The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1908-11-23

Mr. T.. p. Moyiin, g Marlow banker
who has several times contifiotAeel Az
ticle to The Leader, criticizing its
policies. bas another as appears be-
low The article is somewhat leng,ny
and also assumes The 1-eaCer is Up
posed TO getting outside money to
build railroads because il refused to
accept as real several promoters
blue prints as all but built lines. Inc
article follows
NARROW, okla, Nov. 10. 1905
Editor Guthrie Leader:
From time to time | have read in
your columns, various ar 'clcs g'Ong
lines that are very pert. .Ient to the
business interests of Oklahoma. On
page 1 % your issue of Nov. 18TH /
and an article headed Startling Tel
cphone disclosures" which deals with
what wonderful changes in the pres
cnt supposed telephone monopoly Will
be caused by the Farmers Rural Tele-
phone Lines.
am a banker not telephone own
er nor interested i'm any line beyond
short rural line that few of us
Iut In for farmers and which has cUst
us for repairs atone. not less than $50
rer year ga &c mile line. Yet have
q good word TO saw for The Pioneer
People, ahcm think entitled to IT,
Fight years ago We had telephone
system al MARROW, the rates being
very cheap. and we could talk all
over the country for % cents. uur To-
cal rates were almost nothing. and iic
fervlcc WAS absolutely rotten. the
voi i | over experienced The line
4 10, a
Texas company who put in a few more
4x4 pine posts on the long distance
line with an occasional cedar or bOis-
dare 10 help support the line, and tie
service for a while was better. In
the first case the line was owned by
local parties and we were glad TO have
any old service, in the latter case the
line passed into the hands of outsiders.
Then the Pioneer came on the scene
and after paying a fair price for the
properties took over the lines local
exchange etc. and from that instant
the service began to improve and has
continued TO do so. The rates have
been raised. II is true, yet the ser
vice has been changed SO that we
feel that we get fair returns on the
money invested In way of rental paid
10 the company. | am FAMILIAR with
the cost of handling telephone lines,
their construction, rural lines, etc.,
and know chat they may be erected
and operated az small expense. Yet
On the other hand, know that IL
costs a telephone company outside OF
the farmers, several times the price.
TO erect and maintain telephone sys
TEN. The farmers each do n share
cf the work. get out their poles string
their wires, and keep the rural lines
IN fairly working order, and when you
consider the fact that as many as 20
CT 80 farmers will come on one line,
cf say II miles in length, YOU can
see that for them the expense is re-
duccd to a minimum. but how about
the expense to the local company that
handles these rural lines at % or 80
cents per month? DID you ever work
In telephone Office and see how
much Of the local operators time was
taken up in waiting on the rural lines
the hours of rag chewing that the
managers have to listen TO from farm
ors kicking about each other on their
own rural line, and figure what an
immense profit their business was TO
the phone company? The same quos-
tion will apply TO the town lines WITH
their higher rates. Tho demand That
the farmers make that they be allowed
to connect with the long distance
lines all over the state, think you will
find coupled with the actual fact that
they usually get what they wish along
that line. although their lines are usu-
ally one way grounded lines, with
heavy loads and so many being on the