The herald., 1898-04-16
OFFICE OF THE HERALD,
LOS ANGELES, April Is. 1898.

OFFICE OF THE HERALD,
LOS ANGELES, April Is, 1898.
Human reason may cure illusions, but
1t cannot cure sufferings."
The report of the great telephone organ
ization of this country, known as the
American Bell Telephone company, for the
year 1897 Is Of the character to cause sat
isfaction to its stockholders. The record
presented, says Bradstreet's. Is one of in
creasing business and exceptionally large
gains In the earnings Of the corporations.
In fact, the increase In the number of sta
tions and telephones for the year was un-
precedented, fact which points to the
influence of increased business activity
upon the use of the telephone as an ad-
junct to commerce and the equally marked
effects of renewed prosperity throughout
the land upon it's employment as social
and domestic necessity. The facts in this
connection speak for themselves. Accord
ing to the report Of the number of instru-
ments under rental on December 20, 1897.
was 919,121 compared with 772 ,627 the year
before, an increase of 146,494 telephones.
The number of exchanges on January 1st
of the present year Is given as 1925, COM
pared with 967 exchanges at the beginning
OF 1897. an increase of IS, while the branch
offices now number 937, or 105 more than
they did year ago.
The earnings of the company, derived
from rentals of telephones and dividends
upon the stocks of the operating company
principally. tell similar story. The ag-
gregate gross receipts of the American
Bell Telephone company for 1897 were $5.-
130,S44, an increase of $S03 ,520. To this sum
rentals of instruments under the plan
adopted by the corporation Of leasing all
telephones contributed $1,597 ,959, an in
of S9SQ lS1 and the dIvi1andc maid
on the stocks of subsidiary companies
owned by 1t reached a total Of So, ,0S5, 1919.
or $469072 more than the receipts from that
source In the year 1896
The financial details presented with the
report show that the expenses for year
which item included interest upon the
$2,O00,000 of debenture bonds, taxes and
other items, amounted to 1861 40. or about
$17.425 more than in the preceding year,
leaving net earnings of $4169,64, an in
crease for the year of $776,093 The cap
ital stock of the company was increased
during 1897 by the issue and sale of 81, 1885,
$40 in shares making the amount out
standing at the end of the year $25, ,SS6, ,300
The regular dividends of IL per cent per
annum and per cent extra were paid on
the stock, making the total on that ac-
count $3,6s2,94S, an increase of s412, ,3s7; SAT,
900 was charged off for depreciation and
other items and as a result of the years
operations si39. 500 was carried to the COM
pany's surplus account, which now
Samounts to over s.. 500 900.
A considerable portion of the report is
devoted to the details concerning the ex-
tension of the Long Distance Telephone
company's lines, which now reach as far
as Minneapolis and Omaha on the north
and west, and southerly to Petersburg and
Norfolk. Virginia. The total mileage of
pole lines operated in that connection is
SITS miles. with over 900 miles of wire
connecting 2SS offices, or 55 more of the lat
ter than at the close of 1896. The amount
Of new construction completed in 1897 by
all the companies having relations with
the American Bell Telephone resulted in
an outlay of no less than $500 900, while
the entire expenditure for construction at
the close of last year reached the large
total of s97 $4,000. Included in this latter
sum was over $l3,S00,000 on account of the
Long Distance Telephone Company
which organization. 1t is stated, increased
its gross earnings during the year by IS
per cent, or some $1,S79,000. Even this
brief summary is an indication of the
enormous proportion which the telephone
industry in the United States has attained
rs well as of the prosperity of the corpor-
alton that enjoys practical monopoly of
the business.
Tho supreme court or Georgia held. In the
recent case of the Hotel Lanier company
VS.. Johnson. that under section 27O2 of the
civil code of the state, an alteration In a
promissory note will not necessarily dis
charge the maker from all liability thereon
unless such alteration was material and
made by a person claiming a benefit un-
der the note with intent to defraud; that
promissory note payable generally "after
date" and not otherwise expressing any
time for payment, is payable on demand.
and therefore, under section 300 of the
civil code, due Immediately, and that the
purchaser of such note, even II the same
Is by its terms a negotiable instrument,
takes 1t subject to the equities between
the original parties.
EJ1atema1a