Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1918-03-12
BELL SYSTEM
Head of Telephone Co.
Tells Of Efficiency
Service Has Enormously Expanded
Since Entry Of v. S. into War~14
6attalions Of Picked Men Have
Joined Signal Corps

New York, March u.-How the Bell
Telephone service met the emergency OF
an enormously expanded service after the
entry of the United States into the war
and provided adequate facilities to the
various branches OF the government with
out disturbance to commercial interests,
IS shown in the annual report OF Theo-
dore \. Vail president OF the American
Telephone & Telegraph Co., and its asso-
ciated companies.
Immediately upon the declaration Of
war" President Vail says, precedence
was established throughout the system
Tor all government service and 1000 toll
operators were speedily trained for this
work. Precedence was also established
at Washington and over the entire coun-
try for the maintenance of existing faci!i-
ties and the construction of numerous
additional facilities for communication
Elaborate plans had been worked out in
advance and work was done in 4 few
weeks that ordinarily would have taken
several months"
During the last year there has been a
tremendous Increase IN the telephone SER
vice in Washington, to hands which il
has been necessary to enlarge the switch.
board five times and to bring in severa
hundred trained operators from other cit
les. Several of the departmental switch
boards are large enough for Il city Of
100000 population.
For use in the rational service, 900
miles of telephone and 27,0O0 miles of
| Geographic circuits have been taken
from commercial service
In addition, during the year the com
pany provided extensive telephone ia
cilitics for the National Army canton
ments, National Guard camps. division
| headquarters of the,' army and nav u
! aviation fields training camps and va
rious federal and state cal3nnps in differ
ont parts of the country More than sos
miles of submarine cable and 20
miles of land lines connecting the coast
! guard system We're constructed and pu,
| in operation.
Fourteen battalions Of picked officer:
( and men. trained in the companys tel.
eeraph and telephone work, have join
cd the signal corps. The company i
represented altogether by about 154i
employees in the various government
/
Telephone traffic in the United State!
| during 1917 broke all records, the dali,
! average of exchange connections reach
ing 3,Sd5, 600. The total wire mileage 0!
the system was % ,6l0,4SI. an increase q
/ 100000 miles.
| Total operating revenues in round fig
! urest were $294.900.000. an increase d
$50, 300, coo; total operating expense:
\ were $2O4 400 900, an increase of $500.
: SEQ, leaving net operating revenues o.
{. $50, s0o.0 coo.
I, An abnormal demand for service due tc
/ the war times necessitated record eX
penditure for additions to plants Of Sis,
0Oo, 600 nearly 50 per cent. greater thar
fany previous similar annual outlay.
/ The net earnings of the American Ieie'
phone & Telegraph Co, segregated from
those of the Bell system, are shown TO bC
SIS, $40 900, which is 81. $4,000 more than fol
the previous year.
Mr. Vail states that the telephone bus
mess Is growing, that the public =
friendly and that the business Of tn
Beu system is i'll a healthy condition will
assets of more than 500, o0OoCO in eXces!
of outstanding obligations.
Referring 10 government control. h(
says:
"Whatever can be done by the govern
ment through direct operation can b,
done more certainly through control ant
regulation of private operation, thus com
bining the potency of the sovereign wit
the initiative and interest of the subject