The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1905-01-21
TELEPHONE WAR.
skirnishing Stiff on-What Some
Business Men Say.

DuS1uGSS MgH Sdys
The telephone war is still on.
Superintendent Thatcher of the
Bell company was on the scene for
a while day or two ago The
old company has forced one of its
phones into the local express Office
by getting an order from the head
Office of Wells Fargo at Portland,
directing the local agent to permit
the old phone to be installed. Many
businessmen of the town, resent
the interference of the express
company in the matter. All of the
business men are stockholders in
the Independent company, and
when the Express company gets
into the fight on the side of the
Bell company, it strikes blow at
each businessman and many citi-
zens who are also stockholders.
The present offer. of the Bell
company to put in phones free or
at greatly reduced rates, occasions
much comment. It reminds people
of an advertisement that appeared
in the local papers about a year
ago, in which the same company
gave notice of a proposed advance
of rates. January 80, 1904. the
local Bell manager gave official
notice that on all new phones in
stalled after February 1st at resi-
dences. the rate would be $1.25 per
month. The rate before that had
always been ST.. There was then
no opposition nor sign that a riv-
al telephone company was to ap-
pear, and instead of free phones
provided the subscriber would pay
81 month for three more months
as now, the Bell people were act
ually giving notice of an advance
to $1.25 per month. If therefore
a telephone in Corvallis now is to
be had free. it was not the Bell,
but the Independent phone that
caused it. The reason that the
Bell phone is free is that it is try
ing to drive the Independent COM
pany to the wall so the rate can
be put up to $I.25 or higher as
was proposed last January. If the
Bell people succeed in driving out
the Independents, where will the
rates go? Will there be free phones
then? These are the questions
people are asking all over town.
They are saying that to stand in
with the Bell now and to help kill
the Independent is simply to pre-
pare the way for the Bell to become
master SO that it can advance the
rates and MAKE Corvaliisites pay
dearly for the free phones the Bell
IS Offering now.
Corvallis business men are deep
1y concerned in the fight, and are
watching it from an interested
standpoint. With two exceptions
they are steadily refusing to install
the Bell phone again. Every pres
sure possible has been brought to
bear on them by the Bell people.
/ 1--WE are not going, to put in the
Bell phone again. said one ol
| these business men yesterday, cat
least, I am not, and I do not be-
lieve the other business men will.
| We realize that if we stand to.
gether now and refuse to put in the
Bell, in short time this fight will
be over and there will be no de-
mand tor us to put it in. But i
we yield now, and put in the Bell
we will have to keep it up all the
time, which means that we will
have to keep and pay for two
phones instead of one, aud none oil
! US can afford that. I know tha'
the solicitors of the Bell phone are
telling around that the bushes.
men are going to put in the Bell,
but they are lying. One of thea
admitted to me that he had to liz
in order to do any business in this
town.
Another business man said
This telephone fight is our fight
1t is an attempt to bulldoze tn
business men to reinstate the Bel
phones in their places of business
This, the business men do no
propose to do. They cannot affor,
| TO pay for two phones. OF course
the Bell is free now, but it won
be, if it wins in this fight. It ism
! long ago that the Bell was givin.
notice OF an advance in rates, ,ant
a cut rate now when there is oppc
sition won't wash with sensibI
! people. It will be the biggest mis-
} take Corvallisites ever made if the
!, do not stand first, last and all th
e time for the Independent company
: They give far better service, ev
: eryone has their phone, and the