The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-01-26
THE TELEPHONE IN DETROIT.

Comments on the Recent Consolidation.
 After four years experiment. with two telephone exchanges in Detroit, Michigan, subscribers using 5000 tele- phones, addressed a petition to Presi- dent Glidden of the Michigan Bell Tel fphone company and President Flower pf the Detroit Independent Telephone company, of which the following is an abstract: The undersigned telephone subscribers of Detroit respectfully pe- tition that you will use your influence to bring about as speedily as possible B consolidation of the exchanges of the Detroit Telephone company with the exchanges of the Michigan Telephone company by which we should have a rapidly growing exchange system of at least 12,000 subscribers and uniform service at much lower rate than we are now paying for two telephones which we are obliged to maintain to reach Ill subscribers.
 The desired consolidation took place.
 The following are comments of Detroit newspapers: "The consolidation of the two local telephone companies was hardly unexpected. It has been inevit- able ever since the organization of the competing company and it was only question of time when the two con- germs would be succeeded by a single company However beautiful it may be In theory, competition ill the telephone business is not satisfactory either to the stockholders of the rival companies pr to their patrons. Whatever is gain ed by decrease in rentals is more than compensated for by the inconvenience of the two systems and the necessity of patronizing both exchanges in order to secure satisfactory service or rourse somebody must pay for the ma terial that is made worthless by the consolidation of the two concerns and that somebody will be the innocent sub- ycriber. The Michigan company is free 10 charge whatever it will for It's ser vices, but something may safely be left 10 the business intelligence of the otfi- |ers, there is nothing permanent to be rained through competition; in this lase there will be few mourners outside of the minority stockholders. It is proper enough to sympathize with them In their sorrows. ."-Detroit Tribune.
 "No city is big enough for two per- manent competing telephone systems, Ind that one of the local concerns should absorb the other was as inevit- able from the beginning as sunrise and sunset It is all very fine to theorize about competition in respect to tele- phone service must be as unsatisfacto- ry to the customers as it is unprofitable to the companies. Telephone service Is one of those natural monopolies, created by the very force of circum- stances. There can be competition in Telegraph service, in the express busi- hess and with certain limitations in the railroad business, but competition in telephone service means great deal of annoyance, if not increased expenses to The user, if he tries to secure as efficient ! service through two companies as he sould secure through one There is respectable part of this property that now represents only an investment in rdead horses" and it is too much to suppose that the company will simply charge off it's value. In time the worthless property will all be paid for by the patrons of the company.
 Out of the consolidation, however they will ultimately obtain many ad- yantages that are not to be lost sight | of Business and professional men will I no longer be taxed for two telephones. Journal.