| Show THE TELEPHONE IN SOCIAL LIFE A NEW SPHERE OF USEFULNESS FOR THE PHONETAKING THE PLACE OF THE MESSENGER AND TELEGRAM Tic tk I phono I has become 1 n feature ot 0cl1 > life finding a nw sphere ot usefulness This Is dole In part to the reduction in the rental rate In certain cities In Detroit and other places where there Is I complllUon with the Hell Telephone company and where rental rates have been cut In hIt a large clientage has been round In domestic do-mestic circle In St Louis where on opposition company Is now laying wires and planning to give a mervice al t less Moon onehalf current rate household Oro Are among the chief uhclhars Telephones are being rented for houses not for convenience In jailing ip the butcher and bake but for social purposes An Investigation by > railroad men showed that tho decrease In rail road travel In recent years waR caused bj the long distance telephone Society too Is beginning to live nt telephone speed Engagements which were made once by persona calls or formal notes of Invitation are now proposed and closed over the telephone wire The Young mn who IIrot a not of Invitation Invita-tion and paid a messenger to cents for delivering It and bringing an answer now calls up No C77 and says Hello It this Mr Wllocfield1 Is Miss Delia at home Oh Veal Is that you Miss Delia How are ouT This is I Andrew Allen Will You go to tie Century theater with me Wednesday night 4 Yes Its Sothern Ics his new play Iady Ursula Thank you Ill call at a quarter before 8 Qoodby The transaction Is I closed In two mIn nice Mr Allen telephones the theater to reserve two sea is for Wednesday I night and on hi 1 Is way home he stops at tho box office and l gets the tickets Or If It Is I n question ot n bunny1 as a Welsh rabbit is I known In some cities of the middle wt there Is I no need of sending formal Invitations or retting the function for a future day There Is I a series ot hellos answered by busy young men In banks and In entrance offices followed by a series of similar conferences with young women at their ponies Behold at 8 clock of the evening ot that day a select dozen I gathered around the silver dialing dish disputing the amount of Worcestershire sauce and mustard which shall BO with a stated quantity of cheese and ale Or suppose an entertainment In pro peel for a certain night and Hiss Wall flow er suffering for an escort or a chap eron Some goodfren hearing of her Predicament I rings up No 13u Will Miss Uallflonrer accept a sent In the carriage of Mrs Qoodhenrt and go with her to the ball T Bliss Wallnower dries her tears as site gin On affirmative answer and another tragedy Is I avrled Ot course the teler hone in social at talrs has Its drawbacks However clove Iy Jack and Filth may bo I closeted with their on particular i telephone they can never be sure that a crossed wire will not give an unfeeling stranger the benefit ot their cnnndences and It Is I not encouraging to sentiment 10 have on alien voice cry In jour ear act off the wire with that dadblamed talkl Here central give me tie Hjgcla Ice company quick And there Is al 1 < vajs central who may be relied upon to take a lively Interest In hr 1 clients affairs w henoer calls are few and she has a moment to give to them And there too 10 tho uncertainty In the recotnl thin otoler which may lead to av k ward complications Row Is I one to know when a joyous voice floats over the wire with Are You going 10 be at home this evening Miss Becky thai It Isnt that tiresome Bcakor man tow to-w Sarah has orders to give the stereotyped Not at home reply I t Is I odd that the telephone companies compa-nies did not see long ago the advantage advan-tage of working up the social feature I of the telephone It Is I a business that builds Itlelf I If one family has a telephone tele-phone every other family In that set Is I going to demand one Every young girl jn every family Is going to find that the girl who has a telephone at her elbow 1 el-bow fares better In social matters than the one who ham to depend on the old forms ot communication for making social so-cial engagements So In cities where the telephone hose become IJ factor In social life every father of every Young girl finds his life made a burden until his house Is I supplied with the desirable adjunct It the old rate of telephone service I It I was not practicable fti a great many men 10 have telephones In their houses In New York city for Instance It Is I all the average man can do 10 support a telephone service In his office at TOO a year Jut where service is I down to 314 n year as It Is I now In some cities the problem Is I simplified Two telephones tele-phones nt J4 each ore much less ex penalve than one telephone at the old rate of 1100 or more This fact will give Bliss Dud on una ewer his argument In favor ot a home 1lephonean answer I 11 to 11 11 I I 111 l ij oJ I nhlch her father will find It difficult to evade for It Is I a fact that some business ness men prefer for personal reasons not to have telephones In their homes I and their offices as well Possibly I It psthle I ucl keeps their wives too closely in touch with their movements There are now about SjO 000 Bell telephones tele-phones In use In the United States The number of opposition Instruments in op rnUon is comparatively small though In many towns ot Michigan beginning with Detroit the position with Its low rates has driven the Bell company com-pany partly or wholly out ot business If the use ot telephones In homes be comes general as It Is I certain to do wIth the reduction ot rates to IZ 0 i month the number of telephones Inn in-n five years hence will be not less thin 1 COO 000 probably many more The greengrocer and tie butcher will find them a necessity since their customers will all have them I Marketing will be done by telephone Fngagementswill be made telephone The domestic economy will be revolts lionized In time the use ot telephones will become so common that a woman about to give an entertainment will not think of having Invitations mailed to hr friends She will send a list to the itral I telephone station and at an hour appointed her house will be put In communication with the homes of her dear 500 friends and the Invitation will 1 > e extended personally In her own voice There ha Ith been practical experiences of Iready with sending news by telephone to regular subscribers distributing music mu-sic bs > telephone and transmitting Per inns to Invalids over the wIre In time 11 LI society grows and social duties become com a greater burden there will bo milling by telephone and Mrs Thing urn bob on her day ti receive will sit with her tar at the Instrument all aft moon and hold brief conversations mith her friends l as they ring up one after another The conversation of the average afternoon caller In 0 big nnd busy city Is I telephonically brief and r1 narks on the weather nre as interestIng Interest-Ing nt long range as they are at close quarters No live nt higher pressure every day With tie nld of the lets phone ne my condense twice an much Into 24 hours hoursJAMES JAMES n SANDriJSOV |
