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In Great Britain Siemens Bros,, London, are erecting, at a cost of about £100,000, extensive works at Woolwich for the manufacture and supply of telephone appliances, special attention being devoted to the manufacturing requirements of automatic apparatus. About four months ago a company was formed in London, styled the " Automatic Telephone Manufacturing Company (Limited)," with a capital of £1,000,000, of which about £300,000 is subscribed, and about £260,000 taken by two companies as payment or part-payment for rights and works required. This company has purchased the Strowger patent rights from the Automatic Electric Company, Chicago, to manufacture automatic telephone apparatus for Great Britain and certain British colonies. A dividend of 6 per cent, has been guaranteed on £200,000 of preferential shares. In Italy there has recently been completed an inquiry into general telephone methods, and a report issued. From a resume of certain features of the report it appears that an investigation was made of some of the automatic exchanges installed on the Continent. The Commission speaks approvingly of the automatic and semi-automatic systems, recognizes their advantages in many respects, expresses an inclination towards semi-automatic because of the vivacious temperament and somewhat low standard of education of the Italian people, and states that some extensions should be made in large towns, leaving the subscriber to choose between the two methods. The Commission does not hesitate to recommend making some considerable automatic installations to avoid falling behind other countries, but regards as indeterminate the claims of net operating economy. Besides the six systems enumerated there are —the Lorimer system, in operation at Brantford and Peterborough, and in construction at Lindsay, in Ontario ; the American Automatic Company's system, whose factory is at Urbana, Ohio ; the Dietl and Barth system (a modification of the Strowger system), in operation in Austria ; the Betulander system, which belongs to Sweden. This enumeration of systems, the activities of the different companies interested in their adoption in actual service, and the increasing favour with which operating companies and administrations are regarding them, as evidenced by their growing willingness to adopt them, may be accepted as indications that many telephone engineers, as already stated, are giving close attention to the claims made on behalf of automatics that they offer a considerable relicf —some go so far as to say a complete answer —to most of the troubles that are incidental to the conduct of telephone-exchange service by manual methods. There are about 8,250,000 telephones in use in America, and of these about 300,000, or about 4 per cent., are automatic ; and it is a noticeable feature that they are in use only in the telephone exchanges of the " Independent " Companies. It should be understood that telephone service in America is being supplied, broadly speaking, from two sources, between whom there has been for years keen rivalry and perhaps not always the most agreeable business relations. These sources are (1) the Associated Bell Companies and (2) the " Independent " Companies. For years the Bell Companies gave such service throughout the States as seemed to them sufficient, but on the expiry, about 1895, of the principal telephone patents there sprang into existence keen competition, which developed into what became styled " the Independent movement." This movement is generally understood to have been the outcome of a desire to increase the use of the telephone and to improve the service. How far these aims have been attained may be gathered from the fact that in 1901 the Associated Companies had about 650,000 telephones, while to-day they claim over 5,000,000 and the " Independents " 4,000,000 telephones in use. This remarkable growth has been attributed to more than one cause. Some declare that it has been effected chiefly by the introduction of the measured rate of charging for service, and others that it is mainly the outcome of lively competition exerted, on the one hand, to obtain that development that seemed to be essential to general business well-being, and to give promise of being a good business undertaking; and exerted, on the other hand, the way and the need being shown, to maintain that superior position to which claim had been made and which was vigorously threatened. It is not necessary to the matter before me to discuss the merits or demerits of these declarations further than to say that even competition seems not to have effected for the public what they appear to consider desirable, as for some time the aid of Public Utility Commissions has been introduced or invoked to lessen the burden of costs and rates that the public in some places appear to regard themselves as having to endure. The common-battery system was well established in 1903 as a suitable system for giving satisfactory telephone-exchange service and as being a big advance on the magneto system both in economy and grade of service rendered. Development was taking place rapidly by means of this system. It was about this time that automatic telephone-exchange equipment began to be offered with any hope of considerable adoption. First cost, dread of excessive maintenance, and the lack of extended trial of any automatic system combined to cause automatics to have few friends. Despite this, even as early as 1901 two installations of Strowger automatics were put in at Fall River and New Bedford, and worked well. About 1903, Grand Rapids, Michigan, operating a magneto-board, decided to adopt .automatics, and it was about the same time that Dayton, Ohio, similarly decided. These systems have continued operating with success and satisfaction to the subscribers and the operating companies. From those early beginnings the use of automatics, mostly Strowger, has gone on increasing until there are now about 300,000 lines operating in about ninety different cities. This development of mechanism for automatically effecting telephone service took place entirely in the " Independent " field, and as each operating company was a separate and uncontrolled unit so far as its own affairs were concerned, and had its field of operations confined to a comparatively limited area, it was practicable for any company to give consideration to any proposal for the supply of special equipment that offered features conducing to economy and prompt and satisfactory service. The Associated Bell Companies, on the other hand, being all interrelated and subject in a considerable degree to the central control of the American Telegraph, and Telephone Company, were held to the use, in the main, of those systems, the magneto and central battery, principally the latter,