The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1909-05-14
TELEPHONE COMPETITION AS
 IT IS PROPOSED BY THE
 HOME TELEPHONE COMPANY
Harrison B. Freeman, Jr Draws Glowing Picture of
 One Telephone to Every Four Persons.
And Free Communication With Dependent Surrounding Towns, by Automatic Service-Board of Trade Enjoys Interesting Address.

independent telephones in the United States. with an expenditure of over $500. GOO, 900 of capital. The Independent Telephones Companies in raising this enormous amount of capital have not found it necessary to call upon Wall Street for one dollar.
 These Companies are to-day in a prosperous condition and on a dividend paying basis. The percentage of fail- ures among the 5000 Independent Tele- phone Companies in the United States is less than 29e. being less percentage than the failures among National Banks.
 .tThe jaws of Connecticut have prac- tically shut out competition from this state- The last Legislature passed a law permitting the formation of tele- phone companies under the joint stock law, but providing that such company must secure a finding of public con- venience and necessity from the Su- perior Court before beginning the con- struction or operation of its system.
 An actual canvass of the directories of both the Independent and Bell Com panies in Ohio shows that the duplica- tion of service is only 12To, proving conc1usively that the subscribers to the Independent Telephone Companies came almost entirely from people who had not hitherto enjoyed the benefits of telephone service.
 ''The plans of the Independent Com pany propose the systematic and sim uiedIleouS OeVeIopIlenC or the WnOle State. except in those towns in Litch- field County where an Independent Telephone Company already exists. In those towns connection will be had with these companies so as to cover every town in the State.
 "The new company will have but IT divisions where the Southern New England has over 50. There will be no toll line charges whatsoever within the limits of any division- and each country town will be connected with and included in the division of the city of market town with which it is naturally connected.
 ''In the Bridgeport division there is included the following towns: Bridge port. Easton. Fairfield. Huntington. Monroe. Stratford, Trumbull, Weston, and Westport. total population 115 900, with no toll line charge to Bridgeport or any other town within the division. To points outside the division the toll line rate will be based upon the charge of one-half a cent per mile for all points outside of the division with a minimum toll line charge of 10 cents, but no toll line charge in excess of % cents within the State-
 ''The new company will install a modern. automatic telephone system, which can be operated at least one third cheaper than the manual system now in use in this State.
 with the improvements which have been made in the methods of construc- ton. with the use of the cable system instead of the open wire system in the country districts. and the conduit and the inner block system in the cities, which does away with a large part of sitated by the old methods of con- struction. large proportion of the ex- pense of maintenance and depreciation is saved. This enables a new company