The Americana - a universal reference library, comprising the arts and sciences, literature, history, biograhy, geography, commerce, etc., of the world (1903) (14773671385)

Identifier: americanaunivers15beac (find matches)

Title: The Americana : a universal reference library, comprising the arts and sciences, literature, history, biograhy, geography, commerce, etc., of the world

Year: 1903 (1900s)

Authors: Beach, Frederick Converse, 1848-1918 Rines, George Edwin, 1860- Scientific American, inc

Subjects: Encyclopedias and dictionaries

Publisher: New York : Scientific American compiling dept.

Contributing Library: University of California Libraries

Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

Text Appearing Before Image:

that was boundto come, as only another step in the logical or-der of things. We have waited for them, andhave not, therefore, been surprised at their suc-cessful advent. Few of us, however, as we have stood be-for a telephone box, wiggling a switch hook, orwhirling the crank of the hand generator, andimpatiently waiting for time and the Hellogirl to bring us our connection, have ever goneso far as to hope, or even conceive the idea,that this genius who had so long presided overthe central office would ever be unseated andher place occupied by an iron machine whosespeed and accuracy would discount her bestperformances; and yet that day is here. TheStates are already dotted with automatic tele-phone exchanges, which are giving service tothousands and thousands of subscribers, andwith such success that it is not hazarding any-thing to predict that a few years will see theabsolute divorce of the operator from the ex-change room — e.xcept, of course, for long-dis- TELEPHOXV, AL1( )MAT1C.

Text Appearing After Image:

1. Aiuomatic Teleplmne Switch. Front View. 2. Wall Telephone. Showing Method of Operating Dial and Making Call. 3. .Xutcniatio Teleplionc Exchange. Dayton, Ohio. Per.spective View of S\vitchhoard> TELEPHONY tance calls, for which her services will probablyalways be needed. Historical Retruspcct.—lhe application ofthe automatic idea to telephony is not newIt is considerably more than a decade sinceStrowger, an obscure Chicago engineer, broughtout the first automatic telephone. The StrowgerAutomatic Telephone Company and the installa-tion of a number of small e.xchanges resulted.These exchanges were successful, not so muchin what they actually accomplished in the wayof improved service, as in the promise theygave of future development in that direction.The apparatus was crude, imperfect, r.nd com-plex; but the fundamental ideas involved wereright and required only better expression. Ten years passed, lo years of experiment andpersistent effort. Strowger died. Tha Auto-matic Electri

history of telephony the americana a universal reference library 1903 book illustrations geography encyclopedias and dictionaries telephony history of technology images from internet archive

1903

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