Switzerland 383 



telegrams and telephonograms to all and sundry. What a boon 

 it would be in Great Britain if it were possible to pop into a shop 

 or office bearing the sign ' Public Telephone Station ' and 

 several such should be found in every long street and not only 

 call up a telephone subscriber, but forward telegrams and tele- 

 phonograms to anybody ! And how the Post Office telegraphs 

 would benefit, too, could the officials but see it. 



TARIFFS 



i. Rates for local exchange communication. These are 

 uniform throughout the country, and include every expense. 

 Within two kilometers of an exchange a subscriber pays : 



s. d. 

 First year . . . . . . . 4 16 o 1 



Second year . . . . . . .400' 



Third and subsequent years . . . .340' 



If the local connections he asks for do not exceed 800 * in 

 number per year, there is nothing more to pay. All in excess of 

 800 are charged 4^. per hundred, or '48^. each. Trunk line talks, 

 telegrams, and telephonograms are not reckoned in the 800 talks 

 allowed. The chief Government office in each canton, and the 

 chief office in each commune, is entitled to a simple connection 

 to the nearest exchange as soon as it counts thirty paying mem- 

 bers, for which nothing is paid unless the communications asked 

 for exceed 800 per annum, in which case the usual fees are col- 

 lected for talks in excess of that number. Institutions of public 

 utility, not working for profit, pay 3/. 45. per annum from the 

 beginning, without restriction as to number of talks. Fire brigade 

 stations pay i/. i2s. per annum, and -48^. per talk. Subscriptions 

 are payable half-yearly in advance on January i and July i. 

 When a subscriber's distance from the exchange exceeds two 

 kilometers he pays 2s. 5^. for each 100 meters in excess. When 

 it is considered desirable, to prevent annoyances from overhearing, 

 that a subscriber should have a metallic circuit, no extra charge 

 is made up to t\vo kilometers, but beyond that distance the sub- 



1 These charges are altered by the new law soon to come into force (see p. 378). 



