The engineers in the Colony hope to have the 12,200 telephones installed and in efficient operation by January 1, 1930, In Shanghai not 10,000 automatic telephones have been installed since the change-over began nearly five years ago. will be recalled that in Tokyo, between December 1924, and July 1028, five complete exchanges fully equipped with 60,000 automat telephones, were constructed in a matter of 18 months.
There are several patent types of automatic telephones, including such as the Rotary, 24 volt and 48 volt, the Panel, 48 volt, and the Strowger, 48 volt, As much as 20 years ago independent companies in America began operating automatic. telephones, the "trust" refusing to consider this style, although since then the latter has absorbed most of these companies. The Bell Company, the "trust," began experimenting with the automatic and engineers designed a system of 24 volts, but after experiments, it was decided that this system was not practicable for use in the United States, and they decided to discard the type and sent equipment, engineers and inventors to Antwerp, types, ind began experimenting with other The system which the Shang! Mutual Telephone Company is stalling now in Shanghai is the! volt rotary system, which was dis-canded 15 years ago in America.
American engineers and Britis as well, adopted in the main the 48 volt system, and the Bell Com-are now installing cities as New York, Chicago, Phil. adelphia, and Detroit, a 43. volt system," It has been seen, ho ever, that this type of machine, was economically eficlent only in citi where there was much congestion of population. In cities of ulation of 300,000 in the Middle
tract West, the Bell, Company has cone ith the company manu Strowger system, that which is being installed in Hong. Kong and which is being shipped to the Orient from Liverpool, fox several millions of instruments, Discarded by British P. 0, In a booklet dealing' with official experiments on various makes of automatic systems, Col. T. "E. Purves, head of the British Postal Department, shows where they, tested the 24 volt rotary system, now being installed in Shanghai, 1914 and 1916, and discarded, aod have purchased a large number of the 48 volt instruments, such at are being installed in Hongkong.
The rotary 48 volt system came into a certain amount of popularity. congested cities about replacing the 24 volt: instraments, "In Shanghai, however, the 24 volt rotary system, seme favoured by the Company, Ta Tokyo, 60,000 48 volt instruments were installed in 18 months, Hong. kong proposes to install more than 12,000 48 volt machines approximately six months, in Shanghai tess than 10,000' 24 volt telephones have been Installed in. 4 problematical number of years.
USS, and Canada for Flat Rate Referring again to the Plat Message Rate discussion—In the United States and Canada, there are in use about 76 per cent. of the world's telephones. Of these, 90, per cent. of the subscribers pay the flat rate, the other 10 per cent. allowing for one or two possible message rate exchanges, are of "nickel-grabber" type, it, telephones, In 1924, the German Government, which owns and operates. the tele: phone system, instituted the mess sage rate. Telephone manufactures now are protesting against this way of fixing charges, saying that the demand for new' instruments has decreased to such an extent that, some may go bankrupt and. th have petitioned the Government to' reconstitute the flat rate. Tt would seem from this that the flat rate stifles business, The Peak Load Fallacy One of the main arguments foe the message rate is that during the Peak lands, i ness efficiently companies. mui all more inter and intro exchange This argument has been red by Prof. Arthur Bessey Smith, formerly of Purdue University, but now consultant to one of the large telephone manufacturing company's laboratories. He asserts, that the peak load is determined by the average number of calls per busy. hour, multiplied by the holding time (the time the instrument is in use for each call) in seconds. Further, in defence of the flat rate, Prof. "Smith says tHat, on the change from the flat rate to the message rate, the number of calls will drop by '80 per cent. On the other hand, however, the holding time will increase to' such a point, that the multiplications will approxi: mate each other, and the demand for the use of the company's facilities, will not have been reduced. To promote business in general, Prof. Smith champions the fat rats Tue Mayor of Greater Shanghat has published an order forbidding labourers to take part in illegal strikes, Acconoinc to the vernacular press, a representative of the Japanese banking group hageacrive:
n Shanghai for the paeose of negotiating with the Chinese ernment regarding a settle mer the debts owing by Chiao' Japanese bankers,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.