Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-10-26
S24,255,00O A YEAR
TAKEN BY PHONE
PAY STATIONS.
Profits From These Receipts
Are So Enormous That the
Bell Monopoly Could Easily
Establish a Scent Rate.
sl7,ooo,ooo Clearly Taken in
from Ten Cent Calls Alone.
Plant Established on Watered
Capital Of S58,ooo,ooo.
If the Needed Scent Rate
Were Established, Experts
Figure That the Receipts
Would be GreatlyIncreased.
(New York Journal. 2oth.)

There are about 5000 pay stations of
the New York Telephone Company in
the boroughs of Manhattan and the
Bronx. The charge for five minutes
conversation over a pay station tele-
phone is 10 cents. The Journal con
tends that the service would pay at
cents, and in this article will be found
some figures to prove 1t.
The average citizen knows nothing at
all oil the enormous profits that accrue
10 the telephone monopoly from the
pay stations. So much money was ac-
cumulated from these from the time
they were inaugurated that the mono
poly cut the price of messages from 10
cents TO Il dime, because ii was feared
that revelation of the cXorbitant profits
might awake slumbering public indig-
nation and compel II reduction TO
cents--a reasonable rate.
III Is computed that the average pay
station receipts are SIS day. OF
course, there are hundreds of pay sta
TONS that do not take in dollar
DAY, but they are more than made up.
on the average, by the big stations
such as are maintained in the hotels.
railroad stations and in drug stores
TOBACCO stores, saloons and other places
OF business on the public thorough
iares. Lit is almost impossible to get ut
whlch the following revelations may be
made, and they are not far out of the
way:
BIG RECEIPTS HERE.
The receipts Of the pay station at
the imperial Hotel, where there is n
Dro'erage Office in the room in which
tne pay station is located. VIII average
$40 day. The receipts at the Wal
aorf,Astoria and other big hotels in
the hotel district Will run along with
those OF the Imperial Even the As
TOR House service. which is not used
nt night at ALL runs to $25 and $50 a
DAY In. receipts. In any big public
place It's almost impossible to get to
me pay station booths in the busy
hours OF the day without long waits.
TAXING THE AVERAGE RE
THE 5000 PAY STATIONS Ar St5 IT
MAY EASILY BE COMPUTED THAT
THE AVERAGE STATION 2E-
CElPTS OF THE TELEPHONE MO
NOPOLY ARE $4,000 a DAY. T;N-
elusive OF SUNDAYS THIS
WOULD MAKE THE ANNUAL IN
COME OF THE TELEPHONE MO-
NoPOI.Y FOR PAY STATIONS
ALONE REACH THE ENORMOUS
TOTAL OF 500, i75 600
IN all fairness to the telephone mo-
nopoly ii must be admitted Tint tbc
service rails off largely on SUNDAYS.
Allowing n falling off of 100000 i'm the
unhy receipts for fifty-two Sundays in
thc year we find that the Lords Dav
telephone pay station service is s.ood
ior Sl5.OOo to the telephone MONOPOLY.
TOTAL OF S7S0,O0O FOR SUNDAYS.
On the Sunday service alone the TO-
tai FOR year would amount TO S7stt-
UU0, and this added to the week dav re
celpts would bring the total income
from the pay station service up to S24
255,c00 a year.
IN the opinion of an expert in the
telephone business about 80 per cent
vi me pay station business is given up
10 iohS distance calls upon which the
proht is not so large as on local 10
cent calls in fact the long distance
service is so new and has cost so much
,hat Just what constitutes profit has
hardly been figured out. To make the
showing as fair as possible for the tel
ephone monopoly, deduction of 30 Der
t' lIo,h the amount given above as
the total should be made.
This takes off $7,276500, and. Weld
ing 10 the contention of the monopolv
mat there is no profit in long distance
calls. this amount must be wiped from
me receipts of the local pay stations.
IN round numbers this would leave the
fseeeiptS or the 5000 pay stations, solely
u
The capital of the New Yorl, TaIo-
phone Company-90 per cent. of which
Is water--is $4,000 600. Receipts of sI7 :
oUVoo0 from one branch OF the servjce
Is pretty large return. a percentages
OF TINS must be deducted for tbe ey-
pense OF running the pay stations bu
the percentage is small. The cost of
installation. table, instrument and bool,
Tor small station will not run over
500. and it is a poor station. indeed
that does not pay for itself in a few
days. 7"
When the monopoly reduced the nav
ior minutes conversation the business
Increased at an astounding rate and
hordes OF energetic young men are
working to-day to extend the paw sta
tion business. The telephone MONOPOLY
VIII put q pay station in Chinese
laundry If there Is chance of getting
in few dimes. At a flve-cent rate the
business would grow until the whole
city would be speckled with pay sta
tons. and while the profits of the mo-
nopoly would be cut down to some ey
tent ut the start, 1t is question il the
increase in business would not still al
low the accumulation of profits calcu-
lated to make the income of n Roth
schild look puny by comparison
COST WOULD NOT BE LARGE.
1t is the howl OF the telephone monop
oily that the cost of extending it's lines
In New York City is enormous. The
contrary is the case. a squad OF able
young men is at work continually Sc
curing rights of way over property all
through the city for extensions OF
wires. Nothing is paid for the right of
way as q general thing.