Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-02-02

biyf1an Henry X. 1atenl, oil Camuen
is chairman OF tine municipal corpo-
rations committee, and while he would
not commit himself upon the subject
he announced at yesterdays adjourn
ment that ne would see TO it that his
committee took NJ the matter without
delay.
Excepting New York city. Chicago Is
the greatest city In the world in point
Of the number OF telephones in use.
Chicago has passed the 209. 600 mark,
and New York leads that figure by
about $1,000. The Chicago Telephone
Company operates under a t~wenty-year
ordinance adopted by the Common
Council in November. 1907. The city
Of Chicago reserved the right in grant.
ling the telephone franchise to buy the
Telephone outfit in January. 1919, or
& IN January. 1924, by an a~rbitratory
board hxing the price. Newark gave
the telephone people a franchise with
out such understanding. The city de
partments of Chicago also get a free
& telephone service. Newark pays
enormous bills annually for the tele-
phone service. as does also the county
OF Essex. The difference between
Newark and Chicago is that Newark
made concessions to the telephone
company. while in Chicago the tele-
phone company offered the induce
ments
Chicago situation.
Prior to the enactment of the tele-
phone ordinance Chicago business men
had a fiat rate for unlimited service
Of $125 a year The Newark business
rate was at that time $3.50. The trust
put the measured system in operation
.| in both cities. but the Newark figures
were kept far above those demanded
z and obtained by the Chicago authori-
ties A single party wire in Chicago,
allowing the subscriber / 200 calls, cost
the business man $50. The same serv-
Ice and he same number of calls in
Z Newark cost $15. A subscriber using
$500 calls IN Chicago pays sos a year,
as against $165 for the same quantity
IN Newark. That figures at the rate
of three cents per message. A Chicago
subscriber who Uses 1900 calls a year
d is given n rate Of two cents per mes
sage, while the lowest rate prevailing
In Newark. unless n private exchange
is installed. is at the rate of four cents
per message. The New Yor.: Tele-
phone Company gives a three cent rate
IN cases where private exchanges are
used.
r. The Chicago Telephone Company is a
natural monopoly in every sense Of
the word. 1t has Just completed it's
second year of operations. The re-
u-lrernents of the ordinance as to
= changes in the service have been fullv
compiled with. The largest of these
was the change of the ten-party service
y so that there should be not more than
1Gur telephones upon any one line. and
tf1.s change was eompleted within nc
elsh,eeh months prescribed by the or
uiliaiee' me problem OF providing 0
T'"i"s usEice lor tne iour-party line
Nn'e, Woulu give is known as
inisihS' l. -, the SUD-
oei 'ihss only When he Is
$500 las peeh Il dlHlcult one. The
ioln'er appliances were seriously in
u'iereu win at Tunes by the leakage
8.oi current from the electric street rail-
WAYS during the last year a device
pas peen produced which, it is thought,
satisfactorily takes care of this. and
y - peIhs put into service rapidly all
oNe the city.
w TO the telephone ordinance
q teiephone rates are reviewed by the
every hve years, and such changes
made as VIII provide from the rates
: oa hhC capital tH--
vested lit the company's plant. The
nIst or these revisions WI take place
~ June 1910. Preparatory to this the
city has employed engineers and ac-
cpuhtants VINO, with the cooperation of
tne telephone company's engineers, are
making extensive tests and studies of
service OF the various classes in the
endeaVor TO ascertain whether the re-
Turns are commensurate with the serv-
zee rendered.
Message Registers
The telephone ordinanco a,so
vidcs that the comnanw IN
meter or MESA 90 reeistor' na .hna
iscs of the snnscrihnr ~ = pio,u'
ice when such - device has so.s
d,aaa 80 " ueNice mas peen pro-
service for nerforming this - "e'ua.
the time tho ordinonne u9 - AZ
f sIderation varjoms do,iaa. unue con
scented. but mono was 80 Pre-.
-tlme which world satisfaa4" az Una.
the requirements and at thHS .nee.
ti,,a nro,ida ~ ~" at inc same
service necessar, +, ~ -" aeour"te
Z nanv's epoinoors ne coni-
The eneirears 80 :" "saociatioh win
phone and Teleera nh cans enc
(V'ipolA, nave