Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-04-10

The greatest American activity,
aside from the functions of living,
seems to be talking over the telephone.
More than 70,000,000 telephone con-
yersations are held in the United
states every day, the average being
slightly in excess OF four per tele.
phone, How many uncompieted calls
are made---those when the subscrlper
or caller gets the busy bee--is not
matter of record, but 1t has been estl-
mated that at least once in five times
the mechanical buzzer or the dulcet
voice OF the operator, "The line is
busy" is all that the subscriber gets
out of a call.
Telephone statistics are at once in
teresting and bewildering. When the
last authoritative compilation was
made there were 26,03S,50S telephones
in use throughout the world, and OF
these 1902, 75S, or about So per cent,
were in the United States.
Europe with four times the popuia.
ton of this country had less than nan
as many teiephones--6 S95,365, which
constituted only 20 per cent OF the
world total. The remaining IL per
cent were scattered throughout all tne
other countries and continents OUTSIDE
OF the United States and Europe. New
installations are made in this country
at the rate of more than 1000 per Gay
so the present number Of instruments
"a estimated at more than 17,500,00O,
while the world total must approx
mate close to 30,000,000.
The telephone is but 81 years old
and most of it's amazing growth has
come in the last quarter of century.
In 1900 there were only about So5,-
900 telephones in the United States.
Nv the end Of 1905 this number had
been increased to 2,530,900, and five
wears later II had more than doubled
to 5.ss2,7O0. The 1915 total was
s.172,5 500, and by 1920 the figure stood
at I2,sO1, 300, while some 100000 IN
struments have been added during the
last six years.
Compared With Automobiles.
The dominance OF the United States
In the telephone world may be likened
to it's leadership in the use OF auto
mobiles, this country owning and
using approximately 81 per cent OF
all the motor vehicles in the world.
The automotive industry is only about
half as old as the telephone.
We have 10 times as many tele.
phones in proportion to population as
the rest of the world, and we use
what we have proportionately a great
deal more with 1911 telephone CONVEX
sations per year for every man, wom'
an and child in the country.
New York State alone has almost
az many telephones as Germany and
more than the whole OF any other
foreign country. Per 100 of popula'
AZ ~ fahnnn2 (s4n-
ada has 11.6, Denmark, 9; New Zea'
land. ST.: Sweden, SO; Norway, oil
Germany, 80; Great Britain and
Northern Ireland. 2.S, and France, IL.
Russia is the most backward coun'
try in the use of the telephone, hav'
ing but 10000 instruments, or only
about / to every 500 of population.
In all of South America there are
but 375, 900 telephones, in round mum
bers. In all of Asia there are but
SO2 900. including more than $4,000
in Japan. The total for Africa Is
about 1866, 900 and for Oceania rather
more than 100000.
Canada has considerably more than
/ 900 900 phones, Mexico only 50,sSO.
all of Central America, $4,000; Cuba,
SIS 900, and Porto Rico, about 10000.
During the last year for which f1g-
ures have been gathered more than
million and a half new phones were
Installed throughout the world.
All told, there are about 100000
miles of telephone wire in the world
and of that amount the United States
has Assoc, 900, or rather more than
81 per cent. Approximately 2l,O00.-
600 miles take care of the require
ments of all Europe, while South
America gets by with less than
/ 900 900 miles, Asia with 100000
and Africa with 100000. In this con-
nection 1t may be noted that there
are less than 100000 miles OF tele-
graph wire in all the world, consider
aply less than 10 per cent of the
phone-wire mileage.
How Cities Rank.
San Francisco leads the world In
the number Of telephones per 10O.-
600 of population with 1913. Omaha
ranks second with 2S.5, Washington
third with 25.3. Chicago fourth with
rs and Minneapolis fifth with 24.9'
Outside the United States one
Swedish and three Canadian cities
lead-Stockholm with 24.S per 100
of population, Toronto with 49,,
Ottawa with 1872 and Montreal with
1875.
Communities of less than 100000
population in the United States are
served by lis telephones per 100 OF
population, record that is eqraled
| in no other country. In Canada
| these small communities have 9.S
telephones per 100 population. in
Denmark, IL, and in New Zealand,
ISIS. The larger European countries
are far behind in this respect with
| farmers telephone lines almost un-
| known. There are only "a tele-
phones per 100 of population in the