The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1908-08-27
Telephone Talk.

desire 10 enter into plain talk
with you relative to you handling
your own Telephone Business"
After the fact has been so thorough
ly demonstrated, that we the com
mon people. have the ability to own.
handle, or operate our telephone at
fairs, and do so with a great saving
to ourselves, we are greatly in our
own light. If we fail to do so.
In the outset, | wish to say,
have no fight to make on the Cumber-
land people, who have been selling
you service. Their company is made
up of human beings, and like most
of us, they are not out for their
health, and they must make money
must clear a dividend, or quit bust.
ness. But the fight wish to make
is against the fellow who will sit
down, and fold his hands, and allow
some other person, or company, to
handle his business at good profit,
and to the detriment of himself,
and his fellow man.
To show the difference of cost be-
tween the people owning the tele-
phone plant, and operating on a CO
operative plan, allowing some COM
pany to own the plant, and sell you
the service. We will take Fulton,
KY. for instance:
Within the town before the indi-
pendent system began to operate,
the people were paying Sl.o5 per
month for residence and $3.50 per
month for Office telephones. They
are paying less today, for the Cum
berland service, and for the indie
pendent, or rural, they are paying
only 2Sc per month, and are get
ting a free interchange Of service
with Jordan, Cayce, Moscow, Oak
ton, Clinton. Spring Hill. Milburn,
Bardwell, Mayfield, Crutchheld,
Beelerton, Fulgham. Water Valley,
Wingo, Pilot Oak, Dukedom, Austen
Springs and others, to say nothing
of the connection with the interior OF
the county, with nearly every farm
er, trader and all other occupations.
Our subscribers are only paying
just sufficient assessment, or dues
each month to defray the operating
expenses.
We have no salaried officers, how
ever, we pay our operator maintain
er and others who render service
good wages. To make a long story
short-we operate on cooperative
plan-on a self sustaining basis.
AT Crutchheld, KY, we have been
operating for four years and we are
nov paying zoe per month dues, out
of this we pay an operator $4,000
per month, and maintainence ex-
pensss, and we are out of debt, with
some money in the treasury. While
we pay So. 40 year for service over
three or four counties, you people
pay from $500 to $4,000 year
for service over one county, but, as
| said in the outset, / do not find
fault with the Cumberland Telephone
Company for fleeing you in this
manner, / would like TO have their
place and do you the same way, if
you would allow it.
All of the rural systems are very
anxious that Hickman will fall in
line, and install an independent
switchboard, and all the rural people
from every point of the compass to
join them, and we can build a trunk
line from Cayce, switchboard to
Hickman, and give them connection
with several counties.
Let's not just sit down and talk
about this, but get a move on US,
some one set day. and call meeting
OF the people at Hickman, and vicin-
lty, and get the ball to rolling.
Don you get IT into your mind that
we can't do the work. II you have
the will, We will find the way.
S. ] FLETCHER.