With the Western Electric Vail has realized the fundamental conception underlying his ideal telephone system--the standardization of equipment.

For the accomplishment of his idea of a national telephone system, instead of a parochial one, Mr.Vail organized, in 1881, the American Bell Telephone Company, a corporation that really represented the federalization of all the telephone activities of the subsidiary companies.

The United States was divided into several sections, in each of which a separate company was organized to develop the telephone possibilities of that particular area.

In 1899 the American Telephone and Telegraph Company took over the business and properties of the American Bell Company.

The larger corporation built toll lines, connected these smaller systems with one another, and thus made it possible for Washington to talk to New York, New York to Chicago, and ultimately--Boston to San Francisco.