The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-06-29
Home Will Get Bell Long Dis
tance Telephone Connec-
tions in Future by New Ar
arrangement.
RICHMOND TO GET SAME
SERVICE AS, LARGE CITIES.
Bell People Come to Decision
That a Continued Fight
Against Home Company
Would Be Useless.

BY an arrangement that promises on
the whole to be satisfactory to every
telephone subscriber in the city of
Richmond, virtual consolidation of
the two competing telephone plants is
ito be effected at once and patrons of
the Independent company will be Of
fered advantages in service such as are
given in New York, Chicago and other
llarge cities of the country. AS cor
poration, neither company changes its
standing as there has been no sale of
either property. 1t is merely an agree
ment for the interchange Of long-dis-
tance toll service, giving the patrons
'pf the Home Telephone company ac-
cess to every telephone in the country
connected with the Bell system.
T. P. Sylvan, general sub-license
agent and L. M. Whitney. state super
tntendent of the Bell company, were in
Richmond today to arrange for the i'm
mediate construction of connections
between the two exchanges. While
the agreement goes into effect at once,
1t will probably be sixty days before
the new service can be offered to the
public. There is considerable work
to be done in preparation and this
necessitates the delay.
The agreement between the two
companies comes after eight years of
competition, the Home company win
mir on local business and the Bell
company, owing to its vast system of
Exchanges throughout the country,
gaining the bulk of the long distance
business. The matter of an inter-
change of business has been under con-
sideration for months and the agree
ment as finally reached practically
does away with the Bell system for To-
cal use as it gives to the Home compa-
ny all the advantages now derived
from two phones. The agreement it.
self is an encouragement to the sub
scribers of the Bell to discontinue that
service and use the other, and the re-
suit will amount to practically a con-
solidation, as far as local business is
concerned. Those who now use a
Bell phone on account of the better
toll facilities, will have no further OBJ
ject in such a course and the old local
exchange will probably be abolished in
the course of time.
Is no Monopoly.
The new arrangement does not con-
stitute monopoly, according to Off
GERS of both companies. as the fran
chise of the Home Telephone compa-
ny, with all its limitations In regard to
rates, will still be in effect At the
present time the Bell system has no
more than 500 subscribers, while the
Home company has over 1900 phones
in use in Richmond. There has been
no local competition since the inn
proved plant of the Home company
was installed, and the new arrange
monts offer merely continuation of
sthe present Home phone service, plus
the long distance facilities that form
erly could not be had without both tel
ephones. To business houses it will
mean a great saving on this account.
Mr.. Sylvan, in discussing the new ar
arrangement, said, I'VE nave always felt
the need of a consolidated system for
Richmond and when the time came for
the Bell people to either expend
S250,OO0 in reconstructing their old
plant and more. to wage long. un-
profitable battle for patronage. we de-
cided to offer Richmond the same ser
vice given in the larger cities by an in
terchange of business. We think the
present good time to give the public
an opportunity to indbrsc this PROPOSE
tion or turn ii down. 1t is a scheme
entirely similar to steps now being ta-
agen in Indianapolis.
In addition to the interchange of
business. the arrangements include a
provision whereby the Dell, or Central
Union company. vii. use the conduits
of the Home company on Main from
Second to Sixteenth streets. while the
Central Union will at once COM
plete its conduit from Twenty-first to
Sixteenth. On Main. and allow the In
dependent company to use it. This
Will result in removing every insight.
~ telephone pole from Main street,
and allows both companies to COM
ply with the city ordinance in this re-
gard.
The principal advantage of the new
arrangement is the fact that any sub
scriber of the Home Telephone compa-
NY now has access to the Bell exchang
es In New York. Chicago. Cincinnati
and other large cities. where the old
corporation has full sway The Bell
company is the largest long-distance
Telephone system In the world