Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1907-05-13
IMPORTANT TELEPHONE MOVE
MENT.
Consolidation of Many Double Systems
in One.

The extent to which the newspaper
press of the country is daily giving
evidence of the consolidation and
unification of the telephone systems
of various communities is one of the
most noticeable phases of current
ev ents. In it's issue of April Is the
Los Angeles Times prints the follow
ing from the neighboring and enter
prising little city of San Bernardino,
WHICH has for few years had two
telephone systems:
merchants of San Bernardino
Merchants Prote etive association
have taken up the fight against the
luxury Of paying tribute to two tele-
phone companies. At a meeting
Wednesday, the matter was discussed
at length and committee was ap-
pointed to obtain the signatures of
a II the merchants of San Bernardino
to an agreement to subscribe for only
| one 'phone. Merchants are now
signing an agreement to stand to-
S6Ln6r III inc uSDt.
Editorially the Times of the same
date 8 ys, ga sensible move has been
III ade by the business men of San
Bernardino in their campaign for a
single telephone system. 1t will
spread. 1t will break out in other
cities where people are positive under
the expensive, harassing, nonsensical
double telephone nuisance. A great
er outrage than this two telephone
abomination Los Angeles has two
systems) never was foisted upon a
community. There will be a great
uprising against the illogical and in
defensible state of things. It cannot
survive. 1t would be as rational to
oblige citizens to take domestic water
from two sources and pay double
rates."
In it's issue of April 4 the Marion,
o., Daily Star, editorially rejoices
that the experience of that city with
double telephone service is approach
ing an end. In view of plans for the
consolidation of various telephone
interests of Marion county under one
management, largely local, the Star
says the publication carried a well
come announcement to the Marion
public and with it the record of a st q
forward in modern telephony"
CT ono he foro Morior IoJ A.
telephone service, "theStar continues
This paper argued that the telephone
was rightfully a natural MONOPOLY
To the subscriber the only efficient
telephone is the one that reaches
every other telephone. The compel.
: tive system requires the patron who
! wants full service to employ botf
. lines of service at double cost anf
endless confusion. Much of this
! Marion knew before we had two svs.
. TENS. But there was that irrepressi
BILE feeling of need for competition
! Marion would not have been ham,
) without trial of two systems, be
cause promoters had appealed to tina
unavoidable prejudice against mo.
, ! nopoly and now that we have had th,
= experience, there is rejoicing to con
template a return to one SYSTEM
4 Mr. w. G. Harding of Marion in
:. published letter written to a citize,
of Indianapolis under the date O
April 4, said, ''Before Marion knew
the woes of dual service, 1 argue
d that dual service was undesirable
n though joined in the establishment
d of the independent system. This wa
: seemingly an inconsistency, and |
g was such, but I believed there was
: profit for competitor and consente
?, to join in the necessary evil.n W
Is built well and strove for the ideal sci
Is vice, but we soon learned that "