El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1900-01-17
GETTING LOCAL CAPITAL
Interested And Hoping To
Make the Enterprise a
Purely Home In
stitution.

| The ordinance submitted to the city
council at its meeting last Thursday
night, granting Frank B. McElroy, r.
| A. Brett and their associates, to be
hereafter incorporated as the Ell Paso
Mutual Telephone company, q thirty
year franchise and permission to erect
poles and run wires through the
streets and alleys of the city, was with
drawn yesterday afternoon by r. A.
Brett, the head of the company.
The ordinance was sprung upon the
council last week without warning. 1t
was handed in to City Clerk Catlin
late Thursday evening and read before
the council. The council referred it
to the ordinance committee, of which
Alderman Ogden is chairman.
Nobody seems to know exactly who
composed the company or anything
about it. After q long search a HER
AID reporter found Mr.. Brett yester-
day evening at a boarding house on
North Ell Paso street.
Mr.. Brett is an old telephone man.
His credentials are excellent. he
showed the reporter a letter from
Governor Pingree, of Michigan, which
stated that 80, 900 telephones put in by
Mr.. Brett in the state of Michigan, are
now in operation successfully. Gov
ernor Pingree thanks Mr.. Brett warm
ly for reducing the price materially.
Another letter is from the city treas
urer of Detroit, who states that $500
telephones put in by the company with
Mr.. Brett organized in that city are
now in successful operation and that
rates have been greatly reduced and
the service improved.
Mr.. Brett stated that he came to Ell
Paso about two months ago. He was
asked by Mr.. McElroy and others for
his opinion of the feasibility of putting
a raw telephone system in this oity.
After looking over the field he decided
pany, and that by organizing an in
dependent company and putting in q
new system the service could be great
ly improved. He said that he did not
come here with the intention of organ
izing new telephone company. He
has been i'll for the past six years and
has not been actively in the telephone
business for some time. The letters
mentioned and others which he has in
his possession chow that he has put in
telephone systems in many cities.
Mr.. Brett said that the city had been
partly cenvassed for subscribers to a
new service provided it is put in and
that nearly 300 persons have already
subscribed. 1t Is necessary, he said,
to have as many subscribers as the old
company before putting in a competing
plant. These have already been Sc
cured, however, and no further trouble
is anticipated On that score. Mr..
Brett thinks many more subscribers
will be added to the list before the sys-
TEN is completed.
1t is Mr.. Brest's purpos to have the
stock subscribed by local citizens, pre-
there would be absolutely no difficulty to
secure all the money necessary for put
ting in and equipping a telephone
plsnt. He has already received inqui-
ries, he said, from outside parties ask
ing for stock. Telephone stock, he
said, is scarce and hard to get. 1t is
desirable stock and many capitalists
want it. It is the best, however, for
all concerned. he said, that as much of
the stock be subscribed locally rs Dos
sible, and divided among as many diff
ferent people as possible. Local peo-
pc will be asked to subscribe to the
stock in small amounts, perhaps 800
esch. 1t is Mr.. Brett's idea to make
the company purely local institution.
on Thursday night, petition will be
offered by Mr.. Brett, in lieu of the or
dinance which was Withdrawn yester-
Gay. asking for franchise and setting
forth the provisions to be incorpor ated
in tne franchise. The maximum rates
thar the company can charge are to be
fixed, it is understood, a. $50 for bust
ness houses aad $40 for residences, per
year. The city is to be given the use
OF five telephones free of cost. The
franchise is to bind the company to
begin work within a fixed time, sixty
or ninety days, and to leave the plant
completed and in operation within IA
fixed time.
Mr.. Brett says the system can be in