224 Telephone Systems of the Continent of Europe 



SERVICES RENDERED BY THE NETHERLANDS BELL 

 TELEPHONE COMPANY 



1. Local intercourse between the subscribers and public 

 telephone stations of the same town, 



2. Internal trunk line communication. Seventeen towns, 

 with a total of 4,700 subscribers, had been put into communica- 

 tion at the end of 1894, these, with the exception of Nijmegen, 

 being all those conceded to the Netherlands Bell Company. The 

 number of trunk messages exchanged during 1892 was 71,833 ; 

 during 1893, 79,424 ; and during 1894, 85,142. The trunk regu- 

 lations are in some respects peculiar to Holland. For instance, 

 subscribers who use the trunks pay an annual subscription 

 of i6.r. 6\d. in addition to the charge per connection, which, for 

 the distances spoken over, is high 9 "yd. per three minutes 

 compared with that which obtains in some other countries. When 

 a called subscriber does not answer within one minute, the caller 

 is debited with half a fee, 4'g$d. Express talks are allowed, a 

 subscriber being given precedence over any others who may be 

 waiting their turn in return for a double fee ; but no connection 

 must exceed six minutes in duration if others are waiting. 

 Deposits to cover conversations must be made in advance, the 

 minimum deposit accepted being 4/. 25. $\d. 



3. Public telephone stations. Of these there are eight in 

 Amsterdam, six in Rotterdam, six in the Hague, four each in 

 Groningen and Utrecht, and from one to two in each of the smaller 

 towns. These stations are frequently situated in the booking halls 

 of the railway stations and at the post and telegraph offices, and 

 are available both for local and trunk talks. Automatic boxes for 

 checking payments are not used, the charges being payable to an 

 attendant in cash or in tickets. At the Amsterdam and Rotterdam 

 Bourses messengers are in attendance to fetch to the telephone 

 station members who may be asked for. Persons so called, if 

 they come, have to pay the tariff charges. To facilitate this 

 fetching system a plan of the Bourse, on which each member's 

 place is indicated by a number, is printed in the subscribers' lists, 

 and the number of the member wanted must be mentioned when 

 asking for him. The messenger hands the member called a dated 



