Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-09-13

ton Twenty-one Hundred and Fifty.
eight (215S), Chapter Eight (S), Title
Ten (1O). Of the Code referring to Tel
egraph and Telephone Lines.
'''Be it enacted by the general as.
sembly of the state of Iowa:
"'Section 1. That section twenty
one hundred and fifty-eight (215S) ct
the code be and the same is hereby
amended by striking out the period
G. in the fifth line and inserting a
comma" e. in lieu thereof and adding
the following: "but no person, firm or
corporation owning or operating tel
ephone system within the limit of any
Incorporated city or town within the
state, not having franchise legally
granted by such city or town in which
it is transacting business, shall be per-
mitted to extend its lines, poles, wires,
conduit or place any additional tele-
phones until such person, firm or cor.
poration shall have been legally grant
ed a franchise authorizing and permit
ting it to make extension
"'Section q This act, being deemed
of immediate Importance, shall take
effect and be in force from and after
it's publication in the Register and
Leader, and the Des Moines Daily Cap
ital, newspapers published at Des
Moines, Iowa
"You will note that this bill Is very
just. 1t does not in any manner take
away any of the privileges of the COM
panies affected by this bill further
| than to compel them to get franchise
| If they wish to extend their service,
| the same as street railway, gas,
water or electric light company would
be compelled to do.
Peculiar Ass essments.
Gin looking over the report Of the
sixth annual assessment of telegraph
and telephone property in the state Of
Iowa, we find some very interesting
comparisons in the figures of table No.
4, which reports on mixed commercial
telephone companies. including ex-
changes, farm and toll telephones. The
report shows that 260 telephone COM
panies are assessed less than $50 per
mile, 80 companies over $50 and less
than $500, IL over 500 and less than
5000, over $500 and less than $500, 8
over $500 and less than $1,000, l over
$1,000 per mile. 1t is interesting to
know the different rates as they are SO
far apart; for instance, the Tingley
Telephone company, of Ringold coun-
ty, has one and three-fourths miles and
is assessed at $1,S00 per mile, while
the Odds Telephone company, of Henry
and Washington counties, has 71h
miles and is assessed at $1.40 per mile.
Inc Charlton Telephone company, in
Lucas county, has 81 miles and is as.
sessed at $599.O5; Eldora Mutual Tel
ephone company in Hardin county
has miles and is assessed at $575 per
mile. The Iowa Telephone company
better known as the Bell, is assessed
at s6O.25 per mile. In order to give
you more direct comparison I will re
fer you to Polk county of which Des
Moines is the county seat. The Iowa
Telephone company has 1S1 miles and
is assessed at $60.25 per mile, making
; the assessment for Polk county $40.
92754, while the L4utual Telephone
company, in the same county, has onl.
: 1O4 miles and is assessed at 1884. 81
per mile, making the total assessment
Of $3s;99S4O, which is nearly fou1
times the amount assessed the Iowa
Telephone company. In fact the assess
). ment of the Mutual, Of this city, equal:
over nine and one-half per cent of thu
total assessment of the Iowa in thu
whole state, with its 6,326 and on,
: half miles of service. In other words
: the Mutual Telephone company is as
: sessed for this county $29,070S6 NOR
, than the Iowa Telephone company, We
: !, the Iowa Telephone company has z
:, more miles of service than the Mutua
company.