AUTOMATIC TELEPHONES

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 304, 12 September 1918, Page 6

AUTOMATIC TELEPHONES

DELAYS CAUSED BY THE WAR, Visiting Wellington at present is Mr. R'. B. Hungerford, manager and director of tho Western Electric Automatic Telephone Company (which is a first cousin to tho British and American Western Electric Companies), who is passing through on his way to America. Mr. Hungerford has como over to New Zealand before leaving for America, to become acquainted at first hand with the situation here regarding automatic. installations, and to ascertain exactly what is required to complete those installations already erected, but lacking important essential parts. Mr. Hungerford, speaking to a Dominion reportor, stated that his company was quite blameless in regard .to the delays which had occurred in connection with tho completion of Government contracts in New Zealand. Before the war the plant on which tho British Company was depending was located at Antwerp. The German Army entered that city on October 9, but fortunately the company had sufficient notice to euable them to shift a good deal of the manufacturing plant over to London. When the plant was being re-erected the Government commandeered tho factory for the manufacture of munitions, so tho plant was then removed to Hawthorne, n. town some eighteen miles from Chicago, whore the company employs some 20,000 hands. But now thoso, workers were doing war work for America, and many of the' employees are doiuj their "bit" with tho American Army _ 'in France. For that reason, combined with the transport difficulties, the conipanv had not been able to complete its contracts, but Mr. Hungerford said he hoped to bo able to represent the difficulties here in a strong enough light to get at least some of the stations completed.