The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1886-02-24
{From tie Nou York Fork

me..t.
(F;rom tie Nsu York Hvr!I
The figures given in an article con-
cer.ing the Anericsn B-!l Telephone
CompsIy. pu''iisir.d BY 'ilc Ne"
York Wo,ia s"n.e days a-o, ie.s: c.
only to the business Of the parent cor
poratiou. there are suo-coarpan c,
all ever the Unit,d S.%teS a.t i is
b. these that tine actual teiep','"t
service of the country Is lt!to M q,
and it is through ;henl that s;E' people
paw The enormous TX how e1tortcd
by that service.
The parent company, as stated, Is q
Massachusetts corporation with tic
central Office Ut No. %, MIX Street,
Boston, With an authorized capital of
SlO,oOO,0 900. Ills is ;lc great con-
trolling and absorbing head OF q vast
system that extends cnt 10 every city, F.,
town and considerable village. gath
ering in every year gross income
airnost Us great US that OF the Western
Union Telegraph COMPANY. The
authorized capital of the parent COM
panv i, no index of its wealth and
future aspirations, and il is only kept
at $4,000, 900 because ota refusal OF
the Legislature of Massachusetts 10
grant the companv's application I
an increase to $4,000, 900. The parent
company anu the Sub-cotnp;snlc> are
resilv one stupendous concern, the
profiablenesS OF which probably eI-
ceeds that ofauy considerable property
Known to this age ot profitable ven
lures.
AS soon as the practicability and
usefulness of the telephone had been
established there was great rush IN
all directions to secure territory and
form sub-companieS. These sub
companies have since been largely
consolidated, aud in May, 1895, there
were thirty-si1 in existence in the
United States. The Que holding
sway over the city of New York Is
known as the Metropolitan Telephone
and Telegraph Comrany, which itself
hiss four Snb-companies or sub-licenseS
The Domestic Telegraph and Tele-
phone Company, Of New York and
{ New Jersey Telephone Company, The
Westchester Telephone Company and
the Staten Island Telephone Company.
In the thirtv-si1 sub-companies refer.
red to above no account is taken ot
the sub-licenses. In New iors the
Metropolitan stands for all, and tie
dealings of the parent company are
with it solely.
The parent company has al Interest
in all the thirty-SiX sub-companleS OF
the United States. The aggregate
capital of these sub-comparies amount
ed TO $53, ,000.0V0 on ti:e 3l>t day OF
Narch, 1885. If we add to that the
: $1,000, coo authorized capital Of the
parent company it makes grand
total of S6S, 100000. II the paren,
company were to be granted The add,
tional $4,000, 900 Of authorized capl,
tai stock they have asked for, the
grand total would foot up $4,000, GEO
which is $3,000,GOO more ihan tile
capital stock If the Western Uu!ol
Telegraph Company. Without 3
check OF some sort it will soon resci
that and even still greater proportions
THE GRASP OF THE PARENT COMPANY.
The interest Of the parent company
in the various sub-companies is very
large ranging sll the way from So ,t
81 per cent. On the SlSt of March
1856 its holdings in the. various coin
panies srnountel in round numbers tc
$4,000 shares, the value OF which
was estimated at s25 ZOO, 900, so that
of the aggregate S53 100000 OF stock
held BY all the sub. companies com
bined, the parent COMPANY held almost
halt. Its holdings in the metropolitan
Telephone Company of this city
&monnt to- 1000 shares, its holdings IL
Che New England Telephone and rel,-
graph Company to o. 100 shares, and
its holdings in the Central Union Tele'
ghone Company to about twe'ty-fonl
thousand shares. These shares in sub
a. cornpsnies were obtainedin two ways:
one by so-called purchase,the other b!
franchise, the latter term meaning
simply gift for the right to exist,
whIlethe purchases made are no more
: than certain transfer OF properrie;
upon which there may be placed tic'
titions value. On the 3lst of March
1885, the par value of the shares OBJ
tanned by franc;Se amounted to l5,5O0.'
But Telephone stock is rarel! TO bf
estimated ON the basis of par valua
ton. the present company's STOCK
has sold as high as $50 and is now
worth about 800. The stock Of neari!
all the subcompanics is worth equally
as much. Very little of it is on ths
market at sll, it being too valuable fol
speculation purposes.
WEALTH OF THE sUB-coMrASIEs.
The combined wealth of the sub,
companies may be aScertained, at least
approximately, by calculations based
on the last report OF the pareit con
pauy, issued 10 lis stockholders Marcl
S2st, 1855. Ii is there stated that The
average number of exchange c''nnec
tions,in the United States was 697 ,96t
per day, or PSI ,267 100 per yea". Al
exchange connection is what is com
ronly designated a call. Elsewhere
: The report states that the snb-crioe'>
pay from three cents to five cents re: