86 



AXNU.AL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



About 25,000 coiiiiuercial teleo;rams were transmitted during the 

 year; about 15.000 Government messages and telephone calls and 

 about 3,000 long-distance telephone calls were handled. 



While all these lines are maintained primarily to carry important 

 Weather Bureau reports and warnings where no commercial lines 

 are available for the service, nevei'theless the Government derives a 

 significant amount of income from commercial telegrams and tele- 

 phone calls handled for the public at very small charges. 



The following table indicates the receipts for the year: 



1921. 



July 



August 



September 



October 



November 



December 



1922 



January 



February 



March 



April 



May 



June 



Totals 



Block- 

 Island. 



$220. 24 



1 200.00 



1 31. 26 



16.44 



2.70 



(2) 

 49.11 



517. 75 



Cape 

 Henry. 



$157.77 

 161.28 

 145.06 

 146. 95 

 171.71 

 230.23 



211.69 



95.06 



115.22 



112.89 



85.75 



97.03 



1,730.64 



Port 

 Angeles. 



$195. 98 

 237.03 

 185.03 

 132. 91 

 124.14 

 132. 87 



168. 74 

 144.97 

 159.86 

 175.63 

 168. 34 

 ' 202. 32 



2,027.82 



Grand total, $5,012.48. 



' Estimated. 



2 Telegraph communication interrupted. 



In addition to the above, $600 per annum is received from the New 

 England Telephone & Telegraph Co., Boston, Mass., for rental of 

 two conductors in the Block Island cable. 



The cost of maintenance and repair to these lines was $2,500. 



Block I sland-M ahi7iuck Beach {R. I.) section. — A three-conductor 

 telegraph cable connects the island with the mainland. Two con- 

 ductors are leased to the New England Telephone & Telegraph Co. 

 for telephone purposes, the third being reserved for telegraph use. 

 This conductor became defective in August, remaining so until June, 

 the Weather Bureau being without sufficient funds to make adequate 

 repairs. During most of this time telegrams were telephoned to and 

 from a telegraph office on the mainland. By cooperation with the 

 Western Union Telegraph Co. repairs w^ere accomplished on June 7, 

 when telegraphing was resumed. For several months in the summer 

 a large number of telegrams are offered for transmission over this 

 cable, the onlj^ means of wire communication with the island, a popu- 

 lar summer resort. The interruption above noted seriously interfered 

 Avith satisfactory conduct of this business, and similar interruptions 

 are liable to occur at any time owing to the age of the cable, which 

 was laid in 1908. It has been repaired numerous times and is sub- 

 ject to gradual deterioration because of electrolysis. The time has 

 come for installation of a commercial cable with adequate facilities 

 to care for the large volume of business now offered. These con- 

 ditions arc recognized by the commercial companies interested, but 

 no action to provide a new cable has been reported to the Weather 

 Bureau. 



