68 Telephone Systems of the Continent of Europe 



from south to north ; the Termonde-St. Nicholas-Alost area, thir- 

 teen miles from east to west, and thirty miles from south to north ; 

 and the Ostend-Bruges, twenty-seven miles from west to east, and 

 twelve miles from south' to north. In the Ostend-Bruges area, a 

 three-year subscriber located within one kilometer of the Ostend 

 exchange is entitled for his payment of 6/. per annum to speak 

 without restriction or extra charge to Bruges, thirteen miles ; to 

 Blankenberghe, eleven miles ; to Heyst, sixteen miles ; to Nieu- 

 port, ten miles. And a Nieuport subscriber can speak to Heyst, 

 twenty-six miles, for his 61. per annum. These distances are- 

 measured direct ; as the wires go by the railways they are usually 

 greater. In the Termonde-St. Nicholas-Alost area the distances 

 available for 67. per annum are even longer. 



When a subscriber removes to new premises within the same 

 telephonic area his wire and instrument are shifted gratis. He 

 is held responsible for the safety of his apparatus under all cir- 

 cumstances ; if it is destroyed by fire, or otherwise, he must pay 

 its full value to the State. The Government has the right to- 

 suspend any part of or all the telephonic communication at its 

 discretion, in which case the subscribers cannot claim any refund 

 of subscription. 



The burning question of the use of telephones by non-sub- 

 scribers has been settled liberally in Belgium by formal permission- 

 being given to subscribers to allow strangers to use their instru- 

 ments provided no payment or other consideration is received. 

 Hotel, restaurant and club telephones are free to all and sundry. 



It is rather singular that in spite of the immense traffic at the 

 port of Antwerp no ships are fitted with telephones for the purpose 

 of enabling them to use the exchange when in harbour, as is 

 often done in Sweden and sometimes in Great Britain. 



2. Internal trunk line communication. The seventeen areas 

 are already connected by trunk lines, so that practically all the 

 merchants and manufacturers in the kingdom are within hailing 

 and talking distance of each other. The rule is that a subscriber 

 in any area may call up and talk to a client in any other area for 

 five minutes for one franc (9-6^.). Nothing could be simpler, 

 and nothing could be more effective. If five minutes does not 

 prove sufficient the conversation may be extended to ten minutes 



