Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-03-28
THE NATIONAL COMPANY.
Its Baltimore Representative Feels
Sure His Ordinance VIII Win.

AtS baltimore preSentaui reefs
Sure His Ordinance VIII Win.
After Council adjourned last night,
the Baltimore representative of the
National Telephone Company said:
1--WE regret the delay, but knowing
as we do that our ordinance will be
adopted we will go on with our prep
arations for putting in our telephone
system. We know our ordinance will
be adopted when it becomes fully I'M
derstood that we are about to give
Wheeling competition in the tele-
phone business, and that our only
substantial opposition is the Bell Tel
ephone Company. Had the situation
been fully understood tonight our or
dinance would have been passed.
"The ordinances of the Home Tele-
phone Company and of the Citizens
Telephone Company were fairly de-
feated in the Second Branch, but the
situation was misunderstood and the
First Branch of Council wanted to
wait till all were before that Branch.
The fact is that the Second Branch be-
ing against the two other applicants
the First Branch of Council is face to
face with a condition hat means the
adoption of our ordinance or the per-
%petuation of the Bell Telephone Com
pany's monopoly. We have been be-
fore this Council time and again for
about a year now, and know we have
the Bell Telephone Company to fight,
but the people will eventually have
competition.
eve have definite information that
the local managers of that Company
have been working for both the other
companies ordinances and saw his en-
ployes working for them on the floor
of the First Branch.
The pretense that the effort is to
get a franchise in good faith will soon
be fully understood and every man
who finds that his opposition to us Is
working to the end that the Bell mo-
nopoly is to be perpetuated, will come
to us, except the few members who
are actually in favor of the Bell Tele-
phone Company and they Will con-
rinue to masquerade as friends Of
other companies, while they are really
fighting for the Bell monopoly. .cG.
1--WE will proceed to get our contracts
for subscribers and will go on with the
effort in Council till we succeed, and
then we will promptly construct our
system.
when it is considered that the Bell
Telephone Company can well afford to
spend $4,000 a year to defeat us, it
can be seen that we have a hard fight
on hand, but we understood this when
we presented our ordinance.
"The competition will promptly COM
pei a reduction of rates that will re-
duce the receipts of the Bell Telephone
Company from $50 to 500 a day. Now
you can understand why they are
fighting hard, why it's manager is fight
ing against us and for the other two
applicants.
Il would not have you understand
that regard the members of the First
Branch, who voted against con-
sidering III ordinance tonight as be-
ing against us. Many of them wanted
to give the three ordinances a hear
ing and will be for us when they come
face to face with the question of adopt
ing our ordinance or perpetuating the
Bell monopoly. OF course that COM
pany has a few friends in the First
Branch of Council who will stick to it.
but telephone competition in Wheeling
is sure to ome
Our solicitor will go to work at
once securing subscribers for our tele-
phones"