The news & observer., 1897-02-05
THE RAILROADS SAY NOT
CLAIM THEY CANNOT OPERATE
FOR LESS.
THE CLARK BILL DISCUSSED
All Railroad Men Were Not Heard
From and the Hearing Will be
Continued This
Afternoon.

yesterday AFTERNOON 10 CoHS4ueA foehA-
tor CIarks bill providing for "a reduc-
tion in telegraph, telephone and railway
passenger charges.
Most of the time was devoted to hear
ing the representatives of the telegraph
and telephone lines-only one railroad
speech being made.
The section of the bin providing for
reduction of telephone rates was first tax
en- up. On this three speeches were maze.
Messrs. H 7. Strause and +. Y. Ioeple-
man. of Henderson, said that they were
trying to keep up a system III that town,
but that they had only 80 subscribers
and had to charge $50 year. Ihelr
employees were poorly paid, but they could
not do any better even ait the present
rate and if the bill were passed 1T would
drive them out of the business
Along much the same line were the
remarks of Mr.. C. Il. Young, OF WASH
ington, who represented the American
telegraph and Telephone Company. he
explained that the president of his COM
pany had amtended being present Out
was detained in West Virginia
Mr.. Young took the ground thaat tne
rate was now as low as 1T could De 10
allow good service. He told the commit
tee that his company was known as the
long-distance telephone company and tnat
its lines connected several Thousand
of the largest cities of the 1nateo
States, having over 12O,000 subscribers.
While the company now has no system
ian this State ii is desirous OF entering
North Carolina and IS anxious to extend
its entire system into the Souuh- It ~
their nlan. within the next two years, TO
A., xfaxsN H.
ern States. Arrangements are now De
ing made for the accomplishment of this
end. over 81 100000 being expended In
Virginia alone. =,
The rate proposed in Senator Clarks
bin is So and SIS, and il passed, Mr..
Young said, will mean that the long DIS
tance svstem which is now coming South,
will keep out of the State lie contend
od 4ha+ there was no necessity for this
bin regulating rates, as that can be done
Inv tbe Railroad Commission. 1t IS a
tribunal constituted for that purpose and
can take I'D the matter whenever 1t Is
considered necessary so to do.
The telegraph people were represented
bv Mr.. I. B. Tree division superinten-
dent Of the Western Union Telegraph
Company. He submitted the following
reasons why the bin would be burden
some and unjust:
1. That the telegraph companys tolls
at present are only sufficient to produce
q fair profit on the value OF ITS plant
IN North CaroEna-6 per cent.
2. That the proposed reduction would
NOT only result I'm the entire loss OF such
profit as is now received but would create
an actual cash deficit of $6,777 annually.
2. That the records of the company
show that the cost Of sending a message
is about 241b cents, or 911a cents more than
the rate proposed IN the bill.
He said that tolls on messages 10 TINS
Statef or the past year were S0O,6ZO,OoOi
maintenance of its Lines and offices $751;
149-leaying am apparent net dncome or
profit of S13, 40. The company rs There
fore earning only 6 per cent and THAT une
40 per cent reduction proposed an the Dill
means a decrease in receipts or S2U,z4o.
Mai. Wilson spoke in behalf Of what
the railroad Commission had done
When he came into Office, he said, wnen
Won went to a telegraph Office you just
had to pay whatever the office cared 70
charge There was no uniform rate and
no rate less than 40 cents. The telegraph
officials were summoned here and -
cent crate was established.
The matter was then carried into the
courts and the law is now being enforced.
and any message originating IN North
Carolina and ending in North Carolina,
no matter where it has to go TO get to
it's destination, must be sent for % cents
In regard to the telephone matter, he
said he knew very little about 1t, and
All the towns having systems had petit
toned to let the rate alone, and the
Commission had done SO. The people
eaamed 70 be satisfied and the Railroad
Commission did not interfere. lie sald
tbere had not been a complaint made
against the telegraph or telephone COM
many asking for reduction OF rates.
If so the matter would have been lnyes-
Commission, since frequent reference
had been made to the Commission IN the
discussion of the bill
Mai. Wilson, in closing, eXpiaineo
that he had this much in justice TO him.
self and his associates on the hallroau
Commission.
Judge Henderson, Of Washington,
general coansel for the Southern Raii-
way. was fhe first to address the COM
mittee in regard to the provisions OF the
bin touching railroads. He asked per
mission to Introduce one or two witness
Is. The hrst OF 4hese was dT. w W :
Finley, second vise-president OF the
Southern Railway Mr.. Finley SAID ne
had charge Of the operation Of the road
and explained the difficulty in adjusting
rates for RAILROADS. He said railroad
was entirely dependent upon the returns
from its operations for money to meet
it's current expenses.
In the West the rate is 5 cents per
mile, until you get to Minnesota, where
it is cents permile. But development
Of these States has not been fully ac-
complished, and there ought to be co
operation with the railroads in their ef-
forts to develop the country and en-
courage immigration. A railroad is
xinlply A. wealth distributor 1t has no
money for investment. They have
hundred ways in which they have to
nay out the money that they receive in
abe way of rates-new equipments, cost
lx lifi0ations new lines damages etc