Western Electric and the Bell System - A SURVEY OF SERVICE

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influencing Bell System financing, as well as handling the many details related to thatfinancing.The Legal Department provides assistance and advice to operating companycounsel on matters of general Bell System interest, and represents the operatingcompanies before certain governmental courts and commissions. Other GeneralDepartments assess the System’s dealings with the public, personnel and the rest ofthe business community, and formulate System-wide programs designed to enhancethe relationship. In addition, these units continually conduct new studies related to theirwork, and survey other authoritative material in order to make it available to the entireSystem.The various General Departments also receive in a steady stream copies of reportsmade by the operating companies concerning local activities pertinent to their interest.This material is evaluated by the appropriate organization and is compiled with similarstudies by the operating companies themselves into over-all comparative performanceindexes for both the AT&T management and for operating companies to use inimproving operational effectiveness.LONG LINES DEPARTMENTThe purpose for which AT&T was originally formed in 1885 interconnecting variousintrastate telephone exchanges - is the responsibility of AT&T Long Lines Department.The extensive switching equipment, cables, microwave systems and associatedequipment that comprise Long Lines’ interstate network makes possible telephoneservice across the nation and around the world. But this is only a part of the story.Long Lines also provides teletypewriter exchange service (TWX), transmits TV andradio programs from city to city and coast to coast along with coded data,telephotographs and messages using private line telephone and telegraph facilities.Long Lines has the autonomy of an operating company even though it isorganizationally a part of AT&T. Its Board of Directors, consisting of AT&T vicepresidents and Long Lines operating heads, set the general operational policy that isimplemented by the Chief Executive Officer through the organizations headed by hisoperational aides.Long Lines is organized geographically as four areas. Each of these areas -Eastern, Central, Southwestern and Western - has its own plant, traffic, commercial,engineering and staff organizations as extensions of the Long Lines headquarters inNew York City.There are about 28,000 Long Lines employees working in 43 states and the Districtof Columbia. Plant investment represents about nine per cent of the Bell System total.Responding to the increasing demand for its service, Long Lines has made substantialincreases to its investment in recent years.Interstate networks exceed 76 million circuit miles and consist principally of cable,radio and open wire. In addition there are underseas cables connecting the U.S.mainland with Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, the British Isles and the EuropeanMainland. From Hawaii a trans-Pacific cable forms a link with Japan. Other overseascommunications are transmitted via radio.
OWNERS OF THE BELL SYSTEMSome 2,250,000 people own an interest in the Bell System through their investmentsin AT&T stock. Of these, over 300,000 are Bell System employees who havepurchased shares through payroll allotments. AT&T has more than twice as manycommon stockholders as any other corporation in the United States - more than thenext two companies combined in fact.Just about every type of American is represented in this assembly, including farmers,clerks, lawyers, clergymen, mechanics, civil servants, teachers, merchants, widows andretired people. The man who became AT&T’s two millionth shareowner in 1961, forinstance, was a small town druggist in Kansas.These investors have supplied a good part of the capital that has been required torealize the Bell System’s potential of growth. They have invested in the company inexpectation of receiving a reasonable rate of return and, indeed, AT&T dividends havea well-deserved reputation for their uninterrupted regularity since 1881. The dividendshave risen, too. For about 15 years ending in 1921, for instance, the rate was $8.00per share per year. From 1922 to 1959, the rate was $9.00 a share. When the stockwas split three-for-one in April, 1959, the rate was set at $3.30 (equivalent to $9.90 onthe old basis). Following stockholder approval in April, 1964, the stock was again splittwo-for-one with a dividend rate of $2.00 established for the new shares.Geographically, AT&T stock is more widely held than the stock of any othercorporation, and it is distributed in general accord with the investment wealth of thecountry, with a somewhat higher ratio in New England where the telephone wasinvented and originally financed.At the end of 1901, shortly after AT&T had succeeded American Bell as parentcompany of the Bell System, 87 per cent of the owners were located in New England.As increasing amounts of new capital were required, the distribution of AT&T ownersextended more and more into the Eastern states. Starting in 1915 - when the longdistance lines reached the West Coast, the Central and Pacific states began to berepresented more definitely in the AT&T shareowner family. By 1930, the approximatepresent-day geographical distribution was achieved: New England 20 per cent; Eastern40 per cent; Central 15 per cent; Pacific 10 per cent; all others 15 per cent.There were 7,536 shareowners of AT&T in 1900. Within 12 years the 50,000thowner joined the company family. Just six years later - 1918 - the 100,000 mark waspassed. By late 1930 the number of owners had climbed to a half million. The onemillionthmilestone was reached in May, 1951 within a few weeks of the 75thanniversary of the invention of the telephone. The two-millionth shareowner was addedto the list just 10 years later, in June, 1961.Approximately 28 per cent of the shareowners have held their AT&T stock for 10 yearsor more. And 15 per cent have been shareowners for at least 15 years.Some 803,000 accounts are in the names of women. As individual owners, womenoutnumber men two to one. Furthermore, 600,000 shareowners are represented byjoint accounts - usually man and wife.
Page 1 and 2: Western Electricand theBell SystemA
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTSI The Bell System
Page 5 and 6: The Bell SystemaConcept in ActionIT
Page 7 and 8: Part I:Our Bell System“Partners
Page 9 and 10: ecame permanent and, in addition to
Page 11 and 12: AT&T’s ROLE IN THE BELL SYSTEMThe
Page 13: department sets technical requireme
Page 17 and 18: Bell Telephone LaboratoriesIIIThe g
Page 19 and 20: the designs and specifications for
Page 21 and 22: The Bell Telephone CompaniesIVThe c
Page 23 and 24: operations. How these things are do
Page 25 and 26: History of Western ElectricVIn Janu
Page 27 and 28: growing desire by Americans to exhi
Page 29 and 30: "Nash Fish," for which its inventor
Page 31 and 32: Less than a year later, in October,
Page 33 and 34: In the spring of 1946, the first mu
Page 35 and 36: contributions to this team effort h
Page 37 and 38: Structure of Western ElectricVIWest
Page 39 and 40: Long-range planning, for example, b
Page 41 and 42: company locations except major Work
Page 43 and 44: defined in their delegations, and m
Page 45 and 46: Manufacturing-Area AFacilityBALTIMO
Page 47 and 48: Manufacturing-Area CFacilityALLENTO
Page 49 and 50: 3. Determine long-range space requi
Page 51 and 52: HouseInauguratedPennsylvania (forme
Page 53 and 54: The primary responsibility of an in
Page 55 and 56: circuits needed in a telephone cent
Page 57 and 58: Purchasing and TransportationThe Vi
Page 59 and 60: The Manager - Plant Design and Cons
Page 61 and 62: Organizations Reporting to Assistan
Page 63 and 64: Government Sales and Administration
Page 65 and 66:
Labor CounselThe Labor Counsel deal
Page 67 and 68:
easonableness of Western’s earnin
Page 69 and 70:
has primary responsibility for its
Page 71 and 72:
Principal Subsidiaries of Western E
Page 73 and 74:
acre site. The company also operate
Page 75 and 76:
The Manufacturers junction Railway
Page 77 and 78:
Communications Services and Product
Page 79 and 80:
these purchases represent a signifi
Page 81 and 82:
1-S Automatic Call Distributing Sys
Page 83 and 84:
vertical member in conjunction with
Page 85 and 86:
dialing area. The extension of dial
Page 87 and 88:
Obviously, this investment cannot s
Page 89 and 90:
"We must know our way around among
Page 91 and 92:
(e) 'Vestrex" shall mean Westrex Co
Page 93 and 94:
ecording studios or outside the Uni
Page 95 and 96:
non-discriminatory as between licen
Page 97 and 98:
to furnish, the same, of manufactur
Page 99 and 100:
(a) requiring sales, at non-discrim
Page 101:
APPENDIX A.• Bell Telephone Compa
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