Small local wire-clusters, several thousands of them, were linked to the national lines.

A policy of publicity superseded the secrecy which had naturally grown to be a habit in the days of patent litigation.

Visitors and reporters found an open door.
Educational advertisements were published in the most popular magazines.
The corps of inventors was spurred up to conquer the long-distance problems.

And in return for a thirty million check, the control of the historic Western Union was transferred from the children of Jay Gould to the thirty thousand stock-holders of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company.
From what has been done, therefore, we may venture a guess as to the future of the telephone.

This "grand telephonic system" which had no existence thirty years ago, except in the imagination of Vail, seems to be at hand.