Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1909-05-12
PHONE RATES
RAISED IN CITY
The Company Cites Findings Of
Committee aS Justification.
The COMMITTEE PRACTICALLY
REPuDlATES THEIR REPORT
Citizens Take Action and I'm Mass
Meeting Petition the Coun-
Gil 10 Submit the QueS-
tion OF CITY Plant.

The Northwestern Telephone Ex-
change Company gives notice Of a
fifty cent per month raise in the
rates of the telephones in use in
this city to take effect June first.
As a result the telephone question
that has been discussed at Willmar
for more than two or three years
has reached the acute stage when
something besides talk is liable to
occur.
Last Monday evening mass
meeting of citizens of the city was
held at the Carlson hall. which
meeting adopted a resolution re-
questing the city council to submit
as soon as possible to the voters of
the city the question whether or
not the city should take over and
operate the telephone exchange.
A committee of fifty headed by the
chairman, H. j. Ramsett, was ap-
pointed to wait on the council,
which was then in session, and COM
municate the result of the meeting.
The council at once took the neces-
sary preliminary steps to have an
ordinance passed and submitted.
Last Friday morning every tele-
phone patron in the city received
two letters from the telephone COM
pany. The first letter emanated
from the headquarters of the North
western at Minneapolis, and read as
follows:
Dear Sir;
In accordance with the agreement
made by our Vice President with
the committee appointed by the
Willmar Commercial Club, the
rates for telephone service in, the
City of Willmar, commencing June
list, 1909, will be as follows:
Business telephone, special lines,
$3.50 per month.
Residence telephones. special
lines, $3.50 per month.
Residence telephones, 2 party
lines, $1.25 per month.
The above mentioned rates were
agreed upon by this Committee and
our Company during April, 1908,
with the understanding that the
Company should have the privilege
of placing these rates in effect at
once. The Company has withheld
making this change up to the pre-
sent time, but is unable to operate
this Exchange any longer without
putting these rates into effect.
Bills will be rendered at the
above rates commencing June 1st,
1909.
Yours truly,
John Williams,
Manager.
The second letter was one dictat-
ed by the local manager, Mr.. Will
liams, as an explanation or amplifi-
cation of the first.
To the Subscribers of the North
western Telephone Exchange Com
pany.
Willmar, Minn., May l, 1909.
| Attached please find notice OF
change in rates, taking effect June
1st.
! Ever since the Common Battery
System has been installed in Will.
mar, the Company has been furnish.
} ing service at a loss. They have
several times granted my request
to let the rates remain as they were
but they do not think they ought tt
be asked to continue these rates any
longer, and it is hardly right to ex.
pect them to do so. They have Civ.
en- you first class plant, and they
expect me to give you first clas.
service, which l have tried to do.
The Company expects to put il
several thousand feet of cable thi.
summer to take the place of the
! heavy leads of open wire. Thi.
y will give better service. can as
sure you that the Company want.
to give you as good a plant and a
good service as it is possible t,
; give.
4. I wish to call your attention t,
. the two party line system for resi-
J dences. Under this system, tn,
central can call either party on tn,
e line without ringing the bell of th'
: other party. We have several O
: them working here now and the,
r are giving good satisfaction.
In regard to whether the Com
: pany are losing money or not,
i. would refer you to Messrs. A. E
: Rice, L. O. Thorpe, C. W. Odell
; Einar Wellin and T. o. Gilbert
/. These gentlemen examined tn
books of the Company last sprin,