Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1904-11-22
BUSINESS MEN AND
PHONE TROUBLES.
u..,I,c at Commercial Club Last
y,obt Brings Out Some
Facts
N DECISION WAS ARRIVED At.
,,,,,.r Committee Appointed to la
,,.loate still Further Prior to
Taking Any Steps

hundred business and profes-
W., mem met last night in the par
~, so.'' a, me Commercial club to discuss
NJ ~. moposel changes In telephone
w. Tbs subcommittee appointed 10
,'',, an m, same after Investigation
N gorss ihe number Of business phones
, .as residence phones in use by each
.- .,ooy IN this city and the rates
|" no same. 1t reported that the Bel
" .n,ry has Ni straight line phones,
g a,, .obmr.bers on party lines ana
" ....o orotbar classification as against
,.,, straight line business telephones
-w residence phones for the lnae-
D'u l,rcony. General Manager
,r,r,a, of the Bell company was
u :. wv" snd stated that he did not care
pl''g, mo any discussion az TO lhs
sl'5 ,rged by his company but salu
Hlgs ~ M. statements presented py
W .r.s,ig,tlng committee were IN
lN' "a soid Ms company hod NoN'
ntR5t3 ,ity subscribers classl-
sJ os follows Paying S6o ana oN ,,I5
gq VA TO 3d. 53 S5O 70 gov ooi "a
4. 0o 1910. Si2 to SIS SSsi W. wv
W. Murray said the rates were 9asea
Nl ,mount Of service rendered,
on Wv ,.on Who uses his phone 80 tlnles
i 1,y should pay more than the man
uR 9, vses Me 'phone twice a day
rHD xxx r9ia for unlimited service
s' ana me slS for unlimited ser
- Orrsdsnee 'oh0nes are based on the
,ompanys experience IN other v'I i,,,
Tb g experience shows that party luiS
aro me- only thing that VIII peIult
s..nSnlpr rites. The company mas
W. c1 telephones IN residences III
n tote CIV. almost one for every
r'sidepcss and the rates IN Ihla
s.o low There is hardly a CITY
,bo country that has as low rates,
r. ,,rtv limos service was inausurateu
,r.scb the many who can not ailOId 10
W. an unlimited service ana mus
make mo service more valuable 70 w
hpsIness men who were paying the
Mn rates. There was no cohplu'nt
KIM n competing company gave
nance for iault-hndlng'
Then Managing Director u. D. Jones
INA I'tah independent company TOOK
N, inrn al The bat. He reviewed the
,lianhone situation IN this country ana
N canada and alleged that for every
,a nad the Bell Telephone company
W6fn had 10 be sent to the American
Rel Telephone company OF Boston, a.
M that Il was compelled to buy us
v'p OF supply house owned
h, ihA American company In en-,
1m Consequently Il was forced
IA charge exhorbltant rates 10
even NO. Mr.. Jones read printed state
msrts from various electrical papers 70
show that IN every state In the Union
except Utah and Nevada there were
thrte or more Independent companies,
AMI since 1893. when valuable patents
controlled by the Bell company expired
there has been steady growth OF op,
position against the Bell people, and
now, OF the 5.oO0O0 phones In use IN the
United states S.50O,OO0 are Of lndepend-
ent service Mr., Jones claimed that
had the Bell company not been so ra-
plcous Il would not have been possible
10 have made Roadway against II; ana
In Washington d. c., the opposition 10
10 was so strong that Congress has been
proposing to establish a telephone SER
vice Of It's own. Mr., Jones alleged that
los Angeles has 10000 Independent
phones and that nearly all Of the bus
mess and professional men OF Kansas
cty had substituted Independent for
Bell phones He asked for local patron
age not AS "a sentiment but as a bus
mess proposition
C. r. sulckley offered the following
resolution.
we, the undersigned business men
and telephone users In Salt Lake CITY,,
Utah, agree TO discontinue the use Of
NE Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone
gompanys telephones on and after Jan
j. lW5' unless said company agrees to
and does meet competition.
Further that the chair appoint a
committee of five 10 wait upon the
Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone COM
mny and present these resolutions as
coming from the business men OF this
guy ana report their answer az another
meeting TO be held at this club Nov, Is b"
Argument on this resolution showed
lnal Of those present one half were for
ana lhs other half against the Bell
company and w. II. Gray claimed that
me Independent company could not
continue furnishing business phones at
m ana residence phones at $50, per year
ana pay interest on It's capital stock,
,unnlhg expenses including better
menls and allowances for deterioration
o. plant without becoming lnsolyent
w q. Lyme and Senator Bambergar
opposed any action suggestive Of undue
nA.Ie and DR.. a. T.. Ewing, who sec
Vnled The resolution, held that some
Sp,goh should be taken TO show that the
BDyll rates were excessive. On Senate.
nlmoargers motion another committee
'as appointed 10 Investigate further,
anl report while the Strlokley resolu
pou IeI by the wayslde, Chairman
veg appointed the following, Senator
nahoerget j w, Deano. Joseph Mar.
llVll, T.. W. Rich and Ioeanh Naleon