German Empire 179 



the subscriber's office, is necessary to the success of such a plan, 

 and some experiments are being conducted with meters invented 

 by Messrs. Mix & Genest and by an official of the Imperial 

 Administration. Such registers, however, unless very complicated 

 (in which case the expense of their introduction and maintenance 

 would outweigh all advantages), could not supersede the operators' 

 notes, since they would not differentiate between the numerous 

 classes of connections, local, suburban, short- and long-distance 

 trunk, telegrams, matter to be mailed, &c., that may be asked for. 

 A simple record of the number of connections would help but 

 little, and if the operators' notes must be preserved at all, they had 

 better accomplish the whole task as in Switzerland and Stockholm. 

 In the latter city these reasons have led to counters, efficient as 

 such, being abandoned after extensive use. The Imperial Ad- 

 ministration deserves praise for the manner in which it has con- 

 sistently supported home manufacturers. It has taken as little of 

 its apparatus from abroad as possible, even multiple switch-boards, 

 the most complicated of all telephonic mechanism, having been, 

 whenever possible, procured in Germany. The gratifying result 

 is that, although the native instruments may be somewhat lacking 

 in design, a school has been founded which is rapidly becoming 

 equal to all demands. At present it is traversing ground which 

 has been already exploited elsewhere, making the same mistakes 

 and acquiring the same experience. As regards workmanship, 

 the productions of the three chief firms Siemens & Halske, 

 Mix & Genest, and R. Stock & Co. leave nothing to be 

 desired. 



SERVICES RENDERED TO THE PUBLIC 



i. Intercourse between the subscribers and public stations 

 of the same town. The rate is universally 7/. IQS. per annum, 

 irrespective of the size of the town, and includes connections of 

 any length up to five kilometers. This rate is too high, notwith- 

 standing the lon fc ength given without extra charge, for small towns. 

 In such places the vast majority of the lines are much less than 

 half a mile in length, and 90 per cent, less than one mile. A more 

 equitable figure would be 4/. or, at most, 5/., for connections not 



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