The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-04-02

mon trouble, resulting in a central clearing house and finally in the cen- tra1ized general administration with it's enormous economies, its wonder fu1 contributions to the perfection of the art and the value of the service, now the premier service of the world.
 Control and Regulation.
 As far as MT. Vail can forecast the future. regulation and control by com come a, permanent feature of our eco- lnOInfc laws. He points out that these processes could not be perfect from the start but are being improved.
 Ut is for the public to combine. to encourage, support and sustain all these courts and commissions and the udges and members of commissions and above all to abandon condemna- ton of all conclusions when they diff fer from selfish desires or opinions based on one7sided and insufficient in formation. It is for the public to real l ize that any particular gain. if at the expense of other interests, is no per manent gain at all, that all business or public prosperity is based upon each party to any transaction getting some benefit from it.
 s..And above al1 if there are to be courts of commerce or commissions then the settlement of all matters which have been referred ito such Eeourts by the legislature should be i left to them"
 Telephone oonditions. An increase of 515,s76 telephone sta tions has been added to the Bell Sys- tenn during the year, despite the re- tardation of growth Also 1,364, ,5s3 miles of wire for exchange and toll service were added during the year, 1 in the Bell System alone, not includ- ing the additions by connecting com panies. In traffic the number of mes l sages shows the small gain of slightly over per cent.
 ssMost of this retardation of growth occurred in the latter half of the year I and steps were at once taken to re- duce the expenditures for new con Istruction by postponing such exten- I sions as were not immediately neces- sary, with the result that the addi- ,l tions to the plant, which at the begin ming of the year were estimated te laggregate s56, 100000, were only $5o,- lOnO ,0O0.
 that the current additions to plant will Iaggregate about $35, ,00o, GOO and con I struction work is now proceeding or
 that basis. The general business con ditions, particularly as they affect the
 demands for telephone service, are be ling carefully studied and watched and
 sou1d they improve as is hoped, the
 construction program can be prompt fly increased to whatever extent i
 seems justified.
 tsThe gross revenue in 1914 of the Bel
 Systen-not including the connected independent coInpanies-was $226, ,o0or
 GOO; an increase of over $10 000, GOO owe last year. Of this, operation con stunned $81, 400. GOO; taxes, $12, ,2O0, GOO O 1.54 per cent on the Outstanding cap
 ital obligation; current maintenance
 $s1. .6oooOo; and provision for deprecia
 ton, $41, ,5o0, ,O00
 .J taThe surplus available for charges etc, was $59s 300, 900, of which over SIS, . 900,0Oo was paid in interest and $50, 3ODs0O0 was paid in dividends.
 esrhe total capitalization, includin; inter-eompany items and duplication
 but excluding re-acquired securities o the companies of the Bell System, 1 $1, ,419 ,O39 ,668. Of this, $624, ,324, ,761 i ! owned and in the treasury of the com panies of the Bell System.
 t'The capital stock, bonds and note payable outstanding in the hands o
 the public at the close of the yea were $794,714,907.
 eff to this be added the current ac
 counts payable, $26, 214,274, the to
 tai outstanding obligations of ever I, kind were $820,929,181, as aga1ns = and current accounts receivable o 7 $87,O66,862, leaving $7sS, S,8e2,319 a 8 the net permanent capital ob1iga ! tions of the whole system outstand 8 ing in the hands of the public.
 "As stated in previous reports, w = believe from appraisals made by ou 3 engineers that the cost of reproduc : ton of the physical plants of the Be