The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1897-05-28
An Appeal to Thinking Wen.
EDITOR HERALD

consider, from a business standpoint,
which of the two companies he shall
assist in the war now being waged
between the Bell and the Citizens
Company, there would be few to de-
eide against the Citizens.
Because, first, it is, in the long
run, the cheaper, and always must
be so.
Because, second, this is fight be-
tween the people on one side, whose
only capital is cooperation, and a
monopoly on the other side, whose
capital consists of millions on top of
millions of dollars, most of which
has been eXtorted from the people
by eXOrbitant charges, and who will
continue to eXtOrt that same tribute
in the future, should 1t succeed in
crushing out competition.
The formation of the Citizens
Company is due alone to the fact
that the Bell Company was oppress-
ing the people by excessive charges,
and were refusing to extend its lines
into communities entitled to tele-
phone facilities, except upon condi-
tiOns so burdensome as to practi-
cally exclude the possibility of a
telephone.
Consequently a few citizens band
ed themselves together for the pur-
pose of operating a telephone system
at the lowest possible cost to its sub
scribers; about IS persons began
this enterprise, but within the short
period of ten months they have
grown to over 200, and have con-
tracts with considerable number
of more persons to enter said COM
pany in the near future.
1t has practically covered the
town and, with a few exceptions,
the county, and the money is now
raised or nearly so to extend it to
all points not now covered.
1t has saved to the citizens of the
county many thousands Of dollars
in less than one year, and has given
telephone facilities to almost three
times as many people as formerly
enjoyed such under the regime of the
Bell Co., and that, too, at a cost of
less than one third the price.
The actual cost of service is all
that the Citizens Company collect
or can collect under its constitution.
No dividends can ever be declared
on its stock, and no monopoly can
ever buy or own it's stock. 1t can
never be profitable or possible for
any designing person, or corpora
ton, to buy up its stock and operate
it for profit, for its stock can never
bear dividend. The Citizens
Company is purely a cooperative
concern, and fixes the rate to be
charged its subscribers and every
member has an equal voice in fixing
said rate, and no rate can ever be
fixed which is greater than the act
ual operating expenses.
The Bell Co., on the other hand
is a corporation, organized for profit,
and in fixing it's rate necessarily
takes into consideration the amount
of money invested and the amount
of stock upon which it must declare
dividends, over and above the act
ual cost of operating the system. So
| long as it had no competitor the
amount of dividends it declared was
limited alone by the greed of the
monopoly and the amount which
it could eXtort from it's subscribers
without absolutely driving them
away. The Bell Co.'S motto is few
phones and high price. The Citi-
zens' motto, is many phones and
low prices.
Now so far as the actual cost of
operating a telephone system is con-
cerned, the Citizens Company can
operate it as cheaply as the Bell
Co., and as it has no interest to pay
on the money invested and no divi-
dends to pay on its stock the ulti-
mate result must be that the cost of
the Citizens Company to its sub
scribers will be less than the cost oil
the Bell Co., to its subscribers.
Furthermore it is fact that the
Bell Co.'S stock has been watered &c
forty times its original par value
and hence it must earn dividend
forty times as great as the amount
necessary to pay dividend on Its
original stock. This money has
been and must continue to be eXtort
ed from it's subscribers, and this toe
in excess of the amount necessary
to pay the actual running expenses
Therefore, should we be forced to
use the Bell Co., system, we must
pay, not only the running expenses,
but also enough more to pay a divi'
den on forty times the actual cost OF
the plant.
But the Bell Co., now proposes tC
furnish service for 50 cents pei
month. What is this done for? How
long will this last?
1t is acknowledged by the repre-
sentative of the Bell Co., who il
here from n. Y, that in running al
80 cts. per month the company Is
running at loss. Why then is il
running at a loss? The answer il
easy. Because it has a competitor
in the field; because it desires to ge
all the business away from this com
petitor, and thus force this com
petitor to abandon the business. NJ
proposition could be palmer.
After it has succeeded in driving
its competitor out of the field, will il
continue to charge only 80 cts. pei
month? Nay, verify! 1t will thel
make up all it has lost during tn,
time it has been forced to run at q
cut rate. 1t will then with tn,
avidity of monopoly, suck the life
blood of its victims.
But some one says it proposes t.
make five-year contracts at 90 cts
per month.
In the first place, we do not believ
/ that its agents are legally authorizes