Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1903-01-01

phone that they should not be requir-
ed to pay more than is necessary for
good maintenance and good service
with a fair profit to those who have in
vested their money in the telephone
system. This equality can only be
accomplished by the sliding scale of
rates. If cost of future maintenance
was always known, it would BE an
easy matter to incorporate rates in
telephone franchises. But as this is
not the case, it remains a question
whether or no it is wise to do so. l
am of the opinion that there wial be
no difficulty along this line ii Itele-
phone companies will do a faiItaand
honorable business and make Their
rates proportionate to the serviceE rem
dered, with fair dividend for money
invested. BY maintaining reasonable
charges, there would be no danger OF
competition, unless it should bye by
some one trying to break weaker
! company, in order to obtain entire con-
troll and produce monopoly in such
| manner as to exclude others forever,
and then return to the prices charged
during the life of the fundamental tel
| ephone patent.
What the sliding scale of rates
should be, necessarily varies with the
/ conditions under which the company
must operate. In small companies,
where ii is not necessary to use tall
| poles or aerial cable, or conduit work,
| placing the cables and wires UNDER
ground the rate can be less than in
cities where all this is required. But
no company can do business more
successfully under the most favorable
conditions in an exchange not to ex'
| coed 500 at rate averaging less than
] $1.50 per month, for all telephones.
This is usually accomplished by charg-
| ing 81 for residence phones, and 81
I for business telephones. Above that
number, it will be necessary to adj
vance the rate certain small per
centage as the number of subscribers
is increased.
4 What Other Companies Say.
| A number of telephone companies in
the state of Iowa have been asked IT,
in their experience, they found the av-
erage cost of operating, including
. all expenses per instrument, increased
J or diminished with the number of tel
: ephones installed, and what would be
the number approximately at which q
So rate for business, and 81 rate fol
residence on full-metallic system
would be profitable.
, The manager of the Des Moines Mu
J tual Telephone Company placed the
number at 400 or 500. The Waterloo
Telephone Company, DR.. Bennett, man
ager, placed the number at 400 or 500
The Fort Dodge Telephone Compan.
made the maximum number at 500
The Home Telephone Company Of Os
: kaloosa, at $50. In Iowa City citizens
committee was appointed by the Com
mercial club to investigate the pro
posed increase of rates by the John
son County Telephone Company Afte
thoroughly investigating they report
E ed that it was improbable for thu
company to do business at a 81 and
> So rate with six hundred telephones il
i operation, one-half of which were bus
r mess telephones and the other hal
> residence telephones. The member
! of this committee publicly announces
t that they were opposed to raise o
j. telephone rates when they were frs
e placed upon the committee. But, afte
s their investigation, they were con
/, WINGED of the necessity of raising tn
e rate to $150 and $3.50 until the nun
a Der reached 1000 subscribers; there
t after, 25 cents additional; same rat
!, to be maintained until the humble
d reached 1900, when another rs cent
) should be added. This is fair conces