Arizona republican., 1904-06-25


 success in it's fight against the Bell company in that territory. The most influential associations of business men in that city have decided to discontinue the use of the Missouri and Kansas (BelD service and hereafter to support the Kansas City telephone company service only. Among the associations that have taken this step and ordered the removal of the Bell instruments are the Retail Druggists, Retail Groc- CTS, Liverymen's, Master Plumbers, Undertakers', Jackson County Medical association and the Missouri Academy of Medicine. The homeopathic physic- ians are ready to fall in line and this will make practically every physician in Kansas City, Missouri, and Kansas City, Kansas, subscribers for the Home telephones only.
 "The growth of the Kansas City Home Telephone company has been one of the wonders of the independent movement, and the great property is a lasting monument to the sagacity. business ability and 'get there" quali- ties of Messrs. Barber, Snider and Bradley, the originators and promoters of the plant. It is the acme of tele-
 
 up as model and pointed to with pride by every man. woman or child who is interested in independent tele- phony."
 Right in Arizona we have an instance which corresponds with the above. Sunset directory shows by actual count, that they only have 43 phones in Prescott. Several of these have ac- tually been taken out. At one time they had over 200.
 We now have more than four times as many subscriptions in Phoenix as the Sunset has in Prescott.
 The Independent has about 5O) phones in Prescott, the full capacity of the present plant. and are now getting ready to increase.
 The Gazette makes some reference to competition. We here quote anotker article from one of the standard scien- tifc papers of the world. Regarding the benefits of competition in the field of telephony, as relates to the Unitei States and Canada, the London Electri- cal Engineer says:
 Monopoly has nowhere shown itself to be so detrimental to the public good as in the telephone field, as is evidenced by experience not only of this country. but particularly of the United States and Canada. Happily this state Of things in the last two named coun- tries has in recent years radically changed by the expiration of funda- mental patents. The remarkable growth of independent systems in the United States is just beginning to be experienced in Canada, where the flu ture of independent telephony is looked upon as already assured. Looking al the progress in the United States, it is seen how the business has been devel- oped in the past five years by the inde- pendent companies. More independent companies have been established and more telephones put into use during that period than were used during the twenty years previous that the Bell com pany held a monopoly of the field. The effect of the competition of these com- panies has been to bring the rates down to a legitimate basis and to give a first-class service"
 The Gaeztte says some of our mer- chants are satisfied with present rates, etc. One of the largest business hous- es in this city has a main line telephone and pays S1.06 per month less than Oth- CTS pay. This is only one instance, but how many more there are we do not know.
 Sometime ago the Sunset company represented to the merchants that in order to build long distance lines the merchants would have to pay $25 to the company and the company would issue them coupons to the amount of $25, which they said they would redeem by taking them in payment for long dis tancc messages and afterwards refused to redeem them.
 The GaeZtte seems to doubt that the present company with system such as it is'' will up and away" The above quotations oughtCto satisfy them as to that: regardless of the fact that they have lately, if they have at all become the owners of their own build ing.
 Speaking of the first established com pany being seldom displaced etc. is lanother display of ignorance of the sub iect on the part of the writer of the Gazette editorial. The Bell systems are the oldest and statistics prove they are rapidly being or have been displaced all over Canada and the United States. The retail druggists, grocers, livery men, master plumbers, undertakers, doctors, etc., do not have to have two phones in Kansas City. Neither will they have to have here after a short time. When the Independent entered Prescott the Sunset was charging $500. The Independent entered with a $500 rate and the Sunset dropped to S1.50 for business phones. Will they do SO in Phoenix? Finally the Sunset offered to put in up to 200 phones for nothing in Prescott. Are their expenses less in Prescott than in Phoenix?
 Can anyone tell why it is that the Gazette is trying to throttle a home industry to the advantage of a foreign monopoly?
 INDEPENDENT TELE-