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This newspaper page contains 17 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Philadelphia Times
Location
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Date
Jun 29, 1900
Page
4
A sweeping overview celebrates the telephone as a transformative force in business and society. It describes vast investments, efficiency gains, and social reach, while paradoxically noting frequent user frustrations with service and costs. It warns of a future with visual telephony and urges rational critique of current operations.
A historical analysis argues for measured telephone charges tied to usage to avoid excessive costs. It advocates a descending per call rate as calls rise and suggests dual service from competing networks to maintain universal access while noting centralization can reduce expenses and lower prices.
The Private Exchanges subdivision of Telephone Service expands long distance wire contact and 250,000 exchange subscribers to boost efficiency for large firms and organizations.
A humorous 1900s guide explains telephone etiquette for a busy clerk. It advises calling Central before serving a customer, speaking softly to prompt staff, delaying responses to calls, letting anyone use the line, and hanging up with the receiver facing up to collect dust.
The passage argues that vigorous competition lowers profits below service costs, risking capital departure, consolidation, and higher future charges. It questions public welfare if two firms duel, leading to pooling of issues and worse outcomes unless true competition sustains adequate returns and service quality.
The article notes how daily business transactions rely on private branch telephone exchanges and how their absence would demoralize business. It stresses the shift from old methods to faster, time saving communication and the impact on current volume and efficiency.
A reader questions what house and office connect by wire and how messages travel faster than telegraph or car. It extols the telephone for social duties, alerts, calling tickets, police summons, doctor calls, and rapid business, claiming wealth depends on quick signals and instant communication.
The article extols private telephone exchanges as time and cost savers for large firms and households. It describes compact central stations, desk instruments, and operators enabling instant, direct communication across departments and distant cities. It notes rapid growth, widespread reach, and the superior efficiency of telephone service over letters or messengers.
Long distance work forms a key telecom branch with charges based on duration. A stamp clock records start and end times on ticket backs to compute exact minutes and seconds. Operators route calls from local to long distance rooms, tickets pass through to the chief operator for charges, and demand influences line separation and investment value.
A fragmentary column argues progress in reducing labor and time through improved efficiency. The writer claims modern advances allow one hour of work to replace two and five minutes to replace an hour, likening efficiency to a public benefit in the current age.
A lyrical meditation on the telephone bell as a symbol of joy and loss. Maud and Madge cherish social calls while Margery recalls a fallen love in Cuba and a beloved who died for freedom. The bell marks weddings, parties, and the graves of hopes on the Stock Exchange.
A discussion on how essential telephones have become in residences linking home life with business and social life. A woman's anecdote describes using calls for marketing, markets, catering, and florist orders, and cites safety and rapid access to doctors, fire, and services as key benefits.
The article outlines the structure of the American telephone system, detailing the roles of the American Bell Telephone Company, its licensed regional sub-companies, and the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. It notes the Bell lineage from 1880, the shift to permanent licenses, and the vast reach of long-distance lines connecting major centers and cities nationwide.
The text argues the high cost of delivering efficient telephone service, essential to business and social interests. It warns that temporary impairment would cause incalculable damage, and destruction or permanent disablement would set back national progress and cripple business operations.
A public note recounts an incident with automatic telephones in drug stores and pay stations. A graduate attempted to use a dime slot with a half dollar and then demanded forty cents in change from the central office. The tale illustrates public unfamiliarity with the mechanism and its expected operation.
A newspaper man recalls an early morning encounter near the Franklin statue by the Post Office, where the bronze figure muses on wires, telephones, and electric energy, reacting to the era’s rapid electrical and communication advances.
Article argues that a viable international telephone link between America and Europe could be achieved via a longer route with multiple landings, despite current resistance to a direct cable. It highlights growing importance of connecting major centers like London and Berlin and notes 25 years of telephony history.
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