St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-04-19
THAT HELLO DEAL.
No One Seems to Know Much
About the Proposed New
Company.
LOCAL MEN ARE RETICENT.
Telephone Company Officials
Say Proposed Rates Are
Impossible.
LOCAL MEN ARE RETICENT.
FIRMS Cash is MISSING.
Bookkeeper Mansfield Placed
Under Arrest on Charge
OF EmbsZzlemant.

among a good many people in Mime
tapolis, and particularly among those
who are specially interested IN the
matter, that the big telephone COM
pany which is said to have been or
gained a few weeks ago, is consid-
cradle of myth. While Charles A.
Pillsbury, who was published as one
of the directors of the new company,
does not care to discuss the matter
at all, it is the opinion of gentle
men who are closely associated with
him in business, and who have his
confidence, that he has nothing at
all to do with the .so-calied new
company. To state the name of the
gentleman who informed a GLOBE
reporter to this effect yesterday
would satisfy the public that Mr..
Pfllsbury has as yet absolutely. no
interest in any telephone company,
new or old. A couple of weeks ago
a statement which was said to have
been authorized was given to the
press at Chicago. 1t was stated that
the new company was organized
with unlimited capital, and that be-
fore long a branch service would be
established in every city in the
United States. The Northwest, it
appears from that statement, was
to be represented by ex-Mayor John
DeLaittre, who was to be president
of the Northwest end of the organi-
cation, j. F. R. Ross, president of
the Nicollet National bank, who was
to be secretary-treaSurer of the COM
pany for this section, and Mr.. Pills
bury, as director The two first
named gentlemen have. nothing to
say in addition to What was con-
tanned in the statement which
emanated from Chicago. Mr.. Foss
said, however, that it was a
BONA FIDE THING,
and that the people of Minneapolis
who have been grumbling over the
service of the Bell company would
soon have a chance to bestow their
patronage upon company which
would give an incomparably better
service. Mr.. Foss also said the idea
of new and better company was
the cause of much pleasure to hun
dredS of the business men Of the
city, who had called to say they
would heartily welcome any com
pany which would give better ser
vice. Mr.. DeLaittre was not dis
posed to say anything at alt about
the new company, and Mr. Pills
bury, When approached, said he was
absolutely without any information
in regard to telephone which would
interest the public. In fact, he did
not know anything upon the SUBJ
ject, anyway.
The officers of the Bell company in
Minneapolis not only are not in
formed in regard to the proposed
new company. but they do not ap-
pear to be even interested in a promo
sltion which, if based on facts, would
mean good deal to them, of course.
III the people at headquarters Of the
Bell company are at all disturbed
over the new company, they have
not communicated their apprehen-
slons In any way to any of the COM
panys men in Minneapolis. The
statement made by the new company
declared it to be the purpose of
that company to make a uniform,
rate Tor telephone service of s25. If
such promise could be carried into
effect, it would certainly
RAISE HAVOC
with the old company and it's Zoo
or 1900 subscribers in this city. The
new company would use the Hun
ming telephone. The local telephone
people say they can very easily
demonstrate that telephone service
cannot possibly be furnished for
anything like $25 a year. The cost
of special line service in Minneapolis
now is $72, with $50 for two on a
line when the distance is within a
mile, and 81 per month for business
service where there are three on a
line. For private residence service
the rate is 81 per month less for
each class of service.
The patents on the. Hunning trans
mItter, it seems, have been declared
invalid by the court, but that was
only on the particular form and not
on the principle. The result of GER
tain important litigation now pend
ing in Boston will probably have
an important bearing upon this
whole subject of telephones. A suit
was brought by the United States
against the Bell American Telephone
company to declare invalid the
Berllner patent, which is the funda-
mental patent on the transmitter
Inc case was tried before Judge
carpenter, resulting in verdict for
the government. There was an an
peal to the United States circuit
court of appeals, where the case
now is. If Judge Carpenter is sus-
tanned that will knock out the patent
on the transmitter. Then the new
company willhave a chance, although
the Bell-American company has HIM
dreds of subsidiary patents on other
features of the telephone service
switch boards, etc.
QUESTION OF PLACE.