the history of the telephone-第16节

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found　to　weigh　870；000　poundsa　full　load　for　a　twenty…two…car　freight　train；　and　the　cost　of　the　bare　metal　was　130；000。　So　enormous　has　been　the　use　of　copper　wire　since　then　by　the　telephone　companies；　that　fully　one…fourth　of　all　the　capital　invested　in　the　telephone　has　gone　to　the　owners　of　the　copper　mines。

For　several　years　the　brains　of　the　telephone　men　were　focussed　upon　this　problemhow　to　reduce　the　expenditure　on　copper。　One　uncanny　device；　which　would　seem　to　be　a　mere　inventor's　fantasy　if　it　had　not　already　saved　the　telephone　companies　four　million　dollars　or　more；　is　known　as　the　〃phantom　circuit。〃　It　enables　three　messages　to　run　at　the　same　time；　where　only　two　ran　before。　A　double　track　of　wires　is　made　to　carry　three　talk…trains　running　abreast；　a　feat　made　possible　by　the　whimsical　disposition　of　electricity；　and　which　is　utterly　inconceivable　in　railroading。　This　invention；　which　is　the　nearest　approach　as　yet　to　multiple　telephony；　was　conceived　by　Jacobs　in　England　and　Carty　in　the　United　States。

But　the　most　copper　money　has　been　saved　literally　tens　of　millions　of　dollarsby　persuading　thin　wires　to　work　as　efficiently　as　thick　ones。　This　has　been　done　by　making　better　transmitters；　by　insulating　the　smaller　wires　with　enamel　instead　of　silk；　and　by　placing　coils　of　a　certain　nature　at　intervals　upon　the　wires。　The　invention　of　this　last　device　startled　the　telephone　men　like　a　flash　of　lightning　out　of　a　blue　sky。　It　came　from　outsidefrom　the　quiet　laboratory　of　a　Columbia　professor　who　had　arrived　in　the　United　States　as　a　young　Hungarian　immigrant　not　many　years　earlier。　From　this　professor；　Michael　J。　Pupin；　came　the　idea　of　〃loading〃　a　telephone　line；　in　such　a　way　as　to　reinforce　the　electric　current。　It　enabled　a　thin　wire　to　carry　as　far　as　a　thick　one；　and　thus　saved　as　much　as　forty　dollars　a　wire　per　mile。　As　a　reward　for　his　cleverness；　a　shower　of　gold　fell　upon　Pupin；　and　made　him　in　an　instant　as　rich　as　one　of　the　grand…dukes　of　his　native　land。

It　is　now　a　most　highly　skilled　occupation；　supporting　fully　fifteen　thousand　families；　to　put　the　telephone　wires　in　place　and　protect　them　against　innumerable　dangers。　This　is　the　profession　of　the　wire　chiefs　and　their　men；　a　corps　of　human　spiders；　endlessly　spinning　threads　under　streets　and　above　green　fields；　on　the　beds　of　rivers　and　the　slopes　of　mountains；　massing　them　in　cities　and　fluffing　them　out　among　farms　and　villages。　To　tell　the　doings　of　a　wire　chief；　in　the　course　of　his　ordinary　week's　work；　would　in　itself　make　a　lively　book　of　adventures。　Even　a　washerwoman；　with　one　lone；　non…electrical　clothes…line　of　a　hundred　yards　to　operate；　has　often　enough　trouble　with　it。　But　the　wire　chiefs　of　the　Bell　telephone　have　charge　of　as　much　wire　as　would　make　TWO　HUNDRED　MILLION　CLOTHES…LINESten　apiece　to　every　family　in　the　United　States；　and　these　lines　are　not　punctuated　with　clothespins；　but　with　the　most　delicate　of　electrical　instruments。

The　wire　chiefs　must　detect　trouble　under　a　thousand　disguises。　Perhaps　a　small　boy　has　thrown　a　snake　across　the　wires　or　driven　a　nail　into　a　cable。　Perhaps　some　self…reliant　citizen　has　moved　his　own　telephone　from　one　room　to　another。　Perhaps　a　sudden　rainstorm　has　splashed　its　fatal　moisture　upon　an　unwiped　joint。　Or　perhaps　a　submarine　cable　has　been　sat　upon　by　the　Lusitania　and　flattened　to　death。　But　no　matter　what　the　trouble；　a　telephone　system　cannot　be　stopped　for　repairs。　It　cannot　be　picked　up　and　put　into　a　dry…dock。　It　must　be　repaired　or　improved　by　a　sort　of　vivisection　while　it　is　working。　It　is　an　interlocking　unit；　a　living；　conscious　being；　half　human　and　half　machine；　and　an　injury　in　any　one　place　may　cause　a　pain　or　sickness　to　its　whole　vast　body。

And　just　as　the　particles　of　a　human　body　change　every　six　or　seven　years；　without　disturb…　ing　the　body；　so　the　particles　of　our　telephone　systems　have　changed　repeatedly　without　any　interruption　of　traffic。　The　constant　flood　of　new　inventions　has　necessitated　several　complete　rebuildings。　Little　or　nothing　has　ever　been　allowed　to　wear　out。　The　New　York　system　was　rebuilt　three　times　in　sixteen　years；　and　many　a　costly　switchboard　has　gone　to　the　scrap…　heap　at　three　or　four　years　of　age。　What　with　repairs　and　inventions　and　new　construction；　the　various　Bell　companies　have　spent　at　least　425；000；000　in　the　first　ten　years　of　the　twentieth　century；　without　hindering　for　a　day　the　ceaseless　torrent　of　electrical　conversation。

The　crowning　glory　of　a　telephone　system　of　to…day　is　not　so　much　the　simple　telephone　itself；　nor　the　maze　and　mileage　of　its　cables；　but　rather　the　wonderful　mechanism　of　the　Switchboard。　This　is　the　part　that　will　always　remain　mysterious　to　the　public。　It　is　seldom　seen；　and　it　remains　as　great　a　mystery　to　those　who　have　seen　it　as　to　those　who　have　not。　Explanations　of　it　are　futile。　As　well　might　any　one　expect　to　learn　Sanscrit　in　half　an　hour　as　to　understand　a　switchboard　by　making　a　tour　of　investigation　around　it。　It　is　not　like　anything　else　that　either　man　or　Nature　has　ever　made。　It　defies　all　metaphors　and　comparisons。　It　cannot　be　shown　by　photography；　not　even　in　moving…pictures；　because　so　much　of　it　is　concealed　inside　its　wooden　body。　And　few　people；　if　any；　are　initiated　into　its　inner　mysteries　except　those　who　belong　to　its　own　cortege　of　inventors　and　attendants。

A　telephone　switchboard　is　a　pyramid　of　inventions。　If　it　is　full…grown；　it　may　have　two　million　parts。　It　may　be　lit　with　fifteen　thousand　tiny　electric　lamps　and　nerved　with　as　much　wire　as　would　reach　from　New　York　to　Berlin。　It　may　cost　as　much　as　a　thousand　pianos　or　as　much　as　three　square　miles　of　farms　in　Indiana。　The　ten　thousand　wire　hairs　of　its　head　are　not　only　numbered；　but　enswathed　in　silk；　and　combed　out　in　so　marvellous　a　way　that　any　one　of　them　can　in　a　flash　be　linked　to　any　other。　Such　hair…dressing！　Such　puffs　and　braids　and　ringlet　relays！　Whoever　would　learn　the　utmost　that　may　be　done　with　copper　hairs　of　Titian　red；　must　study　the　fantastic　coiffure　of　a　telephone　Switchboard。

If　there　were　no　switchboard；　there　would　still　be　telephones；　but　not　a　telephone　system。　To　connect　five　thousand　people　by　telephone　requires　five　thousand　wires　when　the　wires　run　to　a　switchboard；　but　without　a　switchboard　there　would　have　to　be　12；497；500　wires4；999　to　every　telephone。　As　well　might　there　be　a　nerve…system　without　a　brain；　as　a　telephone　system　without　a　switchboard。　If　there　had　been　at　first　two　separate　companies；　one　owning　the　telephone　and　the　other　the　switchboard；　neither　could　have　done　the　business。

Several　years　before　the　telephone　got　a　switchboard　of　its　own；　it　made　use　of　the　boards　that　had　been　designed　for　the　telegraph。　These　were　as　simple　as　wheelbarrows；　and　became　absurdly　inadequate　as　soon　as　the　telephone　business　began　to　grow。　Then　there　came　adaptations　by　the　dozen。　Every　telephone　manager　became　by　compulsion　an　inventor。　There　was　no　source　of　information　and　each　exchange　did　the　best　it　could。　Hundreds　of　patents　were　taken　out。　And　by　1884　there　had　come　to　be　a　fairly　definite　idea　of　what　a　telephone　switchboard　ought　to　be。

The　one　man　who　did　most　to　create　the　switchboard；　who　has　been　its　devotee　for　more　than　thirty　years；　is　a　certain　modest　and　little　known　inventor；　still　alive　and　busy；　named　Charles　E。　Scribner。　Of　the　nine　thousand　switchboard　patents；　Scribner　holds　six　hundred　or　more。　Ever　since　1878；　when　he　devised　the　first　〃jackknife　switch；〃　Scribner　has　been　the　wizard　of　the　switchboard。　It　was　he　who　saw　most　clearly　its　requirements。　Hundreds　of　others　have　helped；　but　Scribner　was　the　one　man　who　persevered；　who　never　asked　for　an　easier　job；　and　who　in　the　end　became　the　master　of　his　craft。

It　may　go　far　to　explain　the　peculiar　genius　of　Scribner　to　say　that　he　was　born　in　1858；　in　the　year　of　the　laying　of　the　Atlantic　Cable；　and　that　his　mother　was　at　the　time　profoundly　interested　in　the　work　and　anxious　for　its　success。　His　father　was　a　judge　in　Toledo；　but　young　Scribner　showed　no　aptitude　for　the　tangles　of　the　law。　He　preferred　the　tangles　of　wire　and　system　in　miniature；　which　he　and　several　other　boys　had　built　and　learned　to　operate。　These　boys　had　a　benefactor　in　an　old　bachelor　named　Thomas　Bond。　He　had　no　special　interest　in　telegraphy。　He　was　a　dealer　in　hides。　But　he　was　attracted　by　the　cleverness　of　the　boys　and　gave　them　money　to　buy　more　wires　and　more　batteries。　One　day　he　noticed　an　invention　of　young　Scribner'sa　telegraph　repeater。

〃This　may　make　your　fortune；〃　he　said；　〃but　no　mechanic　in　Toledo　can　make　a　proper　model　of　it　for　you。　You　must　go　to　Chicago；　where　telegraphic　apparatus　is　made。〃　The　boy　gladly　took　his　advice　and　went　to　the　Western　Electric　factory　in　Chicago。　Here　he　accidentally　met　Enos　M。　Barton；　the　head　of　the　factory。　Barton　noted　that　the　boy　was　a　genius　and　offered　him　a　job；　which　he　accepted　and　has　held　ever　since。　Such　is　the　story　of　the　entrance　of　Charles　E。　Scribner　into　the　telephone　business；　where　he　has　been　well…nigh　indispensable。

His　monumental　work　has　been　the　development　of　the　MULTIPLE　Switchboard；　a　much　more　brain…twisting　problem　tha