Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-07-04

ed by Mrs. ]. ID. MCDOWELL, ana Mrs.
M. L. Carroll, and piano solo by Miss
Pansy Traywick. Mr.. Bedford Moore
and Miss Marie Moore gave an instru-
mental duet (piano and violin) that
ELECTED much applause. The hits of the
evening, however, were made by Miss
Nellie Pack, In the recitation OF two
humorous selections, and by Mt3s EN-
ma Clinton in a dialect recitation ana
a pantomime. Mrs. w. II. Fowler
PLAYED the accompaniments for the
songs. The gross receipts from the
entertainment amounted to $75.l0.
TELEPHONE SITUATION. !
The advertisement In the last issue OF
THE ENQUIRER, announcing tn, trans
fer of the properties Of the Bedford.
Telephone company to the Piedmont
Telephone Company, and at the same.
time an increase on phone rents and
tolls on out Of town messages, has, as
was expected, created quite stir
among telephone subscribers In York
vile and in the country surrounding
Immediately on reading the published
notice referred to several subscriber
the reporter has definite information
of four, and has heard Of several 9TH
ers-ordered that their telephones be
removed from their residences forth
with. They were unwilling to pay the
advanced rental and they also protested
against the published tol! on out Of
town messages.
Wherever two or three telephone
subscribers got together Friday after
noon and Saturday, the subject OF the
change Of ownership and increased
rates at once became uppermost, ana
the matter was freely discussed. The
concensus of opinion seems to be the
people have not been treated exactly
right in the consolidation of the Bed
ford company with the Piedmont COM
pany, and that the present notice OF
an increase In rental and toll Is likely
to be followed at any time by another
such increase and still another.
The ultimate sale Of the local tele-
phone exchange to the Bell people, and
the Piedmont company belongs to the
Bell, Just as the Bedford company now
belongs to the Piedmont, has been anti
cipated for quite a while-at least for
several years. 1t was generally UNDER
stood that the principal drawback to
such a sale was the fact that the char
ter of the Bedford company, originally
granted to Mr.. Walter B. Moore, linn
| It's the monthly rental that may De
charged to $500. The Bell people or
dinarily charge from SO to So month
and even higher, and 1t was not be-
lieved that they would care To operate
an exchange In case where their
charges would be limited to S2.
Discussing the situation with the re-
porter yesterday, one Of the gentlemen
who signed the call published In an
other colur- said: Don't you see how
It has been coming to this all the
while. Here have been the Bell peo-
ple on the outskirts of town here for
more than two years. They claimed
that they did not want any exchange,
that they merely wanted to get into
town with a single pay station. That
Is the way they have been doing
I'm other towns. Finally after waiting
| a long time, comes q request for q line
| of posts into the pay station, ana al
of a sudden the announcement thar
the whole thing belongs to the Bell
not to the Bell exactly; but to the
Piedmont, and that Is the same thing.
Along with the announcement OF the
| transfer comes the announcement thar
the rates have been increased and we
have got to pay for the messages out
of town that we have heretofore been
getting for nothing. AS soon as we
subside from the present Kick there
will be another raise and SO II goes.
| II the people want to protect them
selves they had better get about II at
once and now Is the time to do IT..
There Is a statute which provides
that a telephone company shall not be
permitted to raise its rates without
| the consent IT its subscribers and
even then not until the proposed ad-
vanced rate has been duly advertised
| in a newspaper once q week for four
weeks, and promulgated by the rail-
road commission. II Is understood
that at the meeting next Friday night
this statute will be fully discussed In
relation to its bearing on the present
case.
Mr.. w. B. Moore, who is the sole
owner Of the Bedford Telephone COM
pany says that he has been induced 10
consolidate with the Piedmont company
| for several reasons, the principal one
of which Is to get rid OF the bother
and annoyance In connection with The
business. His plant, he says, Is run
down, and he is not warranted In going
| to the expense Of restoring 1t for the
prospective profits In only FIVE years OF
operation-the remaining life OF his
present franchise. The rates he has
been charging, he claims, were not SUI
| ficient to warrant q first-class service,
one that would be entirely satisfactory.
He claims that after all the alleged In
crease in rates does not amount to
great deal; that most Of his subscrib-
ers, practically all Of the business
| houses, were already paying two dol
all they had before except the right TO
talk to Gastonia, Chester, Elacksburg,
Rock Hill and Fort Mill. He says that
there has been considerable annoyance
connected with the out Of town priv
ilege, especially to business people, be-
cause Of the too common Use OF the
lines for gossipping purposes. The toll
system, he says, will put stop to all
| this. Hereafter, he says, the Pied
mont company will give much better
service than the people have been get
ting heretofore. He states that he has
given over his stock to the Piedmont
company on a basis valuation Of less
| than so cents on the dollar.
Referring to the probable value OF
the franchise which Mr.. Moore holds
from the town, q thoroughly RESPONSE
BILE citizen who Is able to make good,
said to the reporter yesterday: "I
will give the town of Yorkyille one
thousand dollars for a twenty year tel
ephone franchise, and guarantee not to
charge over 50 for business places or
$3.50 for residences during that time,
BY this offer, I mean that IL the
town will give me the right Of way
along the streets and protect me In the
sole monopoly for twenty years, / will
plank down one thousand dollars, erect
my own phone system and ask no fur
ther favors. On a pinch also, might
furnish the town with free phones for
use Of the fire department, the water
plant and the police headquarters"
Senator Brice, one Of the signers OF
the call for a public meeting, Is partic-
ularly outspoken In his dissatisfaction
with the present situation: Il q not
think we have been treated right" he
said, land IL we do not set about
helping ourselves we will deserve what
we are going to get am for at once
proceeding for the annulment Of this
franchise. In the first place the fran
chise was never worth anything In
law, and 1t Is not worth anything now.
In addition to this, its term" have been
violated, and the people are under no