The Saint Paul globe., 1904-12-29
eETTINe Rid OF THE Tolls

GETTING RID OF THE TOLLS
The statement of the managers Of
| the local telephone companies cannot
be regarded as final. 1t is just as GER
! tain as any future event can be that
the long distance charge for telephone
service within the metropolitan area
including st. Paul and Minneapolis will
be removed. This may come about in
one of many ways. 1t may result from
municipal or legislative action. 1t may
| come through the introduction of a new
company into the field, or it may re-
suit from the voluntary act of the con-
Germs now doing business here. What
ever the method of the arrival, we
consider the conclusion as fixed. T h e
| G / o b e has exerted and will continue
to exert its efforts to bring it about in
what it considers to be the most de-
sirable way.
| That way is by an. address to the
business sense and sound business in
terest of the companies themselves.
| Nothing could be better for them than
to make this move voluntarily We
have already pointed out the fact,
which can hardly be denied by any in
telligent person. that the removal of
the long distance tolls from this serv-
ice would be followed by such an in
| crease of business as would establish
any company in business and in big
| profits for many years to come. On
the basis of this condition the list of
telephone subscribers might be imme-
diately heightened until it should tax
| the facilities of the company to supply
them. This sound business sense can
not afford to disregard. We appre-
ciate the fact that move so impor-
tant requires time and consideration.
We are, therefore, by no means with
out hope that the management of one
or both of these companies will pres
emily approve the plan and order the
change.
This would be immensely better than
the organization of any new company.
The multiplication of telephone COM
panies is not to be desired, and the
field is already amply occupied. Not
withstanding this, there is little doubt
that if both the old companies should
stand obstinately upon the present
system and no legal means of change
should be discovered, then the stress
of competition itself would not leave
| SO fine an opportunity vacant. Another
| company would be found to step into
| the field with uniform service for the
| Twin City district. Long before this
should be done, however, it would
probably be found feasible to secure
| the desired freedom of communication
within the two cities by legal means.
Acting strictly within the terms of a
franchise it is generally possible to
persuade corporations, that are always
in need of some additional privilege
and generally exercising powers and
rights beyond those actually conferred
upon them by law, to give to the pub
lie those reasonable Improvements that
it desires. A way in this direction can
doubtless be found.
Let it be thoroughly understood that
there is no disposition to quarrel with
any company for permitting free serv-
ice in the Midway district to the users
of phones. Nobody wishes to have that
privilege cut off. These cases have
simply illustrated in a practical way
the logic of the situation. That logic
demands not a restriction of privileges
now allowed, but their general extern
sion over the whole local field. The
Midway situation is in point only as it
demonstrates the absurdity Of any long
distance charge anywhere between any
two portions or stations of St. Paul and
Minneapolis, and demands the consoli-
dation of the two cities under one sys-
tenn of exchanges. Fhis is what viii be
brought about: and we still hope to see
it done and believe that it can be done
through the willing agency of the COM
panies themselves, to whose self-inter-
est, if they only understand it, it 50
| strongly appeals.
| The attempt to substitute the chest