  flowed  freely 

the  Blizzard  of  '88;  and  others  fur-  The  gravity  of  the  situation  in  the 

ther  to  the  south  will  for  years  to  northern  Plains  States,  and  the  heroic 

come   make   only   half-jocular   refer-  measures    required    to    meet    it,    at- 

ences  to  the  Ice  Age  of  1949.  tracted  wide  attention  when,  at  the 


This  picture  was  taken  from  in  front  of  the  Northwestern  BeWs  business  office  on  the 

main  street  in  Chadron^  Neb. 


68 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


There  is  no  hill  here.     These  two  North- 
western Bell  traffic  people  are  standing  in 
front  of  a  snowdrift  on  level  ground 


end  of  January,  General  Lewis  A. 
Pick,  Corps  of  Engineers,  U.  S. 
Army,  was  assigned  to  take  charge 
of  "Operations  Snowbound" — a  res- 
cue operation  on  the  grand  scale  in 
territory  comprising  177,000  square 
miles.  General  Pick,  then  Missouri 
River  division  engineer,  was  builder 
of  the  Ledo  Road  from  India  into 
China  during  World  War  II,  and  is 
now  Chief  of  the  Corps,  with  head- 
quarters in  Washington. 

But  the  storms  had  a  long  head- 
start. 

The  first  one  had  hit  the  territory 
of  the  Northwestern  Bell  toward  the 
end  of  last  November,  and  was  fol- 
lowed by  others  early  in  December 
and  after  Christmas.  They  did  more 
than  a  million  dollars  of  damage  to 
telephone  plant;  but  they  were  "nor- 


mal" winter  occurrences  and  could 
be— and  were — coped  with. 

January  brought  the  real  trouble. 
Swept  in  on  mile-a-minute  gales,  snow 
swirled  and  piled  up  and  swirled  again 
over  the  countryside  almost  continu- 
ously for  a  month.  Record-keepers 
identify  the  storms  of  January  3—6 
and  January  22—23  ^'^d  January 
27—28;  but  the  wind  seldom  stopped 
its  mad  dance  with  whirling  snow  for 
partner,  and  the  plains  for  hundreds 
of  miles  were  overwhelmed.  Most 
of  January  was,  in  effect,  one  continu- 
ous blizzard. 

The  consequences  were  disastrous. 
In  parts  of  Nebraska,  North  and 
South  Dakota,  Wyoming,  and  Colo- 


To  clear  a  case  of  trouble  here,  this 
binationman  had  to  dig  down  to  the 
on  top  of  20-foot  poles 


corn- 
wires 


1949 


PVinter^s  Toll  from  Texas  to  the  Dakotas 


69 


rado,  mobility  all  but 
ceased.  Highways, 
roads,  farm  lanes  were 
impassable.  People 
in  cars  and  trucks  fled 
them  and  found  shel- 
ter— or  missed  it  and 
perished.  Trains 
were  blocked  for  days 
on  end.  Cattle  froze 
or  starved  by  the 
thousands.  Not  only 
farm  homes  and 
ranches  were  isolated 
and  imperiled,  but 
whole  communities. 
Often  a  thread  of 
wire — a  telephone  line — was  the  only 
source  of  comfort  and  reassurance, 
the  only  link  with  aid  or  rescue. 

By  and  large,  the  telephone  held 
up  against  wind  and  snow.  "The 
telephone  was  our  life  line,"  said  a 
Nebraska  rancher. 

The  telephone  served  in  two  major 
ways.  In  hundreds  upon  hundreds 
of    individual    instances,    it    brought 


Stretcher  case.     Men  of  the  Fifth  Armyy  the  Red  Cross y 

and  the  State  Patrol  cooperated  to  bring  this  patient  to 

safety  with  an  Army  "weasel" 


These  men  of  the  Mountain  States  Telephone  and  Tele- 
graph  Company^   and  others   not  pictured^   used  their 
''snow  buggy"  to  save  several  lives   in  the   Cheyenne^ 
Wyo.y  area 


help — food  or  medicine  or  evacu- 
ation or  just  a  snow-ploughing  bull- 
dozer— to  people  whom  winter  had 
immobilized.  And — the  other  half 
of  the  picture — the  telephone  di- 
rected not  only  the  responses  to  such 
appeals  but  the  large-scale  operations 
of  local  and  state  authorities,  the 
Army,  the  Red  Cross. 

The  scene  is  large  and  the  details 
are  many.  There  is 
no  full  record,  for  ex- 
ample, of  the  number 
of  babies  who  were 
born  in  hospitals  be- 
cause the  telephone 
summoned  a  weasel 
(light  tractor-mounted 
Army  truck)  or  ski- 
mounted  plane  to  get 
the  mother  there 
ahead  of  the  stork; 
nor  of  the  babies  who 
were  born  "by  tele- 
phone" so  to  speak — 
with  the  guidance  and 
encouragement  of  the 
doctor's  voice  coming 
over   the   wire — be- 


70 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


cause  no  vehicle  could  get  through. 
Three  neighboring  towns,  all  snow- 
bound, had  no  doctor,  so  the  Red 
Cross  stationed  one  at  a  point  central 
to  all  three,  where  a  telephone  sum- 
mons could  bring  him  air-borne  to  a 
patient's  bedside.  Just  about  every 
individual  rescue — and  there  were 
thousands — whether  by  Red  Cross, 
the  Army,  a  community  group,  or  a 
telephone  man  in  a  heavy  construction 
truck,  came  as  the  consequence  of  a 
telephone  call. 

The  primary  mission  of  General 
Pick's  "Operation  Snowbound"  was 
to  open  roads  in  an  area  bigger  than 
all  New  England  and  a  couple  of 
other  states  too.  His  forces  un- 
blocked more  than  115,000  miles  of 
roads,  and  thereby  gave  many  fami- 
lies access  to  food,  fuel,  cattle  feed, 
and  other  necessities.  His  headquar- 
ters were  established  in  Omaha,  and 


two  main  field  offices  were  opened  in 
Nebraska,  two  in  South  Dakota,  and 
one  in  Wyoming.  These  were  sup- 
plemented by  more  than  30  smaller 
offices  throughout  the  territory. 
Thousands  of  men  and  hundreds  of 
pieces  of  heavy  equipment  were  lo- 
cated— most  of  them  by  telephone — 
and  dispatched  with  all  possible 
speed,  and  the  telephone  played  its 
vital  part  in  bringing  reports  and 
conveying  directives  throughout  the 
vast  area. 

Said  General  Pick,  "Operation 
Snowbound  relied  constantly  upon 
the  telephone  and  other  speedy 
means  of  communication.  Without 
the  telephone  and  the  fine  coopera- 
tion of  telephone  people  and  switch- 
board operators,  our  task  would  have 
been  much  less  speedily  accomplished 
and  relief  longer  delayed." 


"Operation  Snowbound'':  the  general  Headquarters  office  in  Omaha 


1949 


Winter  s  Toll  from  Texas  to  the  Dakotas 


71 


Flying  Doctor.     A  telephone  call  to  the  Red  Cross  brought  him  to  a  patienCs  bedside  by 
helicopter  or  by  plane  equipped  with  skis 


The  primary  mission  of  the  Red 
Cross  took  up  where  the  Army  left 
off.  It  was  to  meet  all  basic  human 
needs  of  an  emergency  nature :  food, 
fuel,  medicine,  evacuation  of  the  eld- 
erly and  ill  and  injured.  So  close  was 
the  coordination  between  the  two  that 
Mr.  Donald  Stout,  Assistant  Man- 
ager of  the  Red  Cross  Mid-western 
area,  set  up  his  headquarters  in  the 
same  Omaha  building  with  General 
Pick  and  his  staff,  and  consultation 
was  frequent  and  effective. 

While  the  scope  of  the  disaster 
called  for  the  assistance  of  national 
Red  Cross  representatives  and  na- 
tional funds,  most  of  the  work  was 
performed  by  Red  Cross  local  chap- 
ter volunteers.  Canteens  fed  block- 
aded travelers,  348  air  force  and  pri- 
vate planes  flew  Innumerable  mis- 
sions   of   mercy,    644   persons   were 


evacuated  by  air  arid  others  by  vari- 
ous types  of  land  vehicles. 

The  telephone,  said  Mr.  Stout, 
"was  invaluable  in  practically  every- 
thing we  did.  By  telephone  we  were 
able  to  dispatch  directives  quickly,  to 
route  our  planes  and  personnel,  order 
relief  supplies,  make  surveys.  .  .  ." 

Many  a  telephone  operator,  hav- 
ing reached  the  central  office  against 
a  snowy  blast,  could  not  venture 
home  again  for  days,  and  stayed 
either  at  a  nearby  hotel  or  on  a  cot 
in  the  telephone  building  until  the 
fury  of  the  storm  abated.  In  some 
places  they  could  get  out  for  meals, 
elsewhere  food  was  sent  in,  and  in 
still  other  places  where  the  traffic 
load  was  heav>%  snowbound  Plant 
and  Commercial  men  cooked  meals  in 
the  Traflic  kitchenettes  and  even  did 
"KP"  afterward. 


72 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


'••kf*'' 


No  traffic  moves  on  this  Missouri  highway  because  the  glistening  ice  on  its  surface  is 
three  inches  thick  and  quite  unnavigable 


Operation  Snowbound 
The  Score 

115,138  miles  of  road  cleared  in  four 
states. 

243,780  marooned  people  reached  by 
road  clearance  operations. 

4,010,000  head    of    livestock    provided 
with  access  to  feed. 

i>559  reconnaissance  trips  made  by 
air  and  ground  vehicles. 

14,565  Red   Cross  services  provided 
by  air   and   ground   vehicles. 

876  ill   and   aged   persons   evacu- 
ated, two-thirds  by  air. 

11,130  families    aided    through    Red 
Cross  services. 

17,419  meals   served    in    Red    Cross 
canteens. 


Telephone  men  took  on  extra  duty 
in  getting  operators  to  and  from 
work  in  company  cars  and  heavy 
trucks;  and  in  Colorado  and  Wyo- 
ming, men  of  the  Mountain  States 
Company,  which  has  specially 
equipped  snowmobiles  for  traveling 
off  the  roads,  responded  to  urgent 
summons  and  saved  the  lives  of  sev- 
eral men,  women  and  children. 

One  operator  spoke  for  all  these 
blizzard-beleaguered  telephone  peo- 
ple when,  after  battling  her  way  to 
the  central  office,  she  said,  "Sure  it 
was  tough  getting  down  here.  But 
if  there  is  any  romance  in  the  tele- 
phone business,  it  is  in  times  like 
these  when  everyone  is  trying  to 
make  a  call  of  some  kind  and  you 
never  know  how  much  that  particu- 
lar conversation  will  mean  to  the 
customer." 


1949 


Winter  s  Toll  from  Texas  to  the  Dakotas 


73 


fFhat  the  sleet  did  to  this  Dallas-St.  Louis  line  near  the  Texas-Oklahoma  border  is 
typical  of  the  destruction  over  a  wide  area 


Farther  to  the  south,  Kansas  and 
Oklahoma  had  likewise  been  plagued 
by  November  storms.  They  were 
just  curtain-raisers,  however,  for 
what  the  New  Year  brought. 

What  it  brought  was  storms  in  se- 
ries ;  wind,  rain,  floods,  sleet — mostly 
sleet.  For  the  last  three  weeks  of 
January,  a  good  part  of  the  territory 
of  the  Southwestern 
Bell  Telephone  Com- 
pany was  subject  to  a 
succession  of  sleet 
storms  which  added  up 
to  the  costliest  and 
most  extensive  catas- 
trophe in  that  com- 
pany's experience. 
From  the  western 
border  of  Texas  in  a 
wide  band  to  the  north- 
and  eastward  for  1500 
miles,  clear  to  the  up- 
per edge  of  Missouri, 


and  including  a  large  share  of  Okla- 
homa and  corners  of  Kansas  and  Ar- 
kansas, trees  went  down,  poles  went 
down,  wires  went  down. 

Before  the  sleet  of  the  January  10 
assault  had  melted,  forces  were  ral- 
lied to  the  pressing  task  of  restora- 
tion. But  it  was  a  Sisyphean  under- 
taking; for  a  crew  which  rebuilt  and 


Some  icicles  were  as  much  as  six  inches  long 


74 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


restrung  an  open-wire  pole  line  and  and  power  lines  suffered  too.  The 
left  it  firm  and  secure  might  be  called  stoppage  of  light  and  heat  and 
back  a  few  days  later  to  pick  it  up  power  brought  floods  of  emergency 
out  of  the  road  where  it  had  been  telephone  calls,  yet  many  could  not 
flung  by  a  second  crushing  load  of  be  completed  over  broken  wires. 
ice.  In  some  places  such  heartbreak-  Emergency  generators  were  pressed 
ing  occurrence  actually  happened  into  use,  operators  in  scores  of  cen- 
three  times  in  a  row  before  the  tral  ofllices  worked  by  candlelight, 
storms  left  off  bedeviling  that  part  of  and  in  some  places  they  had  to  resort 
the  world.  to    hand    ringers.      More    than    one 

By  that  time,  the  score  for  South-      chief    operator    looks    back    on    that 
western  Bell,  and  for  the  Long  Lines      combination    of    heavy    calling    and 
Department  of  A.  T.  &  T.,  which  of      limited   facilities  as  the  most  trying 
course  operates  through  the  same  ter-      period  of  her  career. 
ritory,  was  staggering.     Of  the  for- 
mer's outside  plant  alone,  24,000  tele- 
phone poles  were  down,  36,000  cross- 
arms  were  broken.    There  were  more 
than    200,000    breaks    in    toll    wire 
alone,  53,000  telephones  were  dead. 
Some  200  communities  were  isolated 
and  4800  long  distance  circuits  were 
knocked  out. 

It   was   not    only   telephone   poles 
and   wires   that   fell.      Electric   light 


This  chicken  house  provided  shelter  for  one  half  of  a  pair  of  portable  radio  telephone 
units  which  gave  temporary  service  between  Eldon  and  fefferson  City^  Mo. 


1949 


Winter  s  Toll  from  Texas  to  the  Dakotas 


IS 


The  great  needs  were, 
of  course,  two:  mate- 
rials— supplies  and 
equipment — to  replace 
what  was  destroyed  or 
useless;  and  men,  to 
build  the  materials 
bacic  into  the  plant  and 
restore  the  service. 
Both  were  forthcoming 
— fast. 

All  Southwestern 
Bell's  own  crews  were 
summoned  and  assigned 
to  storm  repair,  natu- 
rally. But  because  the 
Bell  System  operates  as 
just  one  unit  when  exi- 
gencies require,  help 
came  from  neighboring 
Associated  Companies 
not  so  storm-stricken — 
Illinois  Bell,  Southern 
Bell,  Mountain  States 
Tel.  &  Tel.  And  Long 
Lines  sent  in  crews 
from  1 8  states.  To  see 
telephone  trucks  from  Florida  and 
Colorado  and  Pennsylvania  and 
Michigan  and  many  another  state  all 
concentrated  on  the  one  task,  and  to 
know  that  the  men  can  work  effi- 
ciently, no  matter  where  their  home 
base,  because  methods  and  materials 
are  the  same  everywhere,  is  to  get 
some  concept  of  what  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem is  and  what  its  single  aim  means 
for  the  nation's  telephone  service. 

So  the  outside  crews  came  a-run- 
ning.  They  were  most  welcome,  and 
preparations  had  been  made  to  wel- 
come them.  For  men  need  places  to 
sleep  and  food  to  eat;  and  when 
many  men  suddenly  descend  upon 
sparsely  settled  areas,  with  commu- 


Me7ty  trucks,  and  supplies  combine  to  bring  about  this 
swift  restoration  near  Durante  Okla. 


nities  small  and  perhaps  many  miles 
apart,  they  pose  a  problem  to  which 
an  answer  must  be  found  with  no 
delay. 

Southwestern  Bell  plant  men  found 
many  answers.  They  practically 
took  over  such  hotels  and  motor 
courts  as  met  the  need.  They  ob- 
tained rooms  in  private  homes,  they 
found  temporary  accommodations  in 
Veterans'  Hospital,  National  Guard 
Armory,  school  dormitory,  other  un- 
usual quarters.  Many  a  hotel  chef 
got  up  earlier,  many  a  dining-room 
proprietor  called  in  more  waitresses, 
many  a  lunch-room  operator  doubled 
and  tripled  his  orders  for  supplies  to 
care    for   the    appetite   of   the   new- 


76 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SPRING 


Temporary  restoration  near  Abilene ^  Tex.: 

a  broken  pole  reset  to  get  the  toll  lead  back 

into  service 


comers.  But  all  were  housed  and 
fed,  so  that  they  could  and  did  go  at 
their  tasks  with  energy. 

Soon  after  the  sleet-fall,  in  some 
places  the  ice  under  foot  was  a  haz- 
ard. At  times  the  trucks  could  not 
be  used  because  they  could  not  be 
controlled  on  the  sheer  glaze,  and 
when  men  attempted  to  walk  or  to 
carry  materials  they  could  scarcely 
stand  and  could  make  no  forward 
progress. 

On  some  days  chilly  rain  fell.  The 
men  were  clad  against  it,  but  it  was 
disagreeable,  and  as  they  worked  they 
prayed  that  it  would  not  freeze. 

The  greatest  villain — after  the 
sleet — was  mud :  sticky,  heavy 
gumbo,  the  kind  that  won't  come  off. 
Even    four-wheel-drive    trucks    with 


chains  on  all  four  wheels  bogged 
down,  and  when  a  driver  gave  full 
power  to  wheels  that  the  mud 
gripped  fast,  an  axle  was  likely  to 
snap.  More  than  one  crew,  loaded 
with  crossarms  or  wire  or  hardware, 
had  to  walk  miles  through  mud  which 
grew  heavier  with  every  step  because 
no  truck  could  negotiate  the  mire 
which  halted  direct  access  to  the  line. 

The  point  is,  of  course,  that  de- 
spite many  handicaps  the  men  got  to 
where  they  were  needed.  Once 
there,  they  pitched  right  in,  and  by 
virtue  of  long  days,  expert  skill,  and 
capable  direction,  got  the  job  done. 
The  circuits  were  quickly  back  on  an 
emergency  basis,  while  more  perma- 
nent restoration  followed  where 
necessary. 

Even  before  the  wires  could  be  put 
back.  Bell  System  emergency  radio 
telephone  equipment  brought  stop- 
gap service  to  break  many  towns' 
isolation.  To  supplement  South- 
western Bell's  three  two-way  sets, 
others  were  quickly  obtained  from 
the  Wisconsin,  Illinois,  Mountain 
States,  and  Southern  Bell  companies, 
and  Long  Lines,  and  between  the 
middle  of  January  and  early  Febru- 
ary almost  1300  toll  calls  were  han- 
dled by  these  portable  sets.  Over 
one  of  them  the  average  was  100 
calls  a  day  for  four  days. 

Urgent  as  was  the  need  for  resto- 
ration, safety  of  every  man  was  the 
first  consideration.  Falls  and  power 
lines  were  the  big  hazards,  and 
against  these  the  Plant  Department 
took  special  precautions.  Standing 
poles,  no  matter  how  firm  they 
seemed,  were  pike-tested  before  men 
climbed  them;  and  lines  were  pre- 
checked  for  contact  with  dangerous 


1949 


IVinters  Toll  from  Texas  to  the  Dakotas 


77 


power  lines  before  the  men  were  per- 
mitted a  near  approach. 

Cooperation  between  telephone 
men  and  power  company  men  was 
cordial  and  effective.  The  foremen 
gave  priority  to  power  company  dis- 
patching circuits,  so  that  the  power 
companies  could  send  emergency 
crews  to  repair  dangerous  line 
breaks,  and  those  crews  made  it  their 
first  business  to  free  telephone  wires 
of  "power  crosses." 

Even  as  telephone  men  poured  in 
from  more  than  a  score  of  states  lo 
meet  the  crisis,  so  did  telephone  sup- 
plies— thanks  to  the  scope,  the  or- 
ganization, and  the  emergency  ex- 
perience of  the  Western  Electric 
Company,  the  manufacturing  and 
supply  unit  of  the  Bell  System. 

As  the  extent  of  the  damage  in 
Southwestern  Bell  territory  became 
apparent,  Western  Electric  went  into 
action,  following  the  pattern  which 
experience  has  proved  so  effective  in 
Bell  System  emergencies  over  a  pe- 
riod of  many  years.     Emergency  or- 


ganizations, set  up  before  the  win- 
ter storm  season  commenced,  were 
alerted.  Within  hours  of  the  first 
damage  reports,  badly  needed  sup- 
plies were  rolling  into  the  storm 
areas  by  plane,  truck,  and  train. 

Key  personnel  of  Western's  Dis- 
tributing Houses,  Merchandise  and 
Supplies  Service  organizations,  and 
Traffic  Division  remained  on  the 
alert  24  hours  a  day,  seven  days  a 
week,  to  expedite  shipments  of  mate- 
rials. The  demands  for  supplies  to 
restore  service  presented  the  severest 
test  of  Western  Electric's  emergency 
resources  since  the  New  England  hur- 
ricane of  1938.  From  January  12 
until  storm  requirements  were  ful- 
filled, shipments  of  copper  line  wire 
alone  amounted  to  2,100,000  pounds. 
Among  other  items  delivered  in  very 
large  quantities  during  this  period 
were  9,800,000  feet  of  drop  wire, 
241,000  pounds  of  copper  tie  wire, 
108,000  pounds  of  steel  line  wire, 
720,000  feet  of  strand,  1,771,000 
copper  tie  splints,  1,469,000  sleeves, 


Texas  mud  greatly  complicated  the  progress  of  restoration 


No  Wonder  We  Won  a  War 


Durant,  Oklahoma 
February  i,  IQ4Q 

The  Telephone  Hour 
N.  B.  C,  Radio  City 
New  York,  N.  Y. 

To  Whom  It  Will  Be  of  Most  Interest: 

This  is  the  right  time  to  tell  the  Bell 
Telephone  Company  some  of  the  nice 
things  we  know  about  them. 

Last  week  we  were  without  a  tele- 
phone, due  to  the  ice-storm  that  envel- 
oped this  district,  a  continuation  of  one 
that  developed  in  west  and  north  Texas 
early  in  January.  Unless  one  witnessed 
it,  it  is  impossible  to  believe!  The  tops 
of  tall  trees  lay  on  the  ground,  under 
tons  of  sheet-ice — the  telephone  and  elec- 
tric lines  were  as  large  around  as  a  man's 
forearm  and  of  course  were  eventually 
a  mass  of  tangled  wreckage.  For  sixty 
hours  the  noise  of  falling  wires  and  tim- 
ber was  like  a  barrage  in  battle — in  fact, 
one  facetious  fellow's  last  call  before  his 
phone  went  out,  was  to  the  newspaper 
and  the  single  word  "T-i-m-b-e-r !" 
Our  telephone  went  out  Tuesday — by 
Saturday  hundreds  of  men  from  this  and 
surrounding  states — telephone  crews — 
were  working  feverishly  to  restore  serv- 
ice. In  the  block  behind  my  home  it 
took  hours  to  beat  the  ice  off  the  fallen 
wires,  put  up  new  poles  and  cross-beams. 

I  did  not  see  one  man  (and  I  had  a 
good  observation  post)  hesitate  or  waste 
time  in  this  work  of  restoration — altho 
the  temperature  stood  for  hours  at  3 
degrees  to  10  degrees  above  zero. 
Those  men  climbed  the  poles  and 
worked  as  if  it  were  a  pleasure — singing 
and  joking  and  laughing — not  a  gripe! 


At  dark  last  night  when  I  could  no 
longer  see,  two  men  were  still  on  top  of 
a  telephone  pole  just  back  of  my  house. 
I  don't  know  if  they  "observe  hours" — 
but  service  was  certainly  the  first  objec- 
tive with  them,  I  can  assure  you!  (No 
wonder  we  won  a  war.) 

When  night  came  we  tuned  in  to  "The 
Telephone  Hours"  as  we  always  do — I 
hoped  some  reference  would  be  made  to 
the  loyalty  and  efforts  of  these  men  (but 
we  are  so  small  and  so  far  away  from 
Radio  City)  but  I  was  not  disappointed, 
only  the  half  was  not  told :  Nor  could  it 
be!  Like  this  reference  I  must  make  to 
a  youngster,  not  more  than  twenty  years 
old,  I'm  sure,  who  lifted  and  attached 
our  personal  service  wire.  The  pole 
with  the  saw  on  it  was  heavy,  a  heavy 
limb  was  across  the  wire  and  the  long 
line  was  heavy  and  the  boy  cold — so — 
he  lost  control  of  the  pole  and  it  fell, 
striking  him  across  the  face  and  head, 
staggering  him,  and  knocking  his  cap  to 
the  ground.  I  felt  like  saying  a  bad 
word  for  him,  as  he  didn't,  but  without 
hesitation  he  grasped  that  instrument 
again  with  an  air  of  "I'll  show  you  who 
is  boss,"  and  finished  his  job.  Then 
when  he  came  in  to  check  my  'phone,  he 
observed  that  my  cord  was  worn  so  he 
volunteered  "I'm  going  to  report  your 
cord  in  bad  condition  and  you'll  get  a 
new  one  soon."  (Just  that  extra  ounce 
of  service.) 

Yes,  your  program  and  music  is  won- 
derful and  your  organization  a  miracle 
but  a  miracle  brought  about  by  the  loy- 
alty and  interest  of  men  like  that  boy — 
Thank  you  for  both. 

Sincerely, 

Mrs.  W.  C.  Riddle 


78 


Winter  s  Toll  from  Texas  to  the  Dakotas 


79 


81,700  crossarms,  and  over  15,000 
poles. 

All  told,  a  total  of  52  different 
classes  of  items  were  shipped  from 
Western  Electric  Distributing 
Houses,  factories,  and  suppliers  in 
72  cities  and  towns  in  24  states  and 
delivered  to  the  Southwestern  Bell 
Telephone  Company  at  point  of 
need.  Despite  the  magnitude  of  this 
emergency  job,  there  was  no  sacrifice 
of  quality  in  the  materials  supplied. 
Western  Electric  supplies  inspectors 
saw  to  it  that  the  same  high  stand- 
ards were  maintained  in  the  emer- 
gency shipments  that  apply  in  every- 
day operation. 

Focal  points  for  the  distribution  of 


these  large  quantities  of  materials  to 
the  affected  areas  were  Western  Elec- 
tric's  St.  Louis  Distributing  House 
and  the  Houses  located  at  Dallas, 
Kansas  City,  and  Houston.  Supplies 
were  sped  from  these  Distributing 
Houses  and  direct  from  suppliers  to 
the  telephone  company  repair  crews 
in  the  field  as  fast  as  needed.  Dis- 
tributing House  stocks  were  immedi- 
ately replenished  from  Merchandise 
stock  at  Western's  Works  locations 
and  at  suppliers'  plants  or  from  mate- 
rial specially  manufactured  by  West- 
ern Electric  and  its  suppliers.  Ship- 
ments were  also  made  to  the  Houses 
in  the  affected  area  from  Western 
Electric  Distributing  Houses  in  Min- 


Day  and  nighty  the  supplies  were  loaded  aboard  trucks  at  Western  Electric  distribution 
houses  for  the  storm  area.     This  picture  was  taken  at  the  Houston  House 


8o 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


neapolis,  Denver,  New  Orleans,  and 
Atlanta. 

At  factory  locations,  normal  ship- 
ments of  critical  items  were  diverted 
to  the  storm  areas  until  emergency 
requirements  were  filled.  Many 
items  were  manufactured  on  a  highly 
accelerated  basis.  One  such  emer- 
gency assignment  was  an  order  for 
some  eight  miles  of  toll  cable  to  re- 
place cable  destroyed  by  an  overload 
of  ice  on  the  main  pole  route  between 
Dallas  and  Oklahoma  City.  By  giv- 
ing the  job  the  highest  priority. 
Western  Electric's  Point  Breeze 
Works  made  and  delivered  the  cable 
in  one  week.  A  short  time  later, 
four  miles  of  toll  cable  for  emergency 
replacement  near  Denison,  Texas, 
was  turned  out  by  Point  Breeze  in 
four  days. 

At  one  point,  to  keep  pace  with  the 
demand  for  copper  sleeves.  Western 
Electric  had  the  raw  materials 
shipped  by  air  express  from  Rome, 
N.  Y.,  to  Chicago.  The  shipment 
arrived  at  7  p.m.  on  a  Saturday  and 
was  taken  to  Western's  Clearing  and 
47th  Street  Plants  for  processing. 
Finished  sleeves  were  on  their  way  to 
the  St.  Louis  Distributing  House  by 
noon  next  day. 

Many  times,  storm  orders  came 
through  late  at  night.  For  just  such 
situations.  Western  Electric  main- 
tains an  emergency  directory  of 
Western  Electric  personnel,  sup- 
pliers, and  transportation  companies, 
which  gives  the  home  telephone  num- 


bers of  individuals  delegated  to  han- 
dle emergencies.  Suppliers'  repre- 
sentatives were  frequently  located  at 
their  homes — one  was  even  called  out 
of  a  barber's  chair  while  being 
shaved — by  members  of  Western 
Electric's  Supplies  Service  organiza- 
tion and  requested  to  get  material 
ready  for  shipment.  Meanwhile, 
members  of  Western's  Traffic  Divi- 
sion telephoned  trucking  companies, 
airlines,  railroads  to  arrange  for  the 
routing  of  the  cargo  to  the  storm 
areas  by  the  fastest  means  possible. 

Delivery  of  such  large  quantities 
of  materials  In  such  quick  time  Is  pos- 
sible because  Western  Electric's  long 
experience  with  the  needs  and  prob- 
lems of  the  Bell  companies  permits 
advance  planning,  because  Western 
Electric's  nation-wide  facilities  may 
be  called  upon  at  a  moment's  notice 
night  or  day,  and  because  Western 
Electric  and  telephone  company  peo- 
ple are  accustomed  to  working  to- 
gether in  emergencies  and  In  day-to- 
day operations  as  a  closely  Integrated 
team. 

Call  them  one  storm  or  many,  they 
presented  a  challenge  to  the  Bell 
System.  And  in  both  areas,  north  and 
south,  the  System's  men  and  women 
— and,  yes,  organizations — have 
again  shown  their  capabilities.  They 
may  properly  be  proud  of  the  special 
service  which  they  have  rendered  to 
many  people  over  large  sections  of 
our  country. 


ime  Y^:XN\\\'^  Number  I  wo 


iSummer  ig4Q 


Where  Do  We  Go  From  Here?  Ka.n^lX^ 
Harry  Disston 


The  Role  of  Communications  in 

Red  Cross  Operations 

Wade  Jones 

Robert  Devonshire's  Letterbook 
Ralph  E.  Mooney 


nn'ieiepnone 


Bell  Tele|)iione/kw^ 


Summer  1949 


Where  Do  We  Go  from  Here?  Harry  Disston,  83 

The  Bell  Statue  at  Brantford,  96 

Helen  Keller  Visits  the  Bell  Laboratories,  97 

The  Role  of  Communications  in  Red  Cross  Operations, 
fVade  Jones,  99 

Progress  of  the  Rural  Service  Program,  108 

Robert  Devonshire's  Letterbook,  Ralph  E.  Mooney,  no 

Desert  Isle  Books,  122 

Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly,  124 

Bell  Laboratories  and  Western  Electric  to  Operate  Sandia 
Laboratory  for  AEC,  125 

Who's  Who  &  What's  What  in  This  Issue,  126 


A  Medium  of  Suggestion  ^  a  Record  of  Progress 

Published  for  the  supervisory  forces  of  the  Bell  System  by  the  Information  Department  of 
American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Co.,  /p5  Broadway^  New  York  7,  A^  Y. 
Leroy  a.  Wilson,  President;  Carroll  O.  Bickelhaupt,  Sec;  Donald  R.  Belcher,  Treas. 


The  ironze  statue  of  Alexander  Graham  Bell  unveiled  in  Brantjord^  Untario^ 
last  June  i8.     See  also  page  g6 


Commercial  Engineers  Study  the  Pasty  Survey  the  Present^ 

and  Consider  the  Future  in  Order  to  Make  Forecasts  of  the 

Demand  for  Telephone  Service 


Where  Do  We  Go 


From  Here? 

Harry  Disston 


How  MANY  PEOPLE  in  the  Alpha 
Telephone  Company's  territory  will 
want  telephone  service?  What  kind? 
When  ?    Where  ?    How  much  ? 

A  broad  answer  to  those  questions 
is  the  starting  point  for  a  host  of  tele- 
phone activities.  These  primary 
questions  lead  to  a  number  of  others. 

If  the  "demand"  for  telephones  in 
the  next  year  is  such-and-such,  what 
will  it  be  in  three  years?  What  will 
be  the  relation  of  telephone  gain  to 
the  demand  for  telephones?  How 
many  people  will  move — within  a 
given  city  and  away  from  it?  How 
many  rural  families  will  want  tele- 
phone service? 

What  will  be  the  trend  in  discon- 
nection of  service  over  the  next  sev- 
eral years?  How  many  orders  will 
be  held  for  lack  of  facilities  at  the  end 
of  the  year,  and  what  will  be  the 
"melt"?  In  what  proportion  will  ap- 
plicants ask  for  one-,  two-,  and  four- 
party  service,  and  how  soon  shall  we 
be  able  to  increase  the  proportion  of 


individual  lines  to  the  high  percentage 
existing  just  prior  to  the  war? 

The  answers  to  those  questions  de- 
pend in  turn  upon  answers  to  others 
— many  of  which  are  provided  by 
various  departments. 

What  is  the  business  outlook — the 
trend  and  level  of  personal  income, 
industrial  activity,  employment? 
What  will  be  the  trend  of  consumer 
credit  and  prices?  How  will  the 
trend  of  telephone  growth  coordinate 
with  business  conditions — will  it  lead 
or  lag  behind? 

What  is  the  outlook  for  residential 
construction?  What  will  be  the  an- 
nual increase  in  population?  Will 
people  marry  at  an  older  or  a  younger 
age  during  the  next  ten  years?  What 
will  be  the  average  size  of  the  Amer- 
ican family — in  urban  and  in  rural 
areas? 

Has  the  telephone  moved  perma- 
nently higher  on  the  list  of  the  aver- 
age man's  necessities?  Have  we 
reached  a  new  phase  in  the  long-term 


84 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


This  picture  and  the  one  opposite  represent  a  "'crystal  ball"  problem.     The  aerial 
camera  found  little  but  highways  and  empty  fields  in  the  Spring  of  i()4'J 


trend  of  telephone  growth?  How 
will  growth  in  business  telephones 
compare  with  growth  in  residence 
telephones?  To  what  extent  will  cus- 
tomers' desires  for  individual-line 
telephones  rather  than  party  line  serv- 
ice increase? 

Of  course,  nobody  knows  the  an- 
swers to  all  of  these  questions — but 
thought  must  be  given  to  all  of  them. 
The  forecaster — the  Commercial  En- 
gineer— does  not  attempt  to  evaluate 
quantitatively  each  of  the  various  fac- 
tors he  considers  in  making  his  for- 
ward look,  but  he  must  be  aware  of 
each  and  evaluate  them  qualitatively. 
Into  the  estimate  goes  a  good  deal  of 
experience  and  judgment  and,  if  you 
like,  a  certain  "feel"  for  the  figures. 

The  Commercial  Engineering  peo- 
ple do  not  attempt  to  come  to  their 
forecasting  conclusions  alone.  The 
Company   Statistician   helps   analyze 


and  forecast  probable  business  con- 
ditions. The  Sales  and  Servicing  peo- 
ple advise  on  promotional  plans. 
The  Engineering  and  Plant  men  ad- 
vise on  the  extent  and  nature  of  the| 
construction  program  and  where  fa- 
cilities existing  and  obtainable  are 
short  of  customer  demand.  Man- 
agers and  district  managers  provide 
the  local  background  and  point  of 
view  which  are  so  important  in  ap- 
praising correctly  the  probabilities  of 
customer  requirements  for  telephone 
service  in  a  given  community. 

Based  on  these  sources  and  on  re- 
view of  a  variety  of  reference  ma- 
terial, the  Commercial  Engineers  as- 
semble and  coordinate  all  the  perti- 
nent facts  and  viewpoints  and  set 
them  down  as  assumptions  on  which 
to  make  their  forecasts — after  the  as- 
sumptions have  had  executive  ap- 
proval. 


1949 


Where  Do  We  Go  From  Here? 


85 


Eighteen  months  later,  this  is  what  the  aerial  camera  saw.     There  are  now  some  6000 
*      houses  in  total  in  this  enormous  privately  financed  housing  development 


Importance  of  the  Answers 

The  plans  of  the  Bell  System  Com- 
panies are  intimately  keyed  to  one 
primary  piece  of  information: — ap- 
proximately how  many  telephones  a 
company,  a  city,  an  exchange,  or  even 
a  portion  of  an  exchange,  will  have 
to  serve  at  some  specified  time  in  the 
future.  Or,  put  another  way,  what 
the  growth  requirements,  the  "net  de- 
mand," will  be  over  or  during  a  cer- 
tain period.  This  is  the  primary  an- 
swer which  all  the  questions  just  cited 
must  provide. 

The  Engineers  need  this  informa- 
tion so  that  they  may  plan  new  build- 
ings, new  central  offices  and  additions 
to  old  ones;  plan  basic  cable  layouts 
and  additions  to  existing  cable;  and 
determine  the  extent  of  such  projects 
and  the  time  when  they  should  be 
initiated. 


All  of  the  operating  departments 
— Plant,  Traffic,  Commercial,  Ac- 
counting— need  the  information  so 
that  they  can  estimate  the  amount  of 
work  expected  of  them  and  provide 
adequate  trained  forces  to  handle  it. 
For  the  forecast  of  telephone  growth 
gives  a  good  clue  to  the  number  of 
additional  calls,  visits,  and  letters  the 
business-office  people  will  be  required 
to  care  for;  the  approximate  number 
of  calls  for  "Operator"  and  for  "In- 
formation"; the  amount  of  mainte- 
nance to  be  required  for  dial  equip- 
ment and  switchboards;  the  number 
of  bills  to  be  processed;  and  the  size 
and  number  of  directories  to  be 
printed. 

The  Sales  people  need  the  informa- 
tion to  determine  their  markets  and 
to  plan  their  programs. 

Those  concerned  with  the  financial 
aspects  of  the  business  need  it  in  esti- 


86 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


mating  the  amount  of  money  required 
to  finance  new  construction. 

THE  RECENT  PAST 

The  post-war  years  posed  a  partic- 
ularly difficult  problem  for  the  fore- 
casters. Here  was  an  unusually  high 
demand  for  telephone  service,  in  1946 
about  four  times  the  highest  year 
prior  to  the  war.  How  long  would 
this  continue?  Even  with  the  greatly 
expanded  production  of  the  Western 
Electric  Company  and  the  help  of 
other  manufacturers  and  a  large  in- 
crease in  force,  how  many  telephones 
could  be  added?  And  to  complicate 
the  problem,  there  was  an  acute  short- 
age of  materials.  Those  who  pre- 
dicted that  the  unprecedented  demand 
would  continue  for  several  years  were 
right.  The  Bell  System  gained  as 
many  new  telephone  customers  in  each 
of  1947  and  1948  as  during  the  11- 


year  period  from  1930  to  1941! 
There  were  as  many  telephones  added 
in  the  three-year  period  from  Janu- 
ary I,  1946,  to  January  i,  1949,  as 
in  the  preceding  ten  years ! 

TYPES   OF   TELEPHONE   GROWTH    FORECASTS 

Forecasts  of  telephone  growth  are 
made  for  a  variety  of  purposes,  but 
the  greatest  activity  in  this  respect  is 
in  connection  with  forecasts  made  as 
a  basis  for  engineering  central  office 
relief  or  additions;  for  engineering 
extensions  of  the  outside  plant;  and 
for  fundamental  long-range  planning 
— buildings,  new  central  offices,  con- 
duit layout,  and  similar  projects. 

These  forecasts  of  telephone 
growth  are  also  important,  of  course, 
in  planning  and  carrying  out  the  com- 
prehensive activities  of  the  Associated 
Companies  for  extending  and  improv- 
ing telephone  service  in  rural  areas. 


More  than  80  percent  of  the  families  in  this  area  of  a  New  England  city  have  telephone 
servicCy  and  about  half  of  them  have  individual  lines 


1949 


Where  Do  We  Go  From  Here? 


87 


Even  in  this  temporary  housing  development^  more  than  60  percent  of  the  families  have 
telephone  service  or  have  applied  for  it 


In  each  case,  there  is  some  varia- 
tion with  respect  to  the  period  cov- 
ered, the  area  included,  the  amount  of 
breakdown  by  classes  of  service,  the 
amount  of  field  inspection,  and,  of 
course,  the  frequency  with  which  the 
forecasts  are  made.  Such  forecasts 
are  generally  initiated  by  a  request 
from  the  Plant,  Engineering,  or  Traf- 
fic Departments  when  a  construction 
project  is  being  considered. 

A  Typical  Forecast 

Let  us  see  briefly  how  a  typical 
forecast  is  made — one  to  be  used,  for 
example,  as  a  basis  for  engineering 
underground  cable  "relief"  in  a  single- 
office  city. 

First,  the  characteristics  and  his- 
tory of  the  exchange  are  studied. 
Tables  and  charts  showing  yearly  and 
monthly  data  regarding  growth  in 
total  telephones,  main  telephones,  and 


lines  are  studied.  So  are  the  propor- 
tion of  various  classes  of  service,  and 
other  such  factual  data  summarized 
from  Company  records  and  from  pre- 
vious studies  and  forecasts.  Perti- 
nent newspapers  clippings,  building 
reports,  and  other  like  information 
made  available  by  the  local  manager 
are  also  reviewed.  A  study  of  these 
past  trends  and  the  current  informa- 
tion are  then  checked  against  similar 
trends  for  the  area  as  a  whole. 

Next,  an  engineer,  in  the  Commer- 
cial Engineer's  organization,  makes  a 
field  inspection  of  the  exchange — in- 
cluding not  only  the  urban  sections  but 
any  rural  areas  covered  by  the  ex- 
change. He  takes  with  him  a  map  of 
the  entire  exchange,  subdivided  into 
the  areas  served  by  each  of  the  main 
feeder  cables  and  further  subdivided 
within  these  areas  into  homogeneous 
sections. 


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Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


This  semi-permanent  housing  project  near  a  large  mid-Western  tuy  LOrUuins  j/oo  units. 
In  them  are  iioo  subscribers  to  telephone  service^  and  there  are  about  200  held  orders 


On  the  outskirts  of  the  same  city  these  jo  houses  were  built  in  one  block.     At  the  time  the 
picture  was  taken,  2j  had  been  sold  and  24.  orders  for  telephone  service  had  been  placed 


A  homogeneous  section  is  one  in 
which  the  income  characteristics  of 
families,  and  therefore  the  telephone 
growth  probabilities,  are  similar. 
This  normally  would  be  a  relatively 
large  area,  characterized  in  residen- 
tial sections  by  similarity  in  quality 


of  dwellings,  uniformity  and  density 
of  dwellings,  uniformity  in  the  indi- 
cated income  status  of  the  families, 
and  telephone  development.  These 
homogeneous  sections  are  termed 
"forecast  sections." 

The  general  classification  in  broad 


1949 


Where  Do  We  Go  From  Here? 


89 


boundaries  of  each  forecast  section  is 
reviewed  with  the  local  manager  (in 
the  larger  cities  with  the  District  or 
Division  Manager).  The  manager, 
as  a  continuing  activity,  keeps  himself 
posted  as  to  the  local  outlook  for 
growth  through  his  contacts  and  dis- 
cussions with  local  realty  people  and 
civic  and  business  groups.  He  is  also 
in  touch,  of  course,  with  the  telephone 
equipment  and  plant  situation  through 
his  Plant  and  Traffic  coordinates. 

The  engineer,  frequently  accompa- 
nied by  the  local  manager,  then  makes 
an  on-the-ground  inspection  of  the 
area  for  which  the  forecast  is  re- 
quired, noting  particularly  its  charac- 
ter and  the  probabilities  and  indica- 
tions of  growth  and  increased  tele- 
phone development.  The  forecast 
sections  within  the  area  are  viewed 
to  ascertain  that  the  boundaries,  indi- 
cated on  the  map,  encompass  a  por- 


tion of  the  area  which  is  actually  ho- 
mogeneous. 

Having  finished  his  inspection  of 
the  area,  the  engineer,  with  the  as- 
sistance of  the  manager,  notes  basic 
assumptions  with  respect  to  the 
growth  of  the  area — that  is,  the  "de- 
mand" for  telephone  service — in  the 
next  few  years.  Such  assumptions  are 
based  on  current  economic  conditions, 
the  results  of  inspection  of  the  area, 
and  the  views  of  the  local  people. 

DEVELOPMENT  AND  DISTRIBUTION 

Telephone  growth  in  a  homoge- 
neous section  of  an  exchange  results 
from  two  basic  factors :  an  increase  in 
the  number  of  existing  families  with 
service,  commonly  expressed  as  "per- 
cent development" ;  and  an  increase  in 
the  number  of  families  in  the  area. 

For  engineering  purposes,  the 
Plant  and  Engineering  people  must 


Even  in  this  rather  run-down  section  near  the  city's  lousiness  center^ 
telephone  development  is  50  percent 


90 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


know  the  number  of  lines  required  to 
serve  these  families.  The  number  of 
lines  depends,  of  course,  upon  the  rel- 
ative numbers  of  subscribers  who 
want  one-,  two-,  and  four-party  serv- 
ice (commonly  expressed  as  "percent 
distribution"). 

In  order  to  forecast  future  devel- 
opment and  distribution,  it  is  desira- 
ble to  have  some  indication  of  what 
the  development  and  distribution  are 
currently,  in  each  of  the  forecast  (ho- 
mogeneous) sections  within  the  area. 
Records  of  distribution  are  available 
from  Company  records  only  for  ex- 
changes and  sometimes  central  offices; 
and  since  development  is  associated 
with  families,  it  is  not  available  at 
all  from  official  Company  records. 
Therefore,  the  engineer  must  deter- 
mine these  two  items  in  the  field — on 
the  ground. 

The  engineer  carefully  counts  the 
number  of  families  in  a  sample  area 
and  then,  from  Plant  assignment  or 
street-address  records,  determines  the 
number  of  families  who  have  tele- 
phone service  and  what  grade  of  serv- 
ice they  have.  In  determining  the 
number  of  families  who  have  service, 
any  held  orders  are  included.  From 
these  data  he  computes  the  percent 
development  (families  with  service) 
and  the  percent  distribution  (individ- 
ual, two-party  and  four-party). 

THE   CRYSTAL   BALL 

Armed  with  a  knowledge  of  the 
general  business  outlook  and  the  out- 
look for  the  area  for  which  the  fore- 
cast is  to  be  made,  a  study  of  past 
trends,  and  a  thorough  on-the-ground 
review  of  the  area,  the  engineer  esti- 
mates for  each  forecast  section  what 
he  believes  the  future  development 
will  be. 


Based  on  the  number  of  lines  as 
furnished  by  the  Plant  Department 
and  ratios  developed  from  the  sam- 
pling, the  number  of  main  telephones 
in  each  forecast  section  is  computed, 
and  a  forecast  is  made  of  the  develop- 
ment in  the  future.  This  percent- 
age is  applied  to  the  current  main  tele- 
phones to  indicate  the  number  of  tele- 
phones the  present  families  will  have. 
The  difference  between  this  figure  and 
the  current  number  of  telephones  in 
the  area  is  the  growth :  the  installa- 
tion of  telephones  in  the  homes  of 
families  who  presently  do  not  have 
service;  penetration  of  the  unsold 
market. 

The  number  of  additional  families 
who  will  move  into  each  of  the  fore- 
cast sections  is  then  forecast.  This 
estimate  is  based  largely  on  the  re- 
sults of  the  field  inspection,  during 
which  were  observed  the  type  of 
dwelling,  current  building,  and  vacant 
lots.  The  building  contracts  let  in 
the  area  and  the  plans  of  the  local 
realtors  are  studied.  Estimates  must 
also  be  made  of  what  percent  of  these 
new  families  will  probably  have  serv- 
ice. The  development  among  the  new 
families  may  be  the  same,  poorer,  or 
better  than  that  estimated  among  ex- 
isting families — although  generally  it 
is  estimated  to  be  the  same.  From 
these  factors,  the  growth  in  tele- 
phones expected  from  the  new  fami- 
lies is  computed. 

Adding  the  growth  expected  from 
increased  develooment  and  that  from 
new  families  indicates  the  total  tele- 
phone growth  to  be  expected  in  the 
section  over  the  forecast  period. 

In  this  example,  we  have  assumed 
a  continued  growth.  Under  some  cir- 
cumstances there  might  be,  of  course, 


1949 


Where  Do  We  Go  From  Here? 


91 


Left:  Five  years  agOy  tele- 
phone development  in  this 
section  of  a  southern  city 
was  less  than  ^o  percent; 
today  it  is  75  percent  or 
more 


Right:  Pie-war  telephone 
development  in  this  ''cot- 
tage" area  was  yo  percent. 
Now  the  few  houses  with- 
out telephones  will  have 
theyn  when  facilities  are 
available 


a  loss  of  families  and  a  decrease  in 
development. 

We  have  also  assumed  that  the 
area  was  residential.  Normally,  and 
especially  where  there  is  a  community 
shopping  and  service  center  in  or  close 
to  a  residential  section,  the  expected 
growth  in  the  business  section  is  de- 
termined by  its  relationship  to  the 
residential  section: — so  many  busi- 
ness main  telephones  per  100  popula- 
tion, per  100  families,  or  even  per 
100  residence  main  telephones,  de- 
pending on  which  of  these  data,  from 
experience  in  the  local  area,  are  sig- 
nificant and  available. 

The  forecast  of  main  telephone 
growth  is  converted  to  line  growth — 
the  information  desired  by  the  Plant 
Engineers — through  a  simple  arith- 
metic computation.  The  forecast  of 
two-  and  four-party  main  telephone 


growth  is  divided  by  feasible  "line 
fills"  determined  by  consultation  with 
the  Plant  Department. 

Although,  in  our  example  of  a  resi- 
dential area,  there  may  be  few  mis- 
cellaneous lines,  in  many  sections 
there  might  be  a  considerable  number. 
These  are  needed  for  signaling,  wired 
music,  radio  and  video  wire  channels, 
alarm  systems,  off-premise  extensions, 
private  lines,  and  such.  The  Sales 
and  Servicing  people  will  indicate  the 
probabilities  of  future  demand  for 
these  miscellaneous  lines. 

Now  we  have  the  total  growth 
forecast  during  the  desired  period, 
and  consequently  the  line  require- 
ments. 

But  this  is  not  enough. 

The  specific  periods  to  be  covered 
by  a  forecast  vary,  depending  on  the 


92 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


time,  the  place,  local  conditions,  the 
use  to  be  made  of  the  forecast,  the 
nature  of  the  engineering  problem  in- 
volved, and  other  such  considerations. 
Having  determined  the  picture  for 
the  period  ahead,  estimates  are  made 
for  intermediate  periods  by  a  combi- 
nation of  interpolation  and  the  same 
considerations  that  controlled  the 
longer  view. 

And  still  the  job  is  not  done.  The 
almost  completed  forecast — the  line 
requirements  in  each  of  the  homoge- 
neous sections — must  be  looked  at  in 
perspective,  must  be  examined  to  see 
if  it  is  logical.  The  rule  of  reason 
must  be  applied. 

The  rate  of  growth  for  each  of  the 
forecast  sections  is  compared  with  the 
rate  of  growth  for  the  exchange  as  a 
whole,  and  the  result  is  viewed  from 
the  standpoint  of  whether  the  fore- 
cast section  would  be  expected  to  lead, 
lag  behind,  or  approximate  the  views 
formerly  made  for  the  exchange  as  a 
whole.      The   section   for  which   the 


forecast  has  just  been  completed  is 
also  compared  with  other  similar  sec- 
tions elsewhere  and  with  expected 
rates  of  growth  for  the  state  or  area 
as  a  whole,  if  such  forecasts  have  been 
made.  If  these  checks  indicate  the 
forecast  may  not  be  a  sound  one,  the 
engineer  sharpens  his  wits  and  his 
pencil  and  reviews  the  job  to  see  just 
where  he  may  have  gone  off  the 
beam. 

Finally,  the  job  is  done,  and  the 
forecast  is  sent  to  the  Plant  Engineer. 

CURRENT  AND  ACCURATE 

From  the  foregoing,  it  may  appear 
that  making  a  forecast  is  not  too  diffi- 
cult. And  that,  once  it  is  made,  there 
is  nothing  more  to  do  but  provide  the 
plant  to  take  care  of  the  predicted 
growth  and  everything  will  be  serene. 
You  will  recognize,  however,  that  we 
have  been  discussing  only  the  proced- 
ure. The  tough  part  of  the  job  Is,  of 
course,   the  judgment,   based  on   ex- 


In  this  residential  area^  only  65  percent  of  the  families  had  telephone  service  before  the 

Today  the  development  is  100  percent 


war. 


1949 


Where  Do  We  Go  From  Here? 


93 


perience,  that  makes  the  forecast; 
makes  it  a  good  one  or  a  poor  one. 

An  important  part  of  the  forecast- 
ing job  is  keeping  forecasts  up  to  date. 
The  periodic  records  of  gain  and  de- 
mand— usually  monthly — are  re- 
viewed frequently  to  determine 
whether  the  forecast  still  appears  to 
be  sound.  If  the  actual  net  demand 
for  service  (roughly  the  number  of 
people  who  request  service,  less  those 
disconnecting  their  service)  is  such 
that  it  is  clear  the  forecast  is  either 
too  high  or  too  low,  it  is  revised. 

In  addition  to  the  trend  of  actual 
growth,  revisions  are  made  when 
some  special  occurrence  indicates  the 
need  for  doing  so.  Such  special  situa- 
tions might  be  the  announcement  of  a 
new  real  estate  development  project, 
the  establishment  of  a  main  or  branch 
headquarters  of  some  large  business 
organization,  plans  for  a  new  factory 
or  industry,  completion  of  improved 
transportation  facilities,  or  other 
major  change. 


Occasionally.  Commercial  Engi- 
neers are  asked  how  accurate  their 
estimates  are.  That's  a  hard  one  to 
answer.  It  depends,  in  general,  on 
the  size  of  the  area  and  the  period 
covered.  The  larger  and  shorter,  the 
more  accurate  is  the  forecast.  Over 
the  years,  however,  it  is  evident  that 
commercial  forecasts  of  growth  used 
as  a  basis  for  engineering  have 
proved  sufficiently  accurate  for  a  good 
job  in  the  planning  of  equipment  and 
plant  additions. 

Development — On  the  Record 

It  is  interesting  to  note  the  change 
in  telephone  development — that  is, 
the  percent  of  families  who  have  serv- 
ice— over  the  years. 

In  areas  served  by  the  Bell  System 
from  1929,  twenty  years  ago,  to 
1 94 1,  just  prior  to  the  war,  the  per- 
cent of  families  with  service  remained 
almost  constant  at  about  40  per  cent. 
But  now,  after  eight  short  years  (on 


This  suburban  area  had  about  jo  percent  telephone  development  five  or  six  years  ago. 
At  present  the  development  ranges  between  jo  and  85  percent 


94 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


Right:  Two  years  ago^  this 
area^  not  far  from  a  siz- 
able city,  was  given  over 
to  truck  farming  or  to 
scrub  growth 


Left:  In  the  past  two 
yearsy  about  2000  houses 
have  been  built  in  the 
locality y  the  big  school  in 
the  background  is  new^ 
and  5p  percent  of  the 
families   have  telephones 


January  i,  1949)  the  development  is 
almost  66  percent ! 

By  cities,  the  change  is  even  more 
dramatic.  Twenty  years  ago,  only 
three  large  cities  (over  50,000  popu- 
lation) had  a  development  of  70  per- 
cent and  over  (i.e.,  in  only  three  cities 
did  70  percent  or  more  of  the  families 
have  a  telephone).  Ten  years  ago 
(on  January  i,  1939),  the  number 
of  cities  with  a  development  of  70 
percent  and  over  had  increased  only 
two,  to  five.  In  1941  there  were 
seven  such  cities  (out  of  a  total  of 
188,  or  about  4  per  cent) .  And  now, 
on  the  first  of  this  year,  after  an  in- 
terval of  only  eight  years,  there  are 
112  cities  in  this  classification — 52 
percent  of  the  cities  over  50,006  popu- 
lation have  a  development  of  70  per- 
cent or  more. 

Looking  at  individual  localities,  we 
find  some  with  unusually  high  devel- 


opment. For  example,  on  January  i 
of  this  year,  three  cities  exceeded  90 
percent  development.  In  Evanston, 
a  suburb  of  Chicago,  99  per  cent  of 
the  families  had  telephones;  in  New- 
ton, a  suburb  of  Boston,  94  percent 
of  the  families  had  telephones;  in 
Kalamazoo,  Mich.,  the  development 
was  91  percent.  In  Oak  Park,  out- 
side of  Chicago,  it  was  88  percent; 
and  in  Brookline,  near  Boston,  it  was 
89  percent. 

Such  high  development  is  not,  how- 
ever, confined  to  suburban  residential 
areas.  In  Tulsa,  Okla.,  and  Madi- 
son, Wis.,  90  percent  of  the  families 
had  telephone  service;  in  Lansing, 
Mich.,  the  development  was  88  per- 
cent; in  Minneapolis,  St.  Paul,  Cedar 
Rapids,  and  Dayton,  it  was  87  per- 
cent as  of  the  first  of  this  year. 

Times  have  changed.  A  substan- 
tial increase  in  average  family  income, 


'49 


Where  Do  We  Go  From  Here? 


95 


rhe  sustained  high  demand  for  tele- 
phone service,  the  marked  increase  in 
roll  usage,  and  the  apparently  greater 

necessity"  of  telephone  service  to 
many  individuals  since  the  war,  have 
materially  changed  the  views  of  fore- 
casters concerning  future  telephone 
vievelopment.    Bear  in  mind  also  that 

any  of  them  are  now  contemplating 
.;i  their  views  of  future  development 
a  proportion  of  homes  with  two  lines 
per  family — one  for  the  exclusive  use 
of  their  "teen-agers." 

T/ie  Future 

This  is  a  difficult  time  for  forecast- 
ers. Taking  a  forward  look  at  tele- 
phone growth  for  the  next  year  or  so, 
and  for  the  longer  periods  sometimes 
required  for  engineering  purposes  in 
specific  localities,  presents  some  dif- 
ficult problems. 

It  is  a  well  recognized  human  trait 
that  recent  occurrences  influence  us 
most  and  that  the  past  is  quickly  for- 
gotten.     Forecasters      are      human. 


The  telephone  growth  during  the  war 
was,  of  course,  most  abnormal.  The 
three  years  following  the  war  were 
unusual,  different  from  anything  we 
have  had  in  the  past,  and  pre-war 
years  appear  to  be  far  too  long  ago. 
The  war  and  post-war  years  are  fresh 
in  everyone's  memory  and  it  is  diffi- 
cult to  keep  them  from  influencing 
one's  thinking. 

The  problem  in  forecasting  growth 
today,  then,  is  to  take  into  account  not 
only  the  experience  of  the  recent  past 
but  also  to  weigh  realistically  the 
possibilities  of  changes  in  past  trends 
which  may  develop  because  of  changes 
in  fundamental  economic  conditions. 
The  forecaster  today,  even  to  a 
greater  extent  than  in  the  past,  must 
appreciate  the  vital  part  his  estimates 
play  in  the  provision  of  facilities 
which  will  meet  the  requirements  of 
customers  as  they  develop  and  at  the 
same  time  keep  additional  investment 
and  expense  at  a  minimum  level. 


Night  photograph  of  the  statue  in  place 

The  Bell  Statue  at  Brantford 


A  BRONZE  STATUE  of  Alexander  Graham 
Bell  was  unveiled  on  June  1 8  in  Brant- 
ford, Ontario,  Canada,  the  city  where  he 
lived  when  he  first  came  to  America  and 
where  he  conceived  the  idea  of  the  tele- 
phone. It  is  the  work  of  Cleeve  Home, 
Canadian  sculptor,  and  stands  in  the 
portico  of  the  new  building  of  the  Bell 
Telephone  Company  of  Canada  at  Brant- 
ford. The  memorial  to  the  telephone's 
inventor  was  made  possible  by  the  raising 
of  $10,000  in  voluntary  contributions  by 
members  of  the  Charles  Fleetford  Sise 
Chapter,  Telephone  Pioneers  of  America. 

A  photograph  of  the  statue  is  reproduced 
on  page  82. 

Among  those  who  took  part  in  the  cere- 
monies were  Mrs.  Gilbert  Grosvenor, 
Bell's  daughter,  of  Washington,  D.  C. ; 
Mr.  Frederick  Johnson,  President  of  the 
Bell  Telephone  Company  of  Canada;  Mr. 


Thomas  N.  Lacy,  President-elect  of  the 
Telephone  Pioneers  of  America  and  Presi- 
dent of  the  Michigan  Bell  Telephone  Com- 
pany; and  Mr.  H.  A.  G.  MacKinnon, 
President  of  Charles  Fleetford  Sise  Chap- 
ter of  the  Pioneers. 

The  statue  is  a  heroic  figure  eight  feet 
in  height.  It  portrays  Bell  seated  and 
wearing  academic  robes  signifying  the  hon- 
ors which  were  bestowed  upon  him  for  his 
accomplishments.  The  inscription  on  the 
plain  stone  base  reads  simply: 

Alexander  Graham  Bell 

1847 
1922 

On  the  adjacent  wall  are  the  words: 

///   grateful  remembrance   of  the   inventor 
of  the  telephone.     Erected  by  the  Charles 
Fleetford    Sise    Chapter,    Telephone    Pio- 
neers of  J  m  erica,  1949 


Helen  Keller  Visits  the 
Bell  Laboratories 


Helen  Keller,  whom  Alexander 
Graham  Bell  had  aided  in  her  child- 
hood,* visited  the  Murray  Hill  in- 
stallation of  the  Bell  Telephone  Lab- 
oratories last  June,  and,  following 
her  trip,  wrote  to  Dr.  Oliver  E. 
Buckley,  President  of  the  Labora- 
tories, the  letter  which  is  quoted  here. 

Helen  Keller's  life  story  is  well 
known  through  her  remarkable  at- 
tainments as  lecturer,  writer,  and  par- 
ticularly as  champion  of  handicapped 
people.  After  losing  her  own  hear- 
ing and  sight  at  the  age  of  19  months, 
she  later  learned  the  art  of  vocal  ex- 
pression with  the  patient  help  of  de- 
voted teachers. 

It  was  Alexander  Graham  Bell 
who  obtained  Anne  Sullivan  (Mrs. 
Macy)  as  Miss  Keller's  first  com- 
panion-teacher. Dr.  Bell  was  Helen 
Keller's  firm  friend,  and  her  host  on 
many  occasions.  Miss  Polly  Thom- 
son, who  has  been  Miss  Keller's  com- 
panion for  many  years,  succeeded  to 
Mrs.  Macy's  role.  Miss  Thomson 
accompanied  Miss  Keller  to  the  Lab- 
oratories, and  they  were  in  constant 
communication  during  the  Murray 
Hill  tour.  Miss  Thomson  swiftly 
conveys  messages  by  means  of  pres- 
sure signals  on  Miss  Keller's  palm, 
and  in  some  instances.  Miss  Keller 
reads  Miss  Thomson's  lips  by  plac- 

•See   "Helen   Keller   and    Dr.   Bell,"   Maga- 
zine, Spring  1947. 


ing  the  ends  of  her  fingers  lightly 
upon  them.  Miss  Keller  spoke  back 
readily  or,  with  her  sensitive  touch, 
carried  out  some  action  suggested  by 
the  demonstrators  during  the  tours. 
This  is  the  letter  Miss  Keller 
wrote : 

Dear  Dr.  Buckley: 

Truly  it  was  a  day  of  wonders  which 
Miss  Thomson  and  I  spent  at  Bell  Tele- 
phone Laboratories  in  Murray  Hill,  New 
Jersey,  and  my  thanks  to  you,  who  made 
it  possible,  can  be  measured  only  by  my 
lifelong  affection  for  Dr.  Bell  and  proud 
sense  of  oneness  with  him  in  the  growth 
of  his  work.  Deeply  I  regret  not  meeting 
you  there.  It  would  have  been  easier  to 
speak  my* pleasure  to  you  than  to  write  it 
in  a  letter,  but  the  glow  of  your  kindness 
will  always  remain  warm  in  my  memory. 

Gratefully  I  recall  how  freely  Dr. 
Bown,  Dr.  Walker,  Mr.  Honaman,  Dr. 
Fry  and  others  gave  of  their  time  to  tak- 
ing us  around  or  showing  me  the  various 
instruments  or  answering  my  questions  or 
filling  out  my  mental  pictures  of  the  sim- 
ple yet  handsome  buildings  and  their  de- 
lightful surroundings  full  of  country- 
sweet  peace.  It  really  seemed  as  if  Dr. 
Bell  was  with  me  just  as  in  the  past  when 
he  used  to  talk  to  me  about  his  epoch- 
making  ideas  and  experiments. 

And  my  upward  gaze  goes  with  him, 

and  I  see 
Far  off  against  the  sky 
The  glint  of  golden  sunlight  on 

his  wings. 


98 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


Everything  we  saw  at  the  Laboratories 
bespoke  the  civilization  that  would  unite 
mankind  in  one  great  family  by  the  spoken 
word  to  which  Dr.  Bell  looked  forward. 
It  is  true,  we  are  still  far  from  peace, 
despite  wider,  more  swift  communications, 
and  nothing  seems  more  difficult,  more 
baffling  than  to  awaken  a  social  conscience 
that  will  cause  the  nations  to  abandon  wars 
and  selfish  rivalries.  But  we  all  know 
how  Dr.  Bell  dismissed  pessimistic  attitudes 
as  futile  and  unconstructive,  and  with  un- 
wavering faith  I  anticipate  the  sunrise  of 
the  finer  human  race  he  dreamed. 

It  is  hard  to  decide  what  interested  me 
most  among  all  the  fascinating  inventions 
and  processes  we  saw  at  the  Laboratories. 
My  fingers  tingled  as  they  felt  the  minia- 
ture apparatus  that  promises  lighter  parts 
in  the  telephone,  the  radio,  and  the  tele- 
vision set,  and  more  satisfying  vibrations 
over  the  wires.  It  scarcely  seemed  pos- 
sible that  mortal  ingenuity  could  have 
devised  such  tiny  Transistors  with  wires 
like  spider  webs  for  conducting  the  voice 
over  long  distances.  It  was  a  veritable 
poem — bringing  radio  rays  and  sound 
waves  to  a  focus  by  means  of  a  field  of 
closely  spaced  spheres.  And  how  I  felt 
the  power  of  a  wizard  in  the  growing  of 
quartz  crystals!  Always  I  shall  prize 
among  my  chief  treasures  the  little  crys- 
tal and  the  diminutive  amplifying  device 
which  Dr.  Walker  presented  to  me. 

The  most  absorbing  sensation  for  me 
was  visiting  the  Free  Space  Room.  Lan- 
guage has  no  equivalent  for  the  absolute 
physical  silence  which  burst  upon  me  in 
that  fantastic,  bewildering  chamber,  sus- 
pended in  what  appeared  to  me  an  utter 
void.  No,  it  did  not  disconcert  me.  I  have 
known  many  kinds  of  silence — the  silence 
of  early  morning,  the  silence  of  remote 
mountain  summits,  the  silence  of  gently 
falling  snow.  I  have  been  oppressed  by 
the  silence  of  a  spiritual  crisis,  hushed  by 
the  silence  of  a  great  love  and  awed  by 
the  silence  of  friendships  that  had  ceased 
to  be.  But  in  the  Acoustic  Dead  Room 
I   had   a  sense   of  complete   disconnection 


with  the  life  of  the  universe.  Even  before 
my  education  began,  I  noticed  vibrations 
that  still  ring  in  my  tactual  memory,  and 
it  was  interesting  to  contrast  them  with 
the  soundless  jolts  and  jars  of  footsteps  in 
the  dead  room.  Shut  in  by  floor,  walls, 
and  ceiling  of  fiberglass,  I  throbbed  with 
the  silence  of  the  dead  and  the  silence  that 
covers  buried  peoples  and  ages  without  a 
history.  The  music  conveyed  to  me  by  a 
spirit-fine  nerve  of  a  gadget  was  a  relief 
beyond  words — the  vast  range  of  life  re- 
stored. Not  for  the  world  would  I  have 
missed  those  weird  moments  in  that  spot 
of  perfect  stillness. 

Then  there  were  the  "thinking"  ma- 
chines !  Every  time  I  give  them  a  thought, 
I  am  a  bit  staggered  by  their  superiority  to 
man's  brain,  at  least  in  its  routine  processes, 
but  as  a  student  of  philosophy,  I  smile  be- 
cause that  superiority  does  not  discredit 
the  Spirit  any  more  than  the  excellence  of 
a  being  with  all  his  senses  annuls  the 
reality  of  a  life-like  mind  deficient  in  sight 
and  hearing.  If  we  only  use  worthily  the 
advantages  that  cybernetics  is  placing 
within  our  reach,  science  will,  I  am  con- 
fident, elucidate  to  us  relationships  more 
marvelous  than  any  we  have  yet  compre- 
hended. 

It  was  a  pity  I  could  not  reach  up  to 
Dr.  Bell's  splendid  bust,  but  now  I  have 
the  handsome  souvenir  from  the  Labora- 
tories containing  the  motto  that  he  so 
often  repeated  to  me  in  one  form  or  other, 
"Leave  the  beaten  track  occasionally  and 
dive  into  the  woods."  In  it  too  is  Dr. 
Arnold's  noble  definition  of  research  and 
its  heroic  aims.  Do  you  wonder  that  I 
seek  in  vain  for  words  to  thank  you  all  for 
one  of  the  most  luminous  days  I  have  ever 
spent  in  the  Temple  of  Knowledge? 

Please  give  my  cordial  greetings  to  all 
my  friends  at  Bell  Telephone  Laboratories 
and  to  the  employees  whose  zealous  coop- 
eration is  a  tribute  to  the  genius  and  the 
workmanship  that  produced  the  immense 
edifice  at   Murray   Hill. 

Sincerely  yours, 

Helen  Keller 


To  Administer  Relief  in  Times  of  Disaster^  This  National 

Organisation   Relies  Heavily  on  Telephone^  Teletypewriter^ 

Mobile  Service^  Radio  Amateurs 


The  Role  of  Communications 
In  Red  Cross  Operations 

IVade  Jones 

Staff  Writer,  Public  Relations  Division, 
American  National  Red  Cross 


Where  the  saving  of  life  and  the 
amelioration  of  suffering  and  hard- 
ship are  at  stake,  swift  and  adequate 
communications  may  be  vital.  The 
following  article  has  been  written  in 
response  to  an  invitation  to  the  na- 
tional organization  of  the  American 
Red  Cross  to  describe  the  part  played 
by  communications  in  its  disaster  re- 
lief operations.     EDITOR. 

When  Red  Cross  national  disaster 
workers  talk  shop,  the  subject  usually 
gets  around  to  communications;  and 
communications  invariably  brings  up 
Vanport,  Oregon.  For  it  was  during 
the  great  Vanport  flood  of  May  30, 
1948,  that  the  Red  Cross  was  treated 
to  what  seemed  like  a  communications 
miracle. 

Corraled  for  days  behind  high  lev- 
ees, the  rampaging  Columbia  River 
finally  broke   through   into   Vanport 


late  on  that  Memorial  Day  afternoon. 
The  Red  Cross  was  faced  thereupon 
with  the  enormous  task  of  providing 
immediate  relief  for  more  than  18,- 
500  homeless. 

The  organization's  disaster  experts 
on  the  scene  were  prepared  for  the  de- 
luge of  phone  calls  which  followed. 
But  they  weren't  entirely  prepared  for 
what  the  local  telephone  company  did 
about  them. 

What  the  Pacific  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Company  accomplished  in 
the  first  hectic  hours  at  Vanport  re- 
mains, as  far  as  the  Red  Cross  is  con- 
cerned, an  outstanding  example  of 
productive  effort  at  its  best. 

Within  three  hours  after  the  levee 
broke,  twelve  lines  were  cut  into  the 
main  Red  Cross  switchboard  at  chap- 
ter headquarters  In  Portland.  In  an- 
other two  hours  a  second  switchboard 


lOO 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


with  eight  lines  was  in  operation.  At 
the  same  time,  14  direct  central-office 
lines  were  installed  for  various  disas- 
ter officials. 

By  the  following  morning,  16  hours 
after  the  break,  telephone  representa- 
tives had  issued  a  mimeographed  di- 
rectory of  Red  Cross  key  personnel, 
helping  reduce  confusion  in  locating 
persons  at  the  Portland  chapter  head- 
quarters. Also,  a  loud  speaker  pag- 
ing system  and  an  information  center 
had  been  installed. 

But  by  Monday  night,  a  little  more 
than  24  hours  after  the  levee  gave 
way,  even  the  newly  expanded  tele- 
phone set-up  was  bogging  down  under 


the  avalanche  of  calls — mainly  from 
persons  inquiring  about  the  safety  of 
friends  or  relatives.  So  a  temporary 
disaster  headquarters  was  hurriedly 
established  in  a  recently  vacated  build- 
ing. Again,  the  telephone  workers 
pitched  in.  They  speedily  reactivated 
a  two-position,  80-line  switchboard 
with  approximately  20  trunks  and  50 
stations.  At  the  same  time  private 
lines  were  cut  in  between  the  new 
headquarters  and  the  home  service 
bureau  at  the  chapter  offices. 

However,  as  the  tremendous  im- 
pact of  the  disaster  spread  through- 
out the  nation,  and  with  the  growing 
relief  problem  at  the  scene,  the  work 


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Red  Cross  volunteer  telephone  operators  handled  more  than  jofioo  calls  a  day  during 
the  emergency  created  by  floods  in  this  country's  Northwest  last  year 


1949 


Communications  in  Red  Cross  Operations 


lOI 


of  the  Red  Cross  con- 
tinued to  mount.  So 
again  more  space  was 
needed  and  again  the 
telephone  people  went 
to  work.  Chosen  as 
the  newest  headquar- 
ters was  the  basement 
of  Portland's  Munici- 
pal Auditorium,  and 
into  it  telephone  work- 
ers rushed  two  8o-line 
switchboards,  originally 
assigned  to  a  private 
business  concern. 

Cable  cuts  and  trans- 
fers were  hurriedly 
made  to  utilize  every 
available  pair  of  wires. 
The  telephone  business 
office  asked  the  occu- 
pants of  one  entire 
building  to  give  up  their 
service  for  a  few  hours 
so  that  their  central- 
office  lines  could  be  used 
by  the  Red  Cross.  The 
reply  was  immediately 
and  enthusiastically  af- 
firmative. The  50-pair 
cable  serving  the  build- 
ing was  swung  over  to 
the  auditorium,  and  splicers  worked 
throughout  the  night  to  make  the 
connections. 

Installers  laced  the  auditorium  ceil- 
ing with  a  network  of  supports  .for 
the  switchboard  cables  and  station 
wires.  Pairs  were  pulled  into  place, 
identified,  and  tagged  at  all  desk  loca- 
tions as  the  desks  were  moved  in. 

In  the  words  of  one  thoroughly  im- 
pressed Red  Cross  worker,  "The 
movers  would  bring  you  in  a  desk,  and 
before  you  could  locate  a  chair  the 
telephone  people  would  have  a  phone 


Scene  at  a  Red  Cross  disaster  relief  headquarters  as 

volunteers  handle  telephoned  inquiries  and  Boy  Scouts 

stand  by  as  messengers 


on  the  desk.  Not  only  that,  but  the 
phone  would  be  ringing!" 

Some  40  handset  telephones  were 
connected  to  individual  lines  arranged 
so  that  calls  coming  in  for  informa- 
tion or  for  reports  on  missing  persons 
automatically  sought  the  first  idle 
telephone  in  the  group.  And  few  re- 
mained idle  long  at  the  peak  of 
activity. 

Finally  an  additional  switchboard 
— the  fifth — was  installed  on  the  sec- 
ond floor  of  the  auditorium.  Along 
with  it  were  six  trunks,  two  tie-lines 


I02 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


to  the  basement  switchboard,  and  two 
toll  terminals  to  speed  emergency 
long  distance  calls. 

In  the  first  week  at  Vanport,  Red 
Cross  volunteer  telephone  operators 
handled  approximately  31,000  calls  a 
day. 

But  not  in  terms  of  machines  and 
equipment  alone  is  the  story  of 
Vanport  told.  With  the  Red  Cross 
and  the  telephone  company,  as  with 
other  organizations  who  fought  the 
flood  and  its  effects,  the  big  story  of 
Vanport  must  be  told  in  terms  of  peo- 
ple— simple  courage  facing  up  to  dan- 
ger, stubborn  will  battling  with  sleep- 
lessness and  fatigue,  and  the  always 
wonderful-to-see  readiness  of  the  or- 
dinary man  to  come  to  the  aid  of  his 
fellows. 

Despite  official  orders  that  the 
Vanport  telephone  office  be  evacu- 
ated, the  operators  stayed  on  as  the 
waters  rushed  through  a  broken  dyke 
and  swept  into  the  streets.  Every 
call  that  came  in,  the  operators  an- 
swered with  warnings  to  get  out  of 
the  area. 

The  traffic  load  became  so  heavy 
that  fuses  blew.  They  were  replaced. 
Calls  still  were  answered.  Finally 
the  power  failed  entirely.  It  was  then 
the  girl  operators  left  in  a  telephone 
company  truck,  which  had  been  stand- 
ing by  for  just  that  purpose.  By  the 
time  the  truck  reached  safe  ground, 
flood  waters  were  swirling  around  the 
ofl[ice  roof. 

One  of  Many 

Loyal,  courageous  performance 
of  duty  by  telephone  workers  in  time 
of  disaster  is  traditional.  As  far  as 
the  Red  Cross  is  concerned,  it  is  al- 
most axiomatic. 


Take  the  case  of  Johnny  Urquhart, 
Southwestern  Bell  employee,  in  the 
Texas  City  disaster. 

While  the  building  he  was  in  still 
shook  from  the  tremendous  blast, 
Johnny  hung  onto  the  switchboard 
with  one  hand  and  with  the  other 
plugged  a  cord  into  the  Houston  cir- 
cuit to  get  G.  H.  Hearon,  division 
traflic  superintendent  in  that  city. 

"For  God's  sake,  send  the  Red 
Cross!"  Johnny  cried  to  Hearon. 
"There's  been  a  big  explosion  here 
and  thousands  are  injured." 

The  next  moment  Hearon  had 
dialed  the  telephone  number  of  the 
Houston  Red  Cross,  and  was  telling 
Miss  Mary  Snoddy,  chapter  executive 
secretary,  that  doctors  and  ambu- 
lances were  needed  at  Texas  City  im- 
mediately. In  a  matter  of  minutes 
help  was  on  the  way,  as  the  Houston 
Red  Cross  chapter  swung  into  opera- 
tion on  a  plan  of  action  laid  out  long 
in  advance  for  just  such  a  disaster  as 
had  now  struck. 

Back  in  Texas  City,  Johnny  Urqu- 
hart brushed  away  the  glass  and 
debris  around  the  switchboard  and 
continued  to  plug  through  emergency 
calls.  He  stopped  only  for  a  moment 
— to  give  first  aid  to  Chief  Operator 
lola  Sheldon,  who  had  been  injured; 
by  flying  glass.  She  refused  to  leave 
her  post.  Johnny  stayed  at  the 
switchboard  for  16  hours  straight. 

Texas  City,  incidentally,  provides  a 
good  example  of  a  special  service 
which  the  Red  Cross  renders.  For  if 
you  ever  want  information  about  the 
well-being  of  relatives  in  a  disaster 
area,  and  have  been  unable  to  reach 
them  by  telephone  or  telegraph,  just 
call  your  local  Red  Cross  chapter. 
It  will  have  a  report  for  you  In  the 


1949 


Communications  in  Red  Cross  Operations 


103 


shortest  possible  time,  and  without 
charge. 

One  such  inquiry,  from  service-men 
in  Japan,  picked  up  by  amateur  radio 
operators  in  California  and  relayed 
by  wire  to  Texas  City,  asked  for  in- 
formation on  30  different  people.  To 
get  the  answers  to  that  single  mes- 
sage, the  Red  Cross,  with  help  from 
Boy  Scouts  and  young  church  workers, 
made  116  home  visits  and  165  tele- 
phone calls. 

Importance  of  Communication 

There  are  3,739  Red  Cross  chapters 
in  the  United  States  and  each  has  at 
least  one  telephone.     Chapters  in  the 


larger  cities,  of  course,  have  many. 
The  organization's  national  head- 
quarters in  Washington,  D.  C,  and 
the  Pacific  x\rea  office  in  San  Fran- 
cisco, have  switchboards,  with  inter- 
office dialing.  The  three  other  area 
offices — at  Alexandria,  Va.;  Atlanta, 
Ga.;  and  St,  Louis,  Mo. — have  man- 
ual switchboards. 

As  an  important  part  of  its  com- 
munications system  the  Red  Cross, 
both  in  disasters  and  in  its  normal 
day-to-day  operations,  leans  heavily 
on  its  10,000  miles  of  leased  teletype 
lines  across  the  country. 

When  a  major  disaster  strikes  at 
a  point  not  directly  connected  with 
this    system,    the    Red    Cross    imme- 


Instruction  in  the  use  of  various  communications  facilities  is  part  of  the  training  given 
Red  Cross  Chapter  members.     This  switchboard  is  U.  S.  Forest  Service  equipment 


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Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


diately  places  an  order  with  both  the 
telephone  company  and  Western 
Union  for  a  leased  wire  teletype  cir- 
cuit from  the  disaster  scene  to  the 
nearest  of  the  43  terminals  on  the 
teletype  system.  The  understanding 
is  that  the  Red  Cross  will  get  the  first 
circuit  available  with  either  organi- 
zation. 

At  Vanport,  for  instance,  a  circuit 
was  leased  to  San  Francisco.  From 
Texas  City,  the  main  line  ran  to 
Dallas  via  Galveston.  In  the  New 
England  forest  fires  during  the  fall  of 
1947  the  circuit  was  from  Biddeford, 
Me.,  to  Boston,  Mass.  This  com- 
munications system  is  of  vital  impor- 
tance when  other  communications  into 
a  disaster  area  are  overloaded  or 
disrupted. 

The  Red  Cross  teletype  system  was 
instituted  in  October,  1946,  and,  with 
telephone  relay  of  messages,   serves 


A  member  of  the  American  Radio  Relay 
League  receives  a  message  by  telephone 
from  the  Red  Cross  for  radio  transmission 
to  a  fellow  League  member  operating  at  a 
disaster  area 


some  400  points.  Another  2,900  are 
reached  by  commercial  telegraph  re- 
file.  Economy  and  speed  are  the  gov- 
erning factors  in  determining  how  a 
message  is  to  be  sent. 

Auxiliaj-y  Means 

In  disasters  where  normal  commu- 
nications lines  are  either  disrupted 
or  overloaded,  the  Red  Cross  has  al- 
ways depended  to  a  considerable  ex- 
tent on  amateur  radio  operators.  Of 
the  80,000  "hams"  who  pursue  their 
hobby  across  the  length  and  breadth 
of  the  country,  several  can  be  de- 
pended upon  to  turn  up  at  nearly  any 
given  disaster  scene,  no  matter  how 
remote. 

To  aid  them  in  their  work,  and  to 
increase  their  value  to  the  Red  Cross, 
the  organization  recently  got  together 
with  the  American  Radio  Relay 
League  and  the  U.  S.  Naval  Reserve 
and  came  up  with  a  nation-wide 
emergency  radio  system. 

The  "network,"  hinged  upon  sta- 
tions at  Washington,  D.  C,  Chicago, 
and  San  Francisco,  went  into  opera- 
tion last  winter.  In  the  event  of  a 
disaster  which  interfered  with  the 
functioning  of  regular  communica- 
tions, amateurs  at  the  scene  of  the 
catastrophe  would  go  into  action, 
handling  the  most  essential  emergency 
traffic  until  normal  facilities  could  be 
re-established. 

Their  messages  would  be  directed 
to  the  nearest  of  the  three  big  Red 
Cross  stations.  The  stations,  in  turn, 
manned  by  amateurs  and  naval  re- 
servists, would  go  on  the  air  round- 
the-clock,  monitoring  all  messages  and 
routing  them  to  their  proper  destina- 
tions via  Red  Cross  teletype  and  com- 
mercial telegraph. 


1949 


Communications  in  Red  Cross  Operations 


105 


^  Red  Cross  mobile  radio  unit.     Operated  by  volunteer  amateur  radio  operators^  it  is 

equipped  to  relax  emergency  messages  to  and  from  the  scene  of  a  disaster  when  normal 

means  of  communication  have  been  destroyed 


As  a  double  check,  insuring  com- 
munications coverage  of  any  part  of 
the  United  States,  Red  Cross  head- 
quarters in  Washington  also  has  avail- 
able a  mobile  amateur  radio  station 
with  its  own  auxiliary  power  supply. 
This  station  can  reach  other  types  of 
radios  which  might  be  in  operation  in 
a  given  disaster  area — state  and  local 
police,  military,  etc. 

The  unit  can  be  used  in  an  auto- 
mobile, or  can  be  dismounted  and 
flown  into  a  disaster  area  by  plane. 
Eventually,  Red  Cross  national  head- 
quarters plans  to  have  three  such 
mobile  stations  placed  strategically 
through  the  country  in  areas  where 
and  when  seasonal  disasters  can  nor- 
mally be  expected — the  south  and 
southeast  during  the  early  fall  hur- 
ricane season,  the  south  and  south- 
west in  the  time  of  spring  tornadoes, 


the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  valleys  dur- 
ing the  late  spring  floods. 

Among  the  several  Red  Cross  chap- 
ters which  have  Bell  System  mobile 
radio  telephones  is  the  one  in  Jackson 
County  (Kansas  City),  Missouri. 
Using  these,  and  with  the  aid  of 
amateur-owned  and  -operated  walkie- 
talkies,  chapter  disaster  workers  did 
an  outstanding  job  last  spring  in  pro- 
viding up-to-the-minute  warnings  by 
telephone  and  radio  to  residents  in 
the  lowlands  along  the  flooding  Mis- 
souri River.  All  endangered  families 
were  safely  evacuated.  Robert  Edson, 
of  St.  Louis,  director  of  Red  Cross 
disaster  operations  in  the  Midwest, 
called  the  operation  "as  complete  a 
job  of  disaster  communications  as  has 
taken  place  in  recent  years." 

In  all  large  disasters,  the  Red 
Cross     works     closely     with     those 


io6 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


branches  of  the  Armed  Forces  oper- 
ating at  the  scene  as  well  as  with  the 
government  agencies  * — local,  state 
and  federal. 

An  outstanding  example  of  such 
cooperation  was  during  the  early  part 
of  this  year,  when  the  Red  Cross  and 
the  Army  fought  shoulder  to  shoulder 
against  the  violent,  crippling  bliz- 
zards in  the  West.f  The  Red  Cross, 
whose  primary  responsibility  in  dis- 
asters is  to  assist  individuals  to  meet 
disaster-caused  needs  they  cannot 
meet  themselves,  did  just  that  in  the 
blizzards.  By  chartered  plane,  snow 
tractors,  and  afoot,  the  Red  Cross 
provided  badly  needed  food  and  medi- 
cine to  the  snowbound,  and  evacuated 
dozens  of  sick  and  injured,  as  well  as 
several  expectant  mothers,  from  the 
wilderness  of  drifts  and  cold.  The 
Army,  using  its  big  planes  and  what- 
ever surface  vehicles  would  negotiate 
the  drifts,  devoted  most  of  its  efforts 
to  opening  roads  and  getting  food  to 
stranded  livestock.  The  work  of  the 
two  organizations  dovetailed  nicely, 
but  did  not  overlap. 

Communication  Plans 

Some  hard-won  information  on 
the  general  subject  of  communica- 
tions as  they  affect  the  Red  Cross  in 
time  of  disaster  comes  in  a  report 
from  Mr.  E.  A.  Valentine,  who  was 
chairman  of  the  local  Red  Cross  dis- 
aster committee  at  the  Vanport  flood. 
In  relating  difficulties  brought  on  by 
the  overwhelming  load  on  communi- 
cations facilities  in  the  first  hours  of 
the  flood,  he  warns,  "Above  all  [in 
making  disaster  preparedness  plans] 
don't  ignore  communications! 

*  See  "The  Coast  Guard  Operates  through 
Communications,"  Magazine,  Winter   1946-47. 

t  See  "The  Winter's  Toil  Was  Heavy  from 
Texas  to  the  Dalcotas,"  Magazine,  Spring  1949. 


"Our  advice  is  to  get  a  telephone 
company  official  on  your  [Red  Cross] 
disaster  committee  and  give  him  free 
rein  on  communications  set-ups  from 
the  very  first.  He,  more  than  anyone 
else,  can  unsnarl  what  seems  to  you  a 
hopeless  mess.  Let  him  set  up  two 
groups  of  telephone  lines  if  he  wants, 
so  that  one  can  be  taking  incoming 
calls  while  the  other  remains  clear 
for  outgoing  calls." 

The  national  Red  Cross  disaster 
service  in  Washington,  in  its  guidance 
to  chapters,  lays  strong  emphasis  on 
preparedness  for  catastrophes.  The 
organization's  manual,  "When  Dis- 
aster Strikes,"  contains  this  advice  on 
communications  preparedness: 

"Survey  all  .  .  .  communications 
resources  within  the  chapter  jurisdic- 
tion and  obtain  pledges  of  voluntary 
cooperation  from  organizations  and 
individuals  whose  facilities  or  services 
would  be  essential  to  the  performance 
of  the  [disaster]  committee's  func- 
tion in  time  of  emergency. 

"Contact  commercial  communica- 
tions companies  and  amateur  radio 
stations  and  operators,  including  mem- 
bers of  the  American  Radio  Relay 
League,  to  develop  a  plan  for  extend- 
ing priority  for  emergency  communi- 
cations and  for  receiving  and  trans- 
mitting all  Red  Cross  messages  by 
telephone,  telegraph  or  radio.   .   .   . 

"Plan  for  the  maintenance  of  a 
message  center  in  time  of  disasters 
and  have  the  center  under  control  of 
the  [Red  Cross]  subcommittee  in  co- 
operation with  communications  agen- 
cies. 

"Plan  for  the  mobilization  and  use 
of  portable  telephone  systems  and 
portable  radio  transmitters. 

"Formulate  a  written  plan." 


1949 


Communications  in  Red  Cross  Operations 


107 


The  Scope  of  Red  Cross  Activities 

This  story  of  Red  Cross  communi- 
cations has  been  told  in  terms  of  dis- 
aster work,  for  it  is  in  those  terms 
that  the  role  of  communications  can 
be  told  most  graphically.  It  is  not  to 
be  supposed,  however,  that  communi- 
cations do  not  play  a  large  and  neces- 
sary part  in  the  many  other  Red  Cross 
activities. 

Actually,  by  the  very  nature  and 
tremendous  scope  of  the  total  Red 
Cross  operation,  it  is  obvious  that 
communications  would  have  to  play 
an  important  over-all  role  in  the  or- 
ganization's work. 

A  few  facts  illustrate  the  extent  of 
American  Red  Cross  activity: 

The  organization's  membership 
totals  37,524,000.  There  are  3,746 
chapters  and  more  than  5,000 
branches.  In  the  last  fiscal  year, 
funds  expended  by  the  chapters  and 
the  national  organization  totaled 
$101,900,000. 

The  Red  Cross  has  approximately 
1,471,200  volunteer  workers,  7.300 
of  whom,  with  assistance  from  6,800 
paid  chapter  workers,  last  year 
handled  768,000  cases  involving  serv- 
icemen and  their  dependents,  1,782,- 
000  involving  veterans  and  their  de- 
pendents, and  192,000  cases  of 
civilians  and  others. 

An  average  of  10,000  volunteers 
and  1000  paid  workers  served  142,- 
600  patients  in  more  than  130  mili- 
tary hospitals.  Field  directors  and 
other  paid  Red  Cross  workers  gave 
assistance  in  622,100  servicemen's 
cases  in  265  military  camps. 


tm> 


A  CIIAPTCK  MANUAl 


FOR  DitAsrn  ntPAHttmits  and  nititr 


The  Ame7-ican  Red  Cross  is  a 
quasi-governmental  agency  ^  and  this 
handbook^  prepared  by  National 
Headquarters^  helps  the  Chapters 
to  be  prepared  to  discharge  their 
responsibilities  ''when 
disaster  strikes" 


In  more  than  300  major  disaster 
operations  the  Red  Cross  assisted 
312,400  persons  and  spent  $12,171,- 
000  during  the  fiscal  year  ending 
June  30,   1948. 

The  organization  now  has  in  op- 
eration twenty-eight  blood  centers 
throughout  the  country. 

And  this  by  no  means  comprises  all 
the  Red  Cross  services.  Yet  it  indi- 
cates the  nature  and  extent  of  the 
organization's  work,  and  in  so  doing 
gives  some  idea  of  how  invaluable  are 
communications,  in  all  forms,  to  the 
integration  of  its  many  functions. 


Progress  of  the  Rural  Service 

Program 

The  following  paragraphs  are  from  a  mid-year  summary  of  progress 
of  the  rural  service  program  by  Vice  President  Cleo  F.  Craig,  head 
of  the  Department  of  Operation  and  Engineering  of  the  American 
Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company. 


The  telephone  companies  throughout 
the  nation  are  now  in  their  fourth  con- 
secutive year  of  record-breaking  rural  tele- 
phone construction  to  meet  the  unprec- 
edented demand  for  service  which  has 
sprung  up  during  and  since  the  war. 

The  companies  are  pushing  new  tele- 
phone lines  into  remote  ranch  and  farm 
sections.  Regions  where  few  farmers,  if 
any,  ever  wanted  telephone  service  are  now 
anxious  to  get  it.  Better  incomes  in  re- 
cent years  have  created  a  tremendous  in- 
terest among  farmers  in  modernizing  their 
homes;  naturally,  they  want  more  and 
better  telephones. 

So  great  has  been  this  up-surge  in  the 
applications  for  rural  telephone  service 
that  it  demanded  the  building  of  literally 
tens  of  thousands  of  miles  of  new  pole 
line  and  the  stringing  of  about  a  million 
miles  of  wire — to  say  nothing  of  many 
new  buildings  and  vast  quantities  of  switch- 
boards and  other  equipment. 

The  Primary  Aim 

The  primary  aim  of  the  companies  has 
always  been  to  provide  good  telephone  serv- 
ice as  fast  as  practicable  to  every  one  who 
wants  it,  wherever  he  may  be,  and  at  rea- 
sonable rates.  The  army  of  engineers  and 
construction  men  now  engaged  in  the  rural 
program  has  been  building  rural  telephone 
plant  at  a  rate  three  times  as  fast  as  ever 
before  in  history. 


Though  much  still  remains  to  be  done, 
the  level  of  the  farm  telephone  develop- 
ment in  six  of  the  nine  geographical  re- 
gions of  the  country,  as  defined  by  the  Bu- 
reau of  the  Census,  is  already  at  high  lev- 
els— about  70  percent,  the  same  as  in  the 
cities.  In  scattered  sections  of  the  South 
and  Southwest,  which  make  up  the  other 
three  regions,  the  opportunities  for  extend- 
ing service  have  increased  tremendously  in 
recent  years.  The  telephone  companies  are 
concentrating  their  utmost  efforts  in  these 
areas,  and  excellent  progress  is  being  made. 
Since  1940,  the  number  of  farms  in  those 
sections  having  telephones  has  increased 
over  100  percent.  Half  of  all  the  new 
rural  pole  line  construction  in  the  entire 
Bell  System  has  been  concentrated  in  the 
Southern  Bell  and  Southwestern  Bell  tele- 
phone companies. 

Southern  Bell,  for  example,  has  spent 
over  $49,000,000  since  the  war  to  boost 
its  telephones  in  rural  areas  from  171,000 
at  the  end  of  1945  to  372,400  on  June  i, 
1949.  The  job  is  not  yet  completed;  but 
with  its  accelerated  pace,  the  company  ex- 
pects to  catch  up  with  customer  demand 
one  of  these  days. 

Southwestern  Bell,  too,  has  doubled  its 
rural  telephones.  Since  V-J  Day  that 
company  has  set  440,000  poles  and  strung 
120,000  miles  of  wire,  nearly  tripling  its 
rural  plant  investment.  About  one-half  of 
the  establishments  in   Southwestern  Bell's 


Progress  in  the  Rural  Service  Program 


109 


rural  areas  now  have  service,  and  the  re- 
mainder can  be  taken  care  of  in  the  not 
too  distant  future. 

During  the  war,  when  applications  for 
service  were  piling  up  in  rural  as  well  as 
urban  areas,  the  telephone  industry  desig- 
nated "Rural  Telephones"  as  one  of  its 
most  important  jobs.  The  Bell  System 
set  its  sights  for  a  million  more  telephones 
in  rural  areas  as  rapidly  as  possible  after 
the  war.  It  appeared  then  that  it  might 
take  as  many  as  five  years;  but  despite  seri- 
ous shortages  in  materials  and  supplies  of 
all  kinds,  the  millionth  instrument  went 
into  service  last  December — in  just  a  little 
over  three  years.  The  number  of  tele- 
phones added  in  rural  areas  since  the  war 
totals  today  about  1,200,000,  and  the  work 
is  continuing  unabated. 

About  Half  the  Farms 
Now  Have  Telephones 

As  A  RESULT  of  this  unprecedented  per- 
formance of  the  Bell  companies,  plus  the 
nearly  400,000  rural  telephones  added  since 
the  war  by  the  6,000  independently-owned 
telephone  companies,  about  half  of  the 
farms  in  the  United  States  now  have  tele- 
phones. This  is  twice  as  many  as  in  1940. 
Rural  telephone  service  now  is  available, 
without  any  construction  charges  to  cus- 
tomers, to  a  vast  majority  of  the  nation's 
occupied  farms. 

In  addition  to  adding  more  telephones, 
the  Bell  companies  have  also  made  great 
strides  in  improving  the  quality  of  service 
in  rural  areas.  The  number  of  parties  on 
a  line  is  being  reduced  to  not  more  than 
eight.  Today  70  percent  of  all  rural  cus- 
tomers are  on  lines  with  eight  parties  or 


fewer,  compared  with  62  percent  at  the 
beginning  of  1946. 

Improvements  in  Service 

Improved  ringing  techniques  are  enabling 
Bell  customers  to  hear  the  rings  of  fewer 
parties  on  their  lines.  Eighty-seven  per- 
cent of  all  rural  customers  now  have  better 
ringing,  compared  with  76  percent  in  Jan- 
uary 1946. 

And  as  rapidly  as  possible,  the  magneto 
— crank  type — telephone  is  being  replaced 
by  more  up-to-date  instruments.  Today 
88  percent  can  signal  the  operator  simply 
by  lifting  the  telephone  from  its  cradle. 
This  compares  with  78  percent  three  and 
a  half  years  ago. 

To  make  it  easier  for  farmers  and  others 
in  rural  areas  to  get  telephone  service,  the 
amount  of  new  pole  line  which  the  Bell 
companies  will  build  for  each  new  sub- 
scriber without  charge  has  been  substan- 
tially increased.  Free  construction  of  a 
half-mile  of  new  pole  line  is  now  generally 
allowed  for  each  new  customer.  In  addi- 
tion, this  allowance  is  being  applied  on 
an  area  coverage  basis,  which  means  that 
where  lines  are  being  extended  to  serve  a 
particular  section,  any  unused  portion  of  a 
customer's  free  allowance  is  credited  to 
other  customers  in  the  same  neighborhood 
who  need  more. 

The  telephone  companies'  rural  program 
still  presses  forward.  All  the  attention, 
resources,  and  experience  of  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem are  being  brought  to  bear  on  the  im- 
portant job.  The  problem  is  recognized  by 
the  industry's  leaders  as  one  of  the  most 
vital  challenges  of  recent  years,  and  this 
challenge  is  being  met. 


Four  Early  Correspondents  Reveal  W^hat  JVent  On  during 

The  Months  when  the  First  Bell  Company  Was  Struggling 

To  Become  a  Going  Concern 


Robert  Devonshire's 
Letterbook 

Ralph  E.  Mooney 


If  you  read  much  Bell  System  mail, 
you  probably  will  think  the  following 
letter  a  bit  unusual: 

Dear  Sir:  Some  time  ago  we  sent  you 
some  telephones,  since  which  time  we  have 
not  heard  from  you. 

Please  write  us  saying  how  they  have 
worked  and  if  they  have  given  satisfaction 
and  oblige. 

Yours  truly. 
Bell  Telephone  Company 
per  R.W.D. 

As  a  letter,  that  meets  two  quali- 
fications desirable  today:  it  goes  to 
the  point  and  it  wastes  few  words. 
Nevertheless,  a  modern  business 
man  might  be  somewhat  surprised 
to  get  one  like  it  from  any  of  the 
Bell  companies.  He  might  wonder 
what  "some"  telephones  could  mean, 
and  why  we  should  doubt  whether 
they  would  work  satisfactorily. 

But  its  peculiarities  are  easy  to 
understand  when  we  take  into  account 


that  it  was  sent  to  a  man  in  Appleton, 
Wisconsin,  in  August,  1877,  just  a 
day  or  two  after  R.W.D. ,  or  Robert 
W.  Devonshire,  went  to  work  for 
the  first  of  all  Bell  telephone  com- 
panies, at  Boston.  It  comes  to  us 
from  a  letterbook  that  is  now  a  part 
of  the  material  in  the  American  Tele- 
phone Historical  Library,  at  A.  T. 
&  T.   headquarters   in  New  York. 

Many  of  us  today  may  not  know 
what  a  letterbook  is.  This  specimen 
is  a  cloth-bound  volume,  nine  inches 
wide,  eleven  long,  and  about  an  inch 
thick.  It  contains,  on  500  tissue 
sheets,  copies  of  practically  all  the 
outgoing  letters  of  the  telephone 
business  from  August  to  December, 
1877.  It  is  the  System  correspond- 
ence of  four  months  bound  in  one 
short  volume,  you  might  say — al- 
though at  the  time  the  correspond- 
ence was  written,  the  Bell  Telephone 
System  was  no  more  than  a  gleam  in 
the  eye  of  certain  of  its  founders. 


Robert  Devonshire's  Letterbook 


III 


This  letter  press^  in  the  A.  T.  &  T.  Historical  Library  collection^  is  similar  to  the  one 

with  which  young  Robert  Devonshire  made  copies  of  the  earliest  ''telephone  company*^ 

letters.     Open  beside  it  is  the  first  letterbook^  containing  the  actual  copies  of  outgoing 

letters  between  August  and  December^  ^877->  some  of  which 

are  quoted  in  the  accompanying  article 


Typewriters  were  still  in  the  ex- 
perimental stage,  in  1877,  so  all  let- 
ters were  written  by  hand.  If  you 
wanted  to  keep  what  you  would  call 
today  carbon  copies,  you  would  pro- 
vide yourself  with  a  letterbook  and  a 
letter  press.  The  process  was  to 
write  the  "orginal"  of  your  letter  in 
the  very  clearest  script  you  could 
command,  using  copying  ink.  That 
done,  you  would  place  the  original 
underneath  a  blank  tissue  sheet  in 
your  letter  book.  You  would  moisten 
the  tissue  sheet,  and  would  put  a 
piece  of  blotting  paper  over  the 
damp  tissue.     Then  you  would  close 


the  book  and  arrange  it  on  the  bed  of 
your  letter  press.  You  would  screw 
the  press  down  tightly  and  leave  it  a 
while.  A  copy  would  transfer  from 
your  original  to  the  under  side  of 
the  moist  tissue — so  that  you  would 
have  to  read  the  copy  through  the 
tissue  rather  than  from  the  upper 
surface  of  it,  if  you  should  need  to 
refer  to  it  thereafter. 

It  was  a  slow  process,  which  gen- 
erally mussed  both  the  original  and 
the  copy,  but  it  did  preserve  exact 
duplicates  of  business  letters. 

Such  a  letterbook  preserves  much 
more    than    the    letters,    with    their 


112 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


No  picture  of  Robert  W.  Devonshire  as  a 
young  man  is  available.  This  one  shows 
how  he  looked  on  the  occasion  of  a  dinner 
in  honor  of  his  fiftieth  Bell  System  service 
anniversary y  in  August  192^ 


varying  scripts  and  the — to  us — 
curious  abbreviations  of  words  that 
you  sometimes  find.  Our  book  of 
1877  not  only  recalls  the  atmosphere 
of  those  months  when  there  were  only 
four  men  in  the  telephone  business, 
but  makes  it  possible  for  each  of  the 
four  to  tell  us  in  his  own  words 
something  of  the  problems  he  had  to 
meet  and  solve.  What  we  are  deal- 
ing with,  actually,  is  an  intimate  and 
priceless  record  of  facts  and  per- 
sonalities. 

Some  Early  History 

A  BIT  OF  BRIEFING  is  in  Order  here, 
to  bring  us  up  to  date — to  August, 
1877,  that  is.  About  three  years 
before  Devonshire  wrote  his  some- 
what vague  letter  to  the  Bell  agent 


at  Appleton,  Alexander  Graham  Bell 
had  begun  experimenting  on  a  method 
for  sending  several  Morse  messages 
simultaneously  over  a  telegraph  wire. 
Thomas  Sanders,  successful  leather 
merchant  of  Haverhill,  and  Gardiner 
Greene  Hubbard,  civic-minded  Bos- 
ton lawyer,  had  agreed  to  finance 
Bell's  experiments,  and  shortly  there- 
after Thomas  A.  Watson,  a  young 
technician  at  Charles  Williams'  elec- 
trical shop  in  Boston,  had  become  in 
effect  Bell's  laboratory  assistant.  Bell 
had  at  the  back  of  his  mind  the  idea 
for  transmitting  speech  electrically; 
and  on  June  2,  1875,  ^^  experiment 
on  the  telegraphic  device  brought 
a  result  that  verified  his  telephone 
theory.  Thereafter  nine  months  or 
more   of  experiment   and  study  had 


This  picture  of  Thomas  A.  Watson^  the 
man  who  made  Bell's  first  telephone^  was 
taken  in  i8y8,  when  he  was  24.  During 
the  earliest  years  of  the  business^  he  was 
largely  responsiblefor  the  practical  develop- 
ment of  Bell  telephone  service 


1949 


Robert  Devonshire  s  Letterbook 


113 


elapsed  before  his  first  patent  was 
applied  for,  February   14,   1876. 

Bell's  telephone  attracted  some  at- 
tention at  the  Philadelphia  Centen- 
nial Exposition,  the  following  June. 
Thereafter,  scientific  demonstrations 
of  it  had  been  made.  Public  experi- 
ments had  been  performed.  But  still 
no  telephone  business  had  developed. 
Indeed,  the  first  money  the  telephone 
had  earned  was  from  50-cent  admis- 
sions to  lecture  demonstrations  by 
Alexander  Graham  Bell  in  person. 

At  last,  however,  a  few  telephones 
had  been  rented  for  service  toward 
the  end  of  May,  1877.  That  made 
Bell,  Hubbard,  Sanders,  and  Wat- 
son feel  there  might  be  something  in 
it  after  all,  and  they  had  formed  the 
"Bell  Telephone  Company,  Gardiner 
Greene  Hubbard,  Trustee." 


Thomas  Sanders^  an  able  business  man^ 
had  confidence  in  the  future  of  the  tele- 
phone^ and  backed  it  with  more  than 
$ioOyOOO — which  was  no  small  sum  seventy- 
odd  years  ago 


Gardiner  G.  Hubbard^  always  a  man  of 
vision^  established  the  policy  of  renting 
telephones  rather  than  selling  them;  that 
isy  making  the  telephone  company  respon- 
sible for  providing  telephone  service 


You  may  wonder  why  Hubbard  was 
named  trustee  and  not  president. 
Probably  it  was  because  trustees  are 
common  phenomena  as  administrators 
of  property  and  enterprises  around 
Boston.  Furthermore,  you  do  not 
usually  have  a  president  until  a  corpo- 
ration has  been  formed,  and  this  was 
not  a  corporation.  Whatever  the 
reason,  the  trusteeship  papers  were 
signed  July  9,  1877.  Two  days  later, 
Bell  was  married  to  Mabel  Hubbard, 
daughter  of  Gardiner  G.,  and  soon 
thereafter  sailed  with  his  bride  for 
England,  where  he  was  to  remain 
more  than  a  year  in  efforts  to  get  his 
telephone  established  in  that  country. 

So  Hubbard,  Sanders  and  Wat- 
son were  left  to  set  up  the  busi- 
ness.    All  telephones  rented  at  this 


114 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


Jr/'  /-^ 


L  //i//- 


■.<' 


/  fVf  i  J{  I 


■7^« 


(f;/., 


/  / 


/  <^ 


// . 


■/  A 


^6 


w( 


6  /.,,.. 


K 


y^ 


/  > 


y 


7/  <  ua 

>       dr.;    .... 


(O 


/, .  /y, 


''•\/l^,tf     <r  ,    ^,^  A',, 


After  7^  yearsy  the  copies  in  the  old  letterbook  are  too 
faded  to  reproduce  clearly.  This  one,  representative  of 
much  routine  correspondence,  lists  by  number  four  hand 
telephones,  four  box  telephones,  and  four  call  bells. 
The  signature  is  typical:  "Yours  truly.  Bell  Telephone 
Company  per  R.  W.  D." 


period  were  for  private-line  use — or, 
as  these  founders  put  It,  "for  speak- 
ing tube  purposes."  Three  experi- 
mental switchboards  had  been  tried, 
but  months  were  to  elapse  before  any- 
one would  be  ready  to  launch  a  com- 
mercial telephone  exchange. 

Enter  R.W.D. 

That  was  where  Devonshire  came 
into  the  picture.  Eventually  he  was 
to  become  an  A.  T.  &  T.  vice-president 


(he  served  as  such  from 
1913  to  1930)  ;  but  in 
August,  1877,  he  was 
just  a  youngster  trying 
to  be  both  Commercial 
and  Accounting  depart- 
ments of  the  new  enter- 
prise. 

He  was  in  virgin  ter- 
ritory with  rather  a  free 
hand.  For  Sanders, 
while  treasurer  of  the 
Bell  company,  with  all 
the  duties  of  operating 
vice-president  too,  was 
forced  to  give  consid- 
erable attention  to  his 
leather  business  at  Hav- 
erhill, some  miles  from 
Boston.  Hubbard,  ad- 
ministrative head  of  the 
company,  was  spending 
most  of  his  time  in 
Washington  as  chair- 
man of  a  Congressional 
postal  committee — a 
post  to  which  he  had  1 
been  appointed  by 
President  Grant — a  n  d 
carrying  on  his  law 
practice.  Watson,  who 
served  as  Research  En- 
gineer and  Plant  De- 
combined,    was    the    only 


partment 

other  full-time  employee,  with  Dev- 
onshire— unless  you  want  to  count  a 
few  men  in  Williams'  shop  who  by 
now  put  in  their  full  time  making 
telephones. 

Devonshire  most  likely  was  the 
one  who  went  out  to  some  convenient 
stationer's  to  buy  the  letterbook,  as 
well  as  the  one  who  tended  It,  tak- 
ing on  the  office-boy  chore  of  trans- 
ferring letters  In  addition  to  his  many 


1949 


Robert  Devonshire  s  Letterbook 


"5 


.-r<. 


other  duties.  At  any 
rate,  the  book  begins 
about  the  day  he  went 
to  work. 

He  signed  his  mail 
"Bell  Telephone  Com- 
pany—per R.W.D.," 
and  to  him  fell  the  job 
of  explaining  time  and 
again  that  the  magneto 
telephone  bells  then  in 
use  "cannot  be  used 
practically  for  more 
than  3  stations  for  the 
reason  that  even  if  the 
bells  work  well  it  causes 
altogether  too  much  re- 
sistance on  the  line  to 
talk  through."  Also  he 
frequently  had  to  tell 
new  customers  that  "the 
best  arrangement  and 
the  one  that  is  almost 
universally  adopted  for 
business  purposes  is  a 
box  instrument  [tele- 
phone] to  talk  to  and 
a  hand  instrument  to 
listen  with  at  each  sta- 
tion." 

From  a  letter  he  sent 
to  Bell  agents  at  Savannah,  Georgia, 
we  learn  that  "There  should  be  no 
trouble  on  account  of  noise  made  by 
surf.  Put  up  a  box  and  a  hand  in- 
strument, and  at  noisy  places  listen 
with  the  box  at  one  ear  and  the  hand 
at  the  other."  Here  Devonshire 
mentions  an  interesting  early  experi- 
ment :  "We  have  used  the  instruments 
on  an  Express  train  going  40  miles 
an  hour,  communicating  from  Engine 
to  3rd  passanger  car  with  good  re- 
sults." 


rt 


/I" 


Of 


<,^„ 


-       (, 


/rK 


/.       ",      f/   r. 


^' 


^-^^^^ 


/,., 


<^i 


C^Uci/.!  , 


""1  ^"7  r 


''Connect  Telephones  to  the  4  cups  at  the  sides  of  the 
switch  thus"  says  this  letter^  and  makes  the  ''thus"  clear 
by  a  diagram  in  the  middle  of  the  text — a  convenience 
which  the  modern  carbon-copy  method  of  preservation 
does  not  afford  letter  writers 


By  November,  however,  while  San- 
ders was  on  a  trip  to  Detroit,  Devon- 
shire was  able  to  write  a  letter  that 
indicates  that  he  and  the  business  had 
made  considerable  progress : 

In  regard  to  correspondence,  there  has 
only  been  a  few  letters  that  would  require 
your  attention  and  Mr.  Watson  thought 
I  had  better  not  send  them  but  wait  until 
your  return.  If  anything  important  came 
up  would  telegraph  you. 

Have  received  P.O.  orders  to  the  amount 
of   $70    from    J.    Ponton.      Have    money 


ii6 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


enough  in  the  cash  drawer  without  using 
any  of  the  above  until  after  your  return 
home.  Have  orders  on  the  books  at  the 
present  time  for  872  instruments. 

Devonshire  also  sent  forth  a  steady 
flow  of  invoices  for  shipments  of  two, 
four,  six,  or  a  dozen  telephones.  In 
each  the  serial  numbers  of  the  instru- 
ments were  laboriously  copied  by 
hand.  And,  as  each  telephone  cus- 
tomer signed  a  lease  for  equipment 
rented  to  him,  Devonshire  was  con- 
stantly acknowledging  receipt  of  leases 
numbered  such-and-such  from  the 
growing  list  of  agents  appointed  by 
Hubbard  and  Sanders.  And — natu- 
rally— he  was  constantly  finding  mis- 
takes in  the  numbering  of  the  leases, 
or  in  the  serial  numbers  of  equip- 
ment covered  by  the  leases,  all  of 
which  required  more  letters  as  well 
as  corrections  of  his  records.  He 
also  wrote  letters  in  a  secretarial 
capacity  for  Sanders,  Watson,  and 
even  Charles  Williams  to  sign. 
Quite  a  job  young  Devonshire  had, 
with  three  alert  and  enterprising 
heads  above  him. 

He  Footed  the  Bills 

Upon  Thomas  Sanders  fell  the  bur- 
den of  keeping  the  infant  enterprise 
on  its  feet,  and  his  letters  make  evi- 
dent the  slenderness  of  the  reserves 
on  which  the  telephone  business  ran 
during  those  months.  It  is  hard  to 
comprehend  now  that  the  "telephone 
company"  ever  had  to  live  from  hand 
to  mouth,  but  ours  is  just  one  of  a 
great  many  American  businesses  that 
have  passed  through  such  periods  in 
their  beginning  years.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  Sanders  was  the  "angel" 
who  "rescued  the  show"  time  and 
again,    in    1877.      He   risked   all   he 


had,  a  few  thousand  dollars  at  a 
time,  and  borrowed  until  he  put  al- 
together $1 10,000  into  the  telephone, 
before  it  earned  him  a  dollar  of  per- 
sonal return. 

In  August,  our  letterbook  shows 
him   writing  to   Hubbard: 

Mr.  Williams'  bill  is  $4186 — therefore 
we  shall  have  to  put  in  the  $5,000  you 
spoke  to  Mr.  Watson  about — ^$2,500  each. 
Will  you  send  me  your  check  for  $2,500 
loaned  the  Company  and  I  will  do  like- 
wise, as  we  ought  to  start  square  with 
Williams.  Collections  cannot  be  forced. 
I  have  jogged  them  all.  .  .  . 

And  here  are  three  samples  of  San- 
ders' jogging,  taken  from  his  letters 
to  Bell  agents : 

As  you  have  369  Telephones  and  Calls 
[signaling  equipment]  altogether,  I  tho't 
you  must  be  in  receipt  of  at  least  $1,000 
and  as  I  had  occasion  for  the  money  tele- 
graphed if  I  should  draw  on  you,  I  hope 
you  will  remit  as  soon  as  possible. 

(The  process  referred  to  may  not 
be  familiar.  If  someone  who  owes 
you  money,  or  just  someone  who  has 
money,  gives  permission  for  you  to 
draw  on  him,  you  deposit  in  your  bank 
a  draft  for  the  agreed  amount.  In 
effect,  the  other  fellow  allows  you  to 
write  your  check  against  his  bank  ac- 
count. If  you  need  money  quickly, 
this  is,  and  more  particularly  was 
then,  a  faster  process  than  waiting 
for  a  remittance  to  be  mailed.) 

The  other  samples : 

You  have  about  150  telephones.  I  have 
received  but  $73. 

It  costs  something  to  manufacture  tele- 
phones and  magnetos,  especially  the  latter, 
&  as  you  have  about  400  of  the  instruments 
all  told,  ought  I  not  to  receive  a  remittance 
from  you?    I  should  be  very  much  pleased 


1949 


Robert  Devonshire  s  Letterbook 


117 


to  see  your  autograph  at  the  foot  of  a  good- 
sized  check  but  should  not  return  a  small 


By  November,  Sanders,  too,  could 
write  in  a  much  more  confident  tone : 

You  have  instruments  on  which  the 
rental  due  is  between  $1200  and  $1500. 
The  amount  I  have  received  bears  a  very 
small  proportion  of  this.  If  rentals  in  ad- 
vance means  anything  it  is  time  some  at- 
tention was  paid  to  it.  This  thing  is  no 
longer  an  experiment,  it  is  business. 

Also,  he  exhorted  and  instructed 
agents  in  this  vein:  "I  receive  letters 
every  day  asking  about 
telephone  s — I  refer 
them  to  you  and  still 
they  come  saying  they 
have  heard  from  you 
but  cannot  secure  atten- 
tion." Or  in  this:  "You 
have  a  large  field  and  I 
should  think  it  would  be 
advisable  for  you  to  ap- 
point sub-agents  and  not 
quarrel  with  everybody. 
The  field  is  not  half  sup- 
plied." Or  this:  "I  am 
glad  to  see  that  you 
have  established  a 
New  Hampshire  agency 
— I  have  referred  3  or 
4  customers  to  him  al- 
ready— I  hope  he  is  en- 
ergetic as  he  has  quite  a 
field.  New  Hampshire 
people  you  know  are 
slow  but  sure  &  there 
will  yet  be  a  consider- 
able income  from  that 
state." 

Even  in  November, 
however,  with  more 
than  2,000  telephones 
rented  and  Sanders  con- 


vinced, as  he  says,  that  this  was  busi- 
ness, he  had  moments  when  he  found 
the  state  of  affairs  a  bit  overwhelm- 
ing.    Witness  his  letter  to  Hubbard: 

I  like  your  suggestion  about  the  collec- 
tions of  agents  on  instruments  sent  &  see 
no  reason  why  it  should  not  be  enforced. 
Meanwhile  we  must  have  some  money  for 
our  present  needs.  I  hqpe  you  can  meet  me 
in  New  York  next  week  as  something  must 
be  done.  .  . . 

I  am  at  your  service  at  any  time  with  suf- 
ficient notice  for  a  daylight  passage  as  I 
take  my  wife  &  child  &  propose  Western 
New  York  and    Detroit  before   I   return 


The  Telephone. 


THt  pniimton  of  Ifce  TekplwM.  ll«  innalioa  •»  Alc»i«fcr  Cimham  BcH.  fo.  «hkli  i*lraU  hmxt  ben 
issHd  1»  Ike  Vailed  Sul««  and  Cr«al  Bnbui.  ttt  ta"  |«T|p«t<l  U)  fimUli  Ttfephooet  br  tU  trnwrnmion 
of  utnUte  aimck  tkra^  inalnmaib  Bot  men  Uaa  tw«ty  mHa  it^t.  Co«v»is»tK>o  cmi  ke  e««ilx 
curieJ  00  ofttr  iJigkt  l««*ic«  ud  witll  Ike  OK«ioi«I  i«p«tilio«  of  s  worf  oe  mursce.  <>■  Snt  bteoiag  to 
Ike  Tckfkooe.  tkongk  tke  mmai  b  petfeclly  aodikk.  Ike  aitkiOatioo  tmm  u,  ke  ialmiact;  k«  ttttr  >  few 
trab  Ike  ear  kniiiia  lliwllllil  |o  Ike  peoakar  scund  aad  fiods  Utile  iiBoAj  M  1 

Tke  TelerbM  Aodd  ke  Mt  in  •  qoiet  lOace,  «keR  Ikeie  is  n>  nabe  i 


Tke  adnnla-ea  of  Ifce  TeleiAoae  orer  Ike  Tek-n|ik  br  local  kmaeM  an 

Ist  Tkat  DO  sVilW  opcialor  b  ivioind.  b«t  ditect  row— i»»li<i«  anjr  ke  kai  Ij  sfeeck  <itkoiK  ike 
iolerventiou  of  a  Ikinl  pencA. 

■il  Tkat  Ike  eomoaaicalioa  b  mack  laote  lapU.  Ike  avecage  mimler  of  «w*  tianaiucd  a  Miaate 
by  Mone  Soander  beiag  from  fifteea  to  twealjr,  ky  Telepkooe  fro«  oae  to  two  bundRiL 

3d.  Tkat  no  expcaae  b  lequirai  eitker  for  its  opetatioa,  maiateaance.  or  repair.  It  acedr  DO  tottery, 
aad  kaa  DO  complicated  DMJuaery.     Il  b  aasannaed  br  ecooomy  ani  simplicily. 

Tke  Toaa  for  leaaiag  two  TelepfcoMl  for  sodal  (wroiea  coaarctias  a  dweUiDs-boose  aitk  aay  otker 
UiMia;  will  ke  «20  a  year,  br  kaiaeaa  paiposei  »4«  a  year,  payable  tesiaDaoally  ia  adnace,  wilk  Ike 
cott  of  eipnasage  from  Boaloa,  Sew  York,  Ciacianati,  Ckicago.  St.  loab.  or  Saa  Fiaacbcoi  Tke  iastntmeaU 
will  ke  kept  ia  -ood  workup  order  ky  tke  leaaors.  free  of  eapeaae,  except  tnm  iajaries  leaakia-  fiom  Jitat 
caivlessaem. 

Several  TdepkoiM  eaa  ke  placed  oa  tke  aaage  liae  at  aa  additicaa]  lealal  of  tlO  br  eack  iaabameal; 
kal  tke  aae  of  more  tkaa  two  oo  t><e  raaae  liae  wkeie  frncj  b  retailed  b  Dot  adrtied.  Aay  peim  ailkia 
ordiaaiy  ksoiag  distance  caa  kear  die  voire  calli^  tknmsk  tka  Telepkime.  If  a  lomlcr  call  b  leqaiied  oae 
can  ke  faiDtsked  br  Sa 

Telegiaph  liaes  will  ke  coostracted  by  the  proprxtaia  if  deiiied.  Tke  price  *in  vafy  bna  S 100  to  1 150 
a  mile ;  aay  good  aM^kaaiw  caa  cmstract  a  liae ;  Ka  9  wise  coats  8|  eeatt  a  peaad,  320  poaod*  to  tke 
mile;  31  iaaalabin  at  25  ceata  rack;  tke  price  of  poles  and  aettiag  varies  ia  cvasy  locality;  stringiae  wire 
$5  per  nule;  sandiies  $10  per  auleL 

-Parties  IcaaiBg  Ike  Telepkoaes  iacor  no  expense  beyond  tke  annaal  rental  aad  tke  repair  of  Ike  liae 
wira    Ob  tke  Sallowing  pages  are  extiacts  bam  tke  Press  aad  otker  saarccs  relatiag  to  Ike  Telepboae. 

GABDISnEB  G.  BUBBABOl 


Cmmis».  MMa,  M^,  1S77. 
For  futkcr  iafonaatioa  and  orders  adjrese 


THOSl  a,  WATSOX,  109  Ctxa  St,  Bostox. 


The  first  telephone  advertisement  offers  ''Telephones  for 
the  transmission  of  articulate  speech  through  instruments 
not  more  than  twenty  miles  apart."  The  offer  was  for 
private-line  use^  since  telephone  exchange  service  was 
not  developed  until  i8y8 


ii8 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


here  [Boston].  Will  you  endeavour  to  get 
to  New  York  next  week  and  relieve  my 
mind  on  various  vexatious  points.  .  .  . 

I  wish  you  lived  nearer  &  had  more 
leisure  in  which  perhaps  you  join  me.  With 
regards  to  Mrs.  Hubbard. 

The  Responsibility  for  Service 

Since  Gardiner  Greene  Hubbard  was 
away  from  Boston  most  of  the  time, 
not  many  of  his  letters  found  their 
way  into  Devonshire's  book.  Those 
that  did  repeat  quite  often  the  state- 
ment :  "We  do  not  sell  any  telephones, 
only  lease  them  at  the  annual  rate  of 
$40  a  year  for  a  set  of  four."  For  it 
was  very  clear  to  Hubbard  that  if 
telephone  service  should  ever  develop, 
it  would  be  because  the  telephone 
company  made  itself  responsible  for 
the  working  of  that  service.  He  was 
often  urged  to  sell  telephones  and  let 
the  buyers  do  what  they  pleased  with 
them,  but  he  understood,  with  re- 
markable foresight,  that  however  at- 
tractive that  way  might  seem  momen- 
tarily, it  was  likely  to  be  a  blind  alley 
in  the  long  run. 

We  find  Hubbard  writing  to 
George  L.  Bradley,  of  Providence, 
R.  I.,  on  October  12,  1877,  the  letter 
that  led  within  a  few  months  to  for- 
mation of  the  first  Bell  telephone  cor- 
porations (the  New  England  Tele- 
phone Company  and  The  Bell  Tele- 
phone Company),  to  which  Bradley 
and  other  investors  subscribed  fresh 
capital  that  relieved  the  terrific  strain 
on- Sanders'  resources.  Bradley  was 
to  become  general  agent  of  the  new 
companies,  later  treasurer,  and  to  con- 
tinue as  treasurer  when  they  were 
combined  to  form  the  National  Bell 
Telephone  Company.  But  all  that 
was  in  the  future.  Hubbard's  Octo- 
ber, 1877,  letter  told  Bradley  this: 


The  Bell  Telephone  Co.  commenced 
leasing  telephones  in  June  last  as  an  experi- 
ment without  knowing  either  the  best  way 
of  introducing  them  to  the  public  or  what 
was  to  be  the  value  of  the  invention. 

On  the  first  of  October  we  had  rented 
2,000  telephones.  A  continually  increas- 
ing demand,  and  extension  of  the  uses  to 
which  the  telephone  is  applied  satisfy  us 
that  it  meets  a  great  public  need,  and  will 
be  almost  universally  used. 

From  this  point,  Hubbard's  letter 
goes  on  to  state  the  prospects  for 
revenue  (still  on  a  private-line  basis; 
the  possibility  of  exchanges  not  even 
mentioned)  and  to  give  a  memoran- 
dum proposing  formation  of  what 
turned  out  to  be  the  New  England 
Telephone  Company. 

Making  Things  Work 

Interesting  revelations  of  behind- 
the-scenes  activity  in  the  infancy  of 
our  business  appear  in  the  letters 
of  Tom  Watson,  written  as  he  filled 
his  triple  role  of  inventor,  engineer, 
and  plant  chief. 

We  often  find  him  sending  specifi- 
cations for  new  ringing  devices  to  the 
company's  patent  attorney  at  Wash- 
ington. For,  as  soon  as  Watson  had  ' 
succeeded  in  overcoming  a  booming 
effect  that  made  the  lecture-demon- 
stration telephones  unsuitable  for 
everyday  use,  he  had  to  find  some  kind 
of  call  signal.  His  first,  never  satis- 
factory, was  a  thumper  that  produced 
a  snare-drum  rattle  at  the  called  tele- 
phone. His  next,  also  unsatisfactory, 
came  to  be  known  as  Watson's 
buzzer,  although  the  noise  it  made 
was  actually  a  howl  caused  by  send- 
ing alternately  strong  and  weak  cur- 
rent through  an  induction  coil.  Fi- 
nally he  began  developing  magneto  j 
or  turn-the-crank  bells,  and  while  his 


1949 


Robert  Devonshire  s  Letterbook 


119 


l^ell  ^elejihon^  ^^o^ 


eH'f^^   ^^^Pi^e^&'f^ 


GARDINER  G.  HUBBARD,  Trustee. 

THOMAS  SANDERS,  Treasurer. 

ALEX.  GR.^HAM  BELL,  Electrician, 

THOMAS  A.  WATSON,    SoF*r. 


The  business  card  of  the  Bell  Telephone  Company  of  i8jy. 

The  address^  log  Court  Street^  was  that  of  Charles  Williams^ 

electrical  shop,  where  were  manufactured  the  box  and  hand 

telephones  mentioned  in  so  many  of  the  early  letters 


first  attempts  were  fumbling,  he  soon 
produced  so  good  a  bell  that  it  con- 
tinues in  use  today. 

When  not  writing  specifications  for 
new  "calls,"  or  placatory  letters  ex- 
plaining how  to  make  his  less  reliable 
models  work,  Watson  found  time  to 
cover  many  subjects.  He  sent  out 
instructions  like  these : 

Talk  to  the  box  instrument  with  lips 
touching  the  mouthpiece,  keeping  the  hand 
instrument  close  to  the  ear. 

If  a  thunderstorm  threatens,  insert  the 
small  plug  in  the  hole  in  the  lightning  ar- 
rester.   The  instruments  are  then  cut  out. 

A  great  deal  of  Watson's  time  was 
devoted  to  experiments.  For  ex- 
ample, he  wrote  to  J.  C.  Gaines,  at 
Duxbury,  Massachusetts,  to  ask  if  he 
might  listen  on  the  transatlantic  tele- 
graph cable  (the  French  cable)  that 
terminated  there.  In  a  second  letter 
he  said, 

I  think  3'^ou  misunderstand  me.  I  did  not 
wish  to  try  to  talk  through  the  cable  as 
Mr.  Bell  is  at  present  [1877]   in  Europe 


experimenting  in  that  direction.  What  I 
wanted  to  do  was  to  connect  with  your 
cable  and  listen  to  find  out  what  noises 
there  were ;  which  would  enable  me  to  pre- 
pare Instruments  to  use  with  greater  hopes 
of  success  in  case  Prof.  Bell  should  make 
arangements  to  try  to  talk  through  a  Trans- 
Atlantic  cable. 

Incidentally,  these  experiments  by 
Watson  and  associates  who  were  en- 
listed on  this  side  of  the  ocean,  plus 
tests  arranged  in  England  by  Bell, 
ruled  out  any  attempts  at  trans- 
atlantic conversations  through  the  un- 
dersea cables. 

Letters  from  Watson  to  Hilborne 
L.  Roosevelt,  in  New  York,  indicate 
that  he  tried  more  than  once  during 
1877  to  talk  from  Boston  to  New 
York,  over  borrowed  telegraph  wires. 
In  one  letter,  these  lines  occur:  "The 
fact  that  we  could  not  hear  as  well  on 
4  wires  as  we  could  on  one  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  it  is  not  the 
resistance  of  the  circuit  that  lessens 
the  loudness  of  the  sound,  but  the 
little  innumerable  escapes  in  the  line. 
How  does  this  strike  you?    There  is 


I20 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


SUMMER 


no  doubt  that  with  a  special  com- 
pound wire  we  could  do  despatch  busi- 
ness between  the  two  cities."  It  is 
interesting  here  to  observe  Watson's 
concern  over  the  possibilities  of  long 
distance  service  even  before  exchange 
service  existed. 

In  October,  we  find  Watson  getting 
quotations  and  placing  his  first  order 
for  lOO  rubber  hand  telephones — 
ancestors  of  the  millions  of  black  rub- 
ber receivers  that  have  since  been 
used.  He  also  experimented  with  cel- 
luloid cases. 

There  is  a  not  wholly  unfamiliar 
note  in  this  letter  which  he  wrote  to 
Hubbard  in  November: 

Have  received  several  Telegraphs  {sic) 
lately  in  regard  to  orders  and  I  now  rise  to 
explain. 

Nothing  would  give  me  greater  pleasure 
than  to  fill  orders  as  they  are  received  but 
there  are  so  many  urgent  ones  that  I  have 
to  divide  my  product  amongst  them,  I  am 
doing  my  best  to  get  instruments  out  & 
hope  to  catch  up  to  my  orders  in  about 
two  weeks,  I  am  so  far  behind  hand  that  I 
have  found  it  impossible  to  stick  to  any 
system  except  division  of  each  day's  prod- 
uct among  the  most  urgent  of  the  agents. 

In  regard  to  enclosures  in  your  last  let- 
ter, Illinois  man's  invention  is  worthless  in 
my  opinion. 

Preece's  idea  for  overcoming  induction, 
mentioned  in  Mrs.  Bell's  letter,  is  the  same 
that  I  explained  to  you  some  time  ago  when 
Cheever  tested  his  Brooklyn  Bridge  cable. 

We  cannot  be  certain  what  Illinois 
man  or  invention  is  referred  to,  but 
Preece,  in  the  final  paragraph,  was 
Sir  William  Henry  Preece,  later  a 
wireless  pioneer  and  authority  on  in- 
duction and  then  electrician  for  the 
British  Post  Office.  Cheever  was 
Charles  A.  Cheever  who,  with  Hil- 
borne  L.  Roosevelt,  had  the  first  Bell 


agency  in  New  York  City,  which  by 
this  time  was  styled  "The  Telephone 
Company  of  New  York."  The 
Brooklyn  Bridge  "cable"  that  Cheever 
tested  may  have  been  a  borrowed 
telegraph  cable,  but  more  probably 
was  a  line  supplied  to  J.  Lloyd  Haigh, 
who  was  manufacturing  wire  for  the 
Bridge  suspension  cables,  and  who 
had  probably  the  first  telephone  line 
across  the  East  River  strung  on  the 
bridge  from  his  office  in  New  York  to 
his  plant  in  South  Brooklyn. 

In  a  later  letter  to  Hubbard,  Wat- 
son says:  "Have  just  received  your 
telegraph  saying  to  deliver  no  instru- 
ments except  to  those  paying  in  ad- 
vance. If  I  do  that  I  won't  have  any- 
body to  send  to  except  Cornish, 
Haskins  &  Hamilton,  so  will  pursue 
present  plan  until  Mr.  Sanders  re- 
turns.    Is  this  satisfactory?" 

"Cornish"  was  T.  E.  Cornish,  Bell 
agent  at  Philadelphia,  later  founder 
of  the  exchange  there.  The  others 
mentioned  were  C.  H.  Haskins  and 
H.  H.  Hamilton,  agents  at  Milwau- 
kee, Wis.,  and  Sayre,  Pa.,  respec- 
tively. 

Watson's  gentle  sense  of  humor, 
which  may  be  further  sampled  in  his 
entertaining  autobiography  Exploring 
Life,  occasionally  crept  into  his  letters 
in  1877.  This  is  illustrated  in  one 
written  to  Frederick  A.  Gower. 
After  Bell  sailed  to  England,  Gower 
had  been  given  the  exclusive  right  to 
lecture  on  the  telephone  in  the  United 
States,  and  he  was  not  in  the  least  in- 
clined to  share  that  privilege.  That 
fact  Watson  dealt  with  in  this  way: 

The  Rev.  Elias  Nason  has  just  called 
upon  me  and  wants  to  know  if  I  will  assist 
him  to  illustrate  his  telephone  lecture  with 
the  Bell  Telephone.     I  tell  him  I  will  do 


1949 


Robert  Devonshire  s  Letterbook 


121 


so  with  pleasure  if  he  will  first  obtain  your 
consent.  He  left  perfectly  confident  that 
he  could  obtain  that  and  was  a  very  happy 
man.    Poor  fellow! 

To  QUOTE  FURTHER  from  our  first 
letterbook  would  be,  In  the  main, 
repetitious.  To  spell  out  the  con- 
trasts between  those  earliest  telephone 
days  and  now  would  be  to  labor  the 
obvious.  Let  us  take  leave^  then,  of 
four  men  with  whom  we  have  formed 


a  slight  acquaintance.  Their  labors 
were  fundamental :  they  sowed  some 
of  the  seeds  from  which  our  great 
public  service  has  sprung.  Their 
ways  parted  after  a  relatively  brief 
period,  and  only  one  of  them — 
Devonshire — made  the  telephone  his 
life's  career.  But  as  long  as  the  ten- 
der tissue  copies  of  their  letters  are 
preserved,  they  leave  between  the 
covers  of  that  letterbook  a  bond 
among  themselves,  and  with  us. 


MAN,     W^OMA^IsT    and    CHTLD 

SHOULD  CAREFULLY  EXAMINE  THE  WORKINGS  OF 


Speaking  and  Singing  Telaphonl, 

In  \U*  pniolical  work  <>t  roiiveying 

INSTANTANEOOS  COHIUNICATION  B!  DIRECT  SODND, 

Giving  tiie  tones  of    the  voice  so  th.it  the  jhthoii  speaking  c&n  !>►• 
renognizeil  by  tht*  Monud  at  thf  other  end  «>f  the  line. 

The  Siimlay  Sch.ol  of  the  * 

(Old  3fohn  street  m   ^.  (thutrh. 

Ilaviriu' Ht-ciireil  :v  lart^e  mjiiil>er  ofProt'   A.  <J    H^IPm  TEL"5PH0NBIi    willgirt's-i 

EXHIBITIO!9»iti.    CHURCH,  44  & 46  JOHN  8T.N.Y. 

wlifie  .'»ll  vi.HiioiH  (i(-<iriti>4  fan  ni  ik«  for  ihoiUH.'lvi-*  a  prar!i.»|  ii(ve!*lii^4tiori  ol"  th' 
Tcl6phonCt   ''y    Jt^kin^    -iiirslion«.  Iiparin^    the    un-«\<rfrM  fcu  tJi«ir  ijiu-^tionf 
.•iiiil    liHU'iiiti^    to  the  Hiiji^iii.4    conviyi-d   thmmrii    the  Tflfphoiu**    from  thw  othrr 
end  ofllio  line. 

On  Tuesday  and  Wednesday  Afternoons 

November  20th  &  21st,   1877. 

Kroni   11^  A.  M.  until  7  V    M. 

AdmissioQ  to  either  Afternoon  Exhibition  15  Cents. 


yf  poster  of  the  period 


ACE    TELEPHONE 
COMPANY 


Fantastic  or  not,  Gentlemen,  we  have  just  been 
chosen  by  the  Book-of-the-Month  Club 


By  permission  of  the  Saturday  Review  oj  Literature 


Desert  Isle  Books 


Since  this  is  vacation  time,  when  one 
never  knows  how  soon  the  canoe  will  cap- 
size in  the  Hudson,  it  also  is  the  open  sea- 
son for  speculation  as  to  life  on  that  desert 
island.  That  is  the  island,  it  will  be  re- 
membered, to  which  the  reader  may  take 
three  books  of  his  choice.  Two  of  these 
are,  to  be  sure,  only  his  choice  by  courtesy, 
for  no  potential  castaway  would  dare  start 
off  without  the  Bible  and  Shakespeare. 
The  third,  however,  may  be  his  own.  The 
good  Republican  might  take  the  collected 
addresses  of  Thomas  E.  Dewey,  perusing 
them  in  the  twilight,  and  the  exiled  de- 
tective could  do  far  worse  than  Father 
Brown. 

The  wise  man,  however,  will  take  with 
him  an  even  more  familiar  work  than  are 
these  two.  After  the  usual  tradition,  the 
Bible  and  Shakespeare  will  be  for  display 


purposes  on  the  driftwood  shelves,  but  the 
Manhattan  telephone  book  will  be  for  read- 
ing. That  book  at  the  side,  and  a  wilder- 
ness immediately  becomes  true  paradise. 

There  is,  of  course,  no  point  in  being  on 
a  desert  island  unless  there  is  pleasure  in 
it.  A  true  castaway,  clutching  his  Bible 
and  Shakespeare  and  one  other,  is  a  cast- 
away from  choice.  Intellectually,  he  may 
remember  that  the  professors  once  told  him 
of  the  poetry  of  Genesis,  and  he  may  have 
heard  Maurice  Evans  give  the  death  of 
kings  speech  of  "Richard  II."  Naturally, 
he  will  plan  to  look  up  both  those  things 
during  his  chance  vacation.  That  is  a  clear 
duty  of  the  mind,  and  should  be  attended 
to  without  fail,  somewhat  later. 

In  the  meanwhile,  in  the  late  afternoon 
when  he  has  gathered  his  dinner  of  turtle 
eggs  and  coconuts,  he  is  entitled  to  read  a 


122 


Desert  Isle  Books 


123 


bit  for  sheer  pleasure.  That  pleasure  best 
can  be  defined  as  seeing,  in  neat  columns 
of  four,  some  1,500  pages  of  numbers  he 
cannot  call,  of  numbers  that  cannot  call 
him  back.  What  is  "Hamlet"  as  opposed 
to  this,  and  what  the  Song  of  Solomon? 

The  castaway  will  find  the  telephone 
book  excellent  reading  at  every  hour  of  the 
day.  It  is,  say,  9  o'clock  on  a  Monday 
morning.  What  better  form  of  relaxation 
can  there  be  than  to  look  up  the  number 
of  the  bank  which  once  employed  him,  and 
then  nod  happily  that  he  cannot  call.  He 
can  visualize  the  bank's  switchboard  aglow 
with  lights,  as  other  vice  presidents  try  to 
find  him,  and,  looking  up  his  own  number, 
he  can  see  that  is  the  one  which  does  not 
answer.  He  can  spend  a  happy  castaway 
morning  not  telephoning  the  dentist,  the 
doctor,  Joe  and  the  locker  room  at  the 
Yale  Club.  He  can  spend  his  lunch  hour 
cheerfully  tearing  up  memoranda  which 
was  not  telephoned  in  during  his  absence. 
As  the  afternoon  wears  on,  he  can  look  up 
the  number  of  the  Stork  Club,  not  tele- 
phoning for  a  reservation,  and  he  can  get 
into  a  violent  argument  with  the  box-office 
man  at  the  Empire.  All  these  things  he 
can  do  with  the  daylight,  but  it  is  with  the 
evening  that  the  castaway,  reading  on,  can 
truly  reach  the  summit  of  his  pleasure. 

The  evening  with  a  telephone  book  on  a 
deserted  island  could  be  wonderful.  It  is 
summer,  and  all  around  the  home  neighbor- 
hood chance  parties  are  in  progress.  Host- 
esses on  several  pages  are  looking  up  the 
number,  but  his  will  not  answer  and  so  he 
will  keep  out  of  trouble.  That  one  number 
he  called  perhaps  too  often,  with  the  seri- 


ousness of  Hamlet  and  the  lamentation  of 
Job,  he  cannot  telephone  tonight.  Perhaps 
she  is  sitting  there,  and  rightly  so,  for  now 
it  is  her  turn  to  wait. 

With  the  evening,  the  castaway  can  be- 
come a  man  about  town,  a  roue  of  the  coco- 
nuts. He  can  look  up  and  not  call  all  the 
girls  on  a  given  page  whose  first  name  is 
Ann,  and  he  can  take  the  most  likely  on  a 
series  of  wild,  improbable  adventures.  He 
can  stay  out  all  night,  and  come  back  in  the 
morning  with  his  high  silk  hat  battered  flat. 
Later  on  he  can  look  up  her  number  again, 
but  it  is  obvious  that  he  cannot  call  to  apol- 
ogize. That  charming  incident  has  been 
ended  cleanly. 

As  time  drifts  on,  and  the  days  pass  along 
into  weeks  and  months,  the  castaway  will 
find  that  the  circle  of  his  friendships  has 
widened  and  increased.  Chance  compan- 
ions may  be  found  on  every  page,  and  many 
of  them,  like  the  Smiths  and  Browns,  have 
relatives.  After  a  particularly  large  turtle 
has  waddled  up  the  beach,  he  can  decide  to 
give  the  perfect  dinner  party,  the  one  with 
lists  of  guests  but  at  which  he  eats  all  the 
meat  himself. 

The  weeks  will  pass  into  months  and 
years  of  a  perfect  life  until  a  cloud,  in  the 
form  of  a  ship,  comes  slowly  forward  from 
the  horizon.  The  true  castaway  then  will 
leave  on  the  driftwood  shelves  for  Friday 
the  copies  of  Shakespeare  and  the  Bible. 
To  the  lagoon  inland,  he  then  will  flee,  car- 
rying that  other — a  free  soul  who  can  nei- 
ther call  nor  answer,  the  man  with  the 
best  third  book  for  the  desert  isle. 

From  The  New  York  Times,  by  per- 
mission. 


Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the 
Bell  Telephone  Quarterly 

Items  from  Volume  III,  Number  3,  July  1924 


Transmission  of  Pictures 
Over  Telephone  Wires 

Worldwide  interest  has  been  created  by 
the  demonstration  on  May  19  of  the  trans- 
mission of  photographs  over  telephone  wires 
between  Cleveland  and  New  York,  a  dis- 
tance of  522  miles.  The  pictures  were  re- 
produced in  the  New  York  newspapers  of 
May  20  and  the  achievement  was  hailed  as 
"a  great  scientific  triumph"  and  "another 
of  the  world's  wonders.  ..." 

For  many  years  the  Research  Labora- 
tories of  the  American  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Company  and  the  Western 
Electric  Company  have  been  engaged  in 
the  solution  of  problems  which  directly  or 
indirectly  made  picture  transmission  pos- 
sible. When  the  solution  of  the  picture 
problem  was  sought,  there  were  available 
the  whole  vacuum  tube  art,  electrical  fil- 
ters, accurate  synchronizing  methods,  light 
valves  and  photo-electric  cells,  all  impor- 
tant elements  enabling  the  engineers  to  go 
ahead  and  develop  from  these  a  complete 
w^orking  system.  .  .  . 

The  credit  for  the  actual  work  of  de- 
velopment of  this  new  process  of  sending 
pictures  over  telephone  wires  belongs  to 
many  engineers.  It  is  the  result  of  the 
concerted  efforts  of  specialists  in  the  sys- 
tem of  communications,  demonstrating 
once  again  the  advantages  to  be  gained 
from  a  large  research  organization  co- 
operating in  the  solution  of  technical  prob- 
lems. It  is  an  example  of  the  cumulative 
results  of  past  discoveries  and  researches. 

The  importance  of  the  new  invention 
was  at  once  recognized.  Within  48  hours 
cable  requests  for  information  and  details 
came  from  the  leading  countries  of  Europe 


and  South  America.  In  the  United  States 
the  newspapers  were  enthusiastic  in  their 
praise.  Practically  all  the  larger  papers  of 
the  country  reproduced  the  pictures  that 
were  sent  in  the  initial  tests,  with  a  detailed 
description  of  the  apparatus  and  extended 
comment.  From  Maine  to  California  the 
reaction  proved  most  favorable,  it  being 
recognized  that  a  truly  great  engineering 
achievement  had  been  accomplished  and 
that  this  new  development  in  the  field  of 
communication  meant  opening  the  door  to 
the  general  transmission  of  pictures  by 
wire.  .  .  . 


The  Bell  Room  at  Salem 

On  June  5  there  was  a  meeting  of  his- 
torical interest  to  all  telephone  people  in 
the  Salem,  Massachusetts,  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  building,  which  is 
located  on  the  site  of  the  old  Sanders  house. 
There  Alexander  Graham  Bell  tutored  the 
deaf  child  of  Thomas  Sanders  and  did 
much  of  the  experimental  work  that  led 
up  to  the  invention  of  the  telephone.  On 
this  occasion  a  room  was  dedicated  as  a 
memorial  of  the  association  of  the  location 
with  the  telephone.  A  set  of  models  of 
early  telephone  instruments,  made  under 
the  supervision  of  Wilton  L.  Richards  of 
the  Bell  System  Historical  Museum,  was 
presented  by  E.  W.  Longley,  Vice-Presi- 
dent of  the  New  England  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Company.  Mr.  H.  B.  Thayer, 
President  of  the  American  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Company,  and  John  J.  Carty 
sent  messages  of  congratulation  expressing 
the  interest  felt  throughout  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem in  such  a  historic  occasion. 


124 


Bell    Laboratories    and   Western    Electric 
To  Operate  Sandia  Laboratory  for  AEC 

Selection  of  the  Bell  Telephone  Laboratories  and  the  Western  Electric 
Company  to  operate  the  Sandia  Laboratory,  at  Sandia  Base,  Albu- 
querque, N.  M.,  for  the  U.  S.  Atomic  Energy  Commission  was  an- 
nounced on  July  12  by  the  AEC  in  the  following  statement: 


The  United  States  Atomic  Energy 
Commission  announced  today  that  the 
services  of  the  Western  Electric  Com- 
pany and  the  Bell  Telephone  Labora- 
tories have  been  obtained  for  the  opera- 
tion of  the  Sandia  Laboratory,  at  Sandia 
Base,  Albuquerque,  New  Mexico. 

Negotiations  have  been  started  on  a 
contract  for  these  services  with  the 
Western  Electric  Company,  equipment 
manufacturing  subsidiary  of  the  Ameri- 
can Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany, in  accordance  with  arrangements 
between  the  Commission  and  Leroy  A. 
Wilson,  President  of  A.  T.  &  T. 

The  new  operators  of  the  Laboratory 
will  have  an  important  function  in 
bridging  the  gap  between  laboratory  de- 
velopment work  and  the  manufacturing 
operations  on  atomic  weapons.  Sandia 
is  also  an  important  point  of  contact  be- 
tw-een  AEC  operations  and  the  mili- 
tary activities  relating  to  atomic  energ}'. 
The  Sandia  Laboratory  has  been  oper- 
ated since  1945  by  the  University  of 
California  under  its  contract  for  the 
operation  of  the  Los  Alamos  Scientific 
Laboratory.  Sandia  has  grown  from  a 
small  liaison  group  representing  Los 
Alamos  into  a  major  facility.  The 
University  of  California  advised  the 
Commission  last  winter  that  the  Uni- 
versit}'  felt  it  should  not  continue  to 
manage  Sandia  as  a  part  of  the  sci- 
entific research  program  of  the  Los 
Alamos  Laboratory. 

The  growth  of  the  Sandia  Labora- 
tory has  been  a  result  of  the  Commis- 
sion's  effort   to   integrate   research,    de- 


velopment, and  production  activities  in 
accordance  with  best  academic  and  in- 
dustrial practice  and  with  the  most 
competent  available  supervision  in  each 
technical  area. 

After  extensive  consideration  of  the 
many  complex  organizational  and  tech- 
nical problems  that  are  involved,  the 
Commission  decided  to  ask  A.  T.  &  T. 
to  make  available  to  this  project  the 
full  technical  and  managerial  resources 
of  the  Bell  System's  developmental  and 
manufacturing  subsidiaries. 

A  special  team  of  Western  •  Electric, 
Bell  Laboratories,  and  AEC  officials 
will  go  to  Sandia  immediately  to  pre- 
pare for  the  transfer  of  the  project  to 
the  new  contractor.  Included  in  the 
group  are  Stanley  Bracken,  President,. 
Fred  R.  Lack,  Vice  President,  Radio 
Division,  and  George  A.  Landry,  Oper- 
ating Manager,  Installation  Depart- 
ment, Western  Electric  Company;  Dr. 
Mervin  J,  Kelly,  Executive  Vice  Presi- 
dent, and  Donald  A.  Quarles,  Vice 
President  in  charge  of  Staff,  Bell  Lab- 
oratories; and  Brigadier  General  James 
McCormack,  Jr.,  Director,  Division  of 
Military  Application,  AEC. 

Operations  of  both  Los  Alamos  and 
Sandia  are  carried  on  under  the  AEC's 
Santa  Fe  Office,  of  which  Carroll  L. 
Tyler  is  Manager.  Head  of  the  Com- 
mission's Sandia  Area  Office  under  Mr. 
Tyler  is  George  P.  Kraker.  Dr.  Nor- 
ris  E.  Bradbury  is  Director  of  the  Los 
Alamos  Scientific  Laboratory  and  Paul 
J.  Larsen  is  Director  of  the  Sandia 
branch. 


125 


Who's  Who  &  What's  What 
in  This  Issue 


"Sixty-four-dollar  questions"  might  be 
an  alternative  title  for  this  issue's  first  ar- 
ticle; but  the  quiz  program  which  Harry 
DissTON  describes  is  more  important  than 
that  on  any  radio  program.  Mr.  Disston 
started  his  telephone  career  in  1921  with 
the  New  York  Telephone  Company  in 
Manhattan,  and  became  a  district  traffic 
superintendent  in  Brooklyn  before  chang- 
ing to  the  Commercial  Department.  There 
he  became  successively  district  manager  and 
division  commercial  superintendent.  In 
1932  he  transferred  to  the  Commercial  Di- 
vision of  the  Department  of  Operation  and 
Engineering  of  the  A.  T.  &  T.  Co.,  and  for 
nine  years  fulfilled  various  assignments  in 
the  Commercial  Results  Section.  He  left 
for  active  military  duty  in  1941,  and  spent 
three  of  the  next  five  years  in  the  Southwest 
Pacific,  with  the  First  Cavalry  Division, 
in  command  of  an  island  forward  base,  on 
the    staff    of    Gen.    MacArthur's    Service 


Forces,  as  Executive  Officer  of  Manila,  and 
on  the  General  Staff  of  one  of  the  invasion 
commands.  He  rose  from  Major  to  Col- 
onel, was  awarded  the  Legion  of  Merit  and 
the  Bronze  Star  Medal  with  Oak  Leaf  Clus- 
ter, and  is  Colonel  commanding  the  Seventh 
Regiment,  New  York  National  Guard. 
He  returned  to  A.  T.  &  T.  in  January 
1946,  and  is  now  in  charge  of  the  group  en- 
gaged in  telephone  development,  revenues, 
and  expense  analysis.  This,  as  might  be 
supposed  from  the  tenor  of  his  article,  is  the 
group  which  assists  the  Associated  Com- 
panies of  the  Bell  System  in  the  plans,  pro- 
cedures, and  organization  of  their  Commer- 
cial forecasting  activities. 

One  thing  often  follows  another,  and  the 
article  on  the  use  of  communications  by  the 
Red  Cross  in  time  of  disaster  follows  a  visit 
of  this  Magazine^s  editor  to  the  scene  of 
the  record  blizzards  on  the  Great  Plains 


Harry  Disston 


Wade  Jones 


126 


Who's  Who  ^  What's  What 


127 


last  winter,  to  observe  their  effect  on  tele- 
phone service.  In  Omaha  he  observed  also 
the  efficiency  with  which  the  humanitarian 
activities  of  the  Red  Cross  in  that  area  were 
organized  and  administered,  and  the  impor- 
tant part  which  the  telephone  played 
therein.  There  followed  then  a  suggestion 
to  the  national  headquarters  of  the  Red 
Cross  in  Washington  that  such  a  story 
would  be  well  worth  telling — and  Wade 
JoxES  has  undertaken  to  tell  it.  A  staff 
writer  in  the  Public  Relations  Department 
of  the  American  National  Red  Cross,  he 
was  for  three  years  a  reporter  on  the  Stars 
and  Stripes,  serving  in  that  capacity  in 
Africa,  Italy,  France,  and  Germany.  He 
has  also  been  a  reporter  on  newspapers  in 
Washington,  D.  C,  and  Richmond,  Va., 
and  for  a  time  was  radio  news  writer  for 
the  Columbia  Broadcasting  System  in  New 
York. 

The  historical  library  of  the  A.  T.  & 
T.  Company,  in  the  headquarters  building 
at  195  Broadway,  New  York,  is  a  mine  of 
historic  facts,  always  interesting  and  fre- 
quently significant,  to  be  discovered  by  a 
patient  seeker.  Those  last  words  describe 
Ralph  Mooney,  who  has  been  Historical 
Librarian  since  early  in  1945.    After  some 


Ralph  E.  Mooney 


years  of  newspaper  and  trade-journal  ex- 
perience, and  service  in  World  War  I  as 
Captain  of  Infantry,  he  joined  the  South- 
western' Bell  Telephone  Company  in  1922. 
He  became  editor  of  the  Southwestern 
Telephone  News  in  1924,  moved  over  to 
the  advertising  staff  in  1938,  and  in  1944 
transferred  to  the  Information  Q^partment 
of  the  A,  T.  &  T.  Co.  He  contributed 
"Outwitting  a  River  on  a  Rampage"  to  this 
Magazine  for  Spring  1945. 


lonc 


A  Look  Around — And  Ahead  •  Leroy  A.  Wilson 

Long  Distance  Finds  the  Way  •  William  H.  Nunn 

War-Time  Taxes  on  Communication  Services  in  1949 

Giving  New  Life  to  Old  Equipment  •  Philip  H.  Mielb 

'    Private  Line  Services  for  the  Aviation  Industry 
Henry  V.  Roumfort 


Bell  TelephoneA^W 


ylutumn  1949 


A  Look  Around — And  Ahead,  Leroy  A.  Wilson,  133 

Long  Distance  Finds  the  Way,  William  H.  Nunn,  137 

Pension  Minimums  Are  Raised,  148 

War-Time  Taxes  on  Communication  Services  in  1949,  149 

Giving  New  Life  to  Old  Equipment,  Philip  H.  Miele,  154 

Their  Politeness  Goes  Deep,  164 

Private  Line  Services  for  the  Aviation  Industry, 
Henry  V .  Roumfort,  165 

Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly,  175 

A  Medium  of  Suggestion  ^  a  Record  of  Progress 

Published  for  the  supervisory  forces  of  the  Bell  System  by  the  Information  Department  of 
American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Co.,  795  Broadway,  New  York  7,  N.  Y. 
Leroy  A.  Wilson,  President;  Carroll  O.  Bickelhaupt,  Sec;  Donald  R.  Belcher,  Treas. 


Who's  Who  &  What's  What 
in  This  Issue 


The  election  of  Leroy  A.  Wilson  on 
February  i8,  1948,  to  the  presidency  of  the 
American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany followed  by  some  26  years  the  start 
of  his  Bell  System  career  in  the  Indiana 
Bell  Telephone  Company.  Two  days  af- 
ter graduation  from  Rose  Polytechnic  In- 
stitute in  Terre  Haute,  in  June  of  1922,  he 
reported  for  work  as  a  traffic  clerk  and  stu- 
dent in  Indianapolis.  For  some  years  with 
that  company  he  had  direct  charge  of  the 
telephone  operating  forces  in  several  dis- 
tricts throughout  the  state  before  returning 
to  Indianapolis  as  district  traffic  superin- 
tendent in  1927. 

Mr.  Wilson  transferred  in  1929  to  the 
Department  of  Operation  and  Engineering 
of  the  A.  T.  &  T.  Company  in  New  York. 
His  first  work  there  was  in  the  Traffic  divi- 
sion, but  he  also  gained  experience  in  dial 
equipment  engineering  and  in  related  fields. 
Ten  years  after  his  arrival  in  New  York,  he 
moved  from  the  Traffic  to  the  Commercial 
division  of  O.  &  E.,  where  he  was  placed  in 


charge  of  the  work  on  telephone  directories. 
The  following  year  he  was  made  rate  engi- 
neer in  the  same  division,  and  in  1942  he 
was  appointed  to  head  the  entire  Commer- 
cial division. 

It  was  from  this  post  that  Mr,  Wilson 
was  promoted  to  an  A.  T.  &  T.  vice  presi- 
dency in  1944,  with  the  assignment  to  study 
the  revenue  requirements  of  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem ;  and  it  was  during  this  period  that  he 
contributed  "Reasonable  Earnings  to  Insure 
the  Best  Service"  to  the  Magazine  for  Au- 
tumn 1945.  His  statements  to  stockholders 
at  the  last  two  annual  meetings  have  ap- 
peared in  these  pages:  "We  Must  Continue 
to  Go  Forward"  in  the  issue  for  Spring 
1948,  and  "Moving  Ahead  on  Two  All- 
Important  Jobs"  in  that  for  Spring  1949. 

The  familiar  expression  of  the  "ideal 
and  aim"  of  the  Bell  System  in  terms  of 
"enabling  anyone  anywhere  to  pick  up  a 
telephone  and  talk  to  anyone  else  anywhere 
else,  clearly,  quickly,  and  at  a  reasonable 


Leroy  A.   Wilson 


William  H.  Nunn 


Who's  Who  &  What's  What 


131 


Henry    V.  Roumfort 


Philip  H.  Miele 


cost"  has  many  implications.  What  it  takes 
to  make  good  simply  on  the  "an\^where" 
part  of  the  statement  is  the  theme  of  Wil- 
liam H.  Nunn's  discussion  of  an  impor- 
tant— if  not  widely  known — Traffic  activ- 
ity. Mr.  Nunn  started  his  telephone  career 
in  191 5  in  Los  Angeles,  with  the  Home 
Telephone  Company,  which  later  became 
part  of  the  Southern  California  Telephone 
Company.  After  13  years  of  Plant  expe- 
rience, he  joined  the  Traffic  Department 
in  Los  Angeles,  and  in  1935  he  moved  to 
Portland,  Ore.,  as  general  traffic  engineer, 
and  remained  there  until  1940.  After  sev- 
eral years  as  general  traffic  engineer  and 
as  traffic  operations  engineer  on  the  ex- 
ecutive staff  in  San  Francisco,  Mr.  Nunn 
became  general  traffic  manager  of  the 
Northern  California-Nevada  Area  of  the 
Pacific  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany. It  was  this  position  which  he  left 
last  summer  to  become  traffic  facilities  en- 
gineer in  the  Traffic  division  of  A.  T.  &  T.'s 
Department  of  Operation  and  Engineering. 
As  is  not  infrequently  the  case  in  the  exposi- 
tion of  a  departmental  operation,  the  pres- 
ent article  reflects  an  effective  collaboration, 
and  Mr.  Nunn  wishes  to  acknowledge  par- 
ticularly the  assistance  of  George  L.  Goudy, 
a  member  of  his  staff. 


Telephone  calls  cannot  be  mass-pro- 
duced in  advance  and  stored  on  a  shelf  un- 
til used.  Each  is  "tailor  made"  to  a  cus- 
tomer's order.  This  is  equally  true  with 
regard  to  what  are  known  as  private  line 
services.  These  are  individually  designed 
to  meet  each  customer's  requirements,  after 
careful  study  and  analysis  have  been  made 
of  his  particular  needs  for  service  and  equip- 
ment by  Commercial  representatives  of  Bell 
System  Operating  Companies  and  the  Long 
Lines  Department.  Henry  V.  Roumfort, 
who  describes  some  of  the  special  communi- 
cation services  which  the  Bell  System  pro- 
vides for  commercial  air  lines,  is  private  line 
sales  manager  for  Long  Lines,  and  has  been 
responsible  for  the  development  of  methods 
and  practices  for  the  sale  of  those  services. 
His  Long  Lines  career  began  with  Division 
2  Plant  at  Harrisburg,  Pa.,  in  1926,  and  he 
has  since  served  in  the  Commercial  depart- 
ment in  Washington,  Philadelphia,  and 
New  York.  His  assignment  to  the  general 
office  in  the  last-named  city  dates  from 
1945. 

Newspaper   reporting   and    radio   news- 
editing  preceded  Philip  H.  Miele's  two 
years  as  a  French  interpreter  at  General 
(Continued  on  page  176) 


A  curve  on  a  highway  of  speech.     Pole,  cross  arms,  wires,  cable,  all  make  a  dramatic 
silhouette  against  the  sky.     See  ''Long  Distance  Finds  the  fVay,''  beginning  on  page  Jjy 


The  President  of  the  A,  T,  Sf  T.  Company  Discusses  Some 

of  the  Obligations  and  the  Opportunities  Which  Confront 

This  Nation  s  Citizens  in  the  Post-War  Era 


A  Look  Around 
And  Ahead 


Leroy  A.  IVilson 


The  following  paragraphs  are  from  an  address  by  Mr.  Wilson 
before  the  biennial  grand  conclave  of  Kappa  Sigma  Fraternity 
at  Sivampscottj  Mass.,  on  September  8,  1949.  Editor. 


In  thinking  about  current  business 
and  social  problems,  it  seems  to  me  we 
can  gain  a  great  deal  of  strength  and 
courage  by  sharpening  our  awareness 
of  what  the  people  of  this  country 
have  been  able  to  accomplish  over  the 
years,  and  how  they  have  been  able 
to  do  it.  In  the  last  century  they 
have  created,  and  as  a  nation  we  now 
enjoy,  the  highest  standard  of  living 
that  has  ever  been  achieved.  That 
is  not  to  say  that  everyone  is  well 
off,  or  that  no  one  is  in  want.  We 
know  otherwise.  But  we  also  know 
that  the  people  of  the  United  States 
are  relatively  much  better  off,  so  far 
as  their  basic  material  needs  are  con- 
cerned, than  the  people  of  any  other 
country,  either  now  or  at  any  time 
in  the  past. 

We  tend  to  take  this  for  granted, 
but  the  fact  is  that  it  is  one  of  the 
spectacular  and  significant  achieve- 
ments of  man.     Today,  moreover,  it 


is  the  United  States  of  America  from 
which  many  of  the  other  nations  of 
the  world  are  drawing  aid  and 
strength  in  their  efforts  to  rebuild 
their  economies.  Without  getting 
into  a  discussion  of  the  pros  and  cons 
of  the  process,  I  simply  point  to  the 
obvious  fact  that  they  have  depended 
on  us  for  help,  and  that  our  success 
is  the  keystone  of  theirs.  While  some 
people  are  critical  of  the  United 
States,  we  may  well  ask:  where  else 
in  the  world  has  so  much  been  ac- 
complished in  behalf  of  so  many? 

Since  so  much  depends  on  our  suc- 
cess, it  seems  appropriate  to  consider 
what  have  been  some  of  its  basic  in- 
gredients. Each  of  us  probably  has 
his  own  notions  about  that — it  being 
one  of  the  characteristics  of  this 
country  that  all  of  us  are  free  to  have 
notions — but  I'll  mention  several 
things  that  seem  particularly  impor- 
tant to  me. 


134 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


First,  this  country  is  physically  big 
enough  to  have  been  able  to  grow 
into  a  position  of  leadership.  Size  by 
itself  wouldn't  be  of  much  signifi- 
cance, but  in  combination  with  other 
things   it  has  become   important. 

Second — and  you  might  call  this  a 
function  of  size — we  have  great 
natural  resources.  However,  we 
shouldn't  overestimate  these,  for  we 
don't  have  an  abundance  of  every- 
thing we  need  and  other  nations  have 
much  greater  resources  than  we  have 
in  a  number  of  significant  items. 

Third,  for  many  years  we  had 
plenty  of  room  for  continuous  move- 
ment outward  to  the  limits  of  our 
present  geographic  frontiers.  We 
were  growing  and  expanding.  This 
stimulated  habits  of  action  and  prac- 
tical enterprise. 

Fourth,  the  driving  power  of  an 
expanding  economy  coincided  in  time 
with  the  development  of  technology. 
Each  nourished  the  other  so  that  the 
tools  of  industrial  production  multi- 
plied with  astonishing  speed. 

Fifth,  competition  flourished,  the 
opportunity  to  compete  was  open  to 
all,  and  individual  enterprise  was 
rewarded. 

Sixth,  and  last  on  my  list,  the  same 
fundamental  political  idea  that  gave 
each  man  the  right  and  opportunity 
to  compete  for  rewards  likewise  re- 
quired him  to  recognize  that  every 
other  individual  had  similar  rights.  I 
am  well  aware  that  there  have  been 
plenty  of  people  in  this  country  who 
have  overlooked  this.  Nevertheless, 
we  have  on  the  whole  been  able  to 
obtain  the  advantages  of  intense  com- 
petition, and  at  the  same  time  main- 
tain respect  for  the  rights  of  others. 

I  am  sure  we  must  continue  to  do 
this,  and  in  fact  be  even  more  success- 


ful at  it,  if  we  are  to  meet  our  present 
responsibility  and  have  the  kind  of 
life  to  which  I  imagine  most  of  us 
look  forward  for  ourselves  and  for 
our  children.  Freedom  to  think  and 
to  act,  plus  the  stimulus  of  competi- 
tion, are  essential,  but  we  shall  have 
them  only  so  long  as  we  recognize  the 
rights  and  needs  of  other  people  as 
individuals  and  deal  with  them  ac- 
cordingly. 

This  brings  me  to  a  subject  that  I 
believe  is  receiving  increasing  atten- 
tion in  industry  today.  I  mean  the 
building  and  keeping  of  good  human 
relations  among  the  members  of  any 
business  or  industrial  organization, 
and  particularly  between  the  people 
who  are  being  supervised  and  those 
who  are  doing  the  supervising,  at  all 
levels  in  the  organization. 

There  isn't  one  of  us  who  doesn't 
have  a  pretty  clear  idea  of  the  things 
that  make  for  good  relations  with 
other  people.  They  are  simple  things 
— but  so,  so  important !  Just  being 
polite  is  one  of  them.  Being  reason- 
able in  what  you  ask  someone  to  do, 
so  that  he  understands  why  he  is 
asked  to  do  it,  is  another.  Giving 
credit  for  a  job  well  done  is  another. 
Each  of  us  could  make  a  fairly  long 
list,  and  I  think  we'd  agree  that  be- 
hind each  list  would  be  our  recogni- 
tion of  the  fact  that  the  other  fellow 
is  an  individual  human  being  who 
wants  the  same  consideration  from 
us  that  we  ourselves  want  from  him. 

What  makes  this  subject  so  im- 
portant is  this — that  if  we  don't 
take  pains  to  treat  people  in  industry 
as  individual  human  beings,  they 
won't  be  able  to  develop  the  individ- 
ual resources  and  abilities  that  they 
could  otherwise  use  to  their  own  ad- 


1949 


A  Look  Around — and  Ahead 


-^^s 


vantage  and  the  advantage  of  society 
as  a  whole.  Nor  will  they  have  the 
same  capacity  to  accept  and  carry  out 
responsibility,  or  even  to  feel  their 
responsibility  toward  others. 

This  has  some  far-reaching  im- 
plications. For  example,  in  the  last 
20  years  or  so  there  has  been  a 
growing  emphasis  on  ways  and  means 
of  increasing  people's  security.  Cer- 
tainly no  man  can  criticize  another  for 
wanting  to  be  secure.  Most  people 
want  that  and  always  have.  But 
there's  an  immense  difference  between 
v:ork\ng  to  achieve  security  and 
thinking  that  you  have  some  inherent 
natural-born  right  to  it.  If  that  idea 
should  ever  run  away  with  us,  I'm 
afraid  the  burden  on  the  nation  would 
be  backbreaking. 

My  point  here  is  simply  that  good 
human  relations  in  industry  are  es- 
sential to  encourage  the  resourceful- 
ness and  vitality  that  we  must  have 
as  a  nation  to  meet  the  tremendous 
demands  placed  upon  us.  Contrari- 
wise, to  the  extent  that  men  and 
women  in  industrial  and  business  life 
are  not  treated  as  individuals,  their 
capacity  and  willingness  to  contribute 
their  utmost  are  discouraged.  Not 
only  does  this  lead  to  discord  and 
poor  morale;  it  also  seems  to  me  that 
in  the  long  run  it  can  weaken  people — 
take'  away  their  spirit  and  will  to 
work — and  foster  attitudes  of  "buck- 
passing"  and  dependency  that  as  a 
nation  we  couldn't  possibly  afford. 

This  all  boils  down  to  the  fact 
that  each  of  us  is  encouraged  to 
give  his  best  when  his  human  worth 
and  also  his  human  problems  as  an 
individual  are  recognized  by  others. 
I  realize  that  in  saying  that  I  am  not 
saying  anything  new.     But  it  is  heart- 


ening to  find  in  business  and  industry 
these  days  an  increasing  response  to 
the  challenge  of  developing  the  best 
possible  human  relations,  and  I  am 
sure  the  subject  is  worth  all  the  con- 
structive attention  that  we  can  give 
it. 

Business  is  how  most  of  us  make  a 
living,  and  the  products  of  business 
are  what  make  living  in  these  free 
United  States  more  comfortable  and 
enjoyable  than  living  elsewhere. 
That  is  not  only  true  in  peace  times, 
but  the  productivity  of  our  business 
produced  that  amazing  arrav  of 
equipment  which  gave  our  fighting 
forces  at  sea  and  ashore  the  tremen- 
dous power  they  had  in  the  last  war. 
That  same  capacity  to  produce,  in  my 
opinion,  now  keeps  us  at  peace  with 
Russia,  for  try  as  she  will  to  drive 
her  regimented  and  slave  labor  she 
knows  she  cannot  match  us. 

The  business  and  industrial 
machine  was  our  first  line  of  defense 
in  war  and  our  strongest  argument 
for  peace,  as  well  as  the  basis  of  such 
abundant  life  as  we  possess. 

And  we  are  blessed,  as  I  have  said, 
with  an  infinitely  greater  abundance 
than  any  other  people.  Is  that  be- 
cause we  live  in  a  rich  continent?  It 
is  not  significantly  richer  than  Russia 
in  material  things,  nor  is  it  richer 
than  western  Europe  except  in  one 
vital  particular.  The  same  races, 
the  same  kind  of  people  that  live  in 
western  Europe  live  here — but  here 
there  has  been  a  greater  degree  of 
liberty  and  opportunity.  Neither 
government,  caste,  nor  tradition  have 
kept  people  from  the  pursuit  of  hap- 
piness and  the  advancement  of  their 
well-being  to  the  limit  of  their  capac- 
ities.    Able  men  from  all  conditions 


136 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


rose  rapidly  to  wealth  or  distinction. 
And  as  they  rose,  and  received  their 
rewards,  they  gave  far  more  to  the 
country  than  they  got.  The  wealth 
their  ideas  and  organizations  created 
is  what  made  these  United  States 
what  they  are  today,  and  it  is  spread 
over  the  whole  land  in  the  living 
standards  of  the  people. 

We  need  more  leaders,  not  fewer; 
more  rather  than  less  encouragement 
for  ability;  more  rewards  rather  than 
less.     Plans,  statistics,  bureaus,  reg- 


ulations— these  things  are  in  some 
degree  necessary,  but  they  never  made 
a  country.  They  are  not  creative  nor 
productive.  What  makes  a  country 
is  freedom  and  big  men. 

The  road  ahead  isn't  easy.  There's 
an  immense  amount  of  hard  work  to 
be  done.  But  with  strong  and  humble 
faith  in  ourselves,  and  determination 
to  meet  our  responsibilities,  I'm  con- 
fident, and  I'm  sure  you  are  equally 
confident,  that  nothing  can  stop 
America. 


U.  S.  Now  Has  40,000^000  Telephones 


The  number  of  telephones  in  the  United 
States  reached  the  40  million  mark  in  Oc- 
tober. This  is  about  twice  as  many  tele- 
phones as  there  were  in  service  ten  years 
ago. 

Of  the  total  figure,  about  32,900,000  tele- 
phones were  served  by  the  Bell  System  com- 
panies, and  since  then  Bell  System  tele- 
phones have  passed  the  33  million  mark. 
More  than  7,100,000  are  served  by  the 
nearly  5,700  independently-owned  compa- 
nies vv^hose  lines  connect  with  those  of  the 
Bell  System. 

Twenty-seven  million  of  the  40  million 
are  residence  telephones  and  the  remainder 
are  used  by  business. 

The  new  total  reflects  a  record-breaking 
gain  of  nearly  13  million  telephones  in  the 
four  years  since  V-J  Day.  This  is  more 
than  the  total  number  of  telephones  in  serv- 


ice in  the  country  in  19 19,  43  years  after 
the  telephone's  invention. 

Such  growth  has  stemmed  from  the  heavi- 
est demand  for  service  in  history.  To  meet 
the  demand,  the  industry  has  added  switch- 
boards, cable,  and  other  facilities  at  an  un- 
precedented rate.  Investment  in  telephone 
plant  and  equipment  now  exceeds  ten  billion 
dollars,  an  increase  of  four  billion  since  the 
end  of  the  war. 

The  post-war  years  also  have  witnessed  a 
sharp  increase  in  usage.  Telephone  conver- 
sations now  average  over  160  million  a  day, 
compared  with  the  1945  daily  average  of 
III  million. 

The  United  States,  with  an  average  of 
better  than  one  telephone  for  every  four 
persons,  has  nearly  60  percent  of  the  world's 
total.  For  the  rest  of  the  world,  there  is 
only  one  telephone  for  every  80  persons. 


Out  of  the  ^1  fiOO  Recognized  Places  on   This  Continent^ 

The  Toll  Operator  Can  Locate  the  One  You  Want  and 

The  Route  to  Take  Your  Call  There 


Long  Distance  Finds 
the  Way 

IVilUam  H.  Nunn 


The  customer  says  "Long  Distance, 
I  want  to  talk  to  Mr.  John  Smith  at 
Palm  Springs,  California." 

The  long  distance  operator  says 
"Thank  you,"  and  in  a  remarkably 
short  time  the  customer  has  his  wish 
— he  is  talking  to  Mr.  Smith  at  Palm 
Springs,  California. 

To  most  people  east  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  Palm  Springs  is  just  a 
name  and  it  is  unlikely  that  they 
would  have  any  very  clear  idea  of  how 
to  get  there.  It  is  not  even  a  Bell  Sys- 
tem office,  yet  obviously  this  customer 
expects  the  operator  to  know  the  way 
to  get  there  over  the  highways  of 
speech.    How  does  she  do  it? 

You,  the  reader,  have  probably  had 
the  experience  of  planning  a  long 
automobile  trip  to  some  distant  point. 
You  remember  the  hours  of  poring 
over  maps,  and  seeking  advice  from 
friends  or  a  tourist  agency.  You  recall 
how  the  travel  advisor  consulted  re- 
ports and  other  data,  and  finally  pre- 


sented you  with  a  marked  map.  But 
on  the  highways  of  speech  that  cover 
the  nation — much  as  our  network  of 
roads — somehow  we  have  come  to 
expect  the  operator  to  find  the  way 
to  our  destination  almost  immediately 
after  she  has  said  "Thank  you." 

If  the  operator  could  see  the  tre- 
mendous network  of  communication 
paths  that  cover  the  country,  she 
would  probably  think  of  the  familiar 
road  map.  There  are  large  main 
arteries  between  near-by  big  cities  and 
express  routes  to  important  distant 
places.  There  are  secondary  trunk 
lines  branching  off  at  suitable  places. 
There  are  a  myriad  of  good  con- 
necting links  of  local  importance,  and 
there  are  countless  country  "lanes"  to 
reach  the  farthest  village  and  farm- 
house. Altogether,  more  than  12,- 
000  different  highways  of  speech 
make  the  map  look  very  black — cer- 
tainly nothing  to  use  as  an  instan- 
taneous reference  when  one  is  in  a 


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AUTUMN 


hurry.  Of  course,  the  operator  can 
be  expected  to  know  the  way  over 
this  network  of  speech  highways  to 
the  next  town  or  to  the  near-by  me- 
tropolis. But  wherever  she  may  be 
— in  Portland,  Maine,  or  Portland, 
Oregon — she  must  also  be  able  to  get 
the  call  through  quickly  to  Palm 
Springs,  and  to  many  thousands  of 
other  places  as  well. 

Each  business  day,  long  distance 
operators  are  called  upon  to  find  the 
way  on  more  than  four  million  calls. 
Of  course,  most  of  these  calls  are  con- 
centrated to  large  cities  and  nearby 
towns,  but  many  of  them  scatter. 
They  may  be  directed  to  any  one  of 
the  71,000  cities,  towns,  or  recog- 
nized localities  in  the  United  States 
proper,  or  to  one  of  the  16,000  addi- 
tional points  in  Canada,  Cuba,  or 
Mexico.  Or  the  customer  may  wish 
to  talk  to  one  of  the  13,000  vessels  or 
nearly  8,000  cars  and  trucks  equipped 
with  telephones.  Three  thousand  calls 
a  day  are  made  to  vessels  or  to  the 
118  overseas  points  to  which  tele- 
phone service  is  available  at  present. 
The  operator  must  be  able  to  select 
the  proper  combination  of  routes;  be- 
cause, if  she  fails  to,  not  only  will 
excessive  miles  of  speech  highways  be 
used,  but  the  transmission  may  not 
be  good  and  the  customer  will  not 
have  a  satisfactory  connection  over 
which  to  talk. 

With  the  expansion  of  operator  toll 
dialing,  still  another  reason  for  ac- 
curacy of  routing  comes  into  the  pic- 
ture; for  the  gains  in  speed  which  this 
method  offers  may  be  lost  if  the  rout- 
ing is  incorrect,  or  takes  too  long  to 
obtain. 

Every  long  distance  operator  has 
available  two  principal  means  for  de- 


termining the  route  over  which  she 
may  direct  any  toll  call  to  its  destina- 
tion. She  can  call  the  Rate  and  Route 
Operator,  who  has  the  Toll  Rate  and 
Route  Guide  as  the  ultimate  basic 
source  of  information,  and  also  a 
fairly  voluminous  list  of  frequently 
called  points  with  the  route  and  rate 
already  shown.  But  her  first  refer- 
ence is  her  own  position  bulletin, 
showing  information  for  a  rather  lim- 
ited number  of  the  most  frequently 
called  points,  either  on  a  flat  card  un- 
der the  keyshelf  glass  or  on  a  "multi- 
card  bulletin"  which  puts  from  600  to 
a  thousand  or  more  routes  at  her  fin- 
ger tips. 

Each  of  these  sources  of  informa- 
tion has  its  advantages  and  its  limita- 
tions, but,  combined  in  suitable  pro- 
portions, they  furnish  the  "how"  that 
the  long  distance  operator  needs. 

The  Basic  Source 

The  Toll  Rate  and  Route  Guide  has 
grown  with  the  long  distance  trafl'ic 
of  the  country.  It  is  an  absolute  ne- 
cessity in  every  long  distance  oflice, 
for  it  is  the  device  that  puts  the  "any- 
where" into  the  statement  about  be- 
ing able  to  call  anyone  else  anywhere 
else. 

The  guide  lists  all  of  the  100,000 
or  so  places  and  vessels  previously 
mentioned,  and  requires  a  sizable  staff 
of  people  to  keep  it  strictly  up  to 
date  by  issuing  monthly  supplements 
as  changes  occur  and  disseminating 
the  revised  information  to  nearly 
5,000  copies  of  the  Guide  that  are 
maintained  in  service  throughout  the 
Bell  System.  In  its  two  volumes,  the 
Guide  contains  1,500  pages  of  list- 
ings, in  addition  to  other  information, 
is  5^"   thick,  and  weighs  about   14 


1949 


Long  Distance  Finds  the  Way 


139 


The  records  of  Rate  and  Route  Operators  appear  on  a  toll  auxiliary  desk  in  the  fore- 
ground.    The  first  reference  list  is  the  tabbed  swing-leaf  file  at  the  upper  corner  of  the 
ticket  rack.     Below  that  is  the  Toll  Rate  and  Route  Guide — a  cotnplete  reference  source 
for  each  of  the  operators.      Their  duties  also  include  receivings  filings 
and  distributing  toll  tickets 


pounds — not   exactly    a    handy   first- 
reference  record. 

Of  course,  as  a  commentary  on  life 
in  our  country  and  its  early  history, 
the  Guide  is  interesting  in  itself. 
Pennsylvania  seems  to  have  more 
named  places  than  any  other  state : 
6,700.  New  York  is  second  with 
over  3,500,  and  California  is  third 
with  about  3,200.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  expanse  of  the  wide  open  spaces 
is  indicated  by  Arizona's  440  listings 
and  Wyoming's  355.  The  early  citi- 
zens of  no  less  than  ^d  communities  in 
34  states  considered  their  towns 
sufficiently    important    to    carry    the 


name  of  Centerville — and  today  the 
long  distance  operator  seeking  the 
way  to  Centerville  must  make  a  choice 
between  eight  such  towns  if  the  call 
is  directed  to  Pennsylvania,  five  if 
Ohio,  and  three  each  if  Georgia  or 
Illinois.  Here  and  there  one  finds 
interesting  traces  of  obsolete  word 
usage,  as  in  Smoky  Ordinary,  Vir- 
ginia, which  was  perhaps  the  site  of 
an  inn  which  had  a  reputation  for 
its  smoky  fireplaces.  We  see  the 
hand  of  the  early  Spaniards  still  upon 
us  in  the  California  list  which  contains 
1 1  names  starting  with  "Los,"  44 
starting    with    "San"    and    17    with 


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Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


"Santa."  And  we  may  suspect  that 
the  inner  thoughts  of  early  settlers 
were  reflected  in  names  which  they 
bestowed  on  such  places  as  Bacchus, 
Better  Chance,  Gilt  Edge,  and  Life. 

In  this  Guide,  each  of  the  points  is 
listed  as  a  Class  i  toll  center,  a  Class 
2  toll  center,  or  a  tributary.  A  toll 
center  is  an  office  which  has  been 
designated  in  the  nation-wide  toll  plan 
to  handle  most  of  the  long  distance 
calls  to  and  from  its  own  and  other 
near-by  localities.  A  toll  center  is  con- 
sidered as  Class  i  not  because  of  size 
alone  but  because  of  its  strategic  loca- 
tion with  regard  to  the  main  com- 
munication routes  and  the  distribu- 
tion of  calls  around  it.  There  are 
only  336  Class  i  toll  centers  in  the 
U.  S.  and  Canada,  and  they  are  pretty 
well  connected  by  main  trunk  lines — 
"backbone  routes" — so  that  most  of 
them  can  reach  most  of  the  others 
over  direct  circuits.  In  only  a  rela- 
tively few  cases  must  one  of  these 
offices  go  through  more  than  one  in- 
termediate switching  point  to  reach 
another  Class  i  office.  Each  Class  i 
office  is  furnished  a  tailor-made  sheet 
showing  how  it  reaches  every  other 
Class  I  office. 

The  places  designated  in  the  Guide 
as  Class  2  toll  centers  are  also  impor- 
tant switching  points.  Each  is  con- 
nected to  one  or  more  Class  i  centers, 
and  the  Guide  states  what  these  "out- 
lets" are — though  actually  the  outlet 
is  a  two-way  channel;  that  is,  a  Class 
I  office  switches  outgoing  calls  from 
its  Class  2  offices  to  distant  points  and 
also  switches  calls  from  distant  points 
to  each  of  its  Class  2  offices.  There 
are  about  2,300  Class  2  offices. 

All  the  other  continental  points 
listed  in  the  Guide  are  "tributaries" 


of  a  Class  i  or  Class  2  toll  center,  and 
for  each  the  Guide  gives  the  toll  cen- 
ter. Some  tributaries  are  large  and 
some  are  small.  Factors  such  as  geo- 
graphical location,  economical  layout 
of  telephone  plant,  and  efficient  oper- 
ation determine  whether  a  place  is 
considered  a  toll  center  or  a  tributary. 
The  cities  of  East  Orange  and 
Jersey  City  are  "tributaries"  of  New- 
ark, New  Jersey,  for  example,  while 
many  smaller  places  in  less  densely 
populated  areas  are  "toll  centers." 

The  Guide  also  shows,  for  each 
vessel  equipped  for  telephone  service, 
which  one  of  the  radiotelephone 
offices  to  call  to  reach  the  ship;  for 
each  telephone-equipped  automobile, 
what  mobile  service  office  normally 
serves  it;  and  for  each  overseas  point, 
the  overseas  office  to  which  a  call 
for  that  point  should  be  directed. 
Thus  the  Guide  is  a  world  communi- 
cation atlas,  and  hardly  the  thing  to 
be  consulted  by  an  operator  in  the 
confines  of  a  regular  long  distance 
switchboard  position. 

However,  if  it  were  consulted,  it 
would  show  the  way.  An  operator 
in  Buffalo,  New  York,  for  example, 
with  a  call  for  Palm  Springs,  Cali- 
fornia, would  find  that  Palm  Springs 
is  a  tributary  of  San  Bernardino,  and 
that  San  Bernardino  is  a  Class  2  office 
for  which  the  Class  i  office  she  should 
use  is  Chicago. 

Such  a  method  is  too  slow,  too  cum- 
bersome, and  too  difficult  for  each 
long  distance  operator  to  use,  so  that 
the  Guide  is  kept  at  a  Rate  and  Route 
Desk  where  specially  trained  opera- 
tors use  it,  and  interposition  trunks 
connect  the  long  distance  operators 
with  this  desk.  The  Rate  and  Route 
operators  are  provided  also  with  a 


1949 


Long  Distance  Finds  the  Way 


141 


fairly  extensive  list  of  frequently 
called  points — several  thousand  in 
many  offices — from  which  they  can 
supply  most  of  the  information  re- 
quested. So  when  the  Rate  and 
Route  operator  receives  a  request  for 
"Routes  to  Palm  Springs,  Califor- 
nia," she  consults  this  first  reference 
list  and,  if  the  information  is  avail- 
able there,  she  is  able  to  give  it  in 
a  matter  of  seconds.  If  it  does  not 
appear  on  this  list,  she  refers  to  the 
Guide  and  will  find  the  information 
in  about  a  half  minute.  Then  she  will 
reply  to  the  request  by  saying,  "Toll 
center  San  Bernardino,  ringdown;  via 
Chicago" — and  the  long  distance  op- 
erator knows  the  way. 


At  present  the  average  speed  of 
service  is  1.6  minutes  for  answering  a 
long  distance  call  at  the  switchboard, 
obtaining  and  recording  all  the  neces- 
sary details  from  the  customer,  find- 
ing the  way  to  the  called  place,  reach- 
ing it,  and  completing  the  connection. 

Operators    Own  Lists 

By  no  means  must  every  call  be  re- 
ferred to  the  Rate  and  Route  opera- 
tor for  routing  instructions,  however. 
It  has  been  a  longstanding  practice 
to  equip  each  long  distance  position 
with  a  list  of  frequently  called  places 
to  which  the  operator  could  quickly 
refer  to  find  the  route  on  most  calls 


This  longdistance  operator  s  position  is  equipped  with  the  largest  possible  ''flat  bulletin" 

— the  printed  sheets  under  the  glass  on  which  her  hands  rest.     From  it  she  can  obtain 

the  routes  to  several  hundred  of  the  most  frequently  called  points  ^  and  other  information 

she  may  require  to  provide  fast  handling  of  most  calls 


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Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


without  having  to  obtain  it  from  the 
Rate  and  Route  operator.  The  glass- 
covered  keyshelf  space,  on  which  she 
does  her  writing,  provided  a  place 
where  a  few  hundred  places  and  the 
routes  to  them  could  be  listed  on  a 
flat  bulletin.  It  was  only  a  matter 
of  seconds  for  her  to  glance  at  this 
flat  bulletin  and  then,  if  the  desired 
place  were  listed  there,  be  on  her  way. 
Since  this  space  is  limited,  thousands 
of  calls  are  analyzed  to  determine 
what  places  are  most  frequently  called 
from  each  long  distance  office.  As  a 
result,  in  many  offices  a  few  hundred 
places  listed  on  this  flat  bulletin  will 
give  the  route  on  from  75  to  90  per- 
cent of  all  the  calls  made  there. 

As  the  American  people  have  be- 
come more  telephone-minded,  the 
simple  flat  bulletin  on  the  keyshelf, 
with  its  limited  listing  of  points,  has 
become  inadequate  for  many  offices. 
Not  only  have  total  volumes  of  long 
distance  calls  grown,  but  people  call 
more  different  places.  A  man  whose 
ofilice  is  in  New  York  City  regularly 
calls  "the  folks"  in  Marion,  Iowa; 
Mother  in  White  Plains,  New  York, 
calls  her  daughter  at  school  in  Dan- 
ville, Virginia,  each  Wednesday  night ; 
business  men  call  their  clients  to  dis- 
cuss details  which  a  decade  ago  would 
have  been  handled  by  mail.  The  re- 
sult is  that  more  points  have  to  be 
listed  on  the  flat  bulletin,  or  the  over- 
all speed  of  connection  will  suffer  be- 
cause Long  Distance  has  to  obtain  the 
route  from  the  Rate  and  Route  opera- 
tor. 

Moreover,  to  keep  step  with  the 
tempo  of  American  life,  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem has  been  introducing  toll  dialing 
to  an  increasing  extent.  Progress  in 
this  direction  was  signalized  recently 
in   ceremonies   to   commemorate   the 


inauguration  of  transcontinental  toll 
dialing.  President  Mark  Sullivan  of 
the  Pacific  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company  talked  to  Dr.  O.  E.  Buck- 
ley, President  of  the  Bell  Labora- 
tories, and  Mr.  Keith  S.  McHugh, 
President  of  the  New  York  Tele- 
phone Company,  over  a  dialed  con- 
nection which  was  completed  in  12 
seconds  from  the  time  the  long  dis- 
tance operator  was  given  the  called 
number.  As  an  adjunct  to  such  a 
service,  the  old  system  of  obtaining 
routes  over  a  trunk  from  another 
operator  becomes  rather  antiquated — 
like  continuing  to  wear  the  old  linen 
duster  and  dust  goggles,  say,  in  a 
1949  convertible  car. 

The  Effect  of 
Operator  Toll  Dialing 

The  mechanical  switching 
EQUIPMENT  used  in  the  operation  we 
call  "operator  toll  dialing"  can  do 
wonderful  things,  but  it  does  not 
understand  names.  Names  must  be 
converted  to  distinctive  codes,  so  all 
dialing  routes  must  be  expressed  as 
arbitrary  numbers — generally  3-digit 
numbers.  Plans  have  been  worked 
out  for  an  ultimate  nation-wide  num- 
bering plan,  under  which  an  operator 
would  reach  any  dial  telephone  in  the 
United  States  or  Canada  by  dialing  a 
maximum  of  10  or  11  digits  and  in 
most  cases  not  over  seven. 

That,  however,  is  something  to  be 
arrived  at  by  degrees.  It  would  be 
impractical  to  convert  the  entire  coun- 
try to  toll  dialing  at  one  sweep,  and  it 
is  undesirably  slow  to  wait  until  every- 
thing is  ready  to  convert  even  one  of- 
fice to  dialing  under  that  numbering 
plan.  To  permit  a  great  many  offices 
to  start  a  limited  amount  of  toll  dial- 


1949 


LA)ng  Distance  Finds  the  Way 


143 


ing  at  once  and  to  permit  easy  and 
gradual  extension  of  the  operation,  so 
that  the  service  advantages  and  oper- 
ating economies  of  the  method  can 
be  effected  as  rapidly  as  possible,  the 
ultimate  is  being  approached  through 
transition  stages. 

During  this  transition  period,  each 
place  that  can  dial  other  places  has  a 
code  for  each  such  place.  If  it  can 
dial  through  that  place  to  reach  an- 
other, it  adopts  that  office's  code  for 


the  second  place.  Recalling  our  call 
to  Palm  Springs,  California,  for  ex- 
ample— if  all  the  equipment  in  the  of- 
fices involved  were  ready  for  toll  dial- 
ing, the  calling  office  might  have  the 
code  312  for  Chicago;  Chicago  might 
reach  San  Bernardino  by  "pulsing" 
(dialing)  051;  and  San  Bernardino 
might  have  selected  the  code  167  for 
its  tributary.  Palm  Springs.  Then,  if 
the  long  distance  operator  we  have 
been  talking  about  went  to  her  Rate 
and  Route  operator  for  the 
route,  she  would  be  told,  "312 
plus  051  plus  167  plus." 

No  one  would  expect  Long 
Distance  to  remember  those  nine 
digits  correctly;  she  would  have 
to  write  them  on  the  ticket  she 
has  made  out  for  the  call.  That 
takes  more  time  before  she  is 
ready  to  set  out  on  the  road — 
operating  time  and  customers' 
time;  and  in  spite  of  every  effort, 
numerals  are  too  often  misunder- 
stood, and  our  call  might  arrive 
at  Orlando,  Florida.  That  is 
why,  as  we  convert  to  toll  dial- 


The  multi-card  bulletin 
at  a  long  distance  posi- 
tion provides  routes  to 
many  hundreds  of  the 
more  frequently  called 
places.  The  operator 
may  obtain  from  it  in 
a  few  seconds  the  infor- 
mation needed  to  speed 
a  call  on  its  way 


144 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


The  familiar  "open  wire"  pole  line  extends  the  highways  of  speech  to  rural  and  sparsely 

settled  areasy  and  helps  to  validate  the  "anywhere"  in  the  scope  of 

the  Bell  System's  service 


ing,  we  wish  to  get  as  many  points 
as  practicable  on  the  switchboard  bul- 
letin. If  the  point  is  listed  there,  long 
distance  can  read  "312  +  051  +  167 
+,"  glance  at  and  then  pulse  each 
code  separately,  without  taking  time 
to  transcribe  it  to  the  ticket  and  with 
greater  assurance  than  if  she  tried 
to  remember  all  nine  digits  at  once. 

You  probably  wonder  what  the 
"plus"  means.  It  means  simply  to 
"Keep  on  dialing,"  or  "There  is 
more  dialing  to  be  done."  Between 
successive  codes  it  also  acts  as  a 
spacer;  a  nine-digit  number  without 
a  break  is  rather  frightening.  At  the 
end  of  a  code  or  series  of  codes,  the 


"plus"  means  that  the  operator  can 
dial  the  local  number  if  she  knows  it. 
On  this  call  over  an  all-dial  route  to 
Palm  Springs,  for  instance,  as  soon  as 
she  observed  the  code,  if  the  cus- 
tomer had  supplied  the  called  number, 
the  operator  would  select  a  trunk 
and  dial  "312 — 051 — 167,"  and  then 
the  local  number.  All  13  or  14  digits 
would  be  pulsed  in  less  than  that  num- 
ber of  seconds,  and  without  waiting 
for  anything  else  to  happen. 

If  the  operator  does  not  have  the 
Palm  Springs  number,  she  is  in- 
structed to  reach  the  Information 
Operator  at  the  toll  center;  so,  having 
found  the  code   for  the  toll  center 


1949 


Long  Distance  Finds  the  Way 


145 


she  would  pulse  that,  adding  "131," 
which  is  the  uniform  operator  code 
for  "Information."  Once  she  had  ob- 
tained the  number,  she  would  then 
disconnect  and  start  over  again. 

Of  course,  since  the  mechanical 
equipment  starts  establishing  the  con- 
nection while  she  is  still  pulsing,  the 
connection  is  extended  to  the  called 
office  or  number  in  a  matter  of  one 
to  four  seconds  after  she  has  finished 
the  last  digit,  so  the  whole  operation 
would  take  less  time  than  it  has  taken 
to  describe  it. 

At  present  about  30  percent  of  the 
toll  calls  of  the  System  are  dialed. 
During  the  transition  period,  a  few 
long  distance  offices  are  dialing  on  a 
large  percent  of  their  calls,  some  can 
dial  on  certain  routes,  and  many  are 
not  yet  equipped  for  dialing.  Certain 
toll  trunk  groups  are  arranged  for 
dialing,  others  are  not.  A  call  that 
started  out  over  a  dial  group  might 
entail  a  switch  at  an  intermediate 
office  to  a  ringdown  or  non-dial  route. 
All  this  information  must  be  made 
available  to  the  operator  who  is  try- 
ing to  find  the  way.  Going  back  to 
the  operator  seeking  the  way  to  Palm 
Springs,  she  might  read  from  her  bul- 
letin, or  be  told  by  the  Rate  and 
Route  operator,  that  the  code  was 
"312  plus  051."  The  absence  of  the 
"plus"  after  the  second  code  would 
mean  that,  after  she  had  pulsed  that 
code,  she  should  listen  for  the  answer 
of  an  operator,  and  pass  her  request 
orally  from  that  point  on. 

This  digression  into  toll  dialing 
codes  indicates  again  the  need  for 
getting  more  listings  on  the  long  dis- 
tance bulletin  so  that  the  operator 
will  not  have  to  enlist  the  help  of  the 


Rate  and  Route  operator  except  on 
the  occasional  random  call. 

The  Multi-card  Bulletin 

The  answer  to  the  problem  of  help- 
ing the  operator  to  help  herself  di- 
rectly to  more  long  distance  routes 
has  been  in  use  for  some  time  in  a  few 
offices,  and  in  the  past  three  years 
its  application  has  been  extended 
rapidly.  The  space  on  the  flat  bul- 
letin is  being  greatly  augmented  by 
a  "multi-card  bulletin."  A  few 
square  inches  of  the  keyshelf  on  each 
long  distance  position  are  set  aside 
for  a  unit  containing  a  number  of  in- 
dividually hinged  cards,  each  of  which 
is  tab-indexed  in  such  a  manner  that 
all  the  tabs  are  visible.  The  operator 
can  select  at  a  glance  the  two  tabs 
between  which  the  called  point  would 
be  found,  flip  the  bulletin  open,  and 
quickly  scan  the  40-odd  listings  thus 
exposed. 

About  250  toll  offices  have  now 
adopted  this  form  of  record  for  Long 
Distance,  and  the  number  is  growing 
rapidly.  On  the  average,  some  six 
hundred  to  eight  hundred  places  are 
listed  on  each  multi-card  bulletin. 
The  operator  should  be  able  to  "find 
the  way"  to  the  called  place  on  95 
percent  or  more  of  the  calls  merely 
by  a  flip  of  the  finger. 

We  in  the  Bell  System  wish  to  de- 
crease the  operation  of  obtaining 
routes  from  the  special  Rate  and 
Route  operator  just  as  much  as  prac- 
ticable. Not  only  does  the  call  go 
through  faster  when  the  operator  can 
"find  the  way"  from  her  position  bul- 
letin, but  operating  time  is  saved  when 
one  operator  can  do  this  work  for  her- 
self rather  than  asking  another  to  do 


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Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


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it  for  her  and  then  waiting  while  the 
second  operator  does  it. 

For  these  reasons  we  continue  to 
study  the  distribution  of  the  destina- 
tion of  calls  placed  in  each  long  dis- 
tance office;  for,  even  with  the  added 
space  that  a  multi-card  bulletin  makes 
available,  if  we  tried  to  anticipate 
every  eventuality,  the  list  would  soon 
become  the  same  size  as  the  Toll  Rate 
and  Route  Guide.  In  any  toll  office, 
there  are  five  calls  or  fewer  per  hun- 
dred which  are  non-recurring — or 
practically  so.  A  family  touring  on 
the  Pacific  Coast  may  call  "home"  to 
Beaver  Dam,  Virginia,  to  make  sure 
that  things  are  going  all  right  in  their 
absence;  or  some  "Stop  the  Music" 
sort  of  radio  program  in  New  York 
City  may  select  a  number  in  Black 
Springs,  Arkansas,  to  call.  Obviously, 
such  random  calls  must  be  handled 
without  benefit  of  a  switchboard  bul- 
letin, and  for  them  the  Rate  and 
Route  operator  supplies  the  route. 

Some  offices  can  cover  practically 
their  entire  file  of  long  distance  calls 
with  a  list  of  100  to  150  points,  and 
for  these  the  flat  bulletin  is  un- 
equaled.  But  experience  indicates 
that  most  long  distance  offices  need 
600  to  800  listings  to  leave  a  residue 
of  scattered  calls  amounting  to  no 
more  than  five  per  hundred.  This  is 
too  large  a  list  to  get  on  a  flat  bulletin 
— and  read  without  a  magnifying 
glass.  But  it  is  a  nice  size  for  a  multi- 
card  bulletin. 

Having  accepted  the  multi-card 
file  because  its  good  features  were  val- 
uable and  serviceable  to  us,  we  have 
been  working  to  minimize  its  bad 
features — the  worst  of  which  is  cost 
of  production  and  maintenance. 


To  encourage  operators  to  use  it, 
and  to  make  that  usage  fast  and  ac- 
curate, we  have  stressed  the  clearness 
and  legibility  of  the  typography  of 
the  bulletin.  That  at  first  suggested 
that  the  job  must  be  set  up  in  printer's 
type,  and  many  bulletins  were  done  on 
that  basis.  It  became  evident,  how- 
ever, that  such  a  process  would  be  too 
expensive  to  use  widely. 

Hand  in  hand  with  this  problem 
was  that  of  making  changes,  for 
routes  do  not  "stay  put."  New  high- 
ways of  speech  are  frequently  being 
placed  in  service  which  may  replace 
a  switched  routing  by  a  direct  path 
or  may  make  it  advisable  to  change  a 
switched  route  from  "through  Chi- 
cago" to  "through  Omaha."  And 
as  the  toll  dialing  program  pro- 
gresses, office  after  office  and  group 
after  group  are  being  converted  to  a 
dialing  basis.  Each  such  conversion 
has  far-flung  effects. 

On  the  smaller,  flat  bulletin,  the 
work  of  posting  changes  or  of  reprint- 
ing the  bulletin  to  incorporate  changes 
is  not  too  great,  but  the  multi-card 
bulletin  is  somewhat  more  of  a  prob- 
lem. With  the  greater  number  of 
points  listed  in  a  given  office,  more 
changes  are  occurring  in  a  given  pe- 
riod of  time,  but  still  the  bulletin  must 
be  kept  strictly  up  to  date  or  the  call 
will  be  misrouted. 

At  this  moment,  the  best  solution 
to  the  problems  of  economical  prep- 
aration and  maintenance  of  the 
multi-card  bulletin  seems  to  be  the 
adoption  of  "multilith"  duplicating, 
an  established  process  for  producing 
quantities  of  copies  already  used  ex- 
tensively in  the  Bell  System.  In  it  the 
information  is  typed  on  special  paper 
in  the  form  and  size  desired,  and 
these  special  sheets  are  used  as  plates 


1949 


Long  Distance  Finds  the  Way 


147 


on  the  drum  of  the  duplicating 
machine  to  produce  as  many  copies  of 
the  cards  as  are  necessary.  If  a 
change  in  route  is  made,  the  original 
may  be  erased  and  corrected,  and 
corrected  copies  of  the  card  re-run, 
literally  in  a  matter  of  minutes.  The 
typing  and  the  operation  of  the 
machine  are  done  by  trained  girls 
within  our  organization,  so  we  are 
not  dependent  on  printers'  schedules 
or  time  consumed  in  delivery  and  pick- 
up. The  finished  product  compares 
quite  favorably  in  attractive  appear- 
ance with  regular  printed  work. 

This  story  started  out  about  a  long 
distance  call  to  Palm  Springs,   Cali- 


fornia, and  about  how  the  operator 
needed  to  find  the  way.  Here  we 
have  ended  talking  about  duplicating 
machines  and  such  things  as  dollars 
and  cents.  That  is  the  way  things 
work  in  a  large  enterprise  like  the 
Bell  System.  The  long  distance  serv- 
ice must  be  improved — the  operator 
must  be  given  means  of  finding  the 
way  more  quickly — switchboard  bul- 
letins must  be  improved — the  tele- 
phone company  must  go  into  the 
duplicating  business — and,  lo !  it  can 
all  be  done,  and  at  less  cost  than  pre- 
vious methods. 

Thus  the  operator  has  not  only 
found  the  way  to  Palm  Springs  but  to 
more  eflicient  long  distance  service. 


Bell  System  Film  Receives  Award 

Readers  who  may  recall  Arthur  F.  Leet's  article  "You  Can  Tell 
by  the  Teller,"  in  last  Spring's  issue  of  this  Magazine,  may  remem- 
ber his  reference  there  to  a  training  film  having  the  same  title,  and 
will  perhaps  be  interested  to  learn  that  it  has  been  awarded  an 
"Oscar"  at  the  second  annual  film  festival  of  the  Cleveland  Film 
Council.  The  Council  is  an  organization  of  business,  educational, 
and  religious  groups  for  encouraging  the  use  of  films  in  adult  educa- 
tion. About  thirty  employee  training  films  were  reviewed  before 
the  field  was  narrowed  down  to  the  eight  which  were  shown  at  the 
festival.  The  film,  produced  originally  in  1946  for  the  training  of 
Bell  System  counter  tellers  in  the  techniques  of  their  job  and  the 
importance  of  their  work  in  fostering  good  customer  relations,  has 
been  used  extensively  by  banks,  insurance  companies,  and  other  con- 
cerns throughout  the  country  to  train  employees  in  showing  courtesy 
and  good  will  to  their  customers. 


Pension  Minimums  Are  Raised 

Bell  System  employees  were  informed  during  the 
week  of  November  20  that  pension  minimums  had  been 
increased,  as  of  November  16,  for  both  those  now  re- 
ceiving pensions  and  those  who  will  retire  in  the  future. 

The  principal  effect  of  the  change  is  to  provide  in- 
creases in  the  minimum  pension  for  full-time  employees 
having  20  or  more  years  of  service  at  the  time  of  their 
retirement.  They  will  receive  a  minimum  payment 
which,  when  added  to  the  amount  receivable  from  Fed- 
eral Social  Security — if  any — ,  will  be  $100  per  month 
after  age  65  and  $75  per  month  before  that  age. 
Many  employees  will  receive  more  than  these  mini- 
mums. 

The  Benefit  Plan  is  a  fully-rounded  plan,  providing 
at  no  cost  to  the  employee  not  only  pensions  but  also 
sickness,  accident,  disability,  and  death  benefits.  Its 
eligibility  provisions  and  the  methods  of  computing 
benefits  and  pensions  are  the  same  for  all  management 
and  non-management  employees  throughout  the  or- 
ganization. Pensions,  both  for  employees  who  retire 
at  age  65  and  for  those  who  retire  earlier,  are  based 
on  length  of  service  and  average  wages  for  the  last  ten 
years  before  retirement. 

The  Plan  was  established  in  19 13 — nearly  37  years 
ago — as  a  "non-contributory"  benefit  and  pension  plan. 
It  has  always  ranked  high  among  the  benefit  and  pen- 
sion plans  of  the  country,  and  over  the  years  it  has  been 
amended  from  time  to  time  in  the  light  of  changing 
conditions  and  in  such  a  way  that  the  Plan  has  remained 
sound. 

The  relevant  paragraphs  of  the  Plan  have  been 
amended  to  make  the  present  changes  effective. 


148 


War-Time  Taxes  on 
Communication  Services 

In  1949 


The  following  statement  has  been  presented  to  Representative  Robert  L. 
Doughton,  Chairman  of  the  House  Committee  on  Ways  and  Means, 
and  to  Senator  Walter  F.  George,  Chairman  of  the  Senate  Committee 
on  Finance.  Editor. 


The  Bell  System's  views  on  contin- 
uing the  war-time  Federal  excise  taxes 
on  communication  services  are  pre- 
sented here  on  behalf  of  the  users  of 
the  Nation's  33,000,000  Bell  tele- 
phones, the  800,000  stockholders, 
and  the  other  hundreds  of  thousands 
whose  savings  have  been  loaned  to 
provide  the  facilities  through  which 
this  service  is  rendered. 

Federal  Excise  Taxes  on 
Communication  Services  Are 
Unreasonably  High 

Local  telephone  service  and  tele- 
phone toll  messages  of  less  than  25 
cents  are  taxed  at  15  percent,  while 
telephone  toll  messages  over  24  cents 
and  domestic  telegrams  are  taxed  at 
25  percent.  Thus,  for  instance,  on 
a  monthly  charge  of  $5.00  for  local 
service  the  customer  pays  a  tax  of  75 


cents,  and  on  a  $  i  .00  toll  call  he  pays 
a  tax  of  25  cents. 

The  excise  taxes  on  Bell  System 
business  were  about  $13.50  per  tele- 
phone for  1948,  or  about  $1.12  per 
month.  The  taxes  averaged  18.6 
percent  of  the  taxable  revenues — in 
other  words,  in  1948  Bell  System  cus- 
tomers really  paid  18.6  percent  more 
for  their  telephone  service  than  would 
otherwise  have  been  necessary,  be- 
cause of  these  taxes. 

In  addition  to  these  excise  taxes 
which  users  pay,  there  are  the  Fed- 
eral income  and  other  operating  taxes 
of  the  corporations  which,  of  course, 
must  be  passed  on  to  the  users 
through  charges  for  service.  In- 
cluding these  corporate  operating 
taxes  with  the  excise  taxes,  the  total 
1948  taxes  per  Bell  System  telephone 
were  about  $23.30,  or  almost  $2.00 
per  month. 


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Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


A  Bushiess  and  Social  Necessity 
Should  Not  Carry  a  Burdensome 
and  Discriminatory  Tax  Load 

As  FAR  BACK  AS  1 924,  the  Commit- 
tee on  Ways  and  Means,  in  the  report 
submitted  with  the  Revenue  Act  of 
1924,  which  repealed  the  then  exist- 
ing excise  tax  on  certain  communica- 
tion services,  said: 

"This  tax  was  not  only  a  burden 
upon  business  but  was  a  tax  upon  a 
public  utility  so  widely  used  as  to  be 
a  necessity." 

If  communication  services  were  a 
necessity  in  1924  because  of  their 
wide  use,  they  are  even  more  so  to- 
day. In  the  last  25  years.  Bell  Sys- 
tem telephones  increased  from  1 1 
million  to  33  million,  and  telephone 
conversations  increased  from  47  mil- 
lion daily  to  125  million  daily. 

We  believe  that  the  excise  taxes 
on  communication  services  discrimi- 
nate against  the  users  of  these  serv- 
ices, as  they  saddle  on  them  too  great 
a  portion  of  the  total  tax  load. 
These  users  pay  their  shares  of  other 
taxes,  as  well  as  the  high  communica- 
tions excises. 

Excise  taxes  are  essentially  sales 
taxes  on  a  few  selected  items.  It  is 
one  thing  to  obtain  a  portion  of  the 
needed  revenues  of  Government  by 
the  use  of  a  general  sales  tax  at  rea- 
sonably low  rates.  But  it  becomes  an 
entirely  different  matter  when  sales 
taxes  on  relatively  few  items  are  im- 
posed at  very  high  rates. 

In  addition  to  the  effects  of  cor- 
porate income  taxes  and  excise  taxes, 
the  double  taxation  of  corporate  in- 
come weighs  particularly  heavily  on 
telephone  investors. 

This  double  taxation  arises  from 
the  fact  that  although  corporate  in- 


come available  for  dividends  has  al- 
ready been  subjected  to  corporate  in- 
come tax,  the  dividends  are  then 
taxed  again  as  income  to  the  re- 
cipient. The  portion  of  the  cor- 
porate income  paid  out  in  dividends 
is  thus  taxed  twice.  The  Bell  Sys- 
tem's business  is  one  of  those  on 
which  the  burden  of  double  taxation 
weighs  most  heavily  as,  over  a  period 
of  years,  it  has  distributed  practically 
all  of  its  net  income  in  dividends. 

The  over-all  tax  load  on  the  busi- 
ness of  the  Bell  System  is  enormous. 
Some  idea  of  its  size  can  be  obtained 
by  comparing  it  with  the  net  returns, 
after  income  taxes,  to  all  Bell  System 
security  holders,  for  1948.  If  we 
combine  Federal  and  other  corporate 
taxes,  excise  taxes,  and  income  taxes 
at  the  conservatively  assumed  rate 
of  20  percent  on  the  security  holders' 
interest  and  dividends  from  the  Bell 
System,  the  total  dollar  tax  load  is 
more  than  three  times  the  net  returns 
to  the  security  holders!  In  other 
words.  Government  took  as  its  share 
more  than  three  times  the  net  amount 
that  went  to  800,000  stockholders 
and  hundreds  of  thousands  of  other 
people  from  all  walks  of  life  who 
loaned  the  money  to  build  and  expand 
the  business ! 

Present  Excises  on  Comniunication 
Services  Are  a  Cai'ry-Over  of 
Restrictive  War- Time  Taxes 

The  present  high  excise  tax  rates 
were  imposed  by  the  Revenue  Act  of 

1943,  which  became  effective  April  i, 

1944.  They  are  largely  the  result 
of  three,  rather  than  a  single,  war- 
time tax  increases,  and  they  are  a 
carry-over  of  war-time  restrictions 
which  have  no  place  in  the  peace-time 


1949 


War-Time  Taxes 


151 


economy.  To  appreciate  these  facts, 
we  must  consider  some  of  the  steps 
which  led  up  to  the  present  situation. 

From  1924  to  1932,  there  were 
no  excise  taxes  on  communication 
services.  The  Revenue  Act  of  1932 
introduced  a  tax  ranging  from  10 
cents  to  20  cents  on  each  toll  message 
over  49  cents,  with  no  tax  on  local 
service.  This  was  a  "depression" 
tax  to  help  provide  Government 
revenues  at  a  time  when  certain  of 
the  other  tax  sources  were  drying  up. 
Before  we  had  fully  recovered  from 
the  depression,  Europe  was  at  war. 
By  1 94 1,  the  nation  embarked  on  a 
"Defense"  program,  shortly  to  be  fol- 
lowed by  our  entry  into  the  war. 

The  Revenue  Acts  of  1941,  1942, 
and  1943  were  enacted  while  we  were 
either  preparing  for  war  or  at  war. 
Their  combined  effect  was  to  tax 
those  communication  services  which 
were  not  taxed  under  the  1932  Act 
and  to  raise  the  rates  on  all  the  serv- 
ices to  the  present  high  levels.  The 
real  war-time  excises  are,  therefore, 
those  imposed  by  the  Revenue  Acts 
of  1941,  1942,  and  1943,  and  not 
just  those  of  the  1943  Act. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  in 
taxing  all  communication  services  and 
in  fixing  the  high  war-time  rates,  as 
done  in  these  three  Acts,  Congress 
gave  consideration  to  the  necessity 
for  conserving  the  existing  facilities 
for  war  needs.  Under  war-time  con- 
ditions it  was  impossible  to  meet  the 
entire  public  demand  for  service,  and 
the  effect  of  the  high  excises  in  help- 
ing to  prevent  further  overcrowding 
of  the  lines  was  certainly  desirable. 
Now,  of  course,  there  is  no  need  or 
desire  to  discourage  the  usage. 

The  1943  Act  contains  a  provision 
that   six  months   after   the   termina- 


tion of  hostilities,  excise  taxes  are  to 
revert  to  the  level  of  the  1942  Act. 
However,  the  Excise  Tax  Act  of 
1947  continued  the  rates  of  the  1943 
Act  without  a  definite  termination 
date,  and  these  are  still  in  effect  to- 
day, four  years  after  the  close  of  the 
war. 

It  is  clear  that  simply  going  back 
to  the  1942  Act  would  still  leave 
communication  services  taxed  at  very 
high  war-time  rates,  as  taxes  on  local 
telephone  service  and  toll  messages 
less  than  25  cents  would  be  lowered 
only  from  15  percent  to  10  percent, 
and  on  toll  messages  over  24  cents 
only  from  25  percent  to  20  percent. 
The  most  recent  peace-time  tax  level 
was  really  that  of  the  1932  Act,  effec- 
tive until  1 94 1,  which  did  not  tax 
local  telephone  service  or  toll  mes- 
sages less  than  50  cents. 

Regulatory  Authorities  Are  Keenly 
Aware  of  These  Taxes  and  Have 
Taken  a  Strong  Stand  against  Them 

Rates  for  communication  services  are 
subject  to  regulation  as  to  interstate 
rates  by  the  Federal  Communi- 
cations Commission,  and  as  to  intra- 
state rates  by  state  commissions  in  46 
states  and  the  District  of  Columbia 
and  by  certain  cities  where  state  com- 
missions do  not  have  jurisdiction. 

Chairman  Wayne  Coy  of  the  Fed- 
eral Communications  Commission 
made  several  references  to  excise 
taxes  on  communication  services  in 
testifying  before  a  subcommittee  of 
the  House  Appropriations  Committee 
on  March  7,  1949.  These  references 
were: 

"We  at  the  Commission  think  it 
is  an  atrocious  thing  to  have  a  tax 
on    a    communication    system    today. 


152 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


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There  was  reasonable  ground  for  it 
when  it  was  desired  to  curtail  com- 
munications so  as  to  keep  within  our 
capacity  during  wartime. 

"How  can  we  stand  before  the 
world  and  talk  about  a  free  com- 
munication system  when  we  put  a  tax 
on  it?  It  is  as  if  we  did  not  want 
some  people  to  use  it. 

"The  tax  was  a  carry-over  from 
the  war  period  when  we  were  en- 
deavoring to  hold  communications  to 
the  minimum  because  we  did  not  want 
to  expand  their  capacity  during  war- 
time. I  do  not  think  there  is  any 
reason  at  all  for  a  tax  today." 

The  National  Association  of  Rail- 
road and  Utilities  Commissioners 
passed  resolutions  in  their  1948  and 
1949  annual  conventions  favoring 
repeal  or  reduction  of  Federal  excise 
taxes  on  transportation  and  commu- 
nication services.  The  resolution 
passed  on  August  10,  1949,  reads: 

''Resolved,  That  the  National  As- 
sociation of  Railroad  and  Utilities 
Commissioners  is  of  the  opinion  that 
the  present  excise  taxes  on  transpor- 
tation and  communication  services  are 
inimical  to  the  maintenance  of  a  rea- 
sonably-priced and  non-discriminatory 
public  transportation  and  communica- 
tion service  and  that,  accordingly,  the 
excise  tax  on  transportation  of  prop- 
erty should  be  repealed  and  the  excise 
tax  on  other  transportation  and  com- 
munication services  should  be  re- 
pealed {or  greatly  reduced).  .  .  ." 

Also,  retiring  President  Justus  F. 
Craemer  of  the  National  Association 
of  Railroad  and  Utilities  Commission- 
ers, in  his  address  to  the  Association 
at  its  annual  convention  on  August  8, 
1949,  said  with  reference  to  the  tax 
results  of  certain  telephone  com- 
panies: 


"These  facts  dramatically  illustrate 
the  unjust  and  discriminatory  nature 
of  the  excise  tax  on  communications 
service." 

Conclusion 

A  HEALTHY,  vigorous  telephone  sys- 
tem, used  widely  and  operated  effi- 
ciently, is  vital  to  the  nation  in  many 
ways.  The  Bell  Telephone  System 
does  more  than  provide  good  tele- 
phone service,  important  as  that  is. 
Directly  or  indirectly,  it  touches  some 
part  of  the  business  and  social  life 
and  prosperity  of  almost  everybody. 

Millions  of  people  outside  the  tele- 
phone business  get  some  part  of  their 
livelihood  from  it.  Telephone  em- 
ployees buy  from  local  merchants. 
They  pay  local  taxes  as  well  as  State 
and  Federal  income  taxes,  and  the 
total  of  these  payments  is  huge. 
Each  operating  company  itself  is  a 
large  purchaser  of  local  materials  and 
supplies.  Last  year.  Western  Elec- 
tric— the  manufacturing  unit  of  the 
Bell  System — bought  from  27,000 
different  concerns  in  2,800  cities  and 
towns. 

Since  the  war,  the  Bell  Telephone 
Companies  have  put  over  $4,000,- 
000,000  into  new  facilities.  The 
money  has  been  spent  to  improve 
telephone  service  and  to  meet  heavy 
post-war  demands  in  almost  every 
community  in  which  they  operate. 
This  has  meant  work  and  jobs  for 
people  in  many,  many  lines. 

The  value  and  usefulness  of  the 
service  this  industry  provides  and  the 
contributions  it  makes  to  the  pros- 
perity of  the  communities  it  serves 
are  important  to  the  economy  of  the 
entire  nation.  Therefore,  it  would 
be  unwise  and  uneconomic  to  continue 
in  effect  a  tax  which  might  retard  the 


1949 


War-Time  Taxes 


153 


growth  and  development  of  such  an 
essential  service. 

We  therefore  believe  that  excise 
taxes  on  communication  services 
should  be  abolished  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. If  they  cannot  be  abolished 
completely,  the  first  step  should  be 
to  eliminate  the  taxes  on  local  tele- 
phone service  and  on  toll  messages 


less  than  50  cents,  and  to  reduce 
greatly  the  tax  rate  on  other  toll  mes- 
sages. The  lifting  of  this  tax  burden 
will  be  to  the  advantage  of  the  mil- 
lions of  telephone  users,  the  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  telephone  employees 
and  stockholders,  and  the  thousands 
of  communities  which  the  industry 
serves. 


John  J.  Toolariy  New  England  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company 
Plant  man  who  was  the  model  for  Norman  RockwelPs  paintings 
"The  Telephone  Lineman"  stands  beside  the  first  full-color  repro- 
duction of  the  painting  to  come  from  the  press.  The  print,  inscribed 
with  a  personal  message  from  the  artist,  was  given  to  Mr.  Toolan 
by  President  Joe  E.  Harrell  of  the  New  England  Company  at  a 
special  ceremony.  The  picture  has  appeared  in  Bell  System  news- 
paper and  magazine  advertisements,  and  reproductions  of  it  similar 
to  the  one  Mr.  Toolan  received  are  being  displayed  in  suitable  loca- 
tions throughout  the  System 


Restoring  Worn  Telephone  Equipment  to  Further  Usefulness 

Is  an   Important  Western  Electric  Function  Carried  On 

In  the  Shops  of  Its  28  Distributing  Houses 


Giving  New  Life  to 
Old  Equipment 


Philip  H.  Miele 


The  responsibilities  of  the  West- 
ern Electric  Company,  supply  unit  of 
the  Bell  System,  are  often  cited  as 
four :  manufacturing,  purchasing,  dis- 
tribution, and  installation.  That  is 
not  the  whole  story,  however;  for 
part  of  the  job  of  keeping  the  tele- 
phone companies  supplied  with  good 
equipment  is  to  keep  that  equipment 
in  the  very  best  possible  condition — 
repairing  it  so  that,  after  the  long 
years  of  hard  service  it  was  built  to 
withstand,  it  can  begin  another  long 
service  life  in  the  telephone  network. 

This  is  no  small  outgrowth  of  the 
Company's  supply  responsibilities. 
Repairing  communications  equipment 
is  both  a  big  and  an  important  under- 
taking. Each  year,  for  example, 
Western  Electric's  repair  shops  re- 
condition and  restore  about  lo  per- 
cent of  all  the  Bell  telephones  cur- 
rently in  use.  Then  consider  for  a 
moment  that  the  telephone  is  only  6 
percent  of  the  equipment  in  the  net- 


work behind  it — and  you'll  have 
an  even  clearer  picture  of  the  scope 
of  Western  Electric's  repair  job. 

Some  of  this  vast  quantity  of  ma- 
terial returned  by  the  telephone  com- 
panies to  Western  is  found,  after 
inspection,  to  be  in  as  good  operating 
condition  as  the  day  it  was  made, 
needing  only  a  cleaning  to  wipe  away 
the  scars  of  long  service,  or  a  slight 
adjustment  or  replacement  of  a  part 
to  insure  even  longer  service.  All 
the  research  and  engineering,  the 
skilled  manufacturing  and  painstaking 
installation,  that  go  into  putting  the 
telephone  network  together  would  be- 
come useless  for  some  customers  if 
even  as  small  a  component  as  a  tele- 
phone transmitter  should  break  down. 
That's  why  heading  off  breakdowns 
before  they  occur,  rehabilitating  be- 
fore repairs  are  necessary,  is  of  vital 
importance  to  the  telephone  com- 
panies in  their  job  of  rendering  good 
and  dependable  service. 


Giving  New  Life  to  Old  Equipment 


^SS 


On  this  map  are  spotted  the  locations  of  the  Western  Electric  Company's  28  Distributing 
Houses.     An  integral  and  important  part  of  each  is  its  Repair  Shop 


As  distributor  for  the  Bell  System. 
Western  Electric  operates  28  distrib- 
uting houses,  which  are  strategically 
located  throughout  the  nation  to 
serve  the  Bell  telephone  companies. 
These  houses  vary  in  size  from  the 
one  in  Cincinnati,  O.,  employing  about 
60  persons,  to  the  one  in  New  York 
City  which  employs  about  1,150. 
They  render  two  principal  services: 
one,  for  which  they  are  well  known, 
distribution;  and  the  second,  less 
known,  repairing.  Of  the  almost 
8,000  employees  who  work  in  the 
distributing  houses,  more  than  5,000 
are  engaged  in  a  wide  variety  of  re- 
pair activities — activities  which  in 
turn  call  for  almost  as  wide  a  variety 
of  skills  as  are  required  in  the  manu- 
facturing operations  of  both  the  Com- 


pany and  its  subsidiary.  Teletype 
Corporation. 

The  Scope  of  Shop 
Operations 

Visit  any  one  of  the  shops  and  you'll 
be  impressed  by  the  scope  of  its  op- 
erations. In  one  shop,  for  instance, 
you'll  see  many  of  the  hundreds  of 
varieties  of  equipment  normally  re- 
paired there  pouring  in  from  the 
telephone  company;  being  classified, 
tested,  sorted  into  any  one  of  numer- 
ous categories;  some  of  it  moved  on 
again  for  repair,  then  again  for  a 
final  test  and  inspection;  packed,  and 
stored  in  the  warehouse  until  ordered 
again  by  the  telephone  company. 

On  the  ground  floor,  old  apparatus, 
some  of  it  no  longer  manufactured  by 


156 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


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This  machine  automatically  washes  telephone  parts  at 
i6o  degrees  and  then  dries  them 


the  Company  but  still  in  good  work- 
ing order,  is  dismantled  for  salvage 
of  whatever  parts  can  be  used  in  the 
newer  models  that  have  come  along. 
Telephone  instruments  that  stream  in 
by  the  hundreds  are  channeled  over  to 
another  area,  visually  inspected,  clas- 
sified, and  most  of  them  sent  upstairs 
for  repair.  A  considerable  number 
of  them,  however — about  15  percent 
in  this  shop's  case — are  almost  as 
good  as  new.  A  little  cleaning,  per- 
haps a  cord  changed,  then  a  complete 
electrical  test — and  they're  ready  for 
re-use. 

Upstairs,     more     complex     repair 
jobs  are  performed:  extensive  "con- 


veyorized"  operations, 
exacting  scientific  ones, 
washing,  painting, 
woodworking,  testing, 
wiring — almost  every- 
thing you  would  find 
in  any  one  of  the  Com- 
pany's manufacturing 
plants.  Here,  much 
the  same  quality  origi- 
nally built  into  West- 
ern's products  is  being 
built  back  into  them; 
they  leave  the  shop 
only  when  they  are  as 
gleaming  new  as  the 
day  they  were  made. 

One  young  lady 
seems  to  be  adminis- 
tering a  blood  trans- 
fusion. A  closer  look 
shows  that  she  Is  us- 
ing a  newly  developed 
machine  for  putting  car- 
bon crystals  into  tele- 
phone transmitters.  In 
another  area,  someone 
seems  to  be  putting 
parts  of  telephone  instruments  into 
a  washing  machine.  He  is.  And 
right  next  to  him  are  similar  parts 
being  rolled  around  in  a  drum  full 
of  shoemaker's  pegs  and  a  polishing 
compound.  Along  the  conveyor  line, 
men  and  women  are  cleaning,  re- 
placing, adjusting  and  repairing  the 
inner  components  of  the  telephone 
instruments. 

In  other  parts  of  the  shop,  men 
are  busy  wiring  switching  equipment 
— everything  from  small  private 
switchboards  to  giant  toll  units. 
Complex  Teletype  sending  and  receiv- 
ing machines  are  tested,  dismantled, 
repaired,  and  tested  again.     Intricate 


1949 


Giving  New  Life  to  Old  Equipment 


157 


mobile  telephone  units 
are  repaired  or  modi- 
fied to  conform  to  the 
latest  developments  in 
this  new  communica- 
tions field.  And  in 
still  other  parts  of  the 
shop,  careful  cabinet- 
making  work  is  going 
on.  Old  service-worn 
telephone  booths  are 
cleaned  of  their  scars 
— t  h  e  arrow-pierced 
hearts  and  scratched-in 
rhymes  are  scraped 
away,  the  broken  doors 
fixed,  and  the  posture 
of  the  entire  booth 
made  erect  again. 

This  shop,  like  the 
other  27  throughout  the 
nation,  works  closely 
with  the  telephone  com- 
pany which  it  serves. 
It  repairs  equipment  be- 
longing to  the  telephone 
company;  it  operates  on 
schedules  that  are  deter- 
mined by  both  the  short-  and  long- 
term  needs  of  the  telephone  company; 
and,  while  its  operations  are  largely 
standardized  with  those  of  the  other 
27  shops,  it  performs  some  opera- 
tions that  are  peculiar  to  its  territory 
to  meet  special  operating  require- 
ments of  its  customer. 

In  repairing  equipment  belonging 
to  the  telephone  company,  the  han- 
dling of  that  equipment  is  almost  en- 
tirely determined  by  the  needs  in  the 
field.  When  the  equipment  comes 
into  the  shop,  it  is  classified  both  ac- 
cording to  its  condition  (which  is 
learned  through  preliminary  tests) 
and  according  to  what  the  telephone 


Not  a  blood  transfusion^  but  a  new  device  for  replacing 
carbon  crystals  in  telephone  transmitters 


company  wants  done  with  it.  If,  for 
instance,  in  a  particular  operating 
area,  there  is  a  program  under  way 
of  conversion  from  an  old  to  a  new 
model  of  apparatus,  the  older  one  is 
dismantled,  some  of  its  usable  parts 
are  stored  for  later  use,  and  the  other 
parts  are  sold  to  Western  Electric's 
subsidiary,  the  Nassau  Smelting  and 
Refining  Company,  for  salvage  or  to 
local  junk  dealers.  The  proceeds  of 
the  sale  are  credited  to  the  tele- 
phone company.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  telephone  company  determines 
whether  repairable  equipment  coming 
into  the  shop  is  to  be  repaired  im- 
mediately, stored  for  later  repair,  or 


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Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


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purchased  by  Western  Electric  for 
resale  to  other  telephone  companies. 

Co??ipa?iy  Forecasts  and 
Shop  Schedules 

The  schedules  on  which  the  shop 
operates  are  established  jointly  by  the 
shop  and  its  customer.  Every  three 
months,  the  telephone  company  issues 
a  forecast  which  predicts  its  needs 
during  the  period.  The  forecast 
cites  specific  items  that  will  be  needed 
in  specific  quantities  and  at  specific 
intervals.  The  shop,  on  the  basis  of 
this  forecast,  works  with  the  tele- 
phone company  to  prepare  a  schedule 
providing,  as  far  as  possible,  a  uni- 
form level  of  repair  activity  through- 
out the  three  months.  Once  estab- 
lished, this  quarterly  schedule  remains 
flexible,  however.     At  monthly  meet- 


ings, sometimes  weekly  ones,  and  at 
times  even  by  telephone  call,  the  shop 
may  modify  its  program  to  meet 
changed  conditions  in  the  field. 

Although  all  28  repair  shops  are 
geared  to  meet  the  specific  require- 
ments of  the  individual  telephone 
companies  which  they  serve,  the  shops 
are  nevertheless  strikingly  similar  to 
each  other  in  their  operations.  West- 
ern Electric  equipment  is  made  to 
standard  specifications,  and  therefore 
the  technique  of  repairing  it  for  one 
telephone  company  is  the  same  as 
that  of  repairing  it  for  another.  This 
results  in  a  similarity  between  the 
repair  shops  and,  as  we  shall  see 
later,  adds  up  to  substantial  savings 
to  the  telephone  companies,  since  re- 
pair methods  and  equipment  may  be 
developed  for  all  the  shops  by  one 
relatively  small  central   staff  group. 


In  this  buffing  operation^  veteran  telephones  are  cleansed  of  the  scars  of  long  service 


1949 


Giving  New  Life  to  Old  Equipment 


159 


There  are,  however,  some  local  re- 
quirements which  call  for  shop  opera- 
tions that  are  unique  and  that  cannot 
be  standardized.  Here  too  is  an  ex- 
ample of  the  shoulder-to-shoulder 
teamwork  between  the  shop  and  its 
customer.  The  telephone  company 
may  require  that  a  switchboard  re- 
cently purchased  from  Western  Elec- 
tric be  modified  to  meet  some  unusual 
condition  encountered  in  the  field. 
Or  it  may  need  a  piece  of  equipment 
not  manufactured  by  Western  Elec- 
tric and  not  obtainable  from  other 
manufacturers : — a  special  test  set 
for  instance,  or  a  custom-made  tele- 
phone booth  to  match  others  installed 
years  ago.  These  are  small  orders, 
not  likely  to  be  repeated  soon,  and  are 
handled  by  the  repair  shops  in  coop- 
eration with  the  telephone  company. 


An  exhaustive  description  of  the 
many  facets  of  the  cooperation  be- 
tween the  shop  and  its  telephone  com- 
pany customer  would,  in  fact,  be  an 
exhaustive  description  of  Western 
Electric's  repair  operations.  So 
close  is  this  cooperation  that  it  is  al- 
most impossible  to  find  an  exact  point 
of  separation  between  the  responsibil- 
ities of  the  two  organizations. 

Add  the  broad  scope  of  activities 
that  we  have  seen  in  this  one  repair 
shop  to  that  of  the  other  27  and  you 
will  readily  see  that  Western  Elec- 
tric's job  of  building  back  into  its 
products  the  quality  originally  built 
into  them  is  a  big  undertaking — far 
bigger,  in  fact,  than  it  ever  was. 
Since  the  war,  the  shops  have  been 
repairing  65  percent  more  telephones 
than  ever  before. 


Repairing  teletype  apparatus  is  an  intricate  job,  and  a  most  useful  one 
to  the  telephone  company 


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Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


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The  Post-war  Challenge 

Since  the  war,  the  chief  concern  of 
the  repair  shops,  like  the  Company 
of  which  they  are  a  part,  has  been 
to  keep  pace  with  the  nation's  grow- 
ing need  for  telephone  service,  with 
the  problems  presented  by  changing 
conditions  in  the  post-war  economy, 
and  with  the  latest  developments  in 
the  telephone  industry  itself. 

The  nation's  demand  for  more 
telephone  service  has  resulted  in  an 
unprecedented  expansion  of  the  tele- 
phone industry.  In  the  few  years 
since  the  war's  end,  Western  Electric 
has  manufactured  millions  more  tele- 
phones than  were  added  during  the 
previous  fifteen  years,  bringing  the 
total  number  of  Bell  telephones  in 
service  in  this  country  from  some 
nineteen  million  to  more  than  thirty- 


Mobile  telephone  service  presented  the  Shops  organiza- 
tion  with   a    big  new  post-war  task:  gearing   up  for 
complex  repair  jobs.      This  receiving  set  is  being  fixed 
in  a  copper  shielded  booth  in  one  of  the  shops 


three  million.  Labor  and  equipment, 
the  basic  costs  of  doing  business, 
have  just  about  doubled  over  pre-war 
levels.  Meanwhile,  post-war  devel- 
opments in  the  telephone  industry 
have  introduced  totally  new  equip- 
ment in  addition  to  basic  changes  in 
the  design  of  much  of  the  existing 
equipment  in  the  great  communica- 
tions network. 

If  the  volume  of  business  has  dou- 
bled over  pre-war  levels  and  the 
costs  of  doing  business  have  almost 
doubled  also,  while  the  very  nature 
of  the  business  has  been  greatly 
changed  by  new  developments,  how 
are  the  repair  shops  meeting  the  re- 
sponsibility of  doing  a  bigger-than- 
ever  job  at  these  higher  costs? 

Here  are  two  seemingly  unrelated 
facts  which  illustrate  the  answer: 
first,  the  shops  have 
only  33  percent  more 
personnel  than  they  had 
back  in  1939;  and,  sec- 
ond, the  post-war  con- 
struction program  calls 
for  less  than  50  percent 
more  shop  space  than 
there  was  in  1939. 

Double  the  number 
of  telephones  in  serv- 
ice since  1939;  only  33 
percent  more  people  to 
repair  them  in  only 
50  percent  more  shop 
space.  How  is  this 
possible?  The  answer 
is  that  in  keeping  pace 
with  the  fast  changing 
conditions  that  affect 
the  shops,  more  than 
3600  new  and  better 
methods  for  repairing 
and    testing    telephone 


1949 


Giving  New  Life  to  Old  Equipment 


i6t 


equipment,  more  than 
725  new  pieces  of  test 
and  repair  equipment, 
have  been  developed 
since  the  war's  end: 
developments  that  cost 
less,  require  less  plant, 
and  produce  better  re- 
sults. 

Most  of  these  de- 
velopments have  come 
from  a  small  corps  of 
engineers  known  as  the 
Engineer  of  Shops  or- 
ganization. This  cen- 
tral engineering  group 
develops  and  makes 
available  to  the  shops 
standardized  methods 
and  facilities  that  add 
up  to  better  and  more 
economical  repair  serv- 
ice for  the  telephone 
companies  and  insure 
uniformly  high  stand- 
ards of  repair  work  in 
all  28  shops.  At  al- 
most any  given  time 
these  engineers  are  busy 
on  some  235  development  projects. 
Savings  in  repair  costs,  where  they 
can  be  measured,  will  be  about  half 
a  million  dollars  this  year  as  a  re- 
sult of  these  developments.  Other 
savings,  mostly  intangible,  would  also 
be  indicated  by  substantial  figures  if 
they  could  be  measured. 

Recent  Development  of  the 
Engineer  of  Shops 

Let's  take  a  closer  look  at  one  of 
the  shops  and  examine  some  of  the 
new  methods  and  developments  that 
have  been  introduced  since  the  war. 
If  you'll  think  back  to  where   tele- 


Telephone  booths  which  bear  the  marks  of  hard  use  are 

scraped  clean  of  their  scars  and  made  fit  for 

more  years  of  service 


phone  instruments  were  being  tested 
and  classified,  you  will  remember  that 
a  number  of  them  were  found  to 
need  hardly  any  repair  at  all.  The 
classification  they  went  into  is  known 
as  "rapid  recovery,"  a  post-war  in- 
novation, which  calls  for  a  complete 
electrical  test,  whatever  minor  repairs 
are  necessary,  and  a  thorough  clean- 
ing. This  saves  both  the  time  and 
expense  of  the  more  extensive  opera- 
tions. Generally,  telephones  treated 
under  rapid  recovery  are  ready  for 
the  telephone  company  the  day  after 
their  arrival. 

Upstairs  in  the  shop,  the  men  re- 


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Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


A  miniature  laboratory  on  wheels,  for  use  in   testing 

test  sets,  gets  a  final  check  in  the  Engineer  of  Shops 

laboratory 


pairing  mobile  telephone  equipment 
are  working  on  the  very  frontiers  of 
a  new  field.  The  recent  addition  of 
mobile  telephony  to  Bell  System's 
already  long  list  of  communications 
services  to  the  public  confronted  the 
shops  with  the  rush  job  of  gearing 
to  undertake  this  new  and  highly  com- 
plex repair  function.  Even  after 
equipment  and  tools  were  designed 
and  personnel  trained,  development 
work  on  new  ways  of  repairing  mo- 
bile telephone  equipment  did  not  stop. 
Repair  engineers  found  ways  for  cali- 
brating monitors  of  high  frequency 
transmitters  which  even  go  beyond 
F.C.C.  requirements  for  transmitter 


BBT  accuracy.  Testing  re- 
P  ceiver  sets  now  takes 
1  less    than    five    instead 

■i  of  35  minutes  because 
of  an  entirely  new  test- 
ing technique  permitted 
by  a  recently  developed 
signal  generator. 

The  washing  machine 
and  the  drum  full  of 
shoemaker's  pegs  that 
we  saw  earlier  are  other 
post-war  improvements 
in  repair  techniques. 
They  replaced  eight 
other  machines,  saving 
both  space  and  money. 
The  washing  machine 
washes  a  basket  full 
of  telephone  parts  in 
a  special  detergent, 
spray-rinses,  then  dries 
them  with  blasts  of  hot 
air — all  automatically. 
After  the  washing,  the 
dried  parts  are  trans- 
ferred to  the  barrel 
containing  wooden  pegs 
and  a  special  dye  and  wax  compound. 
Following  a  few  minutes  of  tum- 
bling, the  parts  are  removed,  nearly 
as  gleaming  bright  as  the  day  they 
were  made. 

Remember  the  girl  who  seemed  to 
be  administering  a  blood  transfusion? 
She  was  using  a  machine  developed 
since  the  war  for  replacing  carbon 
crystals  in  telephone  transmitters. 
The  machine  costs  about  one-eighth 
as  much  as  the  one  it  replaced  and  re- 
quires one-half  the  time  to  perform 
the  same  operation. 

Here  are  other  post-war  develop- 
ments that  add  up  to  better  repair 
service  for  the  telephone  companies. 


1949 


Giving  New  Life  to  Old  Equipment 


163 


A  miniature  laboratory  on  wheels, 
that  can  be  rolled  like  a  tea-cart  to 
any  bench  position  in  the  shop,  was 
introduced  recently  to  check  test  sets. 
It  comes  fully  equipped  with  compart- 
ments for  storage  of  test  leads,  dial 
pulsing  standards,  tools,  handbooks, 
and  record-binders,  and  has  a  distri- 
bution switching  panel,  ten  or  twelve 
meters  of  various  types,  air  oscillator 
and  oscillograph  and,  in  fact,  all  the 
equipment  necessary  for  complete 
test  set  maintenance. 

Elimination  of  several  operations 
resulted  from  the  development  of  a 
bench  brush  lathe  which  cleans  tele- 
phone sets.  The  new  lathe,  installed 
as  part  of  a  conveyorized  operation, 
eliminates  cleaning  by  hand  and 
makes  dismounting  of  the  telephone 
set  before  cleaning  unnecessary. 

A  new  lacquering  process  was 
adopted  which  permits  the  applica- 
tion of  the  equivalent  of  several  coats 
of  lacquer  in  one  operation.  The 
lacquer  is  in  a  more  concentrated 
mixture  than  is  normally  used.  The 
thinning  operation  can  be  eliminated 
because  the  lacquer  and  the  air  with 
which  it  is  sprayed  are  heated  in  the 
new  process.  Along  with  informa- 
tion on  this  development,  the  central 
engineering  group  is  sending  the 
shops  a  special  tool  for  measuring 
the  thickness  of  the  applied  lacquer 
to  .004  of  an  inch. 

A  new  process  of  washing  teletype 
equipment  was  developed,  resulting 
in  a  better  job  and  savings  of  both 
time  and  plant  space.  After  washing, 
the  teletype  is  rinsed  and  baked  dry 
in  a  newly  adapted  infra-red  oven. 

Four-way  savings  will  result  from 
a  recently  designed  test  set  for  tele- 
phone dials.  It  will  test  four  times 
as  many  dials  in  the  same  period  of 


time  as  the  old  set  it  replaces,  will 
permit  a  reduction  in  the  number 
of  sets  required,  will  cost  less  to 
manufacture,  and  will  result  in  lower 
maintenance  costs. 

A  new  method  of  splicing  synthetic 
(neoprene)  covered  wire  in  the  shops 
will  save  millions  of  feet  a  year.  For- 
merly it  was  not  economical  to  use 
short  lengths  left  over  from  new  coils. 
The  new  splice  is  small,  neat,  water- 
proof, and  just  as  strong  as  the  rest 
of  the  wire  on  which  it  is  vulcanized. 

These  are  just  a  few — selected  al- 
most at  random — of  the  develop- 
ments made  available  to  the  repair 
shops  by  their  corps  of  central  en- 
gineers. Each  development  is  part 
of  the  shops'  answer  to  higher  costs, 
increased  volume  of  business,  and  new 
advances  in  the  telephone  industry. 
But  they  are  not  the  total  answer; 
the  rest,  the  biggest  part,  is  that  peo- 
ple who  work  in  the  shops  and  in  the 
Engineer  of  Shops  organization  are 
the  kind  of  people  who  can  invent  new 
and  better  ways  of  doing  their  jobs, 
who  can  use  these  advantages,  and 
who  want  to. 

The  repair  activities  that  Western 
Electric  undertakes  in  fulfilling  its 
responsibilities  as  supply  unit  of  the 
Bell  System  go  a  long  way  toward 
justifying  the  confidence  which  the  As- 
sociated Companies  have  in  Western 
Electric  equipment,  and,  in  turn,  the 
confidence  which  the  public  has  in  the 
telephone  service  rendered  by  these 
companies. 

This  is  the  sixth  of  a  series  of  articles  de- 
scribing Western  Electrics  operations  and 
its  place  in  the  Bell  System  organization. 
For  previous  articles,  see  this  Magazine  for 
Winter  1Q46-47,  Autumn  1947,  Autumn 
1948,  Winter  1948-49,  and  Spring  1949. 


Their  Politeness  Goes  Deep 

The  following  paragraphs  are  from  an  article  called  "When  Courtesy  Pays  Cash," 
by  Don  Wharton,  which  appears  in  "Nation's  Business"  for  November  and,  in  con- 
densed form,  in  the  "Readers'  Digest"  for  December  under  the  title  of  "The  Great- 
est Mass  Effort  Ever  Made  by  Business  to  Improve  Telephone  Manners."     Editor. 


The  Bell  System's  250,000  operators 
probably  constitute  the  most  courteous 
large  working  force  in  the  nation. 
Many  people  say  the  operators  are  polite 
because  they  have  orders  to  be  polite. 
False.  Their  politeness  goes  deeper  than 
that,  is  no  veneer  of  "Thank  you"  and 
"Please."  Long  before  an  operator  has 
completed  her  training,  she  has  begun 
to  absorb  the  manners  pervading  the 
entire  System.  An  operator  in  training 
encounters  politeness  all  around  her. 
Her  instructor,  supervisor,  chief  oper- 
ator, the  repairman  who  comes  in  to 
fix  the  switchboard — they  all  show  the 
same  attitude  to  the  student  that  they 
expect  her  to  show  to  customers.  Cour- 
tesy is  not  obtained  by  dictate.  It  is 
interwoven  in  all  the  lessons,  taught  by 
example,  suggestion,  indirection. 

The  student  continually  hears  the 
instructor  speaking  in  a  friendly,  courte- 
ous manner.  When  she  asks  the  stu- 
dent to  do  something,  she  says  "Please" 
as  naturally  as  in  asking  a  customer  for 
a  number.  If  a  student  fails  to  say 
"Please,"  the  instructor  will  not  bark 
out  "You  forgot  something."  Instead, 
she  will  give  the  student  chance  after 
chance  to  correct  this  defect,  then  as  a 
last  resort  approach  the  problem  quietly: 
"What  do  you  say  in  your  home  when 
you  ask  someone  to  do  something  for 
you.'^ 

Recently,  in  a  Philadelphia  exchange 
I  put  on  earphones  and  listened  in  on 
two  student  operators.  They  were  17 
year  old  girls,  just  graduated  from 
high  school,  in  training  only  three  days. 
They  lacked  confidence  and  made  tech- 


nical mistakes.  But  already  they  were 
getting  a  helpful,  friendly  tone  in  their 
voices.  Later  I  asked  one  of  them  when 
she  would  argue  with  a  customer — a 
tricky  question.  She  instantly  replied, 
"I  don't  think  I'd  ever."  No  one  in  the 
telephone  company  had  told  her  this. 

Beginners  are  now  taught  to  be 
natural  rather  than  formal.  They  say, 
"I'm  sorry"  rather  than  "I  am  sorry" 
and  "I'll  see"  rather  than  "I  shall  see." 
Another  principle  is  to  be  more  personal. 
They  ask,  "Do  you  know  the  number?" 
rather  than  "What  is  the  number?"  Or 
"May  I  help  you?"  rather  than  "What 
information  do  you  wish,  please?"  .  .  . 

Did  you  ever  notice  how  interested 
a  long-distance  operator  seems  in  com- 
pleting a  call?  It's  not  feigned.  She 
sounds  interested  because  she  is  in- 
terested. The  Bell  System  has  a  say- 
ing that  "every  call  is  important  to  the 
person  calling."  Courtesy  in  the  tele- 
phone business  began  about  1880,  when 
the  rude  remarks  of  teen-age  boy  oper- 
ators became  unbearable.  These  boist- 
erous boys,  threatening  and  cursing  sub- 
scribers, were  replaced  by  young  women 
— a  heretical  idea  then.  By  1890, 
women  operated  practically  all  Bell  Sys- 
tem daytime  switchboards,  and  with  the 
twentieth  century  they  began  working 
at  night.  The  slogan  "The  Voice  With 
a  Smile"  came  in  1912. 

About  160,000,000  telephone  con- 
versations are  held  in  this  country  every 
business  day.  What  would  life  be  like 
in  America  if  these  calls  were  handled 
by  disgruntled,  discourteous  operators? 


164 


special  Bell  System    Facilities    Provide  Means  of  Swift 

Communication  Essential  to  the  Operation  of  the  Nation  s 

Far-fung  Air  Transport  Industry 


Private  Line  Services  for 
The  Aviation  Industry 

Henry  V.  Roumfort 


By  any  standard,  the  growth  of 
air  transportation  has  been  remark- 
able. In  1935,  for  example,  approx- 
imately 280  million  revenue  passenger 
miles  were  flown,  while  in  1948  the 
figure  was  5.8  billion.  Passenger 
miles  flown  now  equal  more  than  half 
the  railroad  passenger  miles  in  Pull- 
man space. 

Three  goals  of  the  air  line  industry 
are  safety,  speed,  and  efficiency.  In 
this  triangle,  communications  are  per- 
haps the  vital  link  that  permits  an 
ever  closer  degree  of  attainment. 

Domestic  air  transportation  is  fur- 
nished by  sixteen  trunk  lines  and 
twelve  feeder  lines.  Private  line 
services  are  used  by  all  of  the  sixteen 
trunk  lines  and  most  of  the  twelve 
feeder  lines  to  handle  the  great  ma- 
jority of  fast  communications — 
exclusive  of  plane  to  ground  mes- 
sages. Plane  to  ground  messages 
are  necessarily  handled  by  radio  be- 
tween a  plane  in  flight  and  a  radio 
land   station,   but  are   often   relayed 


over  a  wire  network  to  their  final 
destinations. 

The  first  private  line  service  used 
by  an  air  line  was  a  teletypewriter 
service  established  for  the  Transcon- 
tinental Air  Transport  Company  be- 
tween Columbus,  Ohio,  and  Los  An- 
geles, California,  on  April  i,  1929. 
Now  the  trunk  and  feeder  lines  have 
networks,  some  nation-wide,  of  both 
private  line  telephone  and  teletype- 
writer services,  serving  their  operat- 
ing areas.  These  networks  use  about 
30,000  miles  of  telephone  and  100,- 
000  miles  of  teletypewriter  inter-city 
services  furnished  by  the  Bell  System. 

The  industry  has  always,  and 
quite  properly,  concentrated  on  flight 
safety,  and  the  results  are  common 
knowledge.  Insurance  companies 
have  accepted  travel  by  air  as  an  in- 
surable risk,  comparable  with  other 
types  of  common  carrier  transporta- 
tion, and  investment  and  banking  con- 
cerns look  upon  the  industry  as  a 
sound  and  growing  business  venture. 


1 66 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


All  this  is  a  far  cry  from  the  early 
days  in  the  'twenties  when  night  flights 
were  not  attempted  and  even  mildly 
bad  weather  was  a  bar  to  takeoffs. 
The  part  played  by  the  Civil  Aero- 
nautics Administration  in  develop- 
ments in  the  industry  during  this 
period  was  of  incalcuable  value.* 

The  speed  of  air  travel  is  probably 
its  greatest  advantage  over  other 
forms  of  transportation.  While  the 
airplanes  used  in  the  early  days  of 
scheduled  flying  cruised  at  less  than 
lOO  miles  per  hour,  speeds  of  300 
miles  per  hour  are  now  common.  As 
one  can  easily  visualize,  such  present- 
day  speeds  require  efficient  and 
readily  available  communication  sys- 
tems to  insure  prompt  and  rapid  over- 
all transmission  of  messages  along  a 
flight  route. 

The  first  scheduled  transcontinen- 
tal trips  were  made  by  flying  during 
the  day  and  riding  in  a  train  by  night. 
The  speed  of  modern  aircraft  now 
permits  a  one-stop  flight  across  the 
country  in  less  than  twelve  hours. 
Such  high  speeds,  which  incidentally 
are  not  confined  to  through  routes, 
are  responsible  for  the  exacting  com- 
munications requirements  of  the  air 
lines  industry. 

For  efficient  operation,  a  plane 
must  maintain  its  flight  schedule  in 
good  weather  or  bad,  and  it  must  fly 
with  a  load  which  brings  a  revenue 
sufficient  to  insure  profitable  opera- 
tion. Proper  use  of  communications 
helps  keep  planes  filled  and  flying 

Organization  of  an  Air  Line 

In  certain  administrative  func- 
tions, an  air  line  does  not  differ  from 


•  See    "Guardians    of   the    Skyways,"    Maga- 
zine, Autumn  1945. 


Other  industrial  firms.  The  com- 
munications justifying  private  line 
service  are  originated  by  three  major 
air  line  functions :  operations,  reserva- 
tions, and  maintenance. 

It  is  these  which  require  some 
method  of  fast  communications.  All 
types  of  communication  facilities  have 
been  used,  and  the  present  systems 
are  the  results  of  years  of  develop- 
ment and  trials.  New  methods,  new 
equipment  are  still  contantly  being 
tried,  to  help  develop  and  operate 
communication  systems  which  will  in- 
sure good  service  and  provide  maxi- 
mum safety. 

Most  air  lines  have  similar  forms 
of  organization,  and  the  functions 
performed  by  the  various  depart- 
ments differ  little  between  air  lines. 
The  larger  the  air  line,  simply,  the 
more  staff  employees  are  required  to 
take  care  of  specific  functions  which 
in  a  smaller  concern  may  be  combined 
under  one  head. 

As  reservations,  operations,  and 
maintenance  all  require  communica- 
tion facilities,  the  control  of  communi- 
cations is  usually  under  one  of  these 
departments.  Actually,  most  air  lines 
have  a  separate  organization  within 
one  or  another  of  these  departments 
to  handle  communications. 

The  operations  department  is 
responsible  for  dispatching  aircraft, 
controlling  aircraft  while  in  flight, 
making  pre-flight  arrangements,  and 
it  may  have  other  duties  too.  Al- 
though reservations  traffic  constitutes 
the  bulk  of  the  ground  communica- 
tions on  commercial  air  lines,  opera- 
tions communications  take  top  prior- 
ity, since  they  concern  such  prime 
factors  as  safety,  schedule  reliability, 
and  similar  basic  operations.     Some- 


1949 


Private  Line  Services 


167 


The  roie  of  co^nmunicaiioyi  services  in  ine  air  iranspuri  industry  is 
to  keep  planes  filled  and  flying 


times  there  may  be,  in  addition  to  an 
operations  department,  a  flight  con- 
trol department  which  has  charge  of 
the  actual  flights  of  aircraft.  Such 
functions,  however,  fall  within  the 
general  category  of  "operations." 

Before  a  flight,  the  Civil  Aeronau- 
tics Administration,  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment regulatory  body,  requires 
that  a  proposed  schedule  of  the  flight 
— a  flight  plan — be  filed  with  its  con- 
trol office  in  the  area  in  which  the 
flight  originates.  This  gives  infor- 
mation about  such  things  as  loading, 
fuel,  airspeed,  altitude,  time  in  air, 
route,  time  of  arrival,  destination, 
and  weather  conditions.  The  CAA, 
through  Airways  Traffic  Control, 
then  clears  the  plane  on  its  flight  and 
keeps  check  on  it  while  it  is  airborne. 


Coincident  with  departure,  the  air 
line  must  send  a  report  to  all  its 
stations  at  which  the  plane  will  stop, 
giving  them  the  time  the  plane  will 
arrive  and  the  load  factors:  how 
many  passengers  aboard  and  their 
destinations,  cargo,  and  fuel  require- 
ments. These  reports  are  transmit- 
ted by  private  line  service,  usually 
teletypewriter.  While  en  route,  the 
plane  is  in  radio  contact  with  either 
ATC  or  its  own  company's  stations^ 
giving  regular  position  and  prog- 
ress reports.  Company  stations, 
upon  receipt  of  reports,  transmit  the 
information  over  private  line  services 
to  a  control  point.  When  the  plane 
lands  at  its  destination,  a  report  of 
arrival  is  transmitted  to  the  control 
point.     The  same  procedures  are  fol- 


i68 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


lowed   for   subsequent   take-offs   and 
landings  of  each  plane. 

It  is  essential  that  adequate  com- 
munication facilities  be  available  to 
handle  the  thousands  of  messages 
that  are  required  for  transmitting 
these  reports  and  instructions  each 
day.  A  recent  study  of  the  com- 
munications of  an  operations  depart- 
ment of  one  air  line  showed  that 
nearly  10,000  messages  a  day  were 
being  handled.  Furthermore,  about 
half  of  these  messages  were  ad- 
dressed to  more  than  one  station. 
When  such  volumes  are  related  to 
an  air  line's  operating  schedules,  it 
becomes  apparent  that  the  private 
line   network   must   not   only   be   ca- 


pable of  carrying  the  volume  of  traffic 
offered  but  that  it  must  also  have 
sufficient  capacity  to  handle  it  with 
a  minimum  of  delay. 

Ha?idling  Reservations 

"Reservations"  involves  the  pro- 
cedures by  which  a  passenger  seat 
or  "space"  is  made  available  in  ad- 
vance, to  a  person  desiring  to  travel 
by  air,  and  held  so  that  it  cannot 
be  sold  again  to  another  passanger. 

There  are  three  general  methods 
of  handling  reservations  now  in  use 
by  the  air  lines.  These  are  termed 
"sell  and  record,"  "request  and  con- 
firm," and  "space  allocation." 


This  is  the  relay  center  of  an  air  line's  teletypewriter  network^  showing  the  use  of 

standard  equipment 


^949 


Private  Line  Services 


169 


Right:  Through  this 
switching  center  of  an 
automatic  teletypewriter 
system^  any  office  on  the 
private  line  network  can 
reach  any  other  office 
without  intermediate 
handling  of  messages 


Left:  Here  is  the  control 
panel  in  the  switching 
center i  shown  above,  of  an 
automatic  teletypewriter 
system 


Sell  and  record  is  used  by  the  ma- 
jority of  the  air  lines,  although 
slightly  modified  in  each  case  to  con- 
form to  the  requirements  of  a  par- 
ticular air  line.  Under  the  sell  and 
record  method,  each  office  sells  space 
on  any  flight  and  then  transmits  a 
record  of  the  sale  to  a  space  control 
point,  where  the  sale  is  recorded. 
Elaborate  records,  which  are  in  effect 
an  inventory  of  space  for  all  flights, 
are  maintained  at  these  points.  Such 
records  must  indicate  the  sale  of  a 
seat  for  each  section  of  all  flights, 
current  and  future.  When  a  flight 
is  sold  out  except  for  two  or  three 
seats  called  a  "cushion,"  a  "stop  sale" 
order  is  transmitted  to  all  points  from 
the  control  point.  If  the  oflSces  re- 
ceive further  orders  for  space  on 
that  flight,  they  handle  them  by  a 
request  and  confirm  system. 


This  method  generally  will  provide 
a  speedier  reservation  transaction 
than  that  which  will  be  obtained  when 
the  request  and  confirm  method  is 
used. 

The  request  and  confirm  system 
is  not  used  as  extensively  as  the  sell 
and  record  system.  All  space  is  con- 
trolled at  a  central  point  or  points; 
and  upon  receipt  of  a  request  for 
space,  an  office  transmits  the  request 
to  a  control  point,  the  control  point 
ascertains  from  its  records  whether 
space  is  available,  and  confirms  or 
denies  the  request.  While  accurate 
insofar  as  informing  the  air  traveler 
that  space  is  available  and  a  reserva- 
tion made,  this  system  is  generally 
slower  in  operation  than  the  sell  and 
record  system;  for  a  call  back  to  the 
customer  to  confirm  space  is  usually 
necessary,   and   each   reservation   re- 


I  "70 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


This  availability  chart  in  New  York  gives  the  reservation  agents  complete  information 
about  flights  on  which  passengers  may  be  booked.  The  agents  at  the  left,  wearing  head 
sets,  are  located  at  extension  positions  of  Long  Lines  full  period  circuits  (i.e.,  private 
long  distance  telephone  lines)  and  can  answer  any  one  of  four  circuits  at  these  positions 


quires  a  question  to  and  an  answer 
from  the  control  point. 

Space  Allocation.  When  experi- 
ence indicates  a  recurring  require- 
ment for  a  certain  number  of  seats 
on  a  flight  from  a  specific  point,  this 
system  may  be  used,  generally  in 
combination  with  a  request  and  con- 
firm system.  This  method  allocates 
a  certain  number  of  seats  to  a  station 
where  the  requirement  exists.  That 
station  is  assured  of  the  allotted 
space  which  may  still  be  available 
after  a  stop-sale  order  is  transmitted 
(where  a  combination  system  is 
used) .  Some  small  lines  may  use  this 
system  alone.     When   a  station  has 


sold  all  of  the  space  alloted,  it  must 
communicate  with  other  stations  to 
locate  the  desired  space. 

Usually  a  combination  of  these  sys- 
tems is  used  by  an  airline.  When 
more  than  one  control  center  is  em- 
ployed, each  center  will  cover  one 
region  of  the  area  served.  Most 
reservation  communications,  including 
inter-control-center  traffic,  are  trans- 
mitted over  private  line  teletype- 
writer or  private  line  telephone  serv- 
ice. 

Some  idea  of  the  tremendous  num- 
ber of  messages  needed  between  an 
air  line's  offices  to  complete  reserva- 
tion   transactions    can    be    obtained 


1949 


Private  Line  Services 


171 


from  a  study  of  traffic  handled  over 
a  private  line  network.  A  recent 
study  for  one  customer — and  not  the 
largest — showed  that  during  one  day 
over  16,000  messages  pertaining  to 
reservations  were  transmitted.  Of 
these,  almost  1,000  were  addressed 
to  more  than  one  station. 

Maintenance 

An  aircraft  must  always  be  in  prime 
working  order.  It  is  kept  so  by 
the  maintenance  department,  which 
makes  all  necessary  repairs  and  over- 
hauls.    Various  types  of  maintenance 


are  important  integral  parts  of  the 
air  line  operation. 

Line  maintenance  includes  mechani- 
cal work  performed  on  aircraft  and 
engines  which  is  accomplished  without 
removing  the  plane  from  service. 
Such  maintenance  is  done  between 
flights,  and  all  stations  of  the  air  line 
are  equipped  to  perform  this  type 
of  maintenance. 

For  preventative  maintenance,  each 
air  line  follows  a  schedule  of  inspec- 
tion of  aircraft  which  is  established 
by  the  CAA.  These  are  called 
"checks,"  and  come  after  specified 
hours  of  flying  time.     After  a  plane 


This  reservation  agent  is  working  at  a  No.  4  Order  Turret^  where  she  accepts  or  con- 
firms reservations  J  talking  with  customers  through  local  wires  and  a  PBX  furnished 
by  an  Associated  Company.  When  she  has  filled  out  the  card  in  her  handy  she  will 
place  it  on  the  moving  belt  in  front  of  her^  to  be  carried  along  to  the  space  control  agent 


172 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


AUTUMN 


Full  period  circuits  {private  long  distance  telephone  lines)  terminate  at  the  control 

positions.,  shown  in  the  foreground^  in  the  New  York  office  of  an  air  line.     At  this 

point.,  for  example ^  terminate  direct  circuits  to  Dallas,  to  Chicago  through  Buffalo  and 

Detroit,  to  Chicago  through  Washington  and  Cincinnati,  and  to  Boston 


has  flown  25  hours,  for  example, 
certain  items  of  equipment  are 
checked  and  tested;  after  50  hours 
the  same  items  are  checked  again,  as 
well  as  some  additional  items.  At 
75  hours  another  "25  hour"  check  is 
performed;  at  100  hours  a  "100 
hour"  check,  which  is  more  compre- 
hensive than  the  50  hour — and  so 
on.  Certain  stations  are  equipped 
to  provide  25  hour  checks;  others, 
the  more  extensive  checks.  Over- 
haul is  extensive  maintenance  which 
is  done  periodically  and  which  re- 
quires that  the  plane  be  out  of  serv- 
ice for  a  protracted  time. 

The    coordination    of    a    far-flung 
maintenance    personnel    requires    the 


use  of  fast  communications.  Stations 
must  report  to  the  central  main- 
tenance location  what  inspections, 
checks,  or  maintenance  have  been  per- 
formed, and  the  scheduling  of  air- 
craft must  be  coordinated  so  that 
planes  arrive  at  stations  where  facili- 
ties are  available  to  complete  the 
necessary  maintenance.  Although 
this  communication  requirement  does 
not  furnish  a  large  volume  of  trafllic, 
it  is  necessary  for  safety,  speed,  and 
efficiency. 

Types  of  Service 

The  air  lines  use  private  line  tele- 
phone or  private  line  teletypewriter 
services   and    combinations   of   both. 


1949 


Private  Line  Services 


173 


The  choice  of  either  service  is  affected 
by  consideration  of  the  advantages 
each  offers,  together  with  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  volumes  of  messages  and 
the  requirement  for  speed. 

To  a  large  degree,  over-all  volumes 
have  generally  limited  an  air  line  to 
a  single  type  of  private  line  service. 
Where  the  volume  is  insufficient  to 
justify  both  telephone  and  teletype- 
writer services,  it  has  been  found  that 
the  latter  service  will  most  nearly 
meet  the  majority  of  requirements. 
Therefore,  the  smaller  air  line  cus- 
tomers have  installed  private  line 
teletypewriter  service;  and  for  those 
communications  which  require  discus- 
sion, they  have  used  toll  telephone 
service. 

There  are  several  specific  require- 
ments for  a  private  line  service  that 


are  commonly  found  when  the  traffic 
of  an  air  line  company  is  studied.  In 
general,  a  service  will  parallel  a  flight 
route  and  have  a  service  point  at  each 
airport  along  the  route.  When  the 
private  line  is  to  be  used  to  handle 
all  traffic,  the  station  arrangements 
must  be  such  as  to  permit  access  by 
all  departments.  Importantly,  where 
there  are  several  circuits  in  the  net- 
work, efficient  arrangements  must  be 
provided  so  that  a  station  on  one  cir- 
cuit can  exchange  messages  with  a 
station  on  another  circuit.  Teletype- 
writer service  offers  many  advantages 
in  meeting  such  requirements. 
Moreover,  because  of  the  availability 
of  reperforators,  it  is  particularly 
well  adapted  for  handling  traffic  that 
must  be  exchanged  between  circuits. 
When  traffic  volumes  are  very  high, 


i 

\             - 

.^^^^^ViBMl 

ft^-^-^5i^ 

^^^^^^Hm  ''''^^0^  wm          ^^^^|J 

This  communication  equipment  is  at  an  intermediate  office  of  an  air  line,  where  agents 
handle  transactions  with  both  the  public  and  other  agents  of  the  line,  using  local  tele- 
phone lines  and  Long  Lines  circuits.     The  file  in  the  center  of  the  table  revolves,  so 
that  any  agent  may  know  at  once  the  space  available  for  any  flight 


174 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


there  are  many  advantages  to  be  ob- 
tained by  using  both  telephone  and 
teletypewriter  private  line  services. 
Properly  engineered,  a  telephone  serv- 
ice can  provide  a  higher  speed  of 
service,  and  if  efficiently  used  can 
offer  a  greater  capacity  for  handling 
traffic.  An  example  is  the  growing 
use  of  telephone  service  to  handle 
reservation  transactions.  Several  of 
the  larger  airlines  are  now  using 
full-period  telephone  networks,  sup- 
plementing their  teletypewriter  net- 
works, to  care  for  reservation  traffic. 

Well  designed  communication  sys- 
tems are  a  necessity  for  air  line 
operations. 

The  speed  at  which  aircraft  travel 
requires  some  means  for  handling 
operations,  reservations,  and  flight 
control    traffic   which    is    appreciably 


faster  than  the  scheduled  flying  time 
between  the  points  involved. 

Space  reservation  systems  require 
coordination  between  sales  offices  and 
control  points.  This  is  necessary  in 
order  to  meet  competition  in  giving 
good  customer  service  and  to  insure 
the  greatest  possible  pay  load  on  each 
flight. 

Fast  communications  are  necessary 
to  meet  emergency  conditions  involv- 
ing human  lives. 

Well  engineered  and  efficiently 
operated  communication  systems  have 
contributed  extensively  to  the  de- 
velopment of  present-day  speed,  re- 
liability, and  efficiency  of  the  air 
transport  industry.  Through  its  re- 
search activities  and  its  widespread 
organization,  the  Bell  System  will 
continue  to  keep  abreast  of  its  respon- 
sibilities and  its  opportunities  in  this 
still-young  field. 


Every  once  in  a  while,  a  Bell  System  operator  finds  it  hard  to  live  up 
to  her  reputation  for  working  wonders.  Take  this  case  reported  by 
the  Southwestern  Bell  Telephone  Company. 

A  woman  in  Fort  Worth,  Tex.,  dialed  long  distance  and  asked  to 
have  a  call  put  through  to  her  brother  in  Colorado.  "Is  that  Colo- 
rado City?"  asked  the  operator.  "No,  just  Colorado."  "Colorado 
Springs?"     "No,  the  State  of  Colorado — and  please  hurry,  operator!" 

Bewildered,  the  operator  explained  that  it  was  almost  impossible  to 
locate  a  man  in  the  state  of  Colorado  without  knowing  approximately 
what  town  he  was  in.     But  the  customer  had  an  answer  for  that  one, 

"Well,"  she  asked  sternly,  "you  can  try,  can't  you?" 


Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the 

Bell  Telephone  Quarterly 

Items  from  Volume  III,  Number  4,  October  1924 


The  Telephone's  Part  in 
Defense  Test  Day 

That  America's  electrical  communication 
facilities,  and  particularly  its  nation-wide 
telephone  system,  are  constantly  prepared 
to  meet  any  demand  for  service  was  demon- 
strated on  the  evening  of  September  12, 
when  38,000  miles  of  Bell  System  wire 
were  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  War 
Department  as  a  part  of  the  Defense  Test 
Day  program. 

This  network  of  circuits  connected  the 
headquarters  of  Army  Corps  Areas  in 
San  Francisco,  Omaha,  Chicago,  and  New 
York  direct  with  Washington,  where  Gen- 
eral John  J.  Pershing  and  a  distinguished 
company  of  army  officers  and  government 
officials  listened  to  reports  of  the  generals 
commanding  these  areas  as  to  the  results 
of  day's  activities. 

These  reports  and  a  number  of  addresses 
which  were  made  at  Washington  were 
heard  by  a  vast  radio  audience  through 
eighteen  widely  scattered  broadcasting  sta- 
tions which  had  been  connected  with  the 
circuit.  This  was  the  most  widespread 
combination  of  wires  and  broadcasting 
stations  thus  far  recorded,  the  stations  ex- 
tending from  Boston  to  San  Francisco  and 
from  Minneapolis  to  Atlanta  and  Dallas. 

It  was  significantly  pointed  out  by  Brig- 
adier General  John  J.  Carty  *  of  the 
Officers'  Reserve  Corps,  who  had  charge 
of  the  communication  features  of  the  test, 
that  while  these  stations  were  connected 
with  the  wires,  for  the  purposes  of  the 
test,  so  that  the  radio  listeners  might  hear 
the  conversations  taking  place  over  them, 

*At  that  time  a  Vice  President  of  the  A.  T. 
&  T.  Co. 


this  would  not  be  the  case  in  the  event  of 
an  actual  national  emergency,  when  the 
messages  would  reach  only  the  individuals 
for  whom  they  were  intended.  .  .  . 

General  Carty  then  "called  the  roll  of 
the  continent,"  receiving  immediate  answers 
as,  in  rapid  succession,  he  called  fourteen 
cities  and  towns  extending  from  New  York 
to  San  Francisco.  He  then  called  Major 
General  Morton,  commanding  the  Ninth 
Corps  Area,  San  Francisco;  Major  Gen- 
eral Duncan,  commanding  the  Seventh 
Corps  Area,  Omaha;  Major  General  Hale, 
commanding  the  Sixth  Corps  Area,  Chi- 
cago; and  Major  General  BuUard,  com- 
manding the  Second  Corps  Area,  New 
York. 

General  Pershing  talked  briefly  with 
each  of  these  officers,  receiving  their  re- 
ports on  the  success  of  the  test  in  their 
respective  areas.  Particular  interest  was 
given  to  these  conversations  by  reason  of 
the  fact  that  this  was  General  Pershing's 
last  opportunity  to  speak  directly  with  his 
fellow  officers  as  their  commanding  general, 
as  his  official  retirement  as  General  of  the 
Armies  of  the  United  States,  because  of 
having  reached  the  age  limit,  was  scheduled 
for  noon  of  the  next  day. 

Army  officers  and  officials  of  the  War 
Department  were  outspoken  in  their  praise 
of  the  efficient  manner  in  which  the  com- 
munication features  of  the  test  were  han- 
dled. 

Royalty  Visits  Walker 
Street 

The  Long  Lines  offices  of  the  American 
Telephone  and  Telegraph  Company  at  24 
Walker  Street  were  among  the  points  of 


175 


176 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


interest  visited  by  the  Prince  of  Wales 
during  his  recent  visit  to  New  York. 

After  being  besieged  by  curious  crowds 
which  lined  the  curbs  and  filled  the  win- 
dows of  the  financial  district,  which  he 
had  just  visited,  the  royal  guest  seemed 
impressed  by  the  contrast  presented  by  row 
upon  row  of  operators  busy  at  their  switch- 
boards. In  spite  of  the  fact  that  news  of 
the  presence  of  the  heir  to  the  British 
throne  had  quickly  passed  through  the 
building,  not  a  single  operator  so  much  as 
turned  her  head  as  the  distinguished  visitor 
passed,  according  to  the  members  of  the 
reception  committee,  which  consisted  of 
representatives  of  the  Plant  and  Traffic 
Departments, 

The  prince  appeared  keenly  interested  in 
the  handling  of  the  long  distance  traffic  to 
and  from  New  York  and  asked  many  ques- 
tions in  regard  to  the  number  of  calls 
handled,  hours  of  work,  rest  periods,  and 
similar  details.  He  seemed  particularly  in- 
terested in  the  provisions  for  the  comfort 
of  the  operators  when  off  duty  and  spoke 
appreciatively  of  the  rest  rooms  and  lunch 
room. 

Pan-American  Radio 
Convention 

At  the  Inter-American  Conference  on 
Electrical  Communications  held  recently  in 
Mexico  City,  the  Bell   System  was  infor- 


mally represented  by  Vice  President  E.  S. 
Wilson,  Lloyd  Espenschied,  and  E.  S.  Haw- 
ley,  of  the  American  Telephone  and  Tele- 
graph Company. 

The  Conference  was  called  for  the  pur- 
pose of  discussing  means  and  methods  for 
the  future  development  and  improvement 
of  electrical  communications  between  the 
Pan-American  countries.  The  Conference 
opened  on  May  27th  with  a  formal  wel- 
come by  President  Obregon  and  continued 
in  session  until  the  latter  part  of  July. 
Delegates  were  sent  by  fifteen  governments, 
including  Mexico  and  the  United  States, 
who  met  as  an  Inter-American  Committee 
to  study  the  situation  and  report  their 
conclusions  to  the  governing  board  of  the 
Pan-American  Union.  .  .  . 

The  delegates  representing  the  United 
States  Government  recommended  the  en- 
couragement of  private  initiative  and  in- 
vestment of  capital  under  proper  safeguards 
as  the  best  and  most  practicable  means  of 
extending  and  developing  facilities  for  Pan- 
American  communications,  and  stated  that 
their  government  favored  private  owner- 
ship and  operation  of  electrical  communi- 
cation facilities,  subject  to  just  governmen- 
tal regulation  without  undue  interference 
with  the  rights  of  management.  Other 
delegates  were  inclined  to  favor  government 
ownership  and  operation,  under  conditions 
prevailing  at  present  in  their  countries. 


Who's  Who  8c  What's  What 

(Continued  from  page  131) 

Omar  Bradley's  headquarters  in  Europe. 
The  war  over,  he  continued  his  education, 
and  graduated  in  economics.  Since  1945 
he  has  been  with  the  Information  Depart- 
ment of  the  Western   Electric   Company, 


where  his  assignments  include  such  matters 
as  press  relations  and,  occasionally,  things 
like  stories  on  repair  shops.  In  preparing 
his  contribution  to  this  issue,  he  notes,  he 
consulted  F.  W.  Robinson,  of  Western's 
Central  Engineering  group,  so  frequently 
and  to  such  advantage  that  Mr.  Robinson 
should  be  thanked  publicly  for  his  "patience 
and  spirited  cooperation." 


r  r    §ri^§'i^t      £ 


ly^y  D^ 


Bell  System  Participation  in  the  Work  of  the  ASA 
Harold  S.  Osborne 

Carrier  is  King  •  Charles  M.  Mapes 

Mr.   afford  Retires  ^Public     mrary 

''•■'   -      --•City,  h»^ 
This  Country  Leads  the  World  in  Telephones 
Ellzabeth  Wrenshall 

Service  Aids  for  Home  Owners,  Architects,  and  Builders 
Adolph  F.  Z^chel  and  T.  Hunt  Clark 

Some  Early  Long  Distance  Lines  in  the  Far  West 
Walter  Blackford,  Sr.,  and  Joy  F.  Hutton 


mmn^ekbhoTu  &-^ele^aph  Companv  -AfewYm 


Bell  Tdcphonc^am^me 

fp^inter  1949-50 


Bell  System  Participation  in  the  Work  of  the  ASA, 
Harold  S.  Osborne,  1 8 1 

Carrier  Is  King,  Charles  M.  Mapes,  191 

Mr.  Gifford  Retires,  204 

This  Country  Leads  the  World  in  Telephones, 
Elizabeth  fVrenshall,  206 

Service  Aids  for  Home  Owners,  Architects,  and  Builders, 
Adolph  F.  Michel  and  T.  Hunt  Clark,  217 

Some  Early  Long  Distance  Lines  in  the  Far  West, 
Walter  Blackford,  Sr.,  and  Joy  F.  Hutton,  227 

Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the  Bell  Telephone  Quarterly,  238 


A  Medium  of  Suggestion  ^  a  Record  of  Progress 

Published  for  the  supervisory  forces  of  the  Bell  System  by  the  Information  Department  of 
American  Telephone  and  Telegraph  Co.,  /p5  Broadway,  New  York  7,  N.  Y. 
Leroy  a.  Wilson,  President;  Carroll  O.  Bickelhaupt,  Sec;  Donald  R.  Belcher,  Treas. 


Who's  Who  &  What's  What 
in  This  Issue 


Authoritative  is  the  word  for  Harold 
S.  Osborne's  discussion  of  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem's participation  in  the  work  of  the 
American  Standards  Association,  to  their 
mutual  advantage;  for  his  long  member- 
ship in  executive  posts  in  both  organizations 
has  brought  him  unexcelled  opportunity  to 
become  familiar  with  that  inter-relation- 
ship. Joining  the  American  Telephone  and 
Telegraph  Company  in  1910,  in  the  then 
Transmission  and  Protection  Department, 
he  was  assistant  to  the  transmission  and 
protection  engineer  from  19 14  to  1920,  and 
then  transmission  engineer  until  1939.  He 
was  operating  results  engineer  1939—40, 
and  plant  engineer  1940-42.  In  the  latter 
year  he  became  assistant  chief  engineer,  and 
since  1943  he  has  been  Chief  Engineer  of 
the  A.  T.  and  T.  Company.  For  many  of 
those  same  years  he  has  been  closely  asso- 
ciated in  various  capacities  with  the  work 
of  the  ASA.  He  served  for  several  years  as 
chairman  of  the  Standards  Council,  and  is 
at  present  vice  president  of  the  Association 


and  president  of  the  U.  S.  National  Com- 
mittee of  the  International  Electrotechnical 
Commission.  Mention  of  his  professional 
attainments  must  be  limited  here  to  refer- 
ence to  his  service  on  many  committees  of 
the  A.  I.  E.  E.,  and  as  its  president  in 
1942-43,  and  to  his  Fellowships  in  several 
engineering  and  scientific  organizations. 
Mr.  Osborne  has  contributed  half  a  dozen 
articles  to  the  old  Bell  Telephone  Quar- 
terly and  to  its  successor,  this  Magazine, 
the  most  recent  being — with  John  J. 
Hanselman — "Progress  in  Extending  Bell 
Ruial  Telephone  Service"  in  the  issue  for 
Winter  1946-47. 

Compared  with  the  project  of  making  two 
blades  of  grass  grow  where  but  one  had 
grown  before,  imposing  16  telephone  cir- 
cuits on  one  pair  of  wires  seems  a  good  deal 
like  magic.  It  is  a  kind  of  magic,  which 
Charles  M.  Mapes  is  able  to  explain  in 
non-technical  terms  even  though  his  daily 
work  involves  highly  technical  matters;  for 


Harold  S.  Osborne 


Charles  M.  Mapes 


Elizabeth  Wrenshall 


Who's  Who  &  What's  What 


179 


Adolph  F.  Michel 


T.  Hunt  Clark 


he  is  transmission  engineer  of  the  A.  T.  & 
T.  Company's  O.  &  E.  Department.  Join- 
ing the  Company  in  1923,  he  was  con- 
cerned for  13  years  with  the  provision  and 
maintenance  of  central  office  and  station 
equipment  and  with  related  work  in  con- 
nection with  buildings.  During  the  next 
three  years  he  served  in  Pittsburgh  as  gen- 
eral plant  supervisor  of  the  Bell  Telephone 
Company  of  Pennsylvania.  In  1939  he  re- 
turned to  the  O.  &  E.  Department  as  main- 
tenance engineer,  and  soon  found  himself 
in  war — and  later  post-war — planning. 
After  the  war,  he  was  appointed  systems 
engineer  and  devoted  himself  to  planning 
matters  relating  to  the  development  of  toll 
line  dialing.  He  was  made  plant  extension 
engineer  in  1946,  and  that  assignment  con- 
tinued until  appointment  to  his  present  po- 
sition early  in  1949.  Many  of  the  con- 
tributions to  this  Magazine  represent 
collaboration  in  varying  degree,  and  Mr. 
Mapes  wishes  to  acknowledge  the  very  able 
assistance  of  Harold  R.  Huntley,  a  member 
of  his  staff,  who  has  been  associated  with 
the  development  of  the  carrier  technique 
since  its  early  days  in  the  Bell  System. 

College  courses,  extensive  travels  abroad, 
and  a  two-year  teaching  experience  in  Rome 
have    given    Elizabeth    Wrenshall    a 


facility  in  languages  which  she  finds  use- 
ful in  connection  with  gathering  and  com- 
piling data  for  the  A.  T.  and  T.  Company's 
bulletin  "Telephone  Statistics  of  the 
World,"  since  a  good  portion  of  the  incom- 
ing reports  and  correspondence  is  received 
in  languages  other  than  English.  After 
making  translations  for  the  censorship  au- 
thorities during  the  war,  Miss  Wrenshall 
joined  the  A.  T.  and  T.  Company  five 
years  ago,  and  has  been  with  the  Foreign 
Statistics  group  in  the  Chief  Statistician's 
Division  of  the  Comptroller's  Department 
for  the  past  four  years. 

The  collaboration  of  Adolph  F. 
Michel  and  T.  Hunt  Clark  bespeaks 
the  common  Engineering  and  Commercial 
interest  of  the  O.  &  E.  Department  in  pro- 
moting advance  planning  for  telephone  fa- 
cilities in  private  homes  and  larger  build- 
ings. 

Mr.  Michel  joined  the  New  York  Tele- 
phone Company  in  19 16  as  a  station  in- 
spector, and  soon  became  a  repairman. 
Two  years  later  he  moved  to  Washington 
as  a  repairman  for  the  Chesapeake  and 
Potomac  Telephone  Company,  returning 
the  following  year  to  his  former  position  in 
New  York.  After  nine  years  in  the  out- 
{Continued  on  page  2jg) 


Lashing  a  telephone  cable  to  its  supporting  strand  on  a  pole  line  which  is  used  jointly 
with  an  electric  light  and  power  company.  This  economical  arrangement  is  made  safe  by 
the  observance  oj  established  standards  of  design  and  construction.     See  the  article 

beginning  on  the  opposite  page 


Representatives  of  the  Bell  System  and  of  the  Independent 

Companies  Are  Taking  Part  in  8o  Projects  of  the  American 

Standards  Association  of  Value  to  This  Industry 


Bell  System  Participation  in 
The  Work  of  the  A  S  A 

Harold  S.  Osborne 


"The  Committee  is  to  be  congratu- 
lated on  reaching  full  agreement," 
said  the  Chairman  of  the  Sectional 
Committee  on  Wood  Poles.  "While 
we  started  with  many  divergent  views 
as  to  the  methods  of  test,  ultimate 
fiber  strengths  of  various  species  of 
timber,  and  other  basic  features  of 
the  proposed  standard  specifications 
and  dimensions  for  wood  poles,  those 
differences  have  now  been  reconciled. 
I  know  that  all  of  the  organizations 
which  you  represent,  telephone  com- 
panies, power  companies,  railroads, 
producers  of  poles,  conservation  in- 
terests, and  others  will  benefit  by  the 
simplification  which  results  from 
joint  agreement  on  these  matters." 

This  incident  is  one  of  many  which 
illustrate  the  extensive  activity  under 
the  procedures  of  the  American  Stand- 
ards Association  in  the  development 
of  standards  which  are  of  value  to 
the  telephone  industry.  At  the  pres- 
ent time,  representatives  of  the  Bell 


System  and  of  the  independent  tele- 
phone companies  are  taking  part  in 
work  on  80  standards  projects  of  this 
type.  In  addition,  they  are  cooperat- 
ing in  many  other  standards  projects 
which  at  a  later  stage  will  come  be- 
fore the  ASA  for  approval. 

This  may  come  as  a  surprise  to 
those  familiar  with  the  very  large 
amount  of  work  carried  on  within 
the  Bell  System  in  the  development 
of  standards  for  the  use  of  the  Bell 
System  companies.  Such  "internal" 
standards  work  is  natural  and  suit- 
able for  standards  relating  specifi- 
cally to  telephone  operations  or 
standards  for  material  and  equip- 
ment used  wholly  or  primarily  by  the 
Bell   telephone   companies. 

Projects  of  Wide  Interest 

There  are  numerous  large  fields  of 
work  within  which  standards  are  im- 
portant to  the  telephone  companies 


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and  also  to  a  wide  range  of  other  in- 
dustrial and  operating  organizations. 
To  be  more  specific,  let  us  consider 
the  nature  of  the  80  current  ASA 
projects  in  which  the  Bell  System 
companies  are  cooperating. 

The  wood  pole  is  an  illustration  of 
this — as  indicated  in  the  opening 
paragraph.  Poles  are  used  by  power 
companies,'  railroads,  and  other  wire- 
using  organizations;  and  several  mil- 
lion poles  are  used  jointly  by  tele- 
phone and  power  companies.  Re- 
cently, new  standards  for  wood  poles 
have  been  developed  by  the  ASA  Sec- 
tional Committee  on  "Specifications 
for  Wood  Poles,"  under  the  chair- 
manship of  Dr.  R.  H.  Colley,  of  the 
Bell  Telephone  Laboratories,  which 
unify  the  requirements  for  compara- 
ble poles  purchased  by  the  various 
kinds  of  users.  More  than  twenty 
organizations,  representing  those 
having  a  principal  interest  in  these 
standards,  are  represented  on  the 
Committee.  From  this  piece  of  work 
telephone  companies  are  enjoying 
a  saving  of  $50,000  a  year  on  pur- 
chases of  poles  for  joint  use  alone. 

It  was  this  same  Sectional  Commit- 
tee which,  during  the  war,  developed 
suitable  specifications  for  the  use  of 
additional  types  of  timber  not  here- 
tofore widely  used.  Conspicuous 
among  these  were  white  fir,  jack  pine, 
red  pine,  ponderosa  pine,  Douglas 
fir,  and  western  larch.  This  resulted 
in  increased  availability  of  poles  of 
these  new  types  and  greatly  helped 
to  meet  the  requirements  of  both  in- 
dustry and  the  armed  forces  during 
the  war. 

A  considerable  number  of  the  ASA 
Standards  projects  in  which  the  Bell 
System  is  actively  cooperating  at  pres- 


ent refer  to  standards  for  mate- 
rials. These  include  standards  for 
copper  wire,  for  electric  lamps,  for 
storage  batteries,  for  electrical  meas- 
uring instruments  and  electron  tubes, 
for  paints,  and  for  lubricants.  Many 
relate  to  standards  for  materials  im- 
portant in  the  manufacture  of  tele- 
phone equipment.  They  include  stand- 
ards for  electrical  insulating  mate- 
rials, magnet  wire,  wire  and  sheet 
metal  gages,  petroleum  products  and 
lubricants.  They  also  include  stand- 
ards for  iron  and  steel,  for  brass,  for 
zinc,  for  bolts  and  washers,  and  other 
materials.  Thirty-three  of  the  cur- 
rent projects  may  be  classed  as  of  this 
general  nature. 

Another  group  of  projects  relates 
to  safety  codes  of  importance  in  tele- 
phone operation  and  manufacture,  as 
well  as  in  the  operations  of  other  or- 
ganizations. An  important  illustra- 
tion of  this  is  the  National  Electrical 
Safety  Code,  specifying  forms  of 
electrical  construction  which  are  con- 
sidered safe  for  both  employees  and 
the  public.  One  part  of  this  volu- 
minous code  sets  down  standards  of 
design  and  construction  for  pole  lines 
jointly  used  by  power  companies  and 
telephone  companies.  This  code  is 
not  only  generally  used  by  industry  as 
its  guide  but  is  also  used  in  many 
States  as  the  basis  for  governmental 
regulation  of  the  construction  of 
electrical  lines. 

Other  projects  of  this  general  na- 
ture include  the  safety  code  for  the 
construction,  care,  and  use  of  ladders, 
the  safety  code  for  industrial  power 
trucks,  the  code  for  protection  against 
lightning,  the  National  Electrical 
Code  (used  by  fire  underwriters  as 
the  basis  for  the  approval  of  electri- 


1949-50 


Development  of  Standards 


183 


cal  installations),  standards  for  the 
inspection  of  motor  vehicles,  the 
safety  code  for  industrial  sanitation, 
specifications  for  accident  prevention 
signs,  and  standards  for  accident 
statistics.  This  last  project  is  for 
the  standardization  of  the  basis  used 
in  reporting  accident  statistics,  so 
that  reports  from  various  industries 
may  be  more  directly  comparable 
than  heretofore.  This  group  also 
includes  standards  for  linemens'  rub- 
ber protective  equipment,  protective 
occupational  clothing  and  footwear. 


The  Bell  System  purchases  thousands  of  ladders y  and  the 
employees  who  climb  them  are  the  safer  for  the  standards 
of  manufacture^  carCy  and  use  established 
through  the  ASA 


and  allowable  concentrations  of  toxic 
dusts  and  gases.  Thirteen  of  the 
projects  in  which  telephone  people 
are  now  cooperating  are  of  this  gen- 
eral character. 

Still  other  standards  relate  to 
manufacturing  processes  and  equip- 
ment. Illustrations  of  this  are  stand- 
ardization and  unification  of  screw 
threads,  standards  for  the  zinc  coat- 
ing of  iron  and  steel,  standard  tests 
of  the  adhesion  and  the  aging  of 
vulcanized  rubber,  standard  tests  of 
textiles,  classification  of  materials 
for  tools,  fixtures  and 
gauges,  and  standards 
for  industrial  sanita- 
tion. Sixteen  of  the 
projects  are  of  this  gen- 
eral class. 

A  large  group  of 
standards  is  concerned 
with  building  materials 
and  equipment.  This 
includes  requirements 
for  structural  steel,  for 
masonry,  for  plaster- 
ing, for  plumbing,  light 
and  ventilation,  for  co- 
ordination of  the  di- 
mensions of  building 
materials,  and  for 
standards  for  pipe 
threads.  Bell  System 
representatives  are  co- 
operating in  seven  of 
these  projects. 

Another  group  of 
standards  projects  re- 
lates to  definitions,  no- 
menclature, and  sym- 
bols, standards  for 
graphic  representation, 
and  similar  broad  proj- 
ects. This  includes  a 
project    for    standards 


1 84 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


for  drawings  and  drafting-room  prac- 
tice. Seven  of  the  projects  in  which 
Bell  telephone  men  are  participating 
are  of  this  general  character. 

There  are,  in  addition,  a  number  of 
miscellaneous  projects  of  interest  to 
telephone  people.  These  Include  such 
varied  matters  as  standards  for  sound 
recording,  for  vehicle  traffic  control, 
for  office  machinery  and  supplies,  and 
for  optics.  Bell  System  representa- 
tives are  working  on  four  of  these 
projects. 

Specific  Cases 

An  example  of  Bell  System  partici- 
pation in  a  specific  standard  is  our  in- 
terest in  the  ASA  project  covering 
the  construction,  care,  and  use  of  lad- 
ders. Ladders  are  used  for  many 
kinds  of  work  both  within  and  out- 
side the  Bell  System,  and  the  hazards 
incident  to  their  use  are  common  to 
all  users.  Ladder  accidents  have  oc- 
curred which  are  traceable  to  faulty 
construction,  faulty  care,  faulty  use. 
With  the  objective  of  reducing  these 
accidents,  the  United  States  Bureau 
of  Labor  Statistics  published  for 
trial  in  1923  a  tentative  standard  cov- 
ering the  construction,  care,  and  use 
of  ladders.  Pooling  the  experience 
of  users  and  manufacturers,  a  com- 
mittee under  the  chairmanship  of 
Mr.  H.  D.  Bender,  of  the  Bell  Tele- 
phone Laboratories,  revised  and  re- 
issued this  standard  as  a  full  Ameri- 
can Standard  in  1935  and  again  in 
1948.  In  this  work,  careful  consid- 
eration was  given  to  minimum  re- 
quirements for  ladder  strength  and 
to  standard  dimensions  for  lumber 
stock  of  woods  suitable  for  use  in  the 
construction  of  wood  ladders.  Thus 
there  were  brought  together  repre- 


sentatives of  the  ladder-producing 
and  the  ladder-using  industries  in  the 
formulation  of  a  single  standard  ac- 
ceptable to  all  interests. 

In  addition  to  being  the  basis  for 
the  construction,  care,  and  use  of 
wood  ladders  used  by  Bell  System 
companies,  this  American  Standard 
is  now  recognized  by  the  users  and 
manufacturers  of  ladders  generally, 
and  in  those  States  in  which  Safety 
or  Labor  Departments  have  issued 
regulations  in  this  field.  Work  is 
now  under  way  to  establish  corres- 
ponding standards  for  ladders  made 
of  light  metals  such  as  aluminum  and 
magnesium  alloys. 

Another  active  standarization  proj- 
ect is  one  on  Acoustical  Measure- 
ments and  Terminology.  Organized 
In  1932  at  the  request  of  the  Acousti- 
cal Society  of  America,  this  project, 
was  inactive  during  the  war,  but  has 
recently  been  reorganized  In  line 
with  technological  developments. 
The  committee  Is  now  engaged  in 
formulating  a  number  of  standards 
of  terms  and  definitions  used  in  con- 
nection with  sound  reproduction  and 
recording  and  the  levels  of  noise 
which  may  interfere  with  satisfactory 
performance. 

The  recognition  of  common  terms 
In  handling  matters  such  as  the  trans- 
mission of  programs  over  telephone 
wires  is,  of  course,  of  value  In  our 
relations  with  broadcasters,  wired 
music  systems,  and  others.  In  addi- 
tion, the  committee  has  under  way 
standards  for  audiometers  for  diag- 
nostic purposes  by  doctors  and  to  as- 
sist In  determining  deficiencies  in 
hearing.  Other  matters  under  study 
include  laboratory  standards  for  mi- 


1949-50 


Development  of  Standards 


185 


crophones  used  in  radio  broadcast 
studios,  and  the  sound  absorption  and 
transmission  abilities  of  various  types 
of  wall  materials,  such  as  those  used 
for  telephone  booths  and  between 
rooms  in  buildings.  Representatives 
of  the  telephone  industry  are  partici- 
pating in  the  many  phases  of  this 
project  which  are  important  in  tele- 
phone work. 

American  standards  have  an  im- 
portant influence  on  the  manufactur- 
ing branch  of  the  Bell  System — even 
to  the  selection  of  the  raw  materials 
which  go  into  the  production  of  tele- 
phone apparatus.  One  illustration  is 
found  in  such  a  commonplace  item 
as  sheet  metal  supplies.  Vast  quanti- 
ties of  telephone  equipment,  includ- 
ing such  things  as  relay  components, 
apparatus  panels  and  covers,  switch- 
board parts,  and  pole-line  hardware, 
are  made  from  stampings  of  steel, 
aluminum  alloys,  and  other  metals. 
The  standardization  of  thicknesses  for 
these  metal  supplies  has  resulted  in 
important  economies  not  only  in  the 
purchase  of  strip  and  sheet  metal 
stocks  but  also  in  the  manufacturing 
design  of  apparatus  and  in  process- 
ing machinery.  In  addition,  the  re- 
cent American  Standard  on  Surface 
Roughness  fills  a  long-felt  need  for  a 
widely  accepted  scale  of  roughness 
which  facilitates  the  purchase  of 
metal  stocks  having  surface  finishes 
suitable  for  the  various  types  of  tele- 
phone apparatus. 

The  American  Standards 
Association 

The  focal  point  in  this  activity 
in  standardization  is  the  American 
Standards  Association. 


The  Association  came  into  being 
thirty-one  years  ago  through  the  ac- 
tion of  five  organizations  which  were 
very  active  in  the  preparation  of  engi- 
neering standards.  These  organiza- 
tions, which  included  four  large  engi- 
neering societies  and  the  American 
Society  for  Testing  Materials,  recog- 
nized the  need  for  some  better  means 
to  coordinate  the  rapidly  develop- 
ing activities  in  technical  standards. 
In  the  electrical  field,  for  example, 
standards  for  electrical  machinery 
had  been  developed  by  the  American 
Institute  of  Electrical  Engineers  and 
by  the  National  Electrical  Manufac- 
turers Association,  and  standards 
bearing  upon  the  use  of  electrical 
machinery  had  been  developed  by  the 
National  Electric  Light  Association. 
There  was  an  increasing  tendency,  as 
this  work  expanded,  for  overlapping 
in  scope  and  for  the  development  of 
conflicting  requirements  by  different 
organizations. 

A  standard  is  of  value  precisely  to 
the  extent  that  it  is  generally  accepted 
and  used  by  all  of  the  parties  con- 
cerned. If  two  rival  standards  exist 
in  the  same  field,  the  value  of  both 
of  them  is  greatly  impaired.  This 
fact  was  appreciated  by  the  five  so- 
cieties which  joined  together  in  1918 
to  form  the  American  Engineering 
Standards  Committee.  The  name 
was  later  changed  to  American  Stand- 
ards Association. 

The  fundamental  principle  on 
which  the  American  Standards  Asso- 
ciation is  based  is  that,  to  merit  ac- 
ceptance as  an  "American  Standard," 
a  standard  should  represent  the  con- 
sensus of  all  classes  of  groups  inter- 
ested in  the  standard.  For  example, 
a  standard  for  a  specific  product  or 


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Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


material  must  be  generally  accepted 
by  both  producers  and  consumers, 
and  by  other  organizations,  such  as 
professional  societies,  which  have  a 
general  interest  in  the  standard.  In 
the  case  of  a  safety  code,  those  in- 
terested may  include  manufacturing 
and  operating  organizations,  labor, 
insurance  companies,  public  authori- 
ties, and  general  interests.  The  code 
must  represent  a  consensus  of  all  of 
such  groups  if  it  is  to  be  called  an 
"American   Standard." 

Determining  American  Standards 

The  major  activity  of  the  Ameri- 
can Standards  Association  is  applying 
this  principle  of  consensus  to  stand- 
ards which  are  submitted  to  it  for  ap- 
proval as  "American  Standards." 

This  process  involves  determina- 
tion that  all  groups  directly  interested 
have  had  an  opportunity  to  take  part 
in  the  preparation  of  the  standard, 
that  their  suggestions  have  been  ade- 
quately considered,  and  that  the 
standard  finally  adopted  has  general 
— although  not  neces- 
sarily unanimous — ac- 
ceptance. 

While  the  Associa- 
tion does  not  itself  for- 
mulate standards,  it  has 
developed  procedures 
for  use  by  sponsoring 
organizations  in  the 
formulation  of  stand- 
ards. These  procedures 
are  designed  to  insure 
that  the  necessary  con- 
sensus is  reached.  A 
procedure  widely  used 
is  the  formation,  by  the 
sponsoring  organiza- 
tion, of  a  committee  in 


which  all  interested  groups  are  repre- 
sented. This  is  called  a  sectional 
committee.  In  such  cases  the  whole 
procedure  is  approved  by  the  ASA 
as  it  develops.  The  Association  ap- 
proves the  scope  of  the  project  and 
the  sponsor  to  whom  the  project  is 
assigned.  It  approves  the  personnel 
of  the  sectional  committee  as  ade- 
quately representative  of  all  inter- 
ested groups  and  suitably  balanced  in 
numbers  of  representatives  between 
different  types  of  interest.  Finally, 
when  the  committee  has  recom- 
mended and  the  sponsor  has  ap- 
proved a  standard,  the  Association 
applies  the  principle  of  consensus,  and 
approves  the  standard  as  an  "Ameri- 
can Standard." 

In  some  cases,  the  standards  are 
developed  by  committees  internal  to 
the  sponsoring  organization  and  then 
submitted  to  ASA  for  approval  as 
an  "American  Standard."  In  such 
cases  the  ASA,  before  approval,  de- 
termines that  a  suitable  consensus 
has  been  reached  by  cooperation  of 
all  interested  parties  in  the  prepara- 


(OfUTKSY  PHKOLL  MFC.  CO. 


Even  so  -prosaic  a  matter  as  screw  threads  has  become 
standardized  and  is  covered  by  "American  Standards" 


1949-50 


Development  of  Standards 


187 


tion  of  the  standard  or  by  equivalent 
means. 

In  addition  to  this  main  function  of 
coordinating  the  standards  work  of 
its  members  and  others  active  in  the 
development  of  standards  in  the 
United  States,  the  ASA  has  other  im- 
portant activities.  It  advances  the 
development  of  standards  where  the 
need  exists,  either  by  stimulating  the 
work  of  existing  committees  or  by 
bringing  about  the  establishment  of 
new  committees  or  organizations  for 
this  purpose  where  they  do  not  al- 
ready exist.  It  promotes  the  knowl- 
edge and  the  use  of  approved  stand- 
ards and  an  appreciation  of  the  im- 
portance of  standards  in  advancing 
the  national  economy. 

International  Acti'vity 

The  ASA  also  has  important  inter- 
national responsibilities.  It  serves 
as  a  clearing  house  for  the  inter- 
change of  information  on  standardi- 
zation work  between  the  United 
States  and  foreign  countries,  and  is 
the  authoritative  channel  for  Ameri- 
can participation  in  international 
standards  work. 

In  carrying  out  this  responsibility, 
the  ASA  is  a  member  of  the  Interna- 
tional Organization  for  Standardi- 
zation. This  is  a  federation  of  the 
national  standards  bodies  of  twenty- 
eight  countries,  organized  to  stimu- 
late cooperation  and  coordination  in 
the  development  of  national  stand- 
ards in  those  countries.  The  ASA  is 
also  closely  related  to  the  Interna- 
tional Electrotechnical  Commission. 
This  is  an  international  organization 
representing  twenty-two  countries 
which  for  over  forty  years  has  been 
active  in  the  development  of  electrical 


standards  and  the  coordination  of  na- 
tional standards  in  the  electrical  field. 
The  United  States  National  Commit- 
tee of  the  International  Electrotech- 
nical Commission,  an  affiliate  of  ASA, 
is  the  instrument  for  American  par- 
ticipation in  this  work. 

Organization  of  the  ASA 

The  control  of  the  American 
Standards  Association  has  from  the 
start  resided  in  a  single  class  of  mem- 
bers designated  as  member  bodies. 
A  member  body  must  be  an  organiza- 
tion or  group  of  organizations  of  na- 
tional scope  interested  in  standards 
in  a  specific  field.  The  first  member 
bodies  were  the  great  national  engi- 
neering societies  which  formed  the 
American  Engineering  Standards 
Committee :  i.e.,  those  representing 
the  civil,  electrical,  mechanical,  and 
mining  engineers,  and  the  American 
Society  for  Testing  Materials.  These 
were  soon  joined  by  three  Federal 
departments:  Commerce,  War,  and 
Navy.  The  membership  has  spread 
so  that  there  are  now  sixty-four  mem- 
ber bodies.  Of  these,  nine  are  pro- 
fessional societies,  and  most  of  the 
others  are  trade  associations.  In  ad- 
dition, there  are  a  number  of  other 
organizations,  including  the  National 
Safety  Council  and  a  consumer  group, 
the  American  Home  Economics  As- 
sociation. 

A  number  of  the  member  bodies 
are  groups  formed  for  the  purpose 
of  broadly  representing  an  industry 
in  the  American  Standards  Associa- 
tion. This  includes  the  Electric  Light 
and  Power  Group,  consisting  of  the 
Edison  Electric  Institute  and  the 
Association  of  Edison  Illuminating 
Companies.     Other  examples  are  the 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


Fire  Protection  Group,  the  Photo- 
graphic Manufacturers  Group,  and 
the  Screw  Industry  Standards  Com- 
mittee. 

Telephone  Company  Representation 

The  telephone  companies  of  the 
country  are  represented  in  the  ASA 
by  a  similar  member  body  called  the 
Telephone  Group.  This  consists  of 
the  Bell  Telephone  System  and  the 
United  States  Independent  Telephone 
Association.  While  the  chief  func- 
tion of  the  Telephone  Group  is  repre- 
sentation of  the  telephone  companies 
in  the  ASA,  it  also  provides  the  basis 
for  representing  all  telephone  com- 
panies in  some  other  organizations. 

There  are  two  other  forms  of 
membership  which  share  in  the  sup- 
port but  not  in  the  control  of  the  As- 
sociation. Associate  members  con- 
sist of  organizations  similar  in  char- 
acter to  the  member  bodies  and 
other  organizations  which  may  be 
regional  rather  than  national  in  scope. 
Company  members  are  corporations 
which  recognize  the  importance  of 
the  ASA  work.  The  main  financial 
support  of  the  Association  is  from 
payments  by  company  members. 

Throughout  the  entire  history  of 
the  American  Standards  Association, 
and  until  the  past  two  years,  there 
has  been  active  cooperation  by  the 
departments  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment concerned  in  standards  work. 
These  included  the  War  Department, 
the  Navy  Department,  the  Depart- 
ment of  Commerce,  the  Department 
of  the  Interior,  and  other  depart- 
ments and  agencies.  Then,  about 
two  years  ago,  a  question  was  raised 
within  the  Federal  Government  re- 
garding the  legality  of  the  Federal 


Government  departments  continuing 
to  act  as  member  bodies.  When,  in 
1948,  the  Association  was  incorpo- 
rated under  the  laws  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  the  Federal  Government 
departments  withdrew  from  formal 
membership  in  the  Association.  It 
is  hoped  to  restore  the  close  coopera- 
tion within  the  Association  between 
industry  and  Government  which  has 
heretofore  existed  by  obtaining, 
through  Congressional  action,  a  Fed- 
eral charter  for  the  ASA  with  pro- 
visions specifically  permitting  mem- 
bership by  the  Federal  departments. 
A  bill  intended  to  bring  this  about  has 
been  introduced  in  the  Congress  by 
Senator  Flanders  of  Vermont. 

While  a  somewhat  complicated  or- 
ganization is  necessary  to  carry  out 
its  various  responsibilities,  the  ac- 
tivities of  the  American  Standards 
Association  are  run  by  two  top 
bodies.  The  Board  of  Directors 
— which  consists  of  the  officers,  15 
members  designated  by  selected  mem- 
ber bodies,  and  three  members  at 
large — has  responsibility  for  the  fi- 
nancial and  administrative  functions 
of  the  Association.  The  Stand- 
ards Council,  upon  which  all  mem- 
ber bodies  are  represented,  has  the 
responsibility  for  all  activities  of  the  J 
Association  in  the  stimulation  and  ap-  ■ 
proval  of  standards. 

At  the  present  time,  there  are  more 
than  three  hundred  standards  proj- 
ects being  carried  out  under  ASA 
procedures;  and  there  is  in  addition 
a  large  volume  of  standards  work 
under  way  by  cooperating  organiza- 
tions which  will  later  come  to  the 
ASA  for  consideration  and  approval. 
Standards  are  being  approved  or  re- 
affirmed by  ASA  at  the  rate  of  two 
hundred  a  year. 


1949-50 


Development  of  Standards 


189 


Standards  for  drawings  and  drafting-room  practice  are  among  the  AS  A  projects  in  which 

the  Bell  System  is  interested 


As  the  work  for  which  the  Stand- 
ards Council  is  responsible  is  very 
voluminous  and  diverse,  it  is  to  a 
large  extent  delegated  to  a  series  of 
divisions  working  in  various  fields : 
for  example,  electrical,  mechanical, 
safety  codes,  etc.  All  of  the  work 
is,  however,  under  the  ultimate  con- 
trol of  the  Standards  Council. 

The  ASA  Staff 

To  CARRY  OUT  its  functions  in  con- 
nection with  this  volume  of  stand- 
ards work,  the  Association  has  a  very 
busy  staff  of  about  sixty  people.  Of 
these,  half  are  technical  or  super- 
visory people. 


The  Association  is  fortunate  to 
have  at  the  head  of  the  staff  Vice 
Admiral  G.  F.  Hussey,  Jr.,  U.  S.  N. 
(retired) .  During  the  war,  Admiral 
Hussey  was  in  charge  of  the  Bureau 
of  Ordnance  of  the  United  States 
Navy,  and  he  has  brought  to  the  ASA 
work  his  wide  experience  in  business 
affairs  and  an  extensive  knowledge 
of  American  industry. 

The  staff  of  ASA  does  not  have 
the  responsibility  for  formulating 
standards.  This  is  carried  on  by  the 
volunteer  activities  of  representatives 
of  industrial  and  other  organizations 
appointed  to  membership  on  the  Sec- 
tional and  other  committees  charged 


190 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


with  the  development  of  standards. 
However,  the  staff  of  ASA  gives  very 
important  assistance  to  these  com- 
mittees. 

In  some  instances,  members  of  the 
staff  act  as  secretaries  of  the  Sec- 
tional Committees.  In  any  case,  they 
form  a  valuable  adjunct  to  the  work 
of  the  committee  through  their  knowl- 
edge of  the  standards  work  going  on 
in  this  country  and  in  other  countries 
and  of  organizations  and  individuals 
who  are  able  to  contribute  to  the 
work  of  various   projects. 

A  great  deal  of  work  is  done  by  the 
staff  in  developing  facts  in  connec- 
tion with  suggestions  for  additional 
standards  projects,  in  meeting  re- 
quests for  information  regarding 
standards  in  various  fields,  and  in  the 
whole  range  of  activities  for  advanc- 
ing the  cause  of  standardization  in 
this  country. 

ASA  and  the  Bell  System 

Bell  System  participation  in  this 
work  has  largely  been  carried  out  by 
the  groups  in  New  York.  The  Ameri- 
can Telephone  and  Telegraph  Com- 
pany and  the  Western  Electric  Com- 
pany have  for  years  made  payments 
to  the  Association  on  behalf  of  the 
Bell  System  companies  as  a  group. 
These  payments  cover  both  company 
membership  and  the  Bell  System 
share  of  Member-body  membership 
by  the  Telephone  Group. 

Depending  upon  the  nature  of  the 
work  involved  in  each  case.  Bell  Sys- 
tem representation  in  the  Sectional 
Committees  and  other  committees 
formulating  standards  is  by  members 
of  the  staff  of  the  Western  Electric 


Company,  the  Bell  Telephone  Labo- 
ratories, or  the  General  Department 
of  the  American  Telephone  and  Tele- 
graph Company.  Thanks  to  the  Bell 
System  form  of  organization,  all  of 
the  Bell  System  Companies  are  thus 
represented  in  this  work  by  a  mini- 
mum number  of  representatives,  and 
by  men  particularly  qualified  by  their 
experience  and  responsibilities  to  con- 
tribute to  the  subject  matter  involved 
in  each  case. 

The  American  Standards  Asso- 
ciation has  many  problems. 

Currently  it  is  not  able  to  supply 
the  close  liaison  between  industry 
and  government  in  standards  work 
which  has  characterized  its  opera- 
tions in  the  past. 

Like  many  organizations,  it  has 
budget  trouble.  The  demands  upon 
its  staff  for  assistance  in  standards 
work  outstrip  its  financial  support, 
and  result  in  a  continuing  problem  of 
holding  the  work  load  down  to  what 
can  be  paid  for.  Looking  ahead,  it 
appears  that  there  will  be  a  continued 
expansion  of  the  field  in  which  its 
services  will  be  desired. 

However,  the  Association  is  well 
organized  to  meet  its  responsibilities 
and  to  expand  its  activities  as  increas- 
ing financial  support  makes  this  pos- 
sible. It  has  established  its  place  as 
an  important  tool  in  the  rapidly  de- 
veloping American  economy.  The 
Bell  System,  which  from  the  start  has 
participated  actively  in  its  work  and 
its  support,  can  expect  a  continuance 
of  the  benefits  which  have  come  from 
the  stimulation  and  coordination  by 
ASA  of  standards  in  many  fields 
which  have  nation-wide  acceptance. 


Carrier  Systems^  W^hich  Transport  Many  Messages  at  One 

Time  Over  a   Singh  Pair  of  Conductors^  Are  Now   Used 

in  Providing  the  Majority  of  Long  Distance  Circuits 


Carrier  Is  King 

Charles  M.  Mapes 


We  are  living  today  in  a  world 
which  is  more  and  more  dependent 
on  things  electrical  for  carrying  on  its 
business  and  for  making  more  pleas- 
ant its  leisure  hours.  It  is  a  world 
becoming  increasingly  complicated  for 
those  who  must  provide  and  maintain 
the  many  new  electrical  services — 
but  much  more  satisfying  for  those 
who  get  the  benefits. 

It  should  be  of  considerable  satis- 
faction to  members  of  the  telephone 
fraternity  to  reflect  occasionally  on 
the  important  part  we  have  played 
in  this  advance  toward  better  living, 
because,  after  all,  communication  is 
an  important  part  of  our  way  of  life. 
Electrical  communication  not  only 
provides  means  by  which  people,  as 
individuals,  can  talk  with  one  an- 
other, but  it  also  includes  the  dissemi- 
nation of  entertainment,  information, 
and  even  education  to  people  en 
masse. 

For  example,  a  wide  range  of  tech- 
niques and  methods  started  from 
work  on  communications  systems :'  ra- 
dio broadcasting,  hearing  aids,  tele- 
photography,   television,    public    ad- 


dress systems,  and  many  others  which 
contribute  so  much  to  the  enjoyment 
of  life  today.  Much  of  the  "elec- 
tronic" gear  which  plays  such  an  im- 
portant part  in  industrial,  military, 
and  other  operations  also  got  its  start 
there. 

There  is  one  single  factor  which 
above  all  others  may  be  said  to  domi- 
nate modern  long  distance  communi- 
cation by  electrical  means.  This  fac- 
tor is  "carrier,"  It  is  a  key  principle 
in  achieving  both  the  striking  tech- 
nical advances  in  long  distance  com- 
munication of  the  past  quarter  cen- 
tury and  the  savings  to  the  customer 
which  have  come  with  them. 

The  carrier  system  is  the  communi- 
cation industry's  way  of  transporting 
many  long  distance  messages  simul- 
taneously over  a  single  pair  of  con- 
ductors— of  making  several  blades  of 
grass  grow  where  but  one  grew  be- 
fore. 

Because  carrier  makes  it  possible, 
for  example,  to  superpose  many  com- 
munication channels  upon  one  pair  of 
conductors,  the  cost  of  the  physical 
pair   may  be   divided,    so   to   speak, 


192 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


Carrier  Is  Like  Transportation 


Communication  and  transportation  sys- 
tems, although  physically  quite  different, 
are  basically  similar  enough  to  make  pos- 
sible an  explanation  by  analogy. 

Both  carriers  are  concerned  in  transport- 
ing "packages"  from  one  place  to  another. 
Transportation  carriers  handle  a  wide  vari- 
ety of  sizes  and  kinds  of  physical  packages. 
Communication  carriers  handle  "packages" 
of  frequencies,*  and  the  "size"  of  the  pack- 
age is  measured  by  the  total  width  of  the 
frequency  band  required. 

One  kind  of  communication  package,  for 
example,  is  speech.  In  both  the  sound  and 
electrical  worlds  a  band  of  frequencies  sev- 
eral thousand  cycles  wide  is  needed  to  carry 
a  message  from  a  talker  to  a  listener.  The 
communication  carrier  is  given  this  package 
by  a  telephone  user  and  must  transport  it  to 
a  listener  in  such  a  way  that  the  contents  re- 
main in  good  shape. 

A  telegraph  message  involves  a  smaller 
package — a  band  about  100  cycles  wide.  At 
the  other  extreme,  the  television  program 
package  is  in  the  order  of  three  or  four  mil- 
lion cycles.  The  illustration  opposite  indi- 
cates the  relative  sizes  of  packages  for  tele- 
graph, telephone,  radio  program,  and  tele- 
vision. 

Now  let's  take  a  look  at  the  vehicles  em- 
ployed for  carrying  the  packages.  In  the 
transportation    business,    the   vehicles   may 

*  A  variation  of  current  from  a  negative  value 
to  a  positive  value  and  back  again  is  known  as 
a  cycle.  If  such  a  cycle  occurs  in  i/ioo  of  a  sec- 
ond, for  example,  then  100  cycles  may  be  trans- 
mitted in  one  second,  and  the  varying  current  is 
said  to  have  a  frequency  of  100  cycles  per  sec- 
ond. Transmission  of  the  various  kinds  of  in- 
telligence such  as  telegraph  signals,  speech,  or 
television  makes  it  necessary  to  have  currents 
which  complete  this  cycle  a  few  times  a  second 
for  communications  of  a  simple  character  up  to 
millions  of  times  per  second  for  the  more  com- 
plex requirements. 


range  from  the  postman  with  his  pack  to 
trucks,  trains,  ships,  and  airplanes.  In  the 
communication  field,  the  vehicles  are  quite 
different:  bands  of  frequencies  must  be  car- 
ried on  special  vehicles  called  "carrier" 
waves  or  channels. 

As  the  diagram  shows,  a  telegraph  pack- 
age is  comparatively  small,  while  a  tele- 
vision program  is  a  big  package,  one  that 
tests  the  communication  carrier's  ability 
just  as  carrying  a  lOO-ton  casting  tests  the 
transportation  carrier's  ability. 

Now  the  vehicles — or  carrier  waves — 
must  have  some  place  to  run.  A  truck  runs 
on  roads,  a  train  on  tracks,  an  airplane 
through  the  air.  In  the  communication  in- 
dustry the  track  or  roads  are  the  pairs  of 
wires  or  the  coaxial  cable;  and  just  as  the 
airplane  uses  free  space,  so,  in  the  commu- 
nication industry,  does  radio. 

In  the  communication  field,  the  width  of 
the  track  can  be  thought  of  as  the  total 
width  of  the  frequency  band  which  is  put 
over  the  pair  of  wires  or  the  coaxial  unit 
or  free  space — and  this  width  can  be  varied 
as  required  to  accommodate  the  size  of  the 
load.  This  is  a  very  important  advantage 
over  the  fixed  gauge  of  a  railroad  or  the 
width  of  a  highway,  since  it  makes  it  pos- 
sible for  one  conducting  medium  to  handle 
a  great  variety  of  sizes  of  vehicles  and  pack- 
ages. Basically,  the  usual  carrier  process  is 
to  separate  the  whole  usable  frequency  band 
of  the  conducting  medium  into  individual 
blocks  of  frequencies,  the  size  of  the  blocks 
depending  on  the  width  of  the  band  required 
for  each  type  of  package. 

The  use  to  which  frequency  space  has 
been  put  up  to  this  time  in  the  Bell  System 
can  be  visualized  from  the  diagrams  on 
pages  198  and  199. 


1949-50 


Carrier  Is  King 


193 


among  all  the  circuits  it  carries — al- 
though there  is,  of  course,  some  extra 
expense  for  added  equipment. 

Carrier  can  provide  more  circuits 
quickly,  where  conductors  already  ex- 
ist; for  then  it  may  not  be  necessary 
to  run  new  wire  or  provide  another 
cable,  but  just  to  provide  the  right 
equipment  at  each  end  and  at  points 
along  the  line.  This  was  a  life-saver 
in  meeting  the  sudden  load  on  the  na- 
tion's toll  system  during  the  last  war, 
and  the  more  so  because  copper  and 
lead  were  among  the  crucially  scarce 
items. 

Carrier  is  fundamental  to  both  ra- 
dio broadcasting  and  television  broad- 
casting. 

Carrier  forms  the  backbone  of  the 
Bell  System's  intercity  networks.  It 
provides  about  60  percent  of  the  in- 
tercity telephone  circuit  mileage, 
about  75  percent  of  the  intercity  tele- 
graph circuit  mileage,  about  35  per- 
cent of  the  intercity  radio  program 
network  mileage,  and  all  of  the  inter- 
city television  program  mileage — both 
coaxial  and  radio. 

Indeed,  carrier  is,  in  a  sense,  king 
of  long  distance  communication  meth- 
ods. 

An  Important  Factor 

Obviously,  a  technique  which  handles 
so  much  of  the  Bell  System's  present 
business  is  an  important  factor  in  its 
operations. 

It  is  an  interesting  thought,  if  some- 
what incidental  to  our  principal  theme 
here,  that  Alexander  Graham  Bell's 
invention  of  the  telephone  came  about 
as  a  conseqence  of  his  efforts  to  send 
several  telegraph  messages  over  a 
single  wire.  He  never  did  bring  his 
"harmonic"  telegraph  system  to  com- 
mercial operation — which  is  probably 


This  illustrates  the  relative  sizes  0/  the 
"packages"  which  must  be  handled  by 
communication  carrier.  The  areas  of  the 
rectangles  are  proportional  to  the  frequency 
bands  required 


194 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


Lee  deForest.     From  his  audion  was  developed  the  whole 

family  of  vacuum  tubes^  including  the  modulators  and 

demodulators  essential  for  carrier  transmission 


just  as  well,  for  he  might  then  have 
had  less  interest  in  the  telephone. 
But  the  attempt  to  send  more  than  one 
telegraph  message  over  a  single  con- 
ductor was  accomplished  by  others, 
of  course,  and  this  event  may  be  con- 
sidered as  a  point  of  departure  for 
the  growth  of  "carrier."  Yet  only 
within  comparatively  recent  years  has 
carrier  really  come  into  its  own. 

The  job  of  a  communication  system 
— to  begin  at  the  beginning — is  to 
transport  (although  we  generally  say 
"transmit")  messages  electrically,  be 
they  the  start-stop  signals  of  the  tele- 
typewriter, the  articulation  of  the 
voice,  or  the  light  and  dark  values  of 
a  telephotograph  or  a  television  pro- 
gram. This  is  done  by  making 
changes  in  an  electric  current  or  wave 


to  correspond  with  the 
message,  transporting 
the  changed  current  to 
its  destination,  and 
there  translating  the 
current  back  into  the 
original  message. 

It  is  a  fact — by  way 
of  example — that  no 
one  has  ever  heard  the 
human  voice  over  the 
telephone,  but  only  a 
reproduction  of  it;  for 
the  transmitter  trans- 
forms the  words  into 
an  electric  current 
which  varies  as  the 
sound  waves  of  the 
voice  vary,  and  the  re- 
ceiver at  the  far  end 
re-transforms  the  cur- 
rent into  the  sound 
waves  which  become 
replicas  of  the  words 
originally  spoken. 
Each  message,  then, 
of  whichever  kind,  constitutes  a  set 
of  changes  in  an  electrical  current. 
And  the  function  of  a  modern  carrier 
system  is  to  transport — to  carry,  in 
fact — several  or  many  of  these  sets 
of  changes  over  a  single  path,  be  it  a 
pair  of  conductors  or  a  radio  beam. 

The  way  a  carrier  system  of  the 
type  commonly  used  does  this  is  to 
take  the  band  of  frequencies  repre- 
senting each  message  and  move  it  up 
in  the  frequency  scale  to  an  appropri- 
ate position.  Each  band  of  frequen- 
cies representing  a  message  may  be 
said  to  be  at  the  bottom  of  the  scale, 
and  each  must  be  moved  up  to  a  dif- 
ferent position  in  this  scale,  else  they 
will  become  mixed  up.  These  bands 
are  all  then  transported  over  the 
common  medium  to  the  destination. 


1949-50 


Carrier  Is  King 


195 


Development  exemplified:  deForesi' s  audion  {left)  as  submitted  to  the  laboratories  of  the 

Western  Electric  Company  {later  a  component  of  the  Bell  Telephone  Laboratories)  in 

igi2,  and  the  high-vacuum  tube  developed  there  in  igijfor 

the  first  successful  telephone  repeater 


At  this  point  the  individual  bands 
must  be  sorted  out  and  separately 
translated  down  again  in  the  fre- 
quency scale  to  their  original  posi- 
tions. 

Thus,  one  of  the  elements  of  a  car- 
rier system  is  a  method  of  moving  a 
band  of  frequencies  from  its  original 
position  to  the  proper  position  in  the 
carrier  frequency  region  for  trans- 
portation over  the  medium.  This  is 
accomplished  in  a  device  known  as  a 
"modulator."  The  medium — physi- 
cal conductors  or  radio  beam — must 
be  adequately  conditioned  for  trans- 
mitting all  of  these  separate  sets  of 
frequencies  which  have  been  created. 
At  the  receiving  end  these  sets  must 
be  separated  and  conducted  to  indi- 
vidual devices  called  "demodulators" 
which  translate  them  back  to  their 
original  frequencies. 

Solving  Practical  Problems 

While  these  principles  had  long 
been  known,  there  were  in  the  early 
years  unsolved  practical  problems  in- 


volved in  their  application.  Then,  in 
the  early  1900s,  two  powerful  new 
tools  came  into  being. 

One  was  the  "audion"  of  Dr.  Lee 
deForest,  which  was  the  forerunner  of 
the  now  large  family  of  vacuum  tubes. 
This  audion  of  Dr.  deForest,  after 
further  refinement  at  the  Bell  Tele- 
phone Laboratories,  could  be  used  as 
an  oscillator,  an  amplifier,  a  modula- 
tor, and  a  demodulator.  (Together 
with  Edison  and  a  few  others,  de- 
Forest  can  properly  be  charged  with 
the  fact  that  today  we  are  importuned 
on  every  hand  to  buy  something  or 
other  because  it  is  "electronic") 

The  second  tool  was  the  "electric 
wave  filter"  of  Dr.  G.  A.  Campbell. 
As  a  mathematical  physicist  and  in- 
ventor, George  Campbell  spent  38 
years  of  distinguished  service  in  the 
Bell  System,  retiring  in  1935  from  the 
staff  of  the  Bell  Telephone  Labora- 
tories. His  electric  wave  filter  was  an 
ingenious  arrangement  of  elements  by 
which  particular  bands  of  frequencies 
coud  be  separated  from  other  bands, 


196 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


and  thus  it  could  be  used  to  separate 
the  various  channels  making  up  a  car- 
rier system. 

With  the  vacuum  tube  and  the  elec- 
tric wave  filter,  the  essential  elements 
of  the  carrier  system  were  at  hand. 
However,  there  were  still  at  least  two 
serious  difficulties. 

The  vacuum  tube  and  the  wave  fil- 
ter made  the  equipment  in  the  carrier 
terminals  practical,  but  they  did  not 
necessarily  make  it  cheap.  Of  course, 
if  the  terminals  of  the  circuits  are  far 
enough  apart,  and  enough  additional 
circuits  can  be  obtained,  the  cost  of 
the  carrier  terminal  equipment  does 
not  affect  the  over-all  circuit  cost  very 
much,  because  of  the  much  greater 
saving  in  outside  plant  investment. 
But  if  the  terminals  are  close  to- 
gether, their  cost  may  offset  the  sav- 
ings in  conductor  cost.  Thus,  the 
earlier  carrier  systems  were  used  only 
over  fairly  long  distances,  and  even 
today  the  tendency  is  to  think  of  car- 
rier as  a  relatively  long-haul  system. 

The  second  difficulty  is  that  the 
losses — or  diminution  of  strength — 
of  the  currents  transmitted  over  con- 
ductors go  up  as  the  frequency  used 
is  increased.  Even  in  the  voice  range, 
it  has  been  found  necessary  to  use 
amplifiers — or  "repeaters" — at  inter- 
vals along  the  line  in  order  to  prevent 
the  strength  of  the  currents  from 
reaching  unusably  low  levels.  With 
the  higher  frequencies  involved  in 
carrier  systems,  these  repeaters  must 
be  closer  together  and  in  general  must 
be  fairly  complex.  Thus,  the  cost  of 
these  added  repeaters  tends  further  to 
offset  the  reduction  in  conductor  costs 
resulting  from  the  multiple  use  of  the 
physical  circuit. 

However,  the  obstacles  of  the  ter- 
minal and  repeater  costs,  and  others, 


such  as  cross-talk,  had  been  suffi- 
ciently well  overcome  by  19 18  to  per- 
mit commercial  operation  of  the  first 
carrier  system  on  an  open  wire  pair. 
Since  then,  developments  have  been 
rapid — until  now,  carrier  is  an  es- 
sential part  of  the  telephone  business 
as  well  as  the  key  of  the  radio  world. 

Open- Wire  Carrier  Systems 

It  was  natural  that  carrier  should 
originally  be  applied  to  open  wire. 
In  the  first  place,  there  wasn't  much 
in  the  way  of  an  intercity  cable  net- 
work in  19 1 8.  In  the  second  place, 
the  number  of  conductors  which  can 
be  put  on  an  open-wire  pole  line  is 
limited,  so  that  increasing  the  capacity 
of  the  pole  line  by  carrier  is  particu- 
larly important.  Last,  but  not  least, 
attenuation  and  other  problems  were 
easier  to  overcome  in  open  wire  than 
in  the  types  of  cable  then  in  use. 
There  are  now  four  principal  types 
of  carrier  systems  in  wide  use  on  open- 
wire  lines  in  the  Bell  System :  the  sys- 
tems known  alphabetically  as  C,  H,  J, 
and  M.  (The  earliest  systems  were 
the  Types  A  and  B,  which  are  no 
longer  in  use.) 

The  C  system  is  one  of  the  most 
widely  used  open  wire  carrier  tele- 
phone systems  in  the  world.  It  pro- 
vides three  channels  on  a  single  pair 
of  wires,  and  the  present-day  termi- 
nals are  cheap  enough  so  that  the  sys- 
tem can  be  used  for  relatively  short 
distances — in  many  cases  as  low  as  50 
miles  or  so.  On  the  other  hand,  its 
characteristics  are  such  that  operation 
is  practicable  for  circuits  several  thou- 
sand miles  long  and,  in  fact,  it  is  used 
for  such  distances. 

The  H  system  is  basically  designed 
for  the  .shorter  lengths.  It  provides 
one  channel  per  pair  of  wires  (in  ad- 


1949-50 


Carrier  Is  King 


197 


dition  to  the  voice  channel  on  the 
pair)  and  is  economical  in  many  cases 
down  to  distances  as  short  as  25  to  30 
miles. 

The  J  system  provides  12  circuits 
on  a  single  pair(  in  addition  to  the 
voice  and  a  C  or  H  system)  but  the 
equipment  is  more  expensive.  This 
is  because  it  is  designed  to  meet  such 
rigid  requirements  that  it  will  operate 
satisfactorily  over  transcontinental 
distances,  and  also  because  of  the 
need  for  special  devices  to  combat 
the  effect  of  sleet  on  wire  lines. 
Hence  it  is  seldom  used  for  distances 
less  than  100  to  150  miles.  By  using 
J  and  C  systems  on  the  same  pair,  a 
total  of  16  circuits  (including  the 
voice  frequency  circuit)  can  be  car- 
ried. 

The  M  system  was  designed  origi- 
nally to  be  superposed  on  power  lines 
in  order  to  provide  rural  telephone 
service.  However,  it  has  been 
adapted  for  application  to  open-wire 
pairs  for  short-haul  circuits,  and  when 
so  used  It  can  provide  up  to  five  addi- 
tional telephone  circuits  on  a  line.  It 
uses  higher  frequencies  than  the  other 
systems,  and  hence  cannot  be  used  so 
widely. 

In  addition,  several  of  the  earlier 
types  of  systems  are  still  In  use — no- 
tably the  single-channel  D  and  G  sys- 
tems. 

The  Type  K  Cable  Carrier  System 

The  problems  involved  in  operat- 
ing carrier  systems  in  cables  of  the 
usual  type  are  more  difficult  than 
those  concerned  with  open  wire,  be- 
cause cables  use  small  conductors 
which  are  very  close  together.  Thus, 
attenuation  and  the  tendency  to  cross- 
talk between  different  circuits  are 
both  greater  than  for  open  wire,  par- 


George  A.  Campbell.  His  electric  wave 
filter  provided  one  necessary  tool  for  carrier 
development.  This  picture  was  made 
before  his  retirement  from  the  Bell  Tele- 
phone Laboratories  in  igjS 

ticularly  at  the  higher  carrier  fre- 
quencies. 

Because  of  these  problems  and  the 
lesser  need  for  cable  carrier  in  the 
early  years,  it  was  not  until  1938  that 
the  first  telephone  cable  carrier  sys- 
tem— a  i2-channel  system  known  as 
Type  K — was  placed  In  operation  be- 
tween Detroit  and  South  Bend.  Since 
then,  however,  the  use  of  K  systems 
has  Increased  enormously. 

The  K  system  Is  designed  to  be  us- 
able up  to  about  4,000  miles — more 
than  the  longest  circuit  in  the  country. 
In  circuits  of  such  length,  the  prob- 
lems of  transmitting  a  wide  band  of 
frequencies  become  very  diflicult,  and 
the  K  system  is  designed,  therefore, 


198 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


Cycles 
10.000.000 


1,000.000 


10,000 


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to  use  the  narrowest  possible  band 
practicable  for  a  high  quality  tele- 
phone circuit.  This  of  course  re- 
quires very  effective  "frequency-slic- 
ing" instrumentalities.  It  puts  a  cir- 
cuit over  3,000  cycles  wide  in  a  "slice" 
or  channel  only  4,000  cycles  wide,  and 
stacks  12  such  channels  in  the  fre- 
quency space  between  12,000  and  60,- 
000  cycles.  The  slicing  equipment  is, 
of  course,  very  highly  refined,  and 
the  same  frequencies  are  used  for 
both  directions  of  transmission.  Peo- 
ple like  to  talk  to  each  other,  so  every 
telephone  circuit  must  be  like  a  double 
track  railroad,  and  in  the  K  system 
the  two  directions  of  transmission  are 
put  on  two  separate  pairs,  usually  in 
two  separate  cables. 

Thus,  for  example,  on  a  New  York- 
Chicago  connection  over  a  K  system, 
when  the  New  Yorker  is  talking,  he 
uses  a  path  on  a  pair  in  one  cable ;  and 
when  the  Chicagoan  responds,  he  uses 
a  path  on  another  pair  in  another 
cable. 

Even  using  this  method,  the  at- 
tenuations which  are  encountered 
reach  very  high  figures.  For  exam- 
ple, on  a  transcontinental  call  over  a 
K  system,  there  are  about  200  re- 
peaters, spaced  about  17  miles  apart. 
The  power  amplification  in  all  of  the 
repeaters — which  is,  of  course,  about 
equal  to  the  total  attenuation — is 
equal  to  digit  one  followed  by  a  thou- 

Left:  The  frequency  bands  used  in  the  Bell 
System's  wire  communication  system. 
This  chart  and  the  one  opposite  are  on  a 
logarithmic  scale:  equal  intervals  vertically 
mean  equal  ratios  of  frequency  and  not 
equal  width  of  bands.  To  obtain  the  band 
width  in  cyclesy  one  must  subtract  the 
bottom  frequency  of  any  given  band  from 
the  top  frequency 


1949-50 


Carrier  Is  King 


199 


sand  zeros :  a  figure  so  enormous  that 
it  is  practically  inconceivable. 

TAe  Coaxial  System 

Of  all  of  the  carrier  systems  devel- 
oped to  date,  the  coaxial  has  been 
most  in  the  public  eye.  Part  at  least 
of  the  glamour  attached  to  the  coaxial 
system  is  that  it  is  the  only  one  of 
the  wire  transmission  systems  which 
will  carry  television  programs  over 
long  distances  at  the  present  time. 

While  that  is  an  important  func- 
tion, actually  the  coaxial  cable  and  the 
associated  carrier  systems  are  work 
horses  in  the  telephone  business,  just 
as  are  the  other  carrier  systems,  and 
their  principal  purpose  is  to  carry 
large  numbers  of  telephone  circuits 
over  long  distances. 

The  coaxial  system  carries  the  prin- 
ciple of  lowering  conductor  costs  by 
multiple  use  of  the  physical  circuit 
further  than  any  of  the  other  carrier 
systems.  Two  copper  tubes,  each 
about  three-eighths  of  an  inch  in  di- 
ameter and  with  a  i/io-Inch  wire 
down  the  center  of  each,  are  made  to 
carry  up  to  600  telephone  circuits, 
and  four  such  pairs  of  tubes  can  be  put 
in  a  single  cable.  In  general,  it  is  not 
planned  to  use  more  than  three  pairs 
of  tubes  for  regular  service,  while 
keeping  one  pair  as  a  "standby,"  so 
that  the  practical  maximum  number 
of  circuits  in  the  cable  Is  1800  rather 


Right:  Radio  frequency  bands  used  by  the 
Bell  System.  The  logarithmic  scale  is 
essential  here  J  or  practical  reasons;  for  if 
an  ordinary  linear  scale  were  used,  and 
were  so  arranged  that  only  i/io  of  an  inch 
were  allotted  for  the  d-c  telegraph  scale  on 
the  opposite  page,  that  chart  would  be  more 
than  JO  feet  long,  and  this  one  many 
thousands  of  feet  long 


i      Kilocycles 

i    io,ooo,o(X) 


—  3,000,000 


1,000,000 


300,0(K)- 


X        100,000- 


30,000 


10,000- 


,  Television  Pick-up  and 
^  Studio -Transmitter  Loop 

Radio  Relay 
J>  Television  Studio- 
Transmitter  Loop 


3,000- 


3{X)- 


100- 


30- 


10- 


fOomestic  Public  Land  Mobile 
(Short  Haul  Toll 
<  Rural  Subscriber 
[Maritime  Mobile 


Domestic  Public 
'Land  Mobile 


international  Overseas 

Ship  Telephone- High  Seas    ^ 


Portable  Emergency 
Restoration  of 
i^  Toll  Circuits 

'—  Ship  Telephone- 
Coastal  Hartwr 


I Illnitial  Transatlantic 


200 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


than  2400.  Also,  if  any  of  the  tubes 
are  used  for  television,  the  capacity 
of  the  cable  for  telephone  circuits  is 
reduced  correspondingly. 

Below  appears  a  cross-section  of  a 
typical  cable  containing  eight  coaxials 
and  a  number  of  other  pairs,  some  of 
which  are  used  in  connection  with  the 
operation  of  the  carrier  system  and 
the  others  of  which  may  be  used  for 
other  telephone  circuits.  The  two  di- 
rections of  transmission  are  usually 
in  adjacent  tubes  in  such  a  cable,  these 
two  tubes  performing  the  same  func- 
tion of  separating  directions  as  do  the 
two  cables  used  with  the  K  system. 

The  terminal  equipment  used  with 
coaxial  cables  is  relatively  expensive, 
so  that  very  few  such  systems  are  used 
for  distances  under  about  100  miles 
or  on  routes  where  the  required  num- 
ber of  circuits  is  not  large.  Also,  be- 
cause of  the  high  frequencies  used,  re- 
peaters have  to  be  installed  about 
every  eight  miles.  Because  of  the 
wide  frequency  bands  used,  these  must 
be  designed  with  high  precision,  and 
their  cost,  together  with  the  cost  of 
the  cable  and  terminal 
equipment,  makes  the  co- 
axial system  economical 
only  for  large  circuit  con- 
centrations. 

It  should  perhaps  be 
pointed  out  that  the  limi- 
tation in  the  number  of 
telephone  circuits  or  the 
frequency  width  of  a  tele- 
vision circuit  which  can 
be  put  on  the  coaxial 
tubes  is  primarily  a  func- 
tion of  the  terminal  and 
repeater  equipment, 
rather  than  of  the  tubes 
themselves.  As  new  re- 
quirements may  develop, 


it  is  to  be  expected  that  new  methods  • 
can  be  devised  to  meet  them. 

Nl—A  New  Short  Haul 
Cable  Carrier 

The  short-haul  toll  field  differs 
in  two  important  respects  from  the 
long  haul  field.  While  the  first  and 
obvious  difference  is  the  fact  that  the 
circuits  are  shorter,  there  is  an  equally 
important  difference  in  that  these 
shorter  circuits  should  be  able  to 
reach  towns,  villages,  and  hamlets 
along  the  way — sort  of  an  "area 
coverage"  problem.  There  is  usually 
little  opportunity  to  concentrate  cir- 
cuits into  large  bundles,  as  can  often 
be  done  on  the  main  long-haul  routes. 
What  are  needed,  then,  in  a  short- 
haul  system  are,  first,  cheap  termi- 
nals, so  that  they  can  be  put  close  to- 


End-on  view  of  an  eight-tube  coaxial  cable.     Each  pair 

of  coaxial  tubes  can  transmit  as  many  as  600  telephone 

conversations y  and  a  feature  of  the  cable  is  its  ability  to 

handle  television 


[949-50 


Carrier  Is  King 


201 


COMPLETE 
TERMINAL 

FOR  12 
CHANNELS 


N1  CARRIER  TERMINAL 

12  CHANNELS,  100  LBS. 
200  MILES  (MAX.) 


FUSE  PANELS 

4  -  WIRE 

TERMINATING 

SETS 

CHANNEL 
BANK 

CIRCUITS 
1  -  12 

RINGERS 

JACKS 

LINE 
EQUIPMENT 
AND  GROUP 
TERMINALS 

4 

SHARE  OF 
CARRIER 
SUPPLY 

K  TERMINAL 

12  CHANNELS,  1200  LBS 
4000  MILES  (MAX.) 


This  sketch  contrasts  the  size  0/  the  new  12-channel  Ni 
terminal  now  under  development  {left)  with  the  12-channel 
K  terminal 


gether;  and  second,  arrangements  so 
that  many  small  circuit  groups  can 
be  handled  economically.  These  are 
both  tough  problems. 

However,  new  materials  and  tech- 
niques have  been  developed  within  the 
past  few  years;  and  these,  together 
with  two  other  essential  ingredients — 
imagination  and  "know  how" — are 
promising  carrier  systems  which  will 
divide  conductor  costs  among  fairly 
large  numbers  of  circuits  without  re- 


quirmg  expensive  ter- 
minals and  without  im- 
pairing the  flexibility 
needed  for  area  cover- 
age. The  Ni,  now 
under  development,  is 
such  a  system. 

Since  the  Ni  system 
is  designed  specifically 
for  the  shorter  circuits 
— up  to  about  200  miles 
in  cable — and  because 
certain  new  techniques 
are  used,  it  does  not  run 
into  as  much  trouble  in 
using  a  wide  band  of 
frequencies  on  the  line 
as  would  a  long-haul 
system.  It  uses  an 
8,000-cycle  slice  of  fre- 
quency for  about  a 
3,000-cycle  circuit,  and 
uses  a  total  frequency 
band  96,000  cycles  wide 
for  one  direction  of 
transmission  for  12  cir- 
cuits and  another  96,- 
000  for  the  other  direc- 
tion. By  this  process, 
the  equipment  at  the 
terminals  can  be  made 
much  simpler  and 
cheaper  than  for  K  or 
coaxial.  It  uses  a  dif- 
ferent cable  pair  for  each  direction  of 
transmission,  but  by  using  different 
frequencies  for  the  two  different  di- 
rections, and  other  special  measures, 
both  pairs  can  be  put  in  the  same 
cable. 

The  Ni  terminals  and  repeaters 
are  marvels  of  compactness.  For  ex- 
ample, the  sketch  above  shows  a  com- 
parison between  the  size  of  a  12-chan- 
nel K  terminal  and  a  12-channel  Ni 
terminal.    All  of  the  equipment  in  the 


202 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


Ni  system  is  so  arranged  that  In  case 
of  trouble  a  defective  unit  can  be 
easily  and  quickly  replaced  by  a  good 
one,  and  the  defective  one  may  be  re- 
paired without  emergency  pressure. 

Radio 

In  the  radio  art,  carrier  waves  are 
used  to  get  the  program  to  your  set, 
be  it  A.M.  or  F.M.;  and  the  same 
is  true  of  television.  Without  carrier 
waves  and  the  ability  to  filter  out  the 
signals  of  one  particular  program 
from  all  others,  the  wide  variety  of 
entertainment  we  today  enjoy  from 
commercial  broadcasts  would  not  be 
possible. 

Every  time  you  turn  on  your  radio 
and  twist  a  knob  or  push  a  button 
in  search  of  a  particular  program,  you 
are  selecting  the  carrier  wave  sent  out 
by  that  particular  station  to  bring  you 
its  package  of  entertainment.  It  is 
good  that  carrier  waves  can  travel 
through  space,  for  the  problem  of  get- 
ting the  large  number  of  radio  and 
television  programs  to  your  home  by 
wire  circuits  would  be  a  bit  difficult. 

For  the  telephone  business,  radio 
opens  up  a  whole  new  field  of  investi- 
gation and  trial  which  may  substan- 
tially affect  the  future  technique  of 
providing  additional  telephone  cir- 
cuits. 

Radio  obviously  uses  a  different  ap- 
proach to  the  problem  of  reducing 
conductor  costs  from  that  of  the  wire 
carrier  system.  Instead  of  trying  to 
get  a  wider  band  of  frequencies  over  a 
pair  of  conductors,  it  cuts  the  Gordian 
knot  by  eliminating  the  conductors 
entirely  and,  like  the  airplane,  takes 
off  into  free  space.  Like  the  airplane, 
it  must  pay  some  penalties  for  its  bold- 
ness :  the  mechanisms  are  complex  and 


it  must  face  new  and  difficult  prob 
lems  in  transmission. 

The  telephone  industry  has  already 
made  history  by  using  radio  first  in 
those  cases  where  its  particular  fea- 
tures are  most  attractive.  Reference 
to  the  diagram  on  page  199  will  indi- 
cate the  several  bands  of  frequencies 
which  are  already  devoted  to  radio 
as  a  work  horse  in  the  communication 
business.  These  include,  for  exam- 
ple, transmission  over  large  bodies 
of  water,  overseas,  from  mainland 
to  islands,  etc. ;  transmission  over 
very  rugged  terrain;  and  transmission 
to  moving  automobiles,  vessels,  and 
airplanes,  where  obviously  wire  meth- 
ods would  be  impossible. 

More   recently,   micro-wave   radio 
relay  systems  are  giving  promise  o 
supplementing  wire  systems  for  ordi 
nary  communication  purposes  in  situ 
atlons  where  wire  systems  have   al 
ways  been  thought  to  be  preeminent 
Extensive  micro-wave  radio  systems 
are     now     under     construction     or 
planned  and  It  appears  that  they  will 
take  an  Important  place  in  the  over- 
all communication  network  and  play 
their  part  in  transporting  all  of  the 
types  of  packages  that  the  communica- 
tion industry  Is  called  upon  to  carry. 

The  full  extent  to  which  radio  will 
be  used  In  the  communication  field  Is 
still  to  be  determined.  But  all 
branches  of  the  Industry  are  alert  to 
Its  possibilities,  and  we  may  be  sure 
that  as  the  Bell  System  goes  forward, 
there  will  be  an  Increasing  use  of  this 
new  technique. 

Conclusion 

In  principle,  carrier  systems  of  the 
usual  type  are  simple.  All  one  does 
is  mix  each  message  with  a  carrier 
frequency,  pile  up  the  resulting  mix- 


949-50 


Carrier  Is  King 


203 


INTERCITY  CIRCUIT  MILES  IN  BELL  SYSTEM 

(Millions  of  Miles) 

Carrier 


Voice 

c 

Fre- 
quency 

Open  Wire 

K 

1926 

3 

.1 

— 

1938 

7.3 

I 

— 

I94I 

7-5 

1.2 

.6 

1945 

7.8 

2.2 

4.2 

1948 

8.3 

2.8 

6.7 

2.7 


Total 

Percent 

Total 

Carrier 

.1 
I 

3.1 
8.3 

3 
12 

1.8 

6.4 
12.2 

9.3 
14.2 
20.5 

19 

45 

61 

This  table  shows  the  growth  of  carrier  circuits  in  the  Bell  System  in  less  than  a  quarter 

of  a  century 


tures  within  the  frequency  space  to  be 
used,  transport  them  to  the  destina- 
tion, separate  them,  and  unmix  them. 

It  isn't  actually  quite  so  easy  as 
that,  of  course.  The  practical  appli- 
cation of  carrier  calls  for  special  ma- 
terials, delicate  devices,  skilled  tech- 
niques. Their  use  is  inherent  in  the 
kinds  of  carrier  which  have  been  de- 
scribed here,  and  they  are  part  of  the 
working  tools  of  the  business.  Car- 
rier, as  has  been  made  evident,  is 
throughout  the  Bell  System  a  thor- 
oughly practical,  every-day  matter. 

Its  development  is  by  no  means  at 
an  end,  however.  Theoretically, 
there  is  no  limit  to  the  width  of  the 
"track"  (i.e.,  the  frequency  band) 
which  can  be  put  on  a  pair  of  wires, 
on  a  coaxial  unit,  or  in  free  space. 
But  one  of  the  laws  of  nature  seems  to 
be  that  the  wider  the  frequency  band 
to  be  used,  the  greater  are  the  diffi- 


culties involved  in  using  it.  There  is, 
in  consequence,  a  constant  search  for 
ways  to  get  more  channels  in  a  given 
frequency  band,  or  to  lessen  the  costs 
of  dividing  the  band  into  the  indi- 
vidual slices  necessary  for  the  chan- 
nels, and  likewise  to  find  better  and 
cheaper  ways  of  widening  the  usable 
frequency  band. 

Carrier  has  developed  from  the 
early  Type  A  to  today's  advanced 
systems  in  about  30  years :  less  than 
one  generation.  Many  factors  have 
contributed,  over  the  years,  to  that 
development,  that  progress.  Impor- 
tant among  them  have  been  such  in- 
tangibles as  imagination  and  team- 
work and  know-how  and  an  ability  to 
recognize  the  value  of  an  idea  from 
whatever  source.  It  is  these  same 
qualities  which  bespeak  the  continued 
development  of  the  carrier  art,  with 
better  telephone  service  in  their  train. 


Mr.  Giflford  Retires 

After  more  than  forty-five  years  of  service  in  the 
Bell  System,  during  twenty-three  years  of  which  he 
served  as  President  of  this  Company,  Walter  S.  Gif- 
ford,  Chairman  of  the  Board,  retired  on  December  31, 
1949,  in  accordance  with  the  Company's  retirement 
plan. 

At  their  meeting  on  December  21,  the  Directors 
paid  tribute  to  the  courage,  wisdom,  and  foresight  with 
which  Mr.  Gifford  led  the  Bell  System  through  nearly 
a  quarter-century  of  outstanding  achievement.  They 
noted  that  during  his  presidency,  fundamental  policies 
were  formulated  and  put  into  practice  that  have  made 
the  Bell  System  an  institution  the  American  people  can 
be  proud  of.  And  they  expressed  their  appreciation 
of  his  long  and  distinguished  contribution  to  the  wel- 
fare of  the  Company  and  the  public,  their  personal 
affection  for  him,  and  their  best  wishes  for  the  future. 

The  Directors  designated  Mr.  Gifford  as  their  Hon- 
orary Chairman,  and  as  such  he  will  continue  to  be 
available  for  advice. 


Walter  Sherman  Gifford  entered  the  Bell  System  in  1904  as 
a  clerk  with  the  Western  Electric  Company  in  Chicago.  In 
1906  he  became  assistant  secretary  and  assistant  treasurer  of 
Western  Electric  in  New  York.  In  1908  he  joined  the  A.  T. 
&  T.  Co.,  and  was  chief  statistician  from  1911  to  191 6.  He 
was  appointed  comptroller  in  19 18.  The  following  year  he 
was  elected  vice  president,  and  executive  vice  president  in  1923. 
He  was  elected  President  of  the  Company  in  1925,  and  Chair- 
man of  the  Board  of  Directors  in  February  of  1948. 


204 


WALTER  S.  GIFFORD 


205 


The  A,  T.  &f  T.  Company  s  Annual  '^Telephone  Statistics 

Of  the   JVorW^  Summarises  Much   Information  about  the 

Telephones  in  Service  on  All  Continents 


This  Country  Leads  the 
World  in  Telephones 

Elizabeth  Wrenshall 


Of  the  world's  65,800,000  tele- 
phones, there  is,  on  the  average,  one 
for  every  four  people  in  the  United 
States,  one  for  every  thirty-five  peo- 
ple in  the  world  as  a  whole :  twenty- 
one  times  as  many  telephones  per  100 
of  the  population  in  this  country  as 
in  the  world  outside  the  United 
States. 

These  facts,  and  many  others  hav- 
ing to  do  with  the  distribution  of  the 
world's  telephones  as  of  January  i, 
1949,  are  set  forth  in  the  current  is- 
sue of  "Telephone  Statistics  of  the 
World,"  published  recently  by  the 
Chief  Statistician's  Division  of  the 
American  Telephone  and  Telegraph 
Company.  Similar  compilations  have 
been  published  annually,  except  for 
the  war  years,  since  19 12.  The  ac- 
curate picture  of  world  telephone 
facilities  presented  in  the  current  sur- 
vey is  made  possible  through  the  co- 
operation of  government  administra- 
tions and  private   companies   which 


operate  the  many  parts  of  the  global 
telephone  network. 

On  the  average,  a  telephone  user 
in  the  United  States,  whether  in  a 
large  community  or  a  small  one,  is 
able  to  reach  a  greater  proportion  of 
his  fellow-countrymen  by  telephone 
than  is  a  citizen  of  any  other  country. 
He  has  available  to  him  the  most 
rapid  system  of  intercommunication 
in  the  world  today.  It  is  possible  for 
him  to  be  connected  with  more  than 
nine-tenths  of  the  world's  telephones. 
He  is  able,  on  the  whole,  to  make  toll 
calls  more  rapidly,  and  at  relatively 
lower  rates,  than  is  the  telephone 
user  of  any  other  country.  In  con- 
tinental Europe,  where  toll  service  is 
notably  slow,  provisions  have  been 
made  for  a  faster  service  on  a  so- 
called  "urgent"  and  a  "lightning" 
basis  at  from  two  to  twenty  times  the 
rates  of  ordinary  toll  calls.  The  Bell 
System's   normal   toll   business   is   a 

{Continued  on  page  aio) 


The  World's  Telephones 

207 

TELEPHONES  IN  CONTINENTAL  AREAS 
January  1,  1949  « 

Continental 
Area 

Total  Telephones 

Privately  Owned 

Automatic 
(Dial) 

Connecting  with 
Bell  System 

Number 

Per 
Cent 

of 
Total 
World 

Per 
100 
Popu- 
lation 

Number 

Per 
Cent 

of 
Total 
Tels. 

Number 

Per 
Cent 

of 
Total 
Tels. 

Number 

Per 
Cent 

of 
Total 
Tels. 

North  America 

(less  United 
States) 

United  States  . 
South  America.  . . 
Europe 

2,959,000 
38,205,000 

1,574,000 
18,940,000 

1,923,000 
735,000 

1,464,000 
65,800,000 

4.5 

58.1 

2.4 

28.8 

2.9 

1.1 

2.2 

100.0 

4.6 
26.1 
1.5 
3.2 
0.2 
0.4 
1.4 
2.8 

2,613,000 

38,205,000 

810,000 

2,670,000 

150,000 

9,000 

106,000 

44,563,000 

88.3 
100.0 

51.5 

14.1 
7.8 
1.2 
7.2 

67.7 

1,701,000 

23,830,000 

1,133,000 

11,960,000 

820,000 

475,000 

885,000 

40,804,000 

57.5 

62.4 
72.0 
63.1 
42.6 
64.6 
60.5 
62.0 

2,950,000    99.7 
38,193,000;  100.0 » 

1,457,000    92.6 

17,580,000    92.8 

700,000    36.4 

595,000   81.0 

1,425,000   97.3 

62,900,000   95.6 

.A.SIA 

Afric.\ 

Oceania 

World 

•  Partly  estimated;  data  reported  as  of  other  dates  have  been  adjusted  to  January  1,  1949. 

*  Less  than  0.05  per  cent  do  not  connect. 

Part  of  the  overseas  operating  room  in  New  Yorky  showing  the  murals  of  foreign  scenes 
above  the  switchboard.  Here  are  handled  calls  with  Europe,.  South  America^  the  Near 
Easty  and  with  ships  at  sea.  Similar  switchboards  in  Florida  and  California  handle 
calls  with  other  lands^  and  with  ships  as  well^  and  thus  the  United  States  not  only  has 
almost  three-fifths  of  the  world's  telephones  but  is  able  through  its  overseas  services  to 
connect  with  all  but  about  five  percent  of  the  rest 


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209 


2IO 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


"lightning"  service.  Ninety-five  per- 
cent of  all  long  distance  connections 
are  now  completed  while  the  person 
calling  holds  the  line.  This  is  a  new 
record  in  the  telephone  industry. 

Speed  of  long  distance  connections 
in  the  United  States  is  being  further 
increased  by  expansion  of  intercity  op- 
erator toll  dialing.  Recently  a  long 
distance  call  from  Oakland,  Cal., 
made  with  this  type  of  service,  was 
answered  in  New  York  City — a  dis- 
tance of  some  3,000  miles — in  twelve 
seconds. 

Bell  Telephone  service  in  the 
United  States  means  continuous  day 
and  night  service  on  weekdays,  Sun- 
days, and  holidays,  for  small  towns 


British  Field  Marshal  Viscount  Mont- 
gomery of  Alamein  visited  the  Bell  Tele- 
phone Laboratories  this  winter^  and  is  here 
seen  examining  synthetic  crystals  such  as 
are  grown  for  use  in  telephone  plant.  It 
is  the  Laboratories'  contributions  to  the 
science  and  technology  of  communication 
which  help  to  keep  Bell  System  service 
constantly  improving  and  make  it  the  envy 
of  visitors  from  other  countries 


as  well  as  for  large  cities.  In  many 
parts  of  the  world  this  is  not  the  case. 
Service  in  rural  areas  has  been 
growing  fast.  In  the  last  few  years 
it  has  been  extended  by  swift,  eco- 
nomical construction  methods  and  im- 
portant new  techniques.  As  a  result 
of  this  program,  1,300,000  rural  tele- 
phones have  been  added  since  the 
close  of  World  War  II.  The  United 
States  today  has  a  higher  percentage 
of  farms  with  telephones  than  any 
other  nation,  and  rural  service  here 
is  better  than  anywhere  else  in  the 
world. 

Telephones  Considered  by  Countries 

In  considering  the  extent  of  tele- 
phone facilities  by  countries,  the  num- 
ber of  telephones  in  relation  to  the 
population  served  is  a  significant 
measure  of  comparative  development. 

Only  six  countries  in  the  world  had 
more  than  fifteen  telephones  per  100 
population.  They  were  the  United 
States,  with  26.1  telephones  per  100 
of  its  population;  Sweden,  with  22.1 ; 
Canada,  with  18.8;  New  Zealand  and 
Switzerland,  with  17.2  each;  and 
Denmark,  with  15.3. 

Argentina  ranked  first  among  South 
American  countries  in  respect  of  tele- 
phone density — so  called — with  4.1 
telephones  per  100  population.  Swe- 
den led  in  Europe  with  22.1 ;  Israel, 
in  Asia,  with  2.4.  New  Zealand, 
first  in  Oceania,  had  17.2;  and  the 
Union  of  South  Africa  led  Africa's 
countries  with  3.2.  The  rest  of  the 
world  would  have  to  add  some  540 
million  telephones  in  order  to  attain 
our  relative  telephone  development. 
In  this  country  there  is  an  average  of 
about  26  telephones  per  100  persons, 
while  in  the  world  outside  the  United 


1949-50 


The  World's  Telephones 


211 


States  there  is  little  more  than  one 
telephone  to  each  100  persons.  If  in 
the  United  States  the  number  of  tele- 
phones were  reduced  to  the  develop- 
ment-ratio obtaining  in  the  world  out- 
side this  country,  there  would  be  only 
1,857,000  telephones  serving  our  en- 
tire population.  The  net  gain  in  tele- 
phones in  the  United  States  for  the 
year  1949  alone  exceeded  this  figure. 
Those  countries  having  the  great- 
est population  have  relatively  low 
telephone  development.  For  exam- 
ple, China,  with  a  larger  population 
than  any  other  country  on  earth,  has 
an  average  of  one  telephone  for  each 
1,840  persons.  India,  second  in  pop- 
ulation, has  one  for  each  2,650;  the 
U.  S.  S.  R.,  third  in  this  respect,  one 
for  each  143  persons.  These  three 
countries,  embracing,  in  the  aggre- 
gate, almost  one-half  of  the  world's 
population,  are  served  by  only  one 
thirty-fifth  of  the  world's  telephones. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  United  States, 
with  but  6  percent  of  the  world's 
population,  has  nearly  60  percent  of 
the  total  number  of  telephones. 

Ownership 

The  world's  largest  telephone  sys- 
tem, that  of  the  United  States,  is  op- 
erated under  private  ownership  and 
has  been  so  operated  since  its  incep- 
tion. In  October  1949  the  telephone 
industry  in  this  country  passed  the 
40  million  mark  in  number  of  tele- 
phones in  service.  Of  these,  more 
than  four-fifths  were  operated  by  the 
Bell  System. 

The  world's  second  largest  tele- 
phone system  in  point  of  number  of 
telephones  in  service,  that  of  the 
United  Kingdom,  is,  at  the  same  time, 
the  largest  system  under  government 
ownership.     With   the   exception   of 


I  isiiOi^S  JrO/ii    InUiu    Unu    PuKtilari   regard 

the  New  York  scene  from  atop  the  Long 
Lines  Department  headquarters  building. 
The  contrast  is  striking^  for  those  two  coun- 
tries together  have  fewer  than  i 50^00  tele- 
phones— approximately  one  for  each  three 
thousand  inhabitants — while  the  city  which 
surrounds  these  young  people  has  nearly 
J5  telephones  for  each  100  inhabitants 

three  municipally  owned  systems, 
which  are  located  in  Hull  and  in  the 
channel  islands  of  Guernsey  and  Jer- 
sey, the  British  system  is  operated  as 
a  branch  of  the  General  Post  Office. 

The  five  countries  having  the 
greatest  number  of  telephones  oper- 
ated under  private  ownership  rank 
as  follows  in  respect  to  total  number 
of  telephones:  United  States,  Canada, 
Italy,  Denmark,  and  Spain. 

The  five  countries  reporting  the 
greatest  number  of  their  telephones 

{Continued  on  page  216) 


212 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


TELEPHONE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  LARGE  CITIES 
January  1,  1949 

Data  relate  in  general  to  exchange  or  zone  areas  of  the  cities  served. 
Usually  such  areas  are  larger  than  the  corporate  areas. 


Country  and  City 
(or  Exchange  .Area) 


Algeria: 

Algiers 

Constantine .  . 
Oran 

Argentina: 
Buenos  Aires . 

Cordoba 

Rosario 

Australia  : 

Adelaide 

Brisbane 

Hobart 

Melbourne.  .  . 
Newcastle .  .  .  . 

Perth  

Sydney 

Belgium: 

Antwerp 

Brussels 

Charleroi .... 

Ghent 

Li6ge  

Verviers 

Brazil: 

Rio  de  Janeiro 

Santos 

Sao  Paulo.  .  .  . 

Canada: 

Hamilton .... 

London 

Montreal.  .  .  . 

Ottawa 

Quebec 

Toronto 

Vancouver.  .  . 

Victoria 

Windsor 

Winnipeg.  .  .  . 

Chile: 

Santiago 

Valparaiso.  .  . 

China: 

Shanghai 

Cuba: 

Havana 


Esti- 
mated 
Popu- 
lation 

(In 
Thou- 
sands) 


314 
119 
253 


4,205 
352 
465 


394 

412 

79 

1,260 
130 
282 

1,525 


575 
932 
274 
216 
365 
77 


2,217 

219 

1,776 


197 
105 
1,285 
278 
206 
912 
414 
104 
149 
362 


1,137 
183 


4,500 
910 


Number 

of 

Telephones 


27.913 

3,561 

12,124 


424,003 

10.1 

17,072 

4.9 

35,668 

7.7 

54,328 

13.8 

62,386 

15.1 

11,477 

14.5 

215,855 

17.1 

11,427 

8.8 

34,630 

12.3 

250,285 

16.4 

62,151 

10.8 

200,236 

21.5 

24,500 

8.9 

20,864 

9.7 

39,037 

10.7 

13,659 

17.7 

187,501 

12,175 

101,134 


58,392 

29.6 

33,253 

31.7 

331,958 

25.8 

74,031 

26.6 

49,332 

23.9 

348,361 

38.2 

120,943 

29.2 

28,001 

26.9 

36,282 

24.4 

82,855 

22.9 

69,294 

6.1 

9,192 

5.0 

93,500 

2.1 

70.858 

7.8 

Tele- 
phones 
per  100 
Popu- 
lation 


8.9 
3.0 
4.8 


8.5 
5.6 

5.7 


Country  and  City 
(or  Exchange  Area) 


Denmark: 

Aalborg 

Aarhus 

Copenhagen 

Odense 

Finland: 

Helsinki 

Tampere 

Turku 

France : 

Bordeaux 

Lille 

Lyon 

Marseille 

Nantes 

Nice :  .  .  .  . 

Paris 

Rouen 

Strasbourg 

Toulouse 

Germany: 

Berlin  " 

Bremen 

Cologne 

Dusseldorf 

Frankfort-on-Main 

Hanover 

Hamburg- Altona. . 

Munich 

Nuremburg 

Stuttgart 

Hawaii: 

Honolulu 

Iceland: 

Reykjavik 

India: 

Bombay 

Calcutta 

Ireland: 

Cork 

Dublin 

Israel: 
Tel  Aviv 

Italy: 

Bologna 

Catania 


Esti- 
mated 
Popu- 
lation 

(In 
Thou- 
sands) 


64 
113 
971 

97 


385 

98 

103 


255 
211 
546 
638 
202 
213 
2,750 
109 
177 
266 


2,056 
348 
546 
466 
586 
455 

1,545 
860 
497 
558 


275 


55 


3,700 
5,900 


75 
520 


220 


283 
286 


Number 

of 

Telephones 


14,325 

24,371 

299,112 

18,067 


87,986 

8,820 

11,439 


32,557 
22,652 
62,955 
55,781 
16,013 
21,590 
569,847 
14,306 
15,585 
18,120 


69,006 
30,921 
32,505 
43,676 
49,250 
30,202 
157,459 
53,913 
27,073 
35,460 


66,631 


10,105 


33,092 
30,990 


3,676 
38,325 


7,780 


21,862 
7,968 


•  Excluding  Russian  Sector  of  Berlin. 
»  March  31,  J949,        « June  30.  J948. 


1949-50 


The  World's  Telephones 


213 


TELEPHONE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  LARGE  CITIES— Continued 


Country  and  City 
(or  Exchange  Area) 


Italy  (continued): 

Florence 

Genoa 

Milan 

Naples 

Palermo 

Rome 

Turin 

Venice 

Jamaica: 

Kingston 

Japan: * 

Fukuoka 

Hiroshima 

Kanazawa 

Kobe 

Kyoto 

Nagoya 

Osaka 

Sapporo 

Tokio 

Yokohama 

Luxemburg: 

Luxemburg 

Mexico: 

Guadalajara 

Mexico,  D.  F 

Monterrey 

Puebla 

Netherlands: 

Amsterdam 

Arnhem 

Eindhoven 

Groningen 

Haarlem 

The  Hague 

Leiden 

Nijmegen 

Rotterdam 

Utrecht 

Netherlands  Indies 
Bandoeng 

New  Zealand:  ^ 

Auckland 

Christchurch 

Dunedin 

Wellington 

Norway:  " 

Bergen 

Oslo 

Stavanger 

Trondheim 


Esti- 
mated 
Popu- 
lation 

(In 
Thou- 
sands) 


320 
374 

1,268 
886 
459 

1,534 
704 
195 


260 


348 
246 
237 
644 

1,040 
995 

1,689 
269 

5,417 
859 


62 


283 

1,890 

253 

160 


827 
101 
138 
147 
205 
610 
105 
115 
737 
208 


405 


291 
168 

87 
187 


110 

426 

50 

57 


Number 

of 

Telephones 


34,595 
49,281 

191,050 
27,515 
12,090 

205,556 
75,318 
15,920 


8,739 


12,061 
4,505 
11,130 
18,622 
56,334 
28,896 
74,379 
12,697 
193,839 
21,998 


8,863 


11,398 

133,114 

12,950 

9,623 


88,416 

9,559 

8,581 

14,611 

18,850 

78,284 

9,422 

7,643 

62,910 

19,839 


2,945 


45,531 
25,342 
16,494 
44,905 


25,154 

104,867 

13,011 

14,307 


Tele- 
phones 
per  100 
Popu- 
lation 


10.8 

13.2 

15.1 

3.1 

2.6 

13.4 

10.7 

8.2 


3.4 


3.5 
1.8 
4.7 
2.9 
5.4 
2.9 
4.4 
4.7 
3.6 
2.6 


14.3 


4.0 
7.0 
5.1 
6.0 


10.7 
9.5 
6.2 
9.9 
9.2 

12.8 
9.0 
6.6 
8.5 
9.5 


0.7 


15.6 
15.1 
19.0 
24.0 


22.9 
24.6 
26.0 
25.1 


Country  and  City 
(or  Exchange  Area) 


Pakistan: 

Karachi 

Paraguay: 

Asunci6n 

Peru: 

Callao 

Lima 

Philippine  Republic: 
Manila 

Poland: 

Warsaw 

Puerto  Rico: 

San  Juan 

Spain: 

Barcelona 

Bilbao 

Madrid 

San  Sebastian 

Seville 

Valencia 

Zaragoza 

Sweden: 

Boras 

Goteborg 

Halsingborg 

Linkoping 

Malmo 

Norrokoping 

Orebro 

Stockholm 

Uppsala 

Vasteras 

Switzerland: 

Basel 

Bern 

Geneva 

Lausanne 

Lucerne 

St.  Gallen.  . ., '. 

Winterthur. .!. .  .'..  .  .'. 
Zurich 

Trinidad  and  Tobago: 
Port  of  Spain 

Tunisia: 

Tunis 

Union  of  South  Africa 

Bloemfontein 

Capetown 

Durban 


E^sti- 
mated 
Popu- 
lation 

(In 
Thou- 
sands) 


1,000 
137 


100 
680 


983 


607 


231 


1,250 
230 

1,300 
110 
400 
535 
270 


56 

344 
71 
52 

186 
83 
65 

726 
60 
56 


181 

142 

149 

105 

60 

67 

65 

383 


100 


400 


89 
511 
406 


Number 

of 

Telephones 


4,968 

4,298 

2,321 
30,831 

8,771 

14,000 

15,673 


85,913 
18,302 
122,067 
11,165 
15,787 
17,901 
11,205 


14,335 
109,420 
16,963 
13,243 
51,868 
20,262 
19,020 
330,383 
17,447 
13,829 


65,575 
57,427 
50,462 
33,003 
20,510 
17,248 
12,305 
124,525 


7,503 


13,005 


6,185 
54,430 
38,008 


Tele- 
phones 
per  100 
Popu- 
lation 


0.5 

3.1 


2.3 
4.5 


0.9 


2.3 


6.8 


6.9 
8.0 
9.4 
10.2 
3.9 
3.3 
4.2 


25.6 
31.8 
23.9 
25.5 
27.9 
24.4 
29.3 
45.5 
29.1 
24.7 


36.2 
40.4 
33.9 
31.4 
34.2 
25.7 
18.9 
32.5 


7.5 


Z.Z 


6.9 

10.7 

9.4 


214 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


TELEPHONE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  LARGE  CITIES— Continued 


Country  and  City 
(or  Exchange  Area) 


Union  of  South  Africa 
(continued): 

East  London 

Germiston 

Johannesburg 

Kimberley 

Pietermaritzburg. . . 

Port  Elizabeth 

Pretoria 


United  Kingdom:  '' 

Belfast 

Birmingham 

Bristol 

Cardiff 

Edinburgh 

Glasgow 

Kingston  upon  Hull .  . 

Leeds 

Leicester 

Liverpool 

London,  Greater 

City  and  County  of 

Manchester 

Nottingham 

Newcastle  on  Tyne . .  . 
Sheffield 


Uruguay: 
Montevideo . 


Venezuela: 
Caracas,  D.  F. 


United  States: 

Akron,  O 

Alameda,  Cal 

Albany,  N.  Y 

Albuquerque,  N.  M.. 

Alhambra,  Cal 

Allen  town.  Pa 

Altoona,  Pa 

Amarillo,  Tex 

Anderson,  Ind 

Asheville,  N.  C 

Atlanta,  Ga 

Atlantic  City,  N.  J. .  , 

Augusta,  Ga 

Aurora,  111 

Austin,  Tex 

Baltimore,  Md 

Baton  Rouge,  La 

Bay  City,  Mich 

Bayonne,  N.  J 

Beaumont,  Tex 

Berkeley,  Cal 

Berwyn,  111 

Bethlehem,  Pa 

Binghamton,  N.  Y. . . 
Birmingham,  Ala 


Esti- 
mated 
Popu- 
lation 

(In 
Thou- 
sands) 


85 
147 
841 
60 
67 
160 
277 


453 

1,292 

455 

248 

490 

1,217 

346 

581 

282 

1,429 

8,350 

3,374 

1,265 

427 

521 

512 


750 


450 


Number 

of 

Telephones 


5,861 

4,638 

96,010 

2,571 

6,790 

13,098 

27,165 


34,200 

115,930 

47,672 

22,098 

70,918 

105,331 

35,108 

58,072 

30,180 

114,453 

1,470,507 

819,670 

124,500 

41,260 

42,860 

41,801 


55,879 


39,506 


Tele- 
phones 
per  100 
Popu- 
lation 


6.9 

3.2 
11.4 

4.3 
10.1 

8.2 

9.8 


7.5 

9.0 

10.5 

8.9 

14.5 

8.7 

10.1 

10.0 

10.7 

8.0 

17.6 

24.3 

9.8 

9.7 

8.2 

8.2 


7.5 


397   131,246  33.0 
(Included  in  Oakland) 


174 
95 

150 

125 
99 
84 
65 
86 

590 
87 

139 
62 

151 
1,046 

164 
72 
85 

136 


71,258 

I  27,110 

39,607 

39,574 

/  27,363 

27,013 

21,188 

22,889 

181,735 

38,973 

27,850 

22,288 

46,170 

286,483 

37,980 

21,745 

18,935 

29,918 


41.0 
28.5 
26.4 
31.5 
27.6 
32.2 
32.4 
26.5 
30.8 
44.9 
20.0 
35.8 
30.7 
27.4 
23.1 
30.0 
22.3 
22.0 


(Included  in  Oakland) 


60 

78 

102 

460 


15,734 

25,142 

33,293 

111,347 


26.2 
32.1 
32.8 
24.2 


Country  and  City 
(or  Exchange  Area) 


United  States 
(continued): 

Boston,  Mass 

Bridgeport,  Conn 

Brockton,  Mass 

Brookline,  Mass 

Buffalo,  N.  Y 

Burbank,  Cal 

Cambridge,  Mass 

Camden,  N.  J 

Canton,  O 

Cedar  Rapids,  la 

Charleston,  S.  C 

Charleston,  W.  Va.. . . 

Charlotte,  N.  C 

Chattanooga,  Tenn. .  . 

Chester,  Pa 

Chicago,  111 

Cicero,  111 

Cincinnati,  O 

Cleveland,  O 

Cleveland  Heights,  O. 

Clifton,  N.J 

Columbia,  S.  C 

Columbus,  Ga 

Columbus,  O 

Corpus  Christ! ,  Tex. .  . 

Covington,  Ky 

Cranston,  R.  I.. 

Dallas,  Tex 

Davenport,  la 

Dayton,  O 

Dearborn,  Mich 

Decatur,  111 

Denver,  Colo 

Des  Moines,  la 

Detroit,  Mich 

Duluth,  Minn 

Durham,  N.  C 

East  Chicago,  Ind..  .  . 
East  Orange,  N.  J. .  .  . 
East  St.  Louis,  111. .  .  . 

Elizabeth,  N.  J 

El  Paso,  Tex 

Erie,  Pa 

Evanston,  111 

Evansville,  Ind 

Fall  River,  Mass 

Flint,  Mich 

Fort  Wayne,  Ind 

Fort  Worth,  Tex 

Fresno,  Cal 

Gadsden,  Ala 

Galveston,  Tex 

Gary,  Ind 

Glendale,  Cal 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich.. 

Greensboro,  N.  C 

Hamilton,  O 


Esti- 
mated 
Popu- 
lation 

(In 
Thou- 
sands) 


Number 

of 

Telephones 


741  288,947 

214  73,268 

77  23,113 

87  34,908 

720  235,152 

98  33,255 

117  44,686 

131  35,602 

154  49,971 

76  28,867 

145  27,136 

127  39,383 

170  48,270 

232  61,768 

104  27,705 

3,725  1,460,368 

73  23,563 

662  225,131 

1,289  496,400 
(Included  in  Cleveland) 
(Included  in  Passaic) 


Tele- 
phones 
per  100 
Popu- 
lation 


39.0 
34.3 
30.0 
40.4 
32.7. 
34.1 
38.1 
27.2 
32.5 
37.9 
18.7 
31.0 
28.4 
26.6 
26.6 
39.2 
32.3 
34.0 
38.5 


149 

31,253 

21.0 

134 

28,397 

21.2 

432 

165,088 

38.2 

132 

33,221 

25.2 

158 

40,991 

26.0 

(Included  in 

Providence 

544 

195,245 

35.9 

91 

30,457 

ii.i 

326 

121,459 

37.3 

(Included  in  Detroit) 
31.9 
42.6 
36.9 
35.4 
34.8 
23.3 
22.3 
34.9 
22.3 
29.9 
24.1 
28.2 
45.3 
29.5 
22.8 
30.9 
42.5 
29.9 

16.1 
30.5 
23.5 
35.0 
34.9 
24.8 
27.9 


85 

27,109 

415 

176,832 

212 

78,042 

,236 

791,764 

116 

40,202 

85 

19,791 

60 

13,365 

144 

50,159 

102 

22,699 

128 

38,308 

144 

34,738 

145 

40,753 

73 

33,181 

161 

47,405 

143 

32,527 

219 

67,531 

136 

57,733 

346 

103,600 

146 

48,503 

73 

11,674 

86 

26,242 

153 

36,041 

104 

36,438 

262 

91,461 

115 

28,536 

73 

20,376 

1 949-50 


The  World's  Telephones 


215 


TELEPHONE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  LARGE  CITIES— Continued 


Country  and  City 
(or  Exchange  Area) 


United  States 
(continued): 

Hammond,  Ind 

Hamtramck,  Mich... 

Harrisburg,  Pa 

Hartford,  Conn 

Highland  Park,  Mich 
Hoboken,  N.  J 

Holyoke,  Mass 

Houston,  Tex 

Huntington,  W.  Va. . 
Indianapolis,  Ind. .  .  . 

Irvington,  \.  J 

Jackson,  Mich 

Jackson,  Miss 

Jacksonville,  Fla. .  .  . 
Jersey  City,  N.  J. . .  . 

Johnstown,  Pa 

Kalamazoo,  Mich.. . . 
Kansas  City,  Kans.  . 

Kansas  City,  Mo. .  .  . 

Knoxville,  Tenn 

Lakewood,  O 

Lancaster,  Pa 

Lansing,  Mich 

Lawrence,  Mass 

Lexington,  Ky 

Lincoln,  Neb 

Little  Rock,  Ark. .  .  . 
Long  Beach,  Cal. .  .  . 
Los  Angeles,  Cal. .  .  . 

Louisville,  Ky 

Lowell,  Mass 

Lubbock,  Tex 

Lynn,  Mass 

Macon,  Ga 

Madison,  Wis 

Maiden,  Mass 

Manchester,  N.  H. .  . 

McKeesport,  Pa 

Medford,  Mass 

Memphis,  Tenn 

Miami,  Fla 

Miami  Beach,  Fla..  . 

Milwaukee,  Wis 

Minneapolis,  Minn.. . 

Mobile,  Ala 

Montgomery,  Ala 

Mt.  Vernon,  N.  Y. .  . 

Muncie,  Ind 

Nashville,  Tenn 

Newark,  N.  J 

New  Bedford,  Mass. . 
New  Britain,  Conn. .  . 

New  Castle,  Pa 

New  Haven,  Conn.. . 
New  Orleans,  La. ... 
New  Rochelle,  N.  Y. . 


Esti- 
mated 
Popu- 
lation 

(In 
Thou- 
sands) 


Number 

of 

Telephones 


Tele- 
phones 
per  100 
Popu- 
lation 


80       21,173     26.6 

(Included  in  Detroit) 

148  1      59,320  140.1 

294  1    117,838  I  40.0 

(Included  in  Detroit) 

(Included  in 

Jersey  City) 


85 

678 

93 

538 


23,762 
227,761 

30,346 
194,923 


28.0 
33.6 
32.6 
36.3 


(Included  in  Newark) 
89  30,750  34.4 
117  31,820  27.2 
302  65,522  21.7 
365  90,813  24.9 
112  23,602  21.1 
96        37,198     38.9 

(Included  in 

Kansas  Citv,  Mo.) 

681  I    248,597  |  36.5 

229  I      53,672  |  23.5 

(Included  in  Cleveland) 


93 
132 
121 

96 
104 
178 
296 
2,000 
458 
126 

75 
142 
120 
102 

61 

86 
118 

62 
429 
521 


31,676 
52,874 
30,047 
23,552 
38,998 
51,367 
99,554 
793,758 
138,957 
30,144 
18,042 
44,022 
28,245 
43,825 
17,715 
24,265 
30,158 
16,323 
131,302 
157,416 


34.0 
40.1 
24.9 
24.5 
37.5 
28.8 
33.6 
39.7 
30.4 
24.0 
23.9 
30.9 
23.6 
43.2 
29.0 
28.2 
25.5 
26.4 
30.6 
30.2 


(Included  in  Miami) 


868 

628 

196 

159 

76 

69 

288 

546 

144 

87 

71 

259 

683 

64 


280,352 

253,076 
39,658 
28,164 
26,069 
22,922 
87,698 

178,434 
38,270 
25,586 
20,612 
95,736 

189,723 
23,120 


32.3 
40.3 
20.2 
17.7 
34.1 
33.1 
30.4 
32.7 
26.6 
29.5 
28.9 
37.0 
27.8 
36.2 


Country  and  City 
(or  Exchange  Area) 


United  States 
(continued) : 

Newton,  Mass 

New  York,  N.  Y. .  .  . 
Niagara  Falls,  N.  Y. . 

Norfolk,  Va 

Oakland,  Cal 

Oak  Park,  111 

Ogden,  Utah 

Oklahoma  City,  Okla 

Omaha,  Neb 

Orlando,  Fla 

Pasadena,  Cal 

Passaic,  N.  J 

Paterson,  N.  J 

Pawtucket,  R.  I 

Peoria,  111 

Philadelphia,  Pa 

Phoenix,  Ariz 

Pittsburgh,  Pa 

Pittsfield,  Mass 

Pontiac,  Mich 

Port  Arthur,  Tex 

Portland,  Me 

Portland,  Ore 

Portsmouth,  Va 

Providence,  R.  I 

Pueblo,  Colo 

Quincy,  Mass 

Racine,  Wis 

Raleigh,  N.  C 

Reading,  Pa 

Richmond,  Cal 

Richmond,  Va 

Riverside,  Cal 

Roanoke,  Va 

Rochester,  N.  Y 

Rockford,  111 

Rock  Island,  111 

Sacramento,  Cal 

Saginaw,  Mich 

St.  Joseph,  Mo 

St.  Louis,  Mo 

St.  Paul,  Minn 

St.  Petersburg,  Fla.  . 
Salt  Lake  City,  Utah 
San  Antonio,  Tex.. . . 
San  Bernardino,  Cal. 

San  Diego,  Cal 

San  Francisco,  Cal... 

San  Jose,  Cal 

Santa  Monica,  Cal... 

Savannah,  Ga 

Schenectady,  N.  Y 

Scranton,  Pa 

Seattle,  Wash 

Shreveport,  La 

Sioux  City,  la 

Somerville,  Mass 

South  Bend,  Ind 


Esti- 
mated 
Popu- 
lation 

(In 
Thou- 
sands) 


78 
7,944 

92 
218 
697 

71 

88 
273 
293 

81 
180 
175 
181 
138 
176 
2,100 
230 
1,034 

61 
119 

96 
119 
489 

86 
389 

94 

84 

86 

93 
149 
137 
265 

66 
112 
415 
135 

52 
212 
118 

98 
1,059 
367 
115 
240 
459 

73 
355 
841 
152 
148 
148 
143 
166 
603 
190 

91 
102 
188 


Number 

of 

Telephones 


29,985 

2,768,567 

30,004 

69,357 

262,211 
26,924 
23,868 

104,644 

104,941 
21,015 
72,354 
42,383 
50,866 
31,037 
56,619 

696,027 
55,552 

372,255 
20,772 
39,616 
20,927 
38,904 

181,861 
20,549 

117,856 
23,666 
27,177 
27,540 
25,525 
50,199 
19,627 
98,588 
18,819 
33,966 

132,602 
44,821 
16,947 
75,552 
37,089 
28,654 

360,326 

139,024 
30,977 
78,264 

106,437 
20,829 

100,423 

417,133 
46,858 
44,212 
33,672 
55,372 
41,970 

248,189 
49,132 
29,374 
23,536 
58,166 


Tele- 
phones 
per  100 
Popu- 
lation 


38.4 

34.8 

32.7 

31.8 

37.6 

37.9 

27.1 

38.3 

35.9 

25.9 

40.2 

24.3 

28.1 

22.6 

32.2 

33.1 

24.2 

36.0 

34.3 

33.4 

21.8 

32.8 

37.2 

23.9 

30.3 

25.2 

32.4 

31.9 

27:4 

33.6 

14.3 

37.2 

28.5 

30.3 

32.0 

33.2 

32.6 

35.6 

31.4 

29.2 

34.0 

37.9 

26.9 

32.6 

23.2 

28.5 

28.3 

49.6 

30.8 

29.9 

22.8 

38.8 

25.3 

41.2 

25.9 

32.2 

23.1 

31.0 


2l6 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


TELEPHONE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  LARGE  CITIES— Continued 

Country  and  City 
(or  Exchange  Area) 

Esti- 
mated 
Popu- 
lation 

(In 
Thou- 
sands) 

Number 

of 

Telephones 

Tele- 
phones 
per  100 
Popu- 
lation 

Country  and  City 
(or  Exchange  Area) 

Esti- 
mated 
Popu- 
lation 

(In 
Thou- 
sands) 

Number 

of 

Telephones 

Tele- 
phones 
per  100 
Popu- 
lation 

United  States 
(continued) 

Spokane,  Wash 

Springfield,  111 

201 

99 

213 

99 

94 

71 

117 

255 

196 

200 

103 

376 

107 

196 

82 

119 

211 

68,357 
37,665 
75,338 
28,823 
30,798 
28,969 
33,881 
93,911 
62,761 
48,553 
24,288 
128,460 
36,418 
54,177 
23,696 
26,912 
89,373 

34.0 

38.0 
35.4 
29.2 
32.7 
41.1 
29.0 
36.8 
32.0 
24.3 
23.6 
34.2 
33.9 
27.7 
28.8 
22.6 
42.4 

United  States 
(continued) 

Union  City,  N.  J 

Utica,  N.  Y. 

173 

133 
112 
938 
115 

69 

72 
200 

67 
131 
162 
127 

70 
220 
148 
103 
224 

42,492 
39,002 
24,596 
447,283 
39,582 
22,941 
24,846 
72,364 
21,417 
30,736 
62,601 
29,500 
18,598 
71,292 
41,845 
20,423 
68,498 

24.5 
29  3 

Springfield,  Mass 

Waco,  Tex 

22.0 

Springfield,  Mo 

Springfield,  0 

Stamford,  Conn 

Washington,  D.  C. .  .  . 

Waterbury,  Conn 

Waterloo,  la. 

47.7 
34.5 
33.3 

Stockton,  Cal 

Syracuse,  N.  Y 

Tacoma,  Wash 

Tampa,  Fla 

Wheeling,  W.  Va 

Wichita,  Kans 

Wichita  Falls,  Tex 

Wilkes-Barre,  Pa 

Wilmington,  Del 

Winston-Salem,  N.  C. 

Woonsocket,  R.  I 

Worcester,  Mass 

Yonkers,  N.  Y 

York,  Pa. 

34.6 
36.2 
32.0 
23.5 

Terre  Haute,  Ind 

Toledo,  0 

38.6 
23.3 

Topeka,  Kans 

Trenton,  N.  J 

Troy,  N.  Y. 

26.6 

32.4 
28  2 

Tucson,  Ariz 

19.9 

Tulsa,  Okla 

Youngstown,  O 

30.6 

as  being  operated  either  wholly  or 
preponderantly  under  government 
ownership  rank  in  respect  of  the  num- 
ber of  their  telephones  as  follows: 
The  United  Kingdom,  Germany, 
France,  Sweden,  U.  S.  S.  R.  How- 
ever, in  the  aggregate,  these  five 
countries  are  served  by  only  one- 
third  the  number  of  telephones  found 
in  the  United  States  alone. 

Telephones  in  Large  Cities 

In  point  of  relative  telephone  de- 
velopment, San  Francisco  leads  the 
large  cities  of  the  world  with  49.6 
telephones  per  100  of  its  population, 
followed  by  Washington,  D.  C.  with 
47.7.  Highest  among  foreign  cities 
is  Stockholm,  with  45.5  per  100  in- 
habitants, while  Bern  is  next  with 
40.4. 

New  York,  with  2,768,567  tele- 
phones; Chicago,  with  1,460,368; 
and  Greater  London,  with  1,470,507, 
are  the  only  cities  in  the  world  having 


more  than  one  million  telephones. 
In  fact,  there  are  but  eight  countries 
outside  the  United  States  having 
more  than  one  million  telephones. 

New  York  City  alone  has  more 
telephones  than  have  Greater  Lon- 
don, Paris,  Stockholm,  Rome,  and 
Madrid  combined. 

That  the  telephone  has  become  an 
integral  part  of  our  social  and  busi- 
ness lives  is  evidenced  by  the  fact 
that  the  number  of  telephone  mes- 
sages per  capita  in  the  United  States 
averaged  346  during  1948.  This 
figure  compares  with  301  for  Sweden, 
which  has  the  greatest  telephone  den- 
sity outside  the  United  States,  and 
with  63.4  for  the  second  largest  tele- 
phone system  in  the  world,  that  of 
the  United  Kingdom. 

The  wide  usage  of  this  country's 
telephones  and  their  rapid  growth  in 
the  post-war  years  reflect  the  increas- 
ing value  of  the  service  at  a  price 
within  the  reach  of  millions  of  people. 


Planning  Ahead  for  Facilities  in  Homes  and  Commercial 

Buildings    Results    in    Unobtrusive    Wiring   and   Efficient 

Location  of  Instruments  and  Equipment 


Advance  Arrangements  for 
Telephone  Convenience 

Adolph  F.  Michel  and 
T.  Hunt  Clark 


The  post-war  boom  in  home  build- 
ing is  bringing  about  a  type  of  resi- 
dence which  is  radically  different 
from  that  of  twenty-five  years  ago. 
Houses  are  constructed  of  new  ma- 
terials to  new  designs  and  provide 
new  conveniences,  to  meet  people's 
desire  for  better  living:  better  heat- 
ing, better  lighting,  better  ventila- 
tion, increased  ease,  more  attractive 
appearance. 

In  a  house  designed  for  more 
efficient  functioning,  telephones  at 
convenient  locations,  and  enough 
telephones,  can  contribute  to  labor 
saving  and  step  saving — to  ease  and 
convenience — in  the  same  way  as  can 
a  "science"  kitchen.  And  the  same 
arrangements  which  make  this  pos- 
sible can  also  avoid  exposed  tele- 
phone wiring  which  otherwise  might 
mar  the  appearance  of  tastefully  dec- 
orated rooms — no  matter  how  neatly 
the  installer  worked. 


Nor  are  these  things  difficult  of 
accomplishment.  All  they  require  is 
a  bit  of  forethought  and  some  ad- 
vance planning. 

The  Bell  System,  because  it  real- 
izes its  responsibility  to  help  its  cus- 
tomers get  the  most  and  the  best 
service  for  their  money,  stands  ready 
to  help  with  the  job  of  planning  in 
time  for  service  in  homes.  What  is 
more,  it  campaigns  to  remind  people 
that  they  will  be  the  gainers  by  the 
planning. 

In  each  of  the  operating  compa- 
nies of  the  Bell  System,  an  Architects 
and  Builders  Service  is  maintained, 
to  advise  and  assist  architects,  build- 
ers, prospective  home  owners,  and 
others  who  might  be  interested  in 
getting  the  benefits  of  advance  tele- 
phone planning.  Representatives  of 
the  Commercial,  Engineering,  and 
Plant  Departments  are  designated  to 
act  as  consultants.     A  call  or  letter 


Ill 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


TELEPHONE  WIRES 

DON'T  SHOW  ON  THE  FACE  OF  IT 

I^Z^Zo,'^  ond  Mdm  sen-../ 


Mil  TEll^HOHt    SYSTEM     ^ 

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llern  home  planning  considers  the 

1  •  «"  •'•"  OS  the  present  needs  of 

lowner.    Telephone  rocewo/s  coo- 

I  telephone  wires  wilhm  walls.  They 

I  provide  for  the  relocation  or 

lion  of  telephones  loter  on. 

I  easy  ond  inexpensive  to  provide 

lephone  facilities  during  construc- 

',    few  lengths  of  pipe  or  tubing 

in  the  walls  will  carry  telephone 

lo  outlets  locoted  at  Icey  points 

I  tout  the  house. 

Bell  Telephone  Coi 
I  to  co-operote  in  pla 
I  leeway  systems.  Juf 
I  telephone  compan 
ask  for  "Arch 
I  >ervice," 


UiPHONi  srsii 


Building  a  new  home? 

Then  you'll  want  this 
booklet  on 


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telephone  wires  ip 

Wy^Jfrr 

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m  THE  OHIO  BELL  lEEEPHONE  COMPANY 


Advertisements  such  as  these  bring  the  ad- 
vantages of  advance  planning  for  telephone 
convenience  to  the  attention  of  architects^ 
builders y  and  prospective  home  owners 


1949-50 


Arrangements  Jor  Telephone  Convenience 


219 


to  the  Architects  and  Builders  Serv- 
ice will  bring  helpful  and  practical 
leaflets  and  other  information,  and 
the  prospective  home  owner  and  his 
architect  or  builder  may  come  in  for 
an  interview  with  the  telephone  ex- 
perts if  a  problem  seems  to  warrant 
it. 

This  service  is  given  without 
charge,  of  course.  Moreover,  the 
System  makes  a  definite  effort  to 
bring  it  to  the  attention  of  people 
to  whom  it  would  be  helpful.  Ad- 
vertisements are  run  in  national  mag- 
azines of  interest  to  home  owners 
and  to  the  professional  field;  displays 
are    exhibited    at    "own    your    own 


home"  shows  and  similar  conven- 
tions, and  booklets  are  furnished; 
and  calls  are  made  on  architects  and 
builders,  who  are  provided  with  ref- 
erence material  for  their  files  and 
binders. 

This  kind  of  activity  isn't  new;  it 
has  been  going  on,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  for  years.  And  it  does  bear 
fruit.  A  recent  instance  in  the  terri- 
tory of  one  Associated  Company  con- 
cerns three  contractors  who  were  put- 
ting up  a  total  of  about  4,800  houses 
in  the  $6,000-$  10,000  cost  range. 
These  firms  were  interviewed  and 
the  advantages  of  providing  up-to- 
date  telephone  equipment  were  em- 


Telephone 
Company 
displays  at 
"own  your  own 
home"  shows 
and  similar 
expositions 
dramatize  the 
benefits  of 
planning 
ahead  for 
telephone 
service 


220 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


phasized.  When  the  houses  were 
completed,  more  than  three-fourths 
of  the  recommended  facilities  had 
been  installed. 

Locations  for  Telephones  in  Homes 

Customers  want  telephones  located 
where  they  will  be  most  convenient 
to  use.  Preferences  will  vary,  natu- 
rally, but  the  most  popular  locations 
for  telephone  outlets  are  in  or  near 
the  living  and  working  areas  where 
the  occupants  spend  most  of  their 
time.  Experience  shows  that  the 
kitchen  or  dining  alcove,  the  master 
bedroom,  guest  room  or  other  bed- 
rooms, living  room,  den  or  study, 
recreation  room  or  workshop,  are  in- 
cluded in  the  preferred  locations. 
One  or  more  of  these  rooms  are  se- 
lected for  telephones. 

Bedside  telephones  are  becoming 
more  and  more  popular.  An  added 
reason  is  that  telephone  bells  can  be 
adjusted  to  ring  very  softly. 

For  real  telephone  convenience,  at 
least  one  telephone  outlet  should  be 
installed  on  each  level  of  the  house. 
Inasmuch  as  every  future  telephone 
need  may  not  now  be  foreseen,  it  is 
better  to  have  too  many  outlets  than 
too  few,  since  as  time  goes  by  re- 
quirements for  service  often  increase. 
Providing  extra  outlets  is  good  home 
planning. 

In  addition  to  the  permanently  lo- 
cated telephone  instrument,  many 
home  owners  have  portable  tele- 
phones which  may  be  carried  from 
room  to  room  and  plugged  into  out- 
lets which  are  equipped  with  jacks, 
particularly  in  rooms  which  are  used 
only  on  occasion.  Guest  rooms,  sew- 
ing room,  laundry,  workshop,  and 
basement  recreation  room  come  un- 
der this  category.     Such  outlets  are 


also  popular  in  seasonal  rooms  or 
locations,  including  sun  rooms,  ter- 
races, and  porches.  A  portable  tele- 
phone may  be  used  on  a  screened 
porch  during  the  summer  and  then 
transferred  to  the  basement  or  any 
other  jack  outlet  in  the  winter. 

Service  Entrance 

A  SERVICE  ENTRANCE  conduit  or 
pipe  sleeve  for  bringing  the  service 
wires  into  the  building  is  very  desir- 
able, since  this  precludes  the  neces- 
sity for  drilling  holes  through  diffi- 
cult surfaces  or  materials.  A  con- 
duit between  the  point  where  the 
aerial  drop  wire  is  to  be  attached  to 
the  building  and  the  protector  is 
desirable  both  from  the  standpoint 
of  appearance  and  as  a  protection 
against  tampering  by  unauthorized 
persons.  The  location  for  the  serv- 
ice entrance  should,  of  course,  be 
checked  with  the  telephone  company 
before  it  is  provided. 

In  order  to  eliminate  exposed 
wires  outside,  not  only  for  the  sake 
of  appearance  but  to  minimize  serv- 
ice interruptions  from  storms  or 
other  causes,  some  home  owners  find 
it  advantageous  to  have  the  tele- 
phone entrance  wires  underground. 
As  available  plant  facilities,  local  mu- 
nicipal regulations,  and  other  factors 
require  coordination  of  all  phases  of 
the  work,  it  is  important  that  the 
telephone  company  be  consulted  be- 
fore planning  construction  of  an  un- 
derground entrance. 

Protector  Cabinet 

The  telephone  line  entering  the 
home  generally  must  be  connected  to 
a  station  protector  to  prevent  pos- 
sible excessive  voltages  from  power 
circuits   or   lightning   from    reaching 


i949~'5o  Arrangements  for  Telephone  Convenience 


111 


Such  booklets  illustrate  practical  suggestions 


222 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


Telephone  outlets  should  be  planned  for  the  working  and 
living  areas  of  the  home 


the  inside  wiring  or  station  appara- 
tus. This  protector  is  usually  located 
in  the  basement  or  attic  near  the 
point  the  telephone  wires  will  enter 
the  building.  If  located  in  a  finished 
basement,  the  protector  should  be 
concealed  by  a  cabinet.  Steel  boxes, 
like  those  used  for  mounting  electri- 
cal switches,  are  suitable  and  can  be 
recessed  in  the  basement  ceiling  or 
on  an  outside  wall. 

Wiring  Channels 

Telephone  outlets  should  be  con- 
nected by  wiring  channels  to  some 
part  of  the  basement  or  attic  where 
exposed  wires  will  not  be  noticeable. 
In  many  homes  this  means  merely 
running  a  few  feet  of  pipe  within  a 
wall  to  an  unfinished  part  of  the  base- 
ment or  accessible  part  of  the  attic. 
In  homes  without  basements,  or 
where  the  basement  is  finished  as  a 
play  room,  it  is  desirable  to  extend 


the  pipe  raceway  to  the 
protector  cabinet  near 
the  service  entrance. 

In  certain  localities, 
wires  are  not  run  under 
houses  because  of  ex- 
treme moisture  condi- 
tions, and  the  raceways 
from  the  outlets  are 
then  run  to  the  attic. 
The  attic  must,  of 
course,  be  accessible  to 
the  telephone  installer. 
It  is  usually  a  good 
idea  to  extend  a  race- 
w  a  y  in  a  two-story 
house  to  the  attic  even 
though  it  originates  in 
an  unfinished  basement. 
Then,  if  a  telephone  is 
needed  later  in  one  of 
the  rooms  without  an 
outlet,  the  wire  can  be  dropped 
through  a  closet  to  the  new  location. 
Almost  any  kind  of  pipe  or  tubing 
can  be  used  for  raceways,  but  since 
iron  pipe  or  thin  wall  electrical  tub- 
ing is  usually  available  on  the  site, 
these  are  the  materials  most  fre- 
quently used.  The  outlets  provided 
for  bringing  out  the  telephone  wires 
are  commercially  available  shallow 
iron  boxes  such  as  those  used  to  con- 
tain lighting  switches.  The  outlet 
box  is  closed  with  a  commercial  cover 
plate  with  a  round  bushed  or  grom- 
meted  hole  for  the  telephone  set  cord 
or  wire  entrance — except  where  out- 
lets equipped  with  jacks  for  portable 
telephones  are  to  be  provided.  In 
this  case  the  jacks  (not  the  outlet 
box)  and  associated  cover  plates  are 
furnished  by  the  telephone  company. 
If  a  double  outlet  (two  boxes  fas- 
tened back  to  back)  is  used,  it  is  often 


1949-50 


Arrangements  for  Telephone  Convenience 


223 


possible  to  arrange  to  make  one  race- 
way do  double  duty  too  by  serving 
two  adjoining  rooms. 

Each  home  naturally  requires  its 
custom-tailored     telephone     arrange- 


ment, but  even  the  simplest  layout 
should  include  enough  outlets  in  the 
right  places,  with  raceways  from  the 
outlets  to  unfinished  parts  of  the 
basement  or  attic. 


Commercial  and  Industrial  Buildings 


The  desirability  of  planning  in  ad- 
vance of  construction  for  telephone 
and  other  communication  services  in 
commercial  and  industrial  buildings 
has  been  generally  recognized  for 
many  years.  If  proper  facilities  are 
provided,  the  general  appearance  of 
the  building  and  its  offices  is  im- 
proved and  the  wires  and  cables  are 
afforded  mechanical  protection.  The 
latter  serves  to  prevent  service  inter- 
ruptions, and  provides  the  flexibility 
which  makes  possible 
rearrangements  and 
changes  in  the  circuit 
terminations  without 
the  need  for  drilling 
holes  through  finished 
walls  and  floors,  expos- 
ing wires  and  cables  in 
offices  and  halls  and 
marring  walls  and  trim 
— all  to  the  general  in- 
convenience and  annoy- 
ance of  tenants. 

It  is  of  the  utmost 
importance  that  the  ex- 
pert advice  of  the 
Architects  and  Builders 
Service  be  obtained  at  a 
very  early  stage  of  the 
undertaking. 

General  requirements 
for  commercial  and  in- 
dustrial buildings  in- 
clude cable  service  en- 
trances, main  cross-con- 


necting terminal  and  other  cable  ter- 
minals, riser  conduits  and  riser  shafts, 
floor  distribution  systems,  and  space 
for  telephone  and  related  equipment. 

Service  Entrances 

Telephone  entrance  cables  are 
usually  run  from  a  manhole  in  the 
street  through  the  foundation  wall 
to  a  cross-connecting  terminal  in  the 
basement  of  the  building.  Avail- 
able underground  facilities  often  con- 


Interior  raceways  in  homes  bring  concealed  telephone 
wires  to  outlets  J  or  telephones  at  convenient  locations 


224 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


trol  selection  of  the  entrance  point, 
and  in  certain  cases  an  overhead  in- 
stead of  underground  telephone  dis- 
tribution system  may  be  involved. 
In  some  instances,  basements  may 
be  subject  to  excessive  dampness  or 
flooding,  and  the  cross-connecting  ter- 
minals would  have  to  be  placed  higher 
in  the  building. 

In  any  case,  a  sufficient  number  of 
iron  pipes,  sleeves,  or  clay  sewer  tiles 
to  care  for  the  ultimate  number  of 
cables  entering  the  building  are  gen- 
erally placed  in  foundation  or  other 
walls  during  construction.  These 
holes  are  always  kept  sealed  to  avoid 
entrance  of  water. 


Incoming  service  cables  usually  ter- 
minate on  a  cross-connecting  terminal 
of  either  the  wall  or  frame  type.  At 
this  point,  cross-connections  are  made 
to  house  cables  which  extend  through 
conduits  or  riser  shafts  to  all  floors 
of  the  building.  The  floor-type  ter- 
minal, rather  than  the  wall  type,  is 
usually  provided  in  the  larger  build- 
ings having  a  considerable  number  of 
telephone  stations  and  other  com- 
munication services,  and  special  fire- 
proof terminal  rooms  are  very  desir- 
able. They  avoid  possibility  of  large- 
scale  interruptions  to  service  from 
careless  handling  of  materials  or  mer- 
chandise or  a  minor  fire. 


The  cross-connecting  terminal  for  the  telephone  wires  serving  a  large  building  normally 

requires  a  separate  terminal  room 


1949-50 


Arrangements  for  Telephone  Convenience 


225 


The  cross-connecting 
terminal  should  be  lo- 
cated near  the  center  of 
the  cable  distribution  sys- 
tem, so  as  to  minimize 
the  amount  of  cable  used. 
In  certain  buildings,  such 
as  hotels,  this  center 
would  be  on  one  of  the 
lower  floors,  where  the 
private  branch  switch- 
board is  located. 


'House  Cable 


Riser  Conduits  and 
Riser  Shafts 

Riser  conduits  are  not 
usually  employed  in  build- 
ings exceeding  12  stories 
in  height  nor  in  buildings 
of  less  height  that  cover 
a  large  area,  as  advan- 
tages of  so  protecting 
the  cables  are  offset  by 
difficulty  in  installing  and 
supporting  heavy  cables 
in  conduits  and  making 
complicated  splices  in  the 
cabinets  associated  with 
the  conduit  system. 

Riser  shafts  should 
start  from  the  floor  on 
which  the  cross-connect- 
ing terminal  is  located  and  extend 
throughout  the  building.  If  the 
shaft  cannot  be  made  continuous, 
conduits  of  adequate  size  should  be 
provided  to  connect  the  top  of  one 
riser  shaft  to  the  bottom  of  the  one 
above  it  or  to  the  cross-connecting 
terminal,  so  as  to  provide  continuous 
cable  runs  throughout  the  building. 
Riser  shaft  closets  are  normally 
placed  one  above  the  other  through- 
out the  full  height  of  the  building. 
Such  closets  are  quite  wide  and  long 
and  have  full  ceiling  height.    A  large 


^To  other  Telephone  Wall  Cabinets 
"To  other  Riser  Shaft  Cabinets  on  same  floor 


Provision  for  a  telephone  distribution  system   as  ex- 
tensive as  this  must  be  included  in  the  original  plans 


slot  or  large  iron  pipe  sleeves  should 
be  provided  in  the  floor  of  the  shaft, 
to  permit  raising  full-sized  cables 
with  splices  in  the  shaft. 

Floor  Distribution  Systems 

The  riser  shaft  closet  containing 
a  cable  terminal  is  the  main  distribu- 
tion point  for  a  rather  large  floor 
area  and  it  is  often  impracticable  to 
carry  all  telephone  and  telegraph 
wiring  directly  back  to  this  terminal. 
For  this  reason,  adequate  wiring  fa- 
cilities  always   provide   for   distribu- 


226 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


tion  terminals  about  the  floors.  The 
best  appearing  and  most  desirable  ar- 
rangement is  to  furnish  built-in  cabi- 
nets suitable  for  housing  telephone 
terminals  during  construction. 

Each  wall  cabinet  should  be  con- 
nected by  conduits  to  the  nearest  riser 
shaft,  adjacent  wall  cabinets,  and  to 
the  underfloor  distribution  system. 

The  logical  permanent  location  for 
electric  wiring  of  all  types  is  in  the 
floor,  for  the  reason  that  interior  di- 
viding partitions  are  often  omitted  or 
are  made  readily  interchangeable  in 
most  commercial  buildings,  and  other 
supports  are  quite  restrictive  and 
their  use  may  be  prohibited  by  law. 
Under-floor  raceways  consist  of  con- 
duits, ducts,  or  cellular  steel  floor — 
whichever  is  most  suitable  for  the 
needs  of  the  particular  building;  and 
a  separate  system  must  be  provided 
for  the  telephone  wiring.  Since  the 
standard  office  desk  is  the  unit  on 
which  the  telephone,  business  ma- 
chine, and  often  lights  are  to  be  es- 
tablished, and  the  desks  may  be  lo- 
cated anywhere  on  the  floor,  the  need 
for  under-floor  wire  distribution  sys- 
tems is  acute.  The  raceways  are  usu- 
ally placed  five  to  six  feet  apart  to 
correspond  with  the  desk  length  and 
the  outlets  24  inches  apart  on  each 
raceway  to  permit  any  desired  spac- 
ing between  desks. 

Under-floor  conduit  systems  are 
suitable  for  small  buildings  not  hav- 
ing need  for  many  telephone  and  tele- 
graph circuits  out  in  the  open  spaces. 
In  buildings  with  permanent  parti- 
tions and  walls,  they  may  be  supple- 
mented by  a  number  of  different  base- 
board raceway  systems. 

Two  types  of  under-floor  duct  sys- 
tems are  commonly  provided,  either 
steel  or  fibre.     The  number  of  race- 


ways in  a  given  system  depends  on 
service  requirements. 

Cellular  steel  floors  are  also  used 
for  wire  distribution  systems.  The 
longitudinal  cells  in  these  floors  are 
connected  to  wall  cabinets  by  header 
ducts  which  cross  above  the  cells. 

Space  for  Equipmetit 

Planning  the  right  locations  for 
residence  telephones  presents  only 
minor  problems.  But  large  commer- 
cial structures  are  likely  to  have  to 
arrange  space  for  a  number  of  items 
of  telephone  equipment  of  various 
kinds  and  sizes  and  uses.  These  in- 
clude such  things  as  private  branch 
switchboards  large  and  small,  order- 
receiving  equipment,  teletypewriters, 
and  perhaps  alarm  or  announcing  or 
paging  systems.  Many  buildings  will 
also  have  need  for  public  telephones, 
with  booths  in  all  probability,  and 
their  location  will  call  for  careful 
planning. 

Such  specialized  equipment  and  its 
location  is  beyond  the  scope  of  this 
paper.  But  it  is  by  no  means  beyond 
the  scope  of  the  Associated  Company 
groups  who  are  concerned  with  plan- 
ning customers'  facilities;  it  is,  in- 
deed, right  down  their  alley.  And 
the  importance,  the  necessity  even, 
of  architect  and  contractor  and 
owner  seeking  their  counsel  is  self- 
evident. 

Whether  it  be  a  modest  "ranch- 
type"  bungalow  or  a  glass-and-chro- 
mium  skyscraper,  the  telephone  com- 
pany can  add  much  to  its  comfort, 
its  livability,  its  efficiency — if  given 
the  opportunity.  The  Architects  and 
Builders  Service  is  another  Bell  Sys- 
tem practice  which  adds  a  plus  to  the 
value  of  the  dollar  the  customer  pays 
for  his  telephone  service. 


Lines  Built  Primarily  to  Aid  Hydraulic   Mining  in  the 

Mother  Lode  Country  Also  Provided  for  Some  Public  Use 

In  the  First   Years  of  the  Telephone  s  Growth 


Some  Early  Long  Distance 
Lines  in  the  Far  West 

IV alter  Blackford^  Sr,^  and 
Joy  F.  Hutton 


Historical  research,  by  its  nature, 
cannot  be  an  exact  science.  The  in- 
vestigator who  shouts,  "Eureka !  I 
have  found  the  first !"  is  all  too  often 
preparing  himself  for  a  rude  shock. 
Sooner  or  later,  new  evidence  turns 
up  to  make  a  monkey  out  of  him. 

The  beginnings  of  long  distance 
telephone  service  are  no  exception  to 
this  generalization.  In  studying  the 
early  California  and  Nevada  lines 
discussed  here,  we*  have  followed  a 
dim  and  dusty  trail  back  through  the 
years.  Beyond  a  doubt,  we  have 
traced  out  some  of  the  earliest  long 
distance  telephone  lines  in  the  world. 

What  we  found  makes  a  fascinat- 
ing story. 

In  the  days  following  Dr.  Bell's  in- 
vention of  the  telephone,  instruments 


*  The  "we"  of  this  article  represents  the  au- 
thors, whose  interpretations  and  conclusions  are 
based  on  the  evidence  to  date.     W .  B.,  Sr. 


were  frequently  tried  out  on  existing 
telegraph  lines.  Conversations  were 
held  over  some  very  long  distances, 
such  as  from  San  Diego,  California, 
to  Yuma,  Arizona,  over  an  Army 
telegraph  line.  But  while  these  hook- 
ups were  interesting,  they  were  pri- 
marily of  a  demonstration  or  experi- 
mental   nature. 

The  earliest  bona  fide  telephone 
lines  ran  from  one  point  to  another 
within  communities.  True,  these 
were  cases  of  communication  at  a  dis- 
tance. But  such  intra-community 
lines,  we  believe,  do  not  come  within 
the  category  of  "Long  Distance." 

It  appears  that  most  of  the  early 
long  distance  lines  were  constructed 
for  private  use.  However,  so  great 
was  the  novelty  of  talking  to  some- 
one far  away  that  scarcely  any  line 
remained  strictly  private.  Friends 
and  strangers  gathered  at  each  end 


228 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


The  Mother  Lode  Country 


1949-50 


Early  Lines  in  the  Far  West 


11^ 


to  share  this  new  wonder  of  the 
world.  As  the  novelty  wore  off,  vari- 
ous arrangements  were  worked  out 
for  payment  of  calls,  where  a  line 
connected  two  communities  or  re- 
gions and  there  was  some  public 
traffic. 

Our  definition  of  a  long  distance 
line  at  the  dawn  of  telephony,  then, 
is  one  primarily  constructed  for  the 
purpose  of  telephonic  communica- 
tion between  distinct  communities, 
with  some  public  usage. 

The  Impact  of  Gold 

In  1847,  o"ly  about  15,000  inhabi- 
tants were  scattered  over  California's 
400,000  square  miles.  Cattle  rais- 
ing, agriculture,  and  trapping  were 
the  chief  occupations  in  the  easy- 
going pastoral  economy  inherited 
from  the  Spanish  and  Mexican  days. 
Then,  in  1848,  came  James  Mar- 
shall's discovery  of  gold  at  Sutter's 
Mill,  at  Coloma.  Within  two  years 
the  state's  population  catapaulted  to 
100,000.  The  peaceful  life  of  the 
hacendados  came  to  an  abrupt  halt 
and  California  began  an  expansion 
that  has  never  stopped. 

The  dramatic  turbulence  of  the 
first  gold  rush  years  has  seldom  been 
equaled  in  history.  Men  from  nearly 
every  country  in  the  world  swarmed 
over  the  foothills  on  the  eastern  side 
of  California's  great  central  valley. 
On  the  flanks  of  the  Sierra  Nevada, 
they  dug  and  panned  and  washed  for 
gold,  brawled  and  gambled  and 
dreamed  of  riches.  They  founded 
camps  that  mushroomed  into  roaring 
towns  and  then  died  overnight.  They 
left  unforgettable  names  scattered  up 
and  down  the  Mother  Lode — Hang- 
town,   Red   Dog,   You   Bet,  Whisky 


Hill,  Poker  Flat,  Chinese  Camp. 
But  only  a  few  of  the  '49ers  found 
lasting  wealth. 

The  impact  of  gold  on  the  small, 
sleepy  towns  of  Northern  and  Cen- 
tral California  was  almost  beyond  im- 
agining. They  boomed  and  boomed 
again,  forced  to  telescope  genera- 
tions of  development  into  a  few  short 
years.  It  was  a  rough  and  ready 
process.  Small  wonder  that  the  citi- 
zens, like  San  Francisco's  Vigilantes, 
had  to  take  the  law  into  their  own 
hands  on  occasion. 

But  wealth  kept  flowing  from  the 
Mother  Lode  and — a  little  later — 
Nevada's  fabulous  Comstock  on  the 
other  side  of  the  Sierra.  Trade  and 
agriculture  and  transportation  ex- 
panded. Diversified  industries  took 
root.  Westerners  soon  considered 
their  bustling  cities  every  bit  as  cul- 
tured as  and  even  more  modern  and 
progressive  than  those  of  the  East. 

In  1 86 1,  the  first  transcontinental 
telegraph  line  replaced  the  Pony  Ex- 
press. Hooking  up  to  the  developing 
Pacific  Telegraph,  it  brought  the 
West  for  the  first  time  into  direct 
contact  with  the  rest  of  the  nation. 
When  the  transcontinental  railroad 
was  completed,  in  1869,  the  Pacific 
Coast  became  even  more  firmly  linked 
with  the  East.  And  by  1876,  the 
year  of  the  telephone's  birth,  Cali- 
fornia's population  had  reached 
600,000. 

Mr.  Belts  Invention 

That  the  people  of  the  West  were 
eager  to  exploit  anything  new  is  ex- 
emplified by  the  interest  they  showed 
in  the  new  invention.  Late  in  1876, 
Samuel  Hubbard  was  using  the  San 
Francisco  Post  Office  telegraph  net- 


230 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


work  to  introduce  the  telephone  on 
the  Pacific  Coast.  Immediately  there- 
after, the  seven-mile  telegraph  line 
from  the  Merchants  Exchange,  in 
downtown  San  Francisco,  to  Meiggs 
Wharf  was  used  to  flash — via  tele- 
phone— the  news  of  ships  approach- 
ing through  the  Golden  Gate.  In 
1877,  the  practice  of  using  telegraph 
lines  for  telephonic  purposes  became 
state-wide.  Almost  invariably,  the 
public  was  permitted  to  use  these  cir- 
cuits to  satisfy  its  curiosity. 

A  variety  of  audible  entertainment 
was  transmitted  back  and  forth  be- 
tween groups,  including  what  was 
surely  one  of  the  first  instances  of 


broadcasting  a  public  event:  the  eve- 
ning of  November  5,  1877,  when 
three  telephone  instruments  were 
placed  on  the  stage  of  San  Francisco's 
Grand  Opera  House,  and  wires  were 
strung  to  five  locations  about  the  city. 
The  opera  "Mignon"  and  the  ap- 
plause of  the  audience  were  distinctly 
heard  at  all  stations. 

Such  interest  in  the  new  invention 
aided  the  early  establishment  of  tele- 
phone exchanges,  particularly  around 
the  San  Francisco  Bay  area.  The 
San  Francisco  exchange — third  in 
the  world — went  into  operation  Feb- 
ruary 17,  1878,  with  170  subscribers. 
Oakland  followed  on  April  i  of  the 


Hydraulic  mining  requires  a  tremendous  head  of  water.     One  purpose  of  early  telephone 
lines  constructed  in  the  Mother  Lode  country  was  to  facilitate  control  of  water  pressure 


1949-50 


Early  Lines  in  the  Far  West 


231 


The  town  of  Downieville^  perched  along  the  North  Fork  of  the  Yuba  River,  is  a  typical 
Mother  Lode  community.    In  the  days  of  gold y  it  had  a  population  of  five  thousand  miners 


same  year,  and  the  San  Jose  and 
Sacramento  exchanges  were  estab- 
hshed  March  i,  1879.  Initially,  long 
distance  service  between  these  points 
was  conducted  only  over  telegraph 
wires;  toll  line  construction  was  not 
started  by  the  Pacific  Company  until 
1880. 

Building  Lines  for  Telephones 

Telegraph  lines,  however,  were 
not  available  to  all  telephone-minded 
people  in  the  Far  West.  As  it  be- 
came apparent  that  the  telephone  of- 
fered tremendous  advantages,  not 
only  in  ordinary  business  transactions 
but  particularly  in  far-flung  mining, 


lumber,  express,  and  water  company 
operations,  men  began  building  their 
own  telephone  lines. 

In  Nevada,  for  example,  the  Con- 
solidated Virginia  Mine  completed 
1500  feet  of  telephone  line  on  No- 
vember 16,  1877.  This  mine,  one 
of  the  greatest  producers  of  all  time, 
had  thousands  of  feet  of  underground 
workings  beneath  the  arid  ridge  on 
which  Virginia  City  still  stands.  The 
telephone  supplanted  other  electrical 
means  of  communication  in  such  mines 
largely  because  Dr.  Bell's  electro- 
magnetic telephone  of  that  period  did 
not  require  a  battery  and  thus  elimi- 
nated the  possibility  of  explosion 
from  an  electric  spark. 


232 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


'"'■'»  JVn.  ; 


f^^^t^M^, 


DitK 


^itjemg. 


^^'«*W.      'Monthly  Ac.        , 

^rtjr^^      J:        ,  ^    Account.) 


Nuna  , 


'"""•«•  *«■'  ««CHn-„ 


■TTaw 


Of...  >-- 


f'S'Z. 


i^i  m  OAUFOlit'lSTRiMl  WORKS. 

.i«.~*"-~-  >"■■';  ■     ..      A„„.„.™s    AND    SurVUES. 


*   '■'•'' '''"rrTlBrms,  and   Private  Lines. 


■.V*-'  v 


c^^' 


c?  ool 


^0 


■S„ 


Early  records  of  the 
Ridge  Telephone  Com- 
pany. From  top  to  bot- 
tom^ a  page  of  charges 
for  messages  sent  in 
September  1882^  bills  for 
telephone  equipment 
bought  in  i8jg  and 
iSySy  and  a  message 
transmitted  in  r8jg 


.5  iol 


/:        / 


1949-50 


Early  Lines  in  the  Far  West 


'^2>2> 


This  is  how  the  main  street  of  Dutch  Flat^  California^  looked  in  1949.     The  first  floor 

of  the  colonnaded  hotel  at  the  left  goes  back  to  storied  days,  while  the  second  building  at 

the  righty  by  way  of  contrast,  houses  today's  telephone  switchboard 


By  the  early  1880s,  networks  of 
existing  telegraph  and  privately  con- 
structed telephone  lines  linked  the 
cities  of  California's  central  valley 
with  the  gold  towns  and  with  isolated 
stations  far  up  the  steep,  pine-clad 
slopes  of  the  Sierra.  It  is  in  this  area 
that  our  search  for  the  earliest  long 
distance  lines  has  been  concentrated. 

The  production  of  gold  had  be- 
come more  or  less  routine  by  the  time 
the  telephone  came  along.  Though 
an  occasional  discovery  still  caused 
high  excitement,  the  rush  was  long 
over.  The  individual  prospector  had 
been  pretty  much  replaced  by  large- 
scale  operations. 

Geologically,  the  Mother  Lode  is 
a  belt  of  gold-bearing  quartz  extend- 
ing roughly  a  hundred  miles  north- 
east from  Mariposa,  near  Yosemite 
Valley.  Gold  was  found  in  many 
other  places,  however,  and  the 
Mother   Lode   country   is   popularly 


considered  to  include  the  Sierra  slope 
as  far  north  as  Redding. 

Over  the  centuries,  free  gold  had 
been  washed  out  of  the  quartz  and 
into  streams  and  rivers.  Conse- 
quently, it  occurred  in  the  form  of 
dust  or  nuggets  nearly  anywhere 
there  was  water.  The  '49ers  found 
pockets  of  it  all  over  the  Mother 
Lode;  they  even  found  huge  nuggets 
weighing  several  pounds.  Gold  that 
reached  the  larger  rivers — the  Bear, 
the  American,  the  Yuba,  the  Feather 
— was  carried  down  toward  the  val- 
ley, lodging  in  their  wide  gravel  beds 
and  alluvial  deposits. 

After  the  pockets  were  picked  out 
and  the  riffles  panned,  the  gold 
seekers  had  to  go  deeper  for  the 
values  they  sought.  They  dug  out 
the  banks  and  sandbars  and  washed 
the  debris  by  means  of  sluice  boxes 
with  cleats  on  the  bottom  to  catch  the 
gold.     But  the  labor  involved  in  this 


234 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


method  was  terrific.  Then  it  was 
discovered  that  streams  of  water  un- 
der pressure  could  wash  down  tons 
of  sand  and  gravel  in  a  day,  and 
"hydraulic"  mining  began. 

Mining  at  the  Dawn 
of  Telephony 

The  mining  picture  in  the  Mother 
Lode  at  the  dawn  of  telephony,  then, 
was  this :  giant  gold  dredges  chewed 
their  way  through  miles  of  gravel  in 
the  lower  riverbeds.  Hard  rock 
miners  bored  deep  underground  at 
Grass  Valley  and  Nevada  City,  at  An- 
gel's Camp — scene  of  Mark  Twain's 
celebrated    Jumping    Frog — and    at 


A  glimpse  down  a  corridor  oj  the  past:  the  planked  and 
roojed  sidewalks  of  Virginia  Ctty.  The  present-day 
telephone  office  is  in  the  store  in  the  right  foreground 


Jackson  and  Sutter  Creek.  In  the 
middle  foothills,  at  the  fringe  of  the 
pines,  great  hydraulic  nozzles,  or 
monitors,  were  shooting  streams  of 
water  under  enormous  pressure 
against  banks  and  ridges  of  sand  and 
gravel.  The  water  for  this  opera- 
tion came  down  from  dams  or  lakes 
high  in  the  Sierra,  through  ditches  or 
pipes,  and  gravity  supplied  the  pres- 
sure. 

Much  has  already  been  printed 
about  the  Ridge  Telephone  Line. 
It  was  thought  for  a  time  to  have 
been  the  first  long  distance  telephone 
line  in  the  world.  This  line  was  built 
by  the  Milton,  North  Bloomfield,  and 
Eureka  Lake  mining  companies  to 
control  the  water  sup- 
ply for  hydraulic  opera- 
tions in  and  around 
French  Corral,  in  Ne- 
vada County.  The  line 
ran  up  San  Juan  Ridge 
and  continued  to  Mil- 
ton in  Sierra  County, 
60  miles  above  in  the 
mountains.  Work  was 
started  September  25, 
1878,  and  completed  on 
December  3  of  that 
year. 

This  line,  like  others 
we  shall  describe,  was 
used  primarily  to  con- 
trol the  water  supply 
coming  down  through 
miles  of  flumes.  There 
was  a  constant  starting 
and  stopping  of  the 
stream  as  it  was  ad- 
justed to  the  work  at 
hand.  The  ability  to 
sing  out  "Let  'er  go!" 
to  a  man  at  a  valve  or 
dam    from    ten    to    50 


"■"*«» 


1949-50 


Early  Lines  in  the  Far  West 


235 


miles  away  brought  a 
remarkable  saving  of 
time  and  water. 

From  well-preserved 
records  of  the  Ridge 
Line,  we  know  that 
commercial  messages 
were  handled  from  any 
of  several  stations 
along  its  route. 

Many  of  the  tele- 
phone lines  used  in  con- 
trolling hydraulic  min- 
ing were  in  operation 
by  September  1878. 
Some  telegraph  wires 
were  undoubtedly  in- 
cluded in  several  of 
these  telephone  net- 
works, but  for  the  most 
part  they  were  con- 
structed for  and  by  pri- 
vate enterprise.  The 
names  of  some  other 
companies  give  an  in- 
teresting sidelight  on 
the  importance  of  hy- 
draulic mining  to  early 
telephone  development  in  this  area : 
the  South  Yuba  Canal  Company,  the 
Excelsior  Ditch  Company,  the  V- 
Flume  Lumber  Company. 

Some  Very  Early  Lines 

According  to  1878  issues  of  the 
Nevada  City  Transcript,  which  fol- 
lowed telephone  growth  with  great 
interest,  the  South  Yuba  Canal  and 
affiliated  companies  started  building 
184  miles  of  telephone  line  on  May 
21,  1878,  and  completed  construc- 
tion on  July  24,  1878.  This  line  was 
started  south  of  the  South  Fork  of 
the  Yuba  River,  and  it  was  a  sprawl- 
ing system  with  branch  lines  that 
covered   parts   of   two   counties   and 


A  picture  of  seventy-odd  years  ago.  The  ^* Amador 
Dispatch"  and  the  telephone  office  were  located  over 
Henry  WeiFs  store,  in  Jackson,  California.  fVilliam 
Penry,  editor  of  the  paper  and  an  organizer  of  the  Amador 
Telephone  Company,  stands  fourth  from  the  left  on  the 
upper  porch 


touched  the  storied  gold  rush  towns 
of  Emigrant  Gap  and  Dutch  Flat. 

In  Amador  County,  not  far  from 
where  gold  was  first  discovered  at 
Coloma,  the  Amador  Telephone 
Company  put  a  line  into  operation 
some  time  before  June  i,  1878.  This 
line,  established  on  a  strictly  com- 
mercial basis,  ran  between  Jackson, 
Sutter  Creek,  and  the  Oneida  Mine. 
It  was  25  miles  long  and  a  clear-cut 
example  of  an  historical  long  dis- 
tance line  as  we  have  defined  it. 

Even  earlier  than  this,  to  the  north, 
another  combination  of  telegraph  and 
private  telephone  lines  had  been  de- 
veloped. This  network  operated  in 
Butte,    Yuba,    Tehama,    and    Sierra 


n^ 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


WINTER 


In  the  foreground^  in  French  Corral,  California,  is  a  building  of  the  Milton  Mining 
Company  which  was  built  in  i8^j.     It  later  housed  the  equipment  of  the  Ridge  Tele- 
phone Company  which  operated  the  line  connecting  with  French  Lake,  ^8  miles  away. 
At  the  extreme  left  is  an  old  Wells  Fargo  building 


counties,  and  was  in  operation  by 
April,  1878.  Several  firms,  includ- 
ing the  Western  Union  Telegraph 
Company,  had  gone  together  to  make 
up  this  system,  too :  the  Sierra  Flume 
and  Lumber  Company  of  Chico,  the 
Rideout-Smith  banking  firm  of  Marys- 
ville,  the  Spring  Valley  Water  and 
Gravel  Company,  and  the  Cherokee 
Flat  gravel  mines  located  above  Oro- 
ville. 

The  cities  of  Chico,  Marysville, 
Oroville,  Biggs,  Red  Buff — far  to 
the  north — and  Cherokee  were  linked 
by  this  network.  By  1879,  at  least 
eleven  other  communities  had  been 
included,  among  them  Sierraville, 
Truckee,  La  Porte,  Clipper  Mills, 
and  Strawberry  Valley.  Full  details 
about  public  usage  on  these  lines  are 
not  yet  known,  although  it  has  been 
definitely  ascertained  that  the  Ride- 
out-Smith  banking   offices   permitted 


customers  to  talk  between  their  banks 
and  to  send  personal  messages  on  a 
limited  scale.* 

So,  while  this  is  our  earliest  long 
distance  line  so  far,  evidence  that  it 
completely  fulfills  our  definition  is 
lacking.  Portions  of  this  system  ob- 
viously do — they  were  built  for  tele- 
phone purposes  primarily,  they  per- 
mitted public  usage,  and  they  ran 
between  distant  cities.  But  the  rec- 
ord is  still  fragmentary  in  parts. 
Until  the  gaps  have  been  filled  in 
conclusively,  we  are  not  ready  to  of- 
fer this  line  or  some  distinct  part  of 


*  A  great  deal  of  what  we  know  about  the 
telephone  in  the  Mother  Lode  country  must  be 
credited  to  Mrs.  Dorothy  Irving,  of  the  John  I. 
Sabin  Chapter  of  the  Telephone  Pioneers  of 
America,  at  Sacramento.  Mrs.  Irving  carried 
on  her  research  through  old  newspaper  files, 
courthouse  and  business  records,  personal  and 
public  papers.  Without  her  hard  work  and  per- 
sistence, this  particular  story  might  never  have 
been  told.     W.  B.,  Sr. 


1949-50 


Early  Lines  in  the  Far  West 


237 


it  as  the  earliest  long  distance  line  in 
the  West. 

Another  reason  is  that  we  may 
have  even  earlier  lines  to  tell  about! 

Some  time  prior  to  April,  1878, 
telephone  service  was  available  be- 
tween several  cities  in  the  western 
part  of  Nevada.  Virginia  City, 
Sutro,  Marlette  Lake,  Carson  City 
and  Glenbrook  were  connected.  But 
information  on  these  lines  is  so  in- 
complete we  can  say  only  that  we  are 
still  looking  for  additional  data. 

If  This  Itf 

Now,  HOWEVER,  we  shall  take  you 
back  to  Nevada  County  again.  Here, 
in  the  heart  of  the  Mother  Lode, 
were  two  communities  known  as  Lit- 
tle York  and  Liberty  Hill.  News- 
paper notices  tell  of  the  completion 
of  a  telephone  line  between  the  two 


locations,  which  were  only  six  miles 
apart.  The  public  participated  en- 
thusiastically in  the  inauguration  of 
the  new  line.  They  talked,  they  lis- 
tened, their  eyes  grew  round.  They 
congratulated  one  another  on  their 
chance  to  experience  this  new  won- 
der. For  a  long  time,  they  said  to 
one  another,  they  would  remember 
this  day.  What  day?  January  22, 
1878. 

We're  not  saying  that  this  was  the 
first  long  distance  line  in  the  world, 
or  even  in  the  West.  We're  just 
saying  that  it's  the  earliest  one  we 
have  found  so  far.  And  we're  still 
looking. 

Who  knows  but  that  some  enter- 
prising man  built  an  even  earlier  line, 
that  now  seems  as  deeply  buried  in 
the  past  as  the  lost  camps  of  Red 
Dog  and  You  Bet?  Maybe  we'll 
find  it! 


We  Call  Them  Outdoor  Booths 


The  Postmaster  General,  after  consulting  the  Ministry  of  Town 
and  Country  Planning,  the  Royal  Fine  Art  Commission  and  the 
Councils  for  the  Preservation  of  Rural  England  and  Wales,  has 
decided  to  maintain  "Post  Office  Red"  as  the  standard  colour  for 
kiosks.  For  places  of  exceptional  beauty  one  alternative  colour 
scheme — dark  battleship  grey  w^ith  the  glazing  bars  picked  out  in 
red — may  be  adopted  after  consultation  with  the  Ministry  of  Town 
and  Country  Planning. 

Telecommunications  Journal,  United  Kingdom  Post  Office 


Twenty-five  Years  Ago  in  the 
Bell  Telephone  Quarterly 

Items  from  Volume  IV,  Number  1,  January  1925 


An  Instrumentality 
Of  Service 

Every  new  feature  of  modern  life  has  re- 
sulted in  a  new  demand  upon  the  telephone 
service.  So  automobiles  made  their  de- 
mands for  telephone  service,  so  airplanes 
added  new  requirements,  so  radio  broad- 
casting itself,  and  so  every  innovation. 
Each  has  had  to  be  tied  into  our  daily  life 
by  the  wires  that  carry  speech.  It  would 
take  too  long  to  tell  of  the  many  new  kinds 
of  telephone  service  which  have  been  de- 
vised to  meet  changing  conditions.  They 
range  from  the  taxicab  "central"  to  the 
telephone  equipment  of  a  power  farmer, 
from  the  needs  of  a  hospital  to  those  of  the 
motion  picture  director,  from  the  battle- 
ship to  the  depths  of  the  mine. 

But  the  greatest  problems  of  the  tele- 
phone companies  are  not  those  of  new 
adaptations,  but  of  tremendous  growth 
along  the  lines  of  common  usage.  Growth, 
always  impressive,  is  nevertheless  compara- 
tively simple  in  most  lines  of  industry.  If 
the  shoe  business  grows,  the  manufacturer 
may  enlarge  his  factory,  or  build  more  fac- 
tories and  employ  a  larger  force.  If  the 
business  of  the  railroad  grows,  it  may  add 
more  cars  and  more  tracks.  In  such  cases 
fundamental  inventions  or  changes  in  meth- 
ods may  be  desirable  but  they  do  not  be- 
come imperative,  because  of  the  growth  of 
the  business. 

How  different  are  the  problems  resulting 
from  telephone  growth.  Think  of  the  long 
list  of  inventions  made  necessary  by  the 
growth  of  a  single  city !  A  million  or  more 
telephones  must  all  be  connected  so  that 
any  telephone  can  be  reached  through  any 
other  telephone.     Think  of  the  inventions 


which  had  to  be  made  before  fifteen  million 
telephones  scattered  throughout  every  state 
in  the  Union  could  be  connected  in  one 
system,  so  that  anyone  anywhere  can  talk 
with  anyone  anywhere  else! 

The  scientists  and  engineers  have  dis- 
covered and  applied  the  means  of  solving 
each  of  these  many  problems.  All  lands 
have  been  drawn  upon  for  the  raw  mate- 
rials. New  apparatus  has  been  developed, 
tested  and  put  to  use.  New  methods  of  op- 
eration have  been  tried  and  approved.  Con- 
struction has  been  put  through  on  a  nation- 
wide scale. 

Meanwhile,  there  has  been  built  up  an 
organization  of  telephone  men  and  women 
skilled  in  their  work,  loyal  to  its  service. 

Such  is  the  Bell  System  of  today,  an  in- 
strument of  universal  communication,  bind- 
ing together  the  nation  and  its  innumerable 
activities. 

The  Bell  System  not  only  grows  with 
the  country  but  it  helps  the  country  to 
grow.  During  the  past  year  new  develop- 
ments have  been  made,  resulting  in  better 
apparatus  and  better  methods.  The  prop- 
erty used  for  telephone  purposes  has  been 
greatly  extended,  and  the  facilities  for 
promptly  meeting  the  many  and  varied  re- 
quirements for  service  have  been  steadily 
extended. 

That  it  has  been  a  good  year  has  been 
due  to  the  fine  work  of  each  company,  each 
department  and  each  individual.  The  rec- 
ord is  one  of  which  all  may  well  be  proud. 

The  new  year  lies  before  us  with  in- 
creasing responsibilities  and  correspondingly 
greater  oportunities.  Economically,  it 
promises  to  be  a  year  of  better  general  busi- 
ness conditions,  and  consequently  there 
should  be  more  demand  for  telephone  serv- 
ice. 


238 


Twenty-Jive  Years  Ago 


239 


New  problems  of  every  sort  are  sure  to 
present  themselves.  But  they  can  and  will 
be  solved.  Progress  will  be  needed  along 
many  lines  but  it  can  and  will  be  made. 
There  is  no  standing  still  for  the  Bell  Sys- 
tem, because  it  is  a  living,  growing  organ- 
ism and  the  enthusiasm  of  each  individual 


will  give  him  a  proud  part  in  the  results 
which  all  together  will  achieve. 

Nowhere  is  there  to  be  found  a  corporate 
organization  which  is  entrusted  with  an  un- 
dertaking of  greater  magnitude. 

From  an  editorial  statement. 


Who's  Who  &  What's  What 

{Continued  from  page  179) 

side  forces  of  the  Plant  Department,  he 
was  moved  to  a  staff  position  in  the  office 
of  the  general  plant  supervisor,  and  was 
subsequently  loaned  to  the  Department  of 
Operation  and  Engineering  of  A.  T.  &  T. 
He  later  returned  to  his  regular  duties 
with  the  New  York  Company,  and  in  1943 
he  transferred  permanently  to  the  O.  &  E. 
Department,  where  he  is  an  engineer  in 
the  building  and  equipment  section  of  the 
Engineering  Division. 

An  officer  in  two  wars,  Mr.  Clark  spent 
the  years  between  in  the  commercial  engi- 
neering division  of  the  New  York  Tele- 
phone Company,  as  secretary  to  former 
President  Walter  S.  Gifford  of  A.  T.  & 
T.,  and  in  the  sales  and  servicing  section 
of  the  Commercial  Division  of  the  O.  &  E. 


Department.  After  discharge  from  the 
Army  in  1945,  with  the  rank  of  major,  he 
rejoined  the  sales  and  servicing  section, 
where  he  is  now  concerned  with  communi- 
cation arrangements  for  business  customers. 
His  most  recent  previous  contribution  to 
this  Magazine  was  "Public  Telephones: 
They  Serve  Everybody,"  in  the  issue  for 
Spring  1948. 

The  tale  of  early  telephone  lines  in  the 
Mother  Lode  country  of  the  Pacific  slope 
represents  collaboration  for  fair;  for  not 
only  did  two  members  of  the  Pacific  Tele- 
phone and  Telegraph  Company  join  in 
writing  it,  but  three  other  members  com- 
bined to  produce  the  decorative  map  which 
sets  the  stage  for  this  interesting  bit  of 
histor3^ 

Walter  Blackford,  Sr.,  started  work 
for  the  Pacific  Telephone  and  Telegraph 


Walter  Blackford.  Sr. 


Joy  F.  Hutton 


240 


Bell  Telephone  Magazine 


Company  in  1905  as  a  telegraph  operator 
at  Reno,  Nevada,  and  in  1906,  after  the 
San  Francisco  earthquake  and  fire,  he 
manned  for  interminable  hours  the  only 
available  commercial  telegraph  circuit  be- 
tween Nevada  and  California.  He  had 
thereafter  a  long  career  vrith  the  Company 
as  toll  testboardman  in  California  and 
Nevada  cities,  and  was  one  of  the  first  to 
talk  across  the  continent  over  the  original 
TC  circuit.  He  served  as  senior  toll  test- 
boardman at  San  Francisco  from  1933  to 
1945.  In  the  latter  year  he  was  appointed 
stafif  assistant  and  made  general  chairman 
of  the  historical  committee  of  George  S, 
Ladd  Chapter  of  the  Telephone  Pioneers 
of  America  and  editor  of  its  Pioneer  News 
Letter. 


Joy  F.  Hutton  joined  the  Pacific  Com- 
pany in  1 94 1  as  an  outside  representative, 
and  worked  in  several  Northern  California 
exchanges.  In  1947  he  was  transferred  to 
the  office  of  the  general  information  man- 
ager in  Northern  California,  and  became 
a  member  of  the  staff  of  the  Pacific  Tele- 
phone Magazine,  handling  both  writing  as- 
signments and  news  bureau  duties. 

The  map  on  page  228  had  to  be  com- 
piled from  other  maps  sufficiently  large  in 
scale  to  include  the  obscure  places  which 
figured  in  the  stirring  "gold  rush"  events 
of  a  hundred  years  ago.  Clifford  Kay  and 
Robert  Sibbald,  of  the  chief  engineer's 
office,  and  Henry  Olsen,  an  artist  in  the 
General  Information  Department,  worked 
together  to  produce  its  happy  combination 
of  accuracy  and  atmosphere. 


The  "Transistor" 

(From  the  Telecommunications  Journal, 
United  Kingdom  Post  Office) 

In  the  last  few  months,  a  most  important  discovery  has  been  an- 
nounced by  the  Bell  Laboratories  of  America.  They  have  produced 
a  device  resembling  the  well  known  crystal  detector  but  fitted  with 
two  cat-whiskers  instead  of  one.  The  device,  which  has  been  christ- 
ened a  "Transistor,"  when  connected  in  an  appropriate  circuit  be- 
haves like  a  thermionic  valve;  a  weak  signal  applied  between  the 
crystal  and  one  cat-whisker  produces  an  amplified  signal  between 
the  crystal  and  the  other  cat-whisker.  The  magnification  can  be 
of  the  order  of  a  thousand  times  in  power.  Very  little  power  is 
required  to  work  it  and  as  there  is  no  heating  required  the  transistor 
is  immediately  ready  for  use.  It  is  small,  about  the  size  of  a 
flash  lamp  bulb,  and  is  capable  of  working  up  to  ten  megacycles  per 
second  (30  metres  wavelength).  This  new  discovery  appears  to  be 
of  outstanding  importance  and  seems  likely  to  affect  profoundly  the 
development  of  telecommunications  and  allied  branches  of  engineer- 
ing. ...  At  the  moment  the  transistor  is  a  laboratory  wonder  and 
its  appearance  as  a  factory  product  is  eagerly  awaited.  This  dis- 
covery is  a  good  instance  of  a  phenomenon  existing  for  years  un- 
observed right  under  our  noses.  One  wonders  what  other  equally 
important  effects  are  awaiting  discovery  by  someone  with  sufficient 
curiosity  to  look  for  them.