The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-11-10

Whether the City Wins or Loses.
Wichita will undoubtedly have two
systems Of telephones before many
weeks" said City Attorney Adams yes
terday. When asked TO give his reas-
ons he said:
You know have just returned from
Topeka, where have been engaged in
the argument of the habeas corpus case
of Manager Chipchase of the Missouri
and Kansas Telephone company. The
case originated by the company refus-
ing to obey the city ordinance passed by
the city council qevying license tax
on each telephone used in the city, and
providing a penalty for each phone used
wbthout the license tax was paid. Up
ION the failure of the company TO pay
said tax levied Mr.. Chipchase was ar
rested and fined, and ordered comlnE9t-
ed until such fine was paid.
"At this point a. writ of habeas cor
pus was taken out before the supreme
court, and the manager was released on
bail and relieved thus from conStruc-
tive imprisonment.
1.-The case was then taken to the SUI
preme court, and on November it was
argued. I appeared for the city of
Wichita, while Bentley & Ferguson of
this city, and Gleed, Ware &, Gleed re-
presented the interests Of the defend
ANTS do not look for a decision be
fore December in the case. OF course
I believe the city viii win the suit, but
then this is only my opinion.
but ] want TO say that Wichita will
win whether she wins the suit or mot.
She Will win in this manner. The is
sues raised in the case which was thus
forced by tine Missouri and Kansas
Telephone company, attracted univer-
sal attention, especially among tele-
phone companies. Kansas City, Mo,
has a similar case with the company,
and they are waiting to hear the deci-
sion given in this case, as they allege
the company has been making discrim-
nations against the patrons Of that
place.
j. r. Chapman, the manager of the
Harrison Telephone company, was an
attentive listener to the arguments,
and when we had finished he came to
me and we had a long talk about tele-
phone business. / told him plain
about the license which had been made
by the CITY council. He stated that
his company had had their eye on Wich-
ata for a long time, and that from the
S1aua which was now gathered by the
case, they would appear Immediately
before the city council and submit a
proposition which would be at rate
less than one-half tine rate charged by
the Missouri and Kansas Telephone
company.
Il wanted him to give me an estimate
of what rats his company would give
the city. To which he replied that the
rate would not be higher than SIS per
year, or $150 per month on an average
for both business and residence. He
Thought the rate would be SIS for resi-
dence and S21 for business houses.
HE says his company is now backed
by some of the heaviest capitalists of
the country, and they are extending
their line in every city in the west. He
was of the belief that by January /, 1886,
his company would have Wichita con-
nected by telephone wires with Kan
sas City, st. Joe, Topeka, Fort Scott
END all Kansas points as well as with
the cities and towns Of Oklahoma
He Stated further that the lines of
his company We're now in operation as
far as Mcpherson in Kansas, and they
were ready to guarantee the people of
Wichita equally as good, If not better
services, for less than one-half the To-
cal tariff rate now in vogue.
Some persons say that this would
force TWO companies upon the pa irons
of telephones instead of one, as the old
company would be forced to come down
10 the rate of The new company. and
that as patrons would necessarily be
compelled to patrOnize both telephone
lines and thus the IA te would not be re-
duced. Suppose this is the case, which
do not concede, then the patrons
would have che use of a much larger
line of patrons than at the present time
and his phone would be much more val
liable TO him. At this time there are
294 telephones in Wichita, hut if the IA tie
was reduced to 81. so per month, l think
that 900 would be small estimate.
There is but few residences in Wichita
that could afford to be without a phone
when the small cost would be only 81 so
per month.
So you see Wichita will lose nothing
by the present agitation. but in the long
run will be the gain. Wichita must
and viii have cheaper telephone rates
5nd that is a foregODa cOncl1lSipr,