Theodore Newton Vail,
A Man for “One System, One Policy, Universal Service”

January 25, 1915, Jekyll Island Club member, Theodore Newton Vail, was determined to proceed with his plans to participate in the opening of the lines for transcontinental telephone service for the country. As president of American Telephone and Telegraph, this would be a significant moment in his life.

President Woodrow Wilson in Washington, D.C.; Alexander Graham Bell in New York City; and Thomas Watson in San Francisco were also standing by to participate in this very public event. They would be speaking to each other over more than 4,500 miles of telephone lines that literally spanned the United States.

A member of the Jekyll Island Club for three years, Vail liked to arrive at the beginning of the season. This particular year he arrived January 6th and immediately began setting matters in order for the celebratory telephone call three weeks later. The Club was experiencing the zenith of its success, and members were excited that this call would take place, in part, on Jekyll Island. It would be the highlight of the season.

In many ways Theodore Vail had been preparing for this transcontinental telephone call most of his life. And, the fact that he had injured his leg and could not be in New York for the call as originally planned but would be on Jekyll Island recuperating on the appointed date did not stop him. That a tree had fallen across the telephone lines the very morning this call was to take place…nor anything else …would interfere with his plans.

If Vail could not be in New York on the 25th, he would make sure the lines were in service to Jekyll Island. He dedicated a large number of his company lineman to the task to guarantee this would happen. When the tree fell on one of the lines, the repairmen were immediately on the job to correct the situation.

In truth, American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T), earlier, Bell Telephone Company, had been working on a telephone line network since 1885 which extended outward from New York City. Meanwhile the company’s Pacific Telephone subsidiary on the west coast was developing a separate network. The connection of the two became operational and was tested in 1914, but the opening for public use would come about in 1915. The service from east to west coast would be available to every telephone customer…at a price of $20.70 for the first three minutes. Service was limited to one call at a time.

Where Vail played a critical part in bringing about the first transcontinental telephone service for public use was in his corporate leadership and foresight.

Vail had served as president of Bell Telephone from 1885 until his first retirement in 1887 at age 42. During those two years, under Vail’s leadership, AT&T was formed as a subsidiary of Bell, and its charter was to build and operate the original long distance network. Vail oversaw the first long distance system from Boston to Providence, Rhode Island. After Vail left the company, several things happened. Most importantly, Bell’s original patents ran out, and the competition made serious inroads into the business. Also, the Bell Telephone company had become AT&T which was now the parent company.

When Vail returned to the company in 1907, he attacked the problems with his formidable management skills and vision for the future. Vail’s plan also demonstrated his business acumen and powers of persuasion. One, he made certain that AT&T would have the very best telephone system available. To this end, the company built one system that would span the country from coast to coast. In order for this to happen, AT&T had to invest in scientific research. For this purpose Vail created Bell Labs. Two, AT&T would cooperate with the competition! Vail leased his telephone lines to the opposition thus retaining control over the lines. Three, he convinced the public and the government, including president Woodrow Wilson, that the best possible idea for the country was a single system, one that could provide “universal service” for the entire nation. In essence, the best telephone system would be a monopoly, the AT&T monopoly. Vail carried out his plan with complete success. He called this “one system, one policy, universal service.” Vail set the business philosophy of AT&T for decades to come.

It is not to say that Vail did not have challenges. For example, even though AT&T was suffering financial reversal, Vail moved forward in creating Bell Labs at the same time he was fostering cooperation with his competitors. Another example, in 1913, the country was finally awakening to the threat posed by money-trusts and monopolies. The Pujo committee, a congressional sub-committee, was formed to investigate the control held over the nation’s economy by a few Wall Street financiers and their colleagues. Vail’s fellow Jekyll Island Club members, J.P. Morgan and William Rockefeller, were in very hot water at that time over this matter. Vail remained unscathed.

But, for this day, January 25, 1915, Theodore Vail was seeing years of difficulties overcome. At one o’clock, he would celebrate with his friends and fellow Club members this revolutionary accomplishment in his field, reaffirming what he had learned during a lifetime of achievement, “Real difficulties can be overcome; it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable.”

A replica of the telephone used by Theodore Vail and fellow Jekyll Island Club members that day in 1915 is displayed in the Jekyll Island Historic District. To see a legacy of Theodore Vail, look no further than your cell phone or your AT&T land line.