This Day in Jekyll History, January 25, 1915.
Sunday, January 25th, 2009“What Woolworth was to the five-and-ten, what McCormick was to the harvester, Vail is to the telephone,” declared publisher B.C. Forbes. “Bell invented it, but Vail put it on the map.”AT&T President Theodore Newton Vail also put Jekyll Island, Georgia onto the map when, thanks to his participation, it became a part of telephone history.
On January 25, 1915, the words “Hello, Jekyll Island,” reverberated across the phone lines, as Vail joined a party phone call with President Woodrow Wilson in Washington, DC, Alexander Graham Bell in New York, and Thomas Watson in San Francisco. This thrilling moment marked the ceremonial grand opening of the first transcontinental telephone service.
In 1885, Vail had created the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) by connecting existing local companies into a long distance network. Vail served as the first President of AT&T from 1885-1889.
Consolidating existing telephone companies into a single network required a great deal of money. It was Vail who interested a number of financiers in his project, including Jekyll Island Club Members J.P. Morgan and George F. Baker.
In 1889, at the age of 44, Vail retired. But in 1907, J.P. Morgan and other investors approached Vail to again take up the reins as president of AT&T. The company was having difficulty facing off with competitors in Vail’s absence.
Vail developed a bold plan for a comeback. In 1909, he announced that AT&T was going to provide nationwide telephone service through the creation of a coast-to-coast phone system. This was an ambitious goal. At the time, phone conversations were limited by technology to a distance of 2,000 miles.
Vail undertook a vigorous campaign of public relations. Investors initially protested his investment of $250,000 for marketing, arguing that everybody already knew of the existence of the telephone. He responded, “But everybody is not thinking about it.”
The telephone was certainly at the forefront of American consciousness in 1915, however, when Vail participated in the ceremony opening up the first transcontinental telephone line from Jekyll Island, and his vision of a coast-to-coast phone service became a reality.
Vail, a Jekyll Island Club Member from 1912-1920, had intended to return to New York in time for the important phone call marking the event, but a leg injury detained him on the island.
Although Jekyll Island’s phone service was spotty, Vail was not about to miss participating in the ceremony. Jekyll Island had good connections to Brunswick, so new cables were laid from Savannah to Brunswick to ensure that the lines would function properly for the event.
Susan Albright Reed, visiting Jekyll Island that season with her family, recalled a worried Vail interrupting his dinner to test the phone lines and her father telling her, “It will be terrible if Mr. Vail can’t get through tomorrow. . . the President, Alexander Graham Bell, and Mr. Vail will all be on the line at once.”
On the day of the phone call approximately 1,500 AT&T employees stood by, ready to repair any problems along the 4,500 miles of telephone line from Jekyll Island, to New York, and across to San Francisco, in order to be sure the communications system functioned properly.
Their presence was fortunate, as a tree fall did interfere with service the morning of the call. The problem was soon corrected, however, and on January 25, Vail was able to participate in the first transcontinental phone call from Jekyll Island. Vail had a brief exchange with President Wilson in Washington, DC, who congratulated him on his great achievement. Within a year, radio telephone service was also available to Europe.
In 1919, Vail retired from AT&T for the second time. When he passed away a year later, on April 16, 1920, the telephone company he had raised from infancy owned more than 25 million miles of telephone wire and voices could carry around the world.
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On February 7, 1913, a lengthy federal manhunt in search of William Rockefeller ended when he finally submitted to questioning from Jekyll Island, Georgia. He had led a total of 40 deputies, as well as a number of Burns and Pinkerton detectives, on a merry chase across the country. It all began in April of 1912, when a Congressional subcommittee was formed to investigate the presence of a “money trust” in the United States. It came to be known as the Pujo Committee, in honor of its chairman, Aresène Pujo. Pujo sought evidence that a few financial leaders held an unhealthy control over the nation’s money and financial future. The Pujo Committee called a number of influential Jekyll Island Club Members to testify during the course of its investigations, including George F. Baker, James J. Hill, J.P. Morgan, and William Rockefeller. When called to the stand in June, Rockefeller went into hiding at Rockwood Hall, his estate in Tarrytown, New York. For over six months, deputies unsuccessfully attempted to serve him with a subpoena. Rockefeller wrote to inform Pujo that his health would not permit him to testify. His physician, Dr. Walter Chappell corroborated the claim, stating that Rockefeller was too ill to appear due to throat trouble. Congress authorized “any reasonable expense” in the pursuit of Rockefeller. Federal agents and detectives staked out his properties in New York as well as his daughters’ residences, beginning December 30. The expense of staking out the New York estates was wasted, however, as Rockefeller had left the state with his wife, son, and daughter-in-law several weeks before, arriving on Jekyll Island on December 19. Deputies investigated the rumor of this trip to Jekyll and searched the island, but failed to locate Rockefeller. Family letters indicated that, “Dad had the gentleman in question driving all a.m.” On January 3, Rockefeller’s attorneys finally accepted the summons on his behalf. Rockefeller was still staying with his family on Jekyll Island in the Sans Souci apartment complex, rather than at Indian Mound, Rockefeller’s cottage on the island. Attorneys continued to insist, however, that Rockefeller would not be able to testify in light of his ill health. Chappell testified that Rockefeller suffered from swelling of the larynx, constriction of the passageway, and spasms brought on by talking, excitement, or stomach upset. He warned, “a severe attack would terminate fatally.” Chappell stated that he had prescribed “the silent treatment,” for his patient. Another family physician, Dr. Samuel Waldron Lambert, confirmed Chappell’s diagnosis, adding that Rockefeller also suffered from tremors of the head and hands, which would make written testimony impossible. He also added that any excitement or strain “might very reasonably be expected to cause his sudden death.” Rockefeller was then examined by a doctor hired by the Pujo Committee. Headlines reported, “Much-Sought Witness is Ailing Badly, but Can Stand Such a Strain.” Rockefeller would have to testify. In consideration of his health, an hour limit was set for the interview and the Council agreed to a private deposition held on Jekyll Island at Rockefeller’s Sans Souci apartment on February 7. During questioning, Rokefeller responded in whispers to four brief questions about where he resided, his stay on Jekyll Island, whether he recalled the organization of Amalgamated Copper, and whether this organization had occurred in 1898. Just twelve minutes after the questioning began, Rockefeller halted procesures by a fit of coughing and trembling. Chappell revealed that Rockefeller had throat cancer and that a new growth had recently formed. Unwilling to endanger Rockefeller’s life, Pujo left Jekyll Island without any new information about his stock transactions. Chasing Rockefeller down and forcing him to testify had served no real purpose. Rockefeller lived until June 24, 1922, when he died at the age of 81. It was reported in his obituary that he had worked almost to the end of his life. For further information about the many influential Jekyll Island Club Members that first made Jekyll Island a premier vacation resort, visit the Jekyll Island Museum on Stable Road, (912) 635-4036. Exhibits are open to the public free of charge, and tours of the historic district depart daily.