ill), lilfll n;u us MP m TK S'l £3 A3T^ l3o7 (RmmII IHmvmitg ptag FROM THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT THROUGH THE SUPERINTENDENT OP DOCUMENTS .^\.rj..S..Q.^.M.H L . \..%...\JZ.\.\\. § 506 Rev. Stat, prohibits the withdrawal of this book for home use. 9730 DATE it TtA F Wl^ Cornell University Library TK 5123.A3T21 1907 Telephones, 1907: 3 1924 022 817 708 *.*»» The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924022817708 DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND LABOR j^ BUREAU OF THE CENSUS E. DANA DURAND, DIRECTOR SPECIAL REPORTS TELEPHONES: 1907 WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1910 CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Introduction. Page. Classes of telephone systems included 11 Period covered 12 Limitations of the statistics 12 Systems or lines ■. 13 CHAPTER II. Development of the Industry — Statistical. Comparison with prior censuses 14 Table 1.— All systems and lines — Comparative summary: 1880 to 1907 14 Table 2. — All systems and lines, exclusive of independent farmer or rural lines — Comparative Bummary: 1880 to 1907 .... 14 Telephone and telegraph systems 15 Table 3. — Comparative summary — Telephone and telegraph systems: 1907 and 1902 15 Development, by states and geographic divisions 16 Table 4. — All systems and lines — Comparative summary, by states and territories and geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 16 Table 5. — All systems and lines — Per cent of increase in wire, stations, and messages, by geographic divisions: 1902 to 1907 ... 18 Table 6. — All systems and lines — Number of stations or telephones in states having over 200,000 stations or telephones in 1907: 1907 and 1902 18 Table 7. — All systems and lines — Per cent distribution of miles of wire, stations, and messages, by geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 18 Development of the Bell and other systems 19 Table 8. — All systems and lines, classified as Bell and independent (non-Bell) systems — Comparative summary: 1907 and 1902. 21 Table 9. — All systems and lines, exclusive of independent farmer or rural lines, classified as Bell and independent (non-Bell) systems — Comparative summary: 1907 and 1902 21 Table 10. — All systems and lines, classified as Bell and independent (non-Bell) systems', and independent stations connected with the Bell system — Number of stations or telephones, by states and territories and geographic divisions: 1907.. 22 Relative development of commercial systems and of mutual systems and independent farmer or rural lines 23 Table 11. — Commercial systems, mutual systems, and independent farmer or rural lines — Comparable items: 1907 and 1902 24 Table 12. — Rural lines, classified as commercial, mutual, and independent farmer or rural — Number of lines, miles of wire, and number of stations or telephones, by geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 24 Table 13. — Rural lines — Number of lines, miles of wire, and number of stations or telephones in the six states leading in number of stations or telephones in 1907, with rank of states: 1907 and 1902 25 Table 14. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Comparative summary, by geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 25 Table 15. — Commercial systems — Comparative summary, by geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 26 Table 16. — Mutual systems — Summary, by geographic divisions: 1907 26 Table 17 . — Independent farmer or rural lines — Summary , by geographic divisions : 1907 27 Table 18. — States having 10,000 or more telephones on independent farmer or rural lines — Total number of telephones and number on independent farmer or rural lines: 1907 27 Systems under construction in 1907 27 Table 19. — Telephone systems under construction: 1907 27 Telephones in Alaska, Hawaii, and Porto Rico 27 Table 20. — Telephone systems in Alaska, Hawaii, and Porto Rico— Comparative summary: 1907 and 1902 28 CHAPTER III. Physical Equipment. Exchanges , -'"'.".'. 29-33 Table 21. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Number of exchanges, by states and territories and geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 29 Table 22. Commercial and mutual systems combined — Per cent of increase in number of public and private exchanges, by geographic divisions: 1902 to 1907 31 Table 23. States and territories grouped according to major per cent of Bell or independent (non-Bell) public exchanges: 1907 and 1902 31 Switchboards - 32 Table 24. Commercial and mutual systems combined — Kind, number, and capacity of subscribers' switchboards: 1907 and 1902 32 Table 2£. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Drops or jacks in use, by kind of switchboard : 1907 32 Power-plant equipment 33 Table 26. Commercial and mutual systems combined— Exchange or central office power-plant equipment: 1907 and 1902. 33 (3) 4 CONTENTS. Page. Wire and line construction 33-40 Table 27. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Number of stations or telephones, and miles of wire and line construc- tion : 1907 and 1902 33 Table 28. — All systems and lines — Miles of wire in states having over 500,000 miles of wire in 1907: 1907 and 1902 34 Overhead, underground, and submarine wires 36 Wire on urban and rural lines , 36 Table 29 . — All systems and lines — Miles of wire in urban and in rural districts : 1907 and 1902 36 Wire on nonrural and rural lines 36 Table 30. — All systems and lines, classified as nonrural (commercial) and rural lines — Miles of wire, by states and territories and geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 37 Table 31. — All systems and lines, classified as nonrural (commercial) and rural lines — Per cent of increase in miles of wire, by geographic divisions: 1902 to 1907 39 Consumption of poles 39 Table 32. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Wooden poles purchased, number and cost, by kind of wood and length of pole: 1907 39 Table 33. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Per cent distribution, by lengths, of the number and cost of poles purchased: 1907 40 Stations or telephones .- .• 40-43 Table 34. — All systems and lines — Number of stations or telephones, by class of service, kind of system, and kind of station : 1907 and 1902 40 Table 35. — All systems and lines — Number of stations or telephones in urban and in rural districts: 1907 and 1902 40 Table 36. — All systems and lines, classified as nonrural (commercial) and rural lines — Number of stations or telephones, by states and territories and geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 41 Table 37. — All systems and lines, classified as nonrural (commercial) and rural lines — Per cent of increase in number of stations or telephones, by geographic divisions: 1902 to 1907 43-47 Analysis of physical equipment 43 Table 38. — Commercial systems — Physical equipment, by states and territories and geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 44 Table 39. — Commercial systems — Miles of wire per system, by geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 46 Table 40. — Commercial systems — Per cent distribution of stations or telephones on single, party, and rural lines, by geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 46 Table 41. — Commercial Bystems — Average equipped capacity per switchboard in drops or jacks, by geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 46 Table 42. — Mutual systems — Physical equipment, by states and geographic divisions: 1907 47 CHAPTER IV. Telephone Traffic . Messages or talks 48 Table 43. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Number of stations or telephones and messages or talks, by geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 49 Table 44. — Commercial systems — Estimated number of messages or talks and number per station per day, by states and territo- ries and geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 49 Table 45. — -Mutual systems — Estimated number of messages or talks and number per station per day, by states and geographic divisions: 1907 50 Traffic in relation to population 51 Table 46. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Stations or telephones, messages, and population, by states and terri- tories and geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 51 Table 47. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Stations or telephones per 1,000 of population, by geographic divisions and per cent of increase: 1907 and 1902 , 52 Table 48. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — States and territories ranked according to number of stations or tele- phones per 1,000 of population: 1907 and 1902 52 Table 49. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Number of messages per capita, by geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902. . 53 Table 50. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — States and territories ranked according to number of messages per capita: 1907 and 1902 53 Table 51.— All systems and lines — Stations or telephones per 1,000 of population, by states and territories and geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 53 Urban and rural traffic 54 Table 52. — Commercial systems, classified as in urban and in rural districts — Comparative summary: 1907 and 1902 55 Table 53. — Commercial systems in twelve selected large cities — Number of stations or telephones, population, and stations or telephones per 1,000 of population: 1907 and 1902 55 Traffic of Bell and independent (non-Bell) commercial systems 55 Table 54. — Commercial systems, classified as Bell and independent (non-Bell) systems — Traffic: 1907 and 1902 56 CHAPTER V. Financial Statistics. Capitalization 57 Table 55. — Commercial and mutual systems combined, classified as Bell and independent (non-Bell) systems — Capitalization of incorporated companies: 1907 and 1902 57 CONTENTS. 5 Page. Net capitalization 58 Table 56. — Commercial and mutual systems combined, classified as Bell and independent (non-Bell) systems — Analysis of cap- italization : 1907 and 1902 58 Dividends and interest payments 58 Table 57. — Commercial and mutual systems combined, classified as Bell and independent (non-Bell) systems — Outstanding cap- ital stock and funded debt, dividends, and interest, excluding duplications due to intercompany holdings and payments: 1907 and 1902 59 Table 58. — Commercial and mutual systems combined, classified as companies yielding a return on capitalization, and of com- panies not yielding a return on capitalization: 1907 60 Table 59. — Commercial and mutual systems combined, classified according to capital stock of dividend and nondividend pay- ing companies: 1907 60 Table 60. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Common and preferred stock, classified according to the payment of dividends : 1907 61 Table 61. — Commercial and mutual systems combined— Funded debt, classified according to the payment of interest: 1907 ... 61 Capitalization and cost of construction and equipment 61 Table 62. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Cost of construction and equipment, and net capitalization and cash investment: 1907 and 1902 62 Cost of new construction and equipment during the year 62 Table 63. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Cost of construction and equipment added during the year, by states and territories and geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 62 Table 64. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Per cent distribution of cost of new construction and equipment, by geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 63 Table 65. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — States with new construction and equipment in excess of 11,000,000: 1907 and 1902 , 63 Balance sheet 63 Table 66. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Net balance sheet: 1907 and 1902 63 Table 67 . — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Per cent distribution of assets and liabilities : 1907 and 1902 64 Table 68. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Condensed balance sheet: 1907 and 1902 84 Income account 65 Table 69. — Commercial and mutual systems — Income account: 1907 and 1902 65 Operating expenses 65 Table 70. — Commercial and mutual systems — Analysis of operating expenses: 1907 and 1902 66 Deductions from income 66 Table 71. — Commercial and mutual. systems — Per cent distribution of deductions from income: 1907 and 1902 66 Table 72. — Commercial and mutual systems — Taxes: 1907 66 Income of independent farmer or rural lines 67 Table 73. — Independent farmer or rural lines — Income from operations and assessments, by geographic divisions: 1907 67 Relation of traffic to income and expense 67 Table 74. — Commercial and mutual systems — Operating earnings and operating expenses per station and per message: 1907... 68 Table 75. — Commercial systems — Income and expenses per station and per message: 1907 and 1902 68 Income account of systems having at least 1,000 stations or telephones 68 Table 76. — Commercial and mutual systems combined, classified according to number of stations or telephones — Income account: 1907 and 1902 69 Table 77 . — Commercial and mutual systems combined , classified according to number of stations or telephones — Per cent distri- bution of gross income by disposition: 1907 and 1902 69 Table 78. — Commercial and mutual systems combined, classified according to number of stations or telephones — Averages per station and per message for income and expense accounts: 1907 and 1902 70 Table 79. — Per cent of operating expenses to operating earnings: 1907 and 1902 70 CHAPTER VI. Employees, Salaries, and Wages. Table 80. — Commercial and mutual systems — Employees, salaries, and wages: 1907 and 1902 71 Commercial and mutual systems — Average number of stations or telephones per employee: 1907 and 1902 72 Table 81. — Commercial and mutual systems — Number of public exchanges, number of employees, and average number of employees per exchange, by geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 '. 73 CHAPTER VII. Telephone Development — Descriptive . Industrial and technical development 74 The telephone in farm life 75 Grocery and department-store trade 80 Conduct of business while at summer resorts 80 Forest reserves, lumber camps, etc 80 Hotel telephone service 80 Push-button private-branch exchanges 81 Prepayment or coin-box service 81 General conditions of exchange work in cities 81 6 CONTENTS. Page. Causes of irregularity in service traceable to telephone users 82 Information service 82 Development of private-branch exchanges 83 Service in large buildings 84 Improvement in outside plant 84 The substation and subscribers' instruments 86 Central-office switchboards 88 Harmonic signaling 89 Improvements in the automatic system 90 The automatic switchboard 92 Tendencies in semiautomatic development 93 Protection 93 Cheaper common-battery switchboards, reducing the central-office cost per line 94 Tone and flash signals for busy and trouble tests 95 Pneumatic-tube equipment 95 Introduction of "ancillary " answering-jacks in switchboards 95 No multiple and partial multiple in subscribers' switchboards 96 Party-line special signaling 96 The telephone repeater 96 Methods of prepayment service 96 Police and fire-alarm telephone service 97 Loaded cables 97 Development and standardization of testing service 98 Rapid handling of concentrated toll business 99 Railway telephony . 99 Street-railway telephony 100 Phantom circuits 101 Wireless telephony 101 Concrete poles 102 Operators' schools 102 Exchange welfare provisions 102 DETAILED SUMMARIES. Table 82. — Commercial telephone systems — Detailed summary, by states and territories: 1907 106 Table 83. — Mutual telephone systems — Detailed summary, by states: 1907 115 Table 84. — Independent farmer or rural lines — Detailed summary, by states and territories and geographic divisions: 1907 116 APPENDICES. Appendix A. — Schedule — Census of telephones .■ '.. 119-121 Schedule — Farmer or rural telephone lines 122 Appendix B. — Instructions to special agents 125-128 MAPS AND DIAGRAMS. MAPS. Map 1. — Average population per station or per telephone: 1907 ." 19 Map 2. — Average population per station or per telephone: 1902 19 Map 3. — Average number of messages per capita: 1907 19 Map 4. — Average number of messages per capita: 1902 19 DIAGRAMS. Diagram 1. — Number of stations or telephones, by states: 1907 and 1902 20 Diagram 2. — Miles of wire, by geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 34 Diagram 3. — Miles of wire, by states: 1907 and 1902 35 ILLUSTRATIONS. Type of modern telephone, all parts accessible. Wiring protected Pacing page.. 86 Flush mounting metal stamped telephone intercommunicating 86 Flush mounting telephone for hotels, open and closed 88 Main switch rack and apparatus, automanual telephone exchange 90 View of switchboard room of main automatic exchange, San Francisco 92 Operator's position in automanual telephone exchange 94 Type of coin collector with automatic return in case of unsuccessful call 96 Service meter for counting telephone calls 96 Rack of meters, with protecting glass doors 100 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND LABOR, Bureau of the Census, Washington, D. C, October 6, 1910. Sir: The act of Congress of June 7, 1906, amendatory of section 7 of the act approved March 6, 1902, provides that statistics concerning telephones shall be collected by the Bureau of the Census at quinquennial periods. I have the honor to submit herewith the first report prepared in conformity with the requirements of this law. The report presents statistics concerning the physical equipment, service, and financial operations of the commercial and mutual telephone systems of the country and the independent rural telephone lines for the year ending December 31, 1907. This is the second census of the telephone industry that has been taken since the Bureau of the Census was made a permanent office. The first census covered the year ending December 31, 1902, and was taken in accordance with the provisions of section 7 of the act of Congress of March 6, 1902. In order to preserve the comparability of the data, the same form of schedule was used to collect statistics at both censuses, and, as nearly as possible, the same form of presenting the data has been followed in both reports. The statistics were collected and the report prepared under the supervision of Mr. William M. Steuart, chief statistician for manufactures. Mr. T. Commerford Martin, of New York City, was the consulting expert special agent of the office and prepared the portion of the report dealing with the technical features of the industry, with the assistance of Mr. Franklin H. B.eed, of Chicago. Acknowledgment should also be made of the services of Mr. Story B. Ladd, who prepared the analytical tables and verified the text. Very respectfully, &. Hon. Charles Nagel, Secretary of Commerce and Labor. Director of the Census. (7) TELEPHONES (8) TELEPHONES. OHAPTEE I. INTRODUCTION. Glasses of telephone systems included. — The extensive use of the telephone has developed a number of differ- ent business methods for the organization and conduct of the industry. This census report covers all com- mercial and mutual or cooperative telephone systems, and also all independent farmer or rural lines that were in operation in the United States during any part of the year ending December 31, 1907; but does not include private lines used exclusively for communi- cation between different rooms or departments of manufacturing or mercantile establishments, hotels, or private residences, systems operated for the benefit of Federal, state, and municipal governments, or those owned or leaded by steam or electric railroads and operated by them for their own exclusive use. The companies for which statistics were collected have been divided into the following two classes: (1) The American Telephone and Telegraph Com- pany, and its subsidiary companies, commonly known as the "Bell system." (2) Companies and systems operated independ- ently of the Bell system and denominated " independ- ent (non-Bell)" throughout this report. All of the Bell companies have been considered as commercial, and the statistics for the entire system were obtained from the central office of the parent company at Boston, Mass. The independent companies are divided into the following three classes: (a) Commercial systems operated primarily for revenue. (b) Mutual systems, or cooperative associations and companies, operated not primarily for revenue, but for the convenience of the patrons, who are assessed to pay expenses of maintenance, operation, and exten- sions. Many systems doing business on the mutual basis are organized as incorporated companies under the laws of the states in which they operate. (c) Independent farmer or rural lines, which have no regular exchanges or centrals of their own, but which may or may not be connected with the exchange of a Bell or of a commercial or mutual system. The term "independent," as used in connection with farmer or rural lines, does not relate to the dis- tinction between Bell and independent (non-Bell) sys- tems, but rather to a distinction between the farmer or rural lines and the lines owned by commercial and mutual companies. The practice of establishing short telephone lines connecting two or more houses in the rural districts has increased very rapidly during the past ten years. Frequently these lines have no dis- tinctive names, and their existence is known only to the persons in their immediate vicinities. They are extended gradually as other persons desire to be con- nected and, if they are in the neighborhood of a tele- phone exchange, it frequently happens that arrange- ments are made for exchange service. The extension of the farmer lines by additions or consolidations leads gradually to the establishment of exchange systems and the formation of mutual or commercial systems. This method of development makes it difficult to estab- lish a line of demarcation between farmer or rural lines and mutual systems and between mutual and commercial systems. Some companies operate on a combined commercial and mutual basis. This is due to the fact that the lines were constructed under a mutual arrangement and that later additional subscribers were taken on a revenue basis. In such cases if the assessment income for the census year exceeded the revenue income, the companies are classed as mutual; but if the revenue income exceeded the assessment income, they are classed as commercial. A statistical line of demarcation between the inde- pendent farmer or rural lines and the small mutual sys- tems can not be established with a degree of accuracy that will enable a comparison of the statistics for 1907 with those for 1902. At the census of 1902 the statis- tics obtainable for these small lines were rather incom- plete, and practically all of the farmer or rural lines that operated switchboards were counted, without regard to size or amount of business, either as commer- cial or as mutual companies. The fact that a switch- board was operated was found to be of little assistance in establishing the line of separation, and therefore for the census of 1907 a different policy has been adopted. In this report there are included in the class of inde- pendent farmer or rural lines systems operated on a combined mutual and revenue basis, where the com- bined income and assessments for the full census year amounted to less than $1,000, and small systems owned by individuals or firms and apparently oper- ated for revenue having an income of less than $500 for the full year. (11) 12 TELEPHONES. The contract agreements for exchange facilities be- tween different companies or between companies and farmer or rural lines are made to meet local conditions. In some cases the company owning the exchange obtains virtual ownership or control of the connecting lines ; in some a fixed rental per month or year is paid to the owning company; while in some the compensa- tion depends upon the number of stations connected, and in others it depends upon the number of messages transmitted. In making the census report the actual ownership of each line is used, so far as possible, to determine whether to include it as a member of the Bell system or as one of the several forms of associa- tions operated independently of the Bell system. The statistics for the Bell system, therefore, represent only the lines and stations reported by the company as owned by it or by its subsidiary companies. In addition, however, the American Telephone and Tele- graph Company (Bell system) reported the number of stations on the lines that have contract agreements for service at its various exchanges. At the census of 1902 great difficulty was experi- enced in securing a satisfactory enumeration of the small independent commercial and mutual telephone companies and systems and of the independent farmer or rural lines. Therefore a special effort was made at the present census to enumerate all lines of this char- acter. In the first instance a card index was prepared containing the names and addresses of all telephone companies and independent farmer lines known to the Census Bureau. The basis of this index or list was the reports made at the census of 1902. But in order to make it complete other sources of information were utilized; the postmasters throughout the country were required to furnish the names and addresses of all telephone companies and of the owners of individual farmer or rural lines operating in their cities or imme- diate vicinities; state officials were requested to fur- nish lists of the telephone companies in their respec- tive states, and fairly complete lists were received from most of the states ; county officials were requested to furnish lists of the names and addresses of the owners of farmer or rural telephone lines in their re- spective counties, and a great deal of information was obtained from them; all of the independent telephone associations were requested to furnish the names and addresses of their members, of any other companies in the same neighborhood, and of the proprietors of near-by independent farmer or rural lines known to them; and the names and addresses of telephone com- panies were obtained from the city directories for all cities having a population of 50,000 or over, and from lists kindly furnished by the publishers of Telephony's Directory of the telephone industry. Blank schedules soliciting the statistics required for the census were mailed to all the companies and to representatives of each of the independent farmer or rural lines named on the lists prepared from these sources, and in addition each company or person addressed was requested to give the names and ad- dresses of all connecting farmer or rural lines and of all other companies or lines in the vicinity. Many additional names were secured by this means. The preliminary lists prepared from these various sources contained in the neighborhood of 35,000 names, a total which, of course, included quite a large number of duplications that had to be eliminated from the per- fected card index. The Census Bureau, however, not yet satisfied that it had a complete list, divided the United States into eighty-four enumeration districts for making a personal canvass, and assigned one or more special agents to do the work in each district. They were given the names and addresses of all the telephone companies and of the proprietors of the independent farmer or rural lines located in their respective dis- tricts, and they were instructed not only to secure reports from each company or line whose name they had, but also to make careful inquiry for any other companies and lines in operation in the district during any portion of the year 1907. It is believed that as a result of these efforts, returns were secured from practically every company or line that was in operation during any portion of the census year. Period covered. — The statistics cover the year ending December 31, 1907, or the business year of each com- pany which most nearly conforms to that calendar year. All statistics taken for a fixed date, such as cash on hand, number of telephones or stations, and wire mileage, are reported as of the last day of the business year covered by the report taken for each company. When possible, comparative data for the census year ending December 31, 1902, and for prior censuses are presented in connection with the data for 1907. Since during the year 1907 many companies were organized and many systems were installed, and a number abandoned or absorbed by other companies, the statistics do not represent a full year's operation for every company reported. As the census can not be taken instantaneously and the number of telephones in operation changes daily, the numbers given in the annual reports of many companies do not agree with the number reported to the census for the date on which its report was obtained. These conditions should be considered in comparing the census figures with those compiled for other purposes. Limitations of the statistics. — As small commercial systems owned by individuals and firms, many mutual systems, and the farmer or rural lines generally have no statistics concerning capitalization, and as many could furnish no data in regard to income and expenses, number of employees, salaries, wages, and some other subjects that are covered in the reports of the larger companies, it is impossible to compile for the entire industry totals showing all of the detail called for by the inquiries of the census schedule. In fact, the number INTRODUCTION. 13 of telephones and the miles of wire are the only facts that could be collected for a great many of the inde- pendent farmer or rural lines and the small mutual systems. Statistics of capitalization, income, expenses, number of employees, salaries, wages, and other fea- tures presented in the detailed tables have been secured only for the commercial companies and the more im- portant mutual systems. Therefore the statistics on these subjects do not represent all of the interests operating the 12,999,369 miles of wire and the 6,118,578 stations or telephones reported for all classes of com- panies, systems, and lines. In the cases of some companies which keep no ac- count books from- which exact statistics concerning their incomes and expenses during the year could be obtained, estimates have been resorted to for approxi- mate data. The employees of some of the smaller companies and systems do not devote their entire time to the telephone business, and so the wages reported by these companies are necessarily much lower than the wages reported by companies whose employees are paid for a full term of service. The telephone companies do not limit their opera- tions to the state, county, or city in which their prin- cipal offices are located, but extend their lines irre- spective of the political subdivisions of the country. In compiling the statistics it is impossible, in many instances, to assign to each state the amount of capital, income, expenses, salaries, and wages that are incident to the operation of the wires and telephones within its limits. As a rule, the total for all items of this char- acter is credited to the state in which the general office is located, but an exception is made in the case of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, which segregated the statistics so as to assign to each state a portion of each item commensurate with the equipment located in it. Systems or lines. — Throughout this report the desig- nations "company," "system," and "line" are fre- quently used as synonymous terms. They represent a statistical unit, the connotation of which varies slightly to meet the requirements of the different methods of bookkeeping of the various companies and the practice of the office in the compilation of the data. There is an increasing tendency to bring independent telephone lines under one ownership and direct their operations from a central office. The industry is con- stantly undergoing changes in this respect. New com- panies are being organized and old systems consoli- dated or reorganized. On the whole these changes increase the number of cases in which several lines are considered as a single system. As a rule, distinct ownership marks the separation of the statistical units, and all exchanges and lines operated under the same ownership are counted as a single system. Where several lines are combined un- der one ownership, or several properties have been brought under one management by purchase or stock control, they are counted as one system. The subsidi- ary companies of the American Telephone and Tele- graph Company are, of course, counted as separate units, as are the subsidiary companies of some other large companies which furnished separate reports for their subsidiary companies. Each independent farmer or rural line and each independent commercial or mutual company, however small, also is counted as a separate system. The "number of lines" in the tabulation therefore represents consistently the number of separate ownerships, without regard to the character of the ownership, and does not represent the number of circuits or pole lines. Since the meaning of the terms "system" and "line" is not always the same, the number is no indication of the magnitude of the interests nor is it a true guide as to the number of exchanges. The process of con- solidation may have resulted in an actual decrease in the number of companies, but at the same time the number of exchanges, miles of wire, number of tele- phones, and amount of business transacted may have increased. OHAPTEE II. DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY— STATISTICAL. Comparison with prior censuses. — In recent years all of the industries which depend upon the utilization of electricity have developed very rapidly in the United States, and have become intimately related to the industrial prosperity and social intercourse of every section of the country. Among these electrical indus- tries none is of more general importance than the tele- phone and telegraph systems, for it is probable that they are closely allied to the daily business and social life of a larger proportion of the population than are either the electric railways or the electric light and power stations. A few experimental telephone circuits were estab- lished in 1877, and from that year the telephone indus- try took commercial shape. The first statistics con- cerning it were gathered in connection with the census of 1880; a second report followed in 1890; and a third, contained in a Special Report on Telephones and Tele- graphs, was presented for the calendar year 1902. The new data contained in the present report cover the year ending December 31, 1907, or the fiscal year of each system most nearly conforming to that year. The growth of the industry in number of systems or lines, miles of wire, number of stations or telephones, and in- come is shown by Table 1 . Table 1. — All systems and lines — Comparative summary: 1880 to 1907. [Includes commercial and mutual systems and independent farmer or rural lines.] CENSUS. Per cent of in- 1907 1902 1)890 '1880 crease, 1902 to 1907 Number of systems 22,971 12,999,369 6, 118, 578 2 $186,245,205 9,136 4,900,451 2,371,044 '$86,825,536 53 240,412 233, 678 $16,404,583 148 34,305 54,319 $3,098,081 151.4 165 3 Number of stations or 158.1 114 5 1 Independent farmer or rural lines not reported. includes income for independent farmer or rural lines, $1,783,458 3 Income for independent farmer or rural lines not reported. The foregoing table is confined to the items for all systems and lines which are directly comparable for all censuses. A more comprehensive view is secured by excluding the independent farmer or rural lines, data for which appear only in the returns for the censuses of 1902 and 1907, and Table 2 is a comparative summary of the leading statistics with these lines excluded. Table 2.— ALL SYSTEMS AND LINES, EXCLUSIVE OF INDEPENDENT FARMER OR RURAL LINES— COMPARATIVE SUMMARY: 1880 TO 1907 [Includes commercial and mutual systems.] 190J 1902 1890 1880 Per cent of increase, 1902 to 1907 Number of systems and lines Miles of wire Number of stations or telephones Number of public exchanges Estimated number of messages or talks Number of employees Capital stock and funded debt outstanding, par value Income Operating expenses and fixed charges, except interest on funded debt Interest on funded debt Assets 5,2«9 12,513,075 5,552,929 15,527 11,372,605,063 144, 169 $814,616,004 184,461,747 128, 486, 196 12,316,109 994,842,990 4,151 4,850,486 2,315,297 10,361 5,070,554,553 78,752 $348,031,058 86,825,536 61,652,823 3,511,948 466,421,553 53 240,412 233,678 1,241 453,200,000 8,645 $72,341,736 16,404,583 Ul, 143, 871 ( 5 ) (') 148 34,305 54,319 437 0) 3,338 2 $14,605, 787 ^3,098,081 » 2, 373, 703 ( 5 ) •15,702,135 26.9 158.0 139.8 49.9 124.3 83.1 134.1 112.5 108.4 250.7 113.3 1 Not reported. 2 For 72 systems; 76 systems did not report this item. 8 For 132 systems; 16 systems did not report this item. At the beginning of the census year 1880 the industry was of little importance, but at the end of the year it represented one of the great interests of the country. The organization of many companies during the year and the rapid growth of systems already established made it impossible to collect statistics that are com- pletely satisfactory. Hence the totals for the census of 1880 are only approximations to the exact condi- tions of the telephone-exchange industry at that time. (14) * Includes interest on funded debt. 5 Not reported separately. • For 74 systems; 74 systems did not report this item. While the industry had become much more stable by 1890, the conditions under which it was then con- ducted and the census methods employed at that time lead to the conclusion that the statistics are not strictly comparable with those for subsequent censuses. Therefore percentages of increase are shown in Tables 1 and 2 only for 1907 as compared with 1902. At the earlier periods the telephone service was confined almost entirely to strictly urban areas, seldom extend- DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY— STATISTICAL. 15 ing beyond the city limits. It now extends to all sec- tions, and in some localities it has developed more rapidly in the rural than in the urban districts. Telephone and telegraph systems. — To appreciate the present magnitude of the telephone industry it is nec- essary to have some basis of comparison. The tele- graph systems offer the most convenient one, and a comparative presentation of the telephone and the telegraph systems presents several interesting facts in this connection. Table 3 gives the chief statistics for both systems for 1907 and 1902. Table 3 .—COMPARATIVE SUMMARY— TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH SYSTEMS: 1907 AND 1902. Number of systems and lines. Per cent of increase Miles of wire Per cent of increase Salaried employees: Number Per cent of increase. Salaries Per cent of increase. . Wage-earners: Average number Per cent of increase. Percent of increase Capital stock and funded debt outstanding. . Per cent of increase Income .- Per cent of increase Operating expenses and fixed charges, except interest on funded debt. Per cent of increase Interest on funded debt Per cent of increase Census 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 Total. 22, 996 9,161 151.0 14,570,142 6.218,801 134.3 29,470 14,953 97.1 $22,093,360 11,048,518 100.0 142,733 91,426 56.1 $63,994,016 40,246,776 59.0 81,034,909,579 510,977,583 102.5 . 8236,045,615 127,755,574 84.8 $167,714,298 90,651,707 85.0 $14,967,620 5,461,098 174.1 Telephone systems and lines. 2 22,971 3 9,136 151.4 12,999,369 4,900,451 165.3 25,298 14,124 79.1 $19,298,423 9,885,886 95.2 118,871 64,628 83.9 $48,980,704 26,369,735 85.7 $814,616,004 348,031,058 134.1 '$184,461,747 86,825,536 112.5 $128,486,196 61,652,823 108.4 $12,316,109 3,511,948 250.7 Commercial telegraph systems. 1 < 1,570, 773 5 1,318,350 19.1 4,172 829 403.3 $2,794,937 1,162,632 140.4 23,862 26,798 • 11.0 $15,013,312 13,877,041 $220,293,575 162,946,525 35.2 $51,583,868 40,930,038 26.0 $39,228,102 28,998,884 35.3 $2,651,511 1,949,150 36.0 PER CENT OF TOTAL. Tele- phone Commer- cial tele- graph systems. 0.1 0.3 10.8 21.2 85.8 94.5 14.2 5.5 87.3 89.5 12.7 10.5 83.3 70.7 16.7 29.3 76.5 65.5 23.5 34.5 78.7 68.1 21.3 31.9 78.1 68.0 21.9 32.0 76.6 68.0 23.4 32.0 82.3 64.3 17.7 35.7 1 Does not include wireless telegraph systems. 2 Including 17,702 independent farmer or rural lines, with 486,294 miles of wire. 3 Including 4,985 independent farmer or rural lines, with 49,965 miles of wire. * Exclusive of 7,188 miles of leased wire and 46,301 nautical miles of ocean cable. 5 Includes miles of wire operated by Western Union Telegraph Company outside of the United States. 6 Decrease. v 7 Exclusive of $1,783,458 income and investments of independent farmer or rural lines. The first telegraph line in the United States was opened for business in 1844, and thirty-two years later the telephone was introduced. In the early stages of its development the telephone industry was associated with the telegraph industry, but the two have now long been distinct, and the telephone is to some extent a competitor of the telegraph for the business of long- distance communication, although recently the leading telephone company has acquired a large stock interest in one of the leading telegraph companies. At the census of 1880 the telegraph companies reported the operation of 291,213 miles of wire as compared with 34,305 miles reported for the telephone companies. By the census of 1902 the amount of wire for the telegraph systems had increased to 1,318,350 miles and that for the telephone systems to 4,900,451 miles. Thus in 1902 the mileage of wire devoted to the trans- mission of telephone messages was almost four times as great as that used for telegraph purposes. 36754°— 10 2 Both industries developed rapidly between 1902 and 1907, and by the end of that period the mileage of single wire devoted primarily to the telephone busi- ness was eight times as great as the mileage used for the commercial-telegraph business. In the amount of business done in 19Q7, the amount paid in salaries and wages during the year, and the capital invested, the telephone business was more than three and one-half times as extensive as the telegraph industry, and during the year it furnished employment for more than five times as many persons. In 1907 a total of 14,570,142 miles of wire was in use for the transmission of commercial messages, and of this total, 12,999,369 miles, or 89.2 per cent, were used primarily for telephone messages, and 1,570,773 miles, or 10.8 per cent, for the telegraph business. The telephone business has increased more rapidly than the other branch of the industry. Between 1902 and 1907 there was an addition of 8,098,918 miles of 16 TELEPHONES. wire for the use of the telephone systems of the country as compared with an increase of 259,611 in the mileage of owned and leased wire for the use of commercial telegraph systems. The increase in the wire mileage of the telephone systems during that period of five years is more than six times as great as the total amount of existing wire that has been added to the telegraph business since the date when the first statistics con- cerning the industry were gathered. The development of the long-distance telephone system and the increasing use by railway companies of the telephone for the dispatch of business have nec- essarily had some effect on the extension of the use of the telegraph. Naturally the increase in the use of the telephone has greatly outdistanced the increase in the use of the telegraph. Development, by states and geographic divisions. — The increase in the telephone facilities has been very general throughout the country, as shown by the figures in Table 4. Table 4.— ALL SYSTEMS AND LINES— COMPARATIVE SUMMARY, BY STATES AND TERRITORIES AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907 AND 1902. [Includes commercial and mutual systems and independent farmer or rural lines. • ] Census. Num- ber of systems and lines. 1 Miles of wire. l Number of stations or telephones. 1 Estimated number of messages or talks. SALARIED EMPLOYEES. WAGE-EAENERS. Income. Operating ex- penses and fixed charges, except in- terest on funded debt. Interest on Num- ber. Salaries. Average number. Wages. funded debt. United States 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 22, 971 9,136 12,999,369 4,900,451 6,118,578 2,371,044 11,372,605,063 5,070,554,553 25,298 14,124 $19,298,423 9,885,886 118,871 64,628 848,980,704 26,369,735 1184,461,747 86,825,536 $128,486,196 61,652,823 [12,316,109 3,511,948 North Atlantic division... 1,938 575 4,054,058 1,670,180 1,663,172 649,221 2,617,104,751 1,208,179,198 8,064 5,703 6,838,309 4,779,345 38, 475 21,702 18,334,983 10,204,325 73,528,088 36,741,249 50,727,170 25,604,561 4,143,278 1,170,402 153 29 94,073 25,451 53, 134 14,070 78,827,917 21,923,915 186 55 109,505 31,730 953 357 381,101 173,986 1,443,904 597,204 1,160,835 427,341 83,853 20, 815 New Hampshire 1907 1902 58 16 49,448 18,390 28,920 9,949 42,402,448 16,987,012 96 41 51,838 22,333 603 238 235,695 114,785 793,708 396, 639 656,034 314,525 33,475 13,760 1907 1902 100 39 36, 419 16,379 30,833 12, 151 41,363,210 19,075,847 111 62 48,948 29, 475 570 237 225,392 98,296 622,567 322, 369 529,331 243,293 16,305 9,193 Massachusetts 1907 1902 38 10 534,220 257,461 209, 383 96,512 299,944.477 183,115,320 953 1,155 776,350 1, 182, 216 5,914 3,524 2,922,144 1,742,820 10,806,088 6,127,452 8,176,446 4,605,698 468,359 204,345 Connecticut and Rhode Island. 1907 1902 17 8 283, 705 90,656 87,999 33,485 129,196,561 57,190,040 393 187 348,335 169,339 2,624 1,035 1, 405, 433 528,374 4,096,625 2,122,801 2,873,579 1.434,074 110,635 46, U0 1907 1902 942 340 1,630,076 623, 625 685,512 247,340 1,077,548,379 360,098,123 3,772 2,318 3,377,843 2,065,567 15,579 7,765 7,538,140 3,766,101 33,745,524 16,352,193 22,636,285 10,602,431 1, 885, 081 331,503 1907 1902 33 28 338, 608 136, 617 116,988 48,980 142, 190, 149 56,171,223 854 410 610,342 277,707 2,876 1,864 1,500,209 932, 623 5,867,217 2, 738, 695 4,334,297 2,112,247 162,614 94,576 Pennsylvania 1907 1902 597 105 1,087,509 501,601 450,403 186,734 805,631,610 493,617,718 1,699 1,475 1,515,148 1,000,978 9,356 6,682 4, 126, 869 2,847,340 16,152,457 8,083,896 10,360,363 5,864,952 1,382,956 450, 100 South Atlantic division.. . 1907 1902 1907 1902 1,373 869 875, 173 328,022 365,764 146,765 827,266,700 353,559,870 1,614 1,015 1,271,731 645, 107 8,188 4,025 2,806,280 1,453,419 11,224,294 4,530,560 8,163,894 3,608,796 824,594 254,922 Maryland, Delaware, and District of Co- lumbia. 26 23 312, 282 107, 827 110,282 36,383 169,770,089 70,981,973 434 327 379, 871 237,054 2,329 1,501 948,386 710,974 4,236,529 1,706,948 3,088,747 1,401,446 381,627 145,408 1907 1902 290 242 108,588 46,678 55,541 25,762 130,358,981 65,494,626 212 142 125,068 73, 182 1,111 522 351,273 150,702 1,438,324 609,276 1,012,403 484,877 84,825 16,978 West Virginia 1907 1902 195 114 99, 844 56,812 62, 144 22,801 123,556,044 41,605,891 163 94 110,502 49,820 1,121 623 348,950 202,998 1,172,962 507, 677 949,605 367, 171 83,314 29,562 North Carolina 1907 1902 400 206 83,251 26, 120 37, 104 17,036 93,987,510 36,485,398 161 81 92, 141 43,752 854 400 226, 754 105, 190 932,864 346, 472 633,901 269, 118 28,811 7,374 South Carolina 1907 1902 143 135 50, 226 19, 445 20,911 10,753 59,627,014 23, 893, 914 84 56 56, 634 31,554 615 265 171, 121 71,766 647,633 285,055 472,589 220,778 33,727 12,338 1907 1902 224 104 187,904 54, 301 62,260 25,761 201,302,727 96,192,0b6 508 275 468,657 182,887 1,806 564 630,327 166,545 2,299,376 863,033 1,649,081 701,638 175,466 26,077 1907 1902 95 45 33,078 16,839 17,522 8,269 48, 664, 335 18,906,002 52 40 38,858 26,858 352 150 129,469 45, 244 496,606 212,099 357,568 163,768 36, 824 17,185 North Central division 1907 1902 1907 1902 14,563 6,739 5,351,409 2,054,435 2,963,945 1,139,914 5,369,401,249 2,446,257,875 10,625 4,768 7,077,262 2,961,686 47,909 25,445 17,483,271 8,986,075 64,362,595 29, 682, 263 44,101,507 20,807,636 4,605,670 1,603,995 Ohio 984 420 986, 053 515,892 495, 636 224, 083 1,069,034,291 558,707,801 1,514 809 880, 460 488,757 8,794 5,469 3,081,341 1,963,779 11,158,207 6, 192, 640 7,566,598 4,224,910 1,057,105 590,765 1907 1902 883 1,301 530, 044 213, 157 289, 452 136,561 598,205,608 294,657,565 1,236 476 740,777 230, 339 4,892 2,860 1,506,617 858,711 5,340,994 2,816,509 3,827,271 1,961,477 450, 111 202,587 1907 1902 1,817 1,201 986, 949 428,304 558,585 221, 008 915,293,975 541,161,932 2,364 1,415 1,809,129 959, 193 10,008 6,066 3, 909, 806 2,301,144 15,956,124 7,308,885 11,082,964 5,361,974 746,600 175, 819 1907 1902 534 190 494,612 197,863 209, 842 95,415 437,804,153 237,695,112 984 324 578, 713 217, 135 3,511 2,175 1,275,648 690,281 4,866,997 2,444,051 3, 363, 337 1,901,690 476,310 307,265 1907 1902 704 269 310,363 110,929 158,875 62,992 354,109,878 101,594,728 697 314 418, 162 171,138 2,656 1,465 973,770 518,353 3,604,923 1,599,833 2,520,134 1,095,513 262,489 22,945 1907 1902 825 221 387,758 137,274 171,479 63,192 305,906,042 113,124,262 694 315 479,433 224,351 2,808 1,172 1,144,221 473,981 4,161,788 1,879,872 2,845,387 1,242,559 317,952 76,275 i The statistics of independent farmer or miles of wire, 565,649 telephones; 1902—4,985 rural lines included are confined to the number lines, 49,965 miles of wire, 55,747 telephones. ■ of lines, miles of wire, and number of telephones: 1907—17,702 lines 486 294 DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY— STATISTICAL. 17 Table 4.— ALL SYSTEMS AND LINES— COMPARATIVE SUMMARY, BY STATES AND TERRITORIES AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907 AND 1902— Continued. [Includes commercial and mutual systems and independent farmer or rural lines. 1 ] STATE OB TERRITORY. Census. North Central division- Continued. Iowa Missouri North Dakota South Dakota Nebraska Kansas Soi th Central division Kentucky Tennessee. Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Arkansas Oklahoma Texas Western division Montana Idaho Colorado New Mexico Arizona Utah and Wyoming. Nevada Washington Oregon California 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 Num- ber of systems and lines. ' 3,445 1,527 2,648 1,204 259 32 330 60 891 130 1.243 184 3,540 820 429 190 297 65 271 66 34 547 81 715 67 1,557 133 97 17 82 10 104 13 47 15 37 12 83 9 21 295 25 311 20 Miles of wire. ' Number of stations or telephones.' 360,884 147,586 640,560 177,072 61,733 9,532 66,946 10,877 257,812 53,285 267,695 52,664 1,514,477 541,973 262,691 155,482 202,505 86,640 134,337 32,966 115,338 30,001 101,325 49,588 98,932 24,273 104,780 21,498 494,569 141,525 1,204,252 305,841 28,386 8,609 37,364 6,366 173,633 52,115 12,506 3,366 10,277 3,890 92,396 13,106 10,043 1,394 208,810 43,027 87,723 29,531 543,114 144,437 332,545 138,400 312,527 103,155 34,087 6,762 48.405 10,387 152,279 36,766 200,233 41,193 585,489 227,790 93,996 46,949 71,130 36,392 40,481 14,170 37,627 15,340 35,692 17,543 49,576 16,928 68,125 15,732 188,862 64,736 540,208 207,354 17,168 5,451 16,394 3,886 65,908 24,533 6,653 2,510 6,203 3,264 37,134 7,258 4,601 1,165 31,447 49,629 21,190 237,672 106,650 Estimated number of messages or talks. 415,073,771 193,054,738 544,332,685 242,309,227 48,750,894 14,106.733 73,705,398 17,919,604 290,560,744 73,227,030 316,623,810 58,699,143 1,510,432,721 681,497,626 287,929,274 143,101,564 239,587,035 128,274,719 107,545,457 46,158,943 126.347,504 60,414,961 122,225,846 68,083,915 86,578,439 36,716,883 133,298,566 31,667,627 406,920,600 167,079,014 1,048,399,642 381,059,984 25,503,905 11,352,976 26,047,495 6,451,762 139,641,301 60,258,533 14,163,557 4,297,920 10,879,950 5,072,727 88,437,258 13,531,312 7,103,245 1,409,134 205,816,844 64,623,982 87,766,609 35,777,238 443,039,478 178,284,400 SALARIED EMPLOYEES. Num- ber. 754 341 1,045 440 129 22 152 54 540 117 516 141 2,984 1,266 441 250 589 342 145 65 171 92 158 41 400 77 876 311 2,011 1,372 65 65 298 136 26 12 37 29 295 103 2015 171 114 127 871 654 Salaries. 5460,409 178,792 884,645 309,416 90,290 12,371 95,168 25,656 363,332 70,851 276,744 73,687 2,216,062 841,390 265,525 154,229 445,036 216,730 112,076 39,081 142,699 59,060 167,727 64,564 109,906 28,230 279,840 49,950 693,253 229,546 1,895,059 658,358 57,689 34,136 65,675 22,311 288,301 130,312 22,871 8,627 39,990 12,458 247,237 54,663 35,930 048 185,239 37,499 91,772 27,829 860,355 329,875 WAGE-EARNERS. Average number. 3,446 1,909 5,875 2, 389 557 147 217 2,000 756 2,476 820 13,443 7,060 2,109 1,483 1,770 1,399 1,022 309 875 428 1,144 601 994 438 1,396 370 4,133 2.032 ..257 122 360 170 1,404 960 126 39 135 73 822 241 96 23 1,745 1,160 914 618 4,997 2,990 Wages. $1,245,600 610,039 2,196,027 890,410 218,654 59,117 264,604 81,046 880,717 311,662 786,266 227,552 4,621,228 2,419,070 657,050 462,433 628,509 469,942 326,203 92,200 258,663 116,945 368,783 214,004 360,312 135,049 497,588 112,101 1,524,120 816,396 5,734,942 3,306,846 153,135 66,656 161,367 100,656 730,106 467,210 52,208 16, 593 64,881 39,128 333,503 131,972 69,780 9,228 912,111 008,950 463,639 294,229 2,794,212 1,572,218 Income. $4,254,978 1,962,362 7,551,949 2,970,597 841,565 235,371 816,454 287,057 3,068,060 1,107,303 2,740,556 877,783 17,835,731 7,941,911 2,700,250 1,377,441 2,493,489 1,252,438 1,392,209 528,821 1,225,057 496,499 1,713,895 803,399 1,237,969 565,024 1,663,797 432,364 5,409,065 2,485,925 17,511,039 7,929,553 518,488 304,979 521,446 178,282 2,613,214 1,137,263 201,988 54,445 256,260 114,480 1,229,324 364,940 263,159 35,006 2,593,122 989,936 1,219,306 659, 146 8,094,732 4,091,076 Operating ex- penses and fixed charges except in- terest on funded debt. $2,879,989 1,347,705 4,918,153 1,958,850 601,269 148,784 538,155 172,502 2,129,500 831,378 1,828,750 560,294 12,531,232 5,494,975 1,970,296 969,770 1,677,498 939,130 1,045,218 398,597 870,196 325,219 1,079,693 458,950 845,468 398,492 1,257,331 278,893 3,785,532 1,725,924 12,962,393 6,136,855 418,344 225,468 425,500 141,544 1,766,678 797,400 177,360 33,260 162,707 73,269 989,042 285,355 212,236 19,137 1,919,597 800,566 965,836 466,419 5.925,093 3,294,437 Interest funded debt. $175,261 54,119 726,075 155,221 33,873 1,726 39,091 2,180 117,449 6,353 203,354 8,740 1,299,759 292,887 307,193 121,576 133,036 49,371 134,378 5,960 63,267 12,081 60,169 21,554 75,832 1,372 65,387 2,573 460,497 78,400 1,442,808 189,742 27,256 964 34,292 4,478 85,078 3,416 229 8,621 2,960 216,654 1,489 5.273 1,269 179,081 35,267 85,034 3,445 796,711 136,225 1 The statistics of independent farmer or rural lines included are confined to the number of lines, miles of wire, and number of telephones: 1907—17,702 lines, 486,294 miles of wire, 565,649 telephones; 1902—4,985 lines, 49,965 miles of wire, 55,747 telephones. At the close of 1907 the amount of wire in use by the telephone systems of the country exceeded that in use in 1902 by more than 8,000,000 miles, and the other leading items showed proportionately large increases. It is especially interesting to learn that the industry gave regular employment to 65,417 more persons in 1907 than it did five years earlier, and that the amount expended in salaries and wages was greater by $32,023,506 in 1907 than in 1902. Until recent years the field of operation of a tele- phone system was restricted to a comparatively small area, but the introduction of the long-distance lines and the arrangements for toll service between neigh- boring companies have made communication possible between widely separated sections of the country with a facility which of itself has contributed to increase the business of the industry. 18 TELEPHONES. Naturally the most extensive equipment and the greatest amount of business are found in the states that have the largest population. The gains in equipment and service, however, were large for each of the geographic divisions and the rates of increase (except in the Western division) were com- paratively uniform, as shown by Table 5. Table 5. — All systems and lines — Per cent of increase in miles of wire, stations, and messages, by geographic divisions: 1902 to 1907. PER CENT OP INCREASE. DIVISION. ■ Miles of wire. Stations or tele- phones. Messages or talks. 1 165.3 158.1 124.3 142.7 166.8 160.5 179.4 293.8 156.2 149.2 160.0 157.0 160.5 116.6 134.0 119.5 121.6 175.1 1 Statistics for messages or talks on independent farmer or rural lines not included. The industry is largely concentrated in the popu- lous North Atlantic and North Central states, and the greatest amount of increase between the years 1902 and 1907 in wire mileage, telephones, and business is shown for these states. More rapid rates of increase occurred in other sections, however, and the largest percentages of gain for wire mileage are shown for the Western, South Central, and South Atlantic states, where, as a rule, the telephones are farther apart than in the other divisions. The Western states had the largest percentages of increase also in the number of telephones and messages or talks. In accepting the percentages of increase the relative size of the totals involved should be given due weight. Between 1902 and 1907 New York had the greatest increases in the number of telephones and in the miles of wire, the gains being 438,172 and 1,006,451, respectively; whereas the corresponding increases for the entire Western division, 332,854 telephones and 898,411 miles of wire, are less than those for the single state of New York. Yet the rate of increase for telephones in the Western division is nearly equal to that for New York state, the rates being 160.5 per cent for the division and 177.2 per cent for the state; while the rate of in- crease for miles of wire in the Western division, 293.8 per cent, far exceeds that for New York state, 161.4 per cent. In 1907 eleven states had over 200,000 telephones each, while in 1902 only three states — New York, Ohio, and Illinois — had this number. Table 6 shows the states having 200,000 or more telephones in 1907, the number of telephones which each of them had in 1907 and in 1902, and the per cent of increase for each between the two dates. Table 6. — All systems and lines — Number of stations or telephones in states having over 200,000 stations or telephones in 1907: 1907 and 1902. New York Illinois Ohio Pennsylvania. Iowa Missouri Indiana California Michigan Massachusetts Kansas NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELE- PHONES. 685, 512 558, 585 495,636 450,403 332,545 312,527 289,452 237,672 209,842 209,383 200, 233 1902 247,340 221,008 224,083 186, 734 138, 400 103, 155 136,561 106,650 95,415 96,512 41,193 Per cent of increase. 177.2 152.7 121.2 141.2 140.3 203.0 112.0 122.9 119.9 117.0 386. 1 The rate of increase was particularly large in the case of Kansas. The other leading states in order of proportionate increase are Missouri, New York, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. Table 7 shows the per cent distribution, by geo- graphic divisions, of miles of wire, number of tele- phones, and number of messages for 1907 and 1902. Table 7 . — All systems and lines — Per cent distribution of miles of wire, stations, and messages, by geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902. PER CENT DISTRIBUTION. DIVISION. Miles of wire. Stations or telephones. Messages or talks.'' 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 31.2 6.7 41.2 11.7 -9.3 34.1 6.7 41.9 11.1 6.2 27.2 6.0 48.4 9.6 8.8 27.4 6.2 48.1 9.6 8.7 23.0 7.3 47.2 13.3 9.2 23.8 7.0 48.2 13.4 7.5 1 Statistics for messages or talks on independent farmer or rural lines not Included. Notwithstanding the large absolute increases in the North Atlantic and North Central divisions for each of the three items shown in Table 7, the relative im- portance of these groups of states in the industry was the same in 1902 and 1907. The percentages in Tables 5 and 7 indicate that the development in all sections of the country has been at a nearly uniform rate. There is, however, a slight tendency for the relative importance of the North Atlantic and the North Central divisions to diminish, but this has re- sulted in little change in the proportions of the number of telephones, miles of wire, and the number of mes- sages or talks pertaining to the different geographic divisions at the two censuses. The relative importance of the states east of the Mississippi River has declined somewhat during the five years. In 1907 they contained 8,952,123 miles of wire and 3,984,560 telephones, or 68.9 and 65.1 per cent, respectively, of the totals for the entire country; while in 1902 they contained 3,769,436 miles of wire DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY— STATISTICAL. 19 and 1,648,896 telephones, or 76.9 and 69.5 per cent, respectively, of the totals. The states east of the Mississippi River and north of the Ohio, including the states north of the Mason and Dixon line in 1907 contained 7,362,079 miles of wire and 3,375,562 telephones, or 56.6 and 55.2 per cent, respectively, of the totals for the entire country; in 1902 they had 3,136,325 miles of wire and 1,389,280 telephones, or 64 and 58.6 per cent, respectively, of the totals. Map 1. — Average population per station or per telephone: 1907. efi£& ^0zfasjyv ••■ ;:: v '*??* ■;,.*"£. JH|0 w®^ •5L-- yyyvyy f"'-X'^$ 1L 0^^ ^ffim ^^^)^-*"0"^^^^^^^^ NN.Z w & M.O- XT vll aJ^*< nig AND OV«R PEMOHI V7\ ao to h •• ESS 'O TO 30 '• H] LESS THAN ID *■ PtH BT.tion OX TELEPMDHI, sir ffLAA Map 2. — Average population per station or per telephone: 1902. Map 3. — Average number of messages per capita: 190" Map 4t. — Average number of messages per capita: 1902. ssKggiiil \ ^^nm ' ,. ^ 1 1 CUS THAN WIUIUU PIS t^X. TO so On to ..so 23 <>0 AND OVER i. mm ■■ w f ... i li The above series of maps illustrates the number of inhabitants per telephone and the number of messages per capita. Maps 1 and 2 distinguish the states with 50 or more inhabitants per telephone in 1907 and 1902, respectively; those with 30 but fewer than 50; those with 10 but fewer than 30; and those with fewer than 10, the last class representing the states of highest development. In like manner Maps 3 and 4 show the states reporting fewer than 40 messages or talks per capita in 1907 and in 1902; those with 40 but fewer than 80; those with 80 but fewer than 120; and those with 120 or more, the last class representing the states of highest development. The distribution of telephones, by states, for the years 1907 and 1902, is shown by Diagram 1, page 20. Development of the Bell and other systems. — Of the 22,971 telephone systems and lines for which statistics were gathered for the census of 1907, 175 represent the different units of ownership reported by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, i. e., the Bell system. The principal business office of this company is in Massachusetts, but its lines or the lines of its subsidiary companies extend into all of the states and territories, so that in every state they come into competition with the lines operated under other owner- ships. This condition has divided the telephone busi- ness of the country into two great classes of interests : one known as the "Bell" and the other as the "inde- pendent or non-Bell." Diagram 1.— NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELEPHONES, BY STATES: 1907 AND 1902. THOUSANDS OF TELEPHONES 1 00 200 300 400 ' NEWyORK ILLINOIS OHIO PENNSYLVANIA IOWA MISSOURI INDIANA CALIFORNIA MICHIGAN MASSACHUSETTS KANSAS TEXAS MINNESOTA WISCONSIN NEBRASKA NEW JERSEY MARYLAND, DEL. AND D_> C. WASHINGTON KENTUCKY CONNECTICUT AND R. I. TENNESSEE OKLAHOMA COLORADO GEORGIA WEST VIRGINIA VIRGINIA MAINE OREGON ARKANSAS SOUTH DAKOTA ALABAMA MISSISSIPPI UTAH and WYOMING NORTH CAROLINA LOUISIANA NORTH DAKOTA VERMONT NEW HAMPSHIRE SOUTH CAROLINA FLORIDA MONTANA IDAHO NEW MEXICO ARIZONA NEVADA (20) P 1907 1902 DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY— STATISTICAL. 21 Table 8 gives a statement of the comparable statis- tics of the two classes of systems for all systems and lines in 1907 and 1902, and the percentages of increase and distribution; while Table 9 gives a more extended comparative statement of the statistics for the two classes of systems, exclusive of the independent farmer or rural lines, the latter being excluded for the reason that the available data therefor relate only to the number of systems and lines, miles of wire, and num- ber of stations or telephones. Table 8.— ALL SYSTEMS AND LINES, CLASSIFIED AS BELL AND INDEPENDENT (NON-BELL) SYSTEMS— COMPARA- TIVE SUMMARY: 1907 AND 1902. [Includes commercial and mutual systems and independent farmer or rural lines.] PEE CENT OF TOTAL. ALL SYSTEMS AND LINES. PHONE AND TELEGRAPH CO.). SYSTEMS AND LINES. Bell. Independent (non-Bell). 1907 1902 Per cent of increase. 1907 1902 Per cent of increase. 1907 1902 Per cent of increase. 1907 1902 1907 1902 Number of systems and lines 22,971 12,999,369 6,118,578 9,136 4,900,451 2,371,044 151.4 165.3 158.1 175 8,947,266 3,132,063 44 3,387,924 1,317,178 297.7 164.1 137.8 22, 796 4,052,103 2,986,515 9,092 1,512,527 1,053,866 150.7 167.9 183.4 0.8 68.8 51.2 0.5 69.1 55.6 99.2 31.2 48.8 99.5 30.9 Number of stations or telephones. 44.4 Table 9.— ALL SYSTEMS AND LINES, EXCLUSIVE OF INDEPENDENT FARMER OR RURAL LINES, CLASSIFIED AS BELL AND INDEPENDENT (NON-BELL) SYSTEMS— COMPARATIVE SUMMARY: 1907 AND 1902. [Includes commercial and mutual systems.] PER CENT OF TOTAL. ALL SYSTEMS AND LINES. PHONE AND TELEGRAPH CO.). SYSTEMS AND LINES. Bell. Independent (non-Bell). 1907 1902 Per cent of in- crease. 1907 1902 Per cent of in- crease. 1907 1902 Per cent of in- crease. 1907 1902 1907 1902 Number of systems and lines 5,269 12,513,075 5,552,929 15, 527 28,292 157, 232 16,065 11,372,605,063 25,298 $19, 298, 423 118, 871 $48,980,704 4,151 4,850,486 2,315,297 10,361 7,883 80,870 10,896 5,070,554,553 14, 124 $9,885,886 64,628 $26,369,735 26.9 158.0 139.8 49.9 258.9 94.4 47.4 124.3 79.1 95.2 83.9 85.7 175 8,947,266 3,132,063 5,418 24, 702 127, 118 5,424 6,401,044,799 17,039 $14,501,916 78,772 $36,073,994 44 3,387,924 1,317,178 3,753 7,266 55,656 3,820 3,074,530,060 10, 341 $7, 848, 551 46,064 $21,026,257 297.7 164.1 137.8 44.4 240.0 128.4 42.0 108.2 64.8 84.8 71.0 71.6 5,094 3, 565, 809 2,420,866 10,109 3,590 30, 114 10,641 4,971,560,264 8,269 $4,796,507 40,099 $12,906,710 4,107 1, 462, 562 998, 119 6,608 617 25,214 7,076 1,996,024,493 3,783 $2,037,335 18, 564 $5,343,478 24.0 143.8 142.5 53.0 481.8 19.4 50.4 149.1 118.3 135.4 116.0 141.5 3.3 71.5 56.4 34.9 87.3 80.8 33.8 56.3 67.4 75.1 66.3 73.6 1.1 69.8 56.9 36.2 92.2 68.8 35.1 60.6 73.2 79.4 71.3 79.7 96.7 28.5 43.6 65.1 12.7 19.2 66.2 43.7 32.6 24.9 33.7 26.4 9S.9 30.2 Number of stations or telephones Number of public exchanges Number of private-branch ex- 43.1 63.8 7.8 31.2 Number of switchboards Estimated number of messages 64.9 39.4 Salaried employees: 26.8 20.6 Wage-earners' 20.3 For some years after the telephone business was es- tablished on commercial lines, it was controlled almost entirely by the Bell interests. The census of 1890 shows that between 1880 and that year there was a large increase in the industry in every particular, ex- cept as to number of systems or lines enumerated. Of these, there were 148 in 1880 and only 53 in 1890. The large numbers of systems shown for 1902 and 1907 are nearly all small companies and individual lines which have developed rapidly during the years since the taking of the 1890 census. Of the 44 companies reported as separate systems for the Bell interests in 1902, 4 went out of existence before 1907 by merger or consolidation; but during the five years between those censuses 135 properties were added to these interests by the formation of new corporations or the purchase of existing systems. For the various items, with the exception of the number of systems or lines, miles of wire, and the number of pay stations, the independent interests show larger percentages of increase from 1902 to 1907 than the Bell. In the number of telephones the independent systems show a gain of 1,932,649 as compared with 1,814,885 for the Bell, although the Bell companies in- creased their wire mileage by 5,559,342, while the inde- pendent companies increased theirs by only 2,539,576. Since no estimates could be made of the number of messages or talks over the farmer or rural lines, and since the estimates from many of the small mutual lines are largely conjectural, this item can not be ac- cepted as indicating the magnitude of the business of the independent systems. Since the methods of busi- ness of the small telephone systems differ in many respects from those of the well-organized large com- panies, and the equipment of the different companies is adjusted to meet local requirements, there is natu- 22 TELEPHONES. rally a great variation in the rate of increase in the different items shown in Table 9. There are also marked differences in the proportions of the various items which must be credited to each of the two systems. Although at both censuses the Bell interests con- trolled the larger portion of the telephone equipment of the country, the relative importance of the inde- pendent interests increased between 1902 and 1907 in the case of every item, except number of systems, miles of wire, and number of pay stations. The number of telephones is probably the most sat- isfactory measurement by which to determine the rela- tive importance of different companies. Exclusive of the independent farmer or rural lines, the relative in- crease during the five years was practically the same for the two classes, as shown by Table 9. Including the rural or farmer lines, the independents owned 44.4 per cent of the total in 1902 and 48.8 per cent in 1907. Table 10 gives the number of telephones for the Bell and independent systems, by states and geo- graphic divisions, for 1907. Table 10. — All systems and lines, classified as Bell and independent {non-Bell) systems, and independent stations connected with the Bell system — Number of stations or telephones, by states and terri- tories and geographic divisions: 1907. [Including independent farmer or rural lines.] NUMBER OP STATIONS OR TELEPHONES. STATE OR TERRITORY. All systems and lines. Bell (Ameri- can Tele- phone and Tele- graph Co.). Inde- pendent (non- Bell). Inde- pendent stations exchang- ing serv- ice with Bell system. Connected for ex- change of service, Bell and in- dependent. United States 6,118,578 3,132,063 2,986,515 ■835,880 3,967,943 North Atlantic division . . 1,663,172 1,244,959 418,213 55, 302 1,300,261 53, 134 28,920 30,833 209,383 87, 999 685, 512 116,988 450,403 365,764 37,110 22,432 16,916 204,059 86,014 504,753 97, 854 275, 821 209, 308 16,024 6,488 13,917 5,324 1,985 180, 759 19, 134 174, 582 156,456 7,830 2,482 7,020 650 521 23,992 831 11,976 27,246 44,940 New Hampshire 24,914 23,936 Massachusetts Connecticut and Rhode Island 204, 709 86, 635 528,745 98,685 Pennsylvania South Atlantic division . . 287, 797 236, 554 Maryland, Delaware, and District of Co- 110,282 55,541 62, 144 37, 104 20,911 62,260 17, 522 2,963,945 90,386 31,423 15, 535 16,507 13,039 36,056 6,362 1,000,178 19,896 24,118 46,609 20, 597 7,872 26,204 11, 160 1,963,767 217 4,447 3,238 4,714 1,867 9,072 3,691 608, 108 90,603 35, 870 West Virginia North Carolina South Carolina 18, 773 21, 221 14, 906 45, 128 10,053 North Central division . . . 1,608,286 Ohio 495,636 289, 452 558, 585 209, 842 158, 875 171,479 332, 545 312,527 34,087 48,405 152,279 200,233 183, 358 72,462 273, 263 103, 793 69, 870 56,861 52, 772 91,704 7,452 3,654 46,669 38,320 312, 278 216, 990 285,322 106,049 89,005 114,618 279, 773 220, 823 26,635 44, 751 105,610 161,913 29,284 60,065 109, 101 30, 933 36,366 46,547 74,806 82,393 10,542 25,939 45, 252 66, 880 212, 642 122, 527 382, 364 134, 726 106, 236 103, 408 127, 578 174,097 North Dakota South Dakota 17, 994 29, 593 91,921 Kansas 105, 200 1 Figures furnished by American Telephone and Telegraph Co. and included in total for independent systems. Table 10.— All systems and lines, classified as Bell and independent (non-Bell) systems, and independent stations connected with the Bell system — Number, of stations or telephones, by states and terri- tories and geographic divisions: 1907 — Continued. [Including independent farmer or rural lines.] NUMBER OP STATIONS OR TELEPHONES. STATE OR TERRITORY. All systems and lines. Bell (Ameri- can Tele- phone and Tele- graph Co.). Inde- pendent (non- Bell). Inde- pendent stations exchang- ing serv- ice with Bell system. Connected for ex- change of service, Bell and in- dependent. South Central division . . . 585, 489 294, 208 291, 281 108, 978 403, 186 93,996 71, 130 40,481 37,627 35,692 49, 576 68, 125 188,862 540,208 42,200 45,372 25, 496 24,060 29,508 17,426 30, 116 80,030 383, 410 51, 796 25,758 14, 985 13,567 6,184 32,150 38,009 108,832 156, 798 9,038 9,241 3,944 5,235 4,351 10,265 36,570 30,334 36,246 51,238 54, 613 29, 440 29, 295 33,859 27, 691 66,686 110,364 i 419, 656 Western division 17, 168 16,394 65,908 6,653 6,203 37, 134 4,601 98,846 49,629 237,672 9,050 10,640 61,435 3,177 3,055 25,238 2,520 63, 194 33,406 171,695 8,118 5,754 4,473 3,476 3,148 11,896 2,081 35,652 16,223 65,977 846 1,288 1,620 759 9,896 11,928 63,055 3,936 Utah and Wyoming . 1,549 734 9,168 10,675 9,607 26,787 3,254 72, 362 44,081 181, 302 1 Including the 3,055 stations or telephones of Bell system in Arizona available for connection with independent stations or telephones in other states or territories exchanging service. The tabular statement on page 23 accompanies the foregoing table and gives the per cent distribution of the number of stations or telephones of each class. In 1907 the Bell systems controlled more than one- half of the telephones in the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, South Central, and Western divisions, and in twenty-eight of the states and territories, counting the District of Columbia. In the North Central divi- sion, however, two-thirds of the telephones belong to non-Bell systems. In many instances commercial companies have agreements with each other and with smaller systems of mutual and farmer or rural lines for the interchange of business, and these agreements result in the prac- tical formation of large systems, so that all such tele- phones might be counted as belonging to one system. The American Telephone and Telegraph Company reported 835,880 telephones on the independently owned lines that had exchange arrangements with its subsidiary companies. Thus 13.7 per cent of the total number of telephones in the United States were inde- pendent telephones operating under arrangements with the Bell system. The distribution of these tele- phones in Table 10 is shown separately, but these instruments are also included in the totals shown for the independent companies. It may be noted that most of the larger independent companies have similar DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY— STATISTICAL. 23 agreements for the interchange of business with smaller systems. STATE OR TERRITORY. United States . North Atlantic division. Maine New Hampshire Vermont Massachusetts Connecticut and Rhode Island New York New Jersey Pennsylvania South Atlantic division . Maryland, Delaware, and Dis- trict of Columbia Virginia West Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida North Central division. Ohio Indiana Illinois Michigan Wisconsin Minnesota Iowa Missouri North Dakota. South Dakota. Nebraska*. Kansas South Central division. Kentucky.. Tennessee.. Alabama... Mississippi . Louisiana . . Arkansas. . . Oklahoma. Texas Western division. Montana Idaho Colorado New Mexico Arizona Utah and Wyoming. Nevada Washington Oregon California PER CENT OF TOTAL NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELEPHONES. Bell (American Telephone and Tele- graph Co.). 51.2 74 9 69.8 77.6 54.9 97.5 97.7 73. 6 83.6 61.2 57.2 82.0 56.6 25.0 44.5 62.4 57.9 36.3 37.0 25.0 48.9 49.5 44.0 33.2 15.9 29.3 21.9 7.5 30.6 19.1 50.2 44.9 63.8 63.0 63.9 82.7 35.2 44.2 42.4 71.0 52.7 64.9 93.2 47.8 49.3 68.0 54.8 63.9 67.3 72.2 Inde- pendent (non- Bell). 25.1 30.2 22.4 45.1 2.5 2.3 26.4 16.4 38.8 42.8 18.0 43.4 75.0 55.5 37.6 42.1 63.7 66.2 63.0 75.0 51.1 50.5 56.0 66.8 84.1 70.7 78.1 92.5 69.3 80.9 49.8 55.1 36.2 37.0 36.1 17.3 64.8 55.8 57.6 29.0 47.3 35.1 6.8 52.2 50.7 32.0 45.2 36.1 32.7 27.8 Independ- ent stations exchanging service with Bell 13.7 14.7 8.6 22.8 0.3 0.6 3.5 0.7 2.7 7.4 0.2 8.0 5.2 12.7 8.9 14.6 21.1 20.5 5.9 17.3 19.5 14.7 22.9 .27.1 22.5 26.4 30.9 53.6 29.7 18.6 9.6 13.0 9.7 13.9 12.2 20.7 53.7 16.1 6.7 4.9 7.9 2.5 11.4 4.1 16.0 9.3 21.5 4.0 Connected for ex- change of service, Bell and independ- ent. 78.2 84.0 86.1 77.6 97.8 98.3 77.1 84.4 63.9 82.2 64.6 30.2 57.2 71.3 72.5 57.4 54.3 42.9 42.3 68.5 64.2 66.9 60.3 38.4 55.7 52.8 61.1 60.4 52.5 68.9 54.5 76.8 72.7 77.9 94.9 55.9 97.9 58.4 77.7 57.6 72.8 95.7 59.2 72.1 70.7 73.2 88.8 76.3 Relative development of commercial systems and of mutual systems and independent farmer or rural lines. — At the census of 1902 the reports showed 4,985 farmer or rural lines with 49,965 miles of wire and 55,747 telephones, but (for the reason given on page 11) it is not strictly correct to compare these statistics with the 17,702 lines, 486,294 miles of wire, and 565,649 tele- phones reported for the farmer or rural lines in 1907. The independent farmer or rural lines for 1907 include some small lines that were classed as mutual and a few classed as commercial systems in 1902, and it is also probable that a more thorough canvass was made at the 1907 than at the 1902 census. Therefore the statistics for the mutual systems and the farmer or rural lines should be combined for comparison with commercial systems. Table 11 offers a summary of the commercial systems as compared with the mutual systems and independent rural lines lor 1907 and 1902. There is also given in detail the mutual systems and the independent farmer or rural lines to show the rela- tion of these two groups under the different classifica- tions of the two censuses and the portions they respectively form of the combined group, though it is to be borne in mind that they are not individually comparable. The mutual systems and the independent farmer or rural lines represent the equipment that is operated primarily for the convenience of the subscribers rather than for profit. Between 1902 and 1907 the wire of these lines increased by 460,447 miles, or 380.9 per cent, and the number of telephones by 546,542, or 376.8 per cent. In 1907 the miles of wire and the tele- phones of the mutual systems and the independent farmer or rural lines together formed 4.5 and 11.3 per cent, respectively, of the total wire and telephones for all systems, whereas in 1902 they formed 2.5 and 6.1 per cent, respectively. While the miles of wire and the number of telephones for the mutual systems and farmer or rural lines formed comparatively small parts of the totals for all systems, they constituted larger proportions of the totals in 1907 than in 1902. Comparisons of this character, however, in an industry that is increasing so rapidly and undergoing such radical changes in organization and equipment, are apt to be misleading, and the fact should be emphasized that the greater completeness of the census for 1907 makes the increase with respect to some items appear greater than it probably is in fact. Although the mutual companies and farmer or rural lines are characteristic of the telephone service in the rural districts and small communities, most of the commercial companies serve such districts also. In order to determine as nearly as possible the total extent of telephone service in rural districts, all com- panies operating commercial lines were required to report separately the number of farmer or rural lines owned and the miles of wire and number of telephones pertaining to each. As a rule, these lines serve purely rural districts or small towns, and they can properly be considered as representing the same class of service as the mutual systems and the independent farmer or rural lines. 24 TELEPHONES. Table 11.— COMMERCIAL SYSTEMS, MUTUAL SYSTEMS, AND INDEPENDENT FARMER OR RURAL LINES— COMPARA- BLE ITEMS: 1907 AND 1902. MILES OP WIRE. PER CENT OF TOTAL. NUMBER OF SYSTEMS OR LINES. NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELEPHONES. Number of systems or lines. Miles of wire. Number of stations or telephones. 1907 1902 Per cent of in- crease. 1907 1902 Per cent of in- crease. 1907 1902 Per cent of in- crease. 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 22,971 4,901 18, 070 368 17,702 9,136 3,157 5,979 994 4,985 151.4 55.2 202.2 (') (') 12, 999, 369 12, 418, 042 581, 327 95,033 486,294 4,900,451 4,779,571 120,880 70,915 49,965 165.3 159.8 380.9 (') (') 6,118,578 5,426,973 691,605 125,956 565,649 2,371,044 2,225,981 145, 063 89,316 55, 747 158.1 143.8 376.8 (') (') 100.0 21.3 78.7 1.6 77.1 100.0 34.6 65.4 10.9 54.6 100.0 95.5 4.5 0.7 3.7 100.0 97.5 2.5 1.4 1.0 100 88.7 11.3 2.1 9 2 100. 93.9 Mutual systems and independent farmer 6.1 3.8 Independent farmer or rural lines. . 2.4 1 Increase or decrease not comparable. Table 12 gives the statistics for the rural lines, by classes and by geographic divisions, for the censuses of 1907 and 1902. The classes comprise the rural lines owned by the commercial systems, together with all mu- tual systems (which are practically without exception rural lines), and all independent farmer or rural lines. Table 12.— RURAL LINES, CLASSIFIED AS COMMERCIAL, MUTUAL, AND INDEPENDENT FARMER OR RURAL- NUMBER OF LINES, MILES OF WIRE, AND NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELEPHONES, BY GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907 AND 1902. Census. NUMBER OF LINES. MILES OF WIRE. NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELEPHONES. DIVISION. Total. Commer- cial lines. Mutual systems. Inde- pendent farmer or rural lines. Total. Commer- cial lines. Mutual systems. Inde- pendent farmer or rural lines. Total. Commer- cial lines. Mutual systems. Inde- pendent farmer or rural lines. United States 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 124,847 21,577 106,777 15, 598 '368 = 994 17,702 4.985 1,591,240 259,306 1,009,913 138,426 95,033 70, 915 486,294 49,965 1,464,773 266,968 773, 168 121,905 125,956 89,316 565, 649 55,747 19,749 1,151 5,201 1,195 83, 566 18,069 9,926 958 6,405 204 18, 391 947 4.221 674 71,876 13, 186 7,195 634 5,094 157 15 119 15 73 316 712 13 69 9 21 1,343 85 965 448 11,374 4,171 2,718 255 1,302 26 180,445 18,069 87, 520 17,824 1,086,263 205, 660 146, 548 13,889 90,464 3,864 141,259 14, 152 47.207 7,629 701,485 108,475 71,827 6,564 48, 135 1,606 6,687 2,985 7,456 4,549 75, 142 57,837 2,925 3,699 2,823 1,845 32,499 932 32,857 5,646 309, 636 39,348 71,796 3,626 39,506 413 164,932 18,706 64, 149 11,268 1,057,043 226, 606 115,905 7,829 62,744 2,659 112,601 12,499 25,542 3,822 562,545 100,856 41,143 3,546 31,337 1,182 8,725 4,656 12,273 3,995 99,272 77,004 3,603 2,492 2,083 1,169 43,606 1,551 26,334 3,451 395, 226 48,746 71,159 1,791 29,324 208 i Mutual companies reported 12,378 party lines. The wire mileage and the number of telephones of the commercial rural lines are included in the wire mileage and the number of telephones given in other tables for the commercial systems. The statistics for the mutual systems and for the independent farmer or rural lines present in full the number of systems, the wire mileage, and the number of telephones for each class. Mutual systems reported 12,378 party lines in 1907 and 9,258 party lines in 1902, and the statistics for these lines would be analogous in the main to those for the rural lines owned by the commercial systems and to those for the independent farmer and rural lines. However, they would not include the total wire mileage and the total number of telephones re- ported for the mutual systems, as many of the tele- 2 Mutual companies reported 9,258 party lines. phones are on single lines. Hence, as in the report for the census of 1902, the total number of mutual sys- tems is used as the basis of comparison. From Table 12 it appears that the greatest develop- ment of the rural telephone service of the country has been reached in the North Central states. By the end of 1907 these states contained 68.3 per cent of the wire and 72.2 per cent of the telephones employed in the rural service. While larger percentages of in- crease during the past five years are shown for other geographic divisions, the amounts involved are not so large. Table 13 compares the statistics for the six states in which rural lines have had the greatest develop- ment. DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY— STATISTICAL. 25 Table 13.— RURAL LINES— NUMBER OF LINES, MILES OF WIRE, AND NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELEPHONES IN THE SIX STATES LEADING IN NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELEPHONES IN 1907, WITH RANK OF STATES: 1907 AND 1902. RANK OF STATE. STATE. TION3 OE TELEPHONES. NUMBER OF LINES. MILES OF WIRE. Number of stations or telephones. Number of lines. Miles of wire. 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 174,155 170, 343 131,164 115,086 113,528 96,455 58,364 49,440 24,236 28, 190 26, 510 3,509 9,998 12,711 15,074 12,491 6,327 5,526 2,958 3,883 3,056 3,255 1,712 365 122, 531 166,647 158,650 125, 625 96,311 89, 115 40,251 47,463 22,757 28,380 25,094 3,347 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 5 3 4 U4 4 2 1 3 5 6 4 1 3 2 5 '13 4 1 2 3 5 6 2 1 Ohio 5 3 4 = 16 1 Wisconsin ranked sixth in 1902 and eleventh in 1907. * Michigan ranked sixth in 1902 and seventh in 1907. > Michigan ranked sixth in 1902 and eighth in 1907. Table 14 is a summary of all commercial and mu- tual systems combined, by geographic divisions, for 1907 and 1902, and shows the percentage of the increase for each item during the five years. It is exclusive of the independent farmer or rural lines. Table 14.— COMMERCIAL AND MUTUAL SYSTEMS COMBINED— COMPARATIVE SUMMARY, BY GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907 AND 1902. [Exclusive of independent farmer or rural lines.] Cen- sus. Num- ber of sys- tems. Miles of wire. Number of sta- tions or tele- phones. Num- ber of public ex- changes. Num- ber ofc switch- boards. Estimated number of messages or talks. SALARIED EMPLOYEES.' WAGE-EARNERS. Income. Operating expenses and fixed charges, ex- cept interest on funded debt. Interest DIVISION. Num- ber. Salaries. Average num- ber. Wages. on funded debt. United States. . Per cent of 1907 1902 5,269 4,151 26.9 12,513,075 4,850,486 158.0 5,552,929 2,315,297 139.8 15, 527 10, 361 49.9 16,065 10,896 47.4 11; 372, 605, 063 5,070,554,553 124.3 25, 298 14, 124 79.1 819,298,423 9,885,886 95.2 118,871 64, 628 83.9 848,980,704 26,369,735 85.7 $184,461,747 86,825,536 112.5 8128,486,196 61,652,823 108.4 812,316,109 3,511,948 250.7 1907 1902 North Atlantic Per cent of in- 595 490 21.4 408 421 '3.1 3,189 2,568 24.2 822 565 45.5 255 107 138.3 4,021,559 1,669,248 140.9 842,316 322, 376 161.3 5,041,773 2,015,087 150.2 1,442,681 538,347 168.0 1,164,746 305,428 281.3 1,619,566 647, 670 150.1 339,430 143, 314 136.8 2,568,719 1,091,168 135.4 514,330 225,999 127.6 510,884 207,146 146.6 3,049 2,330 30.9 1,241 791 56.9 7,422 5,212 42.4 2,304 1,144 101.4 1,511 884 70.9 3,123 2,480 25.9 1,282 830 54.5 7,778 5,500 41.4 2,354 1,199 96.3 1,528' 887 72.3 2,617,104,751 1,208,179,198 116.6 827,266,700 353,559,870 134.0 5,369,401,249 2,446,257,875 119.5 1,510,432,721 681, 497, 626 121.6 1,048,399,642 381,059,984 175.1 8,064 5,703 41.4 1,614 1,015 59.0 10, 625 4,768 122.8 2,984 1,266 135.7 2,011 1,372 46.6 6,838,309 4,779,345 43.1 1,271,731 645, 107 97.1 7,077,262 2,961,686 139.0 2,216,062 841,390 163.4 1,895,059 658, 358 187.8 38, 475 21,702 77.3 8,188 4,025 103.4 47, 909 25,445 88.3 13,443 7,060 90.4 10,856 6,396 69.7 18,334,983 10,204,325 79.7 2,806,280 1,453,419 93.1 17,483,271 8,986,075 94.6 4,621,228 2,419,070 91.0 5,734,942 3,306,846 73.4 73,528,088 36,741,249 100.1 11,224,294 4,530,560 147.7 64,362,595 29,682,263 116.8 17,835,731 7,941,911 124.6 17,511,039 7,929,553 120.8 50,727,170 25,604,561 98.1 8,163,894 3,608,796 126.2 44,101,507 20,807,636 111.9 12,531,232 5,494,975 128.0 12,962,393 6,136,855 111.2 4, 143, 278 1,170,402 254.0 South Atlantic Per cent of in- 1907 1902 824,594 254,922 223.5 North Central Per cent of in- 1907 1902 4,605,670 1,603,995 187.1 South Central Per cent of in- 1907 1902 1,299,759 292,887 343.8 1907 1902 1,442,808 Per cent of in- 189, 742 660.4 1 Decrease. It has been explained before that the mutual sys- tems for 1907 and 1902 are not strictly comparable, because in 1902 they included all farmer or rural mutual lines operating switchboards and in 1907 they did not include such lines if the total receipts from assessments, tolls, or rentals were less than $1,000. Hence, the statistics for mutual systems for 1902 are slightly too large. A similar slight discrepancy exists in the classification of commercial systems at the two censuses. In 1902 some farmer or rural lines were classed as commercial systems; but in 1907 not only was this policy abandoned, but all commercial systems having an annual income of less than $500 were classed as farmer or rural lines. Consequently there was a tendency to enlarge the items for com- mercial systems in 1902, whereas in 1907 the tendency was in the opposite direction. The effect of these differences extends to Tables 15 and 16, but, except in the matter of the number of systems or lines, it is small. The commercial systems are operated as business enterprises for profit and now control much the larger portion of the telephone equipment of the country. Most of them keep book accounts, from which more 26 TELEPHONES. satisfactory statistics were obtained than it was pos- sible to secure for the mutual companies and farmer or rural lines. As the commercial systems controlled 88.7 per cent of the telephones and 95.5 per cent of the wire reported for all lines in 1907, the conditions pre- vailing among them represent approximately the in- dustry as a whole. Table 15 is a comparative summary of commercial systems, by geographic divisions, for 1907 and 1902. Table 15.— COMMERCIAL SYSTEMS— COMPARATIVE SUMMARY, BY GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907 AND 1902. [Exclusive of mutual systems and independent farmer or rural lines.] Cen- sus. Num- ber of sys- tems. Miles of wire. Number of sta- tions or tele- phones. Num- ber of public ex- changes. Num- ber of switch- boards. Estimated number of messages or talks. SALARIED EMPLOYEES. WAGE-EAENERS. Income. Operating expenses and fixed charges, ex- cept interest on funded debt. Interest DIVISION. Num- ber. Salaries. Average num- ber. Wages. on funded debt. United States . Per cent of 1907 1902 4,901 3,157 55.2 12,418,042 4,779,571 169.8 5,426,973 2,225,981 143.8 14,702 9,419 56.1 15,232 9,954 53.0 11,230,581,856 4,971,413,070 125.9 24,959 13,958 78.8 $19,245,349 9,871,596 95.0 117,477 63, 630 84.6 848,660,223 26,206,065 85.7 1183,784,037 86,522,211 112.4 $127,910,817 61,371,002 108.4 $12,315,579 3,511,768 250.7 1907 1902 North Atlantic Per cent of in- 580 371 56.3 393 348 12.9 2,873 1,856 54.8 809 496 63.1 246 86 186.0 4,014,872 1,666,263 141.0 834,860 317,827 162.7 4,966,631 1,957,250 153.8 1,439,756 534,648 169.3 1,161,923 303,583 282.7 1,610,841 643,014 150.5 327, 157 139,319 134.8 2,469,447 1,014,164 143.5 510,727 223,507 128.5 508,801 205,977 147.0 2,922 2,256 29.5 1,141 729 56.5 6,861 4,442 54.5 2,279 1,121 103.3 1,499 871 72.1 2,996 2,406 24.5 1,182 768 53.9 7,209 4,730 52.4 2,329 1,176 98.0 1,516 874 73.5 2,609,273,944 1,203,979,018 116.7 815, 169, 135 349,373,521 133.3 5,254,744,199 2,361,506,911 122.5 1,506,155,426 677,517,694 122.3 1,045,239,152 379,035,926 175.8 8,042 5,693 41.3 1,586 1,012 56.7 10,348 4,626 123.7 2,974 1,261 135.8 2,009 1,366 47.1 6,835,879 4,778,888 43.0 1,268,552 644, 946 96.7 7,033,157 2,950,741 138.4 2,213,422 839, 505 163.7 1,894,339 657,516 188.1 38,332 21,643 77.1 8,029 3,977 101.9 46,877 24,605 90.5 13,403 7,029 90.7 10,836 6,376 69.9 18,314,611 10,197,916 79.6 2,789,817 1,449,047 92.5 17,216,986 8,842,764 94.7 4,610,516 2,414,545 90.9 5,728,293 3,301,793 73.5 73,486,574 36,723,783 100.1 11,187,507 4,515,004 147.8 63,799,390 29,437,516 116.7 17,813,810 7,927,428 124.7 17,496,756 7,918,480 121.0 50,694,044 25,588,847 98.1 8,132,005 3,693,855 126.3 43,623,213 20,580,686 112.0 12,511,174 5,481,034 128.3 12,950,381 6, 126, 580 111.4 4,143,228 1,170,402 254.0 South Atlantic Per cent of in- 1907 1902 824,594 254,922 223 5 North Central Per cent of in- 1907 1902 4,605,190 1,603,815 South Central Per cent of in- 1907 1902 1,299,759 292,887 343 8 1907 1902 1,442,808 189,742 660.4 Per cent of in- The commercial telephone systems naturally have the largest equipment and do the greatest amount of business in the populous North Atlantic and North Central states. These states in 1907 contained three- fourths of the telephones and nearly three-fourths of the wire reported for all of the commercial systems in operation during the year. The greatest percentages of increase in the number of telephones wired for service is shown for the North Atlantic states, while the largest percentage of increase in the length of wire is shown for the Western states. The equip- ment of the long-distance telephone companies has added greatly to the wire mileage in some sections. A large part of the increase in the wire mileage is due to the increased substitution of cable for open wire in the cities and larger towns; wherever this substitu- tion is made a greater wire capacity is installed, in anticipation of future needs, than is actually used at the outset. Table 16 is a summary, by geographic divisions, for the mutual systems for 1907. Table 16.— MUTUAL SYSTEMS— SUMMARY, BY GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907. [Exclusive of commercial systems and independent farmer or rural lines.] Num- ber of sys- tems. Miles of wire. Number of sta- tions or tele- phones. Number of pub- lic ex- changes. Num- ber of switch- boards. Estimated number of messages or talks. SALARIED EMPLOYEES. WAGE-EARNERS. Income. Operating .expenses and fixed charges, except in- terest on funded debt. DIVISION. Num- ber. Salaries. Average number. Wages. on funded debt. 368 95,033 125, 956 825 833 142,023,207 339 $53,074 1,394 $320,481 $677,710 $575,379 $530 15 15 316 13 9 6,687 7,456 75, 142 2,925 2,823 8,725 12, 273 99, 272 3,603 2,083 127 100 561 25 12 127 100 569 25 12 7,830,807 12,097,565 114,657,050 4,277,295 3,160,490 22 28 277 10 2 2,430 3,179 44, 105 2,640 720 143 159 1,032 40 20 20,372 16,463 266,285 10,712 6,649 41,514 36,787 563,205 21,921 14,283 33, 126 31,889 478,294 20,058 12,012 50 480 The greatest development of the mutual companies and associations has occurred in the North Central division. This division had 78.8 per cent of the total number of telephones belonging to the mutual sys- tems and 79.1 per cent of the wire. For the entire country the telephones of the mutual systems con- DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY— STATISTICAL. 27 stituted 2.1 per cent of all telephones combined. In the North Central division the telephones of the mutual systems formed 3.3 per cent of all telephones, and in the South Atlantic division, 3.4 per cent; but in the North Atlantic, South Central, and Western divisions each they formed less than 1 per cent. Table 17 is a summary of the independent farmer or rural lines, by geographic divisions, for 1907. Table 17.— INDEPENDENT FARMER OR RURAL LINES— SUMMARY, BY GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907. Number of lines. Miles of wire. Number of stations or telephones. INCOME AND ASSESSMENTS. DIVISION. Lines reporting. Total. Income. Assess- ments. Number. Per cent of total. United States 17,702 486,294 565,649 12,430 70.2 11,783,458 $460,653 $1,322,805 1,343 965 11,374 2,718 1,302 32,499 32,857 309,636 71,796 39,506 43,606 26,334 395,226 71, 159 29,324 849 559 8,651 1,602 769 63.2 57.9 76.1 58.9 59.1 140,129 105,386 1,225,288 204,005 108,650 67,604 43,505 241,351 69,776 38,417 72,525 61,881 983,937 134,229 70,233 In 1907 a large majority of the independent farmer or rural lines were in the states of the North Central division. This division had 64.3 per cent of the lines, 63.7 per cent of the wire, and 69.9 per cent of the telephone instruments reported by all independent rural lines in the United States, and the independent rural line telephones in this division formed 13.3 per cent of all telephones in the division. Table 18 shows the number of telephones on inde- pendent farmer or rural lines in states having 10,000 or more telephones on such lines in 1907, and the percentages the number their instruments formed of the total number of telephones in the respective states. Table 18 . — States having 10,000 or more telephones on independent farmer or rural lines — Total number of telephones and number on independent farmer or rural lines: 1907. Iowa Missouri Illinois Kansas Indiana Ohio Minnesota Nebraska Texas New York.... Pennsylvania Wisconsin Oklahoma Michigan Kentucky STATIONS OE TELEPHONES. Total number. 332, 545 312, 527 558, 585 200,233 289, 452 495, 636 171, 479 152,279 188, 862 685, 512 450, 403 158, 875 68,125 209,842 93,996 On independent farmer or rural lines. Number. 83, 407 70,883 60,864 40,686 30,131 26,340 19,608 19, 566 19,262 18,998 16,660 16, 490 15,698 13,912 10,163 Per cent of total. 25.1 22.7 10.9 20.3 10.4 5.3 11.4 12.8 10.2 2.8 3.7 10.4 23.0 6.6 10.8 It will be seen that ten of these fifteen states be- long to the North Central division, and that in the case of four of the states — Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma — more than one-fifth of the telephones were on independent rural lines. Systems under construction in 1907. — Although no inquiry was made of companies in operation concern- ing the line additions or other new physical equipment installed during the year 1907, reports were received from twenty-four systems that were in process of construction during 1907 but had not commenced actual operations at the end of the year. The statis- tics for these companies are given in Table 19. Table 19. — Telephone systems under construction: 1907. Number of systems 1 24 Character of ownership: Firm or partnership 4 Mutual and cooperative 4 Incorporated ] 16 Line construction, miles: Pole line for wires or cables 240 Pole line for farmer or rural lines 196 Overhead cable 181. 9 r Subways or conduits (street miles) 44. 7 ,'£ Duct, owned 223. 4 ' Cable in underground subways or conduits 62^7 Submarine cable 0. 9 Miles of single wire, total 188 253 Open wire on pole or roof line 2' 700 On farmer or rural lines '519 In overhead cables 76, 319 In subways or conduits " . log' 627 In submarine cables 93 Exchanges of all kinds 77 Stations or telephones 17 629 1 Includes systems distributed as follows: Three each in New York, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania; two each in California, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, and' Washington; and one each in Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, and Virginia. Undoubtedly many lines for which the census se- cured no report were being constructed during 1907 by small companies and independent interests. The twenty-four systems covered by Table 19 represent only the most important, and some of these had installed comparatively few telephones by the end of the year. Telephones in Alaska, Hawaii, and Porto Rico. — The statistics for Alaska, Hawaii, and Porto Kico are not included in the totals for the United States, but they are presented in Table 20 for consideration in connection with the general growth of the industry. 28 TELEPHONES. Table 20. — Telephone systems in Alaska, Hawaii, and Porto Rico — Comparative summary: 1907 and 1902. Number of systems and lines Miles of wire Number of stations or telephones Number of public exchanges Number of pay stations Number of party lines (city or town) Number of stations on party lines Manual switchboards, total number Common-battery Magneto Estimated number of messages or talks. . Salaried employees: Number Salaries Average number Wages Capitalization: Common stock authorized, par value Common stock outstanding, par value Funded debt authorized, par value Funded debt outstanding, par value Total income , Operating expenses and fixed charges, except interest on funded debt Interest on funded debt , Dividends '17 13,536 6,359 55 149 631 1,875 59 9 50 ,860,572 "8 4,732 2,493 13 8 796 1,595 13 1 12 3,461,000 41 856,972 16 121,700 232 1130,239 87 $34, 198 842,000 766,035 88,000 342,000 279,045 85,400 418,883 112,068 288,214 5,202 76,307 8,800 25,858 1 Includes systems distributed as follows: Alaska, 7; Hawaii, 7; Porto Rico, 3. 2 Includes systems distributed as follows: Alaska, 1; Hawaii, 7. The telephone systems in these outlying districts are not extensive, and it was impossible to apply to the collection of statistics concerning them the same methods that were followed in the canvass of conti- nental United States. The canvass of Hawaii and Porto Rico was exhaustive, but it is possible that some small lines in Alaska escaped enumeration. The great- est increase is shown for Alaska, where the wire mile- age increased from 150 in 1902 to 2,198 in 1907. There were seven companies or systems reported for Hawaii at each census, but the amount of wire in- creased from 4,582 miles in 1902 to 9,874 miles in 1907 and the number of telephones from 2,368 to 3,052. No telephone statistics were reported for Porto Rico at the census of 1902, although there were some lines in operation at that time. The telephone systems on the island in 1907 are described in the separate report of the Electrical Industries of Porto Rico. At the census of 1902 the Philippine Islands re- ported one telephone system, with 786 miles of wire and 398 telephones; but since no report was obtained from them for 1907, the statistics of the former enumeration are not included in Table 20. CHAPTER III. PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT. EXCHANGES. For census purposes the "exchange," or "central," is denned as the place or office in which lines for the use of the general public are interconnected by means of a switchboard. The equipment covers all of the apparatus used to enable the different lines to be rapidly connected and disconnected for the conven- ience of the subscribers. The word exchange, when used by itself in this report, refers to public exchanges, and does not include the private-branch exchange, which consists of a switchboard located within a busi- ness building, apartment house, hotel, or private establishment, and serving as a means of connec- tion for wires between buildings, departments, offices, or rooms. Table 21 shows (excluding independent farmer or rural lines) the number of public Bell and independent exchanges and the number of private-branch exchanges having connections with public exchanges, distributed by states and geographic divisions. Table 21.— COMMERCIAL AND MUTUAL SYSTEMS COMBINED— NUMBER OF EXCHANGES, BY STATES AND TERRI- TORIES AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907 AND 1902. [Exclusive of independent farmer or rural lines.] STATE OB TERRITORY. United States North Atlantic division Maine New Hampshire Vermont Massachusetts Connecticut and Rhode Island New York New Jersey Pennsylvania South Atlantic division Maryland, Delaware, and District of Columbia Virginia West Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida Census, 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 191)2 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1(«I2 1907 1002 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1002 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 NUMBER OF EXCHANGES. Aggre- gate. 43,819 18,244 20,633 7,368 310 113 189 104 2,067 641 549 159 12,093 4,520 834 387 4,433 1,356 2,372 1,206 1,045 487 283 147 347 197 217 125 272 124 Public. Total. 15, 527 10,361 3,049 2,330 243 112 139 87 167 103 274 233 222 246 1,019 772 1,241 791 178 114 209 139 284 180 198 125 107 82 198 113 Bell system (A.T.and T. Co.). 5,418 3,753 1,581 1,419 101 75 250 221 414 408 144 175 380 363 406 138 1 22 34 Independ- ent (non- Bell) sys- tems and lines. 10, 109 6,608 1,468 911 114 04 482 305 835 653 10f, 125 236 153 148 118 117 80 Percent of total. 34.9 36.2 51.9 60. 9 65.0 71.4 31.7 37.9 91.2 94.8 91.0 90.6 46.2 57.2 64.9 71.1 37.3 47.0 32.7 17.4 20.0 10.1 16.9 15.0 25.3 5.6 50.5 18.3 40.9 29.2 11.9 21.1 Independ- ent (non- Bell). 65.1 63.8 48.1 39. 1 35.0 28.6 13.6 68.3 62.1 8.8 5.2 0.0 9.4 53.8 42.8 35.1 28.9 62.7 53.0 31.5 70.2 79.4 89.9 83.1 85.0 74.7 94.4 49. 5 81.7 59.1 70.8 88.1 78.9 Private- branch. 28,292 7,883 17, 584 5,038 460 95 11,197 3,807 612 141 3,414 584 1,131 415 867 373 15 Per cent of Public. 35. 14.8 31.6 78 4 99.1 88.0 98. (I 13.3 36. 3 16.2 40.3 7.4 15.8 26.6 63.6 23.0 56.9 52.3 65.6 17.0 23.4 73. 9 94.6 81.8 91.4 91.2 100.0 87.7 93.2 72.8 91.1 77.9 100.0 Private- branch. 64.6 43.2 85.2 68.4 21.6 0.9 12.0 1.1 11.6 1.0 86.7 63.7 83.8 59.7 92.6 84.2 73.4 36.4 77.0 43.1 47.7 34.4 83.0 76.6 26.1 5.4 12. 3 6.8 27.2 8.9 22.1 (29) 30 TELEPHONES. Table 21.— COMMERCIAL AND MUTUAL SYSTEMS COMBINED— NUMBER OF EXCHANGES, BY STATES AND TERRI- TORIES AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907 AND 1902— Continued. [Exclusive of independent farmer or rural lines.] STATE OB TERRITORY. North Central division . Ohio Indiana Illinois Michigan Wisconsin Minnesota Iowa Missouri North Dakota South Dakota Census NUMBER OF EXCHANGES. Nebraska Kansas South Central division. Kentucky Tennessee Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Arkansas Oklahoma Texas Western division Montana Idaho Colorado New Mexico Arizona Utah and Wyoming.. Nevada Washington Oregon California 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 Aggre- 13,781 7,107 2,379 1,204 1,074 705 2,891 1,683 1,121 r,r,2 414 1,306 454 902 716 1,594 656 242 49 256 103 690 237 664 260 3,157 1,291 671 295 415 174 181 72 185 95 253 123 351 102 872 348 3.876 1)272 116 33 120 45 13 45 30 32 11 881 191 359 137 1,782 661 Total. 7,422 5.212 1,039 757 796 621 1,137 912 604 511 438 342 453 246 751 710 650 482 212 49 255 103 507 220 580 259 2,304 1,144 342 203 261 158 135 69 177 95 105 60 241 123 294 102 749 334 1,511 884 54 32 100 33 158 96 41 12 36 26 11 247 140 206 118 545 376 Bell system (A. T. and T. Co.). 1,431 944 Independ- ent (non- Bell) sys- tems and lines. 259 158 163 91 242 177 217 185 90 75 23 918 472 166 96 144 95 83 31 116 64 63 45 42 19 111 4 193 118 32 19 51 28 130 80 15 2 14 12 65 35 11 8 173 135 155 436 362 5,991 4,268 780 599 633 530 387 326 348 254 362 223 678 642 559 441 190 45 245 94 409 143 50.5 236 176 107 117 63 52 38 61 31 42 15 199 104 183 98 556 216 429 104 22 13 49 5 28 10 26 10 24 18 31 1 15 3 74 5 51 19 109 14 Per cent of total. Bell. 19.3 18.1 24.9 20.9 20.5 14.7 21.3 19.4 35.9 36.2 20.5 25.7 20.1 9.3 9.7 9.6 14.0 8.5 10.4 8.2 3.9 8.7 19.3 35.0 12.9 8.9 39.8 41.3 48.5 47.3 55.2 60.1 61.5 44.9 65.5 67.4 60.0 75.0 17.4 15.4 25.8 35.3 71.6 88.2 59.3 59.4 51.0 84.8 82.3 83.3 36.6 16.7 36.8 40.0 67.7 97.2 42.3 72.7 70.0 96.4 80.0 96.3 Independ- ent (non- Bell). Private- branch. 80.7 81.9 75.1 79.1 79.5 85.3 78.7 80.6 64.1 63.8 79.5 74.3 79.9 90.7 90.3 90.4 86.0 91.5 89.6 91.8 96.1 91.3 80.7 65.0 87.1 91.1 60.2 58.7 51.5 52.7 44.8 39.9 38.5 55.1 34.5 32.6 40.0 25.0 82.6 84.6 62.2 96.1 74.2 64.7 28.4 11.8 40.7 40.6 49.0 15.2 17.7 16.7 63.4 83.3 63.2 60.0 32.3 2.8 57.7 27.3 30.0 3.6 24.8 16.1 20.0 3.7 Per cent of aggregate. 6,359 1,895 1,340 447 278 84 1,754 771 517 115 224 72 853 208 151 6 944 174 30 183 17 84 1 853 147 329 92 154 16 46 3 124 22 12 57 123 14 2,365 180 24 4 1 102 2 . 634 51 153 19 ,237 285 Public. 53.9 73.3 43.7 74.1 88.1 54.2 53.9 81.6 66.2 82.6 34.7 54.2 83.3 99.2 40.8 73.5 87.6 100.0 99.6 100.0 73.5 92.8 87.3 99.6 73.0 88.6 51.0 68.8 62.9 90.8 74.6 95.8 95.7 100.0 45.9 73.2 95.3 100.0 83.8 100.0 85.9 96.0 39.0 69.5 67.5 84.2 86.2 100.0 46.7 80.0 91.1 92.3 84.4 100.0 48.5 94.7 81.2 100.0 28.0 73.3 57.4 86.1 30.6 56.9 Private- branch. 46.1 26.7 56.3 37.1 25.9 11.9 60.7 45.8 46.1 18.4 33.8 17.4 65.3 45.8 16.7 0.8 59.2 26.5 12.4 0.4 26.5 7.2 12.7 0.4 27.0 11.4 49.0 31.2 37.1 9.2 25.4 4.2 4.3 54.1 26.8 16.2 14.1 4.0 61.0 32.5 15.8 13.8 53.3 20.0 8.9 7.7 15.6 51.5 5.3 18.8 72.0 26.7 42.6 13.9 69.4 43.1 PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT. 31 In 1902 the private-branch exchanges formed 43.2 per cent of all exchanges, but in 1907 they formed 64.6 per cent of the total number. At both censuses the private-branch exchanges were in the minority in the South Atlantic, North Central, and South Central states, but in the North Atlantic states they largely exceeded the public exchanges. In 1902 the public exchanges in the Western states largely exceeded in number the private ones, but in 1907 they were in the minority. The greatest development of private ex- changes was found in New York, where they outnum- bered the public exchanges 12 to 1 in 1907 as compared with 5 to 1 in 1902. Table 22 shows, by geographic divisions, the per- centages of increase in the number of exchanges in 1907 as compared with 1902. Table 22. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Per cent of increase in number of public and private exchanges, by geo- graphic divisions: 1902 to 1907. PES CENT OF INCREASE IN NUMBER OF EXCHANGES. All ex- changes. Public exchanges. DIVISION. Total. On Bell systems (A. T. and T.Co.). On inde- pendent (non-Bell) systems and lines. Private- branch ex- changes. 140.2 49.9 44.4 53.0 258.9 180.0 96.7 93.9 144.5 204.7 30.9 56.9 42.4 101.4 70.9 11.4 194.2 51.6 94.5 38.7 61.1 27.9 40.4 106.3 312.5 249.0 172.5 235.6 480.3 509.5 It is to be understood that these statistics with re- spect to private-branch exchanges relate solely to those having connections with public exchanges and do not include isolated exchanges or private lines, but the great increase in the number of private-branch exchanges indicates the extent to which the telephone is being used for conversation between the different rooms and departments of establishments. Two or more public exchanges operated in the same city by one company have been counted as separate public exchanges in compiling the statistics. The largest number of public exchanges and the greatest increase in the number is found in the systems that are operated independently of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. From 1902 to 1907 the number of these independent public exchanges in- creased 3,501, or 53 per cent, whereas the exchanges of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company increased 1,665, or 44.4 per cent. Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, in the order named, reported the largest numbers of public exchanges, and in each of these states the number reported for the independent sys- tems is greatly in excess of that reported for the Bell system. The states showing the largest number of public exchanges of the Bell system are California, with 436; New York, with 414; and Pennsylvania, with 380 ; while the leading states with respect to the number of independent public exchanges are Illinois, with 895; Ohio, with 780; and Iowa, with 678. In only two states — New Jersey and Delaware — the num- bers of public exchanges reported were smaller for 1907 than for 1902. In the North Atlantic and the Western divisions the public exchanges of the Bell system predominated both in 1902 and in 1907; but in the other divisions — the South Atlantic, North Central, and South Central — the independent public exchanges outnumbered the Bell. Table 23.— STATES AND TERRITORIES GROUPED ACCORDING TO MAJOR PER CENT OF BELL OR INDEPENDENT (NON-BELL) PUBLIC EXCHANGES: 1907 AND 1902. Bell. State or territory. Massachusetts Connecticut and Rhode Island . . Colorado California Oregon New Hampshire Washington Maryland, Delaware, and Dis- trict of Columbia Utah and Wyoming Mississippi Maine New Jersey Alabama Louisiana Montana Tennessee Idaho South Carolina Per cent. 91.2 91.0 82.3 80.0 7.5.2 72.7 70.0 68.5 67.7 65.5 65.0 64.9 61.5 60.0 59.3 55.2 51.0 50.5 Independent (non-Bell). State or territory. South Dakota. Iowa North Dakota. Florida Kansas Missouri West Virginia. Arkansas Nebraska Minnesota Indiana Wisconsin Virginia Illinois Ohio North Carolina Texas Vermont Michigan New Mexico... Arizona Pennsylvania. . Oklahoma Georgia Nevada New York Kentucky Per cent. 96.1 90.3 89.6 88.1 87.1 S6.0 83.1 82.6 80.7 79.9 79.5 79.5 79.4 78.7 75.1 74.7 74.2 68.3 64.1 63.4 63.2 62.7 62.2 59.1 57.7 53.8 51.5 1902 Bell. State or territory. Utah and Wyoming Washington California Massachusetts Connecticut and Rhode Island New Hampshire Idaho Oregon Colorado Louisiana Nevada Maine New Jersey Mississippi Tennessee Montana New York Per cent. 97.2 96.4 96.3 94.8 90.0 86. 2 84.8 83.9 83.3 75.0 72.7 71.4 71.1 67.4 60.1 59.4 57.2 Independent (non-Bell). State or territory. Oklahoma North Carolina North Dakota Missouri South Dakota Kansas Minnesota Iowa Virginia Indiana West Virginia Arkansas New Mexico South Carolina Illinois Ohio Florida Wisconsin Georgia Maryland, Delaware, and Dis- trict of Columbia Nebraska Texas Michigan Vermont Arizona Alabama Pennsylvania Kentucky Per cent. 96.1 94.4 91.8 91.5 91.3 91.1 90.7 90.4 89.9 85.3 85.0 84.6 83.3 81.7 80.6 79.1 78.9 74.3 70.8 70.2 65.0 64.7 63. 8 62.1 60.0 55.1 53.0 52.7 36754°— 10- 32 TELEPHONES. In Table 23 the states and territories are grouped according to the major percentage of Bell or inde- pendent public exchanges for 1907 and for 1902. It indicates for each census in which states more than half of the exchanges were of the Bell system, and in which more than half were independent, the states being arranged in the order of percentage controlled. The only shifting of states occurs in the cases of Nevada and New York, which had more than 50 per cent of Bell public exchanges in 1902 and more than 50 per cent of independent in 1907, and in the cases of Alabama, South Carolina, and the group of Maryland, Delaware, and the District of Columbia, which in 1902 had more than 50 per cent of independent and in 1907 more than 50 per cent of Bell exchanges. A change in the ownership of systems operating in a state seems to result in a rearrangement of the equipment. As a rule, the establishment of new exchanges must precede every great extension of a system, though the more modern exchanges are being equipped for the purpose of meeting all normal growth. Exchanges differ greatly in size and in amount of equipment, but it is interesting to note that, exclusive of the farmer or rural lines, there was an average of 358 telephones and 806 miles of wire to each public exchange in 1907 as compared with 223 telephones and 468 miles of wire in 1902. Only the commercial and the mutual systems were requested to furnish statistics concerning the equip- ment of the. central, or exchange. While some of the independent farmer or rural lines operated switch- boards and had a small amount of central-office equip- ment, the statistics of these are so unimportant that the omission of them can have no appreciable effect upon the results. Switchboards. — The success of a telephone system depends almost entirely upon the proper working of the switchboard, which is the most important single piece of equipment in the exchange. Table 24 gives the sta- tistics in regard to switchboards in public exchanges. Table 24. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Kind, number, and capacity of subscribers' switchboards: 1907 and 1902. [Exclusive of independent farmer or rural lines.] Number of systems Subscribers' switchboards: Number Manual Common-battery Magneto Automatic Total equipped capacity of subscribers' switch- boards, drops or jacks Total capacity in use of switchboards, drops or jacks 1907 5,269 16,065 15,947 2,146 13, 801 118 4,223,303 3,228,394 1902 4,151 10, 896 10,842 837 10,005 54 2,447,403 (') Per cent of increase. 26.9 47.4 47.1 156.4 37.9 118.5 72.6 ' Not reported separately. Three kinds of boards are shown: The manual com- mon-battery, the manual magneto, and the automatic. Manual switchboards are in use in the great majority of exchanges. Such switchboards formed 99.3 per cent of the total number of boards in operation during 1907, the number reported in that year being an in- crease of 5,105 over the number reported for 1902. The magneto board is especially serviceable in systems that have comparatively few and widely scattered subscribers, and as a large number of small exchanges have been established in the rural districts since 1902, the actual increase has been much larger in this style of board than in any other. The common-battery board is used to the greatest advantage by the large companies in cities where the number of subscribers is large, and although the demand for this style of board, as compared with that for the magneto board, is limited, the number in use in 1907 is an increase of 1,309 over the corresponding total for 1902. While the number of automatic switchboards in use in 1907 was comparatively small, being only 118, it was more than double the number in 1902. The total capacity of all switchboards was reported for 1902 as 2,447,403 lines, but it is evident that the inquiry on this subject was not clearly understood. Some companies gave the total possible installation equipment, while others reported the number of lines actually in use. In 1907 the capacity was obtained for drops or jacks both in use and equipped ready for use. In addition to the 4,223,309 drops or jacks equipped ready for use in the exchanges of the commercial and mutual systems, there were 39,947 drops or jacks in use on separate toll switchboards of commercial sys- tems, making a total equipped capacity of 4,263,256 drops or jacks. The number of drops or jacks in use in 1907 on each class of switchboard is shown in Table 25. Table 25. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Drops or jacks in use, by kind of switchboard: 1907. [Exclusive of independent farmer or rural lines.] Subscribers' switchboards, total Manual Common-battery Magneto Automatic Number of switch- boards. 16,065 15,947 2,146 13,801 118 Number of drops or jacks in use. 3,228,394 3,137,275 1,917,106 1,220,169 91,119 The average number of drops or jacks in use per switchboard was 893 for the common-battery type, 88 for the magneto style, 772 for the automatic variety, and 201 for all subscribers' switchboards. The aver- age per switchboard for the total number equipped was 263 in 1907 as compared with 225 in 1902. In addi- tion to the foregoing there were 514 incoming trunk switchboards and 1,387 separate toll switchboards, the latter having 39,947 drops, or an average of 29 per switchboard. The existence of party lines, private- branch exchanges on which there are a number of tel- ephones connected with the public exchange by a sin- gle wire, independent farmer or rural lines, and other PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT. 33 small systems which have no switchboards makes it impossible to establish any relation between the equip- ment of switchboards and the number of telephones installed for use. Power-plant equipment. — The power-plant equipment of the central office pertains almost exclusively to the exchanges of the commercial companies. The only items reported by the mutual systems for 1907 were 958 ringers and 11,273 primary-battery cells. In the small systems and the independent farmer or rural lines the amount of current used is so small and the primary equipment employed so unimportant that no effort was made to collect statistics for such systems and lines. Table 26 presents the comparative statistics for the chief elements of the physical equipment of the ex- changes or central offices, other than switchboards. Table 26. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Exchange or central office power-plant equipment: 1907 and 1902. [Exclusive of independent farmer or rural lines.] Eugines, horsepower Dynamos, horsepower Electric motors, horsepower Hand magneto generators, and power-driven ring- ers in central offices, number Batteries: Primary, number of cells Storage, number of cells 1907 5,493.1 12,122.7 10, 592. 7 25,453 525,710 42,234 1902 2, 750. 5 5, 459. 1 4,209.8 14,931 110, 648 19,001 Per cent of 99.7 122.1 151.6 70.5 375.1 122.3 The larger common-battery offices have a compli- cated and elaborate equipment, of which only the prin- cipal units are shown in the census statistics. In 1902, 26 companies reported 196 steam, gas, or gasoline en- gines as the primary power employed in the generation of the electric current required for their lines. In 1907, 81 companies reported 488 of these engines, and an increase of 2,742.6 horsepower over that of 1902. Between 1902 and 1907 gas engines came into com- mon use. In 1907 only 16 of the engines, with a com- bined horsepower amounting to 851.3, were steam, while 472, with a combined horsepower amounting to 4,641.8, were gas. In 1902 there were 196 engines, all told, in use. The engines are of small capacity, the average for 1902 being 14 horsepower and that for 1907, 11.3 horsepower. The steam engines in use in 1907 averaged 53.2 horsepower and the gas engines 9.8 horsepower. The dynamos and electric motors are not to be taken as interdependent nor are the dynamos to be consid- ered in relation to the engine power. In many cases motor generators or dynamotors using purchased cur- rent were employed, and there is much uncertainty as to whether they were reported as motors or generators, or under both heads. Primary and storage batteries are in more common use than either dynamos or mo- tors. ' The total number of cells reported for both vari- eties of batteries in 1902 was 129,649. In 1907 batter- ies were used by 4,950 companies, and the number of cells had increased to 567,944. In 1907, 4,706 compa- nies reported the use of 525,710 primary-battery cells and 515 companies the use of 42,234 storage-battery cells. Hand magneto generators and power-driven ringers were reported as used by 4,927 companies in 1907, and the number of such machines increased by 10,522, or 70.5 per cent, in that year as compared with 1902. WIRE AND LINE CONSTRUCTION. The wire and line construction includes the elec- trical conductors which connect the substations with the central offices, the poles and other structures for their support, and the cables, underground conduits, and subways in which they are carried. The compar- ative statistics relating to these items for 1907 and 1902 are given in Table 27. Table 27. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Number of stations or telephones and miles of wire and line construction: ■ 1907 and 1902. [Exclusive of independent farmer or rural lines.] Number of systems Number of stations or telephones Wire miles, total Open single wire on pole or roof line . ^ In overhead cables In underground subways or conduits . In submarine cables Overhead line construction, miles: Pole line for wires or cables Cable Underground construction, miles: Subways or conduits (street miles) Duct- Owned Leased Cable in subways or conduits Submarine cable, miles 1907 1902 Per cent of increase. '5,269 5,552,929 12,513,075 4,605,929 2,917,114 4,969,302 20,730 4,151 2,315,297 4, 850, 486 2, 369, 914 780,530 1,690,502 9,540 26.9 139.8 158.0 94.4 273.7 194.0 117.3 772,873 25, 108. 1 421,828 8, 104. 5 83.2 209.8 6,679.9 2,660.2 151.1 33, 487. 7 1,344.1 13, 772. 306.0 15, 748. 9 726.0 7,290.6 262.6 112.6 85.1 88.9 16.5 Nearly 13,000,000 miles of wire were in use by the telephone systems of the country at the close of the year 1907. Between 1902 and that year the develop- ment was unprecedented. The tendency to eliminate party lines in the cities and give a separate wire to each subscriber, and the extension of the service into rural districts where the subscribers are widely separated, has resulted in a more rapid increase in the amount of wire than in any other item of equipment. Two interesting points are disclosed by the statistics for commercial and mutual systems, given in Table 27 — a large increase in underground wire and a greatly increased use of cables. In 1902 the wire in overhead construction constituted 65 per cent of all wire for these systems; the wire in underground construction, 34.9 per cent; and the submarine wire, two-tenths of 1 per cent. In 1907 the proportion of wire in overhead construction had decreased to 60.1 per cent of all wire and the pro- portion of underground wire had increased to 39.7 per cent; whereas the submarine wire retained the same ratio as in 1902. Wire in the overhead cables shows the highest percentage of increase for any class of wire, namely, 273.7 per cent. Protected wire, in cables of all kinds, whether overhead, underground, or subma- 34 TELEPHONES. rine, increased from 2,480,572 miles in 1902 to 7,907,146 miles in 1907, or 218.8 per cent, while open wire increased only 94.4 per cent, the lowest rate for any class. The telephone wire mileage of the state of New York exceeds the telegraph wire mileage for the entire coun- try, and in 1907 there were eight states each with more than 500,000 miles of telephone wire. Table 28 gives the telephone wire mileage, including independent farmer or rural lines, of these leading states in 1907 and in 1902. California shows the largest rate of increase among these leading states, followed by Missouri, New York, Indiana, and Illinois, in the order named. Table 28. — All systems and lines — Afiles of wire in slates having over 500,000 miles of wire in 1907: 1907 and 1902. STATE. 1907 1902 Per cent of increase. 1,630,076 1,087,509 986,949 986,053 640,560 543, 114 534,220 530,044 623,625 501,601 428,304 515,892 177,072 144, 437 257, 461 213, 157 161.4 116 8 130.4 Ohio 91.1 261.8 276.0 107.5 148.7 The miles of wire, including farmer or rural lines, in the geographic divisions and the several states in 1907 and 1902 and the increases are graphically shown by the following diagrams: DIVISIONS Diagram 2.— MILES OF WIRE, BY GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907 AND 1902. MILLIONS OF MILES O NORTH CENTRAL 1907 W///////////////////^^^^ 1902 1907 NORTH ATLANTIC r//////////////////^^^^ SOUTH CENTRAL WESTERN 1902 1907 SOUTH ATLANTIC 1907 1902 NEW YORK PENNSYLVANIA ILLINOIS OHIO MISSOURI CALIFORNIA MASSACHUSETTS INDIANA MICHIGAN TEXAS MINNESOTA IOWA NEW JERSEY MARYLAND, DEL. AND D. C. WISCONSIN CONNECTICUT Alio R. I. KANSAS KENTUCKY NEBRASKA WASHINGTON TENNESSEE GEORGIA COLORADO ALABAMA MISSISSIPPI VIRGINIA OKLAHOMA LOUISIANA WEST VIRGINIA ARKANSAS MAINE UTAH and WYOMING OREGON NORTH CAROLINA SOUTH DAKOTA NORTH DAKOTA SOUTH CAROLINA NEW HAMPSHIRE IDAHO VERMONT FLORIDA MONTANA NEW MEXICO ARIZONA NEVADA Diagram 3.— MILES OF WIRE, BY STATES: 1907 AND 1902. THOUSANDS OF MILES too, 400 eoo 800 1000 ] 1902 (35) 36 TELEPHONES. Overhead, underground, and submarine wires. — Not including the 486,294 miles of wire on the independent farmer or rural lines, the largest amount, 7,523,043 miles, is of overhead construction. This includes 4,605,929 miles of openjwire and 2,917,114 miles of wire in cables. This overhead wire is supported by 772,873 miles of pole line; but some of it is on houses and other structures, concerning which no statistics could be gathered. The miles of wire per mile of pole line increased from 5.6 in 1902 to 6 in 1907. Their overhead wire is being removed rapidly by the compa- nies operating in the large cities, and their underground construction, therefore, is being increased proportion- ately. The amount of single wire underground was 3,278,800 miles greater in 1907 than in 1902. In 1907, 6,679.9 miles of street were occupied by sub- ways or conduits used for telephone wires compared with 2,660.2 miles so occupied in 1902, and the miles of single duct also had more than doubled within the five years. Practically all of the wire underground and a large proportion of that overhead is now carried in cables. This method of carrying a number of wires to some central or convenient point for distribution is becoming very general in the urban districts, and in 1907 the total amount of cable in use was more than two and a half times as great as it was in 1902. Not only has the length of cable increased greatly since 1902, but there has apparently been a material increase in its size, the average miles of wire per mile of cable, in overhead cables, being 96 for 1902 and 116 for 1907. The increase in miles of submarine cable is comparatively small, but the increase in miles of wire in submarine cables shows the use of larger cables, the average miles of wire per mile of submarine cable being 68 in 1907 compared with 36 in 1902. Wire on urban and rural lines. — Municipalities hav- ing a population of 4,000 or over in 1900 are classed as urban districts. Of the 368 mutual companies, only six had their principal central offices or exchanges in cities or towns of this size; and of the 2,993 telephones of these six companies, all but 183 were on rural lines. The installations of mutual companies in places with a population of at least 4,000 are, therefore, so small that they may be disregarded, and statistics for urban dis- tricts may be considered as confined to commercial companies, as was the case in the report for 1902. In Table 29 the miles of wire in urban and in rural districts are shown for 1907 and 1902, the statistics for rural lines including the miles of wire for the six mutual companies mentioned above in the case of 1907, and for similarly situated companies in the case of the previous census. Table 29. — All systems and lines — Miles of wire in urban and in rural districts: 1907 and 1902. MILES OF WISE. CLASS OF DISTRICT. 1907 1902 Per cent of increase. Total 12,999,369 4,900,451 Urban i 11,294,797 1,704,572 4,361,013 539, 438 216.0 1 Systems in cities having a population of 4,000 and over in 1900. Wire on nonrural and rural lines. — Another differen- tiation of the statistics is that for rural and nonrural lines, the latter comprising practically all of the lines of the commercial systems, except the farmer or rural lines owned by them. As before explained, so nearly all of the mutual systems are rural that all of them have been counted so. Table 30 presents the statistics of the mileage of wire for the nonrural commercial lines and for all rural lines. PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT. 37 Table 30.— ALL SYSTEMS AND LINES, CLASSIFIED AS NONRURAL (COMMERCIAL) AND RURAL LINES— MILES OF WIRE, BY STATES AND TERRITORIES AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907 AND 1902. STATE OR TEKKITOKY. United States North Atlantic division , Maine New Hampshire Vermont Massachusetts Connecticut and Rhode Island New York New Jersey Pennsylvania South Atlantic division T Maryland, Delaware, and District of Columbia Virginia West Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia. .' Florida North Central division Ohio Indiana Illinois Michigan Wisconsin Minnesota Iowa Census. 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 190* J902 ,1907 1902 MILES OF WIKE. All systems and lines. 12,999,369 4,900,451 4,054,058 1,670,180 94,073 25,451 49,448 18,390 36,419 16,379 534,220 257,461 283,705 90,656 1,630,076 623, 625 338,608 136,617 1,087,509 501,601 875,173 328,022 312,282 107,827 108,588 46,678 99,844 56,812 83,251 26,120 50,226 19,445 187,904 54,301 33,078 16,839 5,351,409 2,054,435 986,053 515,892 530,044 213, 157 986,949 428,304 494, 612 197,863 310, 363 . 110,929 387,758 .137,274. 360,884 147,586 Nonrural (commer- cial) lines. 11,408,129 4,641,145 3,873,613 1,652,111 73,290 21,582 39, 716 17,391 22,684 13,054 626, 728 257,313 281,674 90,587 1,556,410 618,933 334, 674 136, 617 1,038,437 496, 634 787,653 310, 198 302,975 107, 665 92, 318 75,645 54,767 67,316 22,628 43,389 16,951 179, 265 52,890 26,745 16,234 4,265,146 1,848,775 827,403 493, 135 404,419 184, 777 820,302 380,841 416, 700 186,892 259,820 102,061 321,458 128,964 238,353 107,335 Sural lines. Total. 1,591,240 259,306 180, 445 18,069 20,783 3,869 9,732 999 13,735 3,325 7,492 148 2,031 73,666 4,692 :,934 49,072 4,967 87,520 17,824 9,307 162 16,270 7,615 24,199 2,045 15,935 3,492 6,837 2,494 8,639 1,411 6,333 605 1,086,263 205,660 158, 650 22,757 125,625 28,380 166,647 47,463 77,912 10,971 66,300 8,310 122, 531 40,251 Owned by commercial companies. 1,009,913 138, 426 141,259 14, 152 17,742 3,776 8,741 10,078 3,203 7,245 148 60,300 2,382 3,839 31,418 3,585 47, 207 '7,629 9,031 81 5,962 3,391 12,671 555 6,077 1,419 2,895 1,337 5,262 622 224 701,485 108, 475 130,511 17,983 92, 220 15,602 106,402 26,516 65,108 7,293 33, 457 4,212 47, 791 5,593 57,275 14,516 Mutual and Inde- pendent farmer or rural lines. 581,327 120,880 39, 186 3,917 3,041 93 991 3,657 122 135 10 13,366 2,310 95 17,654 1,382 40, 313 10, 195 276 81 10,308 4,224 11,528 1,490 9,858 2,073 3,942 1,157 3,377 1,024 381 384,778 97,185 28,139 4,774 33,405 12, 778 60, 245 20,947 12, 807 3,678 17,086 4,656 18,509 2, 7.17 65,256 25,735 Per cent of aggregate. Nonrural (commer- cial). 87.8 94.7 77.9 84.8 80.3 94.6 62. 3 79.7 99.3 99.9 95.5 99.2 100.0 9.5.5 99 90.0 94.6 97.0 99.8 85.0 83.7 75.8 96.4 86.6 86.4 87.2 95 4 97.4 79 7 90.0 83 • 95.i 76.3 86.7 83.1 84.2 94.5 83 7 92.0 82.9 93.9 66.0 72.7 Rural. 12.2 5.3 4.5 1.1 22.1 15.2 19.7 5.4 37.7 20.3 1.4 0.1 0.7 0.1 4.5 0.8 1.2 4.5 1.0 10.0 5.4 3.0 0.2 15.0 16.3 24.2 19.1 13.4 13.6 12.8 4.6 2.6 19,1 3.6 20 3 10 16.1 4 4 23.7 13 3 lfi. 9 11.1 15 8 5 5 16.3 8.0 17.1 6.1 34.0 27.3 38 TELEPHONES. Table 30.— ALL SYSTEMS AND LINES, CLASSIFIED AS NONRURAL (COMMERCIAL) AND RURAL LINES— MILES OF WIRE, BY STATES AND TERRITORIES AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907 AND 1902— Continued. STATE OR TERRITORY. North Central division— Continued. Missouri North Dakota South Dakota Nebraska Kansas South Central division Kentucky Tennessee Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Arkansas Oklahoma Texas Western division Montana Idaho Colorado • New Mexico Arizona Utah and Wyoming Nevada Washington O regon California MILES OF WIRE. All systems and lines. Nonrural (commer- cial) lines. Rural lines. Per cent of aggregate. ensus. Total. Owned by commercial companies. Mutual and inde- pendent farmer or rural lines. Nonrural (commer- cial). Rural. 1907 1902 640,560 177,072 544,249 151,978 96,311 25,094 30,949 6,746 65,362 18,348 85.0 85.8 15.0 14.2 1907 1902 61,733 9,532 34,289 8,880 27,444 652 21,685 612 5,759 40 55.5 93.2 44.5 6.8 1907 1902 66,946 10,877 44,896 10, 165 22,050 712 12,805 395 9,245 317 67.1 93.5 32.9 6.5 1907 1902 257,812 53,285 174,677 44, 430 83,135 8,855 57,787 6,625 25,348 2,230 67.8 83.4 32.2 16.6 1907 1902 267,695 52,664 178,580 49, 317 89,115 3,347 45,498 2,382 43,617 965 66.7 93.6 33.3 6.4 1907 1902 1,514,477 541,973 1,367,929 528,084 146,548 13,889 71,827- 6,564 74,721 7,325 90.3 97.4 9.7 2.6 1907 1902 262,691 155,482 249,095 152,807 13,596 2,675 4,195 471 9,401 2,204 94.8 98.3 5.2 1.7 1907 1902 202,505 86,640 186, 726 83,429 15,779 3,211 8,896 1,083 6,883 2,128 92.2 96.3 7.8 3.7 1907 1902 134,337 32,966 128,345 32,295 5,992 671 792 263 5,200 408 95.5 98.0 4.5 2.0 1907 1902 115,338 30,001 106,682 28,728 8,656 1,273 2,861 655 5,795 618 92.5 95.8 7.5 4.2 1907 1902 101,325 49,588 99,596 49, 160 1,729 428 280 199 1,449 229 98.3 99.1 1.7 0.9 1907 1902 98,932 24,273 84,641 23,916 14,291 357 4,757 274 9,534 83 85.6 98.5 14.4 1.5 1907 1902 104, 780 21,498 83,291 21,098 21,489 400 7,349 265 14,140 135 79.5 98.1 20.5 1.9 1907 1902 494,569 141,525 429, 553 136, 651 65,016 4,874 42,697 3,354 22,319 1,520 86.9 96.6 13.1 3.4 1907 1902 1,204,252 305,841 1, 113, 788 301,977 90,464 3,864 48, 135 1,606 42,329 2,258 92.5 98.7 7.5 1.3 1907 1902 28,386 8,609 23,730 8,397 4,656 212 1,440 3,216 212 83.6 97.5 16.4 2.5 1907 1902 37,364 6,366 29,727 6,221 7,637 145 5,803 10 1,834 135 79.6 97.7 20.4 2.3 1907 1902 173,633 52, 115 162,101 51,784 11,532 331 8,022 261 3,510 70 93.4 99.4 6.6 0.6 1907 1902 12,506 3,366 10,958 3,192 1,548 174 828 91 720 83 87.6 94.8 12.4 5.2 1907 1902 10, 277 3,890 9,199 3,696 1,078 194 509 146 569 48 89.5 95.0 10.5 5.0 1907 1902 92,396 13,106 86,016 13,011 6,380 95 4,140 2,240 95 93.1 99.3 6.9 0.7 1907 1902 10,043 1,394 8,847 1,220 1,196 174 992 204 174 88.1 87.5 11.9 12.5 1907 1902 208,810 43, 027 87,723 29,531 189,606 42,903 74,629 28,523 19,204 124 13,094 1,008 7,569 124 3,473 535 11,635 90.8 99.7 85.1 96.6 9.2 0.3 1907 1902 9,621 473 14.9 3.4 1907 1902 543,114 144, 437 518,975 143, 030 24, 139 1,407 15,359 439 8,780 968 95.6 99.0 4.4 1.0 By a comparison of the nonrural wire mileage of Table 30 with the urban wire mileage for cities of 4,000 population and over in the preceding table, it is seen that the differences between the two are not large for either 1902 or 1907, and that with the exception of 113,332 miles, which represents practically the wire of commercial companies having their exchanges in towns of less than 4,000 inhabitants and forms less than 1 per cent of the total mileage of wire reported in 1907, all nonrural (commercial) wire was in urban districts of 4,000 inhabitants or over. PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT. 39 Table 31 gives the percentages of the increase be- tween the years 1902 and 1907 for the nonrural and the rural wire, by geographic divisions. Table 31. — All systems and lines, classified as nonrural (com- mercial), and rural lines — Per cent of increase in miles of wire, by geographic divisions: 190B to 1907. PER CENT OF INCREASE, MILES OF 'WIRE. All systems and lines. Nonrural (com- mercial) lines. Rural lines. DIVISION. Total. Owned by com- mercial com- panies. Mutual and inde- pendent farmer or rural lines. 165.3 145.8 513.7 629.6 380.9 142.7 166.8 16a 5 179.4 293.8 134.5 153.9 130.7 159.0 268.8 898.6 391.0 42a 2 955.1 2,241.2 89a 2 sias 546.7 994.3 2,897.2 1, 774. 6 In every division a large preponderance of rural increase is apparent, and in every division, except the North Atlantic, the growth of the rural lines owned by the commercial companies was more rapid than that of the mutual and independent farmer or rural lines. In the Western division the increase of mileage of the rural systems is very remarkable. While the increase of rural mileage in the South Central division, the one which shows the second largest increase, was 955.1 per cent, the increase of rural mileage in the Western division shows the phenomenal rate of 2,241.2 per cent. In this division also the rural increase for commercial companies exceeded that for mutual and independent farmer or rural lines, being 2,897.2 per cent for the former as against 1,774.6 per cent for the latter. Consumption of poles. — To keep up and supply ex- tensions to the many thousands of miles of pole line reported for the commercial and mutual telephone systems requires a large annual expenditure for the purchase of poles. It was impossible to secure any data concerning the number or cost of the poles used on the independent farmer or rural lines, but Table 32 presents the statistics for the poles purchased by all other telephone systems during the year 1907. Table 32.— COMMERCIAL AND MUTUAL SYSTEMS COMBINED— WOODEN POLES PURCHASED, NUMBER AND COST, BY KIND OF WOOD AND LENGTH OF POLE: 1907. [Exclusive of independent farmer or rural lines.] LENGTH OF POLE. Total: Number •. Cost at point of purchase Average cost per pole . . . Under 20 feet: Number Cost at point of purchase Average cost per pole 20 feet but under 25 feet: Number Cost at point of purchase. Average cost per pole 25 feet but under 30 feet: Number Cost at point of purchase Average cost per pole 30 feet but under 35 feet: Number Cost at point of purchase Average cost per pole 35 feet but under 40 feet: Number Cost at point of purchase Average cost per pole 40 feet but under 45 feet: Number '. Cost at point of purchase Average cost per pole 45 feet but under 50 feet: Number Cost at point of purchase Average cost per pole 50 feet but under 55 feet: Number Cost at point of purchase Average cost per pole 55 feet but under 60 feet: Number Cost at point of purchase Average cost per pole 60 feet and over: Number Cost at point of purchase Average cost per pole Total. KIND OF WOOD. Chest- nut. 4,674 52,818 SO. 60 55,426 $47, 146 $0.85 106, 119 $150,560 $1.42 36,320 $88,621 $2.44 21,682 $75,878 $3.50 11,180 $52, 790 $4.72 4,667 $28,562 $6.12 2,482 $21,601 $8.70 1,100 $10,005 $9.10 642 $10,869 $16.93 Oak. 66,422 $23, 100 $0.35 44,548 $14,248 $0.32 20,323 $7,750 $0.38 1,283 $807 50.63 230 $159 $0.69 25 $26 $1.04 $80 $10. 00 5 $30 $6.00 Pine. 48,043 $47, 472 $0.99 19,526 $8,840 $0.45 20,337 $15,369 $0.76 5,710 $12,305 $2.15 1,748 $6,526 $3.73 563 $2,890 $5.13 49 $435 110 $1,107 $10. 06 Cypress. 22,981 $24, 647 $1.07 3,220 $2,747 $0.85 10,512 $7, 147 $0.68 6,507 $6,607 $1.02 817 $1,376 $1.68 $2,832 $3.27 $2, 245 $2.78 144 $558 $3.88 56 $461 $8.23 53 $674 $12. 72 Juniper. 17,857 $29, 242 $1.64 1,155 $706 $0.61 6,382 $6,344 SO. 99 5,637 $7,045 $1.25 1,499 $3,292 $2.20 1,123 $3,096 32.76 835 $2,950 $3.53 675 $2,878 $4.26 547 $2,891 $5.29 4 $40 $10.00 Tama- rack. 12,827 $6,615 $0.52 760 $883 $1.16 8,948 $3,723 $0.42 2,965 $1,660 $0.56 45 $51 $1.13 109 $298 $2.73 Fir. 6,691 $3,964 $0.59 805 $584 $0.73 870 $335 $0.39 4,689 $2,764 $0.59 225 $176 SO. 78 102 $105 $1.03 Red- wood. All other. 6,598 $10,047 $1.52 3,221 $3,892 $1.21 3,302 $5,854 $1.77 25 $63 $2.52 $227 $4.73 2 $11 $5.50 40 TELEPHONES. No statistics concerning the consumption of poles were collected at the census of 1902. The statistics contained in this table form a part of the annual report of the Bureau of the Census on the consump- tion of forest products. The report on forest products for 1906 shows the purchase of 2,395,722 poles by the telephone and telegraph companies during that year, but does not show separately the number of poles used by the telephone companies. For 1907, however, a separate enumeration was made for each industry. The total number of poles purchased by the telephone and telegraph companies was found to be 2,311,651, and of these, 1,860,937, or 80.5 per cent, were pur- chased by the telephone companies, and 450,714, or 19.5 per cent, by the telegraph companies. Of the poles purchased by the telephone companies, 1,585,- 345, or 85.2 per cent, were cedar or chestnut, and the cost of these two varieties represented 91.3 per cent of the total cost of poles, and an average cost per pole of $1.64. While the poles of the other varieties of wood form comparatively small propor- tions of the total, in the aggregate they amount to 275,592 poles, valued at $247,961. Two-fifths, 40.9 per cent, of the poles had a length of 20 feet and over but under 25 feet, the number of such poles being 761,932. Their cost, however, amounted to only $651,856, or 22.9 per cent of the total cost. Table 33 shows the per cent distribution, by lengths, of the number and cost of poles. Table 33. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Per cent distribution, by lengths, of the number and cost of poles purchased: 1907. LENGTH OF POLE. Total Under 20 feet 20 feet but under 25 feet 25 feet but under 30 feet 30 feet but under 35 feet 35 feet but under 40 feet 40 feet and over PER CENT DISTRI- BUTION. Number of poles. 100.0 15.8 40.9 27.8 7.9 4.5 3.0 Cost of 100.0 6.1 22.9 26.3 16.1 15.0 13.6 STATIONS OR TELEPHONES. The term "station" or "telephone" is intended to cover the complete instrument or the telephone set of transmitter and receiver. A comparative summary of all telephones, distributed by kind of system and kind of station, is given in Table 34. The largest proportionate increase, 376.8 per cent, is in the telephones of the mutual systems and farmer or rural lines. The telephones on these lines formed 11.3 per cent of all of the telephones in the revenue- producing service in 1907 as compared with 6.1 per cent in 1902. Table 34. — All systems and lines — Number of stations or telephones, by class of service, kindof system, and hind of station: 1907 and 1902. CLASS OF SERVICE, KIND OF SYSTEM, AND KIND OF STATION. For use of public On commercial systems Local and outlying toll For regular exchange subscribers On private-branch exchanges All other On mutual systems and farmer or rural lines For exclusive use of companies On commercial systems On mutual systems NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELE- PHONES. 1907 6,118, 5,426, 156, 4,753, 459, 57, 691 578 973 720 983 083 187 605 49,106 49,033 2,371,044 2,225,981 80,468 2,145,513 145,063 C) Per cent of increase. 158.1 143.8 94.8 145.6 376.8 J Not reported. The reports for 1902 did not show the number of the telephones that were used by the companies in their own service and consequently did not produce revenue. The number of such telephones in 1907 was 49,106. The proportionate increase in local pay and outlying toll stations is smaller than that for any other class. The "all-other" class consists chiefly of extension sets for house, office, or desk and the extra telephones on lines having two tele- phones. In 1902 stations of the "all-other" class and those on private-branch exchanges were not re- ported separately, but were included with those of regular exchange subscribers. Table 35 shows the number of urban and rural telephones in 1907 and in 1902 and the percentages of increase during the five years. Table 35 . — All systems and lines — Number of stations or telephones in urban and in rural districts: 1907 and 1902. NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELE- PHONES. CLASS OF DISTRICT. 1907 1902 Per cent of increase. Total 6,118,578 2,371,044 158.1 4,290,160 1,828,418 1,823,956 547,088 135.2 234.2 ' Systems in cities having a population of 4,000 and over in 1900. The percentage of increase for the rural telephones is larger than that for the urban, and telephones of the former class have increased from 23.1 per cent of the total number in 1902 to 29.8 per cent in 1907. A comparison for urban and rural districts of the number of stations or telephones with the miles of wire gives an average of 2.6 miles of wire per tele- phone for the urban districts in 1907 as against 2.4 miles in 1902; and an average of 0.9 mile of wire per telephone for rural districts in 1907 as against 1 mile in 1902. The large excess in miles of wire per telephone for urban districts compared with rural districts is due in part to the general use of complete metallic cir- PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT. 41 «uits for urban lines, whereas rural lines as a rule are grounded, and to a considerable extent to the use of cables in urban service, the wire line mileage of a cable when installed being generally considerably in excess of immediate requirements in order to provide for increase in service. There is no clear line of demarcation between urban and rural telephone equipment. The statistics for the systems which have their principal offices in places with a population, of 4,000 and over are given above as representing the urban districts. The classification, however, is unsatisfactory, because many of these systems extend their lines into the surrounding rural districts. The commercial companies naturally es- tablish systems in the cities, where there is the greatest amount of traffic. They, however, reported sepa- rately the number of telephones on their rural lines and these, combined with the instruments of the mutual systems and the farmer or rural lines, give the number that may be accepted as the approximate equipment for the smaller towns and the country districts. This separation is made in Table 36. Table 36.— ALL SYSTEMS AND LINES, CLASSIFIED AS NONRURAL (COMMERCIAL) AND RURAL LINES— NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELEPHONES, BY STATES AND TERRITORIES AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907 AND 1902. STATE OK TERRITORY. United States North Atlantic division Maine New Hampshire Vermont Massachusetts Connecticut and Rhode Island New York New Jersey Pennsylvania South Atlantic division Maryland, Delaware, and District of Columbia Virginia West Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida North Central division Ohio Indiana Illinois Michigan Wisconsin Census. 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELEPHONES. Aggregate. 6,118,578 2,371,044 1,663,172 649,221 53,134 14,070 28,920 9,949 30,833 12,151 209,383 96,512 87,999 33,485 685,512 247,340 116,988 450,403 186,734 365,764 146,765 110,282 36,383 55,541 25,762 62, 144 22,801 37, 104 17,036 20,911 10,753 62,260 25,761 17,522 2,963,945 1,139,914 495,636 224,083 289,452 136,561 558,585 221,008 209,842 95,415 158,875 62,992 Nonrural (commer- cial) lines. 4,653,805 2,104,076 1,498,240 630,515 35,994 10,161 20,969 9,045 17,648 8,584 200,655 96,315 86,805 33,372 615,640 240,762 112,460 301,615 135,497 105,209 36,289 40,386 20, 163 37,910 20,962 28, 114 15,203 17,815 9,733 56, 444 25,113 15,737 8,034 1,906,902 913,308 364,472 199,847 174,366 108,371 388,242 171,568 152,940 85,607 112,111 52,543 Rural lines. Total. 1,464,773 266,968 164,932 18,706 17,140 3,909 7,951 904 13,185 3,567 8,728 197 1,194 113 69,872 6,578 4,528 42,334 3,438 64,149 11,268 5,073 94 15,155 5,599 24,234 1,839 8,990 1,833 3,096 1,020 5,816 648 1,785 235 1,057,043 226, 606 131,164 24,236 115,086 28, 190 170,343 49,440 56,902 46,764 10,449 Owned by commercial companies. Mutual and independ- ent farmer or rural lines. 773,168 121,905 112,601 12,499 12,713 3,778 6,908 904 8,207 3,355 8,311 197 1,013 48,743 2,404 4,396 22,310 1,793 25,542 3,822 4,646 42 4,491 1,626 7,217 531 3,004 1,621 550 3,278 267 1,285 138 562,545 100, 856 94, 132 16,884 74,390 14,428 87,757 22,788 40,863 4,984 26,571 4,639 691,605 145,063 52,331 6,207 4,427 131 1,043 4,978 212 181 45 21,129 4,174 132 20,024 1,645 38", 607 7,446 427 52 10,664 3,973 17,017 1,308 5,986 1,165 1,475 470 2,538 381 500 97 494,498 125,750 37,032 7,352 40,696 13,762 82,586 26,652 16,039 4,824 20,193 5,810 Per cent of aggregate. Non- rural (com- mer- cial). 76.1 88.7 90.1 97.1 67.7 72.2 72.5 90.9 57.2 70.6 9.8 89.8 97.3 96.1 100.0 90.6 98.2 82.5 92.3 95.4 99.7 72.7 78.3 61.0 91.9 75.8 85.2 90.5 90.7 97.5 64.3 80.1 73.5 89.2 60.2 79.4 69.5 77.6 72.9 89.7 70.6 83.4 Rural. 23.9 11.3 9.9 2.9 32.3 27.8 27.5 9.1 42.8 29.4 4.2 0.2 1.4 0.3 10.2 2.7 3.9 9.4 1.8 17.5 7.7 4.6 0.3 27.3 21.7 39.0 8.1 24.2 10.8 14.8 9.5 9.3 2.5 10.2 2.8 35.7 19.9 26.5 10.8 39.8 20.6 30.5 22.4 27.1 10.3 29.4 10.6 42 TELEPHONES. Table 36.— ALL SYSTEMS AND LINES, CLASSIFIED AS NONRURAL (COMMERCIAL) AND RURAL LINES— NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELEPHONES, BY STATES AND TERRITORIES AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907 AND 1902— Continued. STATE OR TERRITORY. North Central division— Continued. Minnesota Iowa Missouri North Dakota » South Dakota Nebraska Kansas South Central division Kentucky Tennessee Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Arkansas Oklahoma Texas Western division Montana Idaho Colorado New Mexico Arizona Utah and Wyoming.... Nevada Washington Oregon California 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1962 1907 1902 1907 1902 NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELEPHONES. Aggregate. 171,479 63,192 332,545 ' 138,400 312,527 103,155 34,087 6,762 48,405 10,387 152,279 36,766 200,233 41,193 585,489 227,790 93,996 46,949 71,130 36,392 40,481 14,170 37,627 15,340 35,692 17,543 49,576 16,928 68,125 15,732 188,862 64,736 540,208 207,354 17,168 5,451 16,394 3,886 65,908 24,533 6,653 2,510 6,203 3,264 37,134 " 7,258 4,601 1,165 98,846 31,447 49,629 21,190 237,672 106,650 Nonrural (commer- cial) lines. 120,585 55,589 158,390 80,036 198,999 76,645 21,187 6,093 26,596 9,807 85,236 29,518 103,778 37,684 469,584 219,961 Rural lines. Total. 50,894 7,'603 174, 155 58,364 113,528 26,510 12,900 669 21,809 580 67,043 7,248 96,455 3,509 115,905 7,829 80,945 44,752 61,067 34,430 35,062 13,879 30,654 14,699 34,432 17,411 37, 173 16,769 43,251 15,462 147,000 62,559 477,464 204,795 13,051 2,197 10,063 1,962 5,419 291 6,973 641 1,260 132 12,403 159 24,874 270 41,862 2,177 62,744 2,559 14,779 5,390 12,381 3,793 56,928 . 24,279 6,076 2,432 5,669 3,059 33,548 7,225 3,673 1,143 83,785 31,330 36,921 20,348 223,704 105,796 2,389 61 4,013 93 577 78 534 205 3,586 33 928 22 15,061 117 12,708 842 13,968 854 Owned by commercial companies. 29, 912 4,282 72,295 18,626 31,404 5,764 7,161 598 42,371 4,991 43,597 2,633 41,143 3,546 2,201 3,463 577 826 2,056 332 218 91 3,112 123 7,182 204 22,085 1,687 31,337 1,182 6,983 226 419 49 264 128 830 4,811 117 8,278 385 Mutual and independ- ent farmer or rural lines. 20,982 3,321 101,860 39,738 82,124 20,746 5,739 71 9,717 341 24,672 2,257 52,858 876 74,762 4,283 10,850 1,754 6,600 1,385 202 4,917 309 1,042 41 9,291 17,692 66 19,777 490 31,407 1,377 1,452 61 1,555 84 1,997 28 270 77 1,097 33 22 10,250 8,840 574 469 Per cent of Non- rural (com- mer- cial). 70.3 88.0 47.6 57.8 63.7 74.3 62.2 90.1 54.9 94.4 51.8 91.5 80.2 96.6 86.1 95.3 85.9 94.6 86.6 97.9 81.5 95.8 96.5 99.2 75.0 99.1 63.5 98.3 77.8 96.6 86.1 98.9 75.5 97.6 86.4 99.0 91.3 96.9 91.4 93.7 90.3 99.5 79.8 98.1 84.8 99.6 74.4 96.0 94.1 99.2 Rural. 29.7 12.0 52.4 42.2 36.3 25.7 37.8 9.9 45.1 5.6 44.0 19.7 48.2 8.5 19.8 3.4 13.9 4.7 14.1 5.4 13.4 2.1 18.5 4.2 3.5 0.8 25.0 0.9 36.5 1.7 22.2 3.4 11.6 1.2 13.9 1.1 24.5 2.4 13.6 1.0 8.7 3.1 9.7 0.5 20.2 1.9 15.2 0.4 25.6 4.0 5.9 0.8 PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT. 43 According to this basis of distribution, the distribu- tion for the United States was 76.1 per cent for non- rural and 23.9 per cent for rural districts in 1907, and 88.7 per cent and 11.3 percent fornonrural and rural districts, respectively, in 1902. The majority of the rural telephones are on lines owned and operated by commercial companies. In 1907 these companies re- ported 52.8 per cent and the mutual systems and farmer or rural lines, 47.2 per cent of the 1,464,773 instru- ments shown for the country districts. The rural tele- phones were more numerous in the North Central than in any other geographic division and the greatest num- ber in any one state (174,155) was reported for Iowa. The North Central division also contained the greatest number (1,906,902) of nonrural (commercial) tele- phones; but the state of New York contained 615,640 of the telephones of this class, this number being con- siderably larger than that reported for any other state. The changes in the per cent distribution of. the ag- gregate between 1902 and 1907 shows the propor- tionately larger increase in the rural telephones in all states. This is further shown by Table 37, which gives, by geographic divisions, the percentages of increase of the nonrural and rural telephones. Table 37. — All systems and lines, classified as nonrural (commercial) and rural lines — Per cent of increase in number of stations or tele- phones, by geographic divisions: 1902 to 1907. PER CENT OF INCREASE IN NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELE- PHONES. DIVISION. All systems and lines. Nonrural (commer- cial) lines. Rural lines. Total. Owned by commer- cial com- panies. Mutual and inde- pendent farmer or rural lines. United States.. 158.1 121.2 448.7 534.2 376.8 North Atlantic South Atlantic North Central South Central 156.2 149.2 160.0 157.0 160.5 137.6 122.6 108.8 113.5 133.1 781.7 469.3 366.5 1,380.5 2,351.9 800.9 668.3 457.8 1,060.3 2,551.2 743.1 418.5 293.2 1,645.6 2,180.8 High rates of increase are shown by the telephones on the mutual and the farmer or rural lines, as well as by- those on the rural lines of the commercial com- panies. These rates of increase, while high for all geographic divisions, were especially high in the Western and the South Central states. On the average there was for both 1907 and 1902 about one telephone station to every 2 miles of wire re- ported. In the North and South Atlantic and South Central divisions there was at each census practically one telephone to every 2\ miles of wire, and in the North Central states there was one telephone to every 2 miles of wire in both 1907 and 1902. In the Western states, although both the number of telephones and the miles of wire increased rapidly, the wire increased more rapidly than the telephones and the ratio changed from one telephone to every \\ miles of wire in 1902 to one to every 2\ miles in 1907. ANALYSIS OF PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT. Analysis of the physical equipment of the commer- cial systems, by states and territories and geographic divisions for 1907 and 1902, is given in Table 38. The comparative figures for commercial companies are indicative of the general tendencies of the industry in most of the states. The miles of wire and the num- ber of stations or telephones, the average miles of wire per telephone, and the number of telephones per line and per switchboard indicate the extent of the facili- ties for the telephone traffic in each state; but the comparison made in Table 46 of the number of tele- phones with the population is a more satisfactory indi- cation of the diffusion of the telephone facilities. There are considerable differences in the averages, due largely to the density of the population, the number of party and farmer or rural lines, and the number of branch exchanges. From 1902 to 1907 there was an increase of 0.2 of a mile in the average number of miles of wire per telephone for commercial systems in the United States. This is the combined result of increases in the averages for thirty-five of the states and territories, decreases for thirteen, and an unchanged average in one state — Montana. This is on the as- sumption that changes in averages for state groups hold good for the constituent states of the groups. Three or more miles of wire per telephone were in use in 1907 on the commercial systems in Alabama, Con- necticut and Rhode Island, Georgia, Kentucky, Mis- sissippi, and Tennessee, and with the exception of Kentucky the average in each of these states increased between 1902 and 1907. The highest average per tele- phone, 3.6 miles, is shown for Alabama. In the North Atlantic division as a whole there was a slight decrease in the average miles of wire per tele- phone; but in every other division there was an in- crease, the largest being in the Western division. 44 TELEPHONES. Table 38.— COMMERCIAL SYSTEMS— PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT, BY STATES AND TERRITORIES AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907 AND 1902. [ Exclusive of mutual systems and independent farmer or rural lines.] STATE OR TERRITORY. United States North Atlantic division Maine New Hampshire Vermont Massachusetts Connecticut and Rhode Island. New York New Jersey Pennsylvania South Atlantic division Maryland, Delaware, and District of Columbia. Virginia West Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida North Central division Ohio Indiana Illinois Michigan Wisconsin Minnesota Iowa Missouri North Dakota South Dakota Nebraska Kansas 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 19112 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 Num- ber of sys- tems. 4,901 3,157 5S0 371 265 179 148 77 393 348 2,873 1,856 334 236 349 261 345 243 116 77 216 140 203 120 348 241 274 227 IX' I 74 318 161 MILES OF WIRE. Total. 12, 418, 042 4, 779, 571 4, 014, 1, 666, 32. 16 533, 257, 283, 90, 1,616 621 338, 136 1,069, 500, 834, 317; 312. 107, 73. 24, 46 18 184 53 32 4,966 1,957.: 957. 511 496 200 926 407 481 194 293 106. 369. 134 295 121 575 158, 232 51 224 51 570 Per station or tele- phone. 2.3 2.1 2.5 2.6 1.9 1.8 1.7 1.8 1.3 1.4 2.6 2.7 3.2 2.7 2.4 2.6 2.9 2.8 2.5 2.7 2.6 2.3 2.8 3.0 2.2 1.9 2.0 2.6 2.4 1.5 2.4 1.8 3.1 2.1 1.9 2.0 2.0 1.9 2.1 2.4 2.0 1.0 1.9 2.1 2.5 2.1 2.1 1.9 2.5 2.2 1.3 1.2 2.5 1.9 2.0 1.4 1.5 1.1 1.8 1.5 1.5 1.3 Number of sta- tions or tele- phones. 426, 973 225, 981 ,610,841 643,014 48, 707 13, 939 27, 877 25,855 11, 939 87, 818 33, 440 664,383 243, 166 116,856 48, 980 430, 379 185,089 327, 157 439, 319 109,855 36,331 44,877 21, 789 45, 127 21, 493 31,118 15,871 19, 436 10,283 59, 722 25,380 17,022 8,172 ,469,447 ,014,164 458,604 216,731 248,756 122, 799 475,999 194,356 193,803 90,591 138,682 57, 182 150,497 59,871 230,685 98, 662 230,403 82,409 28, 348 6,691 38, 688 10,046 127, 607 34, 509 147, 375 40, 317 PARTY LINES (CITY AND TOWN). I Num- ber. 854,! 248, '. 2, 036, 583 808, 571 ,470 ,917 ,251 559 ,103 575 974 411 615 ,954 847 ,731 , 063 2,904 Stations or tele- • phones. 827, 208 332, 020 27,061 11, 493 17, 681 7,446 14,600 135,254 69,922 58,014 24,605 235,933 86,200 70,764 28,236 267, 901 95,223 96,158 34, 177 40,361 14,331 11,398 3,905 19, 254 6,254 6,549 1,544 4,861 1,582 11,756 5,618 1,979 943 765,498 264,959 186, 792 60,541 49,596 . 31,087 205,039 66,475 50, 674 13, 208 67,530 23,466 37, 446 17,181 66, 356 17, 649 41,602 15,911 5,652 1,701 10,241 2,768 20, 187 10,589 24,383 4,383 Stations or tele- phones per line. 2.4 3.2 3.5 4.9 3.4 4.5 5.3 4.4 2.9 4.7 2.9 4.2 2.3 3.2 2.5 3.7 2.2 2.6 2.0 2.5 2.0 2.2 2.1 2.4 2.7 4.0 2.0 2.8 1.6 2.8 1.6 2.3 2.0 2.3 2.3 3.2 2.2 4.0 2.8 3.2 2.2 2.7 2.4 3.0 2.0 2.4 2.3 3.6 1.6 3.4 1.9 2.0 2.2 2.6 2.1 3.6 2.2 3.4 FARMER OR RURAL LINES OWNED. Num- ber. 106, 777 15, 598 18, 391 947 1,309 784 42 1,022 -209 962 11 148 9,391 320 870 3,905 297 4,221 674 822 232 932 55 715 144 210 155 550 41 324 35 71,876 13, 186 14,424 2,872 11,957 2,215 11,239 2,925 5,852 3,210 468 2,925 454 6,901 1,672 3,953 735 058 58 942 21 5,214 556 4,601 342 Stations or tele- phones. 773, 168 121, 905 112,601 12, 499 12,713 3,778 6,908 904 8,207 3,355 8,311 197 1,013 68 48, 743 2,404 22,310 1,793 25,542 3,822 4,646 42 4,491 1,626 7,217 531 3,004 668 1,621 550 3,278 267 1,285 138 562, 545 100, 856 94, 132 16,884 74,390 14, 428 87,757 22, 788 40,863 4,984 26,571 4,639 29,912 4,282 72,295 18, 626 31,404 5,764 7,161 12,092 239 42,371 4,991 43,597 2,633 Stations or tele- phones per line. 7.2 7.8 6.1 13.2 9.7 64.0 8.0 16.1 8.6 17.9 5.2 7.5 5.7 6.0 6.1 5.7 7.0 3.5 5.5 7.0 7.7 9.7 4.2 4.6 7.7 3.5 6.0 6.5 7.8 7.6 6.5 5.9 6.2 6.5 7.8 7.8 7.0 5.7 10.2 9.4 10.5 11.1 7.9 7.8 10.9 10.3 12.8 11.4 8.1 9.0 9.5 7.7 SWITCHBOARDS. Num- ber. 15, 232 . 9,954 2,996 2,406 233 112 139 87 127 103 929 691 223 249 965 862 1,182 768 179 111 194 124 213 163 204 124 212 118 69 39 7,209 4,730 1,114 796 785 538 1,085 782 595 479 423 304 449 274 690 561 594 387 201 47 253 105 481 199 533 258 Equipped capacity in drops or iacks. 4, 179, 106 2,395,794 , 126, 301 626, 109 24,709 8,513 13,098 11,057 9,375 125,631 69, 455 57, 461 21, 569 479,279 241,606 91,602 44,423 325,146 222,583 317, 406 169,983 99, 148 33, 596 43, 527 26,539 43,804 33, 571 21, 145 20,186 11,614 58, 762 35,790 18,408 12,460 1,840,664 1, 212, 154 320,081 243,953 212,970 147,302 319,058 240,629 151,107 106, 142 98, 122 58,409 109,074 79,439 149,993 105,959 218, 786 124,445 24, 295 7,404 27, 754 13, 735 87, 074 33, 070 122, 350 51,667 Stations or tele- phones per switch- board. 356 221 538 267 209 124 201 114 204 116 723 411 965 499 715 352 524 197 446 215 277 181 614 327 231 176 212 132 153 12S 175 116 282 215 247 210 343 214 412 272 317 228 326 189 328 188 335 219 331. 176 213 141 142 153 96 265 17* 277 156 1 Including party lines on single-line service at time of reporting. PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT. 45 Table 38.— COMMERCIAL SYSTEMS— PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT, BY STATES AND TERRITORIES AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907 AND 1902— Continued. t Exclusive of mutual systems and independent fanner or rural lines.] Census. Num- ber of sys- tems. MILES OF WIRE. Number of sta- tions or tele- phones. PARTY LINES (CITY AND TOWN).' FARMER OR RURAL LINES OWNED. SWITCHBOARDS. Stations or tele- STATE OE TERRITORY. Total. Per station or tele- phone. Num- ber. Stations or tele- phones. Stations or tele- phones per line. Num- ber. Stations or tele- phones. Stations or tele- phones .per line. Num- ber. Equipped capacity in drops or jacks. phones per switch- board. South Central division 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 190? 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 809 496 1,439,756 534, 648 2.8 2.4 510, 727 223,507 35,673 18,541 80,406 49,483 2.3 2.7 7,195 634 41,143 3,546 5.7 5.6 2,329 1,176 523, 886 285,013 219 190 103 84 44 30 37 43 39 32 22 14 98 76 135 60 331 157 246 86 253,290 153,278 195,622 8,4, 512 129, 137 32,558 109,543 29,383 99,876 49,359 89,398 24, 190 90,640 21,363 472,250 140,005 1,161,923 303,583 3.0 3.4 3.0 2.4 3.6 2.3 3.3 2.0 2.9 2.8 2.2 1.4 1.8 1.4 2.8 2.2 2.3 1.5 83,146 45, 195 64,530 35,007 35,888 13,968 32,710 15,031 34,650 17,502 40,285 16,892 50,433 15, 666 169,085 64,246 508,801 205,977 11,066 4,264 7,395 3,320 4,805 1,329 2,755 1,457 3,255 2,543 723 652 1,861 65 3,813 4,911 102,093 36, 487 26,392 11,118 15,379 8,648 7,707 3,022 6,670 3,730 6,860 6,958 2,931 1,617 3,029 179 11,438 14,211 267,313 127,932 2.4 2.6 2.1 2.6 1.6 2.3 2.4 2.6 2.1 2.7 4.1 2.5 1.6 2.8 3.0 2.9 2.6 3.5 475- 34 752 96 156 11 258 61 41 12 536 48 625 27 4,352 345 5,094 157 2,201 443 3,463 577 826 89 2,056 332 218 91 3,112 123 7,182 204 22,085 1,687 31,337 1,182 4.6 13.0 4.6 6.0 5.3 8.1 8.0 5.4 5.3 7.6 5.8 2.6 11.5 7.6 5.1 4.9 6.2 7.5 347 197 260 151 139 70 180 94 107 62 243 125 282 131 771 346 1,516 874 79,854 65,570 69,093 48, 199 47,324 17, 876 33, 257 21,059 31, 743 17,847 42,493 20,620 49,248 20,622 170,874 73,220 370,849 102,535 240 229 248 232 258 200 182 160 324 282 166 135 179 120 219 186 336 236 21 4 14 6 19 10 25 12 14 10 19 6 10 6 30 4 35 16 59 12 25,170 8,397 35,530 6,231 170, 123 52,045 11,786 3,283 9,708 3,842 90, 156 13,011 9,839 1,220 197, 175 43,027 78, 102 29,058 534,334 143, 469 1.6 1.6 2.4 1.6 2.7 2.1 1.8 1.3 1.6 1.2 2.5 1.8 2.2 1.1 2.2 1.4 1.9 1.4 2.3 1.4 15,716 5,390 14,839 3,802 63, 911 24,505 6,495 2,481 5,933 3,187 36,037 7,225 4,503 1,143 88,596 31,447 40,789 20,616 231,982 106, 181 2,981 956 3,017 456 12,974 4,256 1,000 54 800 295 8,781 1,294 700 205 20,484 5,910 9,602 3,426 41, 754 19,635 5,676 3,169 7,666 1,615 33,529 16, 303 2,124 177 2,405 1,136 18, 771 5,255 2,301 803 56,563 20,543 26,885 12,229 111,393 66,702 1.9 3.3 2.5 3.5 2.6 3.8 2.1 3.3 3.0 3.9 2.1 4.1 3.3 3.9 2.8 3.5 2.8 3.6 2.7 3.4 115 937 8.1 55 32 103 33 157 96 42 12 38 29 97 36 26 10 244 140 203 114 551 372 14,497 4,730 18,008 6,322 44,676 21, 472 7,990 2,535 7,254 2,581 29, 793 5,330 3,290 418 49, 872 11,037 23,631 9,114 171,838 38,996 286 168 355 3 1,105 37 100 9 60 11 406 2,458 9 6,983 226 419 49 264 128 2,489 6.9 3.0 6.3 6.1 4.2 5.4 4.4 11.6 6.1 144 115 407 255 155 Utah and Wyoming 207 156 110 372 201 242 830 3.4 173 114 863 14 396 22 1,452 61 4,811 117 3,868 268 8,278 385 5.6 8.4 9.8 12.2 5.7 6.3 363 225 201 181 421 285 17 8 13,536 4,732 2.1 1.9 6,359 2,493 631 796 1,875 1,595 3.0 2.0 39 1 228 1 5.8 1.0 59 13 5,595 2,850 108 192 7 1 7 7 3 2,198 150 9,874 4,582 1,464 1.5 1.2 3.2 1.9 0.8 1,512 125 3,052 2,368 1,795 97 325 3.4 2 1 36 2 1 221 1.0 1.0 6.1 17 1 12 12 30 1,300 150 2,075 2,700 2,220 89 125 510 796 24 1,490 1,595 60 2.9 2.0 2.5 254 197 Porto Rico z 1 5 5 60 i Including party lines on single-line service at time of reporting. 2 No reports received from Porto Rico in 1902. 46 TELEPHONES. There has also been a marked increase in the average miles of wire per company or system, as shown by Table 39, which presents data for the commercial sys- tems, by geographic divisions. Table 39. — Commercial systems — Miles of wire per system, by geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902. MILES OF WIRE PER SYSTEM. DIVISION. 1907 1902 Per cent of increase. 2,5a4 1,514 67.4 6,922 2,124 1,729 1,780 4,723 4,491 913 1,055 1,078 3,530 54.1 132.6 63.9 65.1 33.8 This analysis is not extended to the states, princi- pally because in many cases the lines of companies extend outside of the limits of the states to which the companies are credited and, inversely, in some states extensive telephone lines are owned by companies credited to other states. The reduction for commercial systems of 25 per cent in the average number of telephones per party line in 1907 as compared with 1902 supports the conclusion that there is a tendency to reduce this class of service to a two-party basis. It will be noticed that for sev- eral states in 1907 the average number of telephones per party line was less than two, which indicates that a considerable number of lines reported as party lines were on a single-line service at the time the reports were made. The explanation is that in many cases new lines built as party lines and charged for at party- line rates have at first but one subscriber. In every state, except Arkansas, Texas, and Vermont, the aver- age number of telephones per party line decreased between 1902 and 1907. In 1907 the largest numbers of telephones per party line were found in Vermont (5.3), Arkansas (4.1), and Maine (3.5). In that year only seven states had an average of three or more, while in 1902, twenty-six states averaged three or over. The average number of telephones per rural line for the country as a whole shows a decrease of 7.7 per cent; in twenty-four states the averages decreased, while in sixteen states they increased. In 1907 the largest average numbers of telephones per rural line were in South Dakota (12.8), Oklahoma (11.5), and North Dakota (10.9). The per cent distribution of the telephones of the commercial companies on single lines, party lines, and rural lines, by geographic divisions, is given in Table 40. Table 4=0. — Commercial systems — Per cent distribution of stations or telephones on single, party, and rural lines, by geographic divi- sions: 1907 and 1902. DIVISION. Census. PER CENT OF TOTAL NUMBER OP STATIONS OK TELEPHONES ON— Single lines. Party lines. Rural lines. 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 48.2 58.2 37.5 36.3 14.2 5.5 41.7 , 46.4 62. 8 72.7 46.2 63.9 7B.2 76.3 41.3 37.3 51.4 51.6 29.4 24.5 31.0 26.1 15.7 22.1 52.5 62.1 7.0 1.9, 7.8 2.7 22.8 South Central 9.9 8.1 1.6 6.2 0.6 In the South Central and South Atlantic divisions telephones on single lines constituted more than one- half of all telephones at each census, while in the West- ern and North Atlantic divisions telephones on party lines were_ in the majority. In the North Central states the single-line telephones were in a majority in 1902, but by 1907 the percentage of single-line tele- phones had been materially reduced, and the tele- phones on the rural lines owned by the commercial companies had increased from 9.9 per cent of the whole to 22.8 per cent. The increase of 132 in the average number of tele- phones per switchboard for the country as a whole is supported by an increase in every state, except North Dakota, which shows practically the same average for both censuses, and New Mexico, which shows a decided decrease. The largest average equipped switchboard capacity, 631 drops or jacks, in 1907 is shown for Con- necticut and Rhode Island combined, and the smallest, 74, for Vermont. There were five states in 1907 in which the average equipped capacity per switchboard exceeded 400 drops and sixteen in which it was less than 200 drops. In 1902 no state had an average of more than 400, and twenty-two states showed aver- ages of less than 200. In thirty states the average number in 1907 is in excess of the average for 1902, and in fifteen states it is less. Table 41 gives the average equipped capacity in drops or jacks per switchboard, for the geographic divisions, in 1907 and in 1902. Table 41. — Commercial systems^Average equipped capacity per switchboard in drops or jacks, by geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902. DIVISION. 1907 1902 274 241 376 269 255 225 245 260 221 256 242 117 PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT. 47 Table 42 gives the statistics of the physical equip- ment of the mutual systems by states and geographic divisions for 1907. As a rule, the mutual systems are much smaller than the commercial. The reports for 1907 showed only 0.8 of a mile of wire per telephone for them as com- pared with 2.3 miles for the commercial companies, and the switchboard average was 151 telephones for mutual systems as compared with 356 for commercial systems. The average for miles of wire per mutual system was 258 for the United States, and ranged from 225 miles for the South Central states to 497 for the South Atlantic. The average number of drops or jacks per switch- board, 53, is correspondingly small. Table 42.— MUTUAL SYSTEMS— PHYSICAL EQUIPMENT, BY STATES AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907. [Exclusive of commercial systems and independent farmer or rural lines.] \ Number of systems. MILES OF WIRE. Number of stations or tele- phones. PARTY TOWN) RURAL LINES (CITY AND AND FARMER OR LINES OWNED. SWITCHBOARDS. Stations or tele- STATE. Total. Per station or tele- phone. Number. Stations or tele- phones. Stations or tele- phones per line. Number. Equip- ped ca- pacity in drops or jacks. phones per switch- board. United States 1 368 95,033 0.8 125,956 12,378 106,966 8.6 833 44,203 151 15 6,687 .8 8,725 763 8,592 11.3 127 1,339 69 5 7 3 15 2,441 1,422 2,824 7,456 .8 .7 .8 .6 3,230 2,131 3,364 12, 273 342 124 297 1,263 3,230 2,076 3,286 11,604 9.4 16.7 11.1 9.2 53 12 62 100 529 230 580 2,376 61 178 54 123 6 9 316 2,490 4,966 75, 142 .9 .5 .8 2,812 9,461 99, 272 208 1,055 9,772 2,343 9,261 81, 848 11.3 8.8 8.4 28 72 569 865 1,511 38,291 100 131 174 Ohio 24 42 63 10 13 6 68 30 3 6 19 32 13 7,309 10,595 16,367 1,247 3,026 1,153 11, 426 7,511 725 1,413 4,468 9,902 2,925 .7 1.0 .8 .6 .8 .8 .6 .7 .9 1.1 .9 .8 .8 10,692 10, 565 21, 722 2,127 3,703 .1,374 18, 453 11,241 774 1,343 5,106 12, 172 3,603 1,347 1,513 2,168 198 324 98 1,645 1,151 53 74 417 784 369 10,004 9,109 18,637 1,739 3,177 1,105 15,046 8,017 447 980 4,163 9,424 3,013 7.4 6.0 8.6 8.8 9.8 11.3 9.1 7.0 8.4 13.2 10.0 12.0 8.2 71 60 132 16 21 9 72 67 11 6 35 69 25 3,042 5,140 7,480 1,015 1,215 690 6,766 4,745 638 412 1,971 5,177 1,452 151 176 165 133 176 153 256 168 70 224 146 176 144 3 7 3 9 445 1,745 735 2,823 .5 .8 1.4 1.4 891 2,197 515 2,083 132 169 68 211 831 1,810 372 1,909 6.3 10.7 5.5 9.0 4 18 3 12 264 888 300 745 223 122 172 174 3 3 3 1,405 703 715 1.6 .9 1.5 855 756 472 101 56 54 845 596 468 8.4 10.6 8.7 i 3 5 175 420 150 214 252 94 36754°— 10- CHAPTER IT. TELEPHONE TRAFFIC. Messages or talks. — The purpose of a telephone sys- tem is to afford communication between distant points, and the amount or quantity of its business is usually expressed by the number of separate messages or talks that pass over the wires. This, however, is an unsatis- factory means of measurement. A message may repre- sent either a few words or a long conversation and, there- fore, does not indicate the extent to which the equipment is used. Further, it is impossible to obtain even an esti- mate of the number of conversations over the private- branch wires and the party lines which do not require interconnection at the public or central exchanges. To avoid duplications, only originating calls were counted, and local-exchange and long-distance or toll messages were reported separately. Each exchange reporting messages reported all talks originating within its system during the year, and each call was counted as a single message irrespective of its length. All long-distance and toll connections were counted, but free talks were not included. Talks or messages from stations within the same central-office or ex- change district were counted as exchange messages, as they do not include any interchange of business between separate companies or separate exchange systems. Long-distance messages are those between exchange systems of different companies, and toll messages are those between the different exchange systems of the same company. Pay stations are used indiscriminately for exchange and long-distance messages, but it was hoped that all of the commercial companies would have records that would enable the separation to be made between sim- ple exchange connections and extraterritorial work. This, however, was not the case; in fact, 891 commer- cial and 74 mutual companies preserved no records of messages and prepared no estimate of the number of messages passing over their lines during the year. The special agents who secured the reports for these companies could obtain no data on which to base such an estimate, and therefore figures for them were pre- pared in the Census Bureau, the computation being based on the average number of messages per tele- phone as given by the companies which reported both number of telephones and number of messages . Of the 10,978,853,618 exchange messages shown for the com- (48) mercial companies in 1907, 424,964,754, or 4 per cent, were estimated in this manner, and of the 141,013,554 exchange messages reported for the mutual systems, 25,643,150, or 18 per cent, were estimated. In the case of 752 commercial and 62 mutual companies no reports were made for long-distance and toll messages. The figures reported by the other companies were tabu- lated, but there is no satisfactory method of estimating these messages, and the companies which failed to report them were as a rule comparatively small and unimportant, and no estimates for them are included. At the census of 1902, however, in the case of both classes, when the number of messages was not reported by the company, estimates were made in the office. The two principal omissions in the traffic statistics are the interior-service messages or talks over the pri- vate-exchange wires and those over the independent farmer or rural lines. Many of the independent farmer or rural lines are connected with the exchanges of commercial and mutual systems, and their messages are in this way accounted for, as well as the messages emanating on private-exchange systems and passing through public exchanges. Table 43 is a comparative presentation of the number of messages or talks, by geographic divisions, for 1907 and 1902. From the statistics of traffic, it is evident that the increase in business has been in keeping with the increase in equipment. Notwithstanding the fact that the number of long-distance and toll talks reported for 1907 does not include an estimate of such talks for 814 companies, the number shown is a large increase over that for 1902. The very common substitution of the measured serv- ice, or the unit of a "talk" as regulating the charge for telephone service, in place of the " flat " rate, or monthly rental, has undoubtedly tended to reduce the average number of messages per telephone. Table 43 shows that for commercial and mutual systems such a reduc- tion has occurred in the exchange messages for the United States as a whole and for four of the geographic divisions, and in long-distance and toll messages for the United States and each geographic division. The only increase in exchange messages per telephone is in the Western states. TELEPHONE TRAFFIC. 49 Table 43.— COMMERCIAL AND MUTUAL SYSTEMS COMBINED— NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELEPHONES AND MESSAGES OR TALKS, BY GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907 AND 1902. [Exclusive of independent farmer or rural lines.] NUMBER OF STATIONS ESTIMATED NUMBER OF MESSAGES OR TALKS. DIVISION. OB TELEPHONES. Total. Exchange. 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 5,552,929 2,315,297 11,372,605,063 5,070,554,553 11,119,867,172 4,949,849,709 1,619,566 339, 430 2,568,719 514,330 510,884 647,670 143,314 1,091,168 225,999 207, 146 2,617,104,751 827,266,700 5,369,401,249 1,510,432,721 1,048,399,642 1,208,179,198 353,569,870 2,446,257,875 681,497,626 381,059,984 2,480,150,802 816,532,071 5,300,180,655 1,488,482,137 1,034,621,607 1,148,790,742 348,316,683 2,406,919,140 670,995,269 374,827,875 ESTIMATED NUMBER OF MESSAGES OR TALKS— continued. AVERAGE ANNUAL NUMBER OF MESSAGES OK TALKS PER TELEPHONE. DIVISION. Long-distance and toll. Per cent of increase. Total. Exchange. Long-distance and toil. 1907 1902 Total. Ex- change. Long- dis- tance and toll. 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 252,737,891 120,704,844 124.3 124.7 109.4 2,048 2,190 2,003 2,138 46 52 136,953,949 10,734,629 69,220,594 21,950,584 13,878,135 59,388,456 5,243,187 39,338,735 10,502,357 6,232,109 116.6 134.0 119.5 121.6 175.1 115.9 134.4 120.2 121.8 176.0 130.6 104.7 76.0 109.0 122.7 1,616 2,437 2,090 2,937 2,052 1,865 2,467 2,242 3,015 1,840 1,531 2,406 2,063 2,894 2,025 1,774 2,430 2,206 2,969 1,809 85 32 27 43 27 92 37 36 46 30 The estimat ed number of messages and the number per station or telephone per day are given in Table 44 for commercial systems, by states and geographic divi- sions, for 1907 and 1902. Table 44.— COMMERCIAL SYSTEMS— ESTIMATED NUMBER OF MESSAGES OR TALKS AND NUMBER PER STATION PER DAY, BY STATES AND TERRITORIES AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907 AND 1902. STATE OR TERRITORY. United States North Atlantic division Maine New Hampshire Vermont Massachusetts - ." Connecticut and Rhode Island. New York ■ New Jersey Pennsylvania South Atlantic division Maryland, Delaware, and District of Columbia Cen- sus. Virginia . 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 Number of stations or tele- phones. 5,426,973 2,225,981 1,610,841 643,014 48,707 13,939 27,877 9,949 25,855 11,939 208,966 96, 512 87,818 33,440 664,383 243, 166 116,856 48,980 430,379 185,089 327,157 139, 319 109,855 36,331 44,877 21,789 ESTIMATED NUMBER OF MESSAGES OR TALKS. Total. . Per station or tele- phone per day. 1 11,230,581,856 4,971,413,070 6.4 6.9 2,609,273,944 1,203,979,018 5.0 5.8 78,080,627 21,807,915 4.9 4.8 42,402,448 16,987,012 4.7 5.3 39,524,210 18,911,897 4.7 4.9 299,944,477 183, 115, 320 4.4 5.8 129, 196, 661 57,154,040 4.5 5.3 1,075,575,362 357,638,366 5.0 4.5 142, 190, 149 56, 171, 223 3.7 3.5 802,360,110 492,193,245 5.7 8.2 815, 169, 135 349,373,521 7.7 7.7 169,770,089 70,923,773 4.8 6.0 128,267,680 63,210,726 8.8 8.9 STATE OR TERRITORY. South Atlantic divison — Continued. West Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Georgia Florida North Central division Ohio Indiana Illinois Michigan Wisconsin Minnesota Iowa Missouri Cen- sus. 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 Number of stations or tele- phones. 45,127 21,493 31,118 15,871 19, 436 10,283 59,722 25,380 17,022 8,172 2, 469, 447 1,014,164 458, 604 216, 731 248,756 122,799 475,999 194,356 193,803 90, 591 138, 682 57, 182 150,497 59,871 230,685 98,662 230,403 82,409 ESTIMATED NUMBER OF MESSAGES OR TALKS. Total. 113,549,780 40,700,517 93,987,510 35,891,998 59,627,014 23,732,914 201,302,727 96,079,566 48,664,335 18,834,027 5,254,744,199 2,361,506,911 1,057,477,447 552,344,151 581,106,347 285,297,532 892,982,798 516,214,961 434,276,785 234,515,840 350,601,432 98,033,972 304,767,066 111,464,762 394,151,672 172,778,419 532, 582, 305 229,844,532 Per station or ieie- phone per daj.i 7.7 5.8 9.3 7.0 9.4 7.1 10.4 11.6 7.1 7.8 7.2 7.1 5.8 8.2 6.9 8.0 7.8 5.3 6.2 5.7 5.3 5.4 7.1 8.6 i Computation for 325 days to the year. 50 TELEPHONES. Table H.— COMMERCIAL SYSTEMS— ESTIMATED NUMBER OF MESSAGES OR TALKS AND NUMBER PER STATION PER DAY, BY STATES AND TERRITORIES AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907 AND 1902— Continued. ■ Cen- sus. Number of stations or tele- phones. ESTIMATED NUMBER OF MESSAGES OB TALES. STATE OR TERRITORY. Cen- sus. Number of stations or tele- phones. ESTIMATED NUMBER OP MESSAGES OR TALKS. STATE OR TERRITORY. Total. Per station or tele- phone per day. 1 Total. Per station or tele- phone per day.i North Central division— Continued. 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 28,348 6,691 38,688 10,046 127,607 34,509 147,375 40,317 510,727 223,507 47,495,544 14,015,733 72,980,308 17,674,604 283,999,990 71,150,107 302,322,505 58,172,298 1,506,155,426 677,517,694 5.2 6.4 5.8 5.4 6.8 6.3 6.3 4.4 9.1 9.3 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 508,801 205,977 1,045,239,152 379,035,926 6.3 5.7 15,716 5,390 14,839 3,802 63,911 24,505' 6,495 2,481 5,933 3,187 36,037 7,225 4,503 1,143 88,596 31,447 40,789 20,616 231,982 ■ 106,181 25,503,905 11,319,476 26,047,495 6,399,762 139,516,301 60,237,513 14,163,557 4,297,920 10,879,950 4,952,727 88,437,258 13,524,312 7, 103, 245 1,385,874 204,542,894 64,623,982 86, 966, 609 34,843,668 442,077,938 177,450,692 5.0 6.5 5.4 5.2 6.7 7.6 5.3 5.6 Utah and Wyoming 4.8 83,146 45,195 64,530 35,007 35,888 13,968 32,710 15,031 34,650 17,502 40,285 16,892 50, 433 15,666 169,085 64,246 287, 586, 344 141,829,819 239,360,155 125,995,719 107,545,457 46,049,758 126,347,504 60,369,711 122,225,846 68,076,915 86, 213, 439 36,716,883 130,912,291 31,617,627 405,964,390 166,861,262 10.6 9.7 11.4 11.1 9.2 10.1 11.9 12.4 10.9 12.0 6.6 6.7 8.0 6.2 7.4 8.0 7.6 5.8 4.9 3.7 7.1 6.3 6.6 5.2 5.9 5.1 6,359 2,493 8,860,572 3,461,000 4.3 4.3 1,512 125 3,052 2,368 1,795 1,243,548 200,000 3,937,985 3,261,000 3,679,039 2.5 Hawaii 4.9 4.0 Porto Rico s 4.2 6.3 1 Computation for 325 days to the year. The comparative figures for the commercial com- panies are indicative of the general tendencies of the industry in most of the states: While the equipment has a bearing on the traffic, local conditions, social and business customs, telephone charges, and perfection of facilities are important factors controlling the traffic. These and the fact that the number of messages is largely an estimate must be given due consideration. In 1907 as com- pared with 1902 the total number of messages on commercial lines increased in every state, but the average number per telephone per day, as shown by Table 44, decreased in twenty-four and increased in twenty-five of the states, assuming that the change in a state group holds good for the individual states of the group. The increase in number of messages for the com- mercial lines was comparatively uniform for all sec- tions. For the United States the rate of increase from 1902 to 1907 was 125.9 per cent, and for the separate geographic divisions it ranged from a min- imum of 116.7 per cent for the North Atlantic states to a maximum of 175.8 per cent for the Western states. In computing the average number of messages per day 325 has been used as the divisor, because it represents, as a rule, the number of days on which the switchboards are operated to their full capacity during a year. The average thus obtained is prob- ably a better indication of the actual conditions prevailing in the commercial companies than it is of those in the mutual systems. ' No reports received from Porto Rico in 1902. Table 45. — Mutual systems — Estimated number of messages or talks and number per station per day, by states and geographic divisions: 1907. United States North Atlantic division Vermont and Maine New York Pennsylvania South Atlantic division Virginia West Virginia North Central division Ohio Indiana Illinois Michigan Wisconsin Minnesota Iowa Missouri North Dakota South Dakota Nebraska Kansas South Central division Kentucky and Tennessee Oklahoma and Arkansas. Texas Western division Washington Oregon California and Colorado... Number of stations or tele- phones. 125,956 8,725 3,230 2,131 3,364 12,273 2,812 9,461 99,272 10, 692 10, 565 21,722 2,127 3,703 1,374 18,453 11,241 774 1,343 5,106 12, 172 2,197 515 855 756 472 ESTIMATED NUMBER OF MESSAGES OR TALKS. Total. 142,023,207 7,830,807 2,586,290 1,973,017 3,271,500 12,097,565 2,091,301 10,006,264 114,657,050 11,556,844 17,099,261 22,311,177 3,527,368 3,508,446 1,138,976 20,922,099 11,750,380 1,255,350 725,090 6,560,754 14,301,305 4,277,295 569,810 2,751,275 956,210 3,160,490 1,273,950 800,000 1,086,540 Per sta- tion or tele- phone per day. 1 3.5 2.5 2.8 3.0 3.0 2.3 3.3 3.6 3.3 5.0 3.2 5.1 2.9 2.6 3.5 3.2 5.0 1.7 4.0 3.6 3.7 2.0 3.9 5.7 4.7 4.6 3.3 7.1 ' Computation for 325 days to the year. TELEPHONE TRAFFIC. 51 In 1907 twenty-two states and territories, including the District of Columbia, reported no mutual systems, but statistics for such systems for the twenty-seven states reporting them are given in Table 45, page 50. For the reasons given on page 11 it is impossible to make satisfactory comparisons of the statistics of traffic for the mutual systems as reported for 1907 and 1902. Traffic in relation to population. — The fact that the number of conversations over the independent farmer or rural lines was not directly or fully reported affects to some extent the ratios between the telephones, the messages, and the population. Yet the compari- sons between telephones, messages, and population in Table 46, though confined to the commercial and mutual systems, may be accepted as fairly indicating actual conditions, since in some states the independ- ent farmer or rural lines were not numerous, and since certain of their messages were indirectly reported because of connections with commercial and mutual switchboards. Table 46.— COMMERCIAL AND MUTUAL SYSTEMS COMBINED— STATIONS OR TELEPHONES, MESSAGES, AND POPU- LATION, BY STATES AND TERRITORIES AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907 AND 1902. [Exclusive of independent farmer or rural lines.] STATE OR TERRITORY. NUMBER OF STATIONS OB TELEPHONES. ESTIMATED NUMBER OF MESSAGES OB TALKS. POPULATION. 1 STATIONS OB TELE- PHONES PEE 1,000 OF POPULA- TION. NUMBEE OF MES- SAGES PEE CAPITA. NUMBEE OF MESSAGES OB TALKS PEE STATION OB TELEPHONE PEE YEAR. 1907 1902 Per cent of in- crease. 1907 1902 Per cent of in- crease. 1907 1902 Per cent of in- crease. 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 United States 5,552,929 2,315,297 139.8 11,372,605,063 5,070,554,553 124.3 85, 532, 761 78,576,436 8.9 65 29 133 65 2,048 2,19i) North Atlantic division 1,619,566 647,670 150.1 2,617,104,751 1, 208, 179, 198 116.6 23,779,013 21,778,196 9.2 68 30 110 55 1,616 1,365 49, 414 27, 877 28, 378 208,966 87,818 666,514 116,856 433, 743 339, 430 14,045 9,949 12, 112 96,512 33, 485 246,015 48,980 186, 572 143, 314 251.8 180.2 134.3 116.5 162.3 170.9 138.6 132.5 136.8 78,827,917 42, 402, 448 41,363,210 299,944,477 129, 196, 561 1,077,548,379 142, 190, 149 805,631,610 827,266,700 21,923,915 16,987,012 19,075,847 183,115,320 57,190,040 360,098,123 56, 171, 223 493,617,718 353, 559, 870 259.6 149.6 116.8 63.8 125.9 199.2 153.1 63.2 134.0 717,832 436, 128 351, 495 3,083,013 1,522,625 8,386,673 2, 248, 332 7,032,915 11,574,988 700,072 418,602 345, 885 2,917,796 1,387,122 7,533,011 1,969,821 6,505,887 10,770,414 2.5 4.2 1.6 5.7 9.8 11.3 14.1 8.1 7.5 69 64 81 68 58 79 52 62 29 20 24 35 33 24 33 25 29 13 110 97 118 97 85 128 63 115 71 31 41 55 63 41 48 29 76 33 1,595 1,521 1,458 1,435 1,471 1,617 1,217 1,857 2,437 1,561 1,707 1,575 1,897 1,708 New Hampshire Connecticut and Rhode 1,147 2,646 2,467 South Atlantic division Maryland, Delaware, and District of Co- 109,855 47,689 54,588 31,118 19,436 59,722 17,022 2,568,719 36,383 24, 130 22, 376 16, 252 10,467 25,490 8,216 1,091,168 201.9 97.6 144.0 91.5 85.7 134.3 107.2 135.4 169,770,089 130,358,981 123,556,044 93,987,510 59,627,014 201,302,727 48,664,335 5,369,401,249 70,981,973 65,494,626 41,605,891 36,485,398 23,893,914 96,192,066 18,906,002 2,440,257,875 139.2 99.0 197.0 157.6 149.5 109.3 157.4 119.5 1,798,652 1, 992, 925 1,096,006 2,086,912 1,472,734 2,481,617 646, 142 29,026,645 1,693,019 1, 899, 440 998,004 1,948,984 1,378,150 2, 298, 713 554, 104 27,087,206 6.2 4.9 9.8 7.1 6.9 8.0 16.6 7.2 61 24 50 15 13 ' 24 26 88 2i" 13 22 8 8 11 15 40 94 65 113 45 40 81 75 185 42 34 42 19 17 42 34 90 1,545 2,734 2,263 3,020 3,068 3,371 2,859 2,090 1,951 2,714 1,859 2,245 2,283 3,774 2,301 2,242 North Central division Ohio 469, 296 259,321 497,721 195, 930 142, 385 151,871 249, 138 241,644 29,122 40,031 132,713 159, 547 514,330 222,767 132, 489 211, 187 93,961 61,145 62,039 120,017 93,371 6,762 10,305 36,153 40,972 225, 999 110.7 95.7 135.7 108.5 132.9 144.8 107.6 158.8 330.7 288.5 267.1 289.4 127.6 1,069,034,291 598,205,608 915,293,975 437,804,153 354,109,878 305,906,042 415,073,771 544, 332, 685 48,750,894 73,705,398 290,560,744 316,623,810 1,510,432,721 558,707,801 294, 657, 565 541,161,932 237,695,112 101,594,728 113,124,262 193,054,738 242,309,227 14,106,733 17,919,604 73,227,030 58,699,143 681,497,626 91.3 103.0 69.1 84.2 248.6 170.4 115.0 124.6 245.6 311.3 296.8 439.4 121.6 4,497,198 2,743,305 5,518,190 2,611,790 2,292,911 2,071,318 2,201,331 3,405,901 487,890 476, 631 1,068,849 1,651,331 16,368,558 4,252,372 2,581,575 5,019,628 2,480,764 2,127,974 1,822,106 2,301,427 3,187,031 344,778 429,808 1,087,526 1,452,217 14,651,535 5.8 6.3 9.9 5.3 7.8 13.7 2 4.3 6.9 41.5 10.9 •1.7 13.7 11.7 104 95 90 75 62 73 113 71 60 84 124 97 31 52 51 42 38 29 34 52 29 20 24 33 28 15 238 218 166 168 154 148 189 160 100 155 272 192 92 131 114 108 96 48 62 84 76 41 42 67 40 47 2,278 2,307 1,839 2,234 2,487 2,014 1,666 2,253 1,674 1,841 2,189 1,985 2,937 2,508 2,224 2,562 2,530 1,662 1,823 1,609 2,595 2,086 1,739 2,025 1,433 3,015 South Central division 83,833 64, 734 35,888 32, 710 34,650 40,488 52, 427 169, 600 510,884 46,266 36,060 14,077 15,069 17,509 16,892 15,716 64,410 207, 146 81.2 79.5 154.9 117.1 97.9 139.7 233.6 163.3 146.6 287,929,274 239,587,035 107, 545, 457 126,347,504 122,225,846 , 86,578,439 133,298,566 406, 920, 600 1,048,399,642 143,101,564 128,274,719 46,158,943 60,414,961 68,083,915 36,716,883 31, 667, 627 167,079,014 381,059,984 101.2 86.8 133.0 109.1 79.5 135.8 320.9 143.5 175.1 2, 349, 152 2,197,785 2,049,407 1,734,439 1,565,752 1,439,910 1,414,177 3,617,936 4,783,557 2,202,804 2,070,354 1,891,755 1,603,604 1,434,033 1,347,934 897,748 3,203,303 4,289,085 6.6 6.2 8.3 8.2 9.2 6.8 57.5 12.9 11.5 36 29 18 19 22 28 37 47 107 21 17 7 9 12 13 »18 20 48 123 109 52 73 78 60 94 112 219 65 62 24 38 47 27 «35 52 89 3,435 3,701 2,997 3,863 3,527 2,138 2,543 2,399 2,052 3,093 3,557 3,279 4,009 3,889 2,174 2,015 2,594 1,840 15,716 14,839 64,016 6,495 5,933 36,037 4,503 89,451 41,545 232,349 5,421 3,862 24,533 2,481 3,259 7,232 1,165 31,447 21,172 106, 574 189.9 284.2 160.9 161.8 82.0 398.3 286.5 184.5 96.2 118.0 25,503,905 26,047,495 139,641,301 14,163,557 10,879,950 88, 437, 258 7,103,245 205,816,844 87,766,609 443,039,478 11,352,976 6,451,762 60, 258, 533 4,297,920 5,072,727 13,531,312 1,409,134 64, 623, 982 35,777,238 178,284,400 124.6 303.7 131.7 229.5 114.5 553.6 404.1 218.5 145.3 148.5 313,615 213,028 628, 216 219,830 147, 214 428,458 42,33. 630,712 484, 938 1,675,211 266, 120 176,416 559,715 202, 316 129,869 388,046 41,331 558,055 429,380 1,537,837 17.8 20.8 12.2 8.7 13.4 10.4 2.4 13.0 12.9 8.9 50 70 102 30 40 84 106 142 86 139 20 22 44 12 25 19 28 56 49 69 81 122 222 64 74 206 168 326 181 264 43 37 108 21 39 35 34 116 83 116 1,623 1,755 2,181 2,181 1,834 2,454 1,577 2,301 2,113 1,907 2,094 1,671 2,456 1,732 1,557 1,871 1,210 2,055 1,690 1,673 Utah and Wyoming 6,359 2,493 155.1 8,860,572 3,461,000 156.0 1,334,396 236,703 5 11 7 15 1,393 1,388 1,512 3,052 1,795 125 2,368 1,109.6 28.9 1,243,548 3,937,985 3,679,039 200,000 3,261,000 521.8 20.8 85, 670 198,808 1,049,918 69,900 166,803 22.6 19.2 18 15 2 2 14 15 20 4 3 20 822 1,290 2,050 1,600 1,377 i Official estimates of the Bureau of the Census. a Decrease. s Oklahoma and Indian Territory combined : Oklahoma, 22; Indian Territory, 12. * Oklahoma and Indian Territory combined: Oklahoma, 50; Indian Territory, 19. 6 No reports received from Porto Rico in 1902. 52 TELEPHONES. It is necessary to use the total population in making the comparisons, although this includes many persons too young to use the telephone, as well as those who live in remote districts to which there are no immedi- ate prospects of the service being extended. Since the number of telephones installed increased much more rapidly than the population, the average number of stations or telephones per 1,000 of popula- tion in the United States increased, the increase being from 29 in 1902 to 65 in 1907. Table 47 shows the per- centages of increase for the geographic divisions in 1907 and 1902. Table 47. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Stations or telephones per 1,000 of population, by geographic divisions and per cent of increase: 1907 and 1902. STATIONS OR TELEPHONES PER 1,000 OF POPULATION. ( DIVISION. 1907 1902 Per cent of Increase. 65 29 124.1 68 29 88 31 107 30 13 40 15 48 126.7 123.1 120.0 106.7 Western 122.9 In both 1902 and 1907 the states of the Western division had the largest number of telephones per 1,000 of population, and for both census years the North Central, North Atlantic, South Central, and South Atlantic divisions follow in the order named. The largest percentage of increase in the ratio of tele- phones to population is shown for the North Atlantic division, with the South Atlantic, Western, North Central, and South Central following in the order given. The rank of the states according to telephones per 1,000 of population is of interest as showing their stand- ing with regard to the distribution of telephone facili- ties. This is shown in Table 48 for 1907 and 1902. The very general growth of telephone facilities is shown by the facts that in twenty states in 1907 the number of telephones per 1 ,000 of population was higher than the highest for any state in 1902, and that in 1902 but one state (California) shows an average as high as the average for the United States in 1907. The states showing the highest ratios of increase are Utah and Wyoming combined, 342.1 per cent; Nevada, 278.6 per cent; Nebraska, 275.8 per cent; South Dakota, 250 per cent; and Kansas, 246.4 per cent. Table 48. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — States and territories ranked according to number of stations or telephones per 1,000 of population: 1907 and 1902. Rank of state or ter- ritory. State or territory. Washington California Nebraska Iowa Nevada Ohio Colorado Kansas Indiana Illinois Oregon Utah and Wyoming. South Dakota Vermont New York Michigan Minnesota Missouri Idaho Maine Massachusetts United States... New Hampshire Wisconsin Pennsylvania Maryland, Delaware, and District of Co- lumbia North Dakota Connecticut and Rhode Island New Jersey Montana West Virginia Texas Arizona Oklahoma Kentucky New Mexico Tennessee Arkansas Florida Georgia Virginia Louisiana Mississippi Alabama North Carolina South Carolina Sta- tions or tele- phones per 1,000 of popula- tion. 142 139 124 113 106 104 102 97 9.5 90 86 84 84 81 79 75 73 71 70 1902 Rank of state or ter- ritory. State or territory. California Washington Iowa Ohio Indiana Oregon Colorado Illinois Michigan Vermont Minnesota Massachusetts Nebraska New York Missouri Pennsylvania Wisconsin United States... Kansas Nevada Arizona New Jersey Connecticut and Rhode Island New Hampshire South Dakota West Virginia Idaho Maryland, Delaware, and District of Co- lumbia Kentucky Montana Maine Texas North Dakota Utah and Wyoming. . Oklahoma Tennessee Florida Virginia Arkansas Louisiana New Mexico Georgia Mississippi North Carolina South Carolina Alabama Sta- tions or tele- phones per 1,000 of popu- lation. 56 52 52 51 49 44 42 38 35 34 29 29 29 29 28 28 25 25 24 24 24 22 22 21 21 20 20 20 20 19 18 17 15 13 13 12 12 11 9 The comparison of the number of telephones with the population is the most satisfactory comparison that can be made to show the development which telephone traffic has reached; but the comparisons based on the number of messages, as illustrated by Table 49, page 53, are also instructive. They indicate that the in- crease in the number of telephones has been accom- panied by a greater average number of messages per capita, and that the average number of messages per capita for the country as a whole was more than twice as large in 1907 as in 1902. The highest rate of increase (146.1 per cent) is shown for the Western division and the lowest (95.7 per cent) for the South Central division. TELEPHONE TRAFFIC. 53 Table 49. — Commercial and mutual systems combined— Number of messages per capita, by geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902. NUMBER OF MESSAGES PER CAPITA. DIVISION. 1907 1902 Per cent of increase. 133 65 104.6 110 71 185 92 219 55 33 90 47 89 100.0 115.2 105.6 95.7 146.1 The rank of the states according to the average number of messages per capita in 1907 and 1902 is shown by Table 50. Table 50. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — States and territories ranked according to number of messages per capita: 1907 and 1902. Rank ol state or ter- ritory. State or territory. Washington Nebraska California Ohio Colorado Indiana Utah and Wyoming.. Kansas Iowa Oregon. Michigan Nevada Illinois Missouri South Dakota Wisconsin Minnesota United States.... New York Kentucky Idaho Vermont Pennsylvania West Virginia Texas Maine Tennessee North Dakota Massachusetts New Hampshire Maryland .Delaware, and District of Co- lumbia Oklahoma Connecticut and Rhode Island Georgia Montana Louisiana Florida Arizona .J Mississippi Virginia New Mexico New Jersey Arkansas '. Alabama North Carolina South Carolina Number of mes- sages per capita. 326 272 264 238 222 218 206 192 189 181 168 168 166 160 155 154 148 133 128 123 122 118 115 113 112 110 109 100 97 97 Rank of state or ter- ritory. 1902 State or territory. Number of mes- sages per capita. Ohio California Washington Indiana Colorado Illinois Michigan Iowa Oregon Missouri Pennsylvania Nebraska Kentucky United States Massachusetts Minnesota Tennessee Vermont Texas New York Wisconsin Louisiana Montana Georgia Maryland, Delaware, and District of Co- lumbia South Dakota West Virginia Connecticut and Rhode Island New Hampshire North Dakota Kansas Arizona Mississippi Idaho Oklahoma .• Utah and Wyoming Florida Nevada Virginia Maine New Jersey Arkansas Alabama New Mexico North Carolina South Carolina 131 116 116 114 108 108 96 84 83 76 76 67 65 65 63 62 62 55 52 48 48 47 43 42 42 42 42 41 41 41 40 39 38 37 35 35 34 34 34 31 29 27 24 21 19 17 The foregoing table further illustrates the striking growth in telephone traffic and the pronounced increase in the use of telephones in Western states. In 1907 the averages for eighteen states and that for the United States as a whole ranked above the average for the lead- ing state (Ohio) of 1902. The highest number of mes- sages per capita for 1907 (326) is shown fox Washing- ton state, where there was a high development and a large number of stations per 1,000 of population and where the measured system of payment was not in general use. The lowest average (40) was reported for South Carolina, a state in which telephone develop- ment was relatively low and the number of telephones per 1,000 of population was lowest. The increase in the per capita use of the telephones was accompanied by a slight decrease in the average number of times that each set of instruments was used during the year. The decrease in the number of messages per telephone, however, is shown for less than one-half of the states. It is probable that the averages would be materially changed in a number of the states if it were possible to include all of the traffic over the independent farmer or rural lines. To illustrate this, Table 51 is intro- duced, showing the average number of stations or tele- phones per 1,000 of population for all systems and lines. Table 51. — All systems and lines — Stations or telephones per 1,000 of population, by states and territories and geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902. STATE OR TERRITORY. United States North Atlantic division. Maine. New Hampshire. Vermont. Massachusetts Connecticut and Rhode Island New York New Jersey Pennsylvania South Atlantic division. Cen- sus. Num- ber of systems and lines 1907 22,971 1902 9,136 1907 1,938 1902 575 Maryland, Delaware, and Dis- trict of Columbia Virginia West Virginia. North Carolina South Carolina. Georgia Florida 1907 1902 i Official estimates of the 1907 153 1902 29 1907 58 1902 16 1907 100 1902 1907 38 1902 10 1907 1902 1907 942 1902 340 1907 33 1902 28 1907 597 1902 105 1907 1,373 1902 Number of stations or tele- phones. 118,578 371,044 ,663,172 649, 221 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 23 290 242 195 114 400 206 143 135 224 104 95 45 Bureau 53, 134 14,070 28,920 9,949 30,833 12,151 209,383 96,512 87,999 33,485 685, 512 247,340 116,988 48,980 450,403 186,734 365, 764 146,765 Popula- tion. 1 Stations or tele- phones per 1,000 of popu- lation. 85,532,761 78,576,436 23, 779, 013 21,778,196 110,282 36,383 55,541 25,762 62,144 22, 801 37,104 17, 036 20,911 10,753 62,260 25,761 17,522 8,269 of the Census 717, 832 700,072 436, 128 418,602 351,495 345,885 3,083,013 2,917,796 1,522,625 1,387,122 8,386,673 7,533,011 2,248,332 1/969,821 7,032,915 6,505,887 11,574,988 10,770,414 72 70 30 74 20 66 24 35 70 33 58 24 82 33 52 25 04 29 32 14 1,798,652 1,693,019 1,992,925 1,899,440 1,096,006 998,004 2,086,912 1,948,984 1,472,734 1,378,150 2,481,617 2,298,713 646,142 554, 104 61 21 57 23 25 11 27 15 54 TELEPHONES. Table 51. — All systems and lines — Stations or telephones per 1,000 of population, by states and territories and geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902 — Continued. STATE OK TERRITORY. North Central division. . Ohio Indiana Illinois Michigan Wisconsin Minnesota Iowa Missouri North Dakota South Dakota Nebraska Kansas South Central division. . Kentucky Tennessee Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Arkansas Oklahoma Texas Western division Montana Idaho Colorado New Mexico Arizona Utah and Wyoming Nevada Washington Oregon California Cen- sus. 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1997 1902 Num- ber of systems and lines. 14,563 6,739 1,301 1,817 1,201 534 190 704 269 825 221 3,445 1,527 2,648 1,204 259 32 330 60 130 1,243 184 3,540 820 429 190 214 S3 297 65 271 66 547 81 715 67 1,557 133 97 17 82 10 104 13 47 15 37 12 83 9 480 4 295 25 311 20 Number of stations or tele- phones 2,963,945 1,139,914 495,636 224, 083 289, 452 136,561 558,585 221,008 209,842 95,415 158, 875 62,992 171,479 63,192 332,545 138,400 312,527 103, 155 34,087 6,762 48,405 10,387 152,279 36,766 200,233 41,193 585, 489 227,790 93,996 46,949 71,130 36,392 40,481 14,170 37,627 15,340 35,692 17,543 49, 576 16,928 68, 125 15, 732 188, 862 64,736 540,208 207,354 17,168 5,451 16,394 3,886 65,908 24,533 6,653 2,510 6,203 3,264 37, 134 7,258 4,601 1,165 98, 846 31,447 49,629 21,190 237,672 106,650 Popula- tion.' 29,026,645 27,087,206 4,497,198 4,252,372 2,743,305 2,S81,575 5,518,190 5,019,628 2,611,790 2,480,764 2,292,911 2,127,974 2,071,318 1,822,106 2,201,331 2,301,427 3,405,901 3,187,031 487,890 344,778 476,631 429,808 1,068,849 1,087,526 1,651,331 1,452,217 16,368,558 14,651,535 2,349,152 2,202,804 2,197,785 2,070,354 2,049,407 1,891,755 1,734,439 1,603,604 1,565,752 1,434,033 1,439,910 1,347,934 1,414,177 897,748 3,617,936 3,203,303 4,783,557 4,289,085 313,615 266, 120 213,028 176, 416 628, 216 559, 715 219, 830 202,316 147, 214 129, 869 428,458 388,046 42,335 41,331 630,712 558,055 484,938 429,380 1,675,211 1,537,837 Stations or tele- phones per 1,000 of popu- lation. 102 83 110 53 106 53 101 44 38 30 83 35 151 60 92 32 70 20 102 24 142 34 121 28 40 21 32 18 20 22 10 23 12 34 12 48 18 52 i'u 4S 11 55 20 77 22 105 44 30 12 42 25 87 19 109 28 157 56 102 49 142 i Official estimates of the Bureau of the Census. By comparing the average number of stations or telephones per 1,000 of population for the several states in Table 51, which included telephones on the independent farmer or rural lines, with the state averages for commercial and mutual systems shown in Table 46, it is seen that the inclusion of the instru- ments on the farmer or rural lines increases the aver- age number of telephones per unit of population in a number of states : The average for Iowa changes from 113 to 151 in 1907 and from 52 to 60 in. 1902, and that for Illinois from 90 to 101 in 1907 and from 42 to 44 in 1902. The differences, though not large, are more marked for 1907 than for 1902 on account of the great expansion of the farmer or rural lines during the five years; in 1907, for example, Oklahoma had an average of 37 stations or telephones per 1 000 of population for commercial and mutual systems and of 48 for all systems and lines, whereas in 1902, 18 stations or telephones per 1,000 of population are shown for both cases. In states of lesser telephone density the difference is apparently less: In 1907 North Carolina had an average of 15 stations or tele- phones per 1,000 of population, exclusive of farmer or rural lines, and 18 when such lines are included; in 1902 it showed an average of 8, excluding the tele- phones on farmer or rural lines, and an average of 9, including them. Urban and rural traffic. — While the commercial tele- phone companies were able to report the number of stations or telephones on their farmer or rural lines, it was impossible for them or the mutual systems to give estimates of the number of messages that originated on the rural as distinct from urban lines. It would mani- festly be incorrect to credit all of the traffic of the com- mercial companies to the cities. In compiling Table 52 the systems having their principal central offices or exchanges in municipalities with a population of 4,000 and over at the census of 1900 were counted as urban and all other systems as rural. This presentation is confined to the commercial systems and therefore the figures do not accurately represent the magnitude of either the urban or the rural business. The compari- son, however, is of value because it indicates roughly the relative m importance and increase of the two branches of commercial service. The ratios of increase from 1902 to 1907 are larger for the rural commercial systems than for the urban, and in every particular the former constituted a some- what larger proportionate part in 1907 than in 1902. Conditions surrounding the telephone traffic in large cities are entirely different from those in the small towns and the country. It was impossible to obtain complete statistics of income, expenses, and equip- ment corresponding to the operations within the cor- porate limits of any city. However, the comparison made in Table 53 of the number of stations or tele- TELEPHONE TRAFFIC. 55 phones and the population of certain of the principal cities indicates the relative development of the tele- phone facilities in these cities. These twelve cities had a telephone ratio ranging in 1907 from 113 telephones per 1,000 of inhabitants in Cleveland to 45 in New Orleans, and in 1902 from 62 in Cleveland to 24 in New Orleans. On a popula- tion basis Philadelphia, Pittsburg, and San Francisco rank with the cities shown in the table, but proper data could not be obtained for Philadelphia and Pitts- burg, and the new development in San Francisco was so upset by the earthquake and fire of April, 1906, as to make any comparison misleading. More than' 50,000 telephones were put out of service by the fire in San Francisco, and by the close of 1907 only about a two-thirds recovery had been made. Although the development of the rural telephone lines has led to a very general distribution of the service, the principal cities still contain a large portion of the telephones. The development within the cities is dependent largely on business requirements and the character of the population. As a rule the immigrant population does not use the telephone as freely as the natives. Table 52.— COMMERCIAL SYSTEMS, CLASSIFIED AS IN URBAN AND IN RURAL DISTRICTS— COMPARATIVE SUMMARY: 1907 AND 1902. [Exclusive of mutual systems and independent farmer or rural lines.] Number of systems Miles of wire Number of stations or tele- phones Number of public exchanges. Estimated number of mes- sages or talks Salaried employees: Number Salaries Wage-earners. Average number Wages Income Operating expenses and fixed charges, except in- terest on funded debt Interest on funded debt 1907 4,901 12,418,042 5,426,973 14,702 11,230,581,856 24,959 $19,245,349 117, 477 $48,660,223 183,784,037 127,910,817 12,315,579 1902 3,157 4,779,571 2,225,981 9,419 4,971,413,070 13,958 $9,871,596 63,630 $26,206,065 86,522,211 61,371,002 3,511,768 Per cent of in- crease. 55.2 159.8 143.8 56.1 78.8 95.0 84.6 85.7 112.4 108.4 250.7 IN URBAN DISTEICTS. 1907 685 11,294,797 4,290,160 7,637 9,389,177,548 20,650 $17,271,126 99, 925 $43,716,663 166,637,109 116,598,227 12,076,374 1902 530 4,361,013 1,823,956 5,480 4,351,724,325 12,393 $9,263,356 56,262 $24,343,526 79,963,998 57,391,972 3,453,473 Per cent of in- crease. 29.2 159.0 135.2 39.4 115.8 66.6 86.4 77.6 79.6 108.4 103.2 249.7 IN EURAL DISTRICTS. 1907 4,216 1,123,245 1,136,813 7,065 1,841,404,308 $1,974,223 17, 552 $4,943,560 17,146,928 11,312,590 239,205 1902 2,627 418, 558 402,025 3,939 619,688,745 1,565 $608,240 7,368 $1,862,539 6,558,213 3,979,030 58,295 Per cent of in- crease. 60.5 168.4 182.8 79.4 175.3 224.6 138.2 165.4 161.5 184.3 310.3 PER CENT OF TOTAL. Urban. 1907 1902 14.0 91.0 79.1 51.9 85.1 89.8 90.7 91.2 98.1 16.8 91.2 81.9 58.2 87.5 88.4 92.9 92.4 93.5 98.3 Rural. 1907 1902 86.0 9.0 20.9 48.1 16.4 17.3 10.3 14.9 10.2 8.8 1.9 83.2 8.8 18.1 41.8 12.5 11.2 6.2 11.6 7.1 7.6 6.5 1.7 Table 53.— COMMERCIAL SYSTEMS IN TWELVE SELECTED LARGE CITIES— NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELEPHONES, POPULATION, AND STATIONS OR TELEPHONES PER 1,000 OF POPULATION: 1907 AND 1902. New York.. Chicago St. Louis Boston Baltimore... Cleveland... Buffalo Detroit Cincinnati.., Milwaukee.. New Orleans Washington. NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELEPHONES. 1907 161,419 60,290 58,179 42,201 53,815 36,596 28,835 30,416 25,451 14,397 20,701 1902 93,301 60,948 19,228 30,202 15,181 24,809 12,385 12,536 13,627 10,765 7,158 8,051 Per cent of increase. 231.0 164.8 213.6 92.6 178.0 316.9 195.5 130.0 123.2 136.4 101.1 157.1 POPULATION. 1 1907 4,225,681 2,107,620 661,666 609,175 561,120 475,864 386,724 367,494 347,123 322,513 318,652 312,548 Per cent of increase. 3,623,160 1,815,445 599,932 583,376 523,861 403,032 371,731 301,670 329,590 304,965 296,118 288,384 16.6 16.1 10.3 4.4 7.1 IS. 1 4 21.8 5.3 5.8 7.6 8.4 STATIONS OR TELE- PHONES PER 1,000 OF POPULATION. 73 77 91 96 75 113 95 78 88 79 45 66 1902 26 34 32 52 29 62 33 42 41 35 24 28 ' Official estimates of the Bureau of the Census. Traffic of Bell and independent (non-Bell) commercial systems. — A comparison between the tramo statistics of the Bell and the independent (non-Bell) systems is given in Table 54. However, the full magnitude of the independent (non-Bell) interests is not shown, as the traffic of the mutual systems and independent farmer or rural lines could not be included. For neither the Bell nor the independent (non-Bell) eommercial systems does the average number of mes- sages or talks of all kinds per station or telephone differ materially from the average number for local- exchange messages at either the 1907 or the 1902 cen- sus. Between the two censuses there was a decrease in the averages for both items for the Bell com- panies, and a very slight increase for the independent (non-Bell) systems. On the basis of 325 days to a year the Bell system had an average of 6.3 mes- sages per telephone per day for 1907 and 7.2 for 1902, 56 TELEPHONES. *while the corresponding averages for the independent systems were 6.5 and 6.4. In long-distance and toll messages a considerable increase is shown for the Bell companies; the average number per telephone rising from 58 in 1902 to 61 in 1907; but in the case of the independent companies the average of long-dis- tance and toll messages fell from 48 per station or telephone in 1902 to 26 in 1907. Table 54.— COMMERCIAL SYSTEMS, CLASSIFIED AS BELL AND INDEPENDENT (NON-BELL) SYSTEMS— TRAFFIC: 1907 AND 1902. [Exclusive of mutual s ystems and independent farmer or rural lines.] COMMERCIAL SYSTEMS. ! BELL SYSTEM. INDEPENDENT (NON-BELL) SYSTEMS AND LINES. 1907 1902 Per cent of increase. 1907 1902 Per cent of increase. 1907 1902 Per cent of increase. 4,901 5,426,973 11,230,581,856 2,069 10,978,853,618 2,023 251,728,238 46 3,157 2,225,981 4,971,413,070 2,233 4,851,416,539 2,179 119,996,531 54 55.2 143.8 125.9 175 3,132,063 6,401,044,799 2,044 6,209,430,515 1,983 191,614,284 61 44 1,317,178 3,074,530,060 2,334 2,998,344,933 2,276 76,185,127 58 297.7 137.8 108.2 4,726 2,294,910 4,829,537,057 2,104 4,769,423,103 2,078 60,113,954 26 3,113 908,803 1,896,883,010 2,087 1,853,071,606 2,039 • 43,811,404 48 51.8 Number of stations or telephones Estimated number of messages or talks: Total 152.5 154.6 Local exchange: Total 126.3 107.1 157.4 Per station or telephone . . . Long-distance and toll: Total "l09.8 151.5 37.2 OHAPTEE V. FINANCIAL STATISTICS. Capitalization. — The statistics of capitalization are confined to the par value of the authorized and out- standing common and preferred stock and funded debt of incorporated commercial and mutual com- panies. Since in many instances the capitalization of one company covers equipment in two or more states, the statistics are not shown by states or any other political subdivision of the United States. No data could be collected concerning the total cost of con- struction or the amount invested in the independent farmer or rural lines, although the cost of such lines represents a considerable part of the capital invested in the telephone equipment of the United States. Table 55 shows the details of the capital stock and funded debt of incorporated companies for the cen- suses of 1907 and 1902. As' more fully shown below, the figures include extensive duplications. Table 55. — Commercial and mutual systems combined, classified as Bell and independent (non-Bell) systems — Capitalization of incorporated companies: 1907 and 1902. Cen- sus. Commercial and mutual systems. Bell system (A. T. and T. Co.). Independ- ent (non- Bell) sys- tems and lines. Number of incorporated com- panies. 1907 1902 3,616 2,271 175 44 3,441 2,227 Capital stock and funded debt: 1907 1902 SI, 678, 468, 955 737,969,911 $1,088,782,251 501,233,151 $589,686,704 236,736,760 1907 1902 1,072,805,993 487,060,895 749,840,435 372,300,773 322, 965, 558 114,760,122 Capital stock, par value — 1907 1902 1,121,931,023 534,834,066 782,364,000 414,432,000 339, 567, 023 120,402,066 Outstanding 1907 1902 765,423,533 382, 378, 229 547,316,914 306, 627, 501 218, 106, 619 75,750,728 Common stock — Authorized . 1907 1902 1,016,961,398 524,152,341 726,494,000 411, 557, 000 290, 467, 398 112.595,341 Outstanding 1907 1902 706, 840, 774 377, 508, 608 509,775,359 306,346,576 197,065,415 71,162,032 Preferred stock- Authorized . 1907 1902 104,969,625 10,681,725 55, 870, 000 2,875,000 49,099,625 7,806,725 Outstanding 1907 1902 58,582,759 4,869,621 37,541,555 280, 925 21,041,204 4, 588, 096 Funded debt- 1907 1902 556,537,932 203,135,845 306,418,251 86,801,151 250,119,681 116,334,694 Outstanding 1907 1902 307,382,460 104,682,666 202,523,521 05,673,272 104,858,939 39, 009, 394 Although there has been an enormous increase in the outstanding capitalization, the ratio of increase for this item does not exceed the ratios of increase for wire, equipment, and number of telephones. Large increases occurred in some states, due primarily to reorganization and consolidation, frequently followed by issues of additional stock. The organization of new stock companies since 1902 and increases of capi- tal made for extending the equipment of existing sys- tems have also contributed to the total increase. Of the $1,072,805,993 reported as the par value of the outstanding stock and bonds of the incorporated telephone companies inU907, 71.3 per cent represents common and preferred stock and 28.7 per cent funded debt. In 1902 the corresponding proportions were 78.5 and 21.5 per cent. While at both censuses the par value of the stock outstanding was considerably in excess of the par value of the bonds, the ratio of in- crease in the issues of bonds in 1907 as compared with 1902 was much greater than that of the stock, the for- mer ratio of increase being 193.6 per cent and the lat- ter 100.2 per cent. There was a very marked increase in the outstanding preferred stock. In 1902 the par value of the preferred stock formed 1.3 per cent of the outstanding stock, while in 1907 it constituted 7.7 per cent. Owing to the reorganization of one of the larger of the Bell companies, with a separation of its capitali- zation into preferred and common stock, the pre- ferred stock of the Bell system shows a larger increase proportionately than does that of the independent companies. At both censuses preferred stock constituted a larger percentage of the outstanding capital stock of the in- dependent companies than of the Bell companies, the proportion being 6.1 per cent in 1902 and 9.6 per cent in 1907 for independent companies as compared with one- tenth of 1 per cent in 1902 and 6.9 per cent in 1907 for Bell companies. The increase in outstanding capital stock was pro- portionately larger for the independent companies than for the Bell companies, the stock of the for- mer companies constituting 28.5 per cent of the total outstanding in 1907 and 19.8 per cent of the total in 1902. The additions to the outstanding funded debt of the Bell system have largely exceeded those of the independent companies in amount, and the former constituted 65.9 per cent of the outstanding bonds in 1907, compared with 62.7 per cent in 1902. In addition to the value of stock and bonds, the in- quiry of 1907 ascertained the floating debt of telephone companies and the value of real-estate mortgages. Both of these items should be considered in connec- tion with the capitalization. Of the $52,622,277 re- ported as floating debt, the Bell system was credited with 64.5 per cent and the independent systems with 35.5 per cent; and the corresponding proportions for the distribution of real-estate mortgages valued at $1,387,898 were 24.6 and 75.4 per cent. (57) 58 TELEPHONES. Net capitalization. — A considerable number of tele- phone companies invest funds obtained from the sale of stock and bonds in the capital stock and bonds of other telephone companies. The combination of the capitalization of all telephone companies results in a total that is in excess of the true amount of stocks and bonds in the hands of the public. In some instances the investments are made in order to con- trol the operations of allied companies. While it is impossible in general census work to analyze transac- tions, of this character, the schedule of inquiries called for the amount invested in the stocks and bonds of other telephone companies. Table 56. — Commercial and mutual systems combined, classified as Bell and independent (non-Bell) systems — Analysis of capitaliza- tion: 1907 and 1902. 1907 Total capital outstanding (stock and bonds) Deduct intercompany holdings of stocks and bonds Net capitalization of corporations. Deduct value of investments outside of telephone industry of the United States Net capitalization based on tele- phone industry of the United States Total. 81,072,805,993 274,247,841 798,558,152 25,289,808 773,268,344 Bell system (American Telephone and Tele- graph Com- pany). $749,840,435 258,189,989 491,650,446 25,090,795 466,559,651 Independ- ent (non- Bell) sys- tems and lines. 1322,965,558 16,057,852 306,907,706 199,013 306,708,693 1902 Total capital outstanding (stock and bonds) Deduct intercompany holdings of stocks and bonds Net capitalization of corporations.. Deduct value of investments outside of telephone industry of the United States Net capitalization based on tele- phone industry of the United S tates 8487,060,895 124,780,830 362,280,065 24,187,349 338,092,716 3372,300,773 114,842,488 8114,760,122 9,938,342 257,458,285 24,187,349 233,270,936 104,821, 7S0 104,821,780 1 Includes also outside investments other than intercompany holdings, but of insignificant amount. Table 56 shows the total par value of the capital out- standing and the deductions to be made to arrive at the net capitalization chargeable to the telephone industry of the United States. The total capital outstanding in 1907 amounted to $1,072,805,993. From this gross capitalization there must be, deducted $274,247,841, or 25.6 per cent, the amount reported as intercompany holdings, leaving $798,558,152, the par value of the outstanding stock and funded debt of all telephone companies in the hands of the public, or, in other words, the net capitalization of the companies. The ratio of intercompany holdings to the total capital outstanding is much greater in the Bell companies than in the inde- pendent companies, being 34.4 per cent in the case of the Bell and but 5 per cent in the case of the independ- ent companies. In order to ascertain the net capitalization charge- able to the telephone industry, there must also be deducted the amount invested in other industries ($25,289,808, or 2.4 per cent of the gross capitalization), representing investments not a part of the telephone industry proper. This leaves $773,268,344 (72.1 per cent of the gross capitalization) as the net capitaliza- tion of the industry. Similarly, on deducting the amounts of intercom- pany holdings and the value of investments outside of the telephone industry of the United States from the total capital outstanding for 1902, there remains $338,092,716 as the outstanding net capitalization of all systems and lines. It will be seen from the table that the net capitali- zation of the commercial and mutual systems, based on the telephone industry of the United States, increased from $338,092,716 in 1902 to $773,268,344 in ■ 1907, or 128.7 per cent. The increase in the net capi- talization of the Bell companies was exactly 100 per cent and in that of the non-Bell companies much greater — 192.6 per cent. The net capitalization of the Bell companies represented 60.3 per cent of the total net capitalization of all commercial and mutual systems in 1907 as compared with 69 per cent in 1902. While it is possible in the above table to calculate precisely the net capitalization based on the telephone business of the United States, it is not possible to dis- tribute that net capitalization precisely as among the different classes of securities. In the case of the Bell system figures are available by which the intercompany holdings of each class of securities may be ascertained and excluded, but in the case of the independent or non-Bell systems the total amount of intercompany holdings is available, but not the amount distributed according to classes of securities. Furthermore, while the investments of telephone companies in stocks- or property outside of the telephone business of the United States may properly be deducted from the total capitalization, in order to ascertain the capitalization, based on the telephone business of the United States, the amount of this deduction can not, of course, be taken out of any one class of securities. While it would be possible to apportion this deduction among the classes of securities pro rata, the results would have little significance. Dividends and interest payments. — It is obvious that in considering the relation between dividend and interest payments and capitalization it is necessary to consider the entire amount of capitalization in the hands of the public and the entire amount of dividends- or interest paid thereon, regardless of the question whether such capitalization represents the telephone business proper or other investments, or whether the dividends or interest are derived from income from the telephone business or from other sources. In Table 57, therefore, the figures of total capitalization presented are those showing the gross capitalization, exclusive of duplications, but not exclusive of investments in outside business, and the figures of total dividends FINANCIAL STATISTICS. 59 and interest similarly represent the gross payments less duplications due to intercompany payments, but without any deductions of income derived fr6m out- side sources. The table shows not only the totals but also the different classes of securities and of dividend and interest payments; but for reasons already men- tioned it is impossible, in the case of the independent companies, to exclude duplications due to intercom- pany holdings or payments from the figures for the several classes of securities and payments, so that the sum of the items in the column for independent companies (and consequently also in the column for Bell and independent companies combined) is greater than the net total shown. Table 57. — Commercial and mutual systems combined, classified as Bell and independent (non-Bell) systems — Outstanding capital stock and funded debt, dividends, and interest, excluding duplications due to intercompany holdings and payments: 1907 and 1902} Census. Commercial and mutual systems. Bell system (American Telephone and Tele- graph Com- pany). Independent (non-Bell) systems and lines. Number of Incorporated com- 1907 1902 2 3,616 2,271 175 44 3,441 2,227 Capital stock and funded debt. 1907 1902 $798,558,152 362,280,065 $491,650,446 257,458,285 $306,907,706 104,821,780 Total dividends and interest. . . 1907 1902 35,668,827 18,226,623 27,729,346 15,459,771 7,939,481 2,766,852 Average rate per cent paid on 1907 1902 4.47 5.03 5.64 6.00 2.59 2.64 1907 1902 $512,685,265 269,676,741 $294,578,646 193,926,013 $218,106,619 75,750,728 Total dividends 1907 1902 23,733,670 14,882,719 20,201,937 13,714,437 3,531,733 1,268,282 Common stock 1907 1902 476,648,616 265,021,045 279,583,201 193,859,013 197,065,415 ' 71,162,032 Dividends 1907 1902 22,030,188 14,895,857 19,327,479 13,711,420 2,702,709 1,184,437 Preferred stock 1907 1902 36,036,649 4,655,696 14,995,445, 67,000 21,041,204 4,588,696 Dividends 1907 1902 1,703,482 86,862 874,458 3,017 829,024 83,845 1907 1902 301,930,739 102,541,666 197,071,800 63,532,272 104,858,939 39,009,394 1907 1902 12, 316, 109 3,511,948 7,527,409 1,745,334 4,788,700 1,766,614 1 In the case of the Bell system, duplications are entirely excluded. For the inde- pendent systems they are excluded in the total capital stock and bonds combined, and in the total dividends and interest combined, but can not be excluded from the individual classes of stocks and bonds or the payments of dividends and interest thereon. The sum of the figures for the several classes of stocks and bonds of these companies for 1907 is $322,965,558, or $16,057,852 more than the net total given ($306,907,706). For 1902 the sum of the items is $114,760,122, or $9,938,342 in excess Of the net total. The sum of the figures for the several classes of dividends and interest payments for 1907 is $8,320,433, or $380,952 in excess of the net total. For 1902 it is $3,034,896, or $268,044 in excess of the net total. For all companies combined the sums of the items are as follows: Capital stock and bonds — 1907, $814,616,004; 1902, $372,218,407; dividends and interest— 1907, $36,049,779; 1902, $18,494,667. 2 Of the 4,901 commercial systems, 3,414 were incorporated, and of the 368 mutual systems, 202 were incorporated. The number given includes nine incorporated companies for which no capitalization was reported, since the companies were engaged also in other business and the capitalization was not separable. This table shows that in 1907 the total dividend and interest payments of commercial and mutual tele- phone companies (intercompany payments excluded) represented 4.47 per cent on the net capitalization of these companies. The percentage for the Bell system was 5.64, or somewhat more than double the per- centage for the independent companies. In the case both of the Bell companies and the independent com- panies the rate per cent of dividend and interest pay- ments upon net capitalization was slightly less in 1907 than in 1902. By a comparison of the figures of Table 57 with those of Table 55 it will be seen that in the case of the Bell system, where all the duplications due to intercompany holdings can be eliminated, the intercompany holdings consist for the most part of common and preferred stock and only in small part of bonds. Of the net securities of the Bell system in the hands of the public in 1907, substantially three-fifths consisted of capital stock and two-fifths of bonds. Because of the impos- sibility of eliminating duplications of individual classes of securities of the independent companies-. the distri- bution of the different classes of securities for all com- mercial and mutual systems combined, as shown in Table 57, is not strictly accurate, but, inasmuch as the duplications referred to are comparatively small in amount, the figures do show roughly the distribution of the net capitalization. For 1907 substantially five- eighths of the net capitalization for all companies together was represented by capital stock and three- eighths by funded debt, while of the capital stock con- siderably more than nine-tenths was common stock. Comparing 1902 with 1907, it appears that the net capital stock in the hands of the public has approxi- mately doubled, while the funded debt has increased nearly threefold. A notable feature of the telephone industry is that a large number of the small companies pay no divi- dends and have no outstanding funded debt upon which interest is paid. In Table 58 companies pay- ing either interest or dividends on the one hand are distinguished from those which pay neither. In this table it is impossible to exclude duplications due to intercompany holdings in the case of independent companies, but such duplications are excluded for the Bell companies. The total of $814,616,004, given as the combined capitalization, represents $491,650,446 for the Bell companies and $322,965,558 for the inde- pendent companies (see note to Table 57). It will be understood that the statistics for companies yielding a return on capitalization include the entire capital stock and bonds, even though no dividends were paid on the stock, but only interest paid on the bonds. 60 TELEPHONES. Table 58.— Commercial and mutual systems combined, classified as companies yielding a return on capitalization, and companies not yielding a return on capitalization: 1907. [Duplications due to intercompany holdings and payments excluded so far as Bell system is concerned, but not for other companies. The duplication in the total capitalization outstanding amounts to $16,057,852.] Number of incor- porated com- panies. Outstanding capitaliza- tion. Dividends and interest. Average rate, per cent. All incorporated companies '3,607 $814,616,004 $36,049,779 4.43 Companies yielding a return on capitalization either as dividends on stock or inter- est on funded debt 1,438 * 2, 169 39.0 60.1 731,653,513 82,962,491 89.8 10.2 36,049,779 Companies not yielding a re- turn on capitalization either as dividends on stock or interest on funded debt Per cent of total: Companies yielding a return on capitalization either as dividends on stock or inter- Companies not yielding a re- turn on capitalization either as dividends on stock or i Only ten companies reported funded debt outstanding with no interest paid. 2 Exclusive of nine incorporated companies for which no capitalization was reported, since the companies were engaged also in other business and the capital- ization was not separable. It will be seen that the outstanding capitalization of the companies which paid some return on capital- ization (either as dividends or interest) constituted nearly nine-tenths of the total outstanding capital- ization of all incorporated companies, but the number of such companies formed less than two-fifths of the total number, the large remaining number making no payments as interest or dividends. The total interest and dividend payments repre- sented 4.93 per cent on the capitalization of those companies which made such payments. But the aggregate amount reported as outstanding capital- ization of these companies includes securities to the amount of $88,409,069 on which no dividends or interest was paid, the same representing stocks and bonds of companies reporting dividends or interest paid on one class of securities only. 1 This leaves $643,244,444 as the net aggregate amount of outstand- ing capitalization on which the $36,049,779 of divi- dends and interest was paid, the average rate being therefore 5.6 per cent. The net amount of income- yielding securities formed only 79 per cent of all out- standing securities, although the securities of all com- 1 Tables 60 and 61 show the actual amount of preferred and com- mon stock and funded debt on which dividends and interest were paid. panies paying either dividends or interest constituted 89.8 per cent of the total. The 1,438 companies paying dividends or interest show an average capitalization per company of $508,799, while the 2,169 companies paying neither divi- dends nor interest had an average of but $38,249. The large number of companies paying no return on capitalization is not due to any great extent to the inclusion of the mutual companies not operated for profit, for the incorporated mutual companies number but 202, or only 5.6 per cent of the total number of incorporated companies ; and of these, seven paid divi- dends or interest. This leaves in the class that made no return on capitalization 195 mutual companies and 1,974 commercial organizations. Of the 175 incorpo- rated companies included in the Bell system, 100 did not pay dividends on stock, these companies being without funded debt. This leaves 1,874 as the number of independent commercial companies not paying divi- dends, including the few not paying interest in 1907. Table 59 shows, for the dividend-paying and the non- dividend-paying companies, the outstanding capital stock and the dividends. Table 59. — Commercial and mutual systems combined, classified according to capital stock of dividend and nondividend paying com- panies: 1907. [Duplications due to intercompany holdings and payments excluded so far as Bell system is concerned, but not for other companies; they do not appreciably affect the average rates.] Num- ber of com- panies. CAPITAL STOCK. Authorized. Outstand- ing. Dividends. CLASS OF COMPANY. Amount. Av- erage rate, per cent. Total 13,607 $1,121,931,023 $512,685,265 $23,733,670 4.63 1,076 2,531 860,719,665 261,211,358 354,791,104 157,894,161 23,733,670 6.69 Nondividend-paying i Exclusive of nine incorporated companies engaged also in other business for which no capitalization was reported, the capitalization not being separable. It should be remembered that the total capital stock of the dividend-paying companies reported in the above table is the combined common and preferred stock of companies paying dividends on either class, and therefore is in excess of the amount of stock on which dividends were actually paid. Table 60 shows the amounts of common and preferred stock upon which dividends were paid, the amount of the divi- dends, and the accompanying average rates of dividends; and also the nondividend-paying stock. FINANCIAL STATISTICS. 61 Table 60.— COMMERCIAL AND MUTUAL SYSTEMS COMBINED— COMMON AND PREFERRED STOCK, CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THE PAYMENT OF DIVIDENDS: 1907. [Duplications due to intercompany holdings and payments excluded so far as Bell system is concerned, but not for other companies; they do not appreciably affect the average rates.] COMMON STOCK. PEEFEEEED STOCK. CLASS OP STOCK. Number of com- panies. Authorized. Outstanding. Dividends. Number of com- panies. Authorized. Outstanding. Dividends. Amount. Average rate, per cent. Amount. Average rate, per cent. Total . .' »3,607 $1,016,961,398 $476,648,616 $22,030,188 4.62 226 $104,969,625 $36,036,649 $1, 703, 482 4.73 999 2,608 766,632,175 250,329,223 312,400,815 164,247,801 22, 030, 188 7.05 146 80 81,581,725 23,387,900 29,686,640 6,350,009 1, 703, 482 5.74 1 Exclusive of nine incorporated companies engaged also in other business for which no capitalization was reported, the capitalization not being separable. Dividends were paid on 82.4 per cent of the total amount of preferred stock outstanding, the average rate being therefore 5.74 per cent, and on 65.5 per cent of the total amount of common stock outstand- ing, the average rate being 7.05 per cent. Table 61 gives the outstanding funded debt on which interest was paid in 1907, that on which no interest was paid, and the amount and average rate per cent of interest. Table 61 . — Commercial andmutual systems combined — Funded debt, classified according to the payment of interest: 1907. Num- ber of com- panies. Authorized. Outstanding. INTEEEST. CLASS OF FUNDED DEBT. Amount. Aver- age rate, per cent. Total ■579 i $556, 537, 932 $301,930,739 $12,316,109 4.08 Funded debt on which interest was paid Funded debt on which no interest was paid. . 557 122 554,498,782 ' 2, 039, 150 301,156,989 773,750 12,316,109 4.09 i Including twelve companies with $1,223,000 authorized funded debt, but none issued. In 1907, 567 companies, or 15.7 per cent of the total number of incorporated companies, reported outstand- ing funded indebtedness aggregating $301,930,739. Ten companies of these, with bonds outstanding to the value of $773,750, reported no interest on bonds as paid or due. The bulk of these bonds are used as col- lateral security for floating obligations. Capitalization and cost of construction and equip- ment. — The cost of constructing and equipping the buildings and lines should be the principal factor de- termining the amount of capitalization. For incorporated and unincorporated commercial and mutual systems in 1907 and 1902, Table 62 shows the total cost of construction and equipment to date, compared with the outstanding net capitalization and cash investment. The net capitalization of the incorporated systems, as already explained (p. 58), excludes duplications due to intercompany holdings, and also excludes in- vestments of certain companies outside of the telephone business in the United States. The net figures are therefore comparable with the figures for cost of con- struction. In considering this comparison, however, it should be borne in mind that the figures of cost of construction given in this table are those carried in the balance sheets of the companies and may not in every case represent the true cost of construction. The Bureau of the Census has made no investigation with a view to ascertaining to what extent in entering cost of construction any of the companies may have included franchise values, good will, or other elements other than cost of construction proper. For both 1907 and 1902 the reported cost of con- struction for incorporated systems considerably ex- ceeds the net capitalization based on the telephone business. The disparity, however, is balanced in whole or in part by liabilities other than capital securi- ties. In other words, part of the investment of the companies is represented by floating debt. Undoubt- edly a portion of the $44,302,999 of bills and accounts payable reported for 1902 represents floating debt chargeable against construction and equipment. For 1907 the reports of the companies distinguish floating debt chargeable against construction from other cur- rent liabilities, the amount so specifically reported being $52,622,277. For both 1907 and 1902 the amounts reported as cash investment by the unincorporated systems are also less than the reported cost of construction and equipment. In the case of the incorporated compa- nies the capitalization increased much faster than the cost of construction and equipment, but in the case of the unincorporated systems the increase in cost of construction and equipment was at a rate but slightly less than that for the increase in cash investment. 62 TELEPHONES. Table 62. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Cost of construction and equipment, and net capitalization and cash invest- ment: 1907 and 1902. Gost-of constrnctioaand-ficuiipment, including real estate and telephones Incorporated systems Unincorporated systems Net capitalization and cash investment, exclud- ing duplications and outside investments Net capitalization of incorporated systems. . . Cash investment of unincorporated systems. 1907 1902 8820,417,008 '808,898,816 11,518,192 782,851,516 773,268,344 9,583,172 8389,278,232 381,073,381 7,604,851 344,254,015 338,092,716 6,161,299 Per cent of in- crease. 110.8 111.9 51.5 127.4 128.7 55.5 i Includes $797,612, cost of construction and equipment of telephone lines of nine incorporated companies engaged also in other business for which no capitalization was reported, the capitalization not being separable. The cost of construction and equipment shown for the unincorporated systems in 1907 represents 1,653 telephone systems and an average per system or com- pany of $6,968. On the other hand, exclusive of the $797,612 for the nine incorporated companies for which no capital was reported, the cost of construction and equipment of the 3,607 incorporated companies aggregated $808,101,204, or an average of $224,037 per system. Cost of new construction and equipment during the year. — A considerable number of companies, especially the smaller ones, do not keep an accurate record of the expenditures for additions to line and equipment. Amounts charged by some companies to the capital accounts are included by others in the regular ex- pense account. Therefore the statistics concerning cost of construction and equipment in some cases may be less than the actual expenditures for this purpose. The census schedule called for the "Cost of lines, real estate, equipment, etc., added during the year." The amounts reported in answer to this inquiry are of course included in the total cost of construction and equipment item of the balance sheet. As a result of the general financial depression late in 1907, it is probable that the cost of new construction and equip- ment during the year is smaller than it would other- wise have been. For this reason the total for 1907 is not fairly comparable with the corresponding total for 1902, a year which experienced no such financial distress. The expenditure for new construction and equipment during the year 1907 was 35.7 per cent greater than the amount expended for the same pur- pose during 1902. The cost of the new construction and equipment for 1907 and for 1902 is given, by states and geographic divisions, in Table 63. Table 63 .—Commercial and mutual systems combined— Cost of con- struction and equipment added during the year, by states and terri- tories and geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902. STATE OR TERRITORY. 1907 1902 Per cent of increase. 170,441, 175 (51,903,021 35.7 25,-711,590 18,971,231 35.5 841, 198 435, 752 262, 645 2, 376, 166 1, 363, 201 11,736,761 3, 536, 393 5, 159, 474 4,398,072 116,266 54,742 63,120 2, 136, 437 765,789 7, 566, 365 2,153,816 6, 114, 696 4, 420, 869 623.5 696.0 316.1 11.2 78.0 55.1 64.2 '15.6 '0.5 Maryland, Delaware, and District of Co- 1,783,853 839, 959 379, 788 357, 094 135, 829 691,409 210, 140 23, 634, 533 1, 468, 404 780, 328 298, 414 373, 580 419,546 874, 836 205, 761 18,703,370 21.5 7.6 27.3 14.4 167.6 121.0 2.1 26.4 Ohio 4,259,592 1,791,594 6, 137, 369 1, 618, 501 916, 035 1,436,052 1, 182, 368 3, 024, 035 620, 653 243, 157 959, 567 1,445,610 5, 438, 979 2,929,774 1, 780, 942 4, 472, 060 1, 399, 746 832, 618 1, 639, 824 1, 841, 288 2,501,924 71, 441 143, 891 564, 456 525, 406 5, 324, 683 45.4 0.6 37.2 15.6 10.0 112.4 135.8 20.9 768.8 69.0 70.0 175.1 2.1 631, 195 543,000 565, 484 328, 882 354, 115 363, 117 883, 382 1,769,804 11,258,001 1,279,203 856, 643 571, 801 328,960 450, 660 172, 636 432, 342 1,232,438 4, 482, 868 ■50.7 • 36.6 il.l ( 2 ) '21.4 110.3 104.3 43.6 151.1 462, 753 390, 861 889, 818 99, 480 68,868 886, 594 227, 396 1, 881, 341 974,773 5, 376, 117 170, 706 108, 657 951, 369 18, 892 56, 484 356, 368 16, 840 774, 230 249, 426 1, 779, 896 171.1 259.7 i 6.5 426.6 21.9 148.8 1,250.3 143.0 290.8 202.0 2 Decrease, less than one-tenth of 1 per cent. In both 1907 and 1902 the North Atlantic division led in cost of new construction and equipment, with the North Central division a close second. Table 64 shows for commercial and mutual systems, by geo- graphic divisions, the per cent distribution of the cost of new construction and equipment for the years covered, respectively, by the two censuses. FINANCIAL STATISTICS. 63 Table 64. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Per cent distribution of cost of new construction and equipment, by geographic divisions: 1907 and 1902. DIVISION. 1907 1902 United States 100.0 36.5 6.2 33.6 7.7 16.0 36.6 South Atlantic North Central Western New York appears as the leading state in amount of new construction for both censuses, and shows the largest amount of increase, although the highest rate of increase is shown for Nevada. In twelve states the cost of new construction and equipment was less in 1907 than in 1902. Table 65 shows separately the states having new construction and equipment to the value of more than $1,000,000 in 1907 and 1902, and the percentage the amount for each state is of the total amount for the United States. Table 63. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — States with new construction and equipment in excess of $1,000,000: 1907 and 1902. 1907 1902 State. Amount. Per cent distri- bution. State. Amount. Per cent distri- bution. United States $70,441,175 100.0 United States New York Pennsylvania $51,903,021 100 11,736,761 6,137,369 5,376,117 5,159,474 4, 259, 592 3,536,393 3,024,035 2,376,166 1,881,341 1,791,594 1,783,853 1,769,804 1,618,501 1,445,610 1,436,052 1,363,201 1,182,368 14,562,944 16.7 8.7 7-6 7.3 6.0 5.0 4.3 3.4 2.7 2.5 2.5* 2.5 2.3 2.1 2.0 1.9 1.7 20.7 7,566,365 6,114,696 4,472,060 2,929,774 2,501,924 2, 153, 816 2, 136, 437 1,841,288 1,780,942 1,779,896 1,639,824 1,468,404 1,399,746 1,279,203 1,232,438 11,606,208 Ohio Ohio New Jersey New Jersey Massachusetts 4.1 3 5 3.2 ware, and Dis- trict of Columbia. Maryland, Dela- ware, and Dis- trict of Columbia. 2.8 2.7 2 5 2.4 Connecticut and Rhode Island All other states 22.4 All other states. . Balance sheet. — Each telephone company was re- quested to make a condensed statement showing its financial condition on December 31, 1907, or the last day of the fiscal year covered by its report. This statement was in form of a balance sheet, and Table 66 shows the totals obtained by combining for each census year the amounts reported for commercial and mutual systems that were in operation during any portion of the year. 36754°— 10 5 Table 66. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Net balance sheet: 1907 and 1902. Total assets. Cost of construction and equipment, including real estate and telephones Permanent Investments outside telephone business proper Treasury stocks and bonds, stock bonus, and discount on stocks and bonds Cash and deposits Bills and accounts receivable Machinery, tools, and supplies. Sundries Total liabilities Capital stock 2 . Funded debt 2 . Gross total 2 Net total stock and funded debt, excluding duplications Cash investment (unincorporated systems) Real-estate mortgages Floating debt (loans and notes) Bills and accounts payable. Interest due and accrued. . . Dividends due Sundries Net surplus 1907 $994,842,990 820,417,008 25,289,808 61,894,257 23,243,481 42,828,977 18,537,584 2,631,875 994,842,990 612,686,266 S01.9S0.7S9 814,618,004 798,558,152 9,583,172 1,387,898 52,622,277 39,054,501 23,672,476 6,068,710 5,901,051 6,731,648 51,263,105 1902 $466,421,553 389,278,232 24,187,349 W 12,291,840 30,629,677 9,689,691 344,764 466,421,553 269,676,741 102,641,666 372,218,407 362,280,065 6,161,299 (') 31,029,628 44,302,999 « 188,067 1,124,265 21,335,230 1 Not reported separately. 2 Intercompany holdings of independent companies not deducted. The balance sheet represents the financial condition of all commercial and mutual systems, whether oper- ated by incorporated companies, mutual or coopera- tive associations, firms, or individuals. It, however, does not include the independent farmer or rural lines, for which no financial statistics were obtained. Duplications. due to intercompany holdings of stock and bonds are eliminated, but the balance sheet in- cludes investments of the several companies outside of the telephone business proper. Each telephone company was requested to include in the total for cost of construction and equipment the expenditures for the entire system up to the end of the year covered by the report, this amount to in- clude the cost of real estate and telephone instruments. The cost of construction and equipment is the largest item of assets and shows the greatest actual increase between 1902 and 1907, the increase amounting to $431,138,776, or 110.8 per cent. This item formed 82.5 per cent of all assets in 1907, compared with 83.5 per cent in 1902. A considerable amount of franchise value is included in the cost of construction and equipment, but it was impossible to determine the value of such franchises. In 1907, 880 of the 4,901 commercial systems and 56 of the 368 mutual systems reported that the value of their franchises was included in the construction and equipment item; 2,384 systems stated that no value was included for franchises; and 1,949 failed to answer the inquiry as to the inclusion of the value of franchise 64 TELEPHONES. in this item. A large portion of the separate item of "Treasury stocks and bonds, stock bonus, and discount on stocks and bonds" should be considered as of the nature of franchise values. The 161,894,257 reported as "Treasury stocks and bonds, stock bonus, and dis- count on stocks and bonds" is largely traceable to one company in New York which had outstanding capital securities valued at over $40,000,000, with only a small amount of actual construction, and assets consisting essentially of franchise values. Outside investments other than those in stocks and bonds of other telephone companies were reported in 1907 as amounting to $25,289,808 and in 1902 to $24,187,349. Rates of increase are shown as follows:. Cash and deposits, 89.1 per cent; bills and accounts receivable, 39.8 per cent; machinery, tools, and supplies, 91.3 per cent; and sundries, 663.4 per cent. On the liability side the rates of increase are 120.4 per cent for capital stock and funded debt combined, exclusive of duplications due to intercompany hold- ings, and 55.5 per cent for cash investment of unin- corporated systems. A direct comparison of bills and accounts payable at the two censuses is misleading, since in 1907 floating debt, real-estate mortgages, and interest due and accrued were reported separately, while in 1902 they probably were included for the most part under "Bills and accounts payable," and to a less extent under "Sundries." Groups of these items — bills and accounts payable, real-estate mort- gages, floating debt, interest due and accrued, and sundries for 1907, and bills and accounts payable and sundries for 1902— give totals of $90,483,009 for 1907 and $45,427,264 for 1902, and show an increase of 99.2 per cent. Among the items included under "Sun- dries" are the additional cash investments of incorpo- rated companies which reported stocks or bonds, and the investments of the 9 companies which were en- gaged in other business and reported no capitalization, since the capitalization could not be separated. Un- paid dividends, which formed less than one-twentieth of 1 per cent of the total liabilities in 1902, constituted a much larger item in 1 907 and formed a little over one-half of 1 per cent of the liabilities in that year. The net surplus, which is the balance resulting from the consolidation of all reports, exhibits an increase of $29,927,875, or 140.3 per cent, in 1907 as compared with 1902. At the later census, surplus balances, re- ported by 3,775 systems, aggregated $54,962,033; and deficit balances, reported by 420 systems, aggregated $3,698,928; leaving a net surplus of $51,263,105 for the industry. The net surplus formed 5.2 per cent of total liabilities in 1907 and 4.6 per cent in 1902. Reserves should be considered in connection with sur- plus, as they are funds set apart from net income for specific purposes. Reserves and net surplus combined amounted to $90,317,606 in 1907 and $52,364,858 in 1902, and these totals form 9.1 per cent and 11.2 per cent, respectively, of all liabilities reported for those years. The per cent distribution of the several assets and liabilities is shown in Table 67. Table 67. — Commercial and mutual systems combined — Per cent distribution of assets and liabilities: 1907 and 1902. Total assets. Cost of construction and equipment, including real estate and telephones Permanent investments outside telephone business proper Treasury stocks and bonds, stock bonus, and discount on stocks and bonds Cash and deposits Bills and accounts receivable Machinery, tools, and supplies Sundries Total liabilities. . Capital stock 2 Funded debt 2 Gross total 2 Net total stock and funded debt, excluding duplications. Cash investment (unincorporated systems) Real-estate mortgages Floating debt (loans and notes) Reserves Bills and accounts payable Interest due and accrued Dividends due Sundries Net surplus PEE CENT DISTRIBUTION. 1907 100.0 82.5 2.5 6.2 2.3 1.9 0.3 100.0 61. 5 SO. 3 81.9 80.3 1.0 0.1 5.3 3.9 2.4 0.6 0.6 0.7 5.2 1902 100.0 83.5 5.2 (') 2.6 6.6 2.1 0.1 57.8 22. 79.8 77.7 1.3 (') (') 6.7 9.5 (') P) 0.2 4 6 1 Not reported separately. 2 Intercompany holdings of independent companies not deducted. > Less than one-twentieth of 1 per cent. The condensed balance sheet shown as Table 68 assists in giving a broad and comprehensive view of asset and liability accounts. By assembling all capital assets and franchise values — construction and equipment, stocks and bonds of other companies, other permanent investments, and treasury stocks and bonds, stock bonus, and dis- count on stocks and bonds — it will be seen that they have increased at substantially the same ratio as the capital liabilities, which consist of capital stock, funded debt, and cash investment. Current lia- bilities show considerably greater increases than cur- rent assets. Table 68.- -Commercial and mutual systems combined- balance sheet: 1907 and 1902. Condensed 1907 1902 PER CENT DISTRIBUTION. Per cent of in- crease. 1907 1902 $994,842,990 3466,421,553 100.0 100.0 907,601,073 87,241,917 994,842,990 413,435,581 52,955,972 466,421,553 91.2 8.8 100.0 88.6 11.4 100.0 Total liabilities 113.3 808,141,324 96,384,060 90,317,606 368,441,364 45,615,331 52,364,858 81.2 9.7 9.1 79.0 9.8 11.2 119.3 111.3 72.5 Net surplus and reserves. . . FINANCIAL STATISTICS. 65 Income account. — -Table 69 shows the various items of income and expenditure which each company was requested to state separately and is a comparative sum- mary of the income account for the commercial and mutual systems for 1907 and 1902, with the commercial systems and mutual systems shown separately for 1907. The total income, and operating expenses and fixed charges, by states and geographic divisions, may be found in Table 4 of Chapter II. This table involves small duplications of income, namely, $380,952 in 1907 and $268,044 in 1902, which represent interest and dividends of certain independent telephone companies received by other independent telephone companies. These amounts enter on the one hand into the gross income, and on the other hand, in part, into the "deductions from income" (interest) and in part into the "deductions from net income" (divi- dends). As the amounts can not be distributed as between interest and dividends, the duplication can not be eliminated; but the figures are comparatively small and do not affect the general conclusions to be drawn from the table. Duplications due to intercom- pany dividend and interest payments of the Bell system have been excluded. Table 69.— COMMERCIAL AND MUTUAL SYSTEMS— INCOME ACCOUNT: 1907 AND 1902. Gross income Operating earnings Telephone business Assessments Operating expenses Net earnings from operation.. Income from other sources, total Interest on bonds and dividends on stock of other telephone companies Other permanent investments Leased lines, wires and conduits Real-estate rentals Interest Miscellaneous Gross income less operating expenses (i. e., net earnings from operation plus income from other sources) Deductions from income (fixed charges), total Taxes Interest On funded debt On real-estate mortgages On floating debt Rental paid for use of leased lines Net income Deductions from net income, total Dividends on preferred stock Dividends on common stock Surplus COMMERCIAL AND MUTUAI SYSTEMS. 1907 1902 Per cent distribution. Per cent of increase. 1907 1902 $184,461,747 174,868,918 174,315,061 563,857 118,248,576 56,620,342 886,825,536 81,599,769 81,462,233 137,536 56,867,062 24,732,707 100.0 94.8 94.5 0.3 64.1 30.7 100.0 94.0 93.8 0.2 65.5 28.5 112.5 114.3 114.0 302.7 107.9 128.9 9,592,829 5,225,767 5.2 6.0 83.6 380,952 644,065 2,411,486 3,671,629 1,249,313 1,235,384 268,044 0.2 0.3 1.3 2.0 0.7 0.7 0.3 282.4 1,197,476 1,348,894 1,359,953 1,051,400 1.4 1.6 1.6 1.2 ioi.4 172.2 28.1 17.5 66,213,171 29,958,474 35.9 34.5 121.0 22,553,729 6,368,731 16,127,817 12,316,109 66,343 8,297,709 2,944,281 5,343,325 3,511,948 12.2 3.5 8.7 6.7 (') 2.0 (>) 9.6 3.4 6.2 4.0 171.8 116.3 201.8 250.7 3,745,365 57,181 1,831,377 10, 103 2.i (') 108.1 466.0 43,659,442 21,660,765 23.7 24.9 101.6 23,733,670 1,703,482 22,030,188 14,982,719 86,862 14,895,857 12.9 0.9 11.9 17.3 0.1 17.2 68.4 1,861.1 47.9 19,925,772 6,678.046 10.8 7.7 198.4 COMMERCIAL SYSTEMS. 8183,784,037 174,194,500 174,100,624 93,876 117,690,964 56,503,536 9,589,537 380,502 644,065 2,410,803 3,671,486 1,249,313 1,233,368 66,093,073 22,535,432 6,358,290 16,120,130 12,315,579 66,282 3,738,269 57,012 43,557,641 23,731,883 1,703,447 22,028,436 19,825,758 Per cent distri- bution. 100.0 94.8 94.7 0.1 64.0 30.7 5.2 0.2 0.4 1.3 2.0 0.7 0.7 36.0 12.3 3.5 8.8 6.7 (') 2.0 (') 23.7 12.9 0.9 12.0 MUTUAL SYSTEMS. 8677,710 674, 418 214, 437 459,981 557,612 116,806 3,292 450 683 143 2,016 120,098 18,297 10,441 7,687 530 61 7,096 169 101,801 1,787 35 1,752 100,014 Per cent distri- bution. 100.0 99.5 31.6 67.9 82.3 17.2 0.5 0.1 (') 0.1 0.3 17.7 2.7 1.5 1.1 0.1 ] 0) 1.0 (') 15.0 0.3 0-3 14.8 i Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent. In 1907 the commercial companies furnished more than 99 per cent of the combined income of commer- cial and mutual systems, and the mutual systems less than 1 per cent. Some mixed systems which did both a commercial and a mutual business are included in the commercial class, the commercial business being in excess of the mutual. Hence a bmall amount of income from mu- tual assessments appears for the commercial systems. The mutual systems for the two censuses are not on the same footing and hence comparisons for the sep- arate systems for 1902 are not given. To assist in the study of the statistics the table shows the per cent distribution of income for the commercial and mutual systems combined in 1907 and 1902 and for the commercial and mutual systems separately in 1907. 2 Decrease. Operating expenses for commercial and mutual sys- tems combined show a slight decrease in ratio from 1902 to 1907. Deductions from income show a higher ratio in 1907 than in 1902, the increase being chiefly in interest paid on funded debt. The dividend deduc- tions from net income, though showing an increase of 58.4 per cent in the aggregate amount, have been kept well within net income. Dividends on common stock constitute a much smaller part of income in 1907 than in 1902, but, as a result, the remaining surplus shows an increased ratio. Operating expenses. — A comparative analysis of the operating expenses for commercial and mutual sys- tems combined in 1907 and 1902 and for the com- mercial and mutual systems separately in 1907 is given in Table 70. 66 TELEPHONES. Table 70.— COMMERCIAL AND MUTUAL SYSTEMS— ANALYSIS OF OPERATING EXPENSES: 1907 AND 1902. Total operating expenses General operation and maintenance Salaries Wages Maintenance and legal expenses Rentals of instruments and apparatus Rentals of offices and other real estate Rentals of conduits and underground privileges . Telephone traffic paid or due to other companies Miscellaneous COMMERCIAL AND MUTUAL SYSTEMS. 1907 $118,248,576 $56,867,062 101 19. 804, 298, 980, 524, 658, 990, 613 230 951 1902 49,587,964 9,885,886 26,369,735 13,332,343 2,837,013 2,498,814 681,727 442,260 819,284 Per cent distribution. 1907 1902 100.0 86.1 16.3 41.4 28.4 4.8 5.9 1.4 1.0 0.8 100.0 Per cent of increase. 107.9 105.3 95.2 85.7 151.5 99.4 179.7 136.7 178.3 16.2 COMMERCIAL SYSTEMS. 1907 $117,690,964 101,294,889 19,245,349 48,660,223 33,389,317 5,652,879 6,975,359 1,613,513 1,204,738 949,586 Per cent distri- bution. 100.0 86.1 16.4 41.3 28.4 4.8 5.9 1.4 1.0 0.8 MUTUAL SYSTEMS. 1907 $557,612 509,211 53,074 320,481 135,656 5,328 14,811 26,210 2,052 Per cent distri- bution. 100.0 91.3 9.5 57.5 24.3 1.0 2.7 4.7 0.4 ■I Wages and salaries combined constitute the largest part of all operating expenses — 57.7 per cent in 1907 and 63.8 per cent in 1902. Of the total for salaries and wages, wages formed the larger part, and formed substantially the same proportion of the total pay roll at both censuses — 71.7 per cent in 1907 and 72.7 per cent in 1902. Maintenance and legal expenses, which form the next largest item of operating expenses, constituted a somewhat larger part of them in 1907 than in 1902. This item groups expenses which it would be highly desirable to differentiate, but, as there is no standard system of accounting in use by all telephone com- panies, it was impossible to compile reliable itemized figures. "Maintenance" includes all repairs, recon- struction, and expenses incident to the maintenance of the physical properties, while "Legal expenses" cover the cost of all legal services required for the mainte- nance and operation of the property. It was not possible to report separately these two classes of . expense. The analysis of the two classes of systems is given primarily to illustrate the statistics for the mutual systems, which, though representing but a small part of the volume of telephone business, are of interest on account of the special character of their organization and operation. In 1907 the pay roll formed 67 per cent of all oper- ating expenses for mutual systems, compared with 57.8 per cent for the commercial systems. The mutual companies did not report any expenditures for rent of conduits and underground privileges. Deductions from income. — Deductions from income, or fixed charges, comprise three classes of expense — taxes, interest, and rentals paid for leased lines. From Table 69 it is seen that for commercial systems and for the commercial and mutual systems combined, inter- est, and particularly interest on funded debt, is the most important item. Table 71 gives the per cent dis- tribution of the total fixed charges among the several items. Table 71. — Commercial and mutual systems — Percent distribution of deductions from' income: 1907 and 1902. PER CENT DISTRIBUTION. Commercial and mutual systems. Com- mercial sys- tems. Mutual sys- tems. 1907 1902 1907 1907 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 28.2 71.5 54.6 0.3 16.6 0.3 35.5 64.4 42.3 22.1 0.1 28.2 71.5 54.6 0.3 16.6 0.3 57.1 42.0 2.9 0.3 38.8 0.9 Although taxes increased at the rate of 116.3 per cent for commercial and mutual systems, they formed only 28.2 per cent of the fixed charges in 1907 as com- pared with 35.5 per cent in 1902. A specific report of the different kinds of taxes was made for the first time at this census, and Table 72 gives the detailed statistics therefor. Table 72. — Commercial and mutual systems — Taxes: 1907. Commer- cial and mutual systems. Commer- cial sys- tems. Mutual sys- tems. PER CENT DISTRIBUTION. Com- mercial and mutual sys- tems. Com- mercial sys- tems. Mutual sys- tems. Taxes, total $6,368,731 $6,358,290 $10,441 100.0 100.0 100.0 On real and personal 3,380,415 803,923 1,324,829 859,564 3,370,848 803,422 1,324,529 859, 491 9,567 501 300 73 53.1 12.6 20.8 13.5 53.0 12.6 20.8 13.5 91.6 4.8 On capital stock 0.7 The taxes combined as "Miscellaneous" are chiefly franchise and pole taxes, principally the former. Interest charges have increased largely and very much faster than taxes. Of the total interest charges for commercial and mutual systems, the interest on funded debt formed 76.4 per cent in 1907, compared with 65.7 per cent in 1902, and the interest on real- FINANCIAL STATISTICS. 67 estate mortgages and floating debt combined formed 23.6 per cent in 1907, compared with 34.3 per cent for floating debt in 1902, showing a considerable increase of ratio for funded debt interest charges and a decrease for floating debt. The payments made for the use of leased lines include a large number of rentals, although the aggregate amount paid is not large. For example, nineteen systems in Illinois reported an aggregate expenditure of $1,287 for rental of lines; sixteen in Indiana, $2,021 ; twenty- three in New York, $1,472; and eight in Pennsylvania/ $13,706 — the last total being the largest amount shown for any state. They represent established lines and to a large extent rural lines, or lines perhaps originally erected for private service. Income of independent farmer or rural lines. — As a rule, the larger companies kept records from which the financial data called for by the census schedule could be obtained, but many of the independent farmer or rural lines, which include some small mutual systems, could furnish no data concerning financial transactions, and in those cases in which such data were furnished only income from operations and assessments was reported. The statistics reported are presented in Table 73 by geographic divisions. The financial data for the farmer or rural lines are not included in the tables presenting financial statis- tics for commercial and mutual systems. This omission directs attention to the fact that the totals for gross income are somewhat less than the true aggregate for all of the systems and lines that were in operation in the United States during 1907. Income from operations and assessments amounting to $1,783,458 was reported by 12,430 independent rural lines which operated 448,685 telephones, or 79.3 percent of the total number of telephones (565,649) on all such lines. No income, whether from operations or assess- ments, was reported for lines equipped with 116,964 telephones, or 20.7 per cent of the total number. The expenses, when reported, were practically the same as the income. The average income per line for the lines reporting income was $142.76 and per tele- phone $3.97, which can be taken as representing approximately the expense per line and per telephone for the farmer or rural lines. When this average per telephone is applied to the total number (565,649) of telephones on all independent farmer or rural lines, $2,245,627 becomes the estimate of the total income and expense for all lines of this class. Table 73.— INDEPENDENT FARMER OR RURAL LINES— INCOME FROM OPERATIONS AND ASSESSMENTS, BY GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907. Number of lines. Number of lines reporting income. INCOME. PER CENT DISTRIBUTION. DIVISION. Total. From op- erations. From as- sessments. Per cent of total. Number of lines. Number of lines reporting income. Income. Income. Assess- ments. Total. From op- erations. From as- sessments. 17,702 12, 430 $1,783,458 J460, 653 $1,322,805 25.8 74.2 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 1,343 965 11,374 2,718 1,302 849 559 8,651 1,602 769 140, 129 105, 386 1,225,288 204, 005 108, 650 67,604 43,505 241,351 69,776 38,417 72,525 61,881 983,937 134,229 70,233 48.2 41.3 19.7 34.2 35.4 51.8 58.7 80.3 65.8 64.6 7.6 5.5 64.3 15.4 7.4 6.8 4.5 69.6 12.9 6.2 7.9 5.9 68.7 11.4 6.1 14.7 9.4 52.4 15.1 8.3 5.5 4.7 74.4 10.1 5.3 Detailed statistics for the independent farmer or rural lines in 1907 are given by states and territories and geographic divisions in Table 84. The North Central division had approximately two-thirds of the total number of lines and of total income reported. The state of Iowa leads in number of lines, with 3,029, followed by Missouri with 2,344, and Illinois with 1,409. The states of Kansas, Nebraska, New York, Texas, Ohio, Minnesota, and Oklahoma follow in the order named with fewer than 1,000 but more than 500 lines each, and the states of Connecticut, Mary- land, and Delaware combined, New Jersey, and Utah had less than 10 lines each. More than one-half of the income from operations and nearly three-fourths of the assessments are credited to the North Central division. In each division the greater part of the in- come was from assessments. Relation of traffic to income and expense. — The cen- sus statistics were not collected with a view to making exact computations concerning the income and ex- penses per telephone or per message. Such statistics necessarily include data for all systems irrespective of the conditions under which these systems were op- erated. The methods of bookkeeping are not uni- form for all companies. Some companies charge to operating expenses certain items that are charged by others to capital account. A considerable proportion of the companies, especially the smaller ones, have very imperfect systems of accounting, and the data reported by such were necessarily not complete or satisfactory. In considering the income and expenses per unit, proper weight should be given to the different methods of charging for telephone service; but this is impossi- 68 TELEPHONES. He in census statistics in which the reports for many companies are combined. For this reason the com- putation of earnings and expenses per telephone or message given in Tables 74 and 75 should be accepted tfnly as indicating, or approximating, the actual conditions. Table 74. — Commercial and mutual systems — Operating earnings and operating expenses per station and per message: 1907. Average number of messages per station or tele- phone per year Average operating earnings: Per station or telephone Per message Average operating expense: Per station or telephone Per message Average net operating earnings: Per station or telephone Per message Ratio of operating expenses to operating earn- ings Commer- cial and mutual systems. 2,048 $31.49 0. 01538 21.29 0. 01040 10.20 0. 00498 67.6 Commer- cial sys- tems. $32.10 0.01551 21.69 0. 01048 10.41 0. 00503 Mutual systems. $5.35 0. 00475 4.43 0. 00393 0.93 0. 00082 The revenue and operating expenses of the mutual systems were very much less than those of the com- mercial companies, as a result of the fact that mutual systems are essentially rural and their revenues are designed to cover expenses only. The inclusion of the mutual systems with the commercial companies does not materially affect the results, as the mutual systems form such a small part of the total number of systems. For commercial and mutual systems combined the average operating earnings were $31.49 per telephone and 1.538 cents per message for 1907, and $35.24 per telephone and 1.609 cents per message for 1902. In 1907 the ratio of operating expenses to operating earnings for the commercial systems was 67.6 per cent and was much lower than for the mutual systems — 82.7 per cent. Table 75 shows for the commercial systems alone the average gross income per station or telephone and per message and its distribution to the various items of disbursements. It is, in one sense, improper to calculate the average gross income per station or telephone — that is, to divide the total income of companies from all sources by the number of sta- tions or telephones — since the gross income includes income from outside investments having nothing to do with the telephone traffic. Inasmuch, how- ever, as the deductions from the net income (the dividends and the surplus) are derived from the gross income from all sources and not from the earn- ings from operation alone, it is necessary, if any calculation of the amounts of these various items per station or per message is to be made, to compute similarly per station or per message the total income from which these items are derived. Since the differ- ence between the gross income and the earnings from operation is comparatively slight, this distribution does show, with approximate accuracy, what part of the, amount paid by the public for the use of a telephone per year and what part of the amount paid per message goes to the different purposes indi- cated. Table 75. — Commercial systems — Income and expenses per station and per message: 1907 and 190i . Average number of messages per station or telephone per year j Average gross income: Per station or telephone Per message Average earnings from operations— Per station or telephone Per message Average income from other sources — Per station or telephone Per message Average operating expense: Per station or telephone Per message. . : Average deductions from income (taxes and fixed charges): Per station or telephone Per message Average net income: Per station or telephone Per message Average deductions from net income (dividends) — Per station or telephone Per message Average surplus — Per station or telephone Per message 1907 1902 2,233 $33. 86 0. 01636 $38,87 0. 01740 32.10 0. 01551 36.52 0. 01635 1.77 0.00085 2.35 0. 00105 21.69 0.01048 25.42 0. 01138 4.15 0.00201 3.72 0.00167 8.03 0.00388 9.72 0.00435 4.37 0.00211 6.73 0.00301 3.65 0.00177 2.99 0. 00134 For commercial systems the average number of messages per station or telephone per year shows a considerable decrease from 1902 to 1907. The average for earnings from operation, and operating expenses also decreased, while the average for fixed charges increased, whether measured by the telephone unit or the message unit. While for the reasons already stated the averages in the table should not be accepted as exact, the decreases in the income and operating expenses per telephone and per message are in harmony with the generally accepted under- standing of actual conditions. The increase in the number of telephones operated under the measured system of payment and the improvements in busi- ness methods are the principal factors leading to these results. The increase in fixed charges is due to the increase in interest charges accompanying the large increase in funded debt. The income and operating expenses per unit vary greatly for different states, being, in general, high for the states containing the large cities and districts of high telephone density. Extension of the equipment of the several companies, however, occurs without regard to the political divisions of the country. In the majority of instances it was necessary to assign the entire income and expense account to the state in which the principal office was located, although a portion of the wire and some of the telephones were credited to another state. Therefore it is impossible to make satisfactory computations of the average income and expense items per telephone or per mes- sage for the separate states. Income account of systems having at least 1 ,000 sta- tions or telephones. — At the census of 1902 there were 194 commercial and mutual telephone systems with FINANCIAL STATISTICS. 69 at least 1,000 stations or telephones each. The financial statistics furnished by these large companies are as a rule more exact than those for the small sys- tems, and consequently comparisons and averages based on them are in some respects more satisfactory than those based on the statistics for all systems. Table 76 gives a comparative income statement for systems having 1,000 or more stations and for those with less than 1,000 stations in 1907 and 1902, re- spectively. Table 76.— COMMERCIAL AND MUTUAL SYSTEMS COMBINED, CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELEPHONES— INCOME ACCOUNT: 1907 AND 1902. Number of systems Number of stations or telephones Gross income Gross earnings from operation Operating expenses Net earnings from operation Income from other sources Gross income less operating expenses Deductions from income (taxes and fixed charges) Net income Dividends Surplus COMMERCIAL AND MUTUAL SYSTEMS. 1901 5. $184, 174. us; 56, 9, 66, 22, 43, 23, 19, 5,269 552,929 461, 747 868,918 248,576 620,342 592,829 213, 171 553, 729 659, 442 733,670 925, 772 1902 4,151 315,297 825,536 599, 769 867, 062 732, 707 225, 767 958, 474 297, 709 660, 765 982, 719 678,046 SYSTEMS HAVING AT LEAST 1,000 STATIONS OK TELE- PHONES. 1907 4 8166 157. 107^ so: 9' 59 21: 3s: 22. 15 614 397, 725 496,616 167,289 031,030 136,259 329,327 465,586 143, 370 322,216 671, 939 650,277 1902 1 $76, 71, 50, 20, 5 25, 7, 18, 14, 3, 194 679, 199 567,941 374, 134 806, 748 567,386 193,807 761, 193 562,950 198,243 357, 918 840,325 SYSTEMS HAVING LESS THAI? 1,000 STATIONS OK TELE- PHONES. 1907 4,655 1,155,204 $17,965,131 17,701,629 11,217,546 6,484,083 263,502 6,747,585 1,410,359 5,337,226 1,061,731 4,275,495 1902 3,957 636,098 $10,257,595 10,225,635 6,060,314 4,165,321 31,960 4,197,281 734, 759 3,462,522 624, 801 2, 837, 721 Number Of systems Number of stations or telephones Gross income Gross earnings from operation Operating expenses Net earnings from operation Income from other sources Gross income less operating expenses Deductions from income (taxes and fixed charges) Net income Dividends Surplus PER CENT OF TOTAL. 1,000 stations and over. 1907 11.7 79.2 90.3 89.9 90.5 88.5 97.3 89.8 93.7 87.8 95.5 78 5 1902 4 7 72.5 88.2 87.5 89.3 83.2 99.4 86.0 91.1 84.0 95.8 57.5 Less than 1,000 stations. 20.8 9.7 10.1 9.5 11.5 2.7 10.2 6.3 12.2 4.5 21.5 1902 95.3 27.5 11.8 12.5 10.7 16.8 0.6 14.0 8.9 16.0 4.2 42 5 PEE CENT OF INCREASE. Total. 26.9 139.8 112.5 114.3 107.9 128.9 83.6 121.0 171.8 101.6 58.4 198.4 1,000 sta- tions and over. Less than 1,000 sta- tions. 216.5 161.9 117.4 120.2 110.7 143.8 79.6 130.8 179.6 110.6 57.9 307.5 17.6 81.6 75.1 73.1 85.1 55.7 724.5 60.8 91.9 54.1 69.9 50.7 Although the average number of telephones per system increased from 558 in 1902 to 1,054 in 1907 for all systems, the average decreased from 8,656 to 7,162 in the case of systems with at least one thousand tele- phones, and increased from 161 to 248 in the case of systems with less than one thousand telephones. In a number of systems the class having at least one thou- sand telephones shows a much higher percentage of increase than the class having fewer telephones. This is in part due to the passing of systems from the smaller class to the larger during the interval between 1902 and 1907. As a result the former class had larger proportions of the total in 1907 than in 1902 for most of the items shown in the table, the exceptions being "Income from other sources" and "Dividends." In the case of the companies having less than one thousand telephones the percentages of gain for these two items were larger, but the amounts per system were small, the "Dividends" averaging $228 per system in 1907 and $158 in 1902, and the "Income from other sources" averaging but $57 per system in 1907 and $8 in 1902. Only eleven of the systems comprising the class with at least one thousand telephones in 1907 were mutual companies, all of the others being commercial. Table 77 shows for commercial and mutual systems, classified according to number of stations or tele- phones at the two census periods, the per cent distri- bution of gross income according to the disposition made of it. Table 77. — Commercial and mutual systems combined, classified according to number of stations or telephones — Per cent distribution of gross income by disposition: 1907 and 1902. Gross income '. Operating expenses Deductions from income, total Taxes Interest, total On funded debt On real-estate mortgages On floating debt Rentals paid for use of leased lines Dividends on preferred stock Dividends on common stock Surplus COMMERCIAL AND MUTUAL SYSTEMS. 1907 100.0 64.1 12.2 3.5 8.7 6.7 ( 2 ) 2.0 ( ! ) 0.9 11.9 10.8 1902 100.0 65.5 9.6 3.4 6.2 4.0 2.1 0.1 17.2 7.7 SYSTEMS HAVING AT LEAST 1,000 STATIONS OR TELEPHONES. 190J 100.0 64.3 12.7 3.6 9.1 7.0 ( ! ) 2.0 ( 2 ) 0.9 12.7 9.4 1902 100.0 66.4 (>> (') 0) (!) (') 5.0 SYSTEMS HAVING LESS THAN 1,000 STATIONS OR TELEPHONES. 1907 100.0 7.9 2.2 5.6 3.4 0.1 2.0 0.1 0.9 5.0 23.8 1902 100.0 59.1 7.2 (') (') (') (') (') 27.7 i Not shown separately. " Less than one-tenth of 1 per cent. The averages per station or telephone and per mes- sage of the various items of the income and expense account for systems classified according to number of stations or telephones are of interest and are given in Table 78. 70 TELEPHONES. Table 78.— COMMERCIAL AND MUTUAL SYSTEMS COMBINED, CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELEPHONES— AVERAGES PER STATION AND PER MESSAGE FOR INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNTS: 1907 AND 1902. Average number of messages per station or telephone per year . Average gross income: Per station or telephone Per message Average earnings from operation — Per station or telephone Per message Average income from other sources — Per station or telephone Per message Average operating expense: Per station or telephone Per message Average deductions from income (taxes and fixed charges): Per station or telephone Per message Average net income: Per station or telephone Per message Average deductions from net income (dividends) — Per station or telephone Per message '. Average surplus — Per station or telephone Per message COMMERCIAL AND MUTUAL SYSTEMS. 1907 2,048 $33. 22 0.01622 31.49 0. 01538 1.73 0.00084 21.29 0.01040 4.06 0.00198 7.86 0.00384 4.27 0.00209 3.59 0. 00175 2,190 $37.50 0.01712 35.24 0.01609 2.26 0. 00103 24.56 0.01122 3.58 0.00164 0.00427 6.47 0.00295 2.88 0. 00132 SYSTEMS HAVING AT LEAST 1 ,000 STATIONS OE TELEPHONES. 1907 2,166 $37. 86 0.01748 35.74 0.01650 2.12 o! 00098 24.34 0.01124 4.81 0.00222 8.71 0. 00402 5.16 0.00238 3.56 0. 00164 1902 0) $45.60 (•) 42.50 (') 3.09 (') 30.26 (') 4.50 (') 10.84 P) (') (') SYSTEMS HAVING LESS THAN 1,000 STATIONS OE TELEPHONES. 1907 $15.55 0.00973 15.32 0. 00959 0.23 0.00014 9.71 0.00607 1 22 0. 00076 4.62 0.00289 0.92 0.00057 3.70 0. 00232 1902 (') $16. 13 16.08 (') (>) 0.05 (') 9.53 (') 1.16 (') 5.44 (') 0.98 (') 4.46 1 Not reported separately. The above figures, of course, do not show the ratio of the operating expenses to the operating earnings from telephone traffic, since gross income includes revenue from other sources. The percentages which operating expenses bore to operating earnings are shown in Table 79. Table 79. — Per cent of operating expenses to operating earnings: 1907 and 1902. Per cent. 67.6 All commercial and mutual systems: 1907 1902 Systems having at least 1,000 stations or telephones: 1907 1902 Systems having less than 1,000 stations or telephones: 1907 1902 0.7 68.1 71.2 63.4 59.3 CHAPTER VI. EMPLOYEES, SALAKIES, AND WAGES. The schedule of inquiry used in the census of tele- phone systems in 1907 did not call for as much detail in regard to employees as did the schedule used in 1902. At the prior census, foremen, inspectors, linemen, wire men and battery men, and trouble men were reported separately; but at the later census all wage-earners ex- cept operators were grouped in one class. The opera- tors were reported separately and by sex. As a result of the fact that the employees of the majority of com- panies perform various duties, it was regarded as ad- vantageous to secure in this census separate statistics for only the following classes of employees, namely, salaried officers of corporations, other officers, such as superintendents, general managers, etc., clerks and bookkeepers, operators, and all other wage-earners. Table 4 of Chapter II presents the number and sala- ries of salaried employees and the average number of wage-earners and the wages for all systems, by states, for 1907 and 1902, and since farmer or rural lines re- ported no employees or wages, or salaries, the same figures are the figures for commercial and mutual systems. * Table 80.— COMMERCIAL AND MUTUAL SYSTEMS— EMPLOYEES, SALARIES, AND WAGES: 1907 AND 1902. Employees, total: Number Salaries and wages Salaried employees- Number Salaries Wage-earners— Total average number Total wages Operators- Average number Wages Men — Average number Wages Per cent of total operators Women- Average number Wages Per cent of total operators All other wage-earners— Average number Wages COMMERCIAL AND MUTUAL SYSTEMS. 1907 144,169 $68,279,127 25,298 819,298,423 118,871 148,980,704 80,214 $24,309,877 3,576 $1,218,387 4.5 76,638 $23,091,490 95.5 38,657 $24,670,827 1902 78,752 $36,255,621 14, 124 $9,885,886 64,628 $26,369,735 39,858 $10,765,098 2,525 $729,666 6.3 37,333 $10,035,432 93.7 24,770 $15,604,637 Per cent of increase. 83.1 88.3 79.1 95.2 83.9 85.7 101.2 125.8 41.6 67.0 105.3 130.1 56.1 58.1 COMMEECIAL SYSTEMS. 142,436 $.67,905,572 24,959 $19,245,349 117,477 $48,660,223 79,085 $24,080,873 3,432 $1,184,224 4.3 75,653 $22,896,649 95.7 38,392 $24,579,350 $36 $9 $26 77,588 077,661 13,958 871,596 63,630 206,065 (') (>) (') Per cent of increase. 83.6 88.2 78.8 95.0 84.6 85.7 MUTUAL SYSTEMS. 1,733 $373,555 339 $53,074 1,394 $320,481 1,129 $229,004 144 $34, 163 12.8 985 $194,841 87.2 265 $91,477 1902 1,164 $177,960 166 $14,290 $163,670 0) (') 0) (!) (') Per cent of increase. 48.9 109.9 104.2 271.4 39.7 95.8 i Not shown separately in 1902 report. As before explained, because of the differences in the classification of the mutual systems and the independ- ent farmer or rural fines at the two censuses, the statis- tics for the commercial systems and for the mutual systems for 1907 are not strictly comparable with the statistics for the same classes in 1902. But the effect of the change in classification in the statistics pertain- ing to employees, salaries, and wages is comparatively small and hence they have been shown in detail in the foregoing table for the commercial systems and the mutual systems for 1907 and 1902. The independent farmer or rural lines and some of the small mutual systems have no persons regularly employed to operate and maintain the systems. All of the work on the lines is done by the subscribers themselves at odd times, and no statistics could be obtained concerning the number employed or the time given to the work. Eeliable statistics for employees could be secured only from the commercial and the more important mutual systems. All persons employed in connection with the management, operation, or maintenance of the lines are reported in the census data. The employees engaged on new construction work are not included, but their salaries and wages are included in the total given for the "cost of lines, real estate, equipment, etc., added during the year." The statistics for em- ployees, therefore, show as nearly as possible the average number of persons required to operate the telephone systems during the year, under normal con- ditions. .The increases in the number of employees and wages between 1902 and 1907, as shown in Table 80, are quite in keeping with the other increases in the industry. The preponderance of women operators over men has increased since the former census, the proportion of the men having diminished from 6.3 per cent of the total number of operators in 1902 to 4.5 per cent in 1907. A comparison of the number of (71) 72 TELEPHONES. employees at the times of the several censuses illus- trates the rapid growth of the industry. In 1907 the salaried employees and wage-earners numbered 144,169. In 1880, when the first census of telephone systems was included in the decennial census, they num- bered only 3,338; in 1890, 8,645; and in 1902, 78,752. For each class of employees the percentage of in- crease in their number is less than that in their salaries or wages, a condition which indicates a considerable increase in the average compensation received by the employees of telephone companies in 1907 over that received in 1902. The number of persons employed in a telephone exchange indicates the size of the exchange and the volume of business done by it. In 1880 the total num- ber of exchanges in the United States was 437 and the total number of .employees 3,338, an average of 7.6 employees of all classes to each exchange. In 1890, when the total number of exchanges was 1,241 and the total number of employees 8,645, the average number of employees per exchange had declined to 7. At the 1890 census the operators, of whom there were 4,769, were for the first time enumerated separately, and there was an average of 3.8 operators to each ex- change. A reference to Table 81 shows that this was also the average number of operators per exchange in 1902 but in 1907 the average had increased to 5.2. There are many exchanges which employ scores of operators, but the average is kept down by the much more numerous exchanges that have only one or two. The average number of stations or telephones per employee has increased very materially since the last census, as shown by the following comparative tabu- lar statement: Commercial and mutual systems — Average number of stations or tele- phones per employee: 1907 and 1902. DIVISION. Census. Number of stations or telephones. Number of employees. Average number of stations or telephones per employee. 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 1907 1902 5, 552, 929 2,315,297 144,169 78, 752 39 29 1,619,566 647, 670 339, 430 143,314 2,568,719 1,091,168 514,330 225, 999 510,884 207,146 46, 539 27, 405 9,802 5,040 58, 534 30,213 16,427 8,326 12,867 7,768 35 24 35 28 44 36 31 27 40 27 Table 81 gives, by geographic divisions, the number of public exchanges and the average number of the several classes of employees per exchange, for com- mercial and mutual systems combined, at each of the last two censuses, and for the commercial and mutual systems separately in 1907. The statistics disclose the relative magnitude of the exchange force in the several geographic divisions of the United States. Practically every item of the telephone statistics bears witness to the great advance the industry made from 1902 to 1907. Not only did the number of sys- tems and exchanges greatly increase but the individual companies expanded in their operations. The average number of wage-earners required to operate an ex- change increased, for commercial and mutual systems, from 6,2 per exchange in 1902 to 7.7 per exchange in 1907. For commercial systems alone the increase was from 6.8 per exchange to 8 and for mutual systems alone from 1.1 per exchange to 1.6. The number of operators per exchange increased from 3.8 in 1902 to 5.2 in 1907 for the two classes combined. The tables for 1902 did not show the number of operators for commercial and mutual systems separately; but in 1907 each commercial exchange employed an average of 5.4 operators, and each mutual exchange an aver- age of 1.4. In the combined statistics for commercial and mutual exchanges the North Atlantic division had the largest averages in both 1902 and 1907 for each class of employees, this fact indicating that the sys- tems were generally larger in this division than in any other. In the combined systems the Western division ranked second at both censuses, as shown by the average number of all wage-earners, all operators, and women operators. Commercial systems owned fourteen-nfteenths of the exchanges reported in Table 81, and it is the pre- dominance of their influence that resulted in the con- ditions just noticed for commercial and mutual sys- tems combined. Considered separately for 1907, the statistics for commercial systems show that the North Atlantic division had per exchange the largest average number of salaried employees, of wage-earners, and of each class of wage-earners, and that it therefore con- tained the commercial exchanges of largest average size. The commercial systems of the Western division retained the second place with less certainty than did the commercial and mutual systems combined. For total number of wage-earners in 1907 they still show next to the largest number, an average of 7.2 per exchange ; but both the South Atlantic and the North Central divisions follow closely, with 7 and 6.8, respec- tively. In average number of operators the North Central division exceeded the Western division, and the South Atlantic division was behind the Western division by an average per exchange of only 0.4. The great difference between the average number of the various classes of employees for commercial systems and those for mutual systems is so obvious as to need no interpretation. It is noticeable, how- ever, that in the North Atlantic division, where all averages were highest for commercial systems, with the exception of men operators all were lowest for mutual systems. The mutual systems of the four other geographic divisions appear to rival each other very closely as to EMPLOYEES, SALARIES, AND WAGES. 73 average size and amount of business transacted. The average number of operators, which seems to be the most accurate basis of comparison, is 1.5 per exchange for the South Atlantic and the Western divisions and 1.4 for the North Central and the South Central divi- sions. For all wage-earners the North Central division shows the highest average, 1.8; but the others follow closely, the Western with 1.7, and the South Atlantic and the South Central with 1.6 each. Tables 82, 83, and 84, for commercial systems, mu- tual systems, and independent farmer or rural lines, respectively, show in detail the complete statistics, except for capitalization and balance sheet, as called for by the schedules of inquiry in 1907. Table 81.— COMMERCIAL AND MUTUAL SYSTEMS— NUMBER OF PUBLIC EXCHANGES, NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES, AND AVERAGE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES PER EXCHANGE, BY GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907 AND 1902. COMMERCIAL AND MUTUAL SYSTEMS. COMMER- CIAL SYSTEMS. MUTUAL SYSTEMS AVERAGE NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES PER EXCHANGE. DIVISION. 1907 1902 Per cent of increase. 1907 1907 Commercial and mutual systems. Commer- cial systems. Mutual systems. 1907 1902 1907 1907 Number of public exchanges: 15,527 10,361 49.9 14,702 825 3,049 1,241 7,422 2,304 1,511 144,169 2,330 791 5,212 1,144 884 78, 752 30.9 56.9 42.4 101.4 70.9 83.1 2,922 1,141 6,861 2,279 1,499 142,436 127 100 561 25 12 1,733 South Atlantic Number of employees: 9.3 7.6 9.7 2.1 46, 539 9,802 58,534 16,427 12,867 25,298 27,405 5,040 30,213 8,326 7,768 14,124 69.8 94.5 93.7 97.3 65.6 79.1 46,374 9,615 57,225 16,377 12,845 24,959 165 187 1,309 50 22 339 15.3 7.9 7.9 7.1 8.5 1.6 11.7 6.4 5.8 7.3 8.8 1.4 15.9 8.4 8.3 7.2 8.6 1.7 1.3 1.9 2.3 1.8 0.4 Salaried employees: 8,064 1,614 10,625 2,984 2,011 118,871 5,703 1,015 4,768 1,266 1,372 64,628 41.4 59.0 122.8 135.7 46.6 83.9 8,042 1,586 10,348 2,974 2,009 117,477 22 28 277 10 2 1,394 2.6 1.3 1.4 1.3 1.3 7.7 2.4 1.3 0.9 1.1 1.6 6.2 2.8 1.4 1.5 1.3 1.3 8.0 0.2 3 0.5 0.4 0.2 1.6 Wage-earners: 38,475 8,188 47,909 13,443 10,856 80,214 21,702 4,025 25,445 7,060 6,396 39,858 77.3 103.4 88.3 90.4 69.7 101.2 38, 332 8,029 46,877 13,403 10,836 79,085 143 159 1,032 40 20 1,129 12.6 6.6 6.5 5.8 7.2 5.2 9.3 5.1 4.9 6.2 7 2 3.8 13.1 7.0 6.8 5.9 7.2 5 4 1.1 1.6 1.8 1.6 1.7 1.4 Operators: 24,864 5,084 34, 118 9,086 7,062 3,576 11,950 2,458 17,350 4,510 3,590 2,525 108.1 106.8 96.6 101.5 96.7 41.6 24,728 4,937 33,324 9,052 7,044 3,432 136 147 794 34 18 144 8.2 4.1 4.6 3.9 4.7 0.2 5 1 3.1 3.3 3.9 4.1 0.2 8.5 4.3 4.9 4.0 4.7 0.2 1.1 1.5 1.4 1.4 1.5 0.2 Men: 1,153 357 1,322 670 74 76, 638 946 216 985 315 63 37,333 21.9 65.3 34.2 112.7 17.5 105.3 1,113 347 1,239 661 72 75,653 40 10 83 9 2 985 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.05 4.9 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.07 3.6 0.4 0.3 0.2 3 0.05 5.1 0.3 0.1 1 0.4 0.2 1.2 Women: 23,711 4,727 32,796 8,416 6,988 38,657 11,004 2,242 16,365 4,195 3,527 24,770 115.5 110.8 100.4 100.6 98.1 56.1 23,615 4,590 32,085 8,391 6,972 38,392 96 137 711 25 16 265 7.8 3.8 4.4 3.7 4.6 2.5 4.7 2.8 3.1 3.7 4.0 2.4 8.1 4.0 4.7 3.7 4.7 2.6 0.8 1.4 1.3 1.0 1.3 0.3 All other wage-earners: 13,611 3,104 13,791 4,357 3,794 9,752 1,567 8,095 2,550 2,806 39.6 98.1 70.4 70.9 35.2 13,604 3,092 13,553 4,351 3,792 7 12 238 6 2 4.5 2.5 1.9 1.9 2.5 4.2 2.0 1.6 2.2 3.2 4.7 2.7 2.0 1.9 2.5 0.06 0.1 0.4 0.2 0.2 CHAPTER Til. TELEPHONE DEVELOPMENT— DESCRIPTIVE. Industrial and technical development. — The rapid industrial progress of the last decade has been the result of a progressive increase in national activity. Agri- culture, mining, commerce, manufacturing, transpor- tation, and, in fact, all the various branches of produc- tion and distribution of natural and artificial resources, are gradually coming to be more and more conducted by scientific methods which necessitate intimate corre- spondence between individual acts and the results which are their aim. In developing the individual efficiency which enables the average worker to accom- plish a large amount in proportion to the energy -ex- pended and to pass smoothly from one task to the next, an exceedingly important factor has been the extension and improvement of methods of instantaneous com- munication across space. Existence of telephone traffic is essentially an indi- cation that time is being saved. By bringing into communication two persons separated by greater or less distances a telephone conversation eliminates the time which would be spent by one or both in traveling to a meeting place, without destroying the gainful ele- ment of personal contact ; or it cuts down the interval between the conception of an idea and its execution which must necessarily accompany the transmission of written communications. The net result of this saving in time and effort in great cities may be made clear to the mind not only by absolute statistics but by an appeal to the imagination based on the assump- tion that each telephone may be considered to displace a certain number of actual messengers. It is extremely doubtful if at certain times of the day the streets of the congested business districts in any of our larger cities, or the stairs and elevators of their large office buildings, would have sufficient space to accommodate the num- ber of persons who would have to pass back and forth to carry the necessary communications which are now transmitted over telephone wires. In addition to the saving in this respect, the telephone brings about a fur- ther improvement in individual working efficiency by diminishing the period of time during which the action of the mind is interrupted — that is, involved in obtain- ing the ideas of other persons on the matter that may be under consideration. The recognition of these principles has led to a wide- spread adoption of telephone service as a fundamental aid to the routine of the average business firm and household in all parts of the country, in ways of which (74) a brief summary is given in the present connection and which will be described later in more detail. In the local distribution of those classes of supplies which are of most general consumption the telephone aids, as a large number of grocery and provision stores include among their customers a considerable proportion whose residences are equipped with telephones, and such stores make a practice of calling regular patrons every morning to ascertain their needs for the day. Depart- ment stores in large cities have installed telephones at the counters, and advertise personal service by tele- phone, thus enabling a patron to communicate directly with the salesman in that section of the store in which the goods desired are for sale, who can give descriptions and advice, and perform most of the services which would have been involved in a transaction conducted across the counter. In some towns of moderate size the utility of telephone service in building up a regular trade, reducing expense of taking orders, etc., as well as in ministering to the convenience of patrons, has been so thoroughly recognized by tradesmen that they have at their own expense installed telephones upon the premises of customers. Even among persons doing business on a small scale, such as cobblers, cleaners of clothing, and even laundresses, telephone service is coming to be considered necessary for keeping in touch with customers and reducing the amount of idle time. Some railroads have superseded the old plan of using messengers to forward orders to employees whose services are desired at the yards by maintaining, at the expense of the corporation, telephone service at the homes of the employees. In clubs and hotels the tele- phone is used to a very large extent for sending mes- sages from one floor or room to another, or to the general office, reducing messenger service in that it saves at least one trip for every call as compared with older methods of communication. Factories install interior systems which enable the office to keep in close touch with department foremen; and the use of such systems in connection with long-distance lines makes it possible for a general office in a city to know almost instantly the condition of any order in a main or branch factory, even though it be in a small town many miles distant. Steam and electric railroads are using private telephone systems for the control of car and train movements. Newspapers have increased the efficiency of their service by extensive use of both local and long- distance facilities in gathering news. TELEPHONE DEVELOPMENT— DESCRIPTIVE. 75 Corresponding to the great development of tele- phone service in towns and urban localities, with its resultant benefits, a rapid extension of this utility which is most significant of one of our important pro- gressive national tendencies has been taking place in the rural districts. Perhaps a primary reason for the beginning of the large use of the telephone in farm- houses was the social need, arising from the isolation which is almost a hardship in districts thinly settled, and where each farmer cultivates a large area. To the farmer the telephone serves not only as a means of relieving the loneliness of the members of the family and keeping in touch with social and educational op- portunities of the vicinity, but supplies facilities for taking advantage of favorable prices in neighboring markets ; obtaining prompt delivery of needed supplies and repair parts for equipment; for employment of emergency or temporary labor; and for summoning aid in case of sickness of persons or valuable animals, in case of fire, and sometimes of crime. The rural telephone has been used systematically in library- extension work; and in regions where the damag- ing effect upon crops of sudden weather changes can be minimized by human action, the regular dis- tribution of government weather reports by rural telephone has been, in many instances, by itself a feature of the service which is considered by its users to more than justify its cost. The substitution of telephone service for traveling is, of course, no longer confined to short distances or the beaten paths of maximum commercial traffic ; and it supplies the element of personal contact in a man- ner nearly equivalent to the actual proximity of speakers. The custom of leaving offices in the city each year for a period of one or two months, which is spent in the country or at the seaside, for rest and recuperation, is growing among persons responsible for the conduct of business. The ability to remain away from the center of affairs without loss is created by the use of the long-distance telephone for keeping in touch with the daily progress of events, and for giving instructions to the persons left in immediate charge of affairs. It has become clearly established that the utility of the telephone is not at all dependent upon density of population, but rather upon its precise economic value to those who use it for particular purposes. For example, in certain sections of the country, lumber camps use telephones attached to roughly erected lines of wire strung from tree to tree, to control the movements of men working upon the trees in the for- ests, or upon logs as they are floating down rivers to mills. In the national forest reserves, and the state forest reserve of New York, extensive systems of tele- phone lines have been built, partly for the use of the settlers, but more particularly to enable rangers, on the lookout for fires, to call help to extinguish flames before their destructive action has spread over a wide area. . In large construction projects, involving earth- work over extensive areas, such as have been under way at Panama; in reclamation projects for watering the arid regions of the West; in work carried on by private contractors; in the working of mines; and also, to a limited extent, in the construction of very high office buildings, an appropriate local telephone service has been found to facilitate greatly the handling of men and materials. In districts, such as those surrounding developed water power, where the operation of factories, street- railway lines, and lights is dependent upon electric power transmitted from a distance, the necessity of avoiding interruption is great. The prompt report and remedy of defective conditions is made possible through the installation and use of a telephone line which parallels the power wires, and is equipped with an instrument at each point where an attendant is employed. So manifold are the services of this public utility, in its present condition of development, that an entire enumeration of its uses would in fact be an almost com- plete catalogue of the possibilities of communication in the industrial and social life of the eountry. While new uses for telephone service will be discovered in the future from time to time, the main opportunities for extension seem to lie along paths already traced, rather than in the application of the telephone to new fields of activity. The tele-phone in farm life. — No single factor has played so great a part in the amelioration of the con- ditions of life on the farms of the United States as has the telephone. Although the telephone was invented only thirty-two years ago and the first exchange was opened but thirty years ago, many hundreds of thou- sands of telephone instruments are to-day installed in the farmers' homes of this country. On April 26, 1879, a circular issued by the National Bell Telephone Company, establishing the rates for the annual rental of telephone instruments,, recognized in a dim, antici- patory way the needs of these isolated communities of the rural districts. At that time all the instruments covered by the patents were leased to those who wished to use them, and in addition to the rates named for the use of telephones for "general purposes" the circular gave a schedule of rates providing for leases for special purposes. Among the various forms of leases for which special rates were provided, a lease for "social purposes" was included. This was defined to be "for use between residences when connected on a single line or circuit for social purposes exclusively." An- other rate was given for leases for "club purposes," which were defined as covering cases where the resi- dences, offices, etc., of different parties were connected on any single line or circuit. These were not exchange telephones, which were then considered as intended for general purposes, but represented an attempt to serve a purely neighborhood group. Under this form 76 TELEPHONES. of lease a group of farmers could establish a line and talk with all the others on the same line, although as they were not connected with an exchange they could not reach any person connected to another line. About 1881 Mr. Morris F. Tyler, at that time the president of the Southern New England Telephone Company, operating in Connecticut, began to foster this form of development, and carried it to its next logical step, namely, the connection of these lines to the nearest exchange belonging to the company. An annual charge was made for the use of the instruments and lines within the group of neighbors, for in that state the lines were built by the telephone company and not by the farmers, and a small toll charge was made whenever any of these club subscribers desired to reach the exchange with which their circuit was connected. This was in reality the beginning of the development of telephone service in the United States outside of the strictly urban centers, and the methods there adopted were soon taken up in other parts of the coun- try. During the next few years, however, compara- tively little was done to push this form of service, as the extraordinary demand for telephone service in the cities and larger towns not only took all the time and attention of the managers but made such demands upon financial resources as to render it impossible to devote any money to the development of rural service. After the expiration in 1893 of the fundamental patents on the telephone a number of concerns under- took the manufacture of telephone instruments, and inasmuch as the field in the cities was by that time fairly well served, a great impetus was given by these manufacturers to the development of rural lines. The opportunity was quickly seized upon by the farm- ers, and the use of the telephone on farms increased. Since 1902 both the Bell companies and the inde- pendent manufacturers have done a large amount of work with the object of aiding the farmers throughout the country to obtain telephone service. Various means have been adopted of accomplishing this end. In some parts of the country the telephone companies have themselves built lines extending into farming districts and have furnished the farmers with telephone service, but the method more usually employed has been to aid the farmer to build his own lines and to give him connection with the exchanges already established in the towns with which he trades, and in this way also to connect him to the great toll-line system of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, now covering nearly the entire United States, and connect- ing with a system covering practically the whole set- tled part of the Dominion of Canada. In those communities where the farmers have built their own telephone lines, the original form of organi- zation has been purely mutual. Construction has been a cooperative work and the association of the farmers the most primitive type of corporation. The establishment and development of such farmers' tele- phone systems have usually gone on along evolutionary lines, and have followed more or less closely the form herewith outlined. A group of farmers who lived within a reasonable distance of one another, having come to the conclusion that telephone service was an essential comfort of life, and that it had already passed from the region of luxuries into the field of necessities, would meet together and arrange to estab- lish a telephone system which should connect them with one another. The work involved in constructing such system would be so divided that each member of the association would contribute an equivalent part of the material and labor. If the country was wooded, the farmers making up the association agreed to cut and supply the poles and to haul them to the places where they were needed. In many cases it might happen that one member of the group of farmers had a wood lot and could supply all the poles, and he would agree to furnish a suffi- cient number of poles, while the other members of the association would take charge of the work of setting them and stringing the wires. The farmers' boys and the farm hands did the work of setting the poles and putting on the cross-arms, which would in many cases be hewn out of native timber. The wire and the insulators, the switchboard and the instruments, would have to be bought, and so a cash assessment would be levied on each member to make these pur- chases. If it became necessary to buy poles because of the lack of suitable timber in the district, the assess- ment had to be proportionately increased. The work of stringing the wires and installing the instruments was taken up by the mechanically-minded farmers and their boys, and in a very short time a complete telephone system was in operation. The switchboard was placed in the house of one of the members of the association situated at some convenient point, and the operation of the lines was attended to by the wife and daughters of the farmer in whose home the board was located. A strictly mutual, isolated system of this kind sufficed for a while to give all the telephone service this particular group desired, but it was not long before progressive farmers realized the need of con- nection with the outer world. Negotiations would therefore be opened with the telephone company operating in the nearest town, the town with which these farmers did their usual trading, for a contract by which the farmers could secure town service and also get access to the toll lines reaching to the county seat and the metropolitan center of the district. These contracts between the groups of farmers and the larger systems operating in the cities and connecting TELEPHONE DEVELOPMENT— DESCRIPTIVE. 77 with the long-distance toll lines made these farmers' groups or mutual companies, as many of them were called, a part of a larger system — sometimes the Bell, sometimes the independent — and marked the first step toward attaining the ultimate end of telephone service, which is to enable every one who has access to a telephone to reach every other person who can reach one. This connection with the more important systems in a way furnished all the telephone service needed for the second period of development, but a third step had to follow. In many cases, as these little mutual farmers' lines took on more subscribers and extended from farm to farm, they began to overlap one another in the territory served, a fact which in the natural sequence of events led to the consolidation of these lines and the formation of larger systems. As a result of this process of consolidation the purely mutual character of the ownership became weaker. In order to secure a proper maintenance of the lines and those uniform methods of operation and con- struction which are essential to good service, it was found necessary for their ownership to take the cor- porate form ; and to-day a very large number of incor- porated telephone companies exist in the United States controlled by a regularly elected board of directors, which are in reality nothing but a combina- tion of small groups of farmers forced by the circum- stances to take the form of a corporation. The uses to which the farmer puts the telephone are manifold, and illustrations might be given by the dozen of the value of this service, but a few of the more prominent will show the incalculable value of the tele- phone in the everyday life of the farm. Perhaps the one respect in which it has been of greatest service to the farmer, taken as a whole, has been the access which it has given him to the great markets in which his products are sold. The grain grower in the West, when he is approached by a grain buyer who wishes to purchase his wheat, simply steps to his telephone and asks the next town where the telephone exchange is located to tell him what the closing prices in the Chicago market were the night before, or how the market opened that morning. He is then prepared to trade with the buyer on an equal footing. The farmer knows the freight rates to the terminal markets, and he knows what his grain ought to be worth on the farm when Chicago or Kansas City quotes a certain price for grain in those markets. The man who has suffered has been the grain dealer. Where formerly he had margin enough between the price which he paid for his grain and the price which he could obtain in the terminal markets to make a handsome profit, he is now obliged to figure quarters and eighths of cents. Another class which has benefited is the truck farmers in the neighborhood of the large cities. These have been enabled by means of the telephone to reach the city markets and to find out whether there is any demand for their fresh vegetables, or whether the market is glutted and prices are low. If the latter condition exists, the farmer can wait a day or two, instead of carrying in his produce and running the risk of having to sell at a very low price, or to carry it back home to the great detriment of the vegetables, to say nothing of the wasted time of his horses and men. With a telephone he merely waits until he is told that a load of corn or of tomatoes will find a ready market at a fair price. If a horse falls sick or a valuable cow is in danger, a veterinarian is called and is at the farm in half the time needed before the days of the telephone. If a farm machine breaks down, by the aid of the telephone and the trolley express, or, in case of small parts, the rural free delivery, the broken part can be obtained in a few hours and work go on as before. In some parts of the country where horse stealing has been more or less prevalent, the rural telephone has come very near to putting an end to this form of theft, because a man who has lost his horse immediately telephones to the cen- tral exchange, which notifies all of the farmers in the district to look out for such a horse. On the social side of life the telephone on the farm plays an important part. In many parts of the country at a certain prearranged signal, such as two long rings, every one on the farm lines goes to the telephones, and when central is assured that prac- tically everybody is on the line it reads out any im- portant matters of general news which may have come in during the day, and also gives out the weather re- port. It is, indeed, very common for the weather report, as soon as received, perhaps about 10 in the morning, to be repeated to all the subscribers on farm lines. From a social standpoint this practice, by which the farmers, many of them separated by con- siderable distances from their neighbors and from the nearest towns, are kept in touch with the everyday happenings of the world, is of incalculable benefit. In this way throughout large stretches of the country the farmer is better informed as to the events of the day than the busy city resident whose reading of the morning paper consists of a glance at the headlines over his coffee. Socially, too, the telephone has rendered each neigh- borhood more homogeneous. Although the houses may be separated by stretches of farms from half a mile to 3 miles in extent, yet if they are all on the same telephone line there is a sense of community life impossible without this ready means of communi- cation. This is an immense boon in the life of the women on the farm, who for days at a time during planting and harvesting seasons may be left alone in the house during working hours, while the men are 78 TELEPHONES. away on distant parts of the farm. The sense of lone-, liness and insecurity felt by the farmers' wives under former conditions disappears, and an approach is made toward the solidarity of a small country town. The establishment of farmers' lines is, of course, inexpensive, so far as cash expenditure is concerned. The farmer contributes what he has the most of, that is, labor and material, and is called upon for the small- est possible amount of what he finds it hardest to secure, that is, cash. For a company to undertake this construction would require enormous sums of money, and this money would represent simply the conversion of one form of wealth into another with no gain in the total wealth. The farmers build these lines in their spare time, that is, in the time which otherwise would not add anything to the wealth of the community, but which by this means is directly converted into permanent wealth. To maintain the telephone line it is customary for the various members of the association to become responsible either for that portion of the line located on their farms, or for some other definite portion of the system, and inasmuch as the service on the whole line depends upon the proper maintenance of every portion of the line, if any one of the members neglects to keep up his portion he soon finds himself in disfa- vor with all the other members of the group. On the other hand, the farmer who knows that a friend is responsible for the quality of the service on his telephone line is far more lenient toward small inter- ruptions in the service or faults in transmission than he is under similar circumstances when the service is furnished by a company. When, in course of time, it becomes necessary as a result of the expansion of the system to secure the services of some one who shall give his whole time to seeing that the line and the instruments are kept in proper repair, farmers' boys are found growing up in every country commu- nity who take an interest in electrical and mechanical methods, and who gladly devote themselves to this work for a very moderate amount of cash payment, their 'ambition being to learn the methods of operating. The operating expense of the telephone service is likewise small. A switchboard placed in a farmer's house and attended by the farmer's wife and daughters makes but little demand upon the time of anyone, and this service is given for a minimum cash payment. The mere fact of having the switchboard, the center of the farmers' group, is often a source of sufficient pride to cause this work to be done for nothing. Thus it happens that in the earlier days of a farmers' telephone system, when the plant is small and is care- fully looked after by the members of the association, the cost of the service is very trifling Later on the plant grows old and deteriorates and requires more repairs. The number of subscribers increases and the operators must spend their entire time at the switch- board. Storms come, and the partially worn-out plant succumbs more readily to the weather. The result is that at the end of the year the members of the associa- tion find that the expenses have been greater than in previous years, and much larger than they had ever figured on. This produces dissatisfaction, but still the telephone service has become so indispensable that it must be continued. When this stage has been reached, the association usually feels obliged to become a regu- lar company and very often to consolidate with its neighbors, in order that the consolidated company may secure a technical man the cost of whose services can be apportioned among a sufficiently large number of subscribers so that this charge will but slightly increase the burden on each. Very few of those who express dissatisfaction with the increased expense of the telephone service which results from the conditions indicated, stop to think of the reasons for this increased cost of service, and of the increased value which their telephones now possess. As the system has grown the investment has naturally become greater, and inasmuch as the newer subscribers are located at points more distant from the center of the group than were the first, the investment in poles and wires for each subscriber has become greater. So, too, the investment in the switchboard becomes greater with the growth of the system. A small switchboard for a hundred subscribers can be installed for about $4 a subscriber, while for a thousand sub- scribers such a board might easily cost $20 for each subscriber. Similar conditions exist with regard to the work of operating the switchboard. The farmers at first do not consider the fact that where there were 20 subscribers, and each one could talk to but 19 others, the daily number of calls from each subscriber was small. When the number increased to 300, each subscriber could reach 299 others, so that the demand for telephone calls became greater. The result was that with a small number of subscribers the average farmer would resort to the telephone three times a day. When he could reach 299 of his neighbors he might call up 10 of those a day. This increased number of calls would mean, of course, that an operator could attend to fewer lines than had formerly been the case. With 20 subscribers, each of whom gave but 3 calls a day, there would be but 60 calls, so that the operator would have a great deal of spare time, and would not need to stay at the switchboard, but could go to it when the bell rang. With 300 subscribers, and an average of 10 calls a day for each subscriber, the number of calls daily would be 3,000. If these calls were distributed equally over the entire day, they could still be handled by one girl with- out difficulty if she gave her entire time, but telephone calls, even in rural districts, are not so distributed. TELEPHONE DEVELOPMENT— DESCRIPTIVE. 79 The morning is apt to be a busy time on the farm lines, when business is being transacted with the adjoin- ing town, plans made with neighbors, and orders given of one kind and another. A practical lull then ensues during the major part of the day, followed by a sudden rush of business about supper time, when the telephone visiting begins and the members of the farm-line tele- phone associations discuss all the events of the day and happenings past, present, and to come, and make appointments for business and for pleasure. During this time the farmers' telephone board is a very busy place, so that the number of patrons a single operator can attend to is smaller, and consequently more opera- tors must be employed to handle the calls. As the number of subscribers and of calls increases, this de- mand upon the operator becomes such that each must be given fewer and fewer lines to attend, especially if their lines are frequently used, so that where one girl might in the early stages of telephone development easily attend to 100 or even 150 lines, a point is reached where a girl may have all that she can possibly do to satisfy 60 subscribers. These facts make it apparent that as a telephone system grows the cost grows likewise, and all through the country the farmers have found themselves obliged, in order to keep up their plant and furnish the kind of service which they feel they want, to increase their assessments in the case of the mutual associations, or to raise their rates in the case of the incorporated com- panies. The one thing which the farmer has often failed to see is that with this increase in cost has come a great increase in the value of the service. When he was able to reach only a dozen neighbors, and was not con- nected with any village, the service was of value to him, but still not of great value. After he was connected to the nearest village exchange, and was able to reach 300 subscribers, the service became immensely more valuable, and this service he still obtained for a mini- mum of cost. As the country filled up and the num- ber of people connected with his telephone system in- creased up to the thousands, while the cost to him may have increased a few dollars a year, still the increase in the value of the service which resulted from the fact that it reached so many more persons was many times greater than the small additional expenditure re- quired of him. In actual dollars and cents the ad- ditional profits which'the farmer, in selling his prod- ucts, may make on a single transaction through having the facilities of quick communication with the trading centers would in many cases suffice to pay the cost of a telephone for his entire lifetime. The combination of the interurban street-railway lines with their express and freight facilities, the rural free delivery by which letters and papers are delivered at the farmer's door, and the telephone which puts 36754°— 10 6 him instantaneously in touch with the whole world, has done much toward making farm life attractive. These facilities have extended the suburbs of the larger cities farther and farther into the country each year, and have tended to reduce the congestion in the cities, and in a measure to check the drift of farm popula- tion into urban centers; and there is no doubt that with a larger development of these factors in modern life there will be an even stronger tendency toward distributing the population in suburban and rural districts. At the present time no reliable figures are availa- ble as to the actual number of farm telephones. The definition of a rural district and the distinction between real rural districts and suburban districts which are rural in character, but which make up a part of the municipal area of some large city, are very vague. Inasmuch as in these suburban areas the telephones constitute part of the city system, a large number of city telephones should really be classed as rural in character. For two states figures which are of some value are at hand. In Connecticut, where only the Bell company operates, and where there were at the census of 1900, 26,000 farms with buildings, there were, on January 1, 1909, something over 15,000 rural telephones, without considering the telephones located in the rural areas of the cities. In Iowa, where the farmers have built extensively and where competition between the Bell companies and the independents, and also between groups of farmers and both the Bell and independent companies, has been very active, the rural telephone has reached a higher stage of development than elsewhere in the country. At the census of 1900 about 220,000 farms with build- ings were reported for this state, while on July 1, 1907, the latest date for which figures are tabulated, the telephones classified, as rural numbered 160,000. This classification covers in some cases small urban centers but also fails to include rural telephones in suburban areas. According to these figures 73 per cent of the farms in Iowa were supplied with telephone service, the statistics including a certain amount of duplication of service, while in Connecticut 58 per cent of the farms were supplied with telephones with- out competition. Moreover, in Iowa the major part of the development has come from the building of these lines by the farmers themselves, while in Con- necticut the entire development has been brought about by the Bell company, which has built all the farmers' lines in operation there. Naturally the greater cost in Connecticut, due to the demands upon the company for money, as contrasted with the lower cost in Iowa, due to the use by the farmer of his spare time for this work, in a measure accounts for the difference in development, but in both states the 80 TELEPHONES. farmer appears to be very well provided with tele- phone service. Grocery and department-store trade. — The develop- ment of the telephone business in the retail establish- ments of the country has been very marked during the period since the previous census. Practically •every store of any size is now provided with a private- , branch exchange telephone system connecting all the departments and connected also with the central office by a number of trunk lines. Most of the larger department stores are also provided with sound-proof booths and with nickel-in-the-slot telephones, and even where booths are not provided, in many places these nickel telephones will be found on a large num- ber of counters scattered throughout the building, so that the public may at any time find what is equiva- lent to a pay station in all parts of this class of stores. The use made of the telephone by grocers and butchers has steadily increased, and in many places it is customary for tradesmen to call up their customers in the morning and obtain their daily orders by tele- phone. This early collection of the orders covering the day's business results in a great economy of time and teams in securing systematic and rapid delivery of the goods ordered, and often enables a store to dispense with one or more teams on account of the better systematization of the work, thus saving to the store in a year many times the cost of the telephone service. This plan also results in an increased use of residence telephones, installed on the measured-serv- ice plan, thus securing to the different residences the use of a telephone for other purposes at a minimum of cost. Conduct of business while at summer resorts. — The last few years have seen such an extension of tele- phone lines through the various summer-resort dis- tricts of the country that it has become practicable for business men to leave their 'offices for several days at a time, and yet keep in close touch with their offices. Every year sees the lengthening of the va- cation period on the part of executive heads of large businesses because of the absolute, certainty they have that by means of the long-distance tele- phone, no matter where they may be, they can be in constant communication with the office. Forest reserves, lumber camps, etc. — One of the uses to which the telephone has been put which is of great value to the country as a whole has been in the establishment of telephone lines through the various forest reserves, by which the fire guards can be in constant communication with one another, and can summon help quickly to stop a small forest fire at its inception and before the tremendous destruction of timber caused by such fires has taken place. In many of the forest reserves the telephone is used constantly by the patrol to keep in touch with one another, and these lines are being extended wherever forests are set aside as reservations. In the spring of the year when the lumber drives are started down the rivers the telephone, as already noted, is often of most vital importance in keeping the gangs who are ahead of the drive in constant touch with the drive itself, so that the exact time at which the logs will appear at any point where they may need special attention in getting them through rapids or over shoals is known sufficiently in advance to enable the concentration of men at the points of trouble. Hotel telephone service. — Practically every large and medium-sized hotel and many small hotels throughout the country are provided with telephones located in every guest room, by which not only the interior needs of the hotel can be supplied, but which give access to the local telephone system of the town and the long- distance lines. From the standpoint of the hotel keeper the installation of these telephones is of great advantage, inasmuch as it often saves the trouble involved in sending a bell boy to a room to ascertain what is wanted, his return to the office, and later return to the room with the required article. With the telephone all that it is necessary to do is for the guest to give his order to the switchboard and the article is carried up, thus reducing the time needed for the service by one-half or more. This is of course a distinct saving, and inasmuch as the hotels are usually allowed regular pay-station commissions on toll busi- ness a revenue is also obtained from these telephones. These two items, the saving in service and the revenue obtained from the toll service, go a long way toward paying for the entire cost of the telephones. From the standpoint of the guest it is a great con- venience to be able to speak directly from his room to any point which he may wish to reach. Thus, while he is dressing in the morning, he can make his appoint- ments for the day or telephone to his family in a distant city, while the privacy of his talk is greatly increased by this form of installation. Men having confidential messages to send who are known to be in a particular town are often watched about the lobby to hear whether they call up a point which may give some clue to the business upon which they are en- gaged. All this is avoided by telephoning directly from one's room. The better class of apartment houses, including practically all in the larger cities, are at the present time provided with private-branch exchanges of the same type as those used in hotels. In the less expen- sive type of houses the telephone is placed at least in the janitor's room, where it can be used by all of the tenants. TELEPHONE DEVELOPMENT— DESCRIPTIVE. 81 Push-button private-branch exchanges. — In a con- siderable number of small factories, where but a few stations are needed, a push-button type of intercom- municating telephone has been installed, so that the office can communicate with any department without having to have the expense of a private-branch exchange installation provided with an operator. In many large residences this type of telephone has to a great extent supplanted speaking tubes and bells, and all rooms are connected with one another. This type of telephone can be used either as an independent intercommunicating system not con- nected with the central office in the town, or as an extension of the main telephone station to every room that may be needed. A large number of extension stations are being installed in all parts of the country. Where the telephone in a residence is installed down- stairs an extension instrument in the upper story is a great saving of wear and tear, and of time in answering telephone calls. Prepayment or coin-box service. — In many places a type of service has been introduced for the benefit of patrons who use the telephone to but a limited extent, under which a guarantee of so many calls a day is made to the company, each of which is to be paid for, additional calls being charged for at a fixed rate. This type of service enables such persons to have a telephone at a minimum cost, while under the guar- antee system the company is recompensed for the cost of installing a telephone in a place where the amount of use would not of itself give a proper return. In- deed, it is doubtful whether many of these subscribers could pay the actual cost of installing and operating these stations, but the fact of the existence of large numbers of telephones of this type in residences makes the business telephones of the retail tradesmen of far greater value. As noted above, the ability of a grocer to reach all his customers in the morning makes his telephone of sufficient value to him to enable him to pay to a certain extent a part of the cost of these smaller residence telephones. In a number of cities there has been a movement on the part of the druggists to do away with the practice of permitting the public to have free use of the tele- phones in their stores, which has been so common, and they have advocated the substitution of nickel-in- the- slot telephones for the usual free instruments standing on the counter. A few druggists and some telephone companies have opposed the introduction of the nickel- in-the-slot telephone on the ground that those who use the telephones are patrons of the drug store and it is only a courtesy to allow them this privilege. On the other hand, the assertion has been made by the tele- phone companies, and by the mass of the druggists, that many — indeed, the majority of those who come into a drug store to use a telephone — are not patrons of the store, but are simply undertaking to evade pay- ment for a call at a pay station. Perhaps the most practical objection made, how- ever, to permitting the use of the telephone by these casual patrons is that such" use tied up the lines so that in many cases the drug stores could not be reached by patrons who desired to give orders over the telephone. Moreover, the druggists under . the pay-station commission plan receive an income from nickel-in-the-slot telephones, whereas a free telephone placed on a counter for anyone to use is merely a source of expense. General conditions of exchange work in cities. — An address given during 1909 by Mr. B. E. Sunny, presi- dent of the Chicago Telephone Company, before the Electric Club of this city, embodied a considerable amount of data as to the practical conditions involved in the relations between a city telephone exchange and its subscribers. 1 According to the speaker there were, at the time of his address, 30 telephone exchanges in Chicago and 205,000 telephones. The service re- quired a total of 575,000 miles of wire, of which 460,000 were underground. The number of four-party sta- tions was 85,000; two-party stations, 31,000; single- line stations, 43,000. In addition there were 2,075 private-branch exchange switchboards, supplying over 40,000 stations. About 1,300,000 originating calls were handled in an ordinary business day. The trunk lines connecting exchanges numbered 10,500. In the central business district there were about 52,000 tele- phones, connected principally to the Main, Central, and Harrison exchanges. The operator's speed in answering calls was stated to be about four seconds, and the total time necessary to secure a complete connection, on an average, from twenty to twenty-five seconds. It was the company's aim to have all the calls answered within a maximum of eight seconds. It might seem that to some extent accuracy in the service was sacrificed to secure speed, for one of the chief advantages of telephone communication is that it is practically instantaneous; but, in spite of this fact, the work of the operators was computed to be 94.5 per cent accurate. There had also been an improvement in the matter of accuracy. In 1900 the number of written complaints was 229 per 1,000 subscribers' sta- tions; in 1909 the number of such complaints had been reduced to 38 per 1,000 stations. This improve- ment was attributed to more efficient operating and a closer relation between the company and the tele- phone public. It had also been brought about to some extent by doing away with 10-party lines, for which 4-party lines have been substituted. An analy- sis of the disposition of a day's traffic showed that 78.5 per cent of the calls received the desired connec- tion without trouble, 13 per cent were held up on account of the line being busy (although the number of such cases showed a decrease), 3 per cent failed to Electrical World, Dec. 23, 1909, p. 1504. 82 TELEPHONES. obtain the desired connection on account of no responses being received from the person called, 1 per cent were interfered with on account of double connections, cut-offs, etc., 3 per cent went astray owing to wrong connections being given as a result of error on the part of the operator, and 1.5 per cent failed to obtain the connection in the first instance on account of errors in giving the numbers on the part of the subscribers. In the traffic department about 3,500 operators were needed, in addition to 500 super- visors and 274 other operating employees. These figures were for Chicago service alone. About 1,250 operators and 275 supervisors were required at the time of maximum load, in addition to managers and other male employees. The busiest hour of the day was between 10 and 11a. m., 10 per cent of the day's telephone business being done in this hour. The busiest minute of the day was 10.10 a. m., and the busiest day of the year was the day before Christmas. Some branches of the service rendered by telephone companies are not realized by the general public. Thus the number of requests for the time received daily by the Chicago Telephone Company in 1909 amounted to about 60,000, the maximum number of such requests coming between 7 and 8 a. m. The company's pay roll for operators was about $6,000 a day, and if the time taken for the service referred to is charged pro rata, the cost to the Chicago Telephone Company to tell its subscribers the time was $300 a day. Another branch of the service whose magnitude is not generally appre- ciated is in transmitting fire alarms and police calls. In the month of October, 1909, the Chicago Telephone Company handled 1 ,488 fire calls and 4,084 police calls, showing that the telephone is an important adjunct to these departments of public safety. The number of cases of trouble with the lines re- ported during the year was about 1,250,000, or about 6.7 reports per station, but many of these were of a temporary nature and adjusted themselves. The total number of actual cases of trouble cleared up during the year was 452,000, or 2J per station. The number of men employed by the inside-plant department was 1,446, of whom 420 were regularly employed on main- tenance work. Rain and thunder storms in summer and snow and sleet storms in winter give telephone companies much trouble. A severe storm may easily double the normal number of troubles. In case of a severe storm extraordinary measures are taken to meet the emergency, gangs of men being sent over all routes with directions to put all lines in order, regardless of actual cases reported. In many cases these gangs are given rigs to enable them to cover more ground and to carry more material. The severe sleet storm of Janu- ary 12, 1908, gave a severe test to the telephonic pro- tective apparatus. Owing to this storm one hundred and eleven cases of trouble with the lines were re- ported, occasioned by high-tension crosses, besides an undoubtedly large number of other cases where the lines were cleared up before the difficulty was traced to its original source. In no case did the high-tension current get beyond the arresters in the offices, and the only fire noted was in the wiring of one station, which was probably due to current coming in over an un- protected telegraph wire. Causes of irregularity in service traceable to telephone users. — Irregular and inaccurate service has been shown by frequent scientifically conducted tests, to be due in large proportion to the ignorance or carelessness of subscribers. Where a subscriber secures a wrong connection it may be due either to the error of an operator, or to the fact that the subscriber gave the wrong number, or pronounced the number indis- tinctly, or with his lips at such a distance from the transmitter that the operator misunderstood. Al- though the operator may repeat the number as given her, the subscriber does not even then always observe the error and make correction before the connection has been completed. One of the most useful methods of reducing the amount of irregular and inaccurate service is the plan of instructing subscribers in the correct use of tele- phone facilities. By notices in directories, newspaper publicity, and other means, telephone users are fre- quently cautioned to avoid calling for connections without checking their remembrance of the desired number by reference to the directory ; to speak always in an ordinary tone of voice with the lips close to and in front of the transmitter mouthpiece; and to speak numbers clearly and distinctly. It is also suggested that numbers easily mistaken for each other should have their consonants emphasized in pronunciation to minimize the possibility of error. By pushing their educational efforts among the public as well as among their own employees, most companies have raised the standard of accuracy of telephone service to a high point . Information service. — As ordinarily employed, the term "information service" covers only the answering of questions which will assist the subscriber in secur- ing the desired connection in' the case of calls at subscribers' and trunk switchboards. Multiple jack mountings are commonly marked with spots of paint of different colors and location, conveying intelligence to the operators of the conditions existing on the lines. Thus a party line having two stations connected is marked to indicate this fact, and the code numbers of the stations. If a station listed in the directory as connected to a certain party line has been removed, or if the subscriber has had his number changed, this is indicated by a marking. Should a call be received for a station not connected to the line whose number is given, the operator would be made aware of the fact from the marking of the jack. Handling the regular business alone keeps her too busy to allow her to enter into conversation with TELEPHONE DEVELOPMENT— DESCRIPTIVE. 83 the subscriber, or refer to any records, in order to ob- tain the further information required for completing the desired connection. Accordingly she transfers him to the "information" operator, who investigates and assists him to secure the connection asked for, and informs him when a telephone has been taken out, or of its new number. The information operator also has records which enable her to assist a subscriber to secure connection to a telephone which has been so recently installed that its number is not in the direc- tory, provided he knows the name or address of the subscriber whom it is wished to reach, and in other ways relieves the switchboard operator of the neces- sity of explanation or discussion with the subscriber for the purpose of facilitating the completion of con- nections. In some sections of the country, usually under stress of competition, the information service has been de- veloped to include the giving of times of train depar- ture, location of points of local interest, etc., but such a practice leads to difficulties which have caused most companies to believe that it is not desirable and not a part of their normal function. A common exception to the rule of referring irregu- lar calls to "information" is found in the practice of giving the time of day upon request, which is followed in many exchanges, the subscriber's operator furnish- ing this information. This service has been so far de- veloped that in Chicago an investigation made in 1909 showed that, as noted elsewhere, an average of some 60,000 calls for the time of day were made in each twenty-four hours. This, too, is a special service which has grown to such proportions that its extension is no longer encouraged or considered good practice. Development of private-branch exchanges. — Special methods of handling telephone calls have been largely developed during recent years to meet the require- ments of city subscribers to telephone service in cases where several persons in one business establishment or dwelling have occasion to use a telephone so often that it becomes economical for each to have an instru- ment in a location convenient of access, while the amount of use would not warrant the expense of sepa- rate lines to the central office. In many such instances a large amount of the traffic originates and terminates under the same roof, and economy and convenience are both attained by the installation on the premises of a small switchboard, built and operated in much the same way as a central-office switchboard. This switchboard is attended by an operator who may give all her time to it if the installation is sufficiently large to require it, or, in case of small installations, may do some other work and turn to operating whenever a call is received. Throughout the country, hotels are now among the largest users of this private-branch exchange service. In fact, to so great an extent has it proven its utility that there is to-day hardly a single first-class hotel in any important city which has not a telephone in every room, from which guests may talk with other rooms, the office of the hotel, persons connected to the city system, or over long-distance lines to other subscribers of the systems with which the branch exchange con- nects. Among other large users of this class of service are the department stores. Several thousand tele- phones are installed in the huge mercantile establish- ments of this class in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, and other great cities, where a telephone is located in each department so that subscribers to the regular service may call clerks and make purchases direct. Smaller business establishments and offices are also heavy users of branch-exchange service, as it provides a means of communicating promptly between de- partments, as well as reaching outside points. In nearly all private-branch exchanges a very large proportion of the service is internal. The sizes of branch exchanges range downward from those which are almost exact duplicates of the central-office switch- boards, and employ eight or ten operators, installed in large hotels or department stores, to the little stations where four or five instruments and two trunk lines are connected to a small cordless board through which interconnections are established simply by the operation of keys. ; In New York the private-branch exchange has to a great extent solved the problem of giving service to the hundreds of apartment houses, each of which may have from six to fifty or more tenants. Each of these tenants, as a rule, requires some telephone service, but their use for a telephone is so limited that many of them do not at present care to have even party-line telephones at the rates which necessarily prevail for this class of service in a city where construction is comparatively expensive. This objection is obvi- ated, however, by providing the apartments with tele- phones which are connected to a small switchboard operated by employees of the building, and equipped with sufficient trunks to handle the actual traffic between the building and the central office. Charges are made on the measured-rate plan. These switch- boards not only serve the tenants in a satisfactory way, but are a material factor in the development of busi- ness service, affording business men means of reaching the residents of apartment houses and of being called by them. Factories, offices, clubs, etc., are frequently equipped with so-called intercommunicating systems ; and these are generally better adapted for residences than for business houses. In such systems all the lines are carried through a switch at each telephone. The per- son calling connects his own telephone to the line carrying the station called by simply depressing a but- ton, which operates springs in a key to effect the elec- trical connection. He then presses a button which 84 TELEPHONES. rings the bell of the station called. The wiring for such a system is carried in a cable which has a num- ber of pairs corresponding to the number of keys in each switch, and hence to the ultimate number of stations which the system can carry. Current for ringing and talking is supplied through a battery lo- cated at a central point in the system, from which current is supplied to the lines through retardation coils which prevent cross-talk. Although such systems have been in use for many years, it is only within the past few years that they have become a material factor in the development of internal communication in business establishments. This growth in importance has been due to the very great improvements which have been made in the con- struction of the switches, and to the recognition of the desirability of using a high grade of cable. The earlier and imperfect intercommunicating sys- tems were not considered suitable for connection with central-office equipment, to give exchange service, but several more carefully built modern types have been developed with a view to obtaining such connection, and are now installed in places where the internal use of the system is the principal occasion for its installa- tion, with occasional need of calling the central office from some of the stations. Sennce in large huildings. — A notable feature of the technical development of the past five years has been the method by which the large new buildings of the day, particularly such new office buildings as the Metropolitan Life Building on Madison Square or those which are to be seen in the lower part of Manhattan Island, are equipped with telephone service. It is stated that five of these buildings — the Singer, the Broadway Exchange, the City Investing, the Metro- politan Life, and the Hudson Terminal — have a total of 2,360 miles of wire and 9,700 telephones, enough for a central exchange in a city of 100,000 people. For the twin structures in the Hudson Terminal Building — the Fulton and Cortlandt — an equipment was installed during 1907 and put into service early in 1908 which provided the necessary wiring for no fewer than 3,000 telephones direct to the central exchange, about half that number of lines being "cut in" immediately for the use of occupants. In order to accomplish this it was necessary to install in the building a main or cross connecting frame, as the center of the distributing sys- tem, to which are connected all the wires of the main- house system. From this main frame run three 606- pair cables extending up through the Cortlandt Build- ing and two 606-pair cables up through the Fulton Building, these wires being used for individual lines and trunks, and ringing current and battery leads to private-branch exchange switchboards for all floors, except the first. From the main frame to the second floor the cables are carried through conduits, while above that floor they are inclosed in a special shaft, provided for the purpose, through which they extend and from which they ramify in diminishing sizes determined largely by the renting area. Above the second floor each of the buildings is divided into four wings, and at the center point of each wing of the respective floors, as well as at the center of the floor, is a telephone junction box, making five for each floor. These boxes are placed on a line with the molding that carries the concealed wires from the boxes to the various rooms, and communicate with the cable shaft by lateral wrought-iron conduits installed during the erection of the building. Instead of making the splices in the riser cables at each floor, the splice is in general made at every third floor. Variations in the plan are required where an entire floor or more is occupied by a single company or firm, with a private- branch exchange. Some of the separate systems con- trolled by these branch exchanges are very extensive, such as that of the Erie Railroad, which occupies the entire second, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth floors, and one-half of the sixth floor. The private-branch exchange, which is located on the sixth floor, is the center of this large private system; and a special cross-connection box is located on that floor for con- necting the switchboard with the extension lines and with the main-house cable giving the central-office connections. In this box terminates the branch of the main-house cable which provides for these connec- tions to central, and also two special private-line cables which extend into the wire shaft and thence run to the various floors occupied by the railroad. 1 Improvement in outside plant. — The open-wire type of local telephone lines, consisting of bare copper or iron wires attached to glass insulators borne by cross- arms on wooden poles, has been rapidly disappearing during the census period from the business and closely settled residence districts of all cities and towns, following a movement inaugurated in the larger cities. Cable has supplanted this open wire to such an extent that the term "all-cable plant" is in general use as expressive of the best type of construction. For some years the employment of underground cable in business districts has to a large extent been obligatory upon telephone companies, as the result of ordinances passed by local governing bodies to gratify a public desire for streets made more sightly by the removal of obstructions, and to minimize possible interference with fire-fighting apparatus, or, in a minor degree, the hazard from the exposure of numerous telephone cir- cuits to contact with electric light and power wires. Within the last few years, however, telephone com- panies have ascertained, in many cases, that the durability of a conduit system and the freedom from interruption in service resulting from burying lead- incased cables in what amounts to a solid stone vault, 1 American Telephone Journal, Vol. XVII, May 30, 1908, p. 499. TELEPHONE DEVELOPMENT— DESCRIPTIVE. 85 is a sufficient reason for the voluntary extension of such a system. In cases where this method of construction is em- ployed for a small system not having highly skilled electrical engineers, and operating in a town served by an electric railway whose current distribution is poorly engineered and maintained, and which operates its cars on rails defectively bonded, danger exists from electrolytic action, which has destroyed sections of cable in many localities where stray current returning to the power house by way of the cable sheaths has left them to pass into the earth. Street-railway sys- tems are, however, improving in this respect, and methods of detecting the early existence of conditions liable to produce electrolysis, and of forestalling its destructive action by controlling the paths of stray currents are becoming better known, thus removing one of the most potent objections to the substitution of underground for aerial lines wherever the density of circuits is so high as to enable the annual reduction in maintenance expense to compensate for increased investment in a comparatively expensive underground containing plant. It is customary to carry wires from the central office through large cables directly into the business district which they are to serve, each cable containing at the time of installation sufficient wires to provide for the needs of the present and for some time into the future. From these large cables smaller branches are taken off and carried to terminal boxes, made either of metal or wood, metal being increasingly used. From. sup- ports mounted close to the cable terminal box, wires are usually carried directly along the walls of buildings or through the air to the points of entrance upon the premises of subscribers. In business or apartment- house districts where many telephones are in service under one roof, a cable box, usually located in the base- ment, may serve each building, thus doing away with all outside local wiring. In spreading to less thickly occupied districts, in- cluding any residence district in which the telephone- using population is not dense, a point is eventually reached where it is not economically possible to carry the wires in underground cables, no matter how desir- able it might be from the point of view of sightliness. Recourse is then had to aerial cable; in other words, the underground cable is joined to a cable running out into the open air and supported upon poles located, in alleys or upon the rear of private property. Short poles are used, and the usual absence of auxiliary strengthening devices gives a marked increase in beauty and compactness as compared with the old type of high open- wire poles, with guy lines extended to outlying anchors, while the cost of supporting structures is reduced. In some in tances, as in the interior blocks of New York City and other places, where there are no alleys, cable is supported on the walls of buildings and on fences. The present tendency, which has been developed in the past five years, is to carry the wires as near as possible to subscribers' terminals within the sheath of a cable, tapering off the branches taken from the main cable, by successive subdivisions, into units of smaller and smaller sizes, and extending each ulti- mate division to a terminal point very close to a minute group of subscribers' stations. In the average urban, suburban, or town residence district, it is easily possi- ble to find a large number of locations for cable termi- nals from which may be extended spans of insulated wire, without intermediate supports, to points of attachment to the building they serve. In many localities this practice of fanning out the main cables into very small units has been carried so far as to result in the use of terminal boxes arranged for as few as ten pairs of wires, and, in fact, the introduction of this form of distribution has been to a large extent brought about by the development of types of terminal boxes which contribute to its economical installation and maintenance. In places where a slightly wider separation of tele- phone users makes it impossible to reach the requisite number of subscribers' stations without a succession of intermediate supports for the wires between the cable boxes and the buildings, it is not unusual to em- ploy trains of metal rings supported upon a rope of twisted wire strands, technically known as "a mes- senger," hung from low poles. Through these rings are carried twisted pairs of wires. Each wire is en- cased in a weatherproof compound within a braided cloth covering which is treated with weather-resisting material. Specific reasons why insulated twisted pair wire has come into increasing use to supersede bare wire for subscribers' terminal ends of lines are that it can be installed with smaller and more conveniently adjusted fixtures; reverts to a normal position after carrying extraordinary loads, as of sleet; does not hum and transmit other objectionable noises through walls of buildings when under stress of wind; costs less for maintenance; and is less unsightly. The general result of this so-called "all-cable" type of construction is not only to keep each individual line comparatively free from accidents which interrupt the service, and to retard deterioration of wire and sup- ports, but to maintain a condition of high insulation which affords voice transmission of almost constant, predetermined efficiency. Hence the effect of all-cable distribution has been not only to reduce the expense of maintaining each mile of wire, but to provide patrons, and particularly those in common-battery exchanges, with circuits not commonly subject to leakage of electricity, or to inductive influence from neighboring light and power conductors, both of which reduce the efficiency of voice transmission; while the risk that lines will make accidental contact with electric light 86 TELEPHONES. and power circuits carrying dangerous currents is far less than with open wire. Some systems show a marked tendency toward a reduction in the number of party-line subscribers as compared with those having individual lines. This has lowered the average number of subscribers' out- lets per pair of wires, with the result of somewhat simplifying the distribution system. In cities where underground cables have been used for a considerable time, telephone development has frequently been so rapid as to outrun the expectations of the engineers who originally determined the dimen- sions of the conduits. Two methods of getting addi- tional wires in place to serve subscribers have presented themselves for consideration — either (1) to reopen the streets along all lines of conduit having insufficient capacity, install new ducts, and draw into them additional cables of the same size as those pre- viously used; or (2) to pull out the cables then in use and replace them with others of the same diameter but containing a larger number of wires. Of these two plans, a choice had to be made. It was apparent that in order to use cables containing a larger number of wires, the size of each wire must be reduced, and this, in turn, made it necessary in some cities to con- sider the installation of new offices, because a line of small wire in cable, if too far extended, reduces the efficiency of transmission below the requirements for good service. The working out of some of the complex problems, not only in cable manufacture but in studies of electrical effects influencing transmission, and practical determination of central-office locations, which have made it possible to use cables containing many fine wires within a 2f-inch sheath, has been one of the most interesting features of telephone develop- ment within the period covered by this report. At the end of the year 1902 cable manufacturers were ordinarily producing cable of maximum wire contents of 300-pair, with No. 22 B. & S. gauge wires, although 400-pair cables had been built. By the end of the year 1907 it was not uncommon to find operating companies ordering 600-pair cables with No. 22 B. & S. gauge wires, and work looking toward the development of an 800-pair cable, with No. 25 B. & S. gauge wire, is being undertaken. These large units are not only installed to enhance the capacity of the old duct systems, but are employed in all cases where the telephone density in a district not remote from the central office is high. The occasional use of compound cables, containing wires of two distinct sizes — as No. 19 and No. 20 B. & S. gauge — is an interesting outgrowth of attempts to equalize transmission throughout a plant by pro- viding, for trunks between central offices, wires of larger size than those needed between a central office and near-by subscribers' stations. In the construction of the conduit, or of other struc- tures containing underground cable, no radical changes have been made within the past five years. But the dimensions of concrete envelopes for protecting the tile or fiber ducts, ironwork for supporting manhole covers, and the covers themselves, racks for holding cables in orderly position about the interior sides of the manholes, and other subsidiary parts of the underground construction, have been changed for the better. The use of iron pipe to protect cable from the point where it leaves a manhole as far as its emergence into the outer air has been superseded by tile construction, reducing risk of damage from freez- ing in Northern states, and from electrolysis. More attention than formerly is paid to the elimination of moisture from conduits and manholes by grading the ducts on an even slope, providing sewer connec- tions in manhole floors, and plugging the ends of unused ducts. Careful work in bonding cables and the taking of systematic observations of local conditions have con- tinued, and have been a means of reducing electro- lytic damage from vagrant electric-railway currents. In cities where extensive underground systems are devoted to trunk and toll line cables, the tendency has been toward a wider separation of manholes, with a corresponding diminution in the number of splices. Improvements in cable sheaths, and in methods of handling, have made it possible to extend the interval between manholes for trunk cables to as much as 700 feet. Reenforced concrete has been tested by telephone companies as a structural material. Manholes have been built entirely of this material, with the excep- tion of the iron framework for covers, and the covers themselves. The new type of all-cable construction, by com- pressing a large number of wires into exceedingly small space, and within lead envelopes, and keeping a heavy proportion of the mileage entirely under ground, makes the modern telephone system in the highest degree inconspicuous and unobtrusive. In addition it shields the vital parts of the plant, which represent much more than half of the investment for local or town operation, and the remoteness of which from direct human supervision makes protection most supremely essential to uninterrupted service. The substation and subscribers' instruments. — As in earlier periods of the industry, the most commonly used types of telephones are the wall-set, a complete telephone, and the desk stand," which has a portable standard equipped with a receiver, transmitter, and hook switch, associated with a separate box contain- ing a bell, and also a generator, if used on a magneto- system, connection to the line being made through flexible conductors incased in a braided covering. Although the vigorous competition in the manu- facture of these instruments by many producers has led to numerous variations of detail, several important lines of development have been generally followed. TELEPHONE DEVELOPMENT— DESCRIPTIVE. 87 Increases in service efficiency and reduction of manu- facturing and maintenance costs have been the objects chiefly sought. In working toward these ends manufacturers and operating companies have cooperated by the free ex- change of information. In addition, the leading fac- tories have endeavored to develop methods of testing which approximate the normal, as well as the excep- tionally severe working conditions to which equipment is exposed. The practice of testing raw material has led to the purchase of uniform grades, of higher qual- ity than was formerly obtainable. The making of tools and general shop practice have reached a state of efficiency where operating companies are in a posi- tion to carry safely in stock small parts of all classes for replacing such as become defective in service. Transmitters and receivers have profited to some extent by more careful selection of materials, im- proved machine work, and better design, although no marked advance involving the discovery of new prin- ciples has been made. Yet greater uniformity, slightly increased durability, especially under adverse climatic conditions, and a somewhat higher average of trans- mission efficiency characterize the instruments gen- erally found in service. The slight advances made in receiver manufacture may be similarly summed up. The great improvements which have been made in the manufacture of dry batteries have led to their general introduction into magnetotelephones, and this has been followed by the use of transmitters of higher resistance than was practicable with the troublesome acid-solution batteries formerly used. An extension of selective party-line service has been primarily due to improvements in bells. The har- monic bell now used by many telephone companies depends for its operation on the tuning of the striking mechanism to vibrate with a natural periodicity equiv- alent to that of an alternating current impressed upon the line. The systems most commonly used provide for four bridging bells on a line, each having its striker adjusted to respond to current of a different frequency. The adjustment is made by fitting the bell intended to respond to a given frequency with a striker mounted at the base upon a spring of appropriate stiffness, and carrying between the gongs a head of suitable weight to effect the tuning in combination with the spring. Four current frequencies, commonly employed for ring- ing such bells, are 16, 32, 50, and 66 cycles. Only the correspondingly tuned bell on a given line responds to a given frequency. Bells for nonselective-bridging service have received minor improvements through the use of iron of a better and more uniform grade in the cores, the provision of more accessible adjusting mechanism, and the employ- ment of better designed mountings. A leading influence in the improvement in detail has been the invention of instruments which enable cer- tain tests of electrical and magnetic properties of materials to be made with accuracy and rapidity in factory laboratories. The knowledge gained through exact measurement has enabled manufacturers to in- crease very considerably the electrical efficiency of all apparatus. A conspicuous example of improvements due to such scientific methods is a 20 per cent gain in the power output of generators used in magnetotele- phone sets. Increasing manufacturing skill has here produced results in the shape of greater uniformity, lasting qualities, and ability to furnish more powerful and effective currents without increasing the bulk of the machine. Although good practice and modern standards of service limit the number of instruments for a magneto- rural line to ten, some locally owned rural fines fre- quently carry from twenty to thirty, and the wires are poorly erected and maintained. But even under these adverse conditions moderately good signaling is possible with high-grade generators and bells, and transmission is also very fair. The demands upon signaling equipment for such lines are exceptionally severe, not only by reason of the large number of instruments they carry, but because a heavy addi- tional load results from the removal of a receiver from the hook. This places across the line a low-resistance path, so that if a receiver is removed between an inef- fective attempt to call and a repetition of the effort, a major part of the current from the generator passes through the receiver at the listening station. The prevalence of the listening habit has caused the pro- vision of means for installing a condenser in local circuits in connection with the receiver. This raises the resistance of the path to signaling currents of low frequency, without impairing its efficiency as a path for voice currents, which have a much higher frequency of alternation. When this device is used, the fact that some one on the line is listening does not prevent signaling. Numerous selective signaling systems, providing for temporarily locking out of the circuit all stations, except the one called, have been devised, but, although some operate successfully, no marked demand for them has been apparent. The "lockout" often introduces complications of its own by "kicking back" into the system. More success has attended the simple device of providing each telephone with a push button for grounding the line, and grounding the drop at the central office, while bells are rung on the bridging principle over the metallic circuit, so that the attention of the switchboard operator may be attracted by a subscriber without ringing bells at other stations. A somewhat expensive but efficient means of serving the same purpose is to equip each subscriber's station with a generator, which, by suit- able circuit translation devices, may be used to send out either pulsating current or alternating current by which other subscribers on the line or the central office may be signaled separately. 88 TELEPHONES. The general arrangement of wall telephones has shown a tendency to become more compact. Consid- erable ingenuity has been exercised in bringing about this result, and at the same time in making all work- ing parts requiring inspection or adjustment more accessible. This statement applies to the wiring as well as to the various mechanical devices which are included in the set. It is now customary to make a large number of parts easily removable and inter- changeable with others in order to facilitate econom- ical repair. There is no doubt that the tendency along this line, which has developed simultaneously with improvement in the durability and working efficiency of the parts, has been, to a large degree — combined with low rates — a result of the rapid expan- sion of telephone service, and the consequent scarcity of skilled labor, which has been insufficient to do uniformly high-grade repair work at subscribers' sta- tions. Where only moderately skilled help is em- ployed it has been easier to replace a part having only a slight defect, and to bring the old one back to the office for repair by an expert. It is not improb- able that within the intercensal period 1908 to 1912 better returns from operation and the better education of the great body of workers will bring about a reversal of this tendency. Likewise, it may well happen that attention will be shifted from the attempt to increase the facility with which parts may be adjusted at the subscriber's station to an effort to secure greater stability in the conditions of the line, which now are often so variable as to necessitate frequent trips to subscribers' stations to remedy conditions due wholly to outside influences. Indeed, in some quarters the tendency to reduce adjustable features has already become very apparent. The most radical departure along new lines in the construction of subscribers' instruments has taken place in the introduction of steel-containing boxes. Although some steel telephones are built in the famil- iar cabinet style, for wall sets, most of them are made in compact form, and, as they are finished in durable enamel, possess merit on the score of appearance as well as on that of durability. In desk sets skilled mechanical work has made it possible to use designs which are more pleasing to the eye, and far stronger, than the earlier types. The tendency has been toward reducing the number of pieces of metal by performing several operations on the same piece of stock instead of combining a number of smaller parts. A number of ingenious devices have been perfected for making the contacts of the hookswitch, which is a part of the stand requir- ing most frequent attention, more efficient in opera- tion and more accessible. The hookswitch is now very frequently located in the base of the instrument, connection being made to the pivoted hook in the standard by a system of levers. The result of this combination is to place in a position for inspection at a glance all movable contacts and wire connections in the base of the stand. Some manufacturers have even gone so far as to mount therein a small induc- tion coil, thus doing away with three-wire connection through a flexible cord which has, in the past, been a prolific source of error and trouble in the installation of this type of instrument. ' The mounting of transmitters upon hollow arms within which extends wiring entirely independent of any connection with the external shell of the instru- ment, and the carrying of insulated connecting cords to terminals entirely inside the nonconductive shells of receivers, are improvements which lower mainte- nance expense and reduce the liability of occasional electrical shocks to subscribers, which, even if not dangerous, are well known to have been of an unpleasant character to those who have experienced them while using instruments whose external metal covering formed part of a line circuit. Central-office switchboards. — Multiple switchboards for common-battery exchanges in the larger towns and in cities embody the same external characteris- tics, and operate on exactly the same principles, as in 1902. With increasing development, however, it is but natural to expect the growing use of larger units. Thus the Bell companies now install in offices in all cities and towns of considerable size frameworks with capacity for 9,600 multiple jacks. The tendency among the independent companies operating in a few large cities has been toward the concentration of a great number of lines in a single main switchboard, with a corresponding reduction of outlying or branch exchanges, the reason assigned for this practice being that it assures more rapid service for a heavy propor- tion of the subscribers, by the elimination of one switching operation. The largest independent boards in service are those at St. Louis, with room for a 17,000 line multiple; Cleveland, 18,000 multiple; Buf- falo, 18,000 multiple; and Detroit, where also the multiple has a capacity for 18,000 jacks, although" the height to which an operator would have to reach makes it doubtful if the few hundred jacks on the topmost tier will ever be used. Considerable work has been done in redesigning details of multiple switchboards, not only for the pur- pose of standardizing the equipment and improving various parts entering int.o the construction of the boards, but to obtain orderly arrangement. The great degree of success which has been attained in this lat- ter regard is usually as much appreciated by a person unfamiliar with the construction of a telephone ex- change, on his first visit, as by the expert to whom use has made all details familiar. As each operator at a subscribers' multiple switchboard of the regular type must be able to reach one terminal of the line of each subscriber entering that central office, in order to MMBHH ■■■M • 1® 1 # 1 \® 1 • I TELEPHONE DEVELOPMENT— DESCRIPTIVE. 89 connect to it, through a conducting cord, any calling line which terminates at her position, each line is ter- minated on a multiple jack at intervals, on a standard 9,600-line board, of about 6 feet; that is, once for each three operators' positions. An operator reaches for- ward, to the right or left, in making connection, ac- cording to the position of the particular jack. For convenience in numbering and manipulation, the mul- tiple jacks are mounted in groups of 20, and the cables carrying the lines to them have 20 line units of wire inside a single sheath. Thus, when a group of 20 lines is passed through the multiple, all outside covers are removed from the end of the cable carrying these lines for a sufficient distance to allow the wires to be brought out and tied in position, the completed cable end resembling a long flexible-toothed comb. The in- sulating covering is removed from the end of each wire, and the bare metal attached to the proper ter- minal of a division of a multiple jack and united with it by the application of solder and a hot soldering copper. The terminal of the jack is simultaneously connected with the wire of a section of cable extend- ing in each direction, so that the respective line wires in these cables are joined together, forming continu- ous metal conductors through the medium of the soldered joint at jack terminals in each section, the cotton-thread outer wrapping of the wires being marked with combinations of colors according to a definite code corresponding to the numbers they are to take. The work of making the different joints is very rapidly done by skilled employees, a fact which contributes to the surprise of the uninitiated at the remarkable freedom from circuit interruptions which is experienced in large switchboards, where the num- ber of soldered connections may run up into the mil- lions, and the weight of the wires amounts to many tons. In addition to the soldered contacts in the multiple, there are a large number of other contacts in each section of the switchboard in connection with the vari- ous circuit-controlling devices, and other necessary equipment. In the modern switchboard all apparatus, wires, and soldered joints of each class are carefully grouped together in definite and orderly association, numbers being stamped or painted where they will be clearly visible, and the relation of all working elements being definitely understood. By this method an em- ployee furnished with a diagram of circuits is enabled to run down promptly any defective condition and to repair it. It is this orderly arrangement throughout the exchange which, in connection with modern meth- ods of testing, makes it possible to locate within a very brief interval after it is reported any fault which may be noticed by a subscriber attempting to use a connection. Better still, the systematic observation of conditions by those employed in the office reduces to a minimum the possibility that any defective con- dition will reach a stage which will cause an interrup- tion to service. Harmonic signaling. — The development by a number of independent manufacturers of a system employing the so-called harmonic mode of signaling has been re- sponsible for a noticeable divergency of service stand- ards between many of the independent and Bell ex- changes. From the start very low rates characterized the independent exchanges. The policy extensively fol- lowed of using earnings for the development of plant prevented the accumulation of a surplus, and often interfered with the payment of dividends. In many cases the expansion of these systems was so rapid that the cost of extension absorbed not only the surplus revenue, after operating expenses had been paid, but a -large amount of the available resources of the original investors, to the exclusion of other enterprises in which they might have been interested; while the nonpayment of dividends made it difficult to attract the support of new capital. This was particularly true because reliance was placed mainly upon local capital, the available supply of which was limited, while the method of financing did not appeal to outside investors, who would look for returns rather than be interested in the increase of facilities to the temporary exclusion of dividends. Moreover, investment and operating costs per subscriber were usually found to grow larger as the number of telephone users was augmented. Under these conditions, while a material increase in rates was not desired, or even considered practicable, attention was forcibly turned to party- line operation as a means of serving the maximum num- ber of subscribers from a minimum wire and switch- board plant. This policy of extensive party-line development, at a low rate per subscriber, followed by many independent exchanges has been, broadly speak- ing, the opposite of the policy of the Bell companies, which is, by means of an educational process, to bring subscribers to the point of using individual or two- party line service, at a subscription rate commensurate with these facilities. The demand for a party-line service which should avoid the nuisance occasioned by the ringing of all the bells on a line whenever a particular instrument thereon is signaled led to the invention of the harmonic system already referred to above. The construction of the bell, based upon the principle of mounting the striker on a spring, or reed, attuned to respond only to current of a predetermined frequency, has been ex- plained in the discussion of telephone instruments. It was there stated that a harmonic party line usually carries four telephones, so that currents of four dif- ferent frequencies must be available for ringing them. The connection to the line of current of the proper frequency for selecting and ringing a bell is accom- plished by a key having four sets of springs, associated with plungers, in each cord circuit at the central-office 90 TELEPHONES. switchboard. Connection between the cord and the jack of the called lines is established by inserting the plug, the proper plunger is depressed, and current of the corresponding frequency circulates in the line until the plunger is released. By means of this device the appropriate bell is rung while the others on the line remain quiet. A movable indicating device on the key shows which plunger was last depressed, so that if an operator wishes to complete other connections and then return to the first to ring the bell in case of a delayed response, she is not obliged to remember which party was called, but simply presses the plunger which is shown by the indicator to have been used for the first ring. When the party line was first invented and brought out, current for each of the four frequencies was com- monly conducted to the ringing keys from a special dynamo. This dynamo was operated by a motor, whose armature and that of the dynamo were con- nected to a common shaft. Energy for driving the motor was derived from the electric-light circuit entering the exchange. It was soon found that the fluctuations in the strength of the current in an electric-light circuit were sufficient to cause variations in the speed of the motor, producing undesirable changes in the current output of the ringing dynamo. The tuning of harmonic bells is too accurate to admit of any variation of frequency in ringing current; if such a variation takes place, the called bell responds too weakly, and the reeds of others are liable to tremble, sounding the gongs lightly. This condition led to a search for a steady source of ringing power. The utilization of battery current supplied this need. Equipment was developed to reverse alternately con- nections of positive and negative battery terminals to the leads running to ringing keys. This equipment has for each frequency a constantly vibrating arm, operated by electrical mechanism, at an appropriate speed or rate of vibration. Through this arm positive and negative battery wires are alternately connected to each side of the ringing circuit, thus practically converting the direct, unidirectional current emanating from the batteries into the alternating current re- quired by the bells, for which reason this apparatus is appropriately termed "a converter." The con- verter has also included transformers for stepping up the voltage on each frequency. Although the converter developed for harmonic signaling is in many respects a distinctly novel piece of apparatus, it is not the only device for utiliz- ing batteries to provide alternating current for ringing telephone bells. For some years improvements in dry batteries have been in progress and in many exchanges groups of these cells now furnish current for signaling subscribers. An instrument called a " pole changer " is utilized to effect the transformation of direct to alternating current, which it does by means of a vibrating arm swinging between pairs of contacts, like the converter which it antedates. The pole changer requires even less expert at- tendance than the ordinary small dynamo and motor used for ringing, and is not dependent upon the con- tinuity of operation of an electric-light circuit or the unsteady steam engine of a distant factory, to whose shafting it was not uncommon to find the ringing dynamo of a telephone exchange belted, before pole changers were generally adopted. A proper number and arrangement of batteries gives sufficient current for signaling even on heavily loaded rural lines and long-distance circuits. The pole changer is responsi- ble for an improvement of service in many small exchanges, where local conditions would" have pre- vented the use of a power-driven ringing dynamo and where operators would otherwise still be com- pelled to turn the crank of a separate hand genera- tor at each switchboard position every time a call was made. Improvements in the automatic system. — In the automatic exchange, machinery actuated by the manipulation of a numbered rotary dial on the call- ing subscriber's telephone performs rapidly the de- sired switching. It has been so developed within the period covered by this report as to satisfy all the requirements of operation in many single or divided central offices of large capacity, and, in connection with manually operated toll boards, practically all the necessities of their long-distance use. The automatic system was first brought to public notice in 1892, when an exchange of 100 lines capacity was put in operation. Progress was slow and installa- tions were confined to switchboards of 200. lines capac- ity until about 1897, when the so-called trunking system was developed, opening the way to installa- tions of greater capacity. Two years later the trunk- ing system reached a further state of development when the principle of automatic selection of trunks was first applied in an exchange of 10,000 lines capac- ity. References to the system in general will be found in the Census Report on Telephones for 1902. 1 At the beginning of the year 1903 the practica- bility of large exchanges had been so thoroughly dem- onstrated as to justify the installation of exchanges of much larger size than heretofore contemplated. Switchboards at Grand Rapids, Mich., and Dayton, Ohio, were installed during this year, with an initial equipment of about 6,000 lines each. In these in- stallations the so-called bridging type of switches was employed, resulting in a marked improvement in transmission as well as greater efficiency of opera- tion as compared with the earlier type. Prior to this the operating relays remained in series in the line during conversation, and their operation when a calling subscriber replaced his receiver at the termina- 1 Special Reports, U. S. Census, Telephones and Telegraphs, 1902. MAIN SWITCH RACK AND APPARATUS, AUTOMANUAL TELEPHONE EXCHANGE TELEPHONE DEVELOPMENT— DESCRIPTIVE. 91 tion of the conversation effected the release of the switches used in establishing the connection. In the bridging system the relays were of high resistance and bridged across the line during conversation. In these installations a type of telephone was used which was universal for exchanges of any capacity. Each switchboard had a capacity of 10,000 lines, every subscriber's number being represented by four figures. The construction was, however, such that additions could be made indefinitely, and with this improvement the automatic switchboard overcame limitations in capacity. The Grand Eapids board has since grown to more than 10,000 numbers, and this type of switch- board may be increased so as to include a maximum of 100,000 numbers, five figures being employed for the additional numbers. In both the Dayton and the Grand Rapids installations an improved type of switchboard construction was employed, the switches being mounted on steel shelves and provided with efficient protectors, thus almost eliminating the fire risks. During the year 1903 a further improvement in automatic apparatus was effected by the adoption of the "trunk release," which increased the efficiency of the talking circuit by removing the bridging relays during conversation, the release of the switches being effected over a release trunk controlled from the con- nector switch, which is the last switch used in estab- lishing a connection. The talking circuit then took its present standard form. The use of local batteries in the telephone for talking had long been considered aif objection, and in 1904 the engineers of the automatic system developed and put into operation, at South Bend, Ind., the first common- battery automatic switchboard. The use of the com- mon or centralized battery resulted in the simplifica- tion of the telephone and eliminated the expense and annoyance incident to the maintenance of a set of batteries at each subscriber's telephone or substation. Subsequent installations have all been of the common- battery type. The year 1903 marked also the beginning of the Los Angeles installation, which is especially interesting because it was the first to employ the multioffice sys- tem, and the first to operate the automatic system in connection with the manual system on a large scale. Previous to this installation no attempt had been made to divide the switchboard among different offices, although the economical advantages of such an ar- rangement from the standpoint of outside construc- tion were recognized. Since the automatic switch- board is composed of a number of units, interconnected by means of trunk lines, there seemed to be no reason why an exchange could not be subdivided, and it is_ asserted that the success attendant upon the Los Ange- les installation proved the correctness of this theory. This exchange now comprises about 33,000 telephones, connected to nine switchboards located in different parts of the city and interconnected by trunk lines. The method of operation is identical with that employed in a single-office exchange, and the subscriber making a call is not aware that to establish his connection he is operating switches in two or three different exchanges. The demand for a party-line service resulted in the development, during 1904, of a four-party harmonic ringing system applicable to the automatic apparatus. Since then many automatic exchanges have installed party-line equipment, although the tendency at present is to use the district station when it means economy in cable and wire plant. In the party-line system, as developed in 1904 and 1905, the four telephones on a line have different numbers, and any one telephone may be called and rung without the knowledge of the other subscribers on the line. The Keith line switch, which was developed during 1905 and 1906, was a radical departure from the type of switchboard apparatus previously employed. It marked a great improvement in the system, both from the manufacturers' and from the operators' stand- point, and at the same time fitted in perfectly with all the standard equipment. By substituting for a first-selector switch, with which every subscriber's line was equipped, a comparatively simple and inex- pensive line switch, the function of which was to con- nect automatically the calling line to any one of a number of first-selector switches, the required number of these selectors in an exchange was reduced 90 per cent. The space required for a complete automatic switchboard was reduced one-half, and the total num- ber of working parts more than one-half. The line switch was first employed in additions to the boards at Wilmington, Del., and Grand Rapids, Mich., and sub- sequent installations have all employed this type of switch. The perfection of the line switch was des- tined to have a far-reaching effect on exchange con- struction. The switchboard unit of 100 lines was now so reduced in size and so simplified in construc- tion that it required but little attention and it seemed perfectly feasible to install these units in the center of some congested district at a distance from the main exchange, thereby effecting a saving in the cable required to serve the district. The first installation of this character was at Dayton, Ohio, in 1906-7. In this and in subsequent installations in a number of automatic plants the practicability of the automatic district station is said to have been demonstrated. At Columbus, Ohio, several of these district stations with a capacity ranging from 100 to 600 lines were installed in 1907. Along with subexchanges a system of testing was developed which enabled complete tests of every line at the subexchange to be made automatically from the main exchange, and which rendered the presence of a switchman at the subexchange throughout the day unnecessary. 92 TELEPHONES. Immediately prior to the year 1907 all the auto- matic exchanges in operation were of the three-wire type — that is, in addition to the two-line wires, each telephone had a wire connecting it to the ground. The next advance, which, from an operating stand- point, was a decided one, was in doing away with this third wire, resulting in what is known as the "two-wire system." Along with the two-wire system came many improvements tending to facilitate operation. Among these was a new calling device, compact and small enough to be carried in the pocket, which was capable of being substituted in any automatic two-wire tele- phone, and adapted for changing manual telephones to automatic. The development of complete super- vision, extending to the subexchange, the perfection of measured service, recording only the number of completed calls, and a pay station in which the coin must be deposited only after the called party has answered, are among the features of more recent ap- pearance. Among the minor developments during the last five years the fire-alarm service is interesting. The alarm is turned in automatically by a movement of the dial. A gong immediately notifies the attend- ant, who at once presses a button, thereby sending in the alarm, automatically, to every engine house, and placing himself in direct communication with each of them. This service is part of the equipment of the numerous exchanges. The time required to make a call in the automatic system is from three to six seconds, depending upon the size of the number and the personal skill of the calling subscriber. This does not include "answer- ing." When the connection is completed, the bell of the called telephone begins to ring automatically, and continues to do so, intermittently, until the re- ceiver is removed or the calling receiver is restored. No time is required for the disconnection, as the switches are instantly restored to their original con- dition when the calling subscriber hangs up his receiver. If the line called is busy, the calling sub- scriber is apprised of the fact by hearing a buzzing tone in his receiver. The service is secret, and a connection set up can not be disturbed in any way by another subscriber. The telephone is simple in operation, and the service is available and equally efficient at all hours of the day or night. The automatic switchboard. — At the central office the subscriber's line terminates in a machine called a "switch," and also in a contact which is one of a group of 100 contacts set closely in a so-called bank. The switches in the exchange are of two kinds — selectors and connectors. The connector is the switch which makes the final connection with the line contact of the called subscriber. In this connector a part of the mechanism consists of a movable shaft, which carries contact arms, or "wipers." Arrangements are made whereby the calling subscriber can cause this shaft to be first raised and then rotated by step-by-step move- ments, so that the wipers are brought into contact, automatically, with the contacts of the desired sub- scriber's line, placing the circuits in condition for the proper transmission of ringing and talking currents. Hanging up a telephone at a subscriber's station oper- ates a release magnet, which causes the switching mechanism at the central office to be restored to its initial condition, ready for the reception of another call. Special arrangements whereby systems of various sizes may be operated provide for trunking between different groups of switches. In the original system of 100 lines, which is extremely simple, each line ter- minates in a connector switch and also in a con- tact, which appears in the bank in front of the contact arms of every other connector, each line contact being multipled throughout the entire 100 switches. By this means connections are made directly by the con- nector of the calling subscriber, who rings by pressing a button upon his telephone which sets in motion further automatic mechanism for placing alternating current on the called subscriber's line. When the called party removes his receiver from the hook to answer, a battery circuit supplying the current neces- sary for talking is connected across the line. Provision is also made, automatically, for the protection of both lines from interruptions due to another call, and for transmitting a buzzing tone back to the telephone of any subscriber who calls a line when it is in use. To adapt the system to serve 1,000 lines, it is neces- sary to provide means for switching between ten groups of 100 units. In the 1,000-line system it is possible to effect the switching operation without installing a con- nector for every line. This is done by employing a sufficient number of connectors to establish the maxi- mum number of talking circuits which are likely to be required at any time, all subscribers using these con- nectors in common. Each line terminates in a selector, which is a switch similar in construction to the con- nector, and the function of which is to switch the calling subscriber's line to a connector in any one of the ten groups. Thus two switches are always used instead of one, in making a call, the selector operating to select contacts from the bank which are wired to a connector in the group desired, and this connector, in turn, completing the connection with the desired sub- scriber in its group. It is a common practice to use 100 connectors for 1,000 lines. The selector, in rotat- ing through the contacts to take up a connector, will pass by any trunks to busy connectors, and not stop until it is in connection with one which is idle. This arrangement for selecting an idle trunk is one of the particularly ingenious features of the automatic system, and is the more creditable as an invention because it is worked out in an extremely simple man- ner. After the selector has completed the circuit as ^ TELEPHONE DEVELOPMENT— DESCRIPTIVE. 93 far as the connector, this in turn takes up the work and completes the connection to the called subscriber through the operation of a vertical shaft, carrying wipers, as for the 100-line system. The ringing of the called subscriber's bell, the connection of the battery for talking, secrecy of communication, and the busy response when the line with which connection is desired is engaged are brought about in the 1,000-line system in the same way as in the 100-line exchange. To fit the automatic exchange to care for 10,000 lines it is necessary to introduce another selector into the circuit. A completed connection through the exchange in the 10,000-line system will pass through a first selector, a second selector, and a connector. The number of first selectors provided is 10,000, one for each line. There will also be 1,000 second selectors, and 1,000 connectors, used in common. The method of operation in this case is for the first selector to pick out one of the second selectors in a particular 1,000-unit group* while the second selector picks out one of the connectors in a particular group of 100 units, and the connector switch makes the final vertical and hori- zontal movements to the desired line, as in the 100- line system. In order to extend the capacity of the system to care for 100,000 lines, it is only necessary to add a fourth switch, which, in this case, will be a third selector. Then the first selector will pick out the 10,000-unit group containing the desired connection, the second selector the corresponding 1,000-unit group, and the third selector the particular 100-unit group in which the connection is included, the connector completing the call. Tendencies in semiautomatic development. — In tele- phone exchanges of the type exclusively used up to the invention of the automatic exchange, and now most generally in service, the completion of connections between the lines of subscribers is performed directly by operators. Many of the shortcomings of this system are due to the limitations imposed by the physical capacities of the operators, as, for example, the distance they can reach to insert plugs and the number of separate motions they are capable of per- forming with their hands in the fixed sequence of obtaining connection with the calling subscriber by inserting a plug in his line terminal and throwing a key on the horizontal table, testing to determine whether or not the desired line is idle, plugging into the terminal of the called line, and, finally, ringing by another movement of the horizontal key. In all auto- matic systems now in use the work and responsibility for obtaining the correct connection are left with the calling subscriber, who exercises primary control over the switching mechanism in the central office by mov- ing a mechanical numerical device on his telephone. It is but natural that inventors should have seen a fertile field for exercising their talent in the develop- ment of a system which should occupy a middle ground between the manual and the automatic systems, by substituting a trained operator, governed by verbal directions from the subscriber to control the switching, while relieving her of the necessity of making an extended series of motions for each call by having automatic mechanism complete each connection. Thus at trunk switchboards of the standard manual type in large cities having more than one exchange, operators receive their instructions, not directly from subscribers but from other operators. Circuits have been devised which relieve trunk operators from the manipulation of keys, their functions being restricted to inserting plugs, while the ringing of the called sub- scriber's bell takes place automatically. The result is that such an operator can handle a larger number of calls per hour than her associates at subscribers' switch- boards, who have the more complex duties. In certain exchanges abroad calls come to receiving operators, who ascertain from each subscriber the number of the line with which he desires connection, and transfer the work of completing the call to an operator at a second board. As it is very easy to arrange for transferring the call to an operator idle at the moment she receives the connection, and the func- tions of the call-receiving operator are of limited range, both classes can work with a high degree of personal efficiency. The tendency in semiautomatic devel- opment is to provide an operator with means for receiving calls and to arrange for their completion, in- cluding the ringing up of the called subscriber, by automatic electro-mechanism. The control of this mechanism can be readily centered in a numbered keyboard like that of a typewriter or adding machine, so that the necessity of reaching out at arm's length by the operator is eliminated. Once a number is received and is "set up" by depressing the keys cor- responding to its digits, the operator can pass to the next call and handle that also with like simplicity. Under such a system each operator will be able to "pass" a far greater number of calls per hour than in a system where switching is performed manually until theconnection iscompleted. In addition, theapparatus can be arranged more compactly on the floor of an exchange than is possible with the multiple switch- board, which must be extended in a continuous line. At the end of 1907 three prominent groups of inventors were working on this problem in the United States, one of which had already announced and introduced a complete system ready for commer- cial service. Protection. — Elaborate safeguards are adopted in all telephone systems to prevent the passage of elec- trical currents of abnormal strength along the wires to points where they might produce personal injury or destroy apparatus which is costly or incapable of being immediately replaced. In all cases the prin- 94 TELEPHONES. ciple of protection involves the control of such danger- ous currents by inserting in the wire what might be called an artificial weak link, which breaks down and causes the dangerous current to take a path provided for the purpose and free from risk. The parts of a telephone system which must be protected in this way are broadly divided into three classes: (1) The subscriber's station, (2) the wires of underground and aerial cables, and (3) central-office equipment. The telephone at the subscriber's station is commonly protected by a combination of a spark gap and fuse. The spark gap consists of two carbon plates, one connected to the ground and the other to the line. These plates are separated by a strip of mica or other insulating material covering their in- terior faces partially in such a way that a slight air space exists between them. Whenever lightning or a current of heavy potential from an electric-light or street-railway circuit reaches the telephone fine, accidentally, the resistance of the air gap between the carbons breaks down, and the current usually passes harmlessly into the earth. A continuous heavy cur- rent, such as is caused by a cross with a trolley wire, will produce an arc in the arrester, and melt the fuse between the carbon and the entering wire, thus inter- rupting the circuit so that the current can not pass into the building beyond the protector. Proceeding toward the central office, a certain amount of open-wire construction will frequently be found exposed to the risk of crosses with wires of other companies- carrying heavy currents, and also to light- ning risk. Where lightning is dangerously prevalent at certain seasons of the year, wires connected to ground plates buried in the earth are run to the tops of poles and allowed to project upward like ordinary lightning rods, such as are familiar sights upon build- ings in the same localities. A common practice in some sections is to equip rural-line wires with metallic air gap, grounded arresters, to take the discharge directly off the line, rather than to rely upon the pro- tectors inside of buildings. While a lightning stroke on an open-wire line is commonly able at most to damage a single pair of wires, and the instruments connected to it if they are unprotected, its entry into a cable is a far more serious matter. Here it might fuse together several hundred circuits, or break out through the sheath, leaving a hole through which moisture could enter; thus inter- rupting the working of the wires and causing in- convenience to subscribers and heavy repair expense to the company. Accordingly protective devices are located at the outer ends of all cable pairs, where open wire is joined to the cable conductors, while the sheaths of the cables and the messengers which support the cable are usually connected to the ground at frequent intervals. The protection of the subscriber's station and the cable is a comparatively simple matter. At the cen- tral office a more interesting condition is found. The equipment connected to the line is protected against lightning and high potential currents by a pair of carbon plates for each side of the line, located on the frame where the entering cable joins the interior wiring. These plates are separated by mica, and one member of each pair is connected to the ground for carrying away the current, as at the subscriber's station. A special protection for the relays or drops connected to the line for receiving signals, and wound with wire so fine that it may easily be fused, is provided in the "heat-coil" or "sneak-current" arrester. This ar- rester operates to disconnect the outside line from the central-office apparatus, and to connect it to the ground upon the passage for a few seconds of a current strong enough to heat the wire in the central-office equipment to a dangerous temperature if passed through it steadily. These twc devices guard the central-office equipment against dangerous currents from outside. Equipment must also be guarded against a possible excess of current through any particular piece of appa- ratus from the central-office current supply itself. The battery in a large telephone exchange is simultane- ously sending current of limited strength through thousands of separate paths. Should a large propor- tion of these paths suddenly become interrupted by an accident, the whole current would go through the remainder of them, if there were no protective devices, and would be destructive in its action. Accordingly fuses are inserted in battery-supply leads which furnish current to relays, transmitters, and other operative apparatus of the exchange. Thus should too much current flow momentarily through one of these paths, the wire is interrupted by the operation of the fuse before the apparatus can be heated to a dangerous temperature. Similar protection is provided in the ringing circuits. The opening of the fuse means that at that instant certain apparatus is rendered inoperative, and one or more subscribers are prevented from receiving the service they are likely to require at any moment. Accordingly the fuses are ingeniously designed to operate a signal upon opening. This signal frequently consists of a bell to attract attention, and a lamp to indicate the particular group in which the open fuse is located. Hence the operation of the fuse not only indicates a dangerous condition of the wire, but at- tracts the attention of an attendant specifically to that wire, insuring a prompt remedy of the defect, and a minimum of interruption to the service. Cheaper common-battery switchboards, reducing the central-office cost -per line. — The common-battery sys- tem of operation is regarded with especial favor by the public as compared with the older magnetosystem because it eliminates the physical necessity of ringing for connection and disconnection, and furnishes more rapid and agreeable service. Its general introduction OPERATOR'S POSITION IN AUTOMANUAL TELEPHONE EXCHANGE. TELEPHONE DEVELOPMENT— DESCRIPTIVE. 95 in the smaller towns and cities has been prevented by the cost of the equipment, necessitating a rate which at the present time the utility of the service does not justify, and which would prohibit its extension to a large number of subscribers. This method of opera- tion has, however, been extended to a large number of places of smaller size than would have been considered capable of supporting this type of switchboard a few years ago. This has been to a considerable degree the result of the introduction of simplified types of apparatus, which, by the elimination of working parts, reduce the cost of each line and cord circuit. The service rendered by such boards is in some respects inferior to that made possible by the more expensive equipment used in large cities, but in filling an inter- mediary position between the magnetotype of board and the most elaborate types of the common-battery system, they play a very useful part and represent a distinct advance. Tone and flash signals for busy and trouble tests. — Special apparatus is used to indicate to the operator originating a trunked call the condition of a called line in a distant exchange. If the line is busy or out of order, the trunk operator, having no listening key, can not get into communication with the subscriber or the subscriber's operator, and inform them of the condition of the line, nor is it desirable that she should take time to do this. Accordingly she inserts the plug connected to the trunk in a special jack connected to the "busy-back" circuit. This jack is wired to an interrupter connected to a battery, which alternately operates and releases a relay in the trunk-circuit signaling back to the calling subscriber's switchboard, where it indicates that the line is busy by flashing out a code of predetermined intervals on the supervisory lamp. In some cities flash signals are supplemented by tone signals for use both in the exchange and to notify the subscribers of the condition of the line. For example, in the automatic system, and in most manually operated systems in large cities, a rapidly fluctuating current is employed to produce a hum in the calling subscriber's telephone which serves as a signal that the line is busy. So-called tone tests are also employed for a few purposes in the interior of the exchange, as, for example, to indicate to the operator that a line is in trouble and under the supervision of the wire chief, or is being held for a long-distance connection. Pneumatic-tube equipment. — Accounting for toll or long-distance messages requires under present prac- tice the recording of the details of each connection on a slip of paper known as a "ticket." The data re- corded for each message include the names and tele- phone numbers of both parties to the conversation, the names of the exchanges in which the message originated and terminated, the time when it began 36754°— 10 7 and ended, and its duration. The latter items are usually recorded by an automatic stamp governed by clockwork. To facilitate operating in large exchanges a "re- cording" operator ascertains from the subscriber the desired connection, records the necessary details on a ticket, and sends it to a "line" operator, who is re- sponsible for completing the connection. In a busy toll exchange hundreds of tickets are made out every hour, and prompt service requires the elimination of all chance for delay or confusion in transmitting tickets from the recording to the line operators. The messenger service formerly employed has been re- placed by elaborate installations of pneumatic-tube systems. The tubes extend from the ticket-distribut- ing tables near the recording operators to the different switchboard positions. The ticket-distributing opera- tor never sends a ticket to a busy toll position, as she is informed whether or not a given operator is engaged by a lamp signal, which burns constantly, except when a ticket is in the pneumatic receiver at the operator's position. Whenever a ticket • is removed the lamp lights, signifying that the operator is ready to take another ticket. Tickets are transmitted without the use of carriers, often through several hundred feet of tubes. The rate of travel, some 30 feet per second, and the elimination of delays incident to placing tickets in carriers, as in store-service systems, makes the pneumatic tube an effective adjunct to speedy toll operating. Introduction of "ancillary" answering- jacks in switchboards. — The elaborate investigations into meth- ods of handling traffic which have been carried forward have led not only to the improved organization and supervision of operating staffs, but have induced modifications in the arrangement of switchboard equipment. Economy in operating so far as this is reflected in the average cost of handling calls requires obviously that operators shall be kept busy. It is an interesting and useful coincidence that experiments have conclusively shown that operators handle calls with higher efficiency when the calls occur in reason- ably rapid succession. Idleness tends to laxity. The requisite load for the busy hour, at each posi- tion, is obtained by connecting to the answering- jacks which terminate there, by means of the intermediate frame, a number of lines which will originate as many calls as an operator can comfortably complete. But in the less busy parts of the day, when the traffic falls off, some positions are left unoccupied, and the re- maining operators reach over to answer calls on the lines terminating at each side of them on the switch- board. As an operator's reach is limited, this concentration of load during the comparatively idle hours is extended by the use of duplicate or "ancillary" answering-jacks. These are installed in strips of twenty, each strip being 96 TELEPHONES. connected to the correspondingly numbered lines ter- minating in two strips of ten regular answering-jacks. By grouping these ancillary jacks a greatly reduced operating force handles the load, and maintains a nor- mally efficient service during the hours of low traffic. No multiple and partial multiple in subscribers' switchboards. — Busy cities of large area and widely diversified interests, such as New York, have certain districts in which a large percentage of the originating calls are for lines extending from other central offices; in other words, a major portion of the calls require trunked connections. Inasmuch as the subscribers' line multiple equipment in a switchboard is provided for the sole purpose of facilitating the completion of calls for other lines in the same exchange, the utility of the multiple decreases as the ratio of calls requiring trunking becomes larger. Accordingly it has become a rule of practice to omit the subscribers' multiple from switchboards at which 70 per cent or more of the originating calls require trunking. The strictly local calls are completed through a trunk board under the same roof, which also terminates incoming trunked connections from other central offices. An exception to this rule is sometimes made in the case of very busy lines, frequently called by others terminating in the same switchboard, even though the proportion of calls at the switchboard which require trunking is greater than 70 per cent. Such lines frequently include the trunks of busy private-branch exchanges, and are accommodated in a multiple of small dimensions, in the subscriber's switchboard. Calls for lines not hav- ing terminals in this multiple are completed through the trunk or "B" board. Party-line special signaling. — One of the devices by which selective party-line ringing is accomplished is the connection between each side of the line and the ground of two bells, one designed to respond to pul- sating current of positive, and the other to current of negative, polarity. This gives a four-party line, on which any bell can be rung without disturbing the others. Under this plan, in many cases, one jack is provided for each station on the party line ; thus a line carrying four stations would terminate in four separate multiple j acks. The wiring interconnecting these j acks is arranged to insure the proper transmission of sig- naling current. Under this system a subscriber can move anywhere within his exchange district and still receive party-line service without a change of his number, while calling and accuracy of connection are facilitated by the elimination of any prefix or code designation for party-line telephones. This system, known as the "jack per station," is used exclusively by the Bell companies. An ingenious development of party-line signaling is the automatic ringing of the desired station, which is done in the automatic telephone system, and also in the manual switchboards of the "jack-per-station" type. In the latter boards no ringing or other keys are provided at the trunk operator's position. Her duty is confined to inserting plugs in jacks of called lines, in response to instructions received from other operators over "order wires." The insertion of the plug into the jack corresponding to the desired station introduces to the current of the switchboard cord, from which it passes to the jack, and thence to the line and the subscriber's bell. Under this system an operator can handle a larger number of calls, and, therefore, of trunks, than when she is obliged to ma- nipulate keys. The telephone repeater. — For extending the range of long-distance communication, it has long been con- ceived that some instrument might be devised capable of responding to electrical waves corresponding to speech, and of reproducing and retransmitting these waves along the line with unaltered form but increased amplitude. Such a device renews from a battery as- sociated with the repeater the energy from the trans- mitting station which is gradually diminished as cur- rent traverses a line. Great difficulties in the way of a practical invention for this purpose have been sur- mounted, and such an instrument has recently been in commercial operation on some of the lines of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. Methods of prepayment service. — Under the meas- ured-service method of charging, as originally carried on, each call was recorded on a "ticket" by the oper- ator receiving it. These tickets were the basis upon which the accounts were made out and bills rendered to subscribers. This plan causes a certain increase in the expense of accounting, and increases the cost of operating, as it reduces the number of calls which each operator can handle in a day, and so involves a higher cost for handling a given number of calls per day .than under the flat-rate system. The higher rates which for this reason it was necessary to charge in order to render the service profitable were found to interfere with its extension among those whose use of the system is possibly as low as twenty to forty calls per month, who constitute a very large class of the population in some cities. This condition has been met in some places by the development of the prepayment or coin-box service. Each telephone furnished to a subscriber using this class of service is provided with a coin box. A sub- scriber deposits the coin, sometimes as an essential means of calling the central office through the com- pletion by the coin of the electric circuit in the line, and sometimes after being answered by the operator, upon her request. In either case the coin is under the control of the operator, who can send a current over the line to operate mechanism for dropping the coin into the till of the coin box, if the desired connec- tion is completed, or for releasing it from the interme- diate receptacle into which it first falls, and restor- TYPE OF COIN COLLECTOR WITH AUTOMATIC RETURN IN CASE OF UNSUCCESSFUL CALL SERVICE METER FOR COUNTING TELEPHONE CALLS. TELEPHONE DEVELOPMENT— DESCRIPTIVE. 97 ing it to the subscriber, if the called party does not answer. When the depositing of the coin has been completed, this fact is indicated to the operator by the lighting of a lamp on her switchboard, which furnishes a check on each collection. Collections from the boxes are made once a month. This class of service is employed largely in some cities in very small business houses and stores where the public uses the telephone to a certain extent, and, particularly in Chicago, in residence districts where people desire an inexpensive party-line service with a rate proportionate to the amount of use, the rate most frequently adopted being one of 5 cents per call, with a guaranteed minimum of $1 .50 per month. Among the merits of this service are its low cost to subscribers, the absence of uncertainty as to collection, the payment for service daily, as obtained, and its tendency to dis- courage the free or "deadhead" use of the telephones of subscribers by their neighbors, which is an objec- tionable feature of low-grade flat-rate service. The use of the coin box is, however, regarded by telephone managers as incompatible with high-grade service, and best suited to smaller places. Police and fire-alarm telephone service. — The tele- phone is a medium generally employed to supply the necessary means of communication between police and fire headquarters and outposts in various parts of the city. For example, the headquarters of the fire de- partment generally have a special call number in a telephone exchange, and every fire station is connected with headquarters. The use of the telephone for reporting fires is gradually increasing, so that in some places a larger number of reports are received through the telephone exchange than through regular fire- alarm signal boxes set up on the streets. It is easier to get to the telephone than to one of the boxes, and when the citizen has reached it he knows how to use it instantaneously and can give particulars which will be helpful to the force sent to handle the blaze. The police telephone box set up on an iron post in the street for the use of patrolmen in reporting to headquarters is a familiar sight upon city streets. Police headquarters generally have an elaborate and well-developed electrical system in which the telephone is combined with signaling apparatus for recording the calls of the officers which are sent in simply for the pur- pose of notifying their superior officers that they are covering their beats on time. A recent development of the police signaling telephone service has been the modification of these boxes to provide them with a powerful lamp signal and gong, which may be operated to call an officer to the telephone if he is within sight or hearing, or if he is not, to notify citizens to pass the word along, and send him to the signal box. In case of a report coming to headquarters by telephone that an officer is needed at a certain place, the person in charge is thus able to call to a street telephone the officer nearest the point where the services of the police are needed and instruct him to proceed to that point at once. In some parts of the country the municipalities allow telephone companies to operate their fire and police telephone and signaling systems, and supply the equipment for them at an annual rental, in order to obtain the skilled services of the telephone men and the testing equipment, which is a part of every telephone exchange, as well as the system of supervision and maintenance, which is necessarily developed to keep the telephone wires in efficient working condition. Loaded cables. — Detrimental electrical effects, which are unavoidable in the use of insulated wires, twisted together in pairs, in which the wires are in close prox- imity to each other and to other pairs of wires in the cable, have for a long time limited the range of speech transmission which could be obtained in such circuits. For example, the loss in speech transmission in one mile of No. 19 B. & S. gauge wire, diameter 0.0359 inch, in cable of the ordinary type, is equivalent to that in a little over 8 miles of No. 12 B. & S. gauge copper wire, diameter 0.808 inch metallic circuit, strung on poles with the standard spacing of 12 inches between the two members of the circuit. The funda- mental problem of applying a counteractive influence which would increase the ability of wires in cables to transmit speech was most ingeniously solved in a mathematical computation recently worked out by Dr. M. I. Pupin, of Columbia University, and em- bodied in patents. The reduction to a, practical working basis of the theories thus developed has been steadily in progress under the direction of engineers of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, and at the present time cables, in which the wires are "loaded" at inter- vals with inductance coils that nullify some of the detrimental electrical effects inherent in unloaded cable pairs, are in service between Worcester and Boston, Boston and Lynn, New York and New Haven, New York and Philadelphia, Chicago and Milwaukee, and on other less important circuits. The transmis- sion over a loaded No. 14 B. & S. gauge cable pair, such as is used in the circuit between Chicago and Mil- waukee, 88£ miles in length, is as good as would be obtained over an unloaded cable circuit which employs wire of the same size but is only 18 miles long. The practical effect of installing. this type of cable for cir- cuits of this class is to protect the wires from the influence of the weather, which or open-wire lines might at any time absolutely interrupt the important service given, or reduce the efficiency of transmission. The conditions of the cable circuits are practically constant, so that their installation represents an ex- ceedingly valuable improvement in the facilities for handling a traffic consisting of important messages, heavily concentrated between two points. 98 TELEPHONES. In large cities where the circuits between remote central offices are necessarily carried through cable for a considerable distance, detrimental effects of the long cable hauls are reduced bj T loading the wires used for carrying long-distance messages. Loading a mile of No. 19 cable wire is equivalent to reducing the length of No. 12 B. & S. open wire at the outer end of a 100-mile connection by about six miles. This means that good transmission can be obtained over just that additional mileage of open wire at the end of a 100-mile line for each mile of cable circuit which is loaded as compared with what would be possible if the cable were unloaded. For lines longer than 100 miles there is a progressive improvement in the ratio of gain with the increase in circuit length. Difficulties attend the application of the loading principle to open-wire circuits, in which the same effects experienced in cables are found to exist to a certain but far lesser degree. These difficulties, how- ever, are being gradually surmounted, and it is prob- able that the next five-year period will, as a result of the work done and data secured in the present period, witness a very considerable improvement in the devel- opment of loading aerial copper circuits. Development and standardization of testing service. — The quality of service is judged on the basis of speed and accuracy. In all well-managed exchanges fre- quent test calls are originated by employees of the tele- phone companies and the results are recorded. Any lapse from standard phraseology or methods of proce- dure, as well as any inaccuracy or undue delay, is noted and brought to the attention of the operating staff with a view to preventing recurrence of errors. Such test calls are made in various ways. Some- times they are originated at subscribers' stations, some- times within the exchange by means of special test sets which may he temporarily connected to any line. In some central offices the chief operator or a special operator is provided with equipment for the express purpose of making tests, and a certain number are made each day as a part of the operating routine. Where such regular equipment is provided, it is cus- tomary to have arrangements for connecting the test- ing circuits to lines of subscribers, and particularly to those about which complaints have been made, or where possibility of irregularity is suspected, for the purpose of observing their actual service conditions. In such cases, when a call originates or terminates on the line, the supervising operator is notified by the illumination of a lamp, and can connect her telephone to the line and observe the progress of the connection. Important intervals, such as that from the time of originating the call to the operator's answer, from the answer of the operator to the ringing of the called party's telephone, and the total time from the origina- tion of the call to the answer of the called party, are recorded. Definite standards based upon the average of a large number of satisfactory tests have been estab- lished to furnish a basis of comparison by which the efficiency of handling test calls may be measured. In single-office districts the common standard allows four seconds from the time the subscriber lifts his tele- phone from the hook to the answer of the operator. Three seconds are given for the operator to obtain and repeat the number, while the time from the origina- tion of the call to the answer of the called subscriber should not exceed twenty-four seconds. These condi- tions vary, however. Where a call is trunked from another office, in a district having several exchanges, the total time allowed is four seconds longer, the extra interval being taken up by the assignment of a trunk for passing the connection to the second exchange. For measured -rate service, the interval between the origination of the call and the comple- tion of the connection is necessarily longer than that given above. While the figures just given represent the average intervals required for the observations which deter- mine the standard, the results obtained from a series of test calls are compared with a standard of another type, a so-called traffic curve, which is based upon the percentage of calls answered within a given period. To accord with a standard curve of this type for a common-battery, single-office district, a determined percentage of the calls should receive a response from the operators within four seconds, a somewhat smaller percentage requires five seconds for a response, a still smaller percentage six seconds, and so on, while no answer should require an interval of more than ten seconds, under normal load conditions. There appears to be a tendency to abandon these traffic curves, for various reasons. In some large cities the testing of subscribers' lines under observation has been concentrated in one ex- change, where the testing desk is located. Trunks connect this desk to the different central offices, and a certain number of subscribers' lines at each exchange are connected each day to the testing equipment. Operators observe all calls passing over these lines in the course of a normal day's business, and also originate calls upon these lines themselves for observation pur- poses, if they consider it desirable. An ingenious ap- plication of circuit principles consists in the employ- ment of testing trunks of an automatic selecting device at the testing operator's desk, associated with a con- nector at the remote end of each service-testing trunk. Connector contacts are wired to fifty or more separate working subscribers' lines, with any one of which the testing operator may obtain connection by operating her selector. She is thus enabled to check the service on a large number of operators' positions, in several ex- changes, by the use of a very small number of trunks, which are the expensive part of the circuit. It is TELEPHONE DEVELOPMENT— DESCRIPTIVE. 99 objected, however, that this method manufactures calls for tests rather than tests regular calls. As a part of the routine of obtaining traffic data, so- called "peg counts" are taken to ascertain the number of calls handled by each operator during each hour of the day, once a month. These "peg counts" are utilized in a variety of traffic studies, the object of which is to provide a proper distribution of the load among different operators, and a general regulation of the service. Rapid handling of concentrated toll business. — "Short-haul" telephone business between cities where traffic is heavily concentrated and a considerable num- ber of circuits are in service is now commonly handled under a simplified system which eliminates, to a large extent, the use of each circuit for transmitting detailed information about calls, in alternation with the con- versation of patrons. For moderate distances, under such circumstances, the practice of obtaining full details, including the name of the particular party desired at the telephone, has been eliminated, and a record of the call is made by the originating operator only. The request for connection of a telephone to a remote terminal is transmitted over a circuit called an "order wire," used exclusively for this purpose by various operators in common, and the other circuits are set aside for the exclusive use of subscribers. In this way the company's business is concentrated upon one or two pairs of wires, and the circuits for the use of the subscribers are kept free from interruptions by the conversation of operators. This system has also been inaugurated on longer circuits, such as those through loaded cables where business between two terminal points is heavily con- centrated. This method of handling calls has been responsible for a very material reduction in the interval which elapses between the time of originating a call and obtaining connection with the called subscriber. Circuits are commonly put at the disposal of users, while the calling party waits at the telephone, almost as quickly as if the person with whom connection was desired was in the same city. The use of toll-line circuits at such high efficiency has been a factor in rate reductions which are thus traceable to the scien- tific study of traffic problems. Railway telephony. — Transportation of passengers and of freight upon steam railways is a service which imposes highly exacting demands upon men and equip- ment. The maintenance of schedule time is a factor of primary importance in the handling of the business and the attainment of economical operation. In the case of unavoidable departure from schedule the read- justment of assigned positions of trains admits of scarcely any delay. It is well known that control of train movements is vested in employees whose duty has brought them the title of "dispatcher," and that among the wires which are everywhere seen paralleling the railways the most important circuits are those terminating in the dispatcher's office. The telephone has recently found a new field for expansion in this service which demands such high efficiency in a medium for communication, which must be noted briefly in this report. A more detailed account will be found in the Census Report on Telegraphs, 1907. x Railways have long employed the telephone ex- tensively in transacting their ordinary business, the instrument being a familiar sight to visitors in pas- senger stations, freight offices, and of course in all general offices, while booths for the use of the public are frequently installed in important stations as an adjunct to the pay-station business of the local tele- phone company. The Pennsylvania lines east of Pittsburg in 1907 used over 10,000 telephones, while the New York Central lines between New York City and Chicago car- ried on a heavy exchange of communications over the substantial copper circuit owned by the railroad com- pany and supported on poles located on its right of way. For years there was talk of the introduction of telephones to replace the telegraph on train-dispatching circuits, but the apparent difficulties and uncertainties involved in such an innovation made the railroads slow to consider the change with approval. This con- servatism was due in part to the natural prejudices entertained by telegraphers in favor of the instru- ments of their trade. In addition, strong sentiment in favor of telegraphy, which had formed a part of the training of many of even the highest officials, ex- isted to a certain extent in executive offices. There was a hesitancy to believe in the reliability of the tele- phone, due in part to errors and interruptions noticed in service given by central-exchange telephone com- panies. In train dispatching reliability is the first essential. In addition to these considerations, the wire systems and business methods of the railway companies were closely dovetailed with those of the regular telegraph companies, so that a change was conceived to involve laborious and expensive read- justment of plant and business relations. In 1907, however, there was more extensive discussion of the use of the telephone for train dispatching than had yet occurred, and experiments on a practical scale were made by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, under the direction of Mr. W. W. Ryder, superintendent of telegraph, which convinced railway officials of the adaptability of the telephone to all types of railway service requiring verbal communi- cations. Special apparatus has been evolved as an adjunct to the telephone in railway work. A dispatcher's cir- cuit leads from the dispatcher's office, commonly lo- cated at division headquarters, along the right of way, 1 Bulletin 102, Telegraph Systems: 1907. 100 TELEPHONES. with a telephone and signaling equipment at each station on the line. The dispatcher has at his station an equipment which enables him to select and call at will any one or more of the local operators or agents. Instead of a clicking telegraph instrument, the calling device is a loud-sounding bell, which can be heard by the operator even if he is out on the platform and a reasonable distance from the station. This bell rings continuously when a station is called until the operator goes to his telephone set and stops it by answering. Automatic devices are at present sometimes used at the dispatcher's station to record the answering of an operator. Operators and dispatchers are provided with telephones equipped with a head band, so that they may be automatically held to the ear, leaving both hands free for writing. Messages relating to train movements are distinctly repeated to the operator word by word, and copied at both ends, then repeated back as a check. During the repetition each word is understood as a check by the dispatcher. Code words are used to abbreviate mes- sages. Words and numbers of critical importance are first spelled out, then repeated as words. Under these methods it is found that the dispatcher works more rapidly, keeps his work in better shape, and has a better idea of what is going on along the line, than when the telegraph is used, while there is the further advantage that when necessary, he can com- municate directly with the conductor or engineer of a train. It has also been found that the use of the telephone throws open employment with the railroads to a better class of employees than it was commonly possible to secure as telegraphers. This results from the fact that the duties of an operator are learned in a month, while fair proficiency as a telegrapher usually requires a twelve-month apprenticeship. One of the most conspicuous advantages of the telephone system is its superior reliability to the telegraph in foggy, wet weather, while it also gives better results where elec- trical disturbances are communicated to the lines from near-by trolley and high-tension alternating-current power lines. In addition to this greater reliability, the use of the telephone makes transmission more rapid, as words are sent as units instead of letter by letter, so that an ordinary way station can handle from 50 to 75 per cent more dispatches a day than was the rule when the telegraph was the means of communication. This saving in time is to a considerable extent due to the elimination of the tedious method of calling by clicking out a code with the telegraph key, which was formerly the fashion. Where arrangements with telegraph companies pro- vide for the transmission of their business to the same operator who handles the railway business, the tele- phone can be used in relaying messages from a telegraph instrument to the terminal. Railway telephony began with the equipment of tel- egraph lines with special telephone instruments com- monly known as "railway composite sets." These worked with a moderate degree of efficiency over the single-wire grounded telegraph circuits which were uni- formly in service, but their reliability was not as high as that of the equipment which was developed later at about the time that some railroads began to be con- verted in opinion and action to the exclusive use of telephones on dispatching circuits. At the present time the tendency on the part of the railways is to employ well-built metallic circuits, equipped with standard telephones and selecting, signaling, and call- recording electro-mechanism of a type built especially for this class of service. Portable telephones may be carried upon trains, and their provision, particularly upon wrecking trains, affords a means of communicating with headquarters, in case of emergency, from any point along the right of way. The use of the telephone in freight yards, roundhouses, and terminals has grown to be a common factor in the movement of cars and engines. Many passengers now talk with friends directly from trains connected up with local or remote exchanges. Street-railway telephony. — Interurban electric rail- ways have undoubtedly been pioneers in the field of car operation by telephone. Hundreds of miles of electric-railway track are to-day paralleled by tele- phone wires, which are erected by the railway com- panies solely to facilitate the transaction of their business, provide for the safety of their passengers, and enhance the efficiency of service. 1 Commonly a telephone is located at every turn-out or siding, either in a weatherproof box mounted on a pole or in a booth set beside the line. Each telephone is equipped with protective devices, and many companies using booths place an insulated platform on the floor so that em- ployees using the telephone are amply protected from accident on account of a cross between the telephone circuit and the trolley or feed wire, as well as from lightning and currents from other foreign circuits. At central points, such as division or general head- quarters, the lines paralleling the different tracks of an electric system are terminated in a switchboard, and the movements of cars are controlled and re- corded by dispatchers. On many lines, at the present time, not only is the conductor obliged by the regu- lations of his road to obtain permission of the dis- patcher before passing a turn-out, but the dispatcher can call a conductor to the telephone by operating a signal, so that a large degree of control over the move- ments of cars is economically effected. Sometimes cars are furnished with portable instruments which can be connected with the line at any point along the right of way by the use of hook wires carried on a pole, which enables the trainmen to make contact with the overhead wires. In cities a large and com- plete central telephone system is often a part of ' Census Report on Street Railways, 1907, p. 275. RACK OF METERS, WITH PROTECTING GLASS DOORS. TELEPHONE DEVELOPMENT— DESCRIPTIVE. 101 the equipment of a railway, and this is true not only of surface lines but of elevated railways and subways in New York, Boston, and Chicago. This adaptation of the telephone to the needs of the elec- tric railways has not only been instrumental in in- creasing the safety of travel over such lines but has had much to do with maintenance of time schedules and increasing the speed with which cars can be safely operated. Phantom circuits.— -In the early days of telephony a circuit consisted of a single wire extending from a grounded terminal at the central office to a ground connection at the distant terminal of the telephone at the subscriber's station. Electrical energy traversed the wire and completed its circuit through the earth. Such grounded circuits were for a time used to a large extent between central offices for the transmission of messages from one exchange district to another, but were replaced with metallic, two-wire lines, to secure improved transmission. In a long-distance system a large proportion of the fixed investment is bound up in the copper wire which carries the messages. The revenue of such systems was in early times limited by inability to use the two wires of a line for more than one message at a time. Inventions which have received their general com- mercial development within the past five years have, however, made it possible to utilize two pairs of wires to carry simultaneously three telephone messages, the lines being adapted for this service by the connection of special coils of wire wound upon iron cores at each end of the respective circuits. It is also possible not only to use a pair of wires for carrying a telephone message, but at the same time to use one of the wires for carrying a telegraph message, or even to use each wire for carrying a separate telegraph message, without interfering with the speech which is at the same ,time passing over the circuit. The assertion is even made that the latest developments indicate the commercial possibility, through duplex and quadruplex telegraphy, to effect the transmission of four or eight telegraph messages over each pair of wires without interfering with their use as a talking circuit. A study of electrical action will reveal the possi- bilities of creating, so to speak, a third circuit with- out stringing any additional wire. Because this third circuit has no physical existence apart from the two original pairs of wires, it was named by early inventors a "phantom" circuit, and the name so appropriately assigned is regularly used. In addition to the coils and a slight amount of special wiring at the terminals of circuits, the only other investment required to produce a phantom circuit is that necessary for a rearrangement of wires on poles at intervals through- out their length to prevent confusion of speech on the lines. It is not possible, however, to create a phantom of two circuits which are not absolutely similar. For example, a copper circuit and a pair of iron wires might be of the same length and size, but the differences in material or molecular character would prevent their owners from combining them to produce a good phantom circuit. It is not natural to expect increased efficiency without extra labor, and in this case the law of common experience holds good, as it is necessary to keep wires which are "phantomed" especially clear of trees and other in- fluences which would lower insulation; in fact, the circuits must be kept in first-class condition. Yet this device has rendered, in the aggregate, thousands of miles of lines more profitable than before its adop- tion, by adding a potential advance in returns of 50 per cent at the cost of a comparatively insignifi- cant investment, with no harmful effect upon the service. The result of the adaptation of telephone circuits to the simultaneous transmission of telegraph messages has been the same from the standpoint of investment and returns. Telephone companies now carry on a large part of the communication relating to their own business by telegraph, over circuits which at the same moment are earning revenue by carrying messages for subscribers. For a long time one of the elements entering into the cost of long-distance service has been the use of the wire by operators in making appoint- ments necessary for completing connection previous to the establishment of communication between sub- scribers. Where the necessary information is trans- mitted by telegraph over a simplexed telephone circuit, one paying message can follow another as quickly as the wire can be released. Moreover, by leasing the use of a telegraph line formed in this way to outside persons, a' telephone company may at any assigned instant be deriving from a particular pair of wires income from three separate persons — one tele- phoning, a second leasing one wire of the pair, and a third leasing the other wire, the two latter being users of telegraph service. Information is now transmitted over very long circuits, such, for example, as those between Chicago and New York, by telegraph, using repeaters at suit- able relay stations, without in the slightest degree interfering with the telephone service, the rendering of which is the normal function of the lines. Wireless telephony. — Although it has not been regularly applied to commercial service, the wireless telephone represents, from a scientific standpoint, a most interesting contribution to the art of speech transmission. It involves the modulation of con- tinuous trains of electro-magnetic waves, in corre- spondence with the intricate variations of sound waves which impinge against the diaphragm of a trans- mitter. These electro-magnetic waves, at the receiv- ing end, pass through a detector which gathers out the variations, and re transforms their special type of 102 TELEPHONES. energy into variations of electric current capable of causing vibrations in the diaphragm of a telephone receiver and thus reproducing speech. Up to the present time the range of this method of communication is apparently limited to a few miles, and as no method of eliminating interference beyond a certain small degree is known, its practical applica- tion has been confined to lines, such as the transmission of messages across narrow bodies of water or along a strip of coast, in contrast to wireless telegraphy, whose range runs into thousands of miles. ' Concrete poles. — A desire to find a substitute for wooden poles which would be more durable and ca- pable of bearing greater stresses, has led to experi- ments with concrete poles. The Pennsylvania R ailroad has constructed stationary forms, in which it has made a considerable number of concrete poles reenf orced with steel rods, which are distributed along its roadbed and then put in service. Several inventors have built and erected concrete poles with different types of reenforced steel structures. The weight of such poles is a factor which has prevented their economical dis- tribution along any considerable length of ordinary line, and arrangements for molding each pole at the place where it is to be used have not seemed to be capable of being utilized with such economy as to warrant the general use of the concrete structures in competition with wooden poles at prices now prevail- ing. The use of concrete poles in the telephone field is still very limited. Operators' schools. — Beginners in operating in prac- tically all of the large exchanges are now taught the best methods of performing their duties before actu- ally being set to the work of serving subscribers. Methods of giving this instruction vary widely in detail among different companies and in different parts of the country. The simplest plan employed is to place the beginner at an unused position of a switch- board, where she learns the nature of the equipment and method of manipulating it, and practices "put- ting up" connections under the guidance of an instruc- tor until she becomes well acquainted with the ex- change routine. Then, for a time, she is a "listener," sitting beside a regular operator, a duplicate of whose receiver she wears, hearing all that is said to the oper- ator and the replies, and observing what takes place under the varying conditions which arise. From this she passes to a regular switchboard position, where the traffic is purposely made light by connecting to the answering jacks terminating there a small number of comparatively idle lines. On each side of such a position are seated operators competent to aid and instruct the newcomer, and under their supervision, and by noting the example they supply, the beginner rounds out quickly the training which she has received under the instructor. In the somewhat elaborately equipped schools main- tained in the largest cities, the student is supplied with instruction books setting forth x the organization and rules of the company, the nature of the equip- ment and its use, and the methods of coping with the various situations which she must deal with in the course of her daily work as an operator. She listens to lectures, studies and recites, learning how the equip- ment looks, is named, laid out, and operated, by refer- ence to drawings of a sample switchboard, and actual pieces of individual apparatus, such as lamps, jacks,* and keys, which are provided in the study room. Having acquired the ability to tell what to do in any case which may arise, either in regular routine or emergency, the student is given a certain amount of practice each day in putting up sample connections. She sits at a switchboard and handles calls, all of which originate and terminate with an instructor, who makes these calls cover not only regular business but all the many irregularities which must be dealt with properly by an operator. Here the students learn accuracy, and, to a limited extent, speed, the highest development in the latter respect being at- tained when later she is placed at a switchboard posi- tion between two especially competent, experienced operators. Candidates for positions as operators are accepted, as a rule, only after passing a careful examination as to their qualifications in respect to general health, disposition, mental alertness, education, voice, sight, and hearing. The average candidates who possess these essential qualifications to a sufficient degree to warrant their acceptance as students are normally fitted to take positions at a switchboard as beginners after about one month in the school. Exchange welfare provisions. — Discipline in the tele- phone exchange operating room is necessarily strict, and an operator's attention to duty while at work must be incessant; yet such employment is free from any implication of severity and is made pleasant and attractive to the intelligent young women whose serv- ices are sought. This is accomplished largely through the efforts which operating companies in practically every city of importance throughout the country have put forth to provide cheerful, comfortably equipped quarters in the exchange buildings for their operators to occupy during the intervals when they are off duty for short periods during the day and during the time before and after going to work. It is customary to divide an operator's working time into, sections by relief periods of moderate length. For the accommodation of those off duty during such periods it is usual for the company to provide a room attractively and comfortably furnished. Books and magazines are placed in such rooms, and some com- panies arrange with the public library to have their TELEPHONE DEVELOPMENT— DESCRIPTIVE. 103 city exchanges supplied with books through a special service. In some places operators are interested in cooper- ating to develop the social value of such quarters by efforts for their decoration, including the provision of pictures, window gardens, etc. This kind of work has been carried even further, in some cities, so as to embrace improvement in the appearance of the ex- change grounds by out-of-door gardens in summer. Arrangements for operators' luncheons are of most varying character, but most companies have, in their exchanges, made provision for them. Some com- panies merely provide kitchens in which operators may prepare tea, coffee, cocoa, and toast, or light meals. Others supply these foods gratis, and allow the operators to use the furnishings of the kitchen and dining room provided they bring their luncheons, with the exception of what is furnished by the company. A few furnish complete luncheons, gratis, to operators, while some maintain kitchens and dining rooms and supply luncheons at cost, making special efforts to furnish food in sufficient variety and of the best quality at a minimum price. It is now generally recognized that the operator is not only a responsible factor in the production of serv- ice of the requisite quality, but is the personal repre- sentative of the company who comes most frequently in contact with the user of its product; that is, tele- phone service. A cooperative spirit in the recogni- tion of the true relations of the company to the public is being impressed upon operators. Among the employees of the operating staff who occupy responsible positions, such as the supervisors, monitors, chief operators, etc., meetings are fre- quently held for the purpose of discussing methods of improving the work. Toll operators who handle long- distance calls have benefited themselves and their employers greatly, in some parts of the country, as a result of the opportunity to meet not only their asso- ciates in the same exchange, but operators from neighboring exchanges, in gatherings held at intervals at central points to discuss methods of improving service and utilizing the circuits and other facilities for transacting the telephone business to the best advantage. In Michigan the long-distance operators and managers of the independent exchanges meet regularly once in six months, and all participate on an equal footing in the discussion of practical operating problems, with a noticeable result in improving the service. This principle of cooperation and improve- ment by getting together and finding out the existing causes of friction and lack of coherence, and methods of remedying them, is carried still further, in many companies, and several associations of companies, by the frequent interchange of ideas between men in charge of different branches of the work, such as man- agers, construction officers, traffic men, maintenance men, etc. The annual meetings of independent tele- phone associations in some states, and more frequent district meetings, are largely occupied with such dis- cussions. Similar methods prevail among the Bell companies. In a business as complicated as the tele- phone industry this frequent interchange of ideas, and the creation of a spirit of cooperation between companies, departments, and men of the same depart- ment located at different points along the route which messages must follow, has been one of the greatest aids to the development of efficient service, and this work is now so well advanced that its continuation is assured. DETAILED SUMMARIES (105) 106 TELEPHONES. Table 82.— COMMERCIAL TELEPHONE SYSTEMS— DETAILED STATE OK TERRITORY. NUMBER OF SYSTEMS. MILES OF LINE CONSTRUCTION. Total. Character of ownership. Pole line for wires or cables. Pole line for farm- er or rural lines owned by com- panies reporting. Over- head cable. Street miles of subways or con- duits. Duct. Cable. Indi- vidual. Firm or partner- ship. Mixed com- mercial and mutual or co- opera- tive. Incor- porated com- pany. Owned. Leased. In under- ground subways or con- duits. Sub- marine 1 4,901 952 480 1272 2 3, 197 398, 633 328, 297 25,087.7 6, 676. 8 33,484.6 1,344.1 13, 768. 6 306.0 f, 37 14 98 59 19 10 43 83 14 345 349 348 318 103 22 49 19 19 116 203 39 274 21 189 10, 27 28 25 265 90 87 334 135 35 148 39 94 44 331 19 34 66 30 53 216 15 2 31 8 2 1 13 29 4 80 62 61 93 8 6 3 10 1 11 12 52 47 15 9 21 45 10 198 206 215 149 88 9 45 19 14 77 132 15 151 19 138 10 22 24 18 223 67 45 311 63 20 126 25 63 32 121 16 23 62 21 50 158 4,583 1,256 7,417 11,596 7,142 6,252 1,050 10,311 4,043 23,937 15,579 17,795 10,931 14,474 6,528 4,579 4,235 6,920 15,515 11,306 8,117 15,229 2,960 10,553 1,626 2,357 4,937 1,615 22,505 4,563 4,329 20,844 7,913 6,478 22,947 2,579 6,076 11,356 22,900 5,880 2,940 3,989 4,518 3,746 12,227 408 246 3,029 3,731 2,191 327 2,135 3,495 1,159 31,467 23,747 28,689 21,989 1,265 135 5,915 2,546 2,057 14,489 17,928 1,869 14,126 573 21,192 451 2,171 1,100 418 11,434 3,140 6,368 24, 229 5,232 1,542 6,011 1,709 9,745 4,222 22,289 1,153 2,837 2,924 1,578 3,109 11,927 244.6 13.0 146.6 785.8 329.6 595.5 67.2 236.9 84.3 1,484.5 978.9 624.6 691.4 555.0 272.3 207.0 383.5 956.6 1,021.0 691.4 248.2 2,336.9 72.4 604.9 13.2 124.3 623.7 28.8 3, 185. 7 130.3 57.0 1,771.9 293.4 110.8 2,082.2 75.9 54.6 465.8 771.5 367.1 83.4 178.4 294.7 239.8 503.1 45.0 .3 9.4 254.3 28.0 238.1 8.9 52.1 2.3 753.0 117.5 77.4 38.6 59.8 14.1 44.2 308.0 612.1 212.7 128.9 9.5 252.9 7.0 35.4 1.4 14.1 507.3 .4 929.0 11.5 6.5 328.3 2.0 25.5 1,153.8 9.9 9.0 23.7 67.1 13.3 6.5 52.6 65.0 25.3 115.1 234.2 4.0 45.4 1,202.6 200.2 1,131.0 43.9 344.6 12.0 3,013.7 550.0 288.7 229.5 289.9 102.0 209.9 1,078.4 3,080.8 1,022.4 712.3 26.5 1,092.5 28.7 184.8 5.1 54.5 2, 421. 2.9 5, 175. 7. 59.8 26.6 2,192.9 10.6 213.1 6,319.9 38.8 21.4 136.1 313.0 114.0 25.4 284.5 298.7 95.5 547.1 74.7 1.0 20.0 540.9 101.6 401.4 22.2 101.6 3.4 1,346.4 270.4 1,28.6 88.7 144.0 45.2 90.3 507.2 1,311.0 373.9 371.5 15.6 451.2 7.6 86.8,. 1.4 33.9 686.7 .9 2,611.7 20.2 10.9 986.8 7.2 51.1 2,038.7 17.5 15.3 33.8 207.6 54.7 13.0 110.4 126.6 59.8 175.2 2.5 3.1 32.4 3 4 14 4 1 2 5 fi 7 Connecticut and Rhode Island < 6.9 24.1 ; 4.3 .8 7.6 1.2 .3 1.2 13.6 25.3 8.6 11.8 16.1 .8 2.7 2.4 1.0 20.0 56.8 3.1 15.4 10.3 5.6 6.7 1.3 . 3.0 - 1.6 6.4 ' 9.8 i 2.6 i 3.6 S 9 9 9 in n 39 43 25 44 6 7 1 28 38 47 32 1 .6 n is 14 is m 17 is Maryland, Delaware, and District of Columbia. » 189.7 6.0 30.0 19 2 25 42 18 76 1 25 3 7 17 6 42 1 9 7 12 5 17 20 ?1 OT S3 '4 ?5 .3 26 ?7 5 2 3 28 10 28 8 39 8 5 6 14 4 140 3 6 1 6 1 28 1 ?S 1 3 g 13 7 11 23 2 6 7 13 4 61 1 1 6 7 4 10 5 11 1 4 4 9 3.5 W so 1,036.4 31 3? 31 Ohio 34 35 36 70.4 37 38 39 4(1 41 4? 4 2 2 17 1 3 1 13 43 44 45 4f. .3 47 17 16 2,047 193 10.1 .6 2.4 .6 1.0 48 7 7 3 1 6 7 3 962 775 310 2 185 6 1.1 6.5 2.5 1.0 49 .6 2.4 .6 50 i Includes 217 incorporated systems, distributed as follows: Arkansas, 1; Colorado, 2; Illinois, 20; Indiana, 28; Iowa, 45; Kansas, 25; Kentucky, 1; Michigan, 6; Minne- sota, 11; Missouri, 3; Nebraska, 16; New Jersey, 1; New York, 6; North Dakota, 7; Ohio, 4; Oklahoma, 9; Oregon, 5; Pennsylvania, 8; South Carolina, 1; South Dakota, 3; Tennessee, 1; Texas, 1; Virginia, 2; Wisconsin, 11. 2 Includes 9 incorporated systems for which no capitalization was reported, distributed as follows: Arizona, 1 California, 2; Idaho, 1; Illinois, 1; North Carolina, 1; Oregon, 1; South Carolina, 1; Washington, 1. COMMERCIAL TELEPHONE SYSTEMS. SUMMARY, BY STATES AND TERRITORIES: 1907. 107 MILES OF WIRE. Owned by companies In state. Total. 12,418,042 129,137 9,708 89,398 534,334 170,123 283,570 32,054 184,527 35,530 926,704 496,639 295,628 224,078 253,290 9", 876 91,032 312,006 533,973 481,805 369,249 109,543 575,198 25,170 232,464 9,839 48,457 338,513 11,786 1,616,710 73,393, 55,974 957,914 90,640 78,102 1,069,855 46,284 57,701 195,622 472,250 90,156 32,762 98,280 197,175 88,316 293,277 Open wire on pole or roof line. On farmer or rural lines owned by companies reporting. 3,502,393 55,280 7,896 40,632 145, 256 58,152 96,374 11,534 89,941 15,244 230,676 149,189 100,477 63,428 110,781 37.726 35,686 55,274 126,288 161,588 98,468 64,540 119,382 11,565 55,720 6,368 22,332 68,311 5,225 230,765 33,530 22,106 257,625 38,585 33,136 252,744 25,019 33,554 85,739 166,832 27,374 14,893 26,417 70,017 30,570 110,154 1,009,913 792 509 4,757 15,359 8,022 1,896 5,309 5,262 5,803 106,402 92,220 57,275 45,498 4,195 280 17,742 9,031 7,245 65,105 47,791 2,861 30,949 1,440 57,787 992 8,741 3,839 828 60,300 6,077 21,685 130,511 7,349 3,473 31,418 2,895 12,805 8,896 42,697 4,140 10,078 5,962 7,569 12,671 33,457 In over- head cables. 2,915,791 39,533 1,120 32,820 139,010 50,562 47,275 8,704 36,457 12,258 165,166 148,481 88,098 71,876 88,866 44,974 12,993 39,221 66,707 98,545 81,487 40, 177 202,141 8,599 69,425 1,940 8,409 49,206 5,055 247,889 19,941 6,769 259,013 39,372 16, 106 191,532 10,128 6,303 74,093 182,466 37,634 4,800 22,629 47,332 28,100 62,579 In subways or conduits. 4,969,215 33,435 183 11,071 233,993 53,387 136,964 6,417 52,836 2,225 424,287 106,698 49,754 43,276 49,415 16,514 24,328 208,245 332,831 155,212 141,414 1,906 222,705 3,566 49,532 539 8,879 215,658 678 1,068,548 13,820 5,414 310,279 5,334 25,223 593,318 8,181 5,039 26,869 80,197 21,008 2,915 42,935 72, 150 16,792 85,245 In subma- rine cables. 20,730 97 118 716 1,061 90 31 33 382 283 235 902 1,355 96 1,499 9,208 25 164 843 76 337 107 183 1,842 Located outside of state. 1,066 21 521 85 508 248 61 272 43 930 1,010 343 815 250 390 85 487 2,299 111 30,987 80 1,532 64 1,007 233 «659 2,229 64 1,673 1,734 178 1,455 3,354 3,608 231 254 Owned by companies outside of state. 3,913 8,070 250 557 56 3,635 243 105 10 71 170 4,128 18,696 1,897 3,047 13,393 2,315 188 25 1,479 1,142 166 650 369 502 249 62 12 1,360 138 2,100 6,969 482 8 1,197 454 1,113 144 701 328 2,652 1,485 385 743 Total in state. 12,418,037 128,628 9,743 92,512 534,492 169,780 283,332 32,064 184,425 39,615 942,517 497,606 297,665 237,128 254,790 99,814 91,040 312,295 533,913 482,797 368,092 109,598 544,861 25, 459 231,434 9,925 48,503 338,509 11,734 1,617,063 1 73,298 57,415 962,654 91,058 76,437 1,069,318 46,114 56,700 193,381 468,786 90,626 32,836 100,932 194,747 80,631 293,770 NUMBER OF EXCHANGES. Total. 42,993 181 45 252 1,778 337 549 80 272 116 2,761 1,014 830 595 668 229 298 1,045 2,067 1,105 1,297 185 1,529 80 656 32 158 834 45 12,081 217 231 2,310 334 356 4,371 122 250 414 869 198 148 255 877 275 641 Public 14,702 135 38 240 641 157 67 198 100 1,007 736 679 511 339 105 231 178 274 588 444 177 585 54 473 26 139 222 41 884 198 201 971 277 203 957 107 249 260 746 96 126 181 243 212 417 Private- branch. 28,291 7 12 1,237 180 460 19 74 16 1,754 278 151 84 329 124 07 867 1,793 517 853 944 26 183 6 19 612 4 11,197 19 30 1,339 57 153 3,414 15 1 154 123 102 22 74 634 63 224 13,536 10,820 660 1,770 283 55 2,198 9,874 1,464 2,077 7,490 1,253 110 1,455 205 283 3 Outside of United States. (See North Dakota.) < Includes systems as follows: Connecticut, 6; Rhode Island, 4. 6 Includes systems as follows: Maryland and District of Columbia, 17; Delaware, 2. 6 Includes 5 miles of wire outside of United States (Canada). 7 Includes systems as follows: Utah, 12; Wyoming, 7. 108 TELEPHONES. Table 82.— COMMERCIAL TELEPHONE SYSTEMS— DETAILED- STATE OE TERRITORY. United States Alabama Arizona r Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut and Rhode Island Florida Georgia Idaho Illinois Indiana ■ Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland, Delaware, and District of Columbia. Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota. Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah and Wyoming Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Outlying districts Alaska Hawaii Porto Rico NUMBER OF STATIONS OR TELEPHONES. For use of the public. Owned by companies in state. Total. 5,426,973 35,888 5,933 40,285 231,982 63,911 87,818 17,022 59, 722 14, 839 475,999 248, 756 230,685 147,375 83,146 34, 650 48,707 109, 855 208,966 193,803 150, 497 32, 710 230, 403 16, 716 127,607 4,503 27,877 116,856 6,495 664, 383 31,118 28,348 458, 604 50,433 40, 789 430,379 19,436 38, 688 64, 530 169,085 36,037 25, 855 44, 877 88,596 45, 127 138,682 6,359 1,512 3,052 1,795 Regular exchange sub- scribers. 4,753,983 32,937 5,453 38, 418 205, 306 55, 630 77,667 16,494 55, 417 13, 818 428, 557 240, 405 224, 157 143,908 77, 708 30,208 46,055 82,383 170, 462 181,521 135, 146 31,345 205,950 14,374 121, 779 4,240 26,355 88,425 6,230 460, 776 29,294 26,967 423,922 47, 676 37,437 339,067 18, 822 38, 015 60,614 162, 448 33, 128 24,912 39, 621 78, 444 42,261 130,231 5,977 1,436 2,771 1,770 Private- branch exchange. 459,083 1,911 168 742 23,469 4,534 7,437 164 2,805 361 37,670 4,734 3,045 1,580 3,870 2,810 741 16,801 26,030 8,832 11,952 746 19,377 750 3,312 135 255 12,205 89 155, 062 961 539 23,636 1,003 2,630 52, 651 206 5 3,071 2,578 1,724 214 3,261 9,251 1,254 4,422 223 12 204 7 Local pay and outlying toll. 156, 720 832 312 1,048 826 3,002 1,973 314 1,250 434 4,106 2,155 2,501 1,424 1,440 1,621 1,572 8,628 6,072 2,841 2,569 606 4,112 306 1,125 1U 14,335 120 37,932 678 836 4,823 1,046 549 32, 529 -279 633 813 3,647 707 599 1,011 349 1,410 2,276 149 AU other 57, 187 208 77 2,381 745 741 50 250 226 5,666 1,462 982 463 128 11 339 2,043 6,402 609 830 13 964 286 1,391 17 299 1,891 56 10,613 185 6,223 708 173 6,132 39 35 32 412 478 552 202 1,753 Located outside of state. 120 84 61 522 32 495 95 5 221 10 1,158 1,601 1,306 222 36 280 240 97 428 2,110 33 10,921 158 859 15 * 491 943 6 161 1,184 93 1,421 2,286 823 114 182 Owned by com- panies outside of state. 311 7 968 IN.", 138 5 29 55 1,049 6,i002 1,521 6,003 1,232 13 1,259 823 14 645 142 357 33 181 50 990 81 2,265 2,861 680 2 616 498 40 99 746 1,423 120 543 Total in state (for use of the public). 5,426,953 36,115 5,879 40, 731 232, 135 63, 554 87,728 17, 046 59, 556 15,878 480,843 248,044 230,900 153,156 84,342 34, 439 48,711, 109,956 208,882 194, 634 149,210 32,691 220, 127 15, 778 127,303 4,536 27, 900 116, 850 6,399 664,514 31, 184 30, 122 460,522 51,107 40, 630 429,811 19,351 37, 765 62,284 168,361 35,992 26, 419 46,300 87, 770 42,561 138,937 For exclu- sive use of com- 49,033 325 84 248 4,066 560 824 107 485 196 4,242 1,342 874 606 8S4 556 351 1,421 2,427 1,498 1,213 390 1,797 111 582 41 238 1,324 54 6,192 269 223 2,877 578 873 4,671 177 295 787 1,335 271 170 401 1,562 257 1,249 40 PARTY LINES (crry or town). Num- ber. 854,908 4,805 800 723 41, 754 12,974 20, 172 974 7,356 3,017 74,340 22,672 28,823 10,865 11,066 3,255 7,835 19, 738 46,959 23,212 18,383 2,755 25,898 2,981 9,416 700 5,206 27, 815 1,000 101, 608 3,251 2,954 85, 706 1,861 9,602 122, 135 3,103 4,731 7,395 3,813 8,781 2,740 5,474 20,484 7,052 28, 724 lull 97 510 24 Stations. 2,036,583 7,707 2,405 2,931 111,393 33. 529 58,014 1,979 11, 756 7,666 205,039 49,596 66,356 24,383 26,392 6,860 27,061 40,361 135,254 50,674 37, 446 6,670 41,602 5,676 20, 187 2,301 17,681 70, 764 2,124 235,933 6,549 5,652 186,792 3,029 26,885 267,901 4,861 10,241 15,379 11, 438 18, 771 14,600 11,398 56,563 19,254 67. 530 1,875 325 1,490 60 FARMER OR RURAL LINES OWNED BY COMPANIES REPORTING. Num- ber. 106, 777 156 60 536 1,452 1,105 148 324 550 355 11,239 11,957 6,901 4,601 475 41 1,309 962 5,852 2,925 258 3,953 115 5,214 242 784 870 100 9,391 715 658 14,424 625 396 3,905 210 942 752 4,352 406 1,022 822 Si 13 932 3,210 39 773,168 ' 826 264 3,112 8,278 1,013 1,285 3,278 2,458 87, 757 74,390 72,295 43,597 2,201 218 12, 713 4,646 8,311 40,863 29,912 2,056 31, 404 937 42,371 830 4,396 419 48,743 3,004 7,161 94, 132 7,182 3,868 22,310 1,621 12,092 3,463 22,085 2,489 8,207 4,491 4,811 7,217 26,571 228 2 221 5 1 Outside of the United States. (See North Dakota.) COMMERCIAL TELEPHONE SYSTEMS. 109 SUMMARY, BY STATES AND TERRITORIES: 1907— Continued. ESTIMATED NUMBER OF MESSAGES OB TALES. 11,230,581,856 107, 545, 457 10,879,950 86, 213, 439 442,077,938 139,516,301 129, 196, 561 48, 664, 335 201,302,727 26,047,495 892,982,798 581,106,347 394,151,672 302,322,505 287,586,344 122, 225, 846 78,080,627 169,770,089 299,944,477 434,276,785 304,767,066 126,347,504 532,582,305 25,503,905 283,999,990 7, 103, 245 42, 402, 448 142, 190, 149 14, 163, 557 1,075,575,362 93,987,510 47,495,544 1,057,477,447 130,912,291 86,966,609 802,360,110 \ 59,627,014 72,980,308 239,360,155 405,964,390 88,437,258 39,524,210 128, 267, 680 204,542,894 113, 549, 780 350,601,432 Exchange. 10,978,853,618 106,021,730 10,665,200 84,634,653 435,303,416 137, 428, 358 123,141,337 48,320,412 199,634,912 25,459,300 880, 798, 768 575, 412, 287 388,853,897 298,476,027 283,516,572 121,026,069 75,656,592 164,926,361 280, 508, 137 429,397,042 300,611,087 125, 148,215 526, 794, 467 25,125,730 280,297,021 7, 010, 456 40,971,872 128, 772, 433 14,059,332 1,003,371,674 93, 004, 451 46,291,138 1,040,012,876 128,187,070 86,022,067 781, 457, 794 58,923,646 72,008,396 237,604,195 398,086,283 87,437,925 38,494,008 127,378,596 202,866,233 112,312,398 347,'423, 185 Long-dis- tance and toll. 251,728,238 1,523,727 214, 750 1,578,786 6, 774, 522 2,087,943 6, 055, 224 343,923 1,667,815 588, 195 12,184, 030 5,694,060 5, 297, 775 3,846,478 4,069,772 1, 199, 777 2,424,035 4,843,728 19,436,340 4,879,743 4,155,979 1, 199, 289 5,787,838 378, 175 3, 702, 969 92, 789 1,430,576 13, 417, 716 104, 225 72,203,688 983, 059 1,204,406 17,464,571 2,725,221 944,542 20,902,316 703,368 971,912 1,755,960 7, 878, 107 999,333 1,030,202 889,084 1,676,661 1,237,382 3, 178, 247 SWITCHBOARDS. Subscribers' (A). Number. 15,232 139 38 243 551 157 91 69 212 103 1,085 785 696 533 347 107 233 179 595 449 180 594 55 481 26 139 223 42 929 204 201 1,114 282 203 111 2.53 260 771 97 127 194 244 213 423 Com- naon- bat- tery. 2,146 38 4 10 121 27 50 18 152 110 54 42 22 6 4 235 31 10 174 22 24 204 11 9 15 87 34 3 23 Mag- neto. Auto- matic. 12,968 101 34 232 416 130 65 60 160 85 929 671 637 489 323 101 222 142 5.-,:, 388 172 517 40 425 25 131 153 37 (593 173 187 931 260 179 746 243 245 681 63 124 171 198 181 350 118 Drops or jacks. 3, 196, 256 In use. Total. 34, 121 6,597 33, 783 155, 163 , 28, 671 36, 726 14,930 49,541 9,505 228, 117 164, 708 133, 007 93,854 74,399 31,098 17,630 62,656 87,596 144, 227 86,913 31,950 157, 455 9,993 73, 750 2,459 54, 790 4,991 328, 172 27,246 17, 753 253,309 43, 495 21,193 220, 212 15, 576 24, 159 64, 451 134,878 21,801 6,192 35,609 42,824 29,504 73, 164 Manual. C b"| M <*neto. 1,917,106 1,188,031 25,850 2,100 12, 792 126, 669 22,395 27, 413 7,636 33,636 6,381 130,332 85,316 44,028 33,553 35. 162 12,920 6,019 51,018 70,742 55,436 53. 163 9,338 91, 734 5,052 29,519 800 2,797 43,697 1,650 278, 305 13, 170 5,930 139, 732 16, 022 14,060 165, 115 6,249 3,356 29,027 76,738 17, 787 1,276 26,442 37,045 17,868 41,836 8,271 4,497 20, 411 11, 490 6,276 8,741 7,294 14, 868 3,124 91,300 '75,697 85,594 60,031 38,728 18, 178 8,538 9,490 14,536 73, 441 33,525 22,612 65, 721 2,444 39,432 1,659 5,228 11,032 3,281 48,467 14,076 11,663 93, 817 27, 473 7,133 53, 518 9,280 19,353 35, 424 56,632 4,014 4,916 9,167 5,779 11,636 30, 244 Auto- matic. 91,119 580 17,004 572 1,037 6,485 3,695 3,385 270 509 3,073 2,148 2,318 15,350 225 2,497 4,799 63 61 60 1,400 160 19, 760 1,579 47 1,450 1,508 Equipped or ready for use. 4, 179, 106 47,324 7,254 42, 493 171,838 44,676 57, 461 18,408 58, 762 18,008 319, 058 212, 970 149, 993 122, 350 79, 854 31,743 24,709 99, 148 125,631 151, 107 109,074 33,257 218, 786 14, 497 87,074 3,290 13,098 91,602 7,990 479, 279 33, 571 24, 295 320, 081 49, 248 23,631 325, 146 20,186 27, 754 69,093 170, 874 29,793 9,375 43, 527 49, 872 43,804 98, 122 Separate toll. Num ber. 1,387 39,947 107 50 50 23 11 If. 6 1 100 13 18 129 15 4 55 11 IS 22 64 5 Drops or jacks 341 2.5 595 683 208 447 67 535 41 2,328 1,146 1,365 502 365 506 541 1,936 1,008 1,093 331 2,154 27 922 2 354 414 5 5,046 317 595 3,454 316 161 2,874 259 676 864 3,023 104 157 27li 150 324 In- com- ing- trunk (B) num- ber. 27 Total. NUMBER OF DIS- TRIBUTING FRAMES. 15,260 139 36 219 624 169 108 71 213 81 1,091 806 733 560 346 101 201 192 322 599 436 174 619 57 516 22 138 260 30 926 197 182 1,015 280 211 1,010 123 234 2.54 768 94 92 123 276 201 411 Main. Inter- medi- ate. 131 34 213 527 154 61 192 77 990 750 .666 522 334 96 183 173 273 537 402 167 566 53 134 215 28 756 187 169 943 271 186 918 107 230 244 718 91 111 239 189 382 97 15 20 10 21 4 101 7 53 4 28 1 4 45 2 170 10 13 72 9 2.5 92 16 4 10 50 5 1 12 37 12 29 8,860,572 8,668,146 192, 426 50 4,837 1,550 3,287 5,595 1,243,548 3,937,985 3,679,039 1,243,548 3,856,643 3,567,955 81,342 111,084 1,175 1,877 1,785 250 1,300 92.5 577 1,785 1,300 2,075 2,220 3 Includes 20 telephones outside of the United States (Canada). 110 TELEPHONES. Table 82.— COMMERCIAL TELEPHONE SYSTEMS— DETAILED STATE OR TERRITORY. Number of hand magneto- genera- tors and power- driven ringers. POWER-PLANT EQUIPMENT FOR TELEPHONE SERVICE. NUMBER OF CELLS. Engines. Dynamos. Electric motors. Primary batteries. Storage batteries. Steam. Gas. Num- ber. Horse- power. Num- ber. Horse- power. Num- ber. Horse- power. Num- ber. Horse- power. 1 24, 495 16 851.3 472 4,641.8 2,228 12, 122. 7 1,920 10,592.7 514,437 42,234 ?. 158 54 342 726 261 245 85 263 143 1,809 1,289 1,118 902 679 236 404 268 746 1,091 631 341 969 84 696 29 293 487 63 1,634 309 250 1,629 423 263 1,456 133 339 512 1,265 185 226 223 280 270 686 . 30 4 15 137 34 51 6 30 16 101 101 49 48 29 11 16 41 96 55 63 8 91 11 44 1 10 61 6 338 20 10 163 11 19 219 8 8 15 77 22 3 19 41 21 69 85. 4 7.2 106.5 754.9 145.4 223.0 18.0 90.0 23.-5 347.0 274.8 156.9 106.3' 150.1 83.3 49.4 432.3 625.8 317.8 252.6 23.8 574.7 31.6 129.3 2.0 44.0 400.1 20.6 2,456.4 42.0 35.5 589.6 34.3 199.0 1, 861. 6 15.9 16.8 129.0 440.3 43.0 10.0 80.0 295.6 167.8 229.6 23 4 11 104 25 37 6 30 16 100 100 49 38 24 8 9 29 54 61 58 6 74 12 41 1 6 46 4 299 21 5 162 9 13 172 12 7 14 74 21 3 22 31 16 63 90.0 9.2 78.2 567.2 84.5 174.0 19.0 97.0 37.3 351.0 335.9 136.1 110.5 140.6 64.0 42.5 322.3 520. 5 373.2 247.9 23.5 441 5 45.1 132.6 3.0 31.0 292.4 18.0 2, 680. 3 44.6 21.7 557.6 24.3 151.3 1,140.1 25.7 9.8 111.0 339.5 73.5 9.0 80.8 247.5 76.8 211.2 22,507 923 4,220 13,110 11,558 6,805 4,668 25,291 5,810 30, 147 14,335 18,511 20,920 6,719 2,911 8,271 6,529 19,707 11,452 11,836 4,271 15,033 4,340 12, 184 833 5,323 7.218 1,432 40,040 14,975 7,596 22,557 8,703 4,371 24,330 17,307 5.955 5,968 19,763 9,907 3,322 5,411 4,128 8,280 14,960 390 66 209 2,621 449 564 77 610 294 2,542 2,214 2,042 771 522 109 296 664 1,476 812 1,243 908 1,495 213 925 22 180 966 126 4,396 295 308 3,303 290 306 3,715 203 225 410 1,825 808 83 260 840 832 1,330 s 4 6 25 9 14 47.0 316.5 79.0 152.0 5 fi 7 8 q 4 1 7 16 8 14 12 3 3 14 41 14 9 29.0 9.0 56.0 94.5 59.0 96.5 103.0 28.0 28.0 219.0 362.0 100.5 77.0 in 11 1? 1 2.0 is 14 15 lfi 17 18 19 ?n •>i m 23 1 30.0 16 225.5 ?4 ?5 9 67.5 2fi 97 4 19 2 64 2 3 39 3 6 35 1 4 7 15 3 1 4 12 7 16 27.0 186.0 16.0 543.5 14.0 22.0 365.7 16.0 90.0 572.0 4.0 5.6 97.0 110.0 7.0 6.0 45.0 145.0 89.5 131.5 28 29 3n 31 32 33 Ohio 34 Oklahoma 35 3fi 13 817.3 37 38 South Dakota 39 40 Texas .*.... 41 42 Vermont 43 44 West Virginia 4ft 46 1 2.0 47 64 1 7.5 2 8.0 3 6.5 488 61 48 17 17 30 2 1 1.0 5.5 242 84 162 50 11 49 1 7.5 2 8.0 60 COMMERCIAL TELEPHONE SYSTEMS. SUMMARY, BY STATES AND TERRITORIES: 1907— Continued. Ill SALARIED EMPLOYEES. WAGE-EARNERS. Other officers, Operators. „ t~l Officers of superintendents, Clerks and rj ,.4-nl All other corporation. general mana- bookkeepers. Ivuu. employees. gers, etc. Male. Female. / Aver- Aver- Aver- Aver- Num- ber. Salaries. Num- ber. Salaries. Num- ber. Salaries. Num- ber. Salaries. age num- ber. Wages. age num- ber. Wages. age num- ber. Wages. age num- ber. Wages. 24,959 $19,245,349 2,360 $2,223,521 8,581 $8,480,721 14,018 $8,541,107 117,477 $48,660,223 3,432 $1,184,224 75,653 $22,896,649 38,392 $24,579,350 1 , 145 112,076 6 7,733 58 57,909 81 46,434 1,022 326, 203 90 24, 821 536 131,371 396 170,011 2 37 39,990 5 11,800 20 20,200 12 7,990 135 64,881 6 3,712 90 41, 418 39 19,751 3 158 109,906 20 9,759 76 68,693 62 31,454 991 359, 652 32 8,837 686 180, 657 273 170,158 4 870 859,755 27 105, 187 245 337,358 598 417,210 4,991 2,792,947 22 11,777 3,129 1,172,628 1,840 1,608,542 5 298 288,301 11 31,874 65 113,118 222 143,309 1,402 729,356 15 9,190 837 313,987 550 406, 179 6 393 348, 335 13 43,286 103 151,617 277 153,432 2,624 1,405,433 96 53,296 1,160 401, 737 1,368 950,400 7 52 38,858 10 7,735 26 22,080 16 9,043 352 129, 469 21 5,426 210 55,385 121 68,658 8 508 468,657 34 58,771 177 189,204 297 220,682 1,806 630,327 111 31,080 886 241,335 809 357,912 9 65 65,675 6 5,244 39 46,818 20 13, 613 360 161,367 4 1,470 246 83,768 110 76,129 10 2,328 1,801,529 148 136, 631 i ( 904 836,367 1,276 828,531 9,784 3,851,056 157 52,371 7,207 2,249,985 2,420 1,548,700 11 1,199 735,693 224 111,818 450 369,799 525 254,076 4,768 1,475,589 152 43,307 3,268 758, 573 1,348 673,709 12 696 449,315 173 90,316 333 274, 788 190 84, 211 3,279 1, 198, 779 85 23,384 2,241 595,461 953 579,934 13 488 272, 225 118 58, 144 217 155,664 153 58,417 2,351 750, 455 81 29, 525 1,713 413, 631 557 307,299 14 441 265,525 26 26,506 258 171,274 157 67, 745 2,101 654, 470 68 14, 604 1,357 350, 125 676 289,741 15 204 167,727 2 3,360 136 116,038 66 48, 329 1,144 368, 783 28 9,220 624 181,976 492 177,587 16 184 108,545 18 4,168 60 59, 692 106 44, 685 940 378,469 94 30,017 536 158,692 310 189,760 17 434 379,871 19 30, 870 147 171,155 268 177,846 2,329 948,386 61 14, 632 1,376 423,307 892 510,447 18 953 776,350 17 65,309 263 369,028 673 342, 013 5,914 2,922,144 250 114, 711 3,396 1,204,915 2,268 1,602,518 19 967 576,979 84 78,053 486 295, 749 397 203, 177 3,488 1,271,387 58 17, 451 2,497 629,539 933 624,397 20 686 478,809 124 57,026 266 235,279 296 186, 504 2,791 1,140,419 102 24,346 1,840 560,011 849 556,062 21 171 142, 699 2 2,110 135 116, 366 34 24, 223 875 258,663 41 11,336 643 154,474 191 92,853 22 1,017 881, 147 100 124,220 324 384,886 593 372, 041 5,749 2,166,074 104 32,607 3,615 1,033,147 2,030 1,100,320 23 69 57,689 12 2,555 28 38,850 29 16,284 257 153, 135 8 5,925 185 79,443 64 67,767 24 528 360,036 138 63,771 187 167, 617 203 128, 648 1,954 864, 694 65 23,285 1,378 458,707 511 382,702 25 30 35,930 4 7,621 16 21,064 10 7,245 96 69, 780 3 2,280 63 39,091 30 28,409 26 96 51,838 9 1,534 25 26,668 62 23,636 603 235, 695 53 16,819 369 107,302 181 111,574 27 854 610, 342 25 23,446 142 168,543 687 418, 353 2,876 1,500,209 41 18,140 1,668 586,340 1,167 895,729 28 26 22, 871 5 3,532 16 16,512 5 2,827 126 52,208 2 370 91 29,225 33 22,613 29 3,770 3,377,253 128 298,501 772 1,003,678 2,870 2,075,074 15,561 7,532,878 390 191,043 9,950 3,588,640 5,221 3,753,195 30 161 92, 141 35 13,999 82 56,356 44 21,786 854 226, 754 51 9,570 492 110,540 311 106,644 31 124 89, 455 34 14,789 58 1 53, 198 32 21,468 544 215, 089 44 12,069 369 122,392 131 80,628 32 1,494- 876, 648 263 140,315 492 414,349 739 321,984 8,694 3,059,565 127 62, 170 5,800 1,395,261 2,767 1,602,134 33 392 278,640 20 27,358 169 136, 651 203 114, 631 1,373 491,686 50 14,471 926 253,958 397 223,257 34 113 91,652 2 3,581 56 56,911 55 31, 160 908 461,839 4 780 606 184,365 298 276,694 35 1,696 1,514,748 110 185,994 421 603,114 1,165 725, 640 9,294 4,121,012 163 70,065 6,226 1,946,598 2,905 2,104,349 36 84 56,634 13 6,791 42 32,645 29 17, 198 615 171,121 52 10, 677 311 72,318 252 88,126 37 145 94,755 36 19,991 75 56, 151 34 18,613 871 260, 330 197 36, 482 534 139,189 140 84,659 38 589 445,036 29 71,076 219 154, 186 341 219, 774 1,769 628, 379 67 18,813 980 291,943 722 317,623 39 874 691,813 70 111,938 431 356, 702 373 223, 173 4,128 1,522,680 285 85,680 2,639 764,227 1,204 672,773 40 295 247,237 13 31,550 80 114,886 200 100,801 822 333, 503 6 1,810 572 159,542 244 172, 151 41 96 48,468 19 8,004 30 24, 921 47 15, 543 520 218, 771 26 7,030 310 91,759 184 119,982 42 197 123, 335 45 18,212 64 58,920 88 46, 203 1,077 347, 454 39 10, 510 647 156,248 391 180,696 43 206 185, 239 7 18,089 80 91,276 119 75,874 1,739 909, 277 2 520 1,153 403,278 584 505,479 44 150 109,056 20 15,675 63 58,423 67 34,958 996 336, 306 12 3,357 668 160, 147 316 1 72, 802 45 676 416,566 134 65,279 245 206,018 297 145, 269 2,604 963, 549 67 15,238 1,623 420,014 914 528.297 46 41 56,972 4 4,100 24 43,874 13 8,998 232 130,239 17 6,504 127 68,418 88 55 317 47 9 23,960 6 20,000 3 3,960 53 70,240 41 43,286 12 26,954 48 16 21,686 1 3,000 11 16,296 4 2,390 87 36,576 14 5,784 28 13,336 45 17,456 49 16 11,326 3 1,100 7 7,578 6 2,648 92 23,423 3 720 58 11,796 31 10,907 50 36754°— 10 8 112 TELEPHONES. Table 82.— COMMERCIAL TELEPHONE SYSTEMS— DETAILED STATE OK TERRITORY. INCOME. Total. From' telephone business. Interest on bonds and divi- dends on stock of other tel- ephone compa- nies. From other perma- nent invest- ments. From leased telephone lines, wires, and conduits. Real-estate rentals. Interest. Assess- ments (mixed commer- cial and mutual systems). Miscella- neous. 1 $183,784,037 $174,100,624 $380,502 8644,065 $2,410,803 $3,671,486 $1,249,313 $93,876 $1,233,368 •>, 1,392,209 256,260 1,236,969 8,090,849 2,612,214 4, 096, 625 496,606 2,299,376 521,446 15,834,716 5,276,740 4,147,913 2,670,793 2,697,229 1,713,895 1,437,993 4,236,529 10,806,086 4,855,409 4,154,108 1,225,057 7,494,205 518, 488 3,027,392 263, 159 793,708 5,867,217 201,988 33,731,699 932,864 836,676 11,113,794 1,651,952 1,215,231 16,140,376 647, 633 807,933 2,492,489 5,404,010 1,229,324 612,870 1,426,876 2,587,797 1,147,623 3,579,711 1,309,446 235,881 1,201,447 7,834,321 2,502,394 3,727,462 487, 015 2,207,087 504,146 15,211,262 5,036,019 4, 000, 145 2,573,407 2,574,604 1,658,108 1,397,111 3,887,406 10,170,256 4,711,624 3,989,383 1,184,497 7,111,664 488,785 2,926,237 261,579 775, 779 5,415,549 196, 469 30,978,826 874,807 812, 212 10,608,604 1,548,726 1,184,684 15,189,000 625,437 798, 359 2,403,511 5,308,488 1,166,816 605, 055 1, 357, 246 2, 530, 134 1,113,668 3,415,968 51,795 12, 700 150 20, 848 5,529 287,503 2,748 19, 051 25 148, 647 129,440 25,795 30,592 23,691 3,535 5,955 68,191 160,938 13,109 12,976 10,408 62,379 2,449 10,574 19,370 900 13,382 141,907 60,446 46,526 2,275 48,689 5,670 303,826 49,127 28,022 12,814 13,915 18,641 5,294 239,497 228,515 68,324 54, 606 12,511 89, 987 16,152 32,325 220 3,902 139, 194 2,260 1,209,139 8,391 6,618 181,919 4,396 10,935 367,871 3,529 2,700 18, 776 45,950 36,695 1,663 20,585 24,185 12, 107 56, 930 3,339 39 3,877 53,109 7,400 16,337 699 6,519 2,194 51,949 2,119 3,916 9,951 11,391 10,795 4,076 11,491 135, 101 11,931 9,245 7,285 43,017 119 10,696 568 3,785 18,407 32 609, 133 1,320 1,037 23,891 6,112 9,613 79,281 1,514 388 13,662 16,818 4,030 113 2,080 17, 671 1,770 21,493 8,259 260 5,042 39,764 34,763 15,082 1,830 9,682 9,411 89,417 26,632 65,185 26,447 22,064 22,816 13,952 29,944 86,478 34.015 69, 198 10,356 30, 692 10,383 38,392 792 6,930 31,356 932 158, 244 4,361 16, 189 35,427 25,152 6,752 85,075 2.512 5,754 34, 156 24,041 21,461 5,152 5,891 14,207 5,906 43,015 3 6,480 12,471 900 482 3,690 2,039 8,348 4 600 5 fi 1,200 7 25 8 9 10 11 15,487 1,189 2,720 7,869 960 14,128 12,852 17,769 9,083 1? 18,562 4,361 630 50,604 13 14 15 16 17 11, 605 18 19 24, 798 10,086 4,800 ?,CI 4,405 11,120 1,915 2,780 21 n ?a 154,996 600 1,610 1,470 94 ?5 941 6,617 •>fi V 3,312 253,461 2,027 271,568 14,824 200 215,952 60, 547 1 367, 130 14, 641 185 17,684 3,459 322 590 28,937 240 7,508 39, 187 ?s 9,250 268 475,070 29, 161 9q 30 24,833 4.886 31 32 420 450 1,752 3,246 5,027 33 Ohio 45,665 1,886 5,267 34 35 36 46,850 142 37 38 150 3,750 397 4,400 1,504 31 300 40 41 4? 297 10 43 12, 127 110 44 1,250 6,665 45 o 70 4 29 55,850 8,091 21,730 ■>1 99 9 3 DETAILED SUMMARY, BY STATES: 1907— Continued. INCOME. OPERATING EXPENSES AND FIXED CHARGES. Total. From tele- phone business. Interest on bonds and divi- dends on stock of other telephone compa- nies. From leased tele- phone lines, wires, and con- duits. Real- estate rentals. Assess- ments. Miscel- laneous. Total. General operation and main- tenance, including legal ex- penses, and salaries and wages. Rentals. Amount paid or due to other compa- nies for traffic. Miscel- laneous ex- penses. Fixed charges. For instru- ments and appa- ratus. For offices and other real estate. Taxes. Interest. Rentals paid for use of leased lines. On funded debt. On real- estate mort- gages. On float- ing debt. $677,710 8214,437 $450 $683 $143 $459,981 $2,016 «575,909 $509,211 $5,328 $14,811 $26,210 $2,052 $10,441 $530 $61 $7, 096 $169 1 121,408 64,254 107,065 69, 763 11,588 7,680 57,744 40,668 13,825 4,889 44,413 11,845 4,075 12,081 8,521 5,055 9,697 11,448 5,325 25,339 25,212 15,815 37,872 26,364 22,182 18,930 5,808 2,247 18,882 9,413 5,399 1,339 21,666 2,533 200 8,226 2,184 1,700 3,134 2,328 1,075 10, 875 4,840 7,240 180 403 24 72 83,033 37,487 84, 859 50,641 5,780 5,363 38,753 31,208 8,426 3,550 22,232 9,312 3,875 3,855 6,237 3,355 6.563 8,670 4,250 14,101 19,850 8,575 323 120 70 109 515 363 516 100, 119 54, 076 96, 541 58, 261 10, 345 6,152 51,985 28,564 9,975 5,522 38,232 11,118 3,384 10,020 6,652 4,219 8,434 10,688 4,145 21,201 22. 325 13,951 92, 430 46, 941 83, 964 49,571 7,741 5,456 47,070 26, 627 8,776 5,059 33, 476 9,738 3,084 8,732 6,335 3,453 8,045 6,601 2,960 19,245 20. 979 12,928 534 1,634 1,469 552 481 2 400 100 156 3,011 844 2,998 863 322 150 1,328 547 61 100 1,158 794 120 259 60 180 100 30 60 1,097 484 245 1,326 2,839 3,850 5,123 1,388 135 2,163 743 500 26 340 270 1,039 979 2,478 1,434 17 83 440 351 438 149 719 495 70 285 257 24 54 387 480 11 799 677 1,782 US 56 328 712 296 300 70 538 41 125 40 2 S 4 5 6 7 8 47 9 10 144 2,301 50 696 11 12 13 110 H 48 15 100 16 512 50 17 235 IS 450 3,600 1,125 255 83 513 70 19 ?n 100 442 185 115 62 434 4 ?1 22 50 23 116 TELEPHONES. Table 84.— INDEPENDENT FARMER OR RURAL LINES— DETAILED SUMMARY, BY STATES AND TERRITORIES AND GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS: 1907. Number of lines. Miles of wire. Number of stations or tele- phones. INCOME AND ASSESSMENTS. STATE OE TEKRITOKY. Number of lines reporting. Amount. Total. Income. Assess- ments. 17,702 486,294 565,649 12, 430 $1,783,458 $460,653 $1,322,805 1,343 32, 499 43, 606 849 140, 129 67,604 72 r 525 103 31 62 19 7 670 5 446 965 2,363 991 1,894 247 135 11,944 95 14,830 32,857 3,720 1,043 2,455 417 181 18,998 132 16,660 26,334 60 17 26 14 4 444 3 281 559 9,577 2,353 6,600 2,307 1,428 60, 151 647 57,066 105,386 4,932 1,830 2,257 1,339 28,305 144 28,797 43,505 4,645 523 4,343 968 1,428 31,846 503 Pennsylvania 28,2t9 61,881 7 218 133 310 104 141 52 11,374 276 7,818 6,562 9,858 3,942 3,377 1,024 309,636 427 7,852 7,556 5,986 1,475 2,538 500 395, 226 6 137 81 166 73 79 17 8,651 962 28,114 21,330 25,931 12, 122 14,453 2,474 1,225,288 124 3,670 2,273 19,273 9,373 8,107 685 241,351 838 24,444 19,057 6,658 2,749 6,346 1,789 983,937 Ohio 626 492 1,409 408 475 616 3,029 2,344 169 230 683 893 2,718 20,830 22,810 43,878 11,560 14,060 17, 356 53,830 57,851 5,034 7,832 20,880 33,715 71,796 26,340 30, 131 60, 864 13, 912 16, 490 19,608 83, 407 70,883 4,965 8,374 19,566 40,686 71, 159 492 366 1,191 331 294 393 2,453 1,776 88 152 411 704 1,602 76, 296 87,056 195,018 57,951 49, 844 51, 558 283,231 170, 100 15, 804 29,291 64, 471 144,668 204,005 30, 530 21,359 33, 407 15, 873 20, 244 17, 763 29,312 23,850 1,880 13,039 15, 598 18,496 69, 776 45,766 65,697 161,611 42,078 29,600 33, 795 253,919 146,250 13,924 16,252 48,873 126, 172 134,229 324 169 260 232 47 448 574 664 1,302 9,119 6,720 5,200 5,795 1,449 9,449 12, 480 21, 584 39, 506 10, 163 6,396 4,593 4,917 1,042 9,088 15,698 19,262 29,324 232 105 62 82 15 328 390 388 769 27,644 14,860 8,080 13, 199 2,761 22,783 50,218 64, 460 108,650 3,902 2,688 5,762 8,629 1,087 9,024 6,707 31,977 38, 417 23,742 12, 172 2,318 4,570 1,674 13,759 43,511 32,483 70,233 76 68 57 84 22 23 7 11 447 257 250 3,216 1,834 2,124 3,395 720 569 116 204 10, 230 8,918 8,180 1,452 1,555 1,007 1,892 158 270 90 98 9,395 8,084 5,323 36 30 33 33 7 11 3 3 343 161 109 6,937 4,785 5,823 5,998 3,204 2,609 ' 1,156 673 31,637 25, 174 20, 654 2,436 2,928 2,167 3,156 2,534 2,569 1,078 673 4,804 8,772 7,300 4,501 1,857 3,656 2,842 670 40 Utah.. 78 26,833 16, 402 13,354 1 None reported for Rhode Island. 2 None reported for District of Columbia. APPENDICES Appendix A— SCHEDULES ' Appendix B— INSTRUCTIONS TO SPECIAL AGENTS (117) APPENDIX A. SCHEDULES. [D6— 232] CENSUS OF TELEPHONES. (All commercial and mutual or cooperative telephone systems, long-distance toll lines, and independent farmer or rural lines must be reported.) Name of company or system State City General office (give state, city, street, and number). Washington, D. C, December 31, 1907. The act of Congress of June 7, 1906, directs the Director of the Census to take a cen- sus of telephones every five years, and this schedule has been formulated for that purpose. The information returned on this schedule should cover the business year of the company most nearly conforming to the year ending December 31, 1907. All ques- tions that require a fixed time, such as cash on hand, wire mileage, stations, etc., should be of the date of the last day of the year covered by the report. The answers to inquiries in regard to financial matters will be held absolutely confidential; the separate reports will be combined so as to show totals for all com- panies in the different states. No publication will be made in the census reports disclosing the operations of individual companies. The information will be used only for the statistical purposes for which it is given. The canvass is to be made under the supervision of Mr. W. M. Steuart, chief stat- istician for manufactures. S.N. D. North, Director of the Census. Extract from act of Congress, March 3, 1899: Section 22. * * * " And every president, treasurer, secretary, director, agent, or other officer of every corporation, and every establishment of productive Industry, whether conducted as a corporate body, limited liability company, or by private individuals, from which answers to any of the schedules, inquiries, or statistical interrogatories provided for by this act are herein required, who shall, if thereto requeued by the Director, supervisor, enumerator, or special agent, will- fully neglect or refuse to give true and complete answers to any inquiries author- ized by this act, or shall willfully give false information, shall be guilty of a misde- meanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined not exceeding ten thousand dollars, to which may be added Imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year." CERTIFICATE. This is to certify that the information contained in this schedule is complete and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief, and it covers the period from 190 , to. , 190 (Signature and official designation of the person furnishing the information. (Address of person furnishing the information.) (Signature of Special Agent.) 1. Does company do telegraph business? (Answer Yes or No) 2. Character of ownership: State the form of ownership as it existed on the last day of the year covered by the report, whether individual, firm or partner- ship, mutual company, cooperative association, incorporated company, or other form (if mutual or cooperative and also incorporated, give both) 3. If a consolidated company, give names and location of constituent companies included in this report, or write same on last page 4. If a reorganized company, give name of original company 5. If a subsidiary or leased company, give name and address of operating company or lessee 6. States in which exchanges or stations are operated 7. Cities, towns, or villages in which operated: It is desired to obtain a list that will indicate the territory covered by the system. A general description or printed list of places will answer 8. Names and addresses of farmer or rural lines connected with but not owned by the company reporting, or write same on last page: Give only the lines for which statistics are not included in this report 9. LINE CONSTRUCTION. This inquiry calls for the total length of construction, but not the length of single wire which should be reported under Inquiry 10. The miles reported for pole line should be the length covered by poles upon which either single wire or cable is strung. CLASS. Number of miles. 1 Pole line for wires or cables (exclusive of farmer or rural lines Pole line for farmer or rural lines owned by company Subways or conduits (length of street occupied) Duct owned by company reporting (total length of single Duct leased from other companies or municipalities (total length of single duct) Cable in undergroundjsubways or conduits 10. MILES OF SINGLE WIRE. The answers to this inquiry should show the total number of miles of single wire in operation, or ready for operation, on the last day of the year covered by the report. If actual length is not known, give careful estimate. CLASS. Number of miles of single wire. Open single wire on pole or roof line (exclusive of farmer or Single wire on farmer or rural lines owned by company Total If company owns and operates wires in more than one state, give names of and total miles of single wire in each i Length to be stated in miles and decimals of a mile carried to one place. (119) 120 TELEPHONES. MISCELLANEOUS STATISTICS. For census purposes a " Public exchange" is a place where wires are interchanged by means of a switchboard for the use of the public generally; a "Private branch exchange" is a switchboard within a business building, apartment house, hotel, etc., establishing interior communication, also outside communication by a trunk line to the public exchange. The number of these private branch exchanges and their stations should be reported by the exchange company through which they operate. Exchanges: Public exchange offices Private branch exchanges. Total number of exchanges. Stations, boxes, or telephones of all kinds (the terms 'sta- tions" or "telephones" cover the telephone set of two instru- ments — transmitter and receiver): Regular exchange subscribers' stations, including those on farmer or rural lines and party lines owned by com- pany (do not include private branch exchange stations), Private branch exchange stations Regular exchange local pay and outlying toll stations . All other classes of stations (state kind) Total stations, boxes, or telephones. Number of stations or telephones for exclusive use of company for communication between its different departments (in- clude all stations or 'phones not used by subscribers or as pay stations, and therefore not reported above) Number of party lines. Number of stations on these party lines (included above but here reported separately) Number ol farmer or rural lines owned by company,. Number of stations on these farmer or rural lines (included above but here reported separately).. , , Estimated total number of messages or talks (originating calls) handled by the exchange system during the year (do not in- clude interior private branch calls or free talks): Exchange messages Long-distance and toll messages.'. Total messages or talks If company owns and operates stations or telephones in moi^ than one state, give names of states and total number of stations or telephones in each 12. SWITCHBOARDS, POWER PLANT, AND BATTERIES. Subscribers' or A switchboards: Manual switch- boards- Common bat- tery system. Magneto sys- tem Automatic switch- boards Separate toll switch- boards Incoming trunk or B switchboards , Num- ber. Total number of drops or jacks Engines for tele- phone service: Steam.. Gas Dynamos for tele- phone service 2 Electric motors for telephone service 2 I Num- ber. Total capacity in horse- power. 1 1 Horsepower to be stated in whole numbers and one-place decimal. Do not Include motor generators or dynamotors for ringing. Total number of drops or jacks equipped, or ready for us'e, of all subscribers' or A switchboards ; number of main distributing frames ; number of intermediate distributing frames, if any : number of hand magneto-generators, and power-driven ringers in central offices ; number of cells of primary batteries in central offices ; number of cells of storage batteries 13. EMPLOYEES, SALARIES, AND WAGES. The average number employed during the year is the number that would be required, at continuous employ- ment, for the twelve months. If any of the persons enu- merated were employed only aportion of the time, giveonly the wages paid in connection with the telephone service. Account for all regular officers and employees, whether en- gaged on maintenance, canvassing, collecting, operation, or otherwise. (Do not include employees engaged exclu- sively on additions or extensions.) A verage number employed during the year. Total amount paid in sala- ries and wages dur- ing the year. Salaried employees: Other officers (superintendents, general managers, ex- change "managers, electricians, draftsmen, and ex- Total S Wage-earners (do not include salaried employees reported above): Operators — s All other employees (includingforemen, inspectors, so- licitors, collectors, linemen, wiremen, batterymen, Total s 14. INCOME AND EXPENSES FOR THE YEAR COVERED BY THIS REPORT. Give the total amount of income for the year as indicated by the books of the com- pany. If accounts do not show the income from each source enumerated, give a carefully estimated segregation. Total income from telephone business Interest on bonds and dividends on stock of other telephone companies Income from other permanent investments. Leased telephone lines, wires, and conduits. Real estate rentals Interest Assessments (for mutual companies or cooperative associa- tions) Miscellaneous (specify principal items). Total EXPENSES. The item, " Total general operation and maintenance," should include, in addition to legal expenses and salaries and wages, all expenditures during the year for sup- plies and materials used in operation and maintenance, and all other expense inci- dent to operation and maintenance not elsewhere reported. (Do not include ex- penditures for additions or extensions which should be included under Inquiry 15, "Cost of lines, real estate, equipment, etc., added during the year.'") Total genera] operation and maintenance, including legal i penses, and total salaries and wages of Inquiry 13 Rentals on instruments and apparatus Rentals of offices and other real estate Rentals of conduits and underground privileges Telephone traffic paid or due for the year to other companies . Miscellaneous (specify principal items) SCHEDULES. 121 expenses— continued. 'Taxes paid or due for the year: Real and personal property. . . Capital stock Earnings Miscellaneous (specify items), interest paid or due for the year: Bonds (from Inquiry 17) Real estate mortgages Floating debt ;Paid for use of leased lines Total Net income for the year S. Net deficit for the year S. 15. Cost of lines, real estate, equipment, etc., added during the year (indicate whether by purchase or construction) S (The total reported here should also be included in the first question, "Cost of construction and equipment," under "Assets" of Inquiry 16, "Balance sheet.") 16. BALANCE SHEET. ASSETS. LIABILITIES. Kind. ; Amount. Kind. Amount. Cost of construction and equipment, including real $ Capital stock s Floating debt (loans and Other permanent invest- Cash investment (for unin- corporated companies or Machinery, tools, and sup- sundries (specify principal Sundries (specify principal Total Total... 8 s Is value of franchise included in "Cost of construction and equipment?" (Answer Yes or No) 17. CAPITAL STOCK, BONDS, DIVIDENDS, AND INTEREST. Number of shares or bonds. Total par value. Dividends declared and inter- est paid or due for the year. Rate. Amount. Authorized capitalization by charter: 9 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Capital stock and bonds out- standing: s The following Inquiry comprises a part of the annual Investigation of consumption of forest products: It Is desired to ascertain the number of poles purchased during the entire year. The number reported here need not necessarily agree with the cost included In the first question under "Expenses," of Inquiry 14, "Income and expenses," which relates to the poles used during the year. 18. POLES PURCHASED DURING 1907. CEDAR. CHESTNUT. JUNIPER. OTHER srsciES. (Specify.) LENGTH, FEET. Num- ber. Aver- age cost per pole at point of pur- chase. Num- ber. Aver- age cost per pole at point of pur- chase. Num- ber. Aver- age cost per pole at point of pur- chase. Num- ber. Aver- age cost per pole at point of pur- chase. How many treated poles were purchased during- J.907?. What preservative was used? How many poles were treated during 1907? What preservative was used? FARMER OR RURAL [D8— 235] Washington, D. C, December St, 1907. Dear Sir: The act of Congress of June 7, 1906, directs the Director of the Census to take a