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It would be to the interest of such a company to seek that class of less urgent business now done by correpondence, rather than the class handled by the present telegraph companies, where the highest speed of delivery is expected. If one trunk line becomes established between large business centers, it will draw business from a surrounding area. For instance, if a line were established between New York and Chicago, and a person in Albany desired to communicate with Chicago or points beyond, it would be quicker to send the letter to New York for transmission over the trunk line to Chicago, and then by rail to its destination, than to send directly by rail from Albany. With a few trunk lines in successful operation it would not be long before they would be multiplied.

It is understood that these telegraph letters are sent by mail in envelopes in the usual manner, except that the envelope contains the prepared message ready to be sent through the transmitter, and thus the telegraph office becomes relieved of the preparation of the letters which is not strictly a part of its business. When the system comes into general use, business offices will have their own perforators, and it will become necessary for the operator to learn the telegraph alphabet as a part of his preparation as a stenographer and typewriter. The three-key perforating machine is comparatively inexpensive, but undoubtedly a machine could be devised at an early date, as an attachment to the present typewriter, for the purpose of perforating letters at the same time that they are being written by the typewriter in the usual way. This could be constructed to operate by the use of electromagnets, and can be attached to a typewriter without interfering in any way with its operation. No extra power would be required, for this can be derived from an electric current which operates the attachment. The writing may be perforated at the present rate of speed of typewriting without the operator having any knowledge of the telegraph alphabet as far as perforating is concerned. This machine will cost more than the three-key perforator, but it would in a short time more than pay for the difference in cost on account of the great gain in speed, and also because it prints a copy of the letter which may be kept on file. Before these perforators are introduced into common use it will be necessary to establish offices in the immediate vicinity of the terminals of the trunk lines, to prepare letters for persons furnishing printed or written copy, as well as to furnish a printed translation when desired of letters received from the central office. The opportunity to obtain a cheaper rate for prepared

letters will act as an inducement to those employing a stenographer to add a perforator to their offices.

Concerning the daily correspondence of the large business houses between cities which are the terminals of the trunk lines, it might be an advantage for them to have exclusive use of the line for a certain number of minutes daily at a certain fixed time of day, by subscribing and paying an annual rental to the company. Knowing definitely at what hour the mail would be dispatched daily, it would then be possible for each house to send by messenger its daily mail already prepared for transmission to the general transmission office, where it could be placed in boxes prepared for the subscribers, to be taken out and transmitted when its time arrives. The distribution at the receiving end of the line could be accomplished as now by the regular mail service.

In the limited use of rapid automatic intelligence transmission at present, the sending and receiving records are made upon prepared paper in the form of tape. In the larger volume of business which is being considered here, it does not seem certain that tape would be the best form for the sending and receiving paper. It would be an advantage to have the letters received upon sheets of paper with the dots and dashes arranged in parallel lines. Besides facilitating the reading, this form would be more convenient for mailing. It would also easily permit reference to any part of the letter at a glance. The amount of paper required by the use of sheet form instead of tape would be reduced, which is an item of importance where such a volume of business is being handled. Sending and receiving from the sur

face of a cylinder seems entirely practicable.

Another point which must be considered is whether with these systems, the induced currents from neighboring wires along the line or from any other cause will affect the legitimate signals materially, as has been at times the case with the Wheatstone system. In reply to this it can be said that these receivers for telegraphy are not necessarily more senitive to small currents because they are rapid. On the contrary, they may be made to require as much current as is found desirable to rid them of the effects of outside influences, and at the same time retain the property of quick action in response to currents of the proper magnitude. In this connection it may be said that the utility of a single line wire becomes so great that more attention will be given in the future to the line construction and maintenance. If millions of dollars are invested in the construction of a single

railroad, is it not as necessary to make the telegraph lines which carry important and profitable business as perfect in their construction?

The telegraph line of the future will comprise substantial poles carrying a few copper wires worked to their full capacity for transmitting electric signals. The cost of maintenance of such a line when once constructed will be little more than for an ordinary iron wire now used, while its carrying capacity for intelligence at 3,000 words per minute simplex will be about equal to 160 wires used for hand transmission simplex. By duplexing the line, the carrying capacity is doubled and becomes 6,000 words per minute, which is about equal to 160 wires worked duplex, or to 80 wires worked by hand quadruplex.

It is thought that the influence which the inauguration of a telegraph letter system would have upon the existing telegraph. and telephone business would be to increase rather than diminish it. Each of these services has its own special field of usefulness but little affected by the others. A new field would be occupied · rather than an old field supplanted. The present telegraph and telephone would still have their natural field of operation, even though the best hopes for a telegraph letter service are realized.

A single line capable of sending 6,000 words per minute between New York and Chicago, becomes a different kind of investment from a long distance telephone line where the number of words per minute with the fastest rate a speaker can talk is very slow in comparison, and the charge is $9 for five minutes' use of this line.

The application under government control of a rapid system of correspondence transmission such as has been outlined, operating in conjunction with the present postal system, by supplementing and relieving their service could hardly fail to prove of benefit to the people of the United States. This comes within the proper duty of the Post Office Department, and would be under the direct control of the Postmaster-General. The simplification in operation and expense which would result from uniting. directly with the general post offices of large cities the telegraph letter service would soon be realized by the people and a better service insured.

As a practical means toward ultimately assuming the direct responsibility of this new service, it would probably be easy to secure private companies which would be willing to contract with the Post Office Department to transmit telegraph letters at a

Journal 7.

fixed rate for a term of years. In this manner the Department could gradually absorb this branch of its business and be relieved of any sudden new responsibility and radical reorganization.

It is not thought that the development of a rapid intelligence transmission service to the extent suggested could be accomplished before many years, nor indeed that the manner or means of this development should closely follow the lines indicated, but that something analogous to this development seems among the possibilities if not the probabilities of the near future.

The persistent efforts of Mr. Delany and the great system which he has developed are well known, and the ideas which he has advanced in regard to the applications of rapid systems are in the main in accordance with those stated herein.

HISTORY OF THE SEA-COAST FORTIFICATIONS

OF THE UNITED STATES.

III. NARRAGANSET BAY.

Roger Williams, the great and good man who initiated the Christian Colony of Rhode Island in 1636, was so just in all his dealings with the native Indian Tribes, that peace and good will reigned for many years within its borders. But, after the beheading of Charles I., the government of England being in a very unsettled condition and much discord existing among the people of the colony, it was ordered, in 1650, that all of its arms should be thoroughly repaired and that each town of the colony should be required to build a magazine.

When a new war broke out between the Narraganset and Long Island Indians, the people of Providence became alarmed by some hostile demonstrations, and, therefore, in 1656 erected a fort on Stamper's Hill. It was so called because, soon after the settlement of Providence, when a body of Indians approached the town in a threatening manner, the inhabitants, by running and stampimg on this hill, made the hostiles believe that they were greatly outnumbered. The ruse had its desired effect, the Indians quickly retiring. This fort was probably the first ever erected by the colonists in Rhode Island.

The war of 1664, between England and Holland, during which the Dutch settlements in America were captured by the British aided by the colonists, showed the necessity of sea-coast protection against armed cruisers; hence, in 1666, Rhode Island petitioned the home government to erect fortifications for the defense of Narraganset Bay. The report that a Dutch fleet was on its way, in 1667, to recover New York, produced great alarm in the colonies. Hence the general assembly of Rhode Island took every precautionary measure for defense, and recommended that Newport should mount great guns for its protection; but no permanent fortifications appear to have been then erected.

During King Philip's war of 1675-76, inland stockades and earthworks were constructed, but no sea-coast fortifications.

In 1690, the year in which James II, was defeated at the battle. of the Boyne in Ireland, a French fleet having made its appearance off our coast, some of the seaports were put in a state of defense by temporary batteries. No permanent works, however,

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