The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-12-27


Reports Against Encouraging Out
side Parties-FavOrabIe Report on
the Union Depot, and the Commit
tees Efforts are to be Continued.
The meeting of the Board of Trade
Monday was an unusually inter-
esting one. The first matter to be
considered was a communication
from the National Board of Trade
favoring one cent letter postage, and
it was referred to the committee on
legislation.
M. B. Haynes reported for the COM
mittee on electric franchise that it
had presented the matter to the Com
mercial Club, but he thought that no
action had been taken yet The COM
mittee had procured number of
copies of the FREE PRESS containing
the opinion of the Board of Trade and
action of the council and had sent
them to various companies, but thus
far had heard nothing in reply. The
council put the matter in better
shape Saturday night, and had asked
for propositions to be opened on Jan.
4th. The report was accepted and
the committee continued.
Several members thought that the
time was too short in which to receive
propositions.
Geo. II. Barr presented the follow
ing written report from the telephone
committee.
To the president and board of direc-
tors of the BOARD of Trade:
GENTLEMEN:
Your committee appointed to in
quire into the telephone situation re-
port as follows:
First.-It appears from information
furnished the committee that good
practical telephone system can be con-
structed ready for use, and of sutfici-
ent capacity to supply the local pub
lie of Mankato and it's suburbs, for
the sum of 81, 500 at an outside figure.
Probably a less amount of capital
would suffice, but there seems no rea-
son to suppose that the sum named
would be expended.
Second. THE cost of maintaining
such system when established, and
the expenses connected with the
business, would not be heavy, and a
rental charge of 81 or 81. SO to business
houses, and $3.50 to private dwellings,
as the monthly toll for the use of the
instruments, would provide for these
expense items, and good, probably
large dividends on the amount of
capital named, if one hundred or
more business places and fifty or more
residences could be secured to put in
and continue to use the telephone.
Third.-A home company with the
users of the stockholders, and restric-
lions placed upon the transfer of
stock so as to keep as many as posi-
bic directly interested for as long a
time as practicable, or company
organized by fewer stockholders,
where the users of telephones would
generally enter into contracts to take
and continue the use of the instru
ments for a reasonable term of years,
would seem to be necessary in order
to provide against the probable action
of the established company in the
event of a new one being organized
viz, the cutting down of the'rates to
a losing figure, even to the extreme of
furnishing instruments without
charge for time with the eXpecta-
tion of forcing the new enterprise
from the field. This appears to have
been very common practice in SINH
lar instances in other localities.
Fourth. the opinion of the COM
mittee, it is not advisable to en-
courage outside parties to furnish
new telephone facilities, but that
local enterprise be looked to and as
sisted whenever the effort is made to
change present conditions.
The report was accepted.
DR.. Andrews, for the union depot
committees made a reportsto the eff
feet that everything looked favorable
to the Milwaukee road entering the
union depot. He had had talk with
Chief Engineer Johnson and been in
formed that the Milwaukee road was
meeting the Omaha very fairly in the
matter of the right of way. The plans
for the union depot would soon be
perfected, and if the Milwaukee came
in, the depot would have to be en-
larged somewhat and different plans
drawn.
The question of which side of the
depot the tracks would be on was dis
cussed. The committee promised to
do what it could to have the Mime
apolis & St.-Louis road enter the de-
pot, after it was assured that the
Milwaukee would go into it.
The question of department stores
next came up, AMI one member took
the position strongly that the news
papers which are getting out supple
ments and doing all they can to fight
department stores are doing the
city an incalcuable' harm. There
had been department. stores in the
city for years, on smaller scale, and
no outcry had been made. The peo-
pie who have invested their money in
large buildings and stocks in Mankato