DEVELOPMENT OF TELEPHONE SERVICE 51 



eighteen dollars per annum.' And it may be added that the gross 

 receipts of the New Haven exchange in the month of February, 1878, 

 were $250. 



Mr. Coy was a great believer in press publicity and made liberal 

 use of the advertising pages of the local papers, thus keeping the public 

 informed concerning all extensions and repairs. In those days the 

 weather reports issued by the United States Signal Service were very 

 desirable. So Mr. Coy placed a telephone in the office of the weather 

 observer, and on March 15, 1878, advertised that 'any one having a 

 telephone can make inquiries as to the weather, temperature, barometer, 

 etc' A little later Mr. Coy built a pole line nearly seven miles in 

 length and ran a circuit to the lighthouse at the east end of the harbor, 

 thus benefiting shipping interests by the prompt transmission of cau- 

 tionary weather reports, and also enabling his subscribers to keep track 

 of the arrival of steamers and other marine craft. 



On May 1, 1878, Mr. Coy had telephones ' placed near the targets,' 

 and also 'at the shooting-stand,' connecting the latter to the central 

 exchange, thus enabling his subscribers to keep informed concerning 

 the scores made at the annual meeting of the rifle association. Another 

 feature that is considered essentially modern was introduced in New 

 Haven by this company. On November 4, 1878, it advertised that " in 

 order to facilitate the collection of election returns from the different 

 wards in this city, to-morrow, the company has made arrangements 

 for placing a telephone in or near each voting place, in order that the 

 returns may be sent to the central office as soon as declared. The re- 

 turns will be furnished to any subscriber upon inquiry by telephone." 

 Later the daily papers stated that ' the telephone was of great use in 

 collecting and transmitting election returns.' 



During the first two months Mr. Coy's exchange occupied one half 

 of a ground-floor store room in the Boardman building, corner Chapel 

 and State Streets, New Haven. This room then bore the number 219 

 Chapel Street, but is now 733. Then the exchange was moved to the 

 top floor of the Ford building, directly across Chapel Street; but the 

 office of the company remained in the Boardman building. 



Until March 1, 1878, service was given only from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., 

 the night operator remaining on duty until that early morning hour 

 in order that the newspapers might have telephone service up to the 

 hour of going to press. For newspaper reporters quickly realized what 

 a blessing the telephone was in accelerating the transmission of a scoop, 

 or a good story, or a simple news item, and utilized the service on every 

 possible occasion. 



Prior to 1877, if anything happened at a point distant from a tele- 

 graph office, and branch telegraph offices in cities were few and far 

 between in those days, reporters were in the habit of gathering the 



