The Hawaiian gazette., 1909-04-16
BELL PHONE
TO PASS OUT

from wednesdays Advertlserb
The telephone situation has suddenly
come TO climax by the purchase Of
the control Of the Mutual Telephone
Company by those interested in the in.
siallation II the automatic system in
Honolulu. Tho transaction was brought
to head yesterday afternoon by the
purchase Of the Campbell Estates
stock and that Of few stockholders
closely connected Herewith, amounting
to Digs shares at the par value Of $40
per share. The purchasers are Alexan.
der a Balwin, G. Brewer 4 Co., r. A.
Schaefer a Co., the Hawaiian Trust
Co., James +. Morgan, Bishop 4 CO., Z.
NJ. Cooke, Ltd, VIM. G. Irwin & Co.,
the Hawaiian Development Co. and sew
eral others. The total number of Mu-
tual Company shares is $4,000, and the
purchasers have therefore acquired
nearly two-thirds of the stock at
$92,6S0
The purchasers are members of n syn
dictate who were backing the Hutchins
proposition to expand the wireless com
pany's business into joint wireless and
telephone system.
The purchase is made as a part of the
plan to amalgamate the Mutual Tele.
phone Company and the Wireless Com
pany, the amalgamating company tax
ing over the automatic company's fran.
chise held by Hutchns and the real es-
tate recently acquired by him for tele-
phone and central purposes at the cor
ner of Bishop and Merchant streets.
The properties of the joint company
will probably be bonded to secure the
necessary funds to convert the present
system from Bell to an automatic sys-
tenn. The present deal is the outcome
of long drawn-out effort to retain con
| troll of both the wireless system and the
Honolulu telephone system in local
hands, to secure a more efficient tele-
phone system, and at the same time to
prevent the annoying results to the pub
lie of a telephone fight.
The other principal stockholders of
the Mutual Telephone Company are the
c. NJ. Cooke Company, Ltd, and the
Athertons. 1t is understood that they
are fully in accord with the proposed
financing of the new company and will
come into the amalgamated company
The business combination back of the
amalgama;ed wireless and telephone
company is the strongest ever given
any company hoated in Honolulu. Both
the Wireless and Mutual Telephone
Company are today paying handsome
profits over and above operating ex-
penses, but during the past year have
been putting their surplus profits into
improvements in their respective sys-
TENS. With the improved telephone sys-
tenn which will be given by the auto
matte telephone, the economies incident
thereto arising from joint manage
ment of the two companies, the ANAL
gamated company's stock ought to be
among the best paying stocks in the
Territory.
The parties concerned, and most of
all the public, who would have been
most seriously disconnected by the du-
plication of the services, are to be con-
graduated upon the outcome of this
matter.
1t is understood that the amalgama-
ton and reorganization of the two COM
panies will Immediately take place, the
basis of the reorganization being val
uation of $150,000, with the property
of the Mutual put in at $15O,000, and
the property of the wireless comnany
at 100000, making a total capitaliza-
ton of $250000. The transaction will
be completed at nine clock this morn
ing, when the stock. of Cecil Brown,
the Campbell Estate and H. M. Won
Holt will be taken over and the checks
of Alexander & Baldwin accepted. :
This transaction means that there
is nothing to interfere with the imme-
date beginning of the most radical i'm
provement of the telephone service so
that it should be completely brought up
to date within year. Mr.. Hummell,
an automatic telephone electrical engi-
neer, arrived last week to look over the
automatic telephone installation propo-
sition, and brought samples of the lat
est automatic telephone with him.