Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-03-02
TELEPHONE STOCK
OWNED BY M,121.
More Than S3,256,O0O,0OO
Invested, Clifford Says in
Annual Report.


NEW YORK. March Ownership
of the American Telephone & Tele-
graph Go. is 50 widely distributed that
no individual or small group has
whose stockholders numbered ,12i
at the end of 1926. says President
Walter Clifford In his annual report.
made public today.
Although the telephone was one OF
the greatest inventions of an age OF
large fortunes. Mr.. Clifford says that
the inventor and the original hackers
never made a fortune from il and that
in fact, there are not any telephone
fortunes" The average number OF
shraes held per stakeholder is now 26.6
and no stakeholder owns as much as
per cent of the total stock outstand
ing.
The report shows that the invest
ment of the company. with its asso
ciated companies increased over S31S.-
100000 during the year and total as
sets are now over SS.256 900 900. Net
earnings for 1926 were 500, $40 900.
President Clifford defines the ideal
and aim of the company as a tele.
phone service for the Nation. free from
iInperfectiOnS. errors or delays. and
enabling at all times any one any
where to pick up a telephone and talk
to any one else anywhere else, clearly,
quickly and at reasonable cost.
$1,000 New Telephones.
The year 1926 brought the service o.
the Bell Telephone system measurably
nearer that goal, says the report
There We're ISL 900 telephones added
to the number owned and operated by
the system. The total number of
telephones in the United States inter
connected in and with the system at
the end of the year was 1854, 900.
The average time from the re
ceipt of requests for the installation
of telephones to the completion OF
such installation was reduced by one
day Including telephones installed
in new locations on account of sub
scribers' moves. more than 100000
installations were made.
More than $4,000 miles of ton
wire were added during the year
this being the largest number of
miles added in any one year.
An additional transcontinental
telephone line was completed to the
Pacific Coast in 1926. making a total
of three such lines now in operation.
The new line terminates at Seattle
anu ttuAiS W the NeDSHudDiIllN OF tDG
transcontlnental service. for 1t is un-
likely that any storm would interrupt
service on all three lines at once
Toll Cable Extended.
The toll cable between New York
and Chicago, which was completed
in 1925, has been extended to St
Louis and further extensions of toll!
cable plant are under way
During 1926 an adjustment in long
distance rates was made by the
American Telephone and Telegraph
Co. amounting to a reduction of
about 100000 annually.
On January Z, 1927. regular com
mercial transOceanic radio telephone
service was inaugurated between New
York and London, a most importanj
step forward in the art of telephone
communication. the ultimate results
of which no one can foresee.
The service for the transmission of
pictures by wire. inaugurated in 1925.
has been extended to Boston. Cleve-
land, st. Louis, Atlanta and Los An
commercially available between these
cities in addition to New York. Chi
caeo and San Francisco.
While somewhat aside from tele-
phone service. interesting develop
ments of the Bell Telephone Labora-
tories, Inc, which have grown out
of their research and development i'm
the telephone art. have resulted i'm
the successful Inauguration of talk
ing moving pictures and in further
Improvement in the efficiency and
economy of submarine telegraph
cables.