Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-28
new RULE FOR TELEPHONES
State Railroad Commission Decides
Novel Point.
DISSEMINATION Is DEFINED
Telephone Com psnies May Not Charge
One Rate 70 subscribers and
nothe to NOnsubscrIbers.
for same Service.
DISCRIMINATION
IS DEFINED
H,rom a STAFF Correspondent

G'rom a staff Correspondent
LINCOLN, Jan. 2L-(Special) -An odd
point in the matter OF telephone service
was decided today by the state railroad
commission. Out in the town Of Edison
resides a butcher named @. w. Burt, who
has in his shop a phone attached TO the
Farmers Union Telephone system. In the
town Itself is another system. operated by
: the Edison Telephone company. The latter
\ has an arrangement with the Farmers
8 company by which connections may be
: made between the two companies upon
payment OF a Is cents a month switching
charge.
The Edison company gives service at
a charge Of s1.15 a month, while that Of
the Farmers is much less. Burt offered
to pay the 25 cents a month switching
charge. This would give him service to
all customers OF the Edison company, but
Al a less rate than S1.J a month. The
Edison company refused to let him practice
this economy. He applied to the commits
sion for an order compelling them to carry
out the agreement with the Farmers COM
pany.
The commission rules that It cannot do
this, because this would give him cheaper
service that that furnished by the town
company TO other subscribers, thus consti-
tuting discrimination. No contract, It is
held, could be invoked to compel this being
done.
The commission also passes upon a re-
quest from the Farmers g. Merchants
company OF Alma to be allowed to permit
patrons to use a pay phone at the railroad
depot without charge, while nonpartrons
must pay. The railroad company has a
phone in the station also. and the thrifty
IT - go - -
ence to paying for the use OF the other one.
The company sent a letter to the governor,
ard he turned it over to the commission.
Tho request is denied on the ground that
the use OF the phone must be open to all
persons on the same terms, whether
patrons or not.
Expenses of Lancaster.
THAT the cost to the taxpayers Of rum
ming the county during the year 1909 will
amount to about $4,000 and that fully
half Of this amount will be spent on roads
and bridges Is the estimate of the county
commissioners filed with the county clerk
Wednesday morning. This is not the total
cost of the maintenance of the county gov
ernment, as most OF the county officials
draw their salaries out of the fees re-
Ceived in their offices. Neither does this
include the cost of the maintenance of the
schools. as about $4,000 was spent on the
county schools last year and 1t is expected
that the cost this year will be greater still.
Taking everything together, it will cost
about $750.oo0 TO maintain all the county
institutions for the current year.
The part, however, with which the com
missioners have TO do and on which their
estimates are made includes the building
of roads and construction of bridges outside
of incorporated towns, the support of the
courts Of the county, the payment of the
salaries of officers who are not paid out
Of their fees. the provision for the Jail.
county farm and detention. the repairing
and maintaining of the county building and
the payment OF the county sinking fund.
on account Of the damage to county
Ioeos by tic l1ods last sprins the commits.
sioners n.e ",, airing to expend as much
as Sl25,Us ? . e sary, to put the roads
in good "a Tho same time they
say tho, 20 4 $4,000 # it takes that
mucn 90 ., y b I'ses ON county roads,
repa. ant Put IN c~ulverts and
draiLs
60 81 OaiccrS Meet.
or o. Colonel j. c. Hartigan,
%adiutru. general, the officers Of the Ne
brasku National Guard met in Lincoln
Tuesday and the affairs of the guard were
threShed out In a number of interesting dis
cussions. The sntagonism that has existed
between the adjutant general and the guard
officers has been smoothed away in part
and the commendation of the adjutant gen.
erals policy yesterday indicated that the
best OF harmony would prevail in the guard.
The GLOWING officers ware elected: Presi-
dent, Captain j. A. Wing of Omaha first
vice president. Major Walden of Beatrice;
second vice president, Captain S. E. Yoder
OF Wymore; secretary, Colonel ]. A. Storch
of Fullerton; treasurer, Major H, ]. Paul
of ST. Paul. These officers and Colonel A.