The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-04-27
JOHN W. ALLING'S ARGUMENT
IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION
FOE THE INCORPORATION

FOE THE INCORPORATION
OF the Boston and New York Telcphon
COmpany-Reason Advanced VIII!
the Charter should Not be Granted.
The petitioners in this case constitute
a group of few men who think to ac
complish the modest undertaking of es
tablishing, throughout Massachusetts
and Connecticut, a telephone system
equal in service and efficiency to thai
of the telephone companies now in these
states, and at a cost of about one-hall
the present rates of telephone service
They also propose to establish, through
these two states, and from the city OF
New York to Boston, long distance
| telephone service.
The telephone company now occupy.
ing the state of Massachusetts is the
New England Telephone and Telegraph
| company, whose capital stock, now is
sued, is $11 ,986400. 1t is paying regular
dividends at six per cent. and selling in
the Boston markets at about 100. 1t
has outstanding about three millions of
bonds.
The capital stock Of the Southern New
England Telephone company is $780,
900, with bonded Indebtedness of $780,
900. The stock of the Southern New
England Telephone company is now pay
ing six per cent dividends, and selling
on the market at 120.
The project of this group of men
comes into direct competition with the
American Telegraph sand Telephone
company, which is the lbng distance tel
ephone company of the United States,
and has a capital stock of $4,000, 900,
and with the Metropolitan Telephone
company of the city of New York, the
amount of whose stock do not know.
In an undertaking so modest as that
proposed by this group of men, we
should expect to find reasonable assur-
ance of great experience and knowledge
of the telephone business, and of ample
capital to accomplish the proposed un-
dertakinG.
THIS COMMITTEE WILL BE NO
PARTY TO ANY SCHEME, WHICH
LOOKS SIMPLY TO A PROFIT TO
BE OBTAINED BY MAKING 1T AN
OBJECT FOR INVESTED CAPITAL,
TO BUY OUT THE PROPOSED EN-
TERPRISE.
The men who constitute this group
are as follows: zephaniah Swift Hol-
brook, Charles e. Adams r. j, Temple,
f. A. Cutting and Francis w. Breed.
These five men, as is said, subscribed
and paid for the stock of the Massachu-
sets Telegraph and Telephone company,
$4,000 in amount.
Mr. Holbrook was five years in Yale
college, but did not graduate; before
and after his college experience he was
in the furniture business in Chicago.
After that he was connected with some
branch of business related to the Ar
mour Packing company. After that he
was for one year the executive officer
of a league Of citizens Of Chicago, en-
gagged in defending their rights as
against bad municipal government, and
then he came to Boston, Mass. In Chi
cago also he occupied the honorable but
not very laborious position of vice pres
ident of bank. He is the president of
a small, cheap, Independent telephone
at Muncie, Indiana, whose
rates of service are rs to so cents per
week. He is not put forward as a man
Of capital, Doubtless he is a very cred
liable gentleman. He seems to be the
leading spirit, outside of Simon Borg e
Co., of the promoters of this enterprise
He disclaims having much personal
experience and knowledge of the tele-
phone business. He has busted himself
in collecting. what he says,
Are the statistics of the bitter struggle
going on in the west between the So
jailed Independent telephone companies
md the Bell companies, and if he is
correct in his facts, he demonstrates |
hat there is an intense life and death |
struggle in the west between the indie
pendent telephone companies and the
Bell companies, and he admits that the
lgo; and while he is sanguine that the
ltlGpilOlt COlllpduleS Will
lefeat the Bell companies, yet it is APP
,arently clear from his own statements
hat the net results of the fight will be
hat the public will pay interest and
dividends on the combined capital of |
he two contestants, or else one or the
ther will get destroyed
Francis w. Breed, as he says, was
nee in the shoe business, and is now
etired from it, He does not claim ever
0 have had any telephone experience
f any nature or description.
Charles E. Adams is put forward as
aving had some telephone experience,
nd we find that he was a director in
THAT was called the Southwestern Tele-
hone company, the Northwestern Tele-
hone company and in the Erie Tele-
raph and Telephone company.
The Erie Telegraph and Telephone
ompany is an operating company which
as operated and still operates both the
outhwestern and Northwestern, so
hat, though the companies are three,
1ere is only one unit of service.
Mr.. Adams was unable to state, in
capital stock in each OF those COM
anies was cash and how much was {
ater and we find upon inquiry that
is holdings in each company are not
yer twenty-five shares. Clearly he is
ut forward under extravagant repre- {
xNf1+a 10.