Omaha daily bee., 1905-09-10
Denmark and Sweden Enjoy Especially Low
Rates for Extended Service.
NATION AND CITIES SHOULD COOPERATE
Government Should Not Drive Municipal
tiles 0us Of the Business.
MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP IS A SUCCESS
InveStiEstIOn shows that Local Man.
agement is Better Than National
and cities Can Compete
with Private Lines.

LONDON, Sept. Especial Cablegram to
The BeeJ-A great deal Of interest having
been aroused throughout the civilized world
by the reports that the Postof1ce depart
ment is preparing to take over the tele-
phone systems of the United Kingdom, d.
NJ Stevenson, chairman Of the committee
IF representatives of the telephone-owning
municipalities which met In London from
time to time during the sittings OF the
select committee on postofice 6telephone
agreemenD, is out in an interview, in which
ne says
The select committee was appointed on
May p last, on the motion of the post
unlonist members. four liberals and one
nationalist. When asking for the appoint
ment of the committee Lord Stanley told
the House OF Commons that II the com
mittee found that he had been wrong he,
would not hesitate to say so. He would
then let the agreement drop and commence
de novo with new agreement.
The committee dealt with the question in
the most painstaking and exhaustive man
ner 1t made a number of recommenda-
lions, some OF which the postmaster general
Idopted, but he declined to accept the one
)f most interest TO municipalities, as fol-
ows:
he general public interest the House of
Commons should not disapprove of the
agreement, with the notifications that we
,ecome operative until a pledge has been
liVen to the House that between now and
january l3lE nOlnlnk snail DC QDne Dg the
government whereby the question of future
ownership and of local telephone installa-
ions (as distinct from the ownership and
management of trunk lines) may be preju-
Heed. and that unless by a vote of the
louse II has otherwise been determined
licenses TO municipalities on terms not more
1nerous In respect Of royalties than the
;erms OF the standard telephone license as
revised in January, l9O2."
Position of Lord stanley.
Surely, the only course open to Lord
stanley, in accordance with his pledge, was
o let the agreement drop and commence
aid II was not for him now, whatever
night be his private and personal opinion,
give pledge that after 1911 there should
le a cessa ton of municipal telephones and
hat the whole system should be invested in
.he hands Of the postmaster general. His
Spe idea in making this agreement was that
IN 1911, when the license came TO an end,
MS successor should be absolutely free to
adopt which ever system the government
II tne day might think the most desirable.
And later on:
When the whole telephone system Of the
country was in the hands of the postmas-
ter general the Parliament and the gov
ernment of 1911 could deal with it as
they thought fit. In 1911 Parliament might
decide that the telephone system should
be worked locally throughout the coun-
representative bodies, and the postmaster
general might sell or rent the plant in
the local area to the municipality or other
local representative body.
But both Lord Stanley and Austen
Chamberlain said they we're against this
course and they assured the House that
meant negativing the agreement Lord
Stanley added that If the advantages (Q
of the agreement were sacrificed II would
be done for the municipalities which
wished to compete and which had COM
show the small number of municipalities
which had applied for licenses: This seems
TO have had great weight with li the House;
as having said:
authorities in the United Kingdom who
were capable OF owning telephone sys-
TENS only FIVE were doing so, then the
mere statement OF that fact seemed to
him to dispose of any serious claim the
municipalities might set up to compete
either with the telephone company or the
postoffice."
Progress of Municipal Ownership.
submit that this was hardly fair argu-
ment. MT. Hanburys act empowering
the granting OF municipal ppsdo telephone @ one
or six years agitation. Glasgow, which
got the first license, began operations In
Brighton and Swansea in 1908 and Hull
in 1904 Municipal corporations are slow
10 move and the bulk OF them naturally
periments being made in Glasgow. etc,
before embarking on the unknown sea
OF telephone enterprise. Long before there
had been time TO make trustworthy de-
ductions from the municipalities named II
emerged that the postoffice was determined
10 get complete possession and with that
,biect In view was endeavoring to arrange
.or the purchase Of the National company $
terms could not be arranged. so negotia-
tions for taking over the company's plant
In 1911 were substituted and ended I'm the
agreement now under discussion.
Obviously II Is only recently that the
municipal systems are beginning to show
trustworthy financial results. These prove
beyond doubt that in the telephone-owning
municipalities, telephone users, who are
getting facilities incomparably better than
they had formerly under the National COM
pany, are only paying about half the rates
paid 20 the company, and yet that the
systems are self-supportlng
The London telephone service Is ad-
mttedly much better since the postoffice
entered the field, but / venture to say that
Glasgow telephone users, accustomed as
they have been for some time to the cor
improved service that the National COM
pany has been compelled TO give In order
to hold It's own would not tolerate for a
week the delays and annoyances TO which
London subscribers are subjected, not to
speak OF the excessive rates charged
Mr.. Austen Chamberlain said that no
start a telephone system in 1906 to terminate 2
II we're made clear that the future policy
VAS 20 be- In the words Of Mr.. Benn the
estebnshneht ,s ~, or useIul state service
ties" many OF them would undoubtedly
apply for licenses nominally tsrminahle in
1911. in the sure and certain hope that
these would be renewed indefinitely.
Conditions In Europe.
With regard TO complete naturalization
which the postOffice Is endeavoring TO force
upon the country, / will refer to an ex-
peTience which 1 had when inquiring into
the question OF the telephone services some
years ago In Germany, Denmark, Norway
and Sweden.
/ found that for 100 miles south OF the
Danish frontier only the two large towns
had telephones, whereas on the Danish
side every village had it's exchange, and
each was connected with the government
trunk lines. The reason was obvious.
Germany, centralized. had its uniform rate
OF t35, while the towns and villages on the
Danish side were served BY local COM
panies AT from $40 70 Sl2 The city OF
Christiania has an admirable system, COW
ering great area, for S22 a year up 70
5000 calls or SIS without limit The famous
Allmanna company OF Stockholm does still
better, giving an unlimited service within
radius OF forty-three miles for about
$3.50 Think OF H. on that basis Man
chester subscribers would he able for S27 50