Show Long Distance Calls Note Year Fifty years ago on January 25 1915 the first transcontinental transcontinental telephone call was made between New York and San Francisco It traveled more than miles over copper wires Over six months of testing and exp experimentation proceeded proceed ed the first historic call across the nation after the first splice on the line was completed completed com com- at Wend Wendover over in June of 1914 Talking from New York was Alexander Graham Bell inventor inventor tor of the telephone and at San Francisco was Thomas A. A Watson his former fonner assistant in the Boston Laboratory where the telephone was born 39 years before The first call began with Alexander Graham Bell s saying saying say say- y ing Hoy Hoyl Hoy Are you there Do you hear me Yes Dr Bell I hear you perfectly Do you ou hear me well Yes your voice is perfectly distinct It is as as' as clear as if you were here in New York instead of being more than miles away The beginning of transcontinental transcontinental telephone service came at a time when our country country coun coun- try was growing up Henry Ford had perfected the assembly assembly assem assem- bly line and astonished the country with the introduction of a 5 minimum wage for an hour eight day We were preparing preparing preparing pre pre- paring to herald the opening of the Panama Canal World War I was in full swing in Europe Europe Eu Eu- rope but the United States had not become involved The railroads were prospering the trolley car lines were being electrified and skyscrapers were rising in the cities In 1915 the World Almanac Alman Alman- ac listed the telephone among The Seven New Wonders of the World The telephone performed performed per per- formed even greater wonders by enabling people across the country to talk to each other It was a triumph over time distance In 1911 long distance calling calling call call- ing was an accepted fact Calls were being made as far west as to Denver But that was the limit the voice faded too much to extend the distance The voice fading problem was solved in 1912 with the invention invention tion of the tube which could amplify speech The remaining remaining re reo re- re job for wide nation-wide communications was to build the final link between Denver and the west coast Terrain and weather created almost impossible working conditions In Colorado Wyoming Wyoming Wyo Wyo- ming and eastern Utah during during dur duro ing the winter the men battled bat bat- tied violent snowstorms and temperatures 40 below below be be- low zero In the summer on j the Great Salt Lake Desert bright sun on the white salt produced extreme heat On account of the hardness of the salt pole holes had to tobe tobe be blasted out with dynamite mud flats I Holes dug in the before poles could be set The I horses had their feet wrapped I in burlap to keep them from sinking as they dragged poles across the mud In spite of the I hardships the first transcontinental transcontinental I Itin tin telephone line was I completed on time William J. J Sullivan a retired employee of Mountain Mountair States Telephone I who is a resident of Salt Lake City and presently lives at Wander Lane was in charge of building some of the lines between Salt Lake and Wendover In describing the first call Mr Sullivan said To make sure that everything worked worked worked work work- ed smoothly along the line forthe forthe for forthe the first call men were stationed stationed sta sta- sta every ten miles from coast to coast My men were between Salt Lake City and Wendover Each had a horse for himself If trouble occurred occurred occur occur- red it could be reached inless in inless less than two hours by a are re re- re Fifty years ago the placing of a transcontinental call was wasa a major event involving a considerable considerable con con- investment It took minutes to set up a call between New York and San Francisco as the various sections sections sec sec- had to be hooked up manually Today one may dial his own call in less than 20 seconds Until March 1 1917 it cost 2070 for a to station-to- station call across the conti conti- nent Beginning February 1 the 21 long distance rate reduction re- re reduction re reo in the past years became became became be be- came effective A new night rate will make it possible for telephone users to place a three-minute three to station-to-station call anytime between 8 pm p.m. and am a.m. and all day on Sunday to any place in the continental United States for 1 or less This is noteworthy when one considers the general consumers consumers consumer's consumers consumer's ers er's price index for goods and services has tripled during the past fifty years This means that the 2070 rate charged in 1915 would be equivalent to over 60 of today's dollars The first transcontinental telephone line consisted of four large copper wires strung on poles and provided three talking circuits It served the country adequately as there were only three calls from coast to coast on an average average aver aver- age working day Today there are ten transcontinental communications communications com com- systems in operation operation oper opere consisting of microwave cables or open wire providing over circuits that may maybe maybe maybe be used for talking radio and television teletype or automatic automa automa- tic data transmission These facilities are interconnected with 98 per cent of the telephones telephones telephones tele tele- phones of the world |