Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1901-05-09
WIDENING FAME,
Judge Gaynor Is Quoted al Length in The
Review of Reviews


AS a means of escape from the
eXtortionS of the telephone companies
in our smaller cities and villages some
form of public ownership is often
advocated. An experiment in this
direction that deserves attention has
been made by the Wisconsin cities of
Grand Rapids. Merrill, Wausau. and
MarShfield. The smallest of these
places has population Of 1850, and
the largest 1900.
The wisconsin Valley plan" of
telephone ownership and control is
as an ordinary private
corporation under the State laws. AS
described by Judge John A. Gayn0r, of
Grand Rapids, in the Municipality, a
little bi-monUhly journal published at
Madison by the League of Wisconsin
municipalities, this system is strictly
cooperative undertaking.
From the first it was assumed that
it would cost about $50 a phone to
install a good exchange. This is
nearly true, whether the exchange
requires 90 to 500 phones, and on this
estimate the capital stock was divided
iutO shares Of $50 each, and the
amount of the capital stock fixed
according to the requirements of the
plant at So, 900 subsequently increased
to S15,000
The first peculiar provision in the
articles is that the corporation can
sell its stock only to such persons as
rent it's service, and the renter can
buy as many shares Of stock as he
rents phones, and no more: whenever
the StOckhOlder ceases to rent as many
phones as he holds shares, the COM
pany reserves the right to call in and
cancel his excess Of stock and refund
to him its par value.
2. The company, also, binds itself to
regulate its capital stock so that every
renter Of its service shall have the
right to purchase at par as many
shares of stock as he rents telephones
Of the company.
3 3. The company shall 50 regulate it's
monthly charges that it is able to pay,
and will, to its stockholders dividend
or at least per cent. a month, to be
credited to each StOckholder on his
monthly rental
These are the essential features in
which the Wisconsin Valley plan diff
fers from the plan of the ordinary
telephone corporation, now common
throughout Wisconsin; and it is
through these provisions that it's
mutual character is secured and its
purpose turned from making money TO
giving good service.
A SAVING OF 624 PER CENT. ON ''BUsI-
NESS RATES.
At Grand Rapids we charge rental
of 1925 per month for business and 81
for residence, and we declare monthly
dividend OF Il per cent. rs cents,)
which is credited to the rental account
of each StOckhOlder; SO the stakeholder
actually gets his business phone for
S1.5O and his residence phone for %
cents per month"
While the plan of organization
followed in the four cities is subStan-
TALLY the same, there are local differ
ences in the proportion of stock sold,
in the rates charged. and in the
dividends declared. In three Of the
four cities, when the local companies
were organized, the Wisconsin Tele-
phone Company was in full possession,
charging $4 month for business and
S3 for residence service. This COM
pany, as soon as the cooperative
company was ready to give telephone
service, offered to give free service for
term Of three years to retain
patronage. Such competition as this
must have been hard to meet, but the
cooperative scheme triumphed within
few weeks, Judge Gaynor states
through appeals to local PATRIOTISM.
The movement has been completely
successful.
In a recent letter to the REVIEW OF
REVIEWS, Supplementing the infOrma
tion given in his Municipality article.
Judge GaynOr states that the number
of telephones in the Grand Rapids
exchange at the outset was about 70.
and that it is now 300. At the present
rate of increase the capital stock will
soon have to be increased to $4,000
About 70 per cent. of the users of the
telephone service are stockholders.
There has also been organized at
Grand Rapids mutual electric light
company on the same plan, each share
of stock representing one incandeScent
light rented by the patron and having
par value of $40. One arc light is
regarded as equivalent to 10 incan-
descents for the purpose of selling anG
holding stock. A system of water
service is about to be installed Oh
similar conditions.