The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1904-01-16

amendment is a vote for increased en-
ployment of labor, for increased trade
of our merchants. for your convenience
Of being able to talk to acquaintances
anywhere about the head of the lakes
without cost. It is vote for the con-
| tinuance OF first-class telephone SER
| vice at reasonable rates. It is sub
stantially vote for municipal owner
ship. Vote, yes, on the amendment.
1t will pay you to do so.
! ZENITH CITY TELEPHONE CO.
Plain Statement Of Facts,
The second circular is to all citizens in
| general. 1t Is plain and honest state
ments of facts. Read it carefully, and
p, when the time comes to vote, vote for
the amendment Support the inde-
pendent company over which we have
control ,as against the Bell, the COM
pany, when it had the opportunity,
that bled and abused the people in the
most arrogant manner:
THE telephone rates question. 1t con-
Germs you as a citizen and it concerns
you as a business man.
An important amendment to a public
! franchise is to be submitted to vote
| of the people. 1t should be decided
rightly. This can be done only by the
citizens voting intelligently. Please
allow us as business men, to talk to
you in a plain, straight forward
business manner, and kindly give what
we have to say the courtesy which a
! significant paper bearing on an import
ant public question demands. You can
fulfil your obligations as citizen on
| ly by voting intelligently. Unless you
already know all about the question,
this paper will give you additional in
formation. The impression seems to
prevail that if the Zenith City Tele-
phone Co. were out of the field a Bell
| Telephone could be had for $4,000 per
year. This is a misapprehension. Do
not be deceived. Note carefully the
following facts and figures.
Primitive Phones Driven Out.
Up to the time the Zenith City Tele-
phone Co. announced it's intention to
enter the field Duluth had only the
| old style, primitive and antiquated
outfit known as the grounded system,
| in which the cost of both construction
| and maintenance when compared to
the present Central Energy system
i Ct both companies,s WeresXery loW; To,
establish tsieph 81 dsr fhe o1d
| system single wire was run from this
exchange to the location of the tele-
phone where it passed into the ground.
| There was no return wire. In the
present system wire not only leads
| out to the telephone but returns to
| the switchboard, doubling the former
amount of outside construction. Twice
as many poles, twice as many cross
arms, twice as much wire. The elec-
| trio current for conveying the voice
! was then furnished by a battery cost
ing but few cents and located in the
| base Of the telephone. The motive
power is now furnished by Central
| Energy system, the cost of which per
| telephone is many times greater than
| that of the former system. The cost
Of the present switchboard is many
| fold greater than that of the old sys-
tenn. The expense of installing tele-
phone is now far more than double
that of the antiquated Bell system
| referred to.
Bell Company would Raise Rates.
What would be the probable cost
of telephone to you with the Zenith
| City Telephone Co. eliminated from
the field? At our coming the price of
a Bell telephone was $4,000 per year
| but since the Bell telephones is now
| furnished from a plant costing nearly
| three times as much for each tele-
phone Installed as did the primitive
outfit from which the $4,000 telephone
was furnished, in order to make the
same per cent on the investment it
| would be necessary to charge more
than twice the $4,000. Provided the
cost of labor and material were un-
| changed and the number of telephones
the same. the logical price would me-
erly be in excess of $4,000. There has,
though, been a large increase in pric-
es. In the said $4,000 era, construction
men were paid s2.00 per day or less
for ten hours. Now they are paid
$2.75 for an eight hour day. An in
crease Of 72 per cent. While not all
telephone labor has increased so large
ly, it is safe to say that there has
been an average increase of SO per
cent on all the elements entering into
the cost of furnishing telephone
Accordingly we must add so per cent
to the $4,000 making the present cost
of telephone, based upon the former
price, in excess of $4,000 per year.
While $4,000 per year may not be
high price for a telephone and actu-
ally is So yet it would not be a high
price here when compared with Bell
prices elsewhere
Cost Of Installing Phones.
The average normal cost of install
ling and operating a telephone in Du-
luth is probably greater than that of
any other city in the country. 1t
costs ten or more times as much to
set a pole in our Duluth Granite as in
the soil Of the average city The same
is true Of excavating for underground
work. We can learn OF no other city
| where so many miles of wire are re-
quired to establish an equal number
of telephones. In Minneapolis, where
you will doubtless agree. a phone
could be furnished much cheaper than
here, the price of the Bell Telephone
furnished from the antiquated ground
system, was prior to the present op-
an