The Republican journal., 1907-05-16
New England Tel. { Tel. Go.
Total Number of Employees, 1868. Almost
a Million Calls Day.

Total Number of Employees, 1868. Almost
a Million Calls Day.
The New England telephone system
is the second largest in the country, ac-
cording to the annual report OF Gen.
Thomas SherWin, President of the New
England Telephone and Telegraph Com
pany, which has just appeared. The
growth of the business during 1906 was
greater than in any previous year, and
on the first Of January, 1907, there were
255,576 subscribers stations" connect
ed with the lines of the New England
company and its sub licensees, which
cover Maine, New Hampshire, Yer
mont and Massachusetts. That is, ap-
proximately speaking, one telephone to
each Is men, women and children IN
the territory. The total includes a
small number of subscribers in Rhode
Island and in corner of New York
State.
President Sherwin points out that it
| has been the constant purpose of the
directors to extend the service as fully
and rapidly as is consistent with good
judgment throughout the wide area
within which his company operates,
and to place its facilities within reach
of the largest possible number of the
people of New England. There is
scarcely village or settlement in the
| field whose residents cannot readily
avail themselves of the company's ser
vice for communication to near or dis
tant points.
ONE TELEPHONE TO EVERY II PERSONS
The development in the Boston and
suburban division is very large, this
metropolitan center being slightly in
the lead among the four great centers
of population of the country. In The
entire Boston and suburban division
there is one telephone to every IA OF
population, while in the city of Boston
alone the proportion reaches about one
in every IL.
Extensive additions and improve
ments to the New England system have
been made during the past year Ii
the course of the constant work of re
equipment necessitated by growth, ant
by the fact that telephone apparatus O.
even the very best type is quickly worn
out, new switchboards were placed il
lO4 different offices. Thirteen ex
changes have been moved into special,
constructed buildings and have beer
newly equipped throughout with boil
central office and subscribers appara
tus. Besides this enormous amount O
new and larger apparatus, addition:
were made to the existing central office
plants i'll % exchanges.
The total expenditures during the
year for materials, General Sherwin re
ports as s4,316,375 80. OF this amour
million and three-quarters went fOl
wire and cable, more than three quart
ers of a million for sWitchboards an(
switchboard material, and almost Z;
quarter of a million for poles and cross
arms.
The purchases included large advance
orders for apparatus and material
made advisable by the upward tendenc,
of prices for practically everything re
quired in constructing and maintain
ing the telephone system and by thu
extraordinary demand due to the enor
nous development of the Bell system
throughout the country, amounting
during the twelve months to more thar
S79,O00,000 in cost, which made it ap
parent early in the year that it woult
be exceedingly difficult to Obtain
promptly what was needed for the eX
tension and reconstruction of the New
England lines and exchanges.
051, 1854 for new construction and 50. O45
1873 for repairs and maintenance. Thu
maintenance charge is particularly i'm
portant to the public, representing TIN
means taken to maintain the plant al
ways at the highest point of efficiency
AS usual, it is about one-thlrd of tn
company's gross revenue for the year
AN AMAZING NETWORK OF COMMCNI
CATION
On the 3lSt of December last Their
were 6, 1877 miles of toll pole lines carry
ing 40, 7O6 miles of wire. For givin!
local service there was 1876, 1873 miles o
wire overhead, 23S, 1853 miles of wiz,
underground and $50 miles in sub
marine cables. The underground sys
tenn of the company now consists o.
about 541 miles of conduit, containing
1857 miles of duct. The Southern
Massachusetts Company, which thu
New England company owns and oper
ates, has 274,2 72 feet of conduit with
1,24O,3 800 feet of duct; and the Yer
mont Telephone and Telegraph Com
pany, also under the New England
management, has 1902 feet of condui
enclosing IS, $40 feet of duct.
During the year upwards OF 100000
feet of aerial cable were hung an(
about quarter Of the entire length OF
toll circuits was rearranged so as tl
materially increase the efficiency of the
long distance service. For local ex
change purposes 57,9s7 new poles were
set and 80, 1876 miles of wire strung. A
large proportion of all the wire placed
consists of copper conductors enclosed
in aerial and underground cable. Ii
the extension and reconstruction of the
toll lines II, 622 poles and II, OF miles OF
conductors Of one sort and another
were used.
The New England system now has
4SS exchanges in operation. Among