Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1902-01-23
PROSPERS IN SPITE OF OPPOSITION.

The Delaware and Atlantic Telegraph and
Telephone Co. Nearly Doubles the Num-
Der of Its Subscribers During 1901 Great
Improvement in the Service.
Correspondence Mercantile and Financial Times.
We have often spoken in these pages
of the futility of competition in tele-
phone service, tending rather to raise
than to lower the rat y. 1t is not our
intention here to reiterate the old argu.
ments. which have, indeed, become
somewhat stale. We intend to speak
more particularly of the Delaware q
Atlantic Telegraph and Telephone Go.
and the valuable seryios it renders TO
the people of this section.
AS is we'll known this company
operates the Bell system, and it's terri
tory includes thu counties of Mont.
gomerY, Bucks. Chester and Delaware
in Pennsylvania, New Jersey as far
north as and including Princeton and
the entire State of Delaware. As a
matter of public interest your CORE.
spundent has been trying to ascertain
what effect the many SO called inde-
pendent telephone companies operating
in this territory have had upon the
business Of the Delaware & Atlantic.
he result OF his inquiries shows that
at the beginning of 1901 this company
had, in round numbers, 6,500 sub
scribers, ard at the beginning of 1902,
the number has increased TO nearly
l2,G00 For the betterment of the
service the company has now over 1900
miles Of wire underground IN the
leading business centres OF it's territory,
including Camden. Trenton, Atlantic
City, Chester and Wilmington. They
have now 3J;pair oahle from Philadel.
phia to Chester, and will continue these
improvements along the line to Parkes-
burg. The company has recently
finished an underground conduit con-
Meeting the towns on the main line Of
the Pennsylvania railroad as far as
Ardmcfe, at which point they will
shortly construct central plant, ard
whore they had formerly four trunk
lines leading out of the city in that
direction, they will now have about 10.
The underground system is being ex-
tended as rapidly al possible TO Bryn
Mawr.
These are but samples OF what the
company is doing IN tho improving and
extending of their service in every
part of the territory. 1t is not to be
wondered at that there is steady and
substantial increase in the number of
their subscribers. The independent
concerns, with no long distance con
nections, which have sprung up all over
their territory, do not seem to have any
other effect On the business of the Della.
ware Il Atlantic than 10 increase the
number of their patrons.
a singular example Of the fate Of
independents companies was shown in
the case OF one which operated ia Tren-
ton for several years. This company
was capitalized at S150, 000 and had a
bond issue of 100000, but it never
paid, and eventually the bondholders
took the plant and tried to operate it
They, too, made failure, and short
time ago the sheriff sold the whole
property for $1,000
With its modified rates to the diff
ferent classes of service and the vast
improvements in the plant and service
already made and in contemplation the
business of the Delaware a. Atlantic
Telegraph and Telephone Co. is in a
more prosperous condition than ever
before and it starts the new year under
tine most favorable auspices