The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-01-07
PHONE CO. HAS
BIG PROGRAM
Plans Three New Exchanges,
One for First Automatic
Plant in Capital.


Cke.speake and Potomac Teiephone
Company, this afternoon announces
the purchase of two pieces Of prop
erty NJ q total cost Of approximately
92OO. O0O.
One sdjoins the "North" ex.
change at Fourte~nth and II streets
northwest. Tkis purchase will give
the company q frontage ON Four
teenth street of 100 feet. A build
ing will be erected there 10 house
the "GarneId" exchange, Washing
tons nrst automatic exchange.
The other property In north or
~Maino exchange, giving the COM
pany an additional nfty-nve-fOot
frontage on Twelfth street, near II
street. A building will be erected
there to house another automatic
exchange.
An extension program. calling for
three new exchanges. enlargement Of
present telephone buildings, erec-
ton Of new buildings, and an auto
matte system to be known as Gar
field" is being carried out by the
Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone
Company, A. z. Berry, president,
announced today.
LAND DEAL PENDING.
A deal Is pending, and may be
completed today, for the purchase of
several pieces OF property. one OF
them to be the location OF the nrst
automatic telephone exchange In
Washington.
This automatic station will care
for the growth of the North" ex-
change and will cost in the neighbor-
hood of $3.50. 900. President Berry
said today equipment has been or
dered.
1t was also announced today that
an Adams exchange will be inaugu-
rated January 10. This exchange. to
care for calls in the neighborhood OF
Adams Mil and Woodley roads will
be located in the Columbia exchange
building, near Fourteenth street on
Columbia road northwest. It's cost
ing the company 100000.
Two other exchanges will be ready
in the near future. Location Of these
exchanges and their names will be
announced as soon as the company
has completed the purchase Of prop
erty for sites, President Berry said.
TO HANDLE 5000 LINES.
About 5000 lines will be handled
in the adams" exchange. This
probably will necessitate the issuance
of a new telephone directory, but Of
ficials of the company plan to avoid
this at present by only putting in this
exchange new telephone subscribers
Plans for the automatic telephone
system in Washington are complete.
President Berry said. The order for
the apparatus has been sent to the
manufacturers. Work on "Garfield''
probably will begin sometime this
year. If the company is able to secure
equipment from the manufacturers.
Reconstruction of the Main" and
Franklin" exchanges for automatic
will follow the automatizing Of part
of the North" exchange. 1t probably
will be five years before the entire
city is provided with an automatic
telephone system. The change to auto
matte phones will cost the company
about $4,500,000.
President Berry declared today the
utomatic system would not entail
any reduction in number of operators.
NO CUT IN OPERATORS.
The difficulty with the present
system is that, with tho increase in
subscribers, our operating force must
be enlarged" said Berry. Every day
it is necessary for the company to
employ new operators. The only CT
feet the automatic system VIII have
is to save us from increasing our
working force of operators. 1t will
not cause a reduction in the present
staff"
New York, Philadelphia, Boston
and other large cities throughout the
country have ordered automatic equip.
ment. The demand for automatic
telephones is so great that tho manu-
facturers are finding IT difficult to
MI orders. This has caused n delay
of delivery of apparatus 10 Wash
ington.
President Berry stated today that
the automatic system would make II
necessary to remodel every exchange
in Washington. This will cost thou
sands OF dollars.
Additional equipment purchased
during the war. which the company
has retained, is materially reducing
the cost of enlargement of exchanges
Ordinarily, Berry said. the new nd
ans" exchange would cost about
100000, but is now costing only
100000.
Piney Branch Citizens Meet.