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pure
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V
VOL. LVin.
INDIANAPOLIS, OCT. 10, 1903.
NO. 41
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TELL HOW TO ORGANIZE AND CONDUCT A
FARMERS    TELEPHONE  COMPANY,    AND
GIVE AN ESTIMATE OF THE EXPENSES.
Leave Room For Future  Applicants.
lst Pi'i'iiiiiini.- 'I'll.* lirst thiii),' laa ala. is
to I. ;iin. if possible, tIn* number of 'phoues
that will Ih' taken, and wbo ami where
tliey arc, the number nf miles of wire for
<aali lin<> anal the best rouli-s to be taken*.
Ill determining these Questions, care
should Ik' tiik.>u t.a give evei'.voue a chance
t.a have a 'phone on some line, and ex-
p.rieii.a- tells ine that the line had better
be starte.l with from one-half to two-
thirds     the       desirable 	
number than to have it
full from the beginning,
unless every available
person should take a
'phone at the first opportunity, which would be
au unusual thing, for
reason that you always
find some people ready
to push any kind of
improvement and others
that are not so quick to
take hold. After the
line is in operation, those
who said, "I have uo
money for a telephone,"
will be asking, "what
will it cost to get on
your line?" If the line
has been filled at the
start, you must say to
him that the line is full
and we cannot take another 'phone oo it. He
will not understand this
as you do, and parties
thus situated often feel
that they are not wanted 	
on any line. I would emphasize the suggest ia an, leave a few vacant places at
first, the number to be determineal by the
conditions. The number of persons to
each line ala-|ia-nds upon the kind of a
line  nnal   llie  size  of  the  *pli.»iie.-«. The
ordinary country line uses the conimaan
rat urn   or  ground   circuit. With     this
kiml aaf a circuit and 'phones wound to
1,000 ohms resistance, for good results
ten nml one* set of call bells should be the
limit, nnd a less number will give laetter
satisfaction, because if yam have too
many aan yaaur line, ami you need to make
a call, you may fiud the line in use. If
the 'lahaanas are waiunil to a higher resist-
ana a- than al.aave stated, theu you oan have
niaare 'phones to each line. For instance,
if tin- 'pha.nos ou a given line are wound
ta. sixteen hundred, then the line will
Carry Hi 'phones, but that number is usually ii<>t satisfa.-liary.
Tha ra* ara- two kimls of 'plumes in use
in the country, standard and bridge, a few
of the former, but mostly of the latter.
The standard 'phones have a ground wire
at the beginning of the line, the line then
passes in anal ont aaf each 'phone on the
route, with a ground win- at enal of line.
The objection to this 'phone is that if one
gets out of repair, Ihe whole line
is       useless. With   a   bri.lge     'phone
this is not the case, as caah 'phone has a
ground wire, aud may get out of repair
Without alTecting other 'phones. There
nre s.une metallic circuits in certain localities: these require two wires, insteadof
one, will carry more 'phones to each line,
and will give better service with a given
number of 'phones. The wire, brackets
and insulators for a metallic circuit will be
alnaiil   doable  the cost of the common  return   aircllit.
Maist of the farmers' lines are put upon
native poles. These should be out about
2:1 IVa-t in length, ami set three feet in
tne ground. I*oles out this length will
do to set the second : nd third time, ns tU.-y
.leaay anal break off, thus enabling the
native  ja-.l.s   t.a  last   from  10 to   15  yaars.
Several lint's sluaiilal center at soma*
point, and at this poiut there should
I.a* a switchboard and some one employed
laa take charge ami operate it, taa las- paid
lay all who center at this place. Tine
beet satisfaction comes from where the
switch is iu a private home, and it is l..*t
ter that the home lie in some town ur vil-
in repair and satisfactory working order.
If your lins*s ar.- naai Incorporated .\aau will
liml iii u few years, when they begin to
need repair, thai every man am tke line has
alaaiie niaare ta.warals repairing than his
neighbor, and if .Mr. S.a and Sn wauls th.'
line   fixed   let  him fix   it.
It is haral to determine the cost a.f installing an exchange, unleai we were familiar with tha' conditions. But for a
modern farmers' exchange I w.nilai advise
no a.r 10 alrop board, wiih extension ha-lls,
wira-al Into the alraap circuit, for a alixap
board is not satisfactory wti11<• 111 tha- ex-
tension bell for party lines. A board
of this kind cost about $10 or $50, ami tba*
expense of running tha* exchange is what
the twaa binding paasis, the circuits being
closed   whether   or   not   the   receiver   i-s
Agricultural  Building,  Wa.rld's Fair, St. Louis.
logo, so that if you need to move the
switchboard at the a-ml of a given time
the expense will n.,t lae saa grent ns when
located in the rural district. It is a
gooal plan to secure one 'phone on each
line in the villaga-. in addition to the
switchboard. At the switchboard each line
will need a jaa-k. plug, lightning arrester
nnd a set of call bells. All the 'phones
.sir one line should be of the same make
and wound to the same resistance; and
the service woud be better if only oue kind
i.f 'phone were in use. Remember, if
tha- common return circuit is used, that
all ground wires must be at all seasons
of the year deep enough to lae well con-
Meted  with moisture.
Yaaur company is now ready for l.usi-
na-ss .anal can make such rules nml regulations ns suit it liest. It may l>e Incorporated unaler the laws of the Stnte, and
enforce ils rules and regulations, provided
they do not conflict with the State laws.
Tha' a'ost depends upon the kind of circuit
and 'phone; also the length of the line.
The usual cost in this neighborhood, exclusive of lalaor, paales anal phone, is about
five dollars eaeh. The 'phones usually
cost from $12 to $15. Yours may cost
more, or it may cost less. ITse No. 11
or 12 wire. V. F.
Han-cock Co.
Cheapest is not the Best.
2.1 Premium.—Start right nnal stay
right, and you will have a satisfactory
telephone system; otherwise not. I wouhl
suggest that you incorporate your exchange,  and   all  lines  running  to central
Office,       By   doing  this   you   cau  compel
the owners of various lines to keep them ' magnets are bridged permanently between
the people make it. We pay our manager $2.50 per 'phone per year, and furnish    oflice ami  fuel.
Now comes the 'phone. Get a good
one. Don't get a cheap-John affair. A
gi>a„l 'phone may be had for $15 to $10,
and is always tie- cheapest Where you
organize your line, call a meeting, ala--
ai.la- on a 'phaane, ami all get the same
kiml aaf instrument. You will tins! they
will waark more satisfactorily aud giva'
yaau ha'tta-r servioa-. By all means uso tbe
biialgveal Im-IIs, faar the service bells will mat
waark to your satisfaction when more than
twa. are used ou n line. For example:
On a line having six instruments, when a
party at one end of the line talks to a
party at the other end, the circuit would
pass throngh the talking apparatus and
ringer magnets aif all other 'phones be-
iw.-a-n, and this including of ringer mag-
tu-ls of all idle instruments iu the talking
circuit cannot be avoided, because theae
magnets mast ai all thm-s be in the <-ir-
cuit in order tliat each instrument mny at
anytime receive a call. Besiaia-s this,
suah line would be subject to serious disturbance by induction from .ather lines,
or by earth currents alue to differences in
potential a.f aearth at two ends of the
Hire. These disturbances can be remed-
ieal hy Iha' metallic or two wire circuit, but
the expense is too great, aud even this does
not remove the evil effects of the ringer
a aaiN placed direct in the talking circuit.
an.l only partially relieves the trouble
aim- taa iuduction by other wira-s.
Use the bridgeal bells. By so .laiing yon
mny successfully carry ten 'phones' on one
line.        In the  bridge   'phone   the  ringer
removed fr.ani iis hook. It is an entirely
independent circuit.
Now for our line construction. Get
good psah's, mat lass than 20 (last iu* length,
anal   four   inah   taap. Set   thi'in   in   the
ground  three or faaur Beat; always four
feet on  turns. I'se thirty to the  mile,
and ala.n't be afraid to use plenty of poles
in turning a .-..rii.-r. and have them well
guyed before yaau siring yaaur line wire.
Tin' brackets and insulators will cost you
inn* half cent eaeh. Tin- lifa- of a pole
is as follows: Chestnut, 15 ya-ars; red
a-eahir, 15 yean; cypress, 12 yours; white
cedar, 10 years. .Any iwpailj handling
poles will gladly quote you prices deliver-
a-al at yaaur sljitiaan. Should you have
native poles, yaau ran construct your line
  cheaper,  but nol   always
laest.
Number ten E. B. B.,
is ill., best wire to use,
outside of copper, and
tiie copper wire is too
expensive, and cannot
be handled by non-ex-
pei ia need men. N >. 10
E. B. B., wire will
cast you about $5.25 per
liunilred delivered within :ii>*0 miles of Chicago.
In getting wire, care
should be taken, in view
of the fact that the zinc
is often so thin or so un-
evi'ii as not to be effective. It is always necessary to test the galvanizing before accepting a
bill of telephone wire.
Fair this purpose, take
sa-\*H*ral pieces at random and immerse them
in a saturated solution"
of oaapper sulphate for 1
minute. Dry them, anal
"   Npeat   four   times. If
at the end of the fourth operation there
is no appearance of copper deposits on the
Wire, and the wire still remains black,
il is all right, but shonld copper ala*pa>sils
iippc-u- don'1 accept it, for the galvanizing
is not what il shiaulal be and your wire
will   sawn   rust.
Siart   right,   and   stay   right,   ami   your
telephones will   be  n  pleasure.
Posey i'i a. j.
J. S.
A Central Exchange Offers Advantages.
.'I.I I'lviniinn. I will explain tha' winkings
aaf one Farmers' Telephone Co., with
whiah 1 am well acquainted. lt is still
giviirg*g.Kxl satisfaoliaan for thos,. connected with it, ami I cannot say this of some
fariiiiT telephone systems that I have .
known.
First, of course, there must be one
pushing farmer who talks other farmers
intai feeling the necessity aif having a
telephone in the house. Having enlisted
several to meet him at a stall1.1 time, they
pr.M*eeal taa oleet a president, secretary and
treasurer from among their number, and
writa- up an article of agreement to whiah
all must subscribe. In the case of the
mutual company taa which I now refer, the
agreement is something like this: Eaoh
member by paying $25 becomes a stoek-
holder, one share only being allowed to
one     person. The     payment   of     this
amount entitles him to a telephone box,
and a line into the point chosen for central. Each meiiil»*>r then is required
to pay 25 cents each month into the treasury of the company for needed expenses,
suoh as keeping the lines in good order
nnd paying wages of switchboard opera-
Continued   on   Page  9,  Column  1.