the history of the telephone-第26节

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lf　of　blood　between；　and　with　two　flags；　two　Presidents；　and　two　armies。　In　1876　it　was　hesitating　halfway　between　doubt　and　confidence；　between　the　old　political　issues　of　North　and　South；　and　the　new　industrial　issues　of　foreign　trade　and　the　development　of　material　resources。　The　West　was　being　thrown　open。　The　Indians　and　buffaloes　were　being　driven　back。　There　was　a　line　of　railway　from　ocean　to　ocean。　The　population　was　gaining　at　the　rate　of　a　million　a　year。　Col…　orado　had　just　been　baptized　as　a　new　State。　And　it　was　still　an　unsolved　problem　whether　or　not　the　United　States　could　be　kept　united；　whether　or　not　it　could　be　built　into　an　organic　nation　without　losing　the　spirit　of　self…help　and　democracy。

It　is　not　easy　for　us　to　realize　to…day　how　young　and　primitive　was　the　United　States　of　1876。　Yet　the　fact　is　that　we　have　twice　the　population　that　we　had　when　the　telephone　was　invented。　We　have　twice　the　wheat　crop　and　twice　as　much　money　in　circulation。　We　have　three　times　the　railways；　banks；　libraries；　newspapers；　exports；　farm　values；　and　national　wealth。　We　have　ten　million　farmers　who　make　four　times　as　much　money　as　seven　million　farmers　made　in　1876。　We　spend　four　times　as　much　on　our　public　schools；　and　we　put　four　times　as　much　in　the　savings　bank。　We　have　five　times　as　many　students　in　the　colleges。　And　we　have　so　revolutionized　our　methods　of　production　that　we　now　produce　seven　times　as　much　coal；　fourteen　times　as　much　oil　and　pig…　iron；　twenty…two　times　as　much　copper；　and　forty…three　times　as　much　steel。

There　were　no　skyscrapers　in　1876；　no　trolleys；　no　electric　lights；　no　gasoline　engines；　no　self…binders；　no　bicycles；　no　automobiles。　There　was　no　Oklahoma；　and　the　combined　population　of　Montana；　Wyoming；　Idaho；　and　Arizona　was　about　equal　to　that　of　Des　Moines。　It　was　in　this　year　that　General　Custer　was　killed　by　the　Sioux；　that　the　flimsy　iron　railway　bridge　fell　at　Ashtabula；　that　the　〃Molly　Maguires〃　terrorized　Pennsylvania；　that　the　first　wire　of　the　Brooklyn　Bridge　was　strung；　and　that　Boss　Tweed　and　Hell　Gate　were　both　put　out　of　the　way　in　New　York。

The　Great　Elm；　under　which　the　Revolutionary　patriots　had　met；　was　still　standing　on　Boston　Common。　Daniel　Drew；　the　New　York　financier；　who　was　born　before　the　American　Constitution　was　adopted；　was　still　alive；　so　were　Commodore　Vanderbilt；　Joseph　Henry；　A。　T。　Stewart；　Thurlow　Weed；　Peter　Cooper；　Cyrus　McCormick；　Lucretia　Mott；　Bryant；　Longfellow；　and　Emerson。　Most　old　people　could　remember　the　running　of　the　first　railway　train；　people　of　middle　age　could　remember　the　sending　of　the　first　telegraph　message；　and　the　children　in　the　high　schools　remembered　the　laying　of　the　first　Atlantic　Cable。

The　grandfathers　of　1876　were　fond　of　telling　how　Webster　opposed　taking　Texas　and　Oregon　into　the　Union；　how　George　Washington　advised　against　including　the　Mississippi　River；　and　how　Monroe　warned　Congress　that　a　country　that　reached　from　the　Atlantic　to　the　Middle　West　was　〃too　extensive　to　be　governed　but　by　a　despotic　monarchy。〃　They　told　how　Abraham　Lincoln；　when　he　was　postmaster　of　New　Salem；　used　to　carry　the　letters　in　his　coon…　skin　cap　and　deliver　them　at　sight；　how　in　1822　the　mails　were　carried　on　horseback　and　not　in　stages；　so　as　to　have　the　quickest　possible　service；　and　how　the　news　of　Madison's　election　was　three　weeks　in　reaching　the　people　of　Kentucky。　When　the　telegraph　was　mentioned；　they　told　how　in　Revolutionary　days　the　patriots　used　a　system　of　signalling　called　〃Washington's　Tele…　graph；〃　consisting　of　a　pole；　a　flag；　a　basket；　and　a　barrel。

So；　the　young　Republic　was　still　within　hearing　distance　of　its　childhood；　in　1876。　Both　in　sentiment　and　in　methods　of　work　it　was　living　close　to　the　log…cabin　period。　Many　of　the　old　slow　ways　survived；　the　ways　that　were　fast　enough　in　the　days　of　the　stage…coach　and　the　tinder…box。　There　were　seventy…seven　thousand　miles　of　railway；　but　poorly　built　and　in　short　lengths。　There　were　manufacturing　industries　that　employed　two　million；　four　hundred　thousand　people；　but　every　trade　was　broken　up　into　a　chaos　of　small　competitive　units；　each　at　war　with　all　the　others。　There　were　energy　and　enterprise　in　the　highest　degree；　but　not　efficiency　or　organization。　Little　as　we　knew　it；　in　1876　we　were　mainly　gathering　together　the　plans　and　the　raw　materials　for　the　building　up　of　the　modern　business　world；　with　its　quick；　tense　life　and　its　national　structure　of　immense　coordinated　industries。

In　1876　the　age　of　specialization　and　community　of　interest　was　in　its　dawn。　The　cobbler　had　given　place　to　the　elaborate　factory；　in　which　seventy　men　cooperated　to　make　one　shoe。　The　merchant　who　had　hitherto　lived　over　his　store　now　ventured　to　have　a　home　in　the　suburbs。　No　man　was　any　longer　a　self…sufficient　Robinson　Crusoe。　He　was　a　fraction；　a　single　part　of　a　social　mechanism；　who　must　necessarily　keep　in　the　closest　touch　with　many　others。

A　new　interdependent　form　of　civilization　was　about　to　be　developed；　and　the　telephone　arrived　in　the　nick　of　time　to　make　this　new　civilization　workable　and　convenient。　It　was　the　unfolding　of　a　new　organ。　Just　as　the　eye　had　become　the　telescope；　and　the　hand　had　become　machinery；　and　the　feet　had　become　railways；　so　the　voice　became　the　telephone。　It　was　a　new　ideal　method　of　communication　that　had　been　made　indispensable　by　new　conditions。　The　prophecy　of　Carlyle　had　come　true；　when　he　said　that　〃men　cannot　now　be　bound　to　men　by　brass　collars；　you　will　have　to　bind　them　by　other　far　nobler　and　cunninger　methods。〃

Railways　and　steamships　had　begun　this　work　of　binding　man　to　man　by　〃nobler　and　cunninger　methods。〃　The　telegraph　and　cable　had　gone　still　farther　and　put　all　civilized　people　within　sight　of　each　other；　so　that　they　could　communicate　by　a　sort　of　deaf　and　dumb　alphabet。　And　then　came　the　telephone；　giving　direct　instantaneous　communication　and　putting　the　people　of　each　nation　within　hearing　distance　of　each　other。　It　was　the　completion　of　a　long　series　of　inventions。　It　was　the　keystone　of　the　arch。　It　was　the　one　last　improvement　that　enabled　interdependent　nations　to　handle　themselves　and　to　hold　together。

To　make　railways　and　steamboats　carry　letters　was　much；　in　the　evolution　of　the　means　of　communication。　To　make　the　electric　wire　carry　signals　was　more；　because　of　the　instantaneous　transmission　of　important　news。　But　to　make　the　electric　wire　carry　speech　was　MOST；　because　it　put　all　fellow…citizens　face　to　face；　and　made　both　message　and　answer　instantaneous。　The　invention　of　the　telephone　taught　the　Genie　of　Electricity　to　do　better　than　to　carry　mes…　sages　in　the　sign　language　of　the　dumb。　It　taught　him　to　speak。　As　Emerson　has　finely　said：


〃We　had　letters　to　send。　Couriers　could　not　go　fast　enough；　nor　far　enough；　broke　their　wagons；　foundered　their　horses；　bad　roads　in　Spring；　snowdrifts　in　Winter；　heat　in　Summercould　not　get　their　horses　out　of　a　walk。　But　we　found　that　the　air　and　the　earth　were　full　of　electricity；　and　always　going　our　way；　just　the　way　we　wanted　to　send。　WOULD　HE　TAKE　A　MESSAGE；　Just　as　lief　as　not；　had　nothing　else　to　do；　would　carry　it　in　no　time。〃


As　to　the　exact　value　of　the　telephone　to　the　United　States　in　dollars　and　cents；　no　one　can　tell。　One　statistician　has　given　us　a　total　of　three　million　dollars　a　day　as　the　amount　saved　by　using　telephones。　This　sum　may　be　far　too　high；　or　too　low。　It　can　be　no　more　than　a　guess。　The　only　adequate　way　to　arrive　at　the　value　of　the　telephone　is　to　consider　the　nation　as　a　whole；　to　take　it　all　in　all　as　a　going　concern；　and　to　note　that　such　a　nation　would　be　absolutely　impossible　without　its　telephone　service。　Some　sort　of　a　slower　and　lower　grade　republic　we　might　have；　with　small　industrial　units；　long　hours　of　labor；　lower　wages；　and　clumsier　ways。　The　money　loss　would　be　enormous；　but　more　serious　still　would　be　the　loss　in　the　QUALITY　OF　THE　NATIONAL　LIFE。　Inevitably；　an　untelephoned　nation　is　less　social；　less　unified；　less　progressive；　and　less　efficient。　It　belongs　to　an　inferior　species。

How　to　make　a　civilization　that　is　organized　and　quick；　instead　of　a　barbarism　that　was　chaotic　and　slowthat　is　the　universal　human　problem；　not　wholly　solved　to…day。　And　how　to　develop　a　science　of　intercommunication；　which　commenced　when　the　wild　animals　began　to　travel　in　herds　and　to　protect　themselves　from　their　enemies　by　a　language　of　danger…signals；　and　to　democratize　this　science　until　the　entire　nation　becomes　self…conscious　and　able　to　act　as　one　living　beingthat　is　the　part　of　this　universal　problem　which　finally　necessitated　the　invention　of　the　telephone。

With　the　use　of　the　telephone　has　come　a　new　habit　of　mind。　The　slow　and　sluggish　mood　has　been　sloughed　off。　The　old　to…morrow　habit　has　been　superseded　by　〃Do　It　To…day〃；　and　life　has　become　more　tense；　alert；　vivid。　The　brain　has　been　relieved　of　the　suspense　of　waiting　for　an　answer；　which　is　a　psychological　gain　of　great　importance。　It　receives　its　reply　at　once　and　is　set　free　to　consider　other　matters。　There　is　less　burden　upon　the　memory　and　the　WHOLE　MIND　can　be　given　to　each　new　proposition。

A　new　instinct　of　speed　has　been　developed；　much　more　fully　in　the　U