The Plymouth tribune. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1901-1911, 1908-05-21
ONE TELEPHONE
FOR EVERY TEN
is REPORT OF INDIANA SER
VICE BY THE INDEPEND-
ENTS-CONVENTION is
AGAINST CONNECT
ING WITH THE
BELL CO.

men and the telephone manufacturers
who gathered in Indianapolis We'd
nesday for their two days annual
meeting bring the news that the last
year has produced no startlingly new
wrinkles" in telephones. About $50
Independents were at this State meet
ing. About fifty independent tele-
phone equipment manufacturers also
were there, and the auditorium floor
of the Claypoola Hotel resembles n
dozen or more telephone exchanges
and equipment factories.
The reports and addresses of Sec
retary-Treasurer Charles S. Norton
and President A. c. Lindemuth, who
is not only the head of the Indiana
| organization but also president of the
independent telephone mems national
association, brought out the fact that
in Indiana telephone of some kind
is within reach OF every ten persons
| -AOSOl uiiS ~ lhSli hSulNS, SuDii'eSN
Thursday, there are, in round num-
bers, 100000 telephones in Indiana
OF which over 100000, they insist, are
the phones of the 453 independent
telephone companies in the State.
President Lindemuth is OF the opin-
ion that at least half of the farm res
| licences in Indiana are connected with
the telephone systems of the State
| Hendricks, Hancock and Putnam
| counties for some time have been at
tracking national attention for in
them there is one telephone to every
eight persons, and, nationally, these
fields have become accepted as the
| highest realization OF the service pos.
sibilities. To realize this maximum
ali over the State would mean the in
crease in the number of telephones
IN Indiana from 100000 TO about 310.-
900. an increase of about 10000 tele-
phones
In delivering his annual address
Wednesday afternoon President
Lindemuth again went on record
against the physical connection OF In
dependent exchanges with the Bel
telephone system He quoted Presi-
dent Vail, of the American Bell Tele-
phone Company, and President Rich
ardson. of the Central Union Tele-
phone Company, showing that the
Bell Company considered and adver-
tised such connections as additions
10 its own system. This, he thought
was detrimental TO the independent
| interests, as it was one of the Bells
methods of lettering its own condi.
tons and depreciating and destroying
those OF the independents
President Lindemutf also argued
that all mergers of plants and com
panies that stifled or destroyed com
petition and tended TO create mon
oDoly, we're in violation OF the Sher
man antitrust laws, OF the genera
antitrust laws of the States and con
trary to common law safeguarding
public interests.
President Lindemuth called atten
ton 70 the fact that seventeen indie
pendent companies in Indiana had in
creased rates during the last year
Though the financial and industrial
aggression affected all other lines o
business, he said, the telephone bust
ness had passed through the year I'M
affected, and nat all of the report
showed increased business and col
lections. He said that OF the approx
;mately 10000 independent telephon
companies in the country not one ha'
failed, and that in Indiana most o
them had discharged all of their oper
ating and fixed charges. and had pai'
from 4 TO ~ per cent. to stockholders
Many OF the companies. he said, ha'
completely rebuilt their plants, ha'
improved them and extended thei
service