The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-07-27
BELL Telephone Company Wag-
ing Battle for Supremacy
That 1t May Raise and Low
er Rates at Will.
RICHMOND SEEMS TO
BE HEADQUARTERS.
First Merger of Companies
Consummated Here Lin
demuth Was Considered a
Traitor to Cause.

The Bell Telephone trust is waging a
war to once again acquire the monop-
oily on the telephone business of this
country. One of the first moves made
by the Bell people in this campaign
was It's action In entering into an
agreement with the Richmond Home
Telephone company independently
For the time being the war of control
will be waged in this section of the
country with Richmond as headquar-
ters for the campaign.
| The local merger had the effect of
waking the independents to the fact
that they were threatened with exter-
mination. On the surface it appears
as though the Bell people by the local
merger received the worst of the deal,
getting only the long distance bus
(, iness in exchange for its local bust
ness. But the officers of the national
association of Independent companies
! see further into the matter than does
the public. They realize that in Rich
mond the Bell people now holds the
business for local business which did
! not amount to a row Of pins. 1t is
an insidious and crafty approach on
the part OF the monopoly.
The End Is Plain.
| But the ultimate end of the Bell cru
sade Is plain. AS has been stated, the
control Of the toll lines is the key to
the telephone situation in the United
States. It is for this that the Bell is
fighting. II the monopoly meets with
as much success elsewhere as 1t did in
! Richmond, it can ultimately swallow
all independent local exchanges, one
by one and resume control.
! Once the Bell is back in its old po-
sition, it will be in a position to re-
sumo the old rates, rates which Rich
mond people we'll remember. 1t is a
mighty stake to fight for-enough to
make the present struggle battle
royal.
A. G. Lindemuth, formerly of this
lefty, who was forced to retire from the
presidency of the International Inde-
pendent Telephone association because
.of action of the Richmond Home Tele-
lphone company, of which he was presi-
tdent. merging with the Bell company,
thas repeatedly written and spoken
against the merging of independent
and Bell companies, urging that in the
lend the Bell would again place its
yoke on the necks of the people.
The Bell publications are now
charging that Mr.. Lindemuth was a
traitor to the Independent cause. The
tCentral Union News in its July issue
publishes the following from Rich
'mond:
More than year ago, at confer
ence Of telephone men held here Rich-
mond,) it was announced that sooner
or later the Central Union (BelD would
ebandon local fields in several cities
and an agreement would be reached
whereby the independents would be
able to provide for their patrons the
long distance service of the Central
Union.
"The man who made that statement
was Charles Lindemuth, one of the or.
ganizers of the Richmond Home Tele.
phone company and now president OF
the International Independent Tele
phone association. Mr.. Lindemuth Is
now located in Chicago and it is re
garded as significant that the first
compromise agreement between an in
pendent company and the Central I'm
ion should be in Richmond"
Such tactics are not new to the Bel
in Indiana. A few years ago Hugh
Dougherty, a banker Of Indianapolis
who had controlled the independent,
telephone field from Bluffton, reach
ing out through four counties. and who
had risen to be president of the Inde
pendent Telephone Mems association
the national body. was approached BY
the Bell agents who worked through
Dougherty's business associates. ant
finally induced the man to sell out hi.
Independent interests to the Bell. He
too, was denounced as a traitor to tn,
cause, and as coincidence 1t was not
ed that his closest friend died soon af
terward of a broken heart.
At present the center of interest il
the Bells merger fight on the indie
pendents is at Indianapolis. TIL,
quarrel with the Bell in that city is a
the acute stage.
l.. G. Richardson. one of the strong
est men in the Bell service. has bee,
sent to Indianapolis personally to han
die the situation. and he has gone I,
the length of offering to buy the inde
pendent company for $4,000, to per
NIT the independent toll lines to d,
business in and out of the city over tn
Bell switchboard and to make the fla