The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-07-19

in faster than ever before and that
Throughout the Bell system supply is
gaining on demand.
Reasons assigned by telephone
company officials here and in other
cities In most cases were the falling
OH OF production, inability of manu-
tfacturers to get transportation for
supplies, and general shortage of
materials and labor.
J In New York City alone there arc
now on file $4,000 applications for In.
stallations of telephones in rest
ldences, apartment houses, Offices and
factories. And there are already about
$4,000 subscribers in the greaIsr
city.
Untitled orders as reported from
other cities are as follows:
Chicago, $4,000; Cleveland, 1900:
Minneapolis and st. Paul, 1900; In
dianapolis. 5000; Boston, $4,000:
Denver. 1000: Oklahoma city, 1000;
iSt. Louis. 1900; Connecticut, $500;
Atlanta, 1850; Birmingham, 1900;
Mobile, 1000 and Springfield, H.,
| 400.
! Other cities reported shortages of
instruments, cables, wires, poles and
switchboard apparatus. and a result
tant increase in the number of un.
filled orders for telephones.
In explaining the situation that
confronts the American Telephone &
Telegraph Co., (the Bell system)
which, with dts associated companies,
owns or controls more than II 900, 900
!of the 100000 teleph ones in use
throughout the United States, an Off
cial OF that company said:
Great manufacturing plants have
changed their products over night.
AT word the making of arms, am.
munitions and materials of war has
been stopped, and the manufacture
of plows, dynamos, steel products,
textiles and the varied materials OF
peace has been begun.
IF all this released business were
going smoothly it would put a ire,
mendous load on the telephone. But
1t has not been going smoothly. Quite
the reverse, it has been in great con-
fusion and that confusion has been
aggravated by storms and SHOWS and
unusually bitter weather, by cpl
denies OF influenza, by floods and
tornadoes, by big exports and small
imports, and by myriad of troubles
that have increased the burden on
Tic lelepllOue system.
Unified orders are on hand, new
central Offices are needed, new switch
boards, new relays, new distributing
boards, new conduits, new cables,
new manholes, new pole lines, new
equipment of every kind. Thousands
of miles Of cable must be laid, thou
sands of miles OF wire must be spliced
and strung, uncounted millions of
nc 10
feet the connection to the central
offices. The whole country is TEEN !
ing with this construction, covering
every mechanical process from fac |!
tory production to installation of the |
subscribers instruments"
Lack of production, he said, had !
curtailed reserved supplies of prac- |
tically every element of material !
used in the building and maintenance !
Of telephone systems.
Among the materials most used by |
the telephone companies and which /
it has been almost impossible to OBJ |
tain, the official said-either due 10 |
falling off of production or to poor |
ransportation-are as follows:
Copper-In 1919, 25,O00.G0O pounds |
was used for telephone lines and 50,-
100000 pounds for making lead-cov-
cred cables and apparatus.
Steel Approximately $4,000. 900 !,
pounds used annually in sheets, /
strips, bands, structural shapes and
magnet steel /
Galvanized iron and steel wire,
Approximately 10000 tons used every
year.
Lead-Annual requirements are !.
100000, eco pounds. 4
Anthony and tin-Annual require.
ments 1,000,000 and 100000 pounds 1