546 COMMERCE YEARBOOK
Chicago was completed during the past year. The transcontinental
line extending from Denver to El Paso and thence to Los Angeles
was continued from El Paso to Dallas and thence to New Orleans.
Work has been started on a third transcontinental line westward
from Minneapolis to Portland and Seattle.
The transmission of pictures by wire is now commercially avail-
able between New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.
During the past year the Western Electric Co., the manufacturing
department of the Bell system, sold all of its interests in foreign
companies, except in Canada, to another corporation controlled by
the Bell system. The merchandising business in electrical supplies
formerly carried on by this company was turned over to a subsidiary
corporation organized for the purpose. These changes were effected
to enable the Western Electric Co. to devote its entire efforts to the
ever increasing needs of the Bell system.
Table 35.—American Telephone & Telegraph Co. and Associated Operating
Companies: Comparative Statistics
Nore, —All figures in thousands of miles, telephones, messages, or dollars. Mileage and number of
telephones relate to December 31.
Tom
Total wire mileage... -
Telephones owned. coococmmommacnaaaaan
Connected telephones owned bY other
COTPATUES, eee cccaomsi mamma
Exchange messages daily ..-... cn
Toll messages daily. ...oceeeccmmmnmnumannn-
BLOBS OVER, .. . oi immininns sn mmmn wings
Expenses and taxes. occu. .cceamaname om
NEL FEVENUL. .oeceemccce cmmmmmmmemm——-
1920
25, 377
R 334
4, 268
31, 835
1,327
161, 135
81, 626
<9. 509
1991
27,820
8,914
4,466
33, 671
1,356
510, 740
406, 541
104, 100
1922 | 1993 1924
30, 617
9,516
4, 536
36, 831
1,523
564. 038
139, 546
24. 492
34, 524
10, 408
39, 894
11, 242
4,594
11, 109
1,683
523, 116
435, 740
137. 376 |
4,664
43, 981
1,835
577, 903
520, 126
148. 777
1925
45,474
12, 035
4, 685
46, 702
9,008
761, 219
578, 776
182, 444
Source: Annual reports of the American Telephone & Telegraph Co.
[Land Telegraphs.
The Postal Telegraph Co. reports a considerable expansion of land
wire facilities during 1925, involving the use of 3,000,000 pounds of
copper wire. The most important feature of this expansion program
was the stringing of new wires from New York to Jacksonville, with
connecting lines down the east and “west coasts of Florida. It may
be noted that whereas four years ago Miami ranked twenty-eighth
of all the cities in the South in the volume of telegraph traffic it
ranked second last year. A new line was extended into the Imperial
Valley of California serving the great produce sections. These wires
are also available for long distance telephone service. The Postal
Co. reports the change from Morse to printer operation proceeding
as rapidly as possible with over 60,000 miles so operated. Its engi-
neers have perfected and put into operation three-channel” printers,
which enables the capacity of a circuit to be tripled.
The Postal Co.’s receipts from telegraph transmissions during
1925 were $24.273.521. as compared with $21,785,228 in 1924.
