Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1905-01-17

were both without managers and
it was the opinion of the majority OF
the directors of the two companies
| that there ought to be one business
| manager at the head of these two
companies. An electrician and a
business man is very rarely found in
the same man. Your president was
urged to temporarily take charge OF
the telephone plant until after the
Electric & Water Company'S annual
meeting, when the matter could be
properly considered. 1t appears that
their new board does not think of
union at the present time, so steps
will have to be taken to get q manager
for this company at once.
1t is the unanimous opinion of your
board that plant Of this size should
not be run without business head.
If the plant were owned just by a
single person, and he was in debt to
the extent that this company is,
besides needing the extensive repair
ing that our plant needs you can
easily see, that that person is facing
a financial success if it is carefully
and properly managed and on the other
hand he faces financial ruin if he
does not carefully solve the problems
as they come up day by day. Appar-
emily it would seem that it would
necesSitate an extra expense but we
believe that this can almost immedia-
tely be saved on the handling Of the
labor and the judlcious use of
materials.
The plant has been allowed to run
down ever since the company was
organized and never were there proper
steps taken and provisions made for
keeping it in good repair and it has
been the aim of your directors to do
something in that line and we
sincerely hope that the new board
will pursue the same IpOlicy. When
stockholders were given residence
phones at the rate Of % cents per
month it was at the expense of the
plant and it is clearly to be seen that
it must be made up in the near future.
Your board has considered several
times during the year proposition
from the Wisconsin Telephone COM
pany to connect with them. These
propositions we never saw fit to
accept. We felt in the first place that
there is no crying demand for such
connections. The proposition also has
features in it which we do not like.
Under that contract the Wisconsin
Telephone Company removes every
one of our transmitterS and receivers
and replaces it by one of their trans
mitters and receivers that is on every
one of our 467 instruments. We have
| to pay them rental of 80 cents year
for each tranSmitter and receiver,
We get from them in return long
distance connection at their present
| rates and ten per cent. of their total
toll receipts in this city. This ten
per cent. is for making their cOllec-
tions and keeping their accounts
which our company must do and make
good all losses. Accepting their
contract would mean practically to GO
into partnership with them because
they would own the essential part of
everyone of our instruments. The
Bell Telephone Company which owDs
53 per cent. of the stock of the Wis
conSin Telephone Company has a bad
reputation with independent COM
panies all over the country and we
have heSitated in having anything to
do with it. 1t is true tEat some
Independent companies in this state
have made contracts with the Wis
consin Telephone Company but these
companies are owned by individuals
and they use this as an excuse for the
raising of the rates. Your board has
decided to 60 slow in this matter and
feels that when there is demand on
the part OF the users to have long
distance connections they shall have
it provided the demand is large
enough to warrant such union.
During the year we have given
back the marsh line to the original
owners and they have released US
from our contract. We found that
we could not put in the money at
present to rebuild it. We get stated
amount yearly for connections. There
are still phones in this vicinity which
the company is operating under loss
and steps should be taken to put them
on paying basis or cut out the SER
vice for them.
There are many other things which
might be mentioned here which
would be of interest but time is too
| short, for other things are to be done
at this meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
4