THE TELEPHONE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6147, 30 July 1881, Page 7

THE TELEPHONE.

Although the now perfected system of telephonic intercommunication is fairly at amongst us, it is- marvellous to. observe,with what slowness it makes its way against .the accumulated prejudices of our prudent fellow citizens. It is hardly to .be wondered at, that the average man of commerce should hesitate before availinghimselx of this wonderful system of intellectual exchange, when ho I finds that fire underwriters themselve3,view the invention with partial mistrust and not a little absolute incredulity. It is much;to be regretted that even in the few cases where this telephone has been adopted by the fire insurance offices, it has been so arranged that it is impossible for the instrument to be used in a manner which would develop its inll powers. One illustration will be as good as a dozen. In the office of the Liverpool Lon-

don and Globe, the Bell telephone is placed in a corner where it .is absolutely impossible for the person speaking into the machine to hear what is said to him from the other end, except under special circumstances. We cannot too strongly impress upon those persons who are desirous of availing themselves of this wonderful labour-saving machine, the fact that it is a delicate instrument and requirestobehandled with care. It demandsa moderateamount of quietude inits neighbourhood in order that the operator may be able both to speak arid receive the answer' with facility. It therefore follows that if the instrument is not shown at its best advantage in the general office of an insurance company it certainly would show to the utmost perfection in the manager's private room, or in any other quiet part of the building. Our persoaal experience of the telephone, which has now been in operation in our office for some six months, is that it is absolutely perfect in discharging theduties for which itisintended. Without moving from our writing table we can conduct a conversation with perfect ease, and, if necessary, take down in writing whatever our correspondent may dictate to us. This it must be remembered does not require any special effort, being done in the ordinary routine of business, while the mechanical derangements, which of course are unavoidable, occur so seldom that they are not worth mentioning. There exists a misconception at present as regards the controversy between the Post Office and the Telephone Company, which it gives us some pleasure to assist in removing. It has been assumed by many commercial pen whom we have met that, on the completion of the law proceedings now in progress, that it was possible that the tele-phone-wires would have to be taken down, or that the Post Office would in some way exercise its possible rights, so as to cause inconvenience to existing subscribers to the Telephone Company. This is altogether an erroneous idea. No existing agreement with the Telephone Company will be disturbed, and no contracts with them entered into either now or in the future will be in the slightest degree affected by the possible course of future litigation. We may state, in fact, that the Telephone Company has practically come to terms with the Post ( Office, and has conceded the principle of paying a royalty to the Government on each instrument worked under their patents. ' This, however, does not affect the subscribers • there is, consequently, no earthly reason why, instead of 1,200 subscribers', the number should not be increased to 12,000, or even 120,000. It is somewhat of a reflection upon our commercial sagacity that the city of' Paris is rapidly running ahead of us on this particular question. The French are supposed to be intensely conservative on such matters as these, even more so than the English, but the wonderful advantages offered by the telephone system were too patent to the French people, and they have at once seized upon the opportunity afforded them. Not merely this, but telephonic communication has been established between Paris and many of the large towns in Franco ; whilst, in spite of the notice issued by the Postmaster-General some months ago, not one single telephone-line has been laid down by the department in London for tho use of the public. It is therefore obvious that the United Telephone Company is most available for the necessities of business men. The .multitudinous ways in which it comes into play it it hardly necessary for us to again recite, but, they may be briefly summed up as follows. The merchant in his suburban residence can enquire of his office in the city the nature of the contents of the day's letters, and whether it is necessary or not for him to come to town for the day. For making appointments and for becoming informed as to •whether one's business friends or acquaintances are at home before setting out to call upon them, the advantages of the telephone are most apparent.. The merchant in his counting-house can enquire at the docks whether his ship is in, and communicate direct with the captain or his brokers. Between private customers of banks and the establishments themselves the necessity of prompt communication is also obviously necessary. Whether to summon the fire brigade or the police, or to call a cab or a commissionaire, all is one to the telephone. It is simply ringing a bell and in five minutes the thing is done. As we before said, if the instrument is placed iu a proper position in the house or office (and the company should permit no other arrangement) the machinery for the transmission of sound is absolutely perfect; and when it is considered that all these advantages may be obtained at the rate of a trifle over Is. per diem, it is to us a matter of most intense astonishment that the number of subscribers now on the Exchange are not at least 10 times their existing strength. As between fire*managers especially, we would point out that the invention is simply invaluable, aud should be adopted without a moment's hesitation. Thq Blake transmitter, which consists of a small polished box about the size of a sardine case, on a light brass pedestal, stands on the left-hand side of the manager in his office, and underneath it, attached to the desk, is the magnetic receiver. The bell being rung, the official simply presses the button in response, takes off the receiver, places it to his left ear, and pen in hand, waits his correspondent's enquiries. The conversation takes place in the ordinary tone of voice—as if the two speakers were in the same room—there is no shouting, no straining, no discomfort, no confusion, and the result is practically the same as if the other speaker had taken his seat on the other side of the table. The conversation being over, with the simple words "Good-bye," the receiver is hung up again, the electric current is broken, and no sound in the room travels beyond its precincts. It is only when the receiver is off the hook that the listener at a distance can tell what is going on. What is probably the most astonishing feature of the whole business is, that the voices of the speakers are distinctly recognisable, but it is the listener alone who hears what is said, the receiver being placed close to kis ear. One disadvantage in the Edison instrument arose from the facility with which other people in the room besides the principal listener could hear what was being said; but with the new apparatus, persons in the room only hear what is sent, and even this is not necessary, for information may be conveyed in a whisper. Altogether, after careful examination in the b|x months' trial which the telephone has had in our office, wecan impress upon it our endorsement to the effect that, as a piece of mechanism, and as a means of social and commercial intercourse, it is absolutely perfect; and we sincerely trust that those persons who have brought so much time, talent, and enterprise, to bear upon; this marvellous addition to the wonders of the 19th century, may meet with the_ full reward that they so justly merit.—.Review.