Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 69.djvu/443

Rh early in 1877, that 'the telephone could never be of any practical use in business affairs'; while men eminently successful in industrial and commercial circles ridiculed the inventor as 'the man who is trying to make the people believe you can talk through a wire,' and scoffed at his invention.

But Graham Bell's faith in the usefulness and the value of his invention and in its power to eliminate distance in many of the affairs of life never failed. He wasted no time lamenting over evil predictions of failure. To him life was rich in possibilities that come only in the dreams of the unselfish toiler for the welfare of others. And wisdom taught him that brooding never brought fruition. So, early in 1877, he and his partner, Gardiner Greene Hubbard, planned the telephone exchange system somewhat along the lines it developed later, including a trunking-system to connect the different exchanges in the same city, toll lines connecting adjoining cities, suggested the use of aerial cables and underground circuits, as a substitute for the many wires they clearly foresaw would be required in the near future, should the system prove a success, and discussed the advisability of adopting either a fixed rental or flat rate per month or of charging for each 'switch' or call, similar to modern measured-service methods.

And though several companies and many individuals failed in their efforts to successfully introduce the telephone in their respective localities, and gladly seized the opportunity to surrender the license previously obtained for a nominal payment, others were induced to continue in the telephone business, only through the earnest assurance of Graham Bell and his associates that they were planning a comprehensive system continental in its scope, and that, in perfecting these plans they were carefully considering every feature that would enable the public to rapidly derive the greatest possible benefit from Bell's invention.

That all these plans were thoughtfully considered and final decision made on a broad basis are clearly shown in the determination that the telephone should be leased and never sold, and that, while the installation of private lines yielded an immediate profit, the exchange system was the only true field for development. Thus it came about that gradually Graham Bell won staunch supporters to his way of thinking, who comprehended the true function of the telephone and perceived the commercial possibilities in the telephone exchange system. These broad-minded and enthusiastic adherents sought prospective customers among men who had long felt the need of a different method of communication from any then in vogue, and found these patrons on every hand.

As sufficient capital could not be secured in 1877-78 by Graham Bell's friends to enable one company to establish telephone exchange systems in a number of cities, the only recourse open was to afford every encouragement in the establishment of local plants by men of local