Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1905-01-19

'>"'a . uuAlu lHt XtHT
ending December 81. 1902. The pres.
eni bulletin concerns telephones and
telegraphs. the subjects of the three
preceding IL being street and cleo.
trio railways, electric light and power
plants, and municipal electric fire.
alarm and police.patrol systems. All
OF these reports were prepared under
the direction of Mr.. w. NJ. Steuart,
chief stalstician for manufactures.
Statistics are shown separately for
three classes of telephone systems.
as follows:
1. Commercial systems, including
all systems operated by individuals,
firms, or corporations primarily for
revenue.
2. Mutual systems, including all
systems operated through a mutual
arrangement between the persons
deriving benefit from the service,
primarily for the benefit of the own.
ers, revenue being incidental to the
%Aoperation of the line.
3. Independent farmer or rural
lines having no regular exchange or
central, these lines are often operat-
ed under conditions similar to those
controlling mutual systems.
Mutual systems are frequently the
outgrowth Of farmer lines, and com
mercial systems are frequently de
veloped from mutual systems.
Telegraph systems are divided into
two general classes. as follows:
l. Commercial land telegraph and
ocean cable 4ystems, including all
systems organized primarily for the
transmission Of messages for the
general public.
2. Railway telegraphs, including all
wires owned and operated in connec-
ton with a railway system, to sub
serve Its business of a common car
rier. or operated by commercial tele-
graph company through an arrange
menl with the railway company
along whose right Of way the wires
are strung, whereby messages relal-
ing to the railway business are given
preference.
Although the commercial telephone
has developed entirely during the
past thirty years, the bulletin shows
thai it is now of vastly greater i'm
p%ortance than the telegraph. The ex-
tension of the long-distance service,
the introduction of the commercial
systems into rural DISTRICTS, the es-
adjustment of Independent rural
lines. the development Of such lines.
in some instances, into mutual sys-
TENS with an exchange and more ex-
tensive service. and The rapidly in
creasing use of the telephone in pri-
vate dwellings, all point to a growth
of the industry that can hardly be
realized. In 1902 the wire mileage
operated by commercial and mutual
telephone systems together insti-
tuted 70.6 per cent of the combined
mileage for such systems. and COM
mercial telegraph systems, and these
same telephone systems gave en-
ployment to 70.7 per cent of the wage
earners, paid 65.5 per cent Of the
wages, received 6S per cent OF the
revenue, and paid CTS per cent of the
expenses
Telephone Systems.
At the census Of 1880 the tele-
phone industry was in embryo, few
commercial companies being in oper.
alton prior to that year. The financial
interests represented were relatively
Of great importance. but the amounts
were comparatively insignificant as
compared with the totals for 1902.
The number of miles of wire In use
N 1902 was 141 times, and the mum
Der of telephones nearly 43 times, as
great as in 1880. The number OF
miles of wire and number Of instru-
ments operated in 1902 by the indie.
pendent rural lines. which in 1880
were not in existence. were in ex-
cess of the totals for the entire in.
dustry in the earlier year.
In 1880 the population OF The United
States was 50.155, 1888 and the number
OF telephones Of all kinds was 5f,319,
giving an average OF 923 persons per
telephone; the population of cont
mental United States in 1902 is esti
mated at 7s.576,43 and the number
of telephones operated in that yeaI
was 2,315.297. giving an average OF
"a persons per telephone.
Although in some states the mutu
al systems and the independent farm
er or rural lines are Of great import
ance. the proportion of the telephone
business transacted by such systems
in continental United States In 1870.
was very small. The commercial sys
TENS numbered 3,157-three times as
many as the mutual systems. of which
there were 994-and reported nearly
all the wire mileage. telephones. anc
subscribers.
The total revenue of all telephon,