﻿Vol. 
  XLI, 
  No. 
  3 
  

  

  WASHINGTON 
  

  

  March, 
  1922 
  

  

  • 
  

  

  THE 
  

  

  NATIONAL 
  

  

  GE0G1APMQC 
  

  

  MAGAZINE 
  

  

  • 
  

  

  COPYRIGHT. 
  1 
  922. 
  BY 
  NATIONAL 
  GEOGRAPHIC 
  SOCIETY. 
  WASHINGTON. 
  D. 
  C. 
  

  

  PREHISTORIC 
  TELEPHONE 
  DAYS 
  

  

  By 
  Alexander 
  Graham 
  Bell 
  

  

  Author 
  of 
  "Discovery 
  and 
  Invention," 
  "A 
  Few 
  Thoughts 
  Concerning 
  Eugenics,' 
  

   for 
  the 
  Inventor," 
  "Who 
  Shall 
  Inherit 
  Long 
  Life," 
  etc., 
  in 
  

   the 
  National 
  Geographic 
  Magazine 
  

  

  "Prizes 
  

  

  I 
  WAS 
  over 
  in 
  England 
  the 
  other 
  day 
  

   and 
  was 
  rather 
  startled 
  and 
  amused 
  

   by 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  greetings 
  I 
  received 
  

   while 
  there. 
  Upon 
  one 
  occasion 
  I 
  was 
  

   introduced 
  to 
  a 
  lady 
  as 
  "the 
  inventor 
  of 
  

   the 
  telephone," 
  and 
  what 
  do 
  you 
  think 
  

   she 
  replied? 
  "Well, 
  Mr. 
  Bell," 
  she 
  said, 
  

   "I 
  thought 
  you 
  were 
  dead 
  long 
  ago" 
  ! 
  

  

  Well, 
  I 
  am 
  not 
  dead 
  yet; 
  and 
  I 
  can 
  

   assure 
  you 
  that 
  it 
  gives 
  me 
  great 
  pleasure 
  

   to 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  be 
  with 
  you 
  today 
  and 
  meet 
  

   the 
  Commissioner 
  and 
  the 
  ladies 
  and 
  

   gentlemen 
  connected 
  with 
  the 
  Patent 
  

   Office. 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  been 
  thinking 
  a 
  good 
  deal 
  about 
  

   what 
  I 
  could 
  say 
  to 
  you 
  here. 
  Of 
  course, 
  

   you 
  expect 
  me 
  to 
  say 
  something 
  about 
  

   the 
  telephone, 
  but 
  I 
  rather 
  think 
  that 
  you 
  

   know 
  more 
  about 
  the 
  telephone 
  today 
  

   than 
  I 
  do. 
  

  

  When 
  I 
  heard 
  the 
  Commissioner 
  re- 
  

   mark 
  that 
  there 
  had 
  been 
  more 
  than 
  8,ooo 
  

   patents 
  granted 
  in 
  the 
  telephonic 
  depart- 
  

   ment, 
  and 
  thought 
  of 
  the 
  multitude 
  of- 
  

   interferences 
  that 
  must 
  have 
  arisen, 
  and 
  

   the 
  thorough 
  way 
  in 
  which 
  you 
  must 
  have 
  

   examined 
  into 
  the 
  past 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  art, 
  

   I 
  came 
  to 
  the 
  conclusion 
  that 
  there 
  was 
  

   not 
  much 
  use 
  in 
  my 
  telling 
  the 
  examiners 
  

   of 
  the 
  Patent 
  Office 
  anything 
  about 
  the 
  

   history 
  of 
  the 
  telephone; 
  you 
  are 
  familiar 
  

   with 
  it 
  already. 
  

  

  *An 
  address 
  before 
  the 
  officials 
  and 
  examin- 
  

   ing 
  force 
  of 
  the 
  U. 
  S. 
  Patent 
  Office. 
  Revised 
  

   from 
  the 
  stenographer's 
  notes 
  and 
  largely 
  re- 
  

   written 
  for 
  publication 
  in 
  the 
  National 
  Geo- 
  

   graphic 
  Magazine. 
  — 
  A. 
  G. 
  B. 
  

  

  My 
  only 
  hope 
  of 
  telling 
  you 
  anything 
  

   you 
  don't 
  know 
  is 
  to 
  give 
  you 
  a 
  few 
  per- 
  

   sonal 
  reminiscences 
  concerning 
  what 
  we 
  

   might 
  term 
  "Prehistoric 
  Telephone 
  Days." 
  

   Here 
  I 
  have 
  a 
  clear 
  field 
  to 
  myself, 
  for 
  

   there 
  are 
  certainly 
  few, 
  if 
  any, 
  persons 
  

   now 
  living 
  who 
  are 
  competent 
  to 
  speak 
  

   of 
  my 
  boyhood 
  and 
  the 
  various 
  influences, 
  

   hereditary 
  and 
  environmental, 
  that 
  molded 
  

   my 
  early 
  life 
  and 
  led 
  me 
  onward 
  irresisti- 
  

   bly 
  in 
  the 
  direction 
  of 
  the 
  telephone. 
  

  

  Here 
  I 
  am 
  afraid 
  I 
  will 
  have 
  to 
  go 
  

   back 
  to 
  my 
  grandfather, 
  Alexander 
  Bell 
  

   of 
  London, 
  England 
  (1790- 
  1865). 
  

  

  He 
  was 
  an 
  elocutionist 
  and 
  a 
  corrector 
  

   of 
  defective 
  utterance. 
  He 
  was 
  the 
  first 
  

   in 
  the 
  family 
  to 
  take 
  up 
  the 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  

   mechanism 
  of 
  speech 
  with 
  the 
  object 
  of 
  

   correcting 
  defects 
  of 
  speech 
  by 
  explaining 
  

   to 
  his 
  pupils 
  the 
  correct 
  positions 
  of 
  the 
  

   vocal 
  organs 
  in 
  uttering 
  the 
  sounds 
  that 
  

   were 
  defective. 
  

  

  EARLY 
  EDUCATION 
  

  

  My 
  early 
  boyhood 
  was 
  spent 
  in 
  Edin- 
  

   burgh, 
  but 
  when 
  nearly 
  fifteen 
  years 
  of 
  

   age 
  I 
  went 
  to 
  London 
  and 
  stayed 
  for 
  a 
  

   year 
  with 
  my 
  grandfather. 
  I 
  had 
  there 
  

   no 
  young 
  companions 
  of 
  my 
  own 
  age. 
  

   and 
  this 
  year 
  spent 
  alone 
  with 
  an 
  old 
  man 
  

   had 
  a 
  profound 
  influence 
  upon 
  my 
  whole 
  

   future 
  life. 
  

  

  My 
  grandfather 
  took 
  a 
  great 
  deal 
  of 
  

   interest 
  in 
  my 
  education. 
  My 
  school 
  life 
  

   had 
  been 
  characterized 
  by 
  great 
  indiffer- 
  

   ence 
  to 
  the 
  usual 
  school 
  studies 
  and 
  I 
  

   took 
  a 
  very 
  low 
  rank 
  in 
  my 
  classes. 
  The 
  

  

  