New Ideas

Long-Distance Dialing. The New Jersey Bell Telephone Co. announced that residents of Englewood (pop. 23,000) will soon be able to dial long-distance calls direct, to eleven cities stretching from Boston to San Francisco. The company has divided the nation into 80 areas, each with a three-number code of its own. The caller dials the code, then the local number. Time and charges are recorded automatically. The telephone company plans to extend the system eventually to the entire U.S.

Drum Beater. U.S. Rubber Co. brought out a collapsible cloth and rubber drum for shipping petroleum, acid and other liquids. Flexible and light (28 lbs., v. 40 to 60 lbs. for the same size steel drum), the drums, when empty, can be shipped back cheaply to the supplier. More than 2,500 folded drums can be shipped in a freight car that can hold only 300 steel containers of the same size.

Helmsman's Helper. General Electric Co. showed off the "electric helmsman," a device that makes it possible to steer a ship from a number of stations other than the bridge. The "helmsman," already being installed on several Navy ships, is a portable control box which can be plugged into outlets leading from many parts of the ship to the steering mechanism in the stern. The helmsman's "wheel" is simply a knob on the control box. Sample uses: to replace the main steering station if the bridge is knocked out, or if the helmsman wants to steer from a better vantage point when picking up planes, docking, fueling at sea, etc.

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