New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1927-03-02
AMERICAN 7. & 7.
company ANNUAL
Report Shows Assets Of More
Than Three Billion

New 4CTk, MdTGu W. NHcl'
ship Of the American Telephone and
Telegraph Company is SO widely
distributed that no individual or
small group has a controlling inter-
est in the company whose stock
holders numbered 399,l2l at the
md OF 1925. 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 he inventor and the original
hackers never made a fortune from
1t and that in fact, there are not
any telephone fortunes" The aver
age number OF shares held per
stockholder is now 26.6 and no
stakeholder owns as much as one
per cent of the total stock outstand-
ing.
The report shows that the invest
nent OF the company with its asso-
ciated companies increased over
S3lS.0on,o0O during the year and
total assets are now over $685.
600, 900. Net earnings for 1925 were
s2Ni,S7o,o00.
President Clifford defines the ideal
and aim Of the company as tele-
phone service for the nation, free
from perfection lrrors or delays,
and enabling at all times any one
anywhere 20 pick up a telephone and
talk to any one ,lse anywhere else.
clearly, quickly and at a reasonable
cost
The year 1926 brought the service
of the Bell Telephone System meas
urably nearer that goal, says the re-
port. There We're $4,000 telephones
added to the number owned and
operated by the system. The total
number Of telephones in the United
states interconnected in and with
the system at the end Of the year
was 17.574,o0o.
Give Prompt Reception.
The average time from the receipt
Of requests for the installation OF te'e
phones to the completion of such in
stallation was reduced by ore day.
Including telephones installed IN
new locations We're made.
More than $4,000 miles Of 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 to-
tai Of three such lines now in oped-
alton. The new line terminates at
Seattle and adds to tho dependable
ity of the transcontinental service
for It Is unlikely that any storm
would interrupt service on all three
lines at once.
The toll cable between New York
and Chicago which was completed
in 1925 has been extended to st.
louis and further extenrions of toll
cable plant are under way.
The average length of times for
-ompleting toll calls for the whole
system during the year, including
bo'h toll calls completed by local
operators and those handled at
snparate toll boards, was two min
utos per call. the lowest for any
year by 30 seconds.
Tho quality of voice transmission
vas practically perfect in IS per
cent of toll calls, an improvement
Of per cent over The previous year.
Big Production.
During 1926 an adjustment in long
distance rates was made by the
American Telephone and Telegraph
Company amounting to reduction
of about s3.ooo.Oo9 annually.
On January Z, 1927. regular COM
mercial trans-oceanic radio tele-
phone service was inaugurated be
tween New York and London. a
most important 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.
cleveland. st. Louis. Atlanta and
Los Angeles, so that this service Is
row commercially available between
these cities in addition to New York.
Chicago 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
in the telephone art, have resulted
in the successful inauguration Of
talking moving pictures. and in f1'r-
Their improvement in The efficiency
and economy of submarine telegraph
cables.
Two hundred and fifty tons Of