a reasonable cost.

_Expense._ The second argument against the automatic--that it is too
expensive--is one that must be analyzed before it means anything. It is
true that for small and medium-sized exchanges the total first cost of
the central office and subscribers' station equipment, is greater than
that for manual exchanges of corresponding sizes. The prices at which
various sizes of automatic exchange equipments may be purchased vary,
however, almost in direct proportion to the number of lines, whereas in
manual equipment the price per line increases very rapidly as the number
of lines increases. From this it follows that for very large exchanges
the cost of automatic apparatus becomes as low, and may be even lower
than for manual. Roughly speaking the cost of telephones and
central-office equipment for small exchanges is about twice as great for
automatic as for manual, and for very large exchanges, of about 10,000
lines, the cost of the two for switchboards and telephones is about
equal.

For all except the largest exchanges, therefore, the greater first cost
of automatic apparatus must be put down as one of the factors to be
weighed in making the choice between automatic and manual, this factor
being less and less objectionable as the size of the equipment increases
and finally disappearing altogether for very large equipments. Greater
first cost is, of course, warranted if the fixed charges on the greater
investment are more than offset by the economy resulting. The automatic
screw machine, for instance, costs many times more than the hand screw
machine, but it has largely displaced the hand machine nevertheless.

_Flexibility._ The third argument against the automatic telephone
system--its flexibility--is one that only time and experience has been
able to answer. Enough time has elapsed and enough experience has been
gained, however, to disprove the validity of this argument. In fact, the
great flexibility of the automatic system has been one of its surprising
developments. No sooner has the statement been made that the automatic
system could not do a certain thing than forthwith it has done it. It
was once quite clear that the automatic system was not practicable for
party-line selective ringing; yet today many automatic systems are
working successfully with this feature; the selection between the
parties on a line being accomplished with just as great certainty as in
manual systems. Again it has seemed quit