338 Telephone Systems of the Continent of Europe 



development is little short of^ marvellous. Compare the National 

 Telephone Company's return for 1893 a year later of 540 

 exchanges and 53,784 subscribers for the whole of the United 

 Kingdom with its population of thirty-eight millions ! The consti- 

 tutions of the Swedish co-operative societies are very similar. In 

 the first place a member pays the whole cost of his connection 

 to the exchange, and is annually assessed with his share of the 

 working and maintenance expenses of the system, together with a 

 contribution to the reserve fund. In the towns (as in Gothen- 

 burg) this assessment is sometimes as high as 3/. 6s. 8^/., but in the 

 villages it may be as low as 255-. or 30^. 



In the Ostermalms district of Stockholm, which is still worked 

 by the Bell Company, the Swiss method of charging is in opera- 

 tion, the subscribers paying an annual subscription of i/. iqs. 9^., 

 which entitles them to a hundred free calls every three months 

 each call over that number being charged i "$d. 



The success of the low rates in Stockholm, both State and 

 company's, is rendered more surprising by the fact that the use 

 of numerous submarine cables is rendered absolutely unavoidable 

 by the geographical character of the locality. Not only is Stock- 

 holm itself built on several islands (fig. 113), but between the city 

 and the Baltic, the islets, nearly all of which contain villages or 

 at least summer residences, are several hundreds in number. A 

 large proportion of them is in connection with either one or both 

 telephonic systems, necessitating constant attention to submarine 

 cable work. The General Company, in fact, keeps a small 

 steamer specially for the purpose. 



SERVICES RENDERED IN STOCKHOLM BY THE GENERAL 

 TELEPHONE COMPANY AND THE STATE TELEGRAPH 

 DEPARTMENT 



1. Local intercommunication between its own subscribers 

 and public stations and those of the rival system. 



2. Communication within a 70-kilometer radius around 

 Stockholm. 



3. Internal trunk service. Every Swedish town of note and 

 many villages are in trunk connection. 



