telephone system--the standardization of equipment. For the
accomplishment of his idea of a national telephone system,
instead of a parochial one, Mr. Vail organized, in 1881, the
American Bell Telephone Company, a corporation that really
represented the federalization of all the telephone activities of
the subsidiary companies. The United States was divided into
several sections, in each of which a separate company was
organized to develop the telephone possibilities of that
particular area. In 1899 the American Telephone and Telegraph
Company took over the business and properties of the American
Bell Company. The larger corporation built toll lines, connected
these smaller systems with one another, and thus made it possible
for Washington to talk to New York, New York to Chicago, and
ultimately--Boston to San Francisco. An enlightened policy led
the Bell Company frequently to establish exchanges in places
where there was little chance of immediate profit. Under this
stimulation the use of this instrument extended rapidly, yet it
is in the last twenty years that the telephone has grown with
accelerated momentum. In 1887 there were 170,000 subscribers in
the United States, and in 1900 there were 610,000; but in 1906
the American Telephone and Telegraph Company was furnishing its
service to 2,550,000 stations, and in 1916 to 10,000,000. Clearly
it is only since 1900 that the telephone has become a commonplace
of American existence. Up to 1900 it had grown at the rate of
about 13,000 a year; whereas since 1900 it has grown at the rate
of 700,000 a year. The explanation is that charges have been so
reduced that the telephone has been brought within the reach of
practically every business house and every family. Until the year
1900 every telephone subscriber had to pay $240 a year, and
manifestly only families in affluent circumstances could afford