Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1896-04-12
COMPETITION IN TELEPHONES

VIM Inevitably Lead To Increased Cost 70
the Subscribers. as well As Endless Incon-
vcnience. Delay and Annovance-It Has
Seen 10 In Other Places. and viii be So In
wheeling.
ne question Of whether or not COM
petition In the telephone business would
oe q good thing for the people of the
clty Is a matter which is nov occupying
large share OF the public attention.
ne scheme OF having competitors in
THIS business is an attractive one. at
hIs- glance. but when it is given careful
consideration 10 does not impress the
oislnterested observer as being the
ooon more superficial glance leads
one 90 believe it is.
The matter has been practically dem
onslrated i'm a number of cities and
towns, some OF them within compare
uNely short distance of Wheeling. and
tne experience there has not been who'll
ls satisfactory. In fact. il has been
very unsatisfactory, as can be pretty
conelusiveiy demonstrated in a few
words.
% start with. it may be assumed that
q Telephone Company-any Company
having plant I'm a city or town,
Vliai yes so much for the use of its in
struments. Another Company. assum-
ms 70 be- a rival. makes a public prOpo-
slloh 20 The effect that if IL is given a
-iANcnise and generally put upon terms
or equality with the old Company, it
VIII give service for so much less
tnah tne Old rates. That sounds at
trdctVe particularly 20 the casual sub
scfloer OF the old Company. who. per
enance. has a feeling that he has been
paying TOO much. without stopping 20
lulnh or excellent service and the best
~ facilities. and he becomes a sub
scrloer 90 the new concern. A cOnsid-
eIaOie numoer-we viii say One-half-
OF MS fellow subscribers 90 the old
company, follow suit. while the other
halI. encouraged by a reduction Of rates
on the part Of the old Company. to
meet the competition. remain with the
Ola concern. Now. what is the result
practically We viii assume. for the
sake or The argument that The orr ginal
rate OF the old Company was $40 per
year. The new Company makes the
rate $50, while the old Company. 90
meet the competition and hold it's bus
mess. cuts it's price 90 S25. The sub
scubing public is divided about half
and half The inevitable end u.s. that
the business or professional man TO
whose interest i- lis to Dee n telephone
communication with the largest possi-
clo uunter of people must have both
Instruments in his Office residence or
ne
against $40 1v the old method. while
he is bothered hy having tvo systems.
not connected t0 deal with. HE wants
90 consult with two men-one Is b
patron OF one system; the other o. the
second. and ne is Inconvenience.
bothered. lis time taken Up and ideas
confused. and al at q greater cost than
by The old system. where he dealt with
one COMPANY He can't simplify mat
tiers hy subscribing To- but one system
DE must have both. for half his Gus
toners. patrons and friends have one
telephone. and half the other. and what
applies ro the one man under cOnsidera-
zion applies 90 an the other users Of the
phone The inevitable result Of com
petition in this particular business is
increased cost. confusion annoyance
and bother That has been the expert
enCe of people iu every town or city
where competition has been attempt
ed. and that it viii be so here is newt
able
Another thought: Cheapness is not
MY consideration in patrOnizing a
telephone COMPANY The use Of the
latest patents the best facilities. the
most direct connections. extent of terri
tory covered and ability 10 keep mp
with the times are equally important
considerations. The Wheeling man
who wants To- talk 90 Jones. Of Pitts
burg. or Steubenville or New York. or
Chicago. on a vital matter OF business.
isn't after the Company which holds
out as an inducement a rate of $40 per
annum cheaper than the old Company.
Fe wants a Company having the best
of connections with anybody ne may
nossibly want 20 talk to- whether in
Wheeling Martin Ferry or Kalamazoo.
and ne will act in this vital business
matter upon business reasons and from
business motives. When "a man wants
to- use telephone he wants 20 use it
right away. and with the assurance ne
can instantly call mp the man he wants
TO talk with lie don't want To- stop ana
figure ON which system his friend uses
nor does ne want tC pay rate increased
from rs fo 33 per cent for the privilege
OF being mixed up with two rival tele-
phone systems. neither one of which
covers The whole ground his business
8akes him over.
Telephone rates i'm Wheeling are now
less than in former years, they win fur
Their decrease i'm the future. To is bet
ter. perchance. Co bear those often i'm
aeinarv ms we have THAN 10 fly TO
others that we know not Of
Readers should reflect upon these
Thoughts before committing themselves
TO inevitable complications and an In
creased outlay of money.
THE ACCIDENT RECORD.
Al the Riverside Works. while ar
s-- D., ..,-rr-, dor which WIS very h0r