Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-11-09
Mr.. MOORE SAYS FARMERS ARE
NOT PAYING ENOUGH FOR
THEIR SERVICE.
LINES CARRY
TOO MANY PHONES
If All Were Reduced to Ton Phones Per
Limo Now Rate Would Figure the
Same 40 Old - Farmer Gets His
phone for Half Party Rate in Town
MIR. Moere's Statement.

The Marshall Telephone Company
on the business of its proposed change
IN rates ii the latter so desire. When seen
company, said that they We're propos-
ing change the rate from SIS per
month for each rurai phone, largely to
force much needed Improvement in the
service Ten phones being about the
maximum number which should be car
ried on single line 10 insure perfect
service, the so cent charge would not
be raise in the rates up to that point,
but that on lines Which We're carrying
fifteen to twenty phones the raise,
While material at first, would result in
putting in more lines and reducing the
number of phones on each which, he
said. must be done before patrons in
town and out would quit cussing the
Marshall Telephone Company for poor
service
Farmers who have mutual exchanges
with a central at Green Mountain and
Albion. for instance, now get the full
service of connection with MARSHALL
month in addition 70 the cost Of keep
ing up their mutual exchange. This
rate is not TO be changed Farmers
who have direct connection with Mar
shalltown and all OF its city phones.
besides connection with all of the rurals
centering here. are TO be charged so
cents per month EACH instead OF the
Zine charge. Mr.. Moore estimates that
only a few of the lines Will average
much more than twelve 20 fourteen
phones each, SO that the change will
not average much more than 10 to Is
cents per month increase per phone
NJ Moore argues that farmers should
be abunda-ltly able to pay what their
service costs when people in town who
rent homes instead of owning them
/ gladly pay rates more than double re-
ceiving, of course. an improved service
because of the better city equipment
Mr.. Moore IN talking about the phone
controversy said:
What citizen has any idea of tbs
magnitude of the work done by tn.
Marshalltown Telephone Company since
July l year ago. when we acquired
the Iowa Telephone Company's plan
and combined the two Generally the
knowledge is limited TO the inconveni
ence and interruption the subscriber
has necessarily sustained during tn.
| work
who thinks for a moment that W.
are regularly giving employment II
lhirty-two girls and twenty-five men
and that during the storm of last win
ter and the work OF laying a new un
derround conduit employed twice a
/ many men? While the cut over wa
being made forty-one girls were en-
ployed. Up TO Nov. /. 1909, we paid 70
expense, largel! salaries, s5163ss1
storm expense. s1.26se1: for new
switchboard and office equipment. $40.
572.75; for new building, s20.a5s.79: 70
new underground conduit and cable:
s5,45639: new construction, ss,9oS.17
total Of s1o5,so152
An unheard OF feat in telephony ila
been accomplished to-wit: Two mag
neto boards in widely separated ex
changes have been moved and com
!. bined lin a third position. our ne,
builoing) on a modern central energ
switchboard. and service as Who'll
never interrupted for a moment. Tha
out Of some 2.200 phones so few wer
out of business Is almost a miracle.
twenty-five hundred old magnet
phones taken out and scrapped. A