The Portland daily press., 1899-05-13
USE OF THE TELEPHONE.
Enormous Growth OF the Business In
America I'm Recent Years.
IN. Y. SUM-

~. 4. sun.
In spite OF disappointments and dis.
satisfaction, America ID the foremost
country of the world in the art of tels-
phony. and in many par ticulars 1t has SC
far surpassed European countries that
no comparison Is possible This is es.
pecially true of the long distance service.
which affords connections between thirty
eight exchange companies having 10000
subscribers. and include in Its equipment
more than 10, 900 miles of pole lines, car.
rying nearly 1876, 200 miles of wire and
connecting 2s5 offices. 1t is possible fer
persons 1900 miles. . part to hold conver-
sation over the lines Of this company
with as much clearnsss and distinctness
as II they were separated by only 100
yards In Europe the longest telephone
connection thus far. attempted Is only $50
miles. The long-distance system In this
country has been developed at an expen-
diture of s2i5, 600. 900 for line construction.
equipment franchises, and supplies 1t
is the main artery In the Bell structure,
and Is sxpeetedfto prove. the most impor-
tant feature Of the system in the impend-
ing struggle Of the Bell interests TO main
tain their supremacy in the large cities of
the country.
Last year the exchanges operated under
the Bell patents employed 1,124, ,S46 in.
struments, an increase Of 205, 725 over the
previous year, and again OF S92, l54 tele-
phones since the present organization was
effected in $780, In that year the .Ameri-
can Bell Telephone Company began busi.
ness with 1872, 500 Instruments connected
by Is, ,8l6 miles of wire in the several ex-
changes then established.
The most interesting statistics upon the
telephone industry are thoee.which mark
its gradual development since 1854, when
q systematic collection of data pertaining
to tho subject was begun. The company
had 81, 422 circuits and 123,625 stations
Established in 1884 and the business was
divided among 9O6 exchanges, the entire
force employed numbering 4,762 men.
women and children. Today the payroll
con 'ains 10, 66S names; there are 465, $50
stations connected by 1850 miles OF
wire and ,l26 exchanges and ,0OS branch
offices convey some idea OF the enormous
growth of the business in the last fifteen
years, but they fail entirely to show the
Importance of this method of conmunica-
tion In the daily commercial and social
life of the nation. A better illustration
is afforded by the fact that last year,
1881, 900, 200 connections were made
through exchanges In this country. or
3, 1923, 700 daily conversations as estimated
from the actual count in many OF the
oities of ltbe country. The use OF the
toll-line system, connecting city exchang'
es with suburban points. has also greatly
increased, the number of connections thus
made during the last year being &c, CO., 600.
This Is entirely independent of the long
- "a fVn.vN Ssh
proof of the growing Importance of this
method of communication as social
factor. The number of subscribers fur
nished last year was increased by nearly
81 200, which Is certainly remarkable
showing when 1t is remembered that the
Bell exchanges lost many thousands OF
patrons through competition.
1t must be remembered too, that the
independent telephone movement which
has been growing rapidly since the ex-
piration of the fundamental Bell patents;
six years ago, has assumed important
and that its promoters and
supporters have established in the neigh
borhood of 8, 600 exchanges throughout the
country. Naturally many of these are in
sma II places where the Bell company
rates had proved an insurmountable bar
rier, but others are In towns where ex-
changes have been In operation. The low
rates of the anti Bell companies have
greatly stimulated the business ana placed
the service within the reach of many who
could not afford the Bell prices. In spite
of the reduction in prices, the character
of the service has been improved, as COM
petition has made it necessary for the
Bell company to use inventions and i'm
provements that otherwise would have
been buried. This was the policy OF the
Bell management during the period when
1T enjoyed monopoly, but this course
had IN ba a h. nHOna6 the ln0e-
pendent movement got fairly under way.