Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1905-10-03
WHEN ITS PROFITS SUFFER
Bell Telephone MonOpOIy's Methods
of stihing COMPETE
ton.

THE entry OF a competing telephone coms
pany into this field must threaten a heavy
reduction in the profits Of The Bell nonop-
oily. when they will resort TO the dsrepu-
table methods they have, for the purpose
Of finding something to be used against the
new company" said A. B. Hunt, of the In
dependent Telephone company now seeking
a franchise for it's entrance into Omaha.
General Manager Lane, of the Nebraska
monopoly, is circulating the story that he
has the documents to prove that the at
tempt of the Independent company to Sc
cure a franchise here is a stock jobbing
scheme. and that he has the contract that
have entered into with The parties who
expect to finance the undertaking. 1 am
not surprised that we are compelled to
meet misrepresentation at the hands Of the
Bell monopoly. but 1 hardly supposed they
would go to the extreme of stealing papers
or hiring 1t done However, they cannot
injure us by presenting any facts con-
corning our proposition. no matter how they
may secure them.
1.-THE truth is, and Mr. Lane knows It,
that he has no such contract as he claims.
He undoubtedly has a contract, and prob
ably three of them. These facts are known
to the Bell company, but 1t serves their
purpose to misrepresent the situation as to
one document and to wholly suppress the
others. / have no hesitancy in saying that
l did have an agreement as to what money
should receive for my legitimate expenses
in securing a franchise last year, and there
was also an agreement or contract relative
10 the company as to local stockholders
and officers, and the management Of its af-
fairs. 1t will not, however, suit the pur-
pose of the Bell company to tell the truth
about these matters.
What better evidence is needed to show
the good faith of the independent COM
pany than that it was ready to put up
the money to meet all legitimate expenses
and defray the cost of special election ?
80 far as the Bell methods are con-
cerned, they were shown at Kansas City,
when the Independent company was work.
ing to secure its franchise there The
monopoly went to the pitiful extremity Of
buying from a colored janitor the contents
of the waste paper baskets in the offices
Of the new company, and for the wretched
sum of so cents per basket, in order that
they might patch together the torn letters
and papers, so as to see just what the
independent company was doing and to
learn with whom the company was in
communication. 1t does not look as If the
Bell people were satisfied to rest their case
on a fair and full presentation of the
facts to an impartial public, when proceed
ures of this kind are followed
1.-The independent company seeks its fran
chise on the merit of it's proposition and
the logic of the situation, and we are
satisfied to try our case before the people
of Omaha. We want them to say whether
they want telephone competition or not,
and we ask the city council to submit the
question to the citizens. We take the posi-
ton that the people themselves are bet
ter able to pass that question than any
five men either in the council or out OF it,"