TELEPHONES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 80, 25 September 1911, Page 5

TELEPHONES.

THE NEW SYSTEM. ANNOUNCEMENT BY PREMIER. On the item "Rural Teleptiones, assistance to settlers'! the Postmaster-General, replying to Mr. James Allen in the House of Representatives on Saturday, said that the proposed changes were being very carefully considered and would be announced in the course of a week OH two. In regard to telephone exchanged not open continuously the minimum rate would remain at £fi for the mile; tj»o subscribers single-wire, C 3 10s as against €4. For three, four, live and six subscribers from one to v'tree miles the rat# would he reduced to IlHsinesa connections would lie expected- trf pay £1 more. Subscriptions beyond tire/mile* would pay £4 8s without nnv charge as at present for capital cost, j The cost for ten miles would be £8 Bsj plus .-OH 10s as against £44 4s heretofore. Tbia system would allow settlers to get th« telephone at cheap rates. / I Mr. James Allen, referring t|o the voit« of £43,000 for mainfenanoe of telegraph and telephone lines, askeld \the Pont-master-Onera] if he would <ftot admit that the telegraph branch was losing money. Sir. Joseph Ward declined ;to admit that this was the position. 'Die telfej graphs were a part of the whole, department, on which a prolit was earned. Mr. McLaren complained, of the inadftquate accommodation at the Post Office Savings Bank in Wellington. He aebad il there would be an improvement wh«» \ the new post office was completed.' Sir Joseph Ward replied thai the'business wmld be transferred tw the nevi [tost office when it was ready. \ The total vote, .t()(i'l,070, for post anil Telegraph Department, was parsed ML- > altered, and at I.sft ».in. the 1 House rose.

In addition to th« details (riven in tli» Prime Minister's statement to the HOu»» regarding rural and city telephones, th« following particulars ;i}u also available: Under the proposed atraHgenient &ul>scribcrs, live on a line t\V<jVftTicl a hall miles in length, or six subscrib'urs on. a line three miles in length, will pay a uniform rate of £3. The Ihitfl instead ol being limited to three miles, will be extended to nine miles. Five subscriber# on a five-mile line will pay) £4 8a per annum ench. and five subscribers on a seven and a hulf mi"' line £(! §5 per annum each. With the rapidly increasing exchanges throughout the country tha rates proposed should benefit l&rg« number of settlers. ,

CITY AND FACILITIES. Hegnrding exchanges ' ifi I 'Vlfe large towns subscribers would btf flowed t# join in |«irt y linns in (lie ?aii\§( manner and at tin' Minm rates, ,Tbosu person# who require an exclusive wire' [tor lon# distances must e\pwt to pay roguirtr rates. Willi (lie introduction «! mora modern exchanges it is hopwl to treat large cities and their* with a reasonable radius as one exchange. Interim reports received from one of the department's officers wlm lias been vwit« in;; America show tli.il it. is practically certain that Ibis can lie done ami th» rate made uniform throughout the city and suburban areas irrespective of the distance of the subscriber from the central ollice. This, il i» thought, can he done on the introduction of the automatic or semi-automatic telephone ex« changes. Cnder this system a city like Weilinyton or Auckland would hi»ve a number of exchange* within Uvo mile* of each oilier. Thc.--e branch exchanges on the automatic 01 semi-autonmtic system require'llo attendance. As an indication of how the present services ar« appreciated, the Prime Minister mentioned that 33fil subscribers were addtfjl to exchanges last year.