The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1897-06-11

Bell formerly wanted to charge him
81 for the use Of one phone; and
now over his one phone at 81 per
month, he could talk to three times
as many people as he could over the
Bells phone at $4 The Citizens
costs only One-fOurth as much, and
gives three times better service. Mr..
Padgett spoke also of his recent
visit to Chicago, where he attended
a large meeting of people interested
in Independent telephone lines; he
spoke of the enthusiasm of that
meeting, and of the widespread and
growing dissatisfaction with the
Bell monopoly, and prophesied that
the days of the telephone monopoly
were numbered.
The crowd was enthused with the
subject, and several others were
called for and made good talks, but
it would lengthen this article too
much to repeat them.
Mr.. A. f. Brown told of his unhap-
Ply experience with the Bell, and the
pleasant change to the Citizens, in
an entertaining manner.
DR.. Robt. Pillow made a few peril
nent remarks as to the workings of
the Citizens Company, of which he
is President, saying that the Com
pany itself had an option on all the
stock, and that it could not be
bought up or sold out by any in
dividual or any number of individu-
ais. He was asked how much he
and Mr.. H. o. Fulton, as Secretary,
received in the way of salary; and
confessed to the enormous sum of
nothing; saying that it was purely a
work of love, and that Mr.. Fulton,
especially, had done great deal of
that sort of work.
Mr.. John Cecil, of the Lipscomb
neighborhood, made sensible talk,
telling the difficulties they had with
the Bell, and the unreasonable de-
mands made upon them before COM
petition had sprung up; then they
became suddenly and marvellously
clever; but his people were not to be
caught by their cleverness or
"cheap" rates.
Mr.. r. Gooch answered to a call,
and made a rip-roaring, rousing
good talk. He told of his suspicious
about the Citizens Company when
it was first organized; how he
thought it was puny thing that
would soon die out, but how his at
tention was attracted and his inter.
est aroused by several articles that
had appeared in the Columbia HER
AID, until he began to study the
situation more closely, and had be-
come convinced that it was not
only the duty of every patriotic
citizen of Maury, but the interest of
every farmer, to stand by the home
enterprise and give the Citizens
Company their influence and sup
port.
James A. Smiser, Esq, followed
Mr.. Gooch, with one of the clearest,
strongest arguments of the day, and
we regret that the occasion was SO
crowded with good things that some
must be left out.
Mr.. John B. Ashton, of Ashton
Bros, the millers, responded to a
call, and was loudly applauded
when he announced that he had or.
dered the Bell out of his mill, and
ordered it to stay out for good and
forever. He had used the Bel
phone ever since the service begar
in Columbia, and had perhaps been
fleeced by them as long as anybody
He had continued to use it even
since the home company started
because his business demanded it
But now that the Citizens haC
reached point where he could pos
sibly do without the Bell, though al
some sacrifice of convenience anC
perhaps some loss of money, he haC
determined to make that sacrifict
and sustain that loss, in order t
give all OF his patronage and what
ever. influence he.might have, to tn,
upbuilding of home enterprise.
DR.. Otey Porter, who was perhaps
the first Independent telephone
pioneer in Maury County, was call
ed for, but declined to talk, on tn
ground that enough had been al
ready said, and that the business o
the meeting should be proceeded
with.
On motion of Mr.. Smiser, Mr.. w
B. Greenlaw was made Secretary o
the Central Committee, and tn,
Secretary and Chairman were in
struct ed to proceed to further or
ganize the committee by appointin
members from the several civil dis
tricts in the county.
On motion the meeting then ad
iOurned, having proven yer
enjoyable as we'll as profitable on
for the Citizens cause.