The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-08-27
UNITED STATES LEADS
 WORLD IN PHONE CALLS
Europe Beats Us in Use of Tele- graph-Telephone Thirtyesix
 Years old.

The statistician of the American
 Telephone and Telegraph Company af-
 ter many weary hours of investigation
 ana close figuring estimates that dur
 900 telephone calls throughout the
 world. Of this great number the
 United States had 14, 50O, ,000.0O ''con-
 versations," or 66 per cent. of the
 grand total. The countries of Europe
 got numbers from their telephone cen
 trals approximately $500, ,000, 900 times i;
 Canada talked 900, 900 times and the
 rest of the world had to be satisfied
 with 300, ,O00. .000 calls.
 Although the United States sur- passes the rest of the world in the use
 and development of the telephone as
 time saving instrument of speedy
 communication for social and commer-
 cal purposes the telegraph traffic of thlS country, according to the StatlS-
 tician, presents quite contrast, as
 only 17 per cent. of the 579,000, GOO tele-
 grams sent in the world during the year 1910 were forwarded in the Unit ed States. In other words, he says,
 Europe has about the same propor- ton of the worlds telegraph traffic
 as the United States has of the world $
 telephone traffic.
 On January 1, 1912, there were ap- proximately 12,453 900 telephones in the
 world, necessitating the stringing of 9,566,000 miles of wire. representing a total worlds telephone investment of
 points out is nearly the value of all of Uncle Sanl's gold coin and bullion. Of the total number of phones the United States had s,262O00 (10 per cent increase over the number on January l, 19011), or 67.1 per cent. of all the
 telephones in existence. The European l countries were next with 3,2S9.oo1
 phones; Canada, 335, ,000. and the res of the world 517,000.
 The United States's estimate of tele phone miles of wire was placed at 1s | 179 00O0 @ per cent increase over thu preceding year). or 61.5 per cent. 0 | the entire mileage of the world Eu
 rope had S,4S1,0oO miles of telephon, wire at work (32 per cent. of alb Canada 7ss, 900 miles and all othe countries 1,1asO00 miles.
 | In dealing with the matter of tn total estimated telephone investmen of the world the statistician says tha 1 the worlds investment has almos l quadrupled during the ten years end ed December 31, 1911, increasing iron f$4S2, ,000, 600 to S1, 729, 900 900. One-hal l of this great increase, he explains, wa | in the United States, where the an nual increase averaged about 66.000,
 900. The average corresponding in crease in Europe was about S27000.
 900 less. The telephone companies il the United States had total esti | mated investment Of $1,025. GOO 00(
 twice that in all Europe and over one ] half the total investment of all tn world. Canada's investment at tn
 same time was about s44, ,000,0o0 an, all other countries $67, ,00o, 900.
 l Among the achievements in the pas year in the use of the long distar1c | telephone in this country was tn opening of commercial service between I this city and Denver. a distance O l 2,1e0 miles, the longest distance ove which oral communication is possibl anywhere.
 1 United States railway systems havi made rapid advances toward the gen eral use of the telephone for trail l despatekinE. Over 200 roads have nov ] adopted the system and the teiephon, has taken the place of the telegraph over 5OO00 miles of railroad, or ove 20 per cent of the total railroad mile age in the country. About 1O,O0O I phones are in use for despatching pur poses.
 The gross telephone earnings in tn world, partly estimated, were $32S l717,7n in 1909, of which the figure for the United States were $221 All, 900 or GA of the grand total. Tu ropes earnings were $9f ,351, GOO, Gan ada Se.752.OoO and all other countries &. .1SY, 800. The average earning pc telephone in the United States wal
 $S2,S7. The highest average earninl was int Belgium, where the amount il placed at $50s75 per phone, while Fin lands average is the lowest, at $15.S
 per phone. There are s.1 telephones per 100 population in this country. The telephone was invented by Alex
 ander Graham Bell thirtysix yearl ago.