The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-10-27
Story of Growth of This
City as Told BY Hello.
Prosperity.
FIGURES OFDECADE
WHAT THEY MEAN
Never-Failing Barometer and
What It Has to Say Abouts
Greater Richmond's Business 8
Strides Within Past Twelve s;
Years-Thrilling Texts
for the Boosters.

BY FRANK 3. wOODSON.
II IN hardly necessary to tell th4
average reader OF the Industrial 49,
don that Richmond IL . growing cSSys
that 1t is going forward by leaps a.
bounds. that 1t il growing in m0m
way and along all linz
and that II is growing faster and noee
than any Southern city
faster. indeed. than any city east -
the Mississippi River. be 1t North g
South. Observant people can see All -
this with the naked eye. but II -
pleasant duty now and then to bxtu9
out telling illustrations OF these graf
flying facts that they may be all u
more deeply impressed upon the mines
Of all Richmond citizens and all VIZ
ginia people and all the people of u
country, for that matter. Especially -
1t essential that the Richmond '.Boose
ers'' shall have accurate figures 4n4
on their tongues end. tn4x
they may be the better enabled to tel
IT Richmond's. progress At . seeon09
notice.
Telephone Figures That TAN
The expansion or backward now
ment Of the telephone business In An3
is kind Of barometsQ
showing the commercial and industrie1
growth and prosperity. or the con-
trary. of that community. telephono
right at hand. t. enable one to con-
municate by word of mouth with otns
ers at a distance, is In o sense lux
ury. certainly a great convenience. put
nine out Of ten telephones in use n
the land are more or less for business
purposes strictly. and SO the busineeA
hustle and commercial energy of cttJ
or q community may be judged pretty
accurately by the growth and expau-
sion Of the telephone business Wilma
q given period and the number In unG
at any particular time. 1t win prove
interesting therefore to trace the his.
tory Of the Richmond Telephone Era
change for the past few years and IT.
rapid growth from the very start.
wonAerfsl CROWN.
Richmond was one OF the hrst ctefe4
In the country to have a telephone e1-
change. but like exchanges in otAeE
parts Of the country at the time. -
was a cumbersome and bungling aAea3E.
with a service that would not now -.
tolerated in the smallest village In the
State. The old coffee mill-shApe1ss
grinding machines were then In usasf
and they caused no little Of profanity
and worry. That was away back about
1880. maybe & little sooner. BY ana
by the Law system Of switchboar0U
came about. and then the -a,etall1o!
circuit and the individual wires. ant
the service was greatly improved Is
The telephone gradually became -
factor in the transaction of puslnse6
and as the service improved from time
to time the exchange grew and ON jan
uary 1. 1890. there were in use Ia Rich.
mond 19s telephones. The growth 81
the exchange for the next ten yeaSo
was not near SO rapid as IL has been
for the last twelve. for IN January 1,
1909. there were in Richmond an6
the immediate suburbs only l.S37 stac.
lions. while on October I of this geo
year there were 1914. phones IN con-i
nection with the now Immense Rich-s
mond telephone exchange, AID 90 rapd0{
Is the growth Of the business Of ~
Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraphj
Company. now called the Chesapeake
and Potomac Telephone Company -
Virginia. that to-day there are cloGn
on to 5000 phones in connection viii
the Richmond exchange. zoe Of the0
being in the Madison" exchange au1
the balance. nearly 5000, In the Mon
roe" exchange. These 10000 phone
are in Richmond city and the imDes
date suburbs and in addition there oNo
connected directly with the exchanges
200 rural line phones. known in ox.
change parlancc a. county" In eoos
roe"
How The People Ds Tam.
Abou: January !. 1909. the exchaueo
responded To 1900 calls per day. na11-
ins that many connections. and shuU
putting $4,000 people TO talking ~
wire. To-day the connections made u
the exchange average $4,000 per aays
which means that :s&.ce9 people tan
over the wire in and about RichmoU8
every day. while only 5s.oee ea5oysa
that pleasure per day twelve yeasDs
ago.
In 100. the exchange operated only
one small switchboard on the ta1s4
;ioo- Of the -b-l Building. at Ninth so4
Main Streets. while now two Of -
largest makes are IA operation In sho
company's own doubt. buiidiaS. e.
Grace street. between seventh 81
Eighth. one Of which is located In IT,
oder building. and is known 90 q
virginia as Madison and the oeoGU6
known a. Monroe" 10 In the new -
larger part Of the costly struetux1s
The larger switchboard. the Midway
cost Ssseos.. and the Monroe sssu4D
tn. company si:s.see. =; may be meo~
toned here that the business 10 grew
ing so rapidly the company sees th19
another exchange viii soon Be necoqs
,sry. and for tha; purpose the Iaa8
has already been Dough; On Seu0V
Avenue. between Davis Avenue .
Robinson street. IN the West Eo1. -
p~rhaps In q year slime tee t.
costly exchange. which nay ~
not be called ~JeSerson." vsu - -
and equipped -
~ the segtnu.ng ~ the year u
there v~re tvsnty-Hve cp~rseoeo
-hruc- girls sofaS the scuerv es
,Si,~hboaras sn the Eschsuoo9
chang. and the coWvaay -
ave other emejoyes - -
To-day lie ~he1lcr Gefso - 49,
ia the excbangss - 49, 02.S
(coastaUe1 - ooouoo 49,