Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-02-12
THE BELL TELEPHONE MONOPOLY.
Some Interesting Facts.

other country has corporation grown
to such dimensions in so short
time as the American Bell Telephone
company Never before has an in
ventor so Immediately grown enor-
mously rich from the proceeds of an in
vention as Prof Alexander Graham |
Bell
Bell took his telephone to the Centen-
NAL Exposition, where it was seen and
experimental with by thousands of vs-
tors, who never suspected that 1t would
come to more than an ingenious play
thing. 1t was two years after the Cen
tennial that the first telephone exchanges
under the Bell patent were established,
though Il company had organized IN 1877.
1t was not till 1879 that the new method
of communication was firmly established
as Il commercial and social necessity, and
from that year dates the marvellous
growth of the Bell company. Its capital
stock on the 3lst of December, 1884, was S24,
coo, OOO and an application was made last
year to the Massachusetts legislature for
an increase to *3O,OOOOOO, which is half
the amount of the entire capital stock of
the Western Union Telegraph company.
The receipts for rentals for the fiscal
year ending March /, lsS5, were - 96J,-
600, and the net earnings for the com
pany at the same time were Sl.1l0,OOO.
/ Five dividends of $2sS ,0G3 each were paid
in 1854, and one of the same amount was
paid Jan l5 1855, and several have been
/ paid since. Up to the 18th of January,
/ 1850, the total dividends paid TO stock
/ holders amounted to about ~ 100000. The
original investors in Bell Telephone stock
paid from $50 to $40 per share. Since then
| the stock has been 'Watered' seven
| times and the shares are worth $50 each,
so that an original holder has now eight
shares for every one that he first held
and what he paid say $50 for is now worth
| 81 POO.
AN INTERESTING EXPENSE ACCOUNT.
On the list of January, 1885, the Bell
company controlled in the United States
and territories 712 exchanges, lO1, $40 cir
cults l01, 134 miles of wire, gave service to
5lGS employees and had l34, 900 subscribers.
Its payroll last year averaged about
$4,000 II month, or about $l20,O0O Il year.
rhe employees are nearly all girls, who re-
ceive very small salaries. The expenses
are very light, the original cost OF proper
/ ty small and income sure. AS a mOuOpO-
ly of the modern school it has no rival,
and what it will attain to in another ten
years, nuless checked i'll its progress, no
one would undertake to fOretcll The
character of its property, when 1t comes
to a valuation in dollars and cents, l. very
we'll illustrated by the Insignificant
amount it has paid to the various States
for taxes. The amount paid in all the
United States outside of Massachusetts
since 1881 mp to the beginning of lSS5
was less than S25,0 200. a company that
has a combined salary and tax expense of
about Sl50,000 Il year, with an income Of
s., 100000 a year, is fine illustration of
the modern scheme of money-maklng.
MEN WHO HAVE MADE FORTUNES.
A number of men have grown very
rich through small investments made in
Bell Telephone stock five or six years ago.
Prof. Bell who makes his home in Wash
ington, is supposed to be worth 81 ,0O00 900.
He was originally a Massachusetts man,
and when he applied for his first patent
was teacher of languages in school for
deaf and dumb. w. H. Forbes of Boston
is the president. He is said to be worth
from 100000 to SS,000,000, which COM
Portable sum has accumulated on an orgi-
mai investment of S64 600 Other MaSsa-
chusetts men who have made fortunes
the same way are Gardner q. Hubbard
of Boston, said to be worth S3,0O0OOO G.
, p. Bowdtch of Boston, and vice president
of the company Is said to he worth fully
as much. Theodore II. Vail is the man
ager of the company and is a millionaire
two or three times over. congressman
w. w. Grape of Massachusetts is another
who has grown rich on an original small
investment. The profits of the company
, have been distributed almost entirely
among citizens of Massachusetts
BY the way, it is IA curious fact that the
| Western Union Telegraph company de-
= rives Il large income from the Bell Tele-
phone company. A bitter fight arose be-
tween the two corporations when the lat
ter was in its infancy, and there grew out
i of it "A long and bitterly contested litiga-
ton. The matter was finally settled in
favor of the Bell company, so far as right
of patent was concerned, but the Western
Union did not let loose till it had got an
, agreement by which it was to receive GER
tain royalties or percentages on the bust
ness done. For 1854 the amount so paid
reached the sum of s3S3,000 and for 1855
it was over S400, 600. This is by far the
{ heaviest expense borne by the Bell COM
pany.
AN OPPRESSIVE MONOPOLY.
After this brief recital of a marvellous
5 accumulation of wealth it is easy to un-
derstand the Importance of the suit that
Secretary Lamar recently authorized to be
brought by the government against the
, Bell company. All individual suits have
failed. Gray, Dolbear, Drawbaugh, Ed
; ison and others have all tried to break the
= Bell patent but have all been unsuccess-
| full though charges of fraud in the secur-
81. D.I1 nj nd