412 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



The parent Bell company perceived the wisdom of standardizing 

 its equipment long before it decided on uniformity in line construc- 

 tion. With that end in view, as well as ' to obtain a permanent in- 

 terest in the manufacture of telephones and switchboards/ in 1881, it 

 purchased the factory and business of Charles Williams, Jr., of Boston, 

 where Graham Bell had carried on his early experiments, and where 

 the first several thousand telephones were made. It also bought an 

 interest in the Western Electric Manufacturing Company of Chicago 

 and merged the two into one organization, which, under the later 

 name of Western Electric Company, has grown to be the largest indus- 

 trial plant of its kind in the world, occupying more than seventy acres 

 of floor space, employing more than twenty- five thousand persons, and 

 with sales exceeding $70,000,000 annually. 



In connection with the early selection of a permanent manufac- 

 turer, Mr. T. B. Doolittle, formerly an experienced manufacturer of 

 metal goods, makes the following statement that indicates how easily 

 the city of Bridgeport, Connecticut, might possibly have had a manu- 

 facturing establishment similar to the Western Electric Company : 



My interest in mechanics and manufacture led me to spend much time in 

 the factory of Mr. Charles Williams, Jr., in 1877-78, and to offer suggestions 

 regarding the details of construction. For example, I substituted the bell ' struck 

 up ' from sheet metal in place ot the cast and turned bell, thus reducing the cost 

 from about fifty cents to about five cents. I also brought about a large reduc- 

 tion in the cost of the cabinet work used in the manufacture of switchboards 

 and telephone apparatus. These large savings attracted the attention of the 

 management of the parent company, and I was authorized to find a manufac- 

 turer having a" factory properly equipped and enter into negotiations for the 

 manufacture of telephone equipment. I visited several factories in Connecticut, 

 among others the Wheeler & Wilson Sewing Machine Company, at Bridgeport, 

 but found none who were willing to enter into such a hazardous undertaking 

 and one that promised so little future growth. I endeavored to convince Mr. 

 Wheeler that the future was rich in promise, and that his company would not 

 only become a licensed manufacturer, but, in all probability the permanent 

 manufacturer. But though trade was slack, he would not entertain my 

 proposition. 



