The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-04-20
USE OF TELEPHONES
INTERESTING STATISTICS AS TO IN-
 CREASE OF SERVICE.
Annual Report of President Fish of the Great Corporation shows Large Increase in
 Stations.

Manager Edward Lyle of the Mont
 somery telephone system has received
 copies of the annual report of Presi-
 dent F. F. Fish of the American Tele-
 phone and Telegraph Company. just is-
 sued, which shows that the number of
 subscribers to the Bell system Is prac-
 tically 100 per cent. greater than three
 years ago.
 In almost every part of the country
 each subscriber is now able to talk to
 twice as many telephones, and through
 these to a proportionately larger num-
 Der of people, so that the value of the
 service to the user constantly increases
 and its cost to the subscriber in rela-
 tion to its value, is reduced.
 The report says that from the point of view of the companies and from
 that of the public the establishment of
 rates for service which will give an
 adequate return and at the same time
 make rates suitable for the varying re-
 quirements of subscribers, alike fair
 to large and small users, is most im-
 portant. No two localities have the
 same investment per station nor is the cost of operating the same. but as com munities Increase in size conditions
 arise which largely increase the cost. Standard rates are reduced from time
 to time whenever conditions justify and a constantly increasing proportion of the telephones installed is furnished at the lower scale of rates adapted to the needs of smaller users. It seems we'll established that the larger and more densely populated a community is the higher must be the rates for the kind of service required in such a com munity.
 In the largest cities with extensive and costly underground construction, heavy real estate investment, compli- cated central office equipment, expen- sive out of all proportion to the num- Der of subscribers. and many other conditions involving heavy expenses not found in smaller communities, there is a demand for engineering skill of the highest order. and courage to incur the great expense necessary to give the amount and character of service required.
 The number of telephone companies originally organized to operate inde- pendently of the Bell companies which have decided 1t Is to their interest to | become part of the Bell system, is steadily increasing. This is significant as showing the growing appreciation of the value of the Bell service, and the contracts under which these ar arrangements are made are clearly for mutual advantage as well as for the advantage of the community served. By the bulletin on telephones issued I by the census bureau there were on December 31, 1909. S4.021 telephones 1 classified as independent which were a portion of the Bell system and this | number has grown so that on Decem- | Der 31. 1904. there were 167,219 stations of this class.
 The number of exchange stations in the Bell system at the close of the year was 1.799.63S, an increase during the year of 274,4 ,466. In addition to these | there were telephones used for private line purposes and sup-license stations so that the total number of telephones | of the Bell system on December 31 1904, was 2.0o3,213.
 The total mileage of wire of the companies was 4.671,o3S. of which 712,- | 147 miles were added during the year | The daily average of toll connections | was 301 .000 and of exchange connec-
 tions 11,149.000. or a total number of | telephone connections during the year of about 3,6s7. 100000.
 The expenditure for construction of all the Bell companies during the year | was $33, ,436,700 and in the last five
 years the expenditure on the Bell tele- phone plants has reached the sum oi | $16S,766. 400.