The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-10-01

I line ID ADDITION W CANh"HANN =" " '''
Ter of towns, In the towns of Durham
and Winston they had about Sl2,ooo III
vested There are other exchanges u
Goldshoro and Wilmington. The rat
is S34 and S24 bringing in an income o
about $1,000 a ytal.
Mr.. Carr didn't know exactly wha
the cost of running his line was pc
'phone-as much moGcy had been sreh
in experimenting.
What salary does your presldeh
getY asked s nator Daniel.
The good viii of the people" replie'
Mr.. Carr.
suppose YOU paid your officers th,
usual salary. would You still make mon
ey?"
I'VE would"
when did your company first make
money!"
1T was year old before it paic
anything"
! Mr.. Carr explained that he was no.
posted in the details of his company
| business, but as to its general manage
ment and financial condition he was
| posted.
His company, he said, was making
about Is per cent. profit, but his reports
show this, because new phones are daily
being bought and new lies built. All
the profits are being put into new ma
terial Our business increases every
month. We can put aside 10 per cent
as u reserve fund and still pay per
cent. on the investment.
Have you made as much as $1,000
net profit since March 31st, 1872
hox
We have made a profit at each exchange
At Durham alone, i think, we have
made 1900 or $500"
what interest have you in this COM
pany that you are serving it for moth
ing?'
Il own about one-fourth of the stock.
and am to be paid a salary as soon as
its business will justify"
Mr.. Carr stated that the Bell Com
pany had tried to buy out his company,
but that he had refused to sell. Mr..
Mcclure, of the Bell Company had ap-
preached him on the subject.
Besides the other expenses of my COM
pany. we have charged up to profit and
loss about $4,000 worth of Harrison
phones bought by me, but afterwards
found to be worthless.
"We have considerably more than
100000 invested expended in the tele
phone business. All the earnings in
North Carolina have been re-invested in
new lines and equipments"
when did you begin to earn Is per
cent?
THE statement made to the board of
directors ON July LIST. | think we are
earning more than Is per cent to-day"
Mr.. Carr said his largest exchange was
at Winston. where he has 260 subscrib-
ers. The next largest exchange is at
Durham The Durham exchange pays
best. the one at Winston would pay best
excent for the fact that we have tried
to meet one of the Bells cuts.
$50 you've been trying to under cut
the Pell company?'
"No. couldn't do that. The Bell
Company gives its service free, and |
can't get below nothing without throw
ing in a premium. We are not in the
hanit of giving chrome with our
phones"
what percentage with reference to
the value of a plant is required to keep
a phone in repairY
Judging from my experience with the
Pnu it costs nothing-except little
sal:moniac occasionally. They never paid
any attention to the one they had in my
office for three or four years"
"What has been your net profit at Dur
ham?"
"Never less than 10 per cent on the
S11 900 invested"
On cross-examination Mr.. Carr said
his company had made money in spite
of the fact that it had made two very
costly mistakes in purchasing "phones.
One Of these cost about $4,000. The
1S per cent is calculated on the whole
amount Of capital invested in North Car
olina.
The Bell Company. Mr.. Carr said,
didn't charge for telephones in Durham,
yet the people pay the regular rate for
the Interstate service. In Winston and
Wilmington the Bell Company charges
from nothing up-anythiDg they can get.
DIR. Abbott: fare you willing to take
the exchange at Asheville and furnish a
service equal to that furnished by the
Bell CompanyT'
''We'll give them n better service. sir.
And what is more, | hear that the Bell
Company says it will have to leave the
State, if the low rates are kept in force.
l come to-day prepared to say that we
will buy out the Bells exchanges, in
places where there is no competition,
and pay them fair price for them
very much more than they now list them
for taxation"
This concluded Mr.. Carr's testimony.
Gen. John p. Meaney was the next
witness. He testified that the amount
charged at Asheville and elsewhere was
never for the purpose of making up loss
es by competition at other places. Each
exchange has to live and die by itself.
The system Of conducting the business
at Ashevile is the same that it was
seven and a half years ago, when the
exchange was opened. At no time has
the company made more than fair
profit.
''What has been the profit on the in
vestment at Asheville?"
''T'here has been an average profit OF
IL per cent for the seven and half
years it has been in existence. 1t would
require 20 or so per cent of the value