Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-09-18
THE TELEPHONE MONOPOLY.
The Increase of Rates What is Going
on Elscwhere-Somc Account of the
New England Company.

The Increase of Kates-what is Going
on Elscwhcre-Somc Account OF the
New England Company.
The increase in telephone rates-reSi-
dences from $50 to $50 and business houses
from $50 to $42-wcnt into effect in Bur
lngton Tuesday. So far as we are able to
ascertain thirty-two subscribers have
ordered out their instruments. That
is about the average percentage of instru-
ments discontinued in other places where
the increased rates went into effect. The
feeling against the monopoly is so strong
it is surprising that more instruments
have not been ordered out. But the fact
is that the telephone has become so great
n necessity that it would be very hard to
dispense with it even at higher prices.
The monopoly is well aware of this fact
and does not hesitate to take advantage
of it. The only present remedy lies in
the hands of the individual subscriber.
The company will not recede from its
position.
| In its action the New England COM
pany is consistent. The increase has
been general and the effect has been
the same everywhere a perfect
storm has been raised, protests have pour
ed in, but the autOcratic people who run
the concern have strictly adhered to the
raise III prices. The last place to be
raised is Lowell The people of that
city will certainly not get any sympathy
in their vigorous kicking from any of the
subscribers or the stock holders OF the tele-
phone company TO the sharks of that
city the public fully acknowledge their
Indebtedness for the New England
monopoly. The courier says
The feeling is that the company wants to
bleed the public while at the same time ig-
noring the fact that all the rights it enjoys
come from the public. This the people will
/ not stand, and the talk is, the monopoly will
be taught a lesson. The professionals say that
they are to be charged AN outrageous price in
orucr to pay dividends on million, of dollars
OF water, and they don't propose to do any
such thing. Further, they say that ut the
next session of the legislature an effort will
be lnalc to curb the company. The local OBJ
jcctlons TO the increase are only an echo of
similar protests heard in every place in which
the advance has been announced There is
niue reason to doubt that many of the users
mean what they say, and the formal official
notlii" alton Of the advance Will be met with
orders to remove the telephones forthwith.
VI course the greater the number taken out
the less valuable the service to those who stay
IN and the latter Will be compelled to pay an
advance OF rates Tor Il convenience of reduced
value.
If the general public were not lin the
same boat the spectacle of the virtuOus
people of Lowell bowling about telephone
monopoly would he keenly enjoyed.
The objections in some places have been
OF more vigorous character than in
others. While in every exchange there
has been Il reduction in the number of in
siruments yet the fight against the mon
opoly has been more vigorous in some
towns than i'll others. In Salem, Mass,
all the physicians and scores of business
men have bounced the machines in
Peabody the system has been practically
ruined in Augusta and Gardiner, Maine,
over halt have been taken out in Housa-
tonic every one of the telephones was or
uered out, and in every other place Il SINH
lar state of things prevails. 1t certainly
seems foolish for the company to thus en-
rage Its patrons who have been paying it
good solid money in liberal sums. One
subscriber says, 1t is all the American
Bell fault, i'll charging Sl4 year for the
use OF Instruments which don't cost half
That amount. The New England com
pany will probably never attempt another
raise in prices 1t would ruin their bust
ness if attempted. The present fight has
created so much hard feeling that if the
monopoly is ever broken the subscribers
would desert the present company in Il
body Tor any new organization.
The New England Telephone and Tele-
graph company is the successor of the
Telephone Despatch company of Boston,
suburban company, Bay State, Northern,
National, Pioneer and other New England
companies. IL was organized under the
laws of New York with IA capital of SIP
OOO,OOO, large part of which is of course,
water The American Bell Telephone
company owns Sd,5OOOOO of the stock
thus controlling It's action. When ii was
organized 1t went through New England
and bought up all local exchanges that
could be got, paying in many cases very
much more than they We're worth. Its