St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1883-01-06
Telephones.

WEIS k1UUhG.
Telephones.
According to a pamphlet just issued
by the International Telephone Com
pany of Paris there are 152 cities in the
world furnished with that latest adjunct
of modern civilization, the telephone.
OF these go are located in the United
States, 46 in Great Britain, II in Italy,
10 in Germany eight in France, six in
Be GUM, three each in Austro- Hungary,
Russia, Switzerland and British India,
two each in the Netherlands, and one
each in Denmark, Sweden and Mexico.
This lisa pretty good showing consider
| ing the very short time that the tele-
phone has been in practical use. The
total number OF subscribers to the ,tele-
phone exchanges in these 1852 cities are
Sc, S99, of whom the United States have
81. 1919. or nearly two-thid DIS, the other
third being scattered over the globe as
follows: Great Britain, 1876; france.
$3.50; Italy, 2,902; Germany, 1872;
Belgium, 2156; Austro-Hungary, go;
Sweden, 672; Switzerland; OIL; Den
mark, 1898; Mexico, 800; Russia. 238;
British India, 213; Egypt, 1S5; and the
Netherlands, Isl. The statistics for the
| United States are rather behind date,
having been gathered chiefly during last
! year, but those for the countries out
/ side the United States are much more
recent and there rore much more re-
| liable
The contrasts presented between the
extent to which the telephone is used
| hot ;tc nj how
would, therefore, be even more violent
were the present figures Of our own ex-
changes to be used instead of those of a
year ago. Those of London represent
the degree to which the telephone was
employed on the 9th of March last.
There were then 1861 subscribers in a
district having a population of 4.764,-
1000. In the district served by the Met
ropolitan Telephone Company, which
includes New York City. Brooklyn and
Hoboken, and having population OF
1912, 900, or about forty per cent. OF
the London district. there were in May,
1881, 1900 subscribers, SO that if Lon
don were supplied at the same rate as
New York was then it would have now
about TO- 900 instruments instead of this
beggar1y 1861.
Berlin, which now has population
almost as large as New York City. has
/ 95l instruments, which is considera-
BILE advance over London, and Paris is
ahead OF Berlin, there being 2,442 tele-
phones in operation there in a district
estimated to contain 2, 900, 900. In Italy
it appears to be quite popular, there be-
! ing 475 subscribers in Rome, which has
a population OF only $4,000; 410 in
Turin, population 231. 1000; 1S7 in Flor
ence, population 145, OOo; 1S5 in Bolog-
ma, population 292. 900; 118 in Vienna.
population 131. 900; and 80 in Naples.
population 1884, 900, the latter only be-
ing twice as well supplied difference
in population being considered as Lon
don, while Rome is fully aswell supplied
as New York.
In the Russian Empire the three
places where the telephone has been in
troduced are ST. Petersburg, Moscow
! and Odessa The former has 1874 out of
the 227 instruments, the other two hay
ing sixty-six and tWenty-seven, re-
spectivelv. Vienna. Pesth and Trieste
are the three Austrian cities into which
it has made its way. Vienna has but
|6OO subscribers, although the district
has population falling but about 200
900 short of that OF New York City. In
Belgium some OF the smaller cities are
remarkably well supplied with instru-
ments. Charleroi. which has but 10. 600
inhabitants, having $50 of them, which
is almost as many as Leadville had
when it was of the same size.
The lines are operated by private
companies everywhere excepting in
Germany and Switzerland, in both of
which States the Government has re-
served to itself the exclusive privilege
of construct ng and working them. In
Belgium the Government reserves the
right TO take possession of them at any
time on payment of fair price. In
Great Britain the concession Isl for
thirty-on years, IN Austria for ten
years, and in Hungary for twenty
years. In Russia each line receives a
special concession; in Italy the con-
cessions run for thirty years subject to
renewal, but the Government regulates
the rates under certain restrictions in
4 Denmark the concession is for twelve
wears; while in Sweden all that isneces-
sary is to make an amicable arrange
Iment with the telegraph people.
The liberahty, or the contrary. dis
played by the different Governments in
granting permission to construct the
lines is doubtless one of the principal
reasons for the abundance or the paucity
of telephone instruments; but other
causes. such as concentration of popula-
ton, which enables merchants to go
from one house to another without any
loss of time, and, above all. national en-
terprise, have their influence. ~ +
Graphic.
The new Governor of Colorado i
only about thirty years old