The Portland daily press., 1900-01-05
TELEPHONE SERVICE.

II
Cities About Telephone
Competition.
some osjeetssns 20 the Automatic
Switching Device.
(werssstsr SPY Of July IL, ise0.)
| Businss men, real estate ownsrs in the
center OF the city aud many Others are
deeply intsrsstsd In the cotton Of the
board Of slaernen tonight on the petit
ton Of the Worcester Telephone COMPANY
for psrmission 10 srsos poles and lay con-
duits In tbs strssea
These facts are already . mattsr Of
generally knowlsase gained from the
hi story Of tbs telephone businsss'
| That when there were composing tsie-
phone companies. instead Of demanding
more composition. people have prayed TO
DO delivered from what there was.
| That compsting companies caused tsls-
phonio chaos, ana made the service poorer
instead Of bstssr.
That instead Of reducing telephone
rates they increased them, ~ business
AMI professional men were compelled to
pay for two telephones instead Of one.
That consolidation marked . new era
In the tslsphons business. which bssssred
the servioe and oheapsnsd the rstsA
That competition IL step backward
instead Of forward, and an injury to the
public instead Of . benefit
That the indspendsns companies thss
have been In existence any length OF
time are seeking consolidation or are GO
Ing out Of business because the, have
been unsbls 70 make their promises to
the public good, or carry out their own
Ideas.
That the official organ Of the indie
pendent companies. the electrical En-
cheering and Telephone Magazine, says
that independent tsisphsns rates should
be increased from 80 70 100 pr cent. be-
oauie cheap rates have neither proved
profitable to the investor nor enabled the
management to properly keep mp the
service, as the business mans necessity
requires.
Prominent oitissns continue to express
their opposition 10 another telephone
system.
samuel Il. Haywood, of the Hsywood
Boot and Shoe Company. says he does
rot favor the idea OF granting permission
for another telephone company to dig up
the streets and set poles along the high
ways Of Worcester. Mr.. Haywood thinks
there has peon enough Of this sort Of
thing already. II people are not satisfied
with the telephone service they receive,
or think that rates are too high they
should oonceatrats their energies. he says,
toward getting what they want from the
old company, rather than allow another
one to come into the field.
Mr.. Heywood's experience In Legislative
and municipal sffairA together with his
years Of business sxpsrisnce, has taught
him that 10 Is good idsa to look ahead,
and see what the outcome win BE- bsfore
taking action in q matter Of 20 Srsat Inn
portance. No one 10 certain Of what .
new company would accomplish, or
whether IL would result In any benefit to
the city, but with permission once
granted, no one GOULD say that the oon-
duits should be dug up or poles taken
down when the company failed to operate
to the satisfaction Of the city.
Mr.. Haywood oonsiders the granting Of
locations for tracks and other construo-
ton In the city streets. one Of the matters
which should b given most careful and
far-seeina consideration.
"In order to have business Of any sort
successful" said Mr.. Haywood. eft must
he on q paying bssia A company or cor
poraticn Of any SORT which 10 in broken
down condition and not making money
is cusse and menace to the comm unity.
Mir. Haywood says that II permission Is
granted for the new company TO locate In
the streets Of Worcester, and the business
does not result successfully, 1t will be one
Of the most unwise steps ever taken by
the city government. The opening OF
streets means not only Inconvenience Ia
the public while the work 10 being done.
but considerable work for months to
come. Trenches which are flied In sstile
invariably, and with ,ailes OF under
ground work, added TO that already IN
the streets, IL oan be readily scan that In.
creased work of the street department OF
the city Is an inevitable result.
II lower rates are all that 10 TO be
gained by composition. Mr.. Haywood
would favor . concentrated movement In
this direction rather than grant psrmis'
sion to q new company to tear mp The
streets in some sections and oumbsr them
In others with wires
Thomas N. Rogers fails to see the mead
Of two telephone companies IN worcs stsr,
aud ID especially DESTROYS that NO mors
poles or other distractions shall BE- placed
In the stFesta. He 10 . subscribsr. and
has teen for Q number OF ysArA 10 the
service Of ths New England company,
and considers that good service il givsr
here.
Mr.. Rogers thinks that fair rate 10
| beina CHARGED for telephones In this city.