Golden Valley chronicle. (Beach, Billings County, N.D.) 1905-1916, 1910-01-28
Telephone co.
annual MEETING
Officers Elected for Ensuing Year
and Other Business Transacted =
To Increase Capital Stock

Tuesday the stockholders Of the
Golden Valley Telephone Company
held their annual meeting. The
reports Of the officers were received.
These show the affairs Of the COM
pany to be in a fourising condi-
tion. The company now owns,
besides the plant in the city, 100
miles of rural lines and has install
led 81 phones in the city and lis in
the country. One line extends to
Carlyle and another is within three
or four miles of Burkey, and will
be extended to that point soon a
the crew now at work can complete
the line. Other lines connect with
Yates and Chama. After the re-
ports were heard E. E. Mikkelson
and C. E. Barber were chosen to
fill vacancies in the board Of d.
rectors. This makes the present
membership of the board as fol-
lows: ]. P. Smith, A. L. Arnold.
H. L. Wheeldon, C. E. Barber and
E. E. Mikkelson.
After the stockholders meeting
the directors met and elected the
following officers for the ensuing
year: President, j. P. Smith;
vice president, E. E. Mikkelson;
secretary and treasurer, A. L.
Arnold; superintendent Of con-
struction. II. L. Wheeldon.
In compliance with a resolution
of the stockholders the directors
have issued a call for a special
meeting of the stockholders
to determine whether the COM
pany shall increase its capital stock
to $50,000.00.
The company proposes to extend
its lines 300 miles during the pres
ent year. These extensions will be
both north and south of the rail-
road tracks and will reach every
part of the Valley.
In view of these extensive
improvements during the coming
season the stockholders felt that
the company should be in a posi-
tion to sell more stock if it were
necessary, as the present capital
stock has been nearly all disposed
Of.
The new board of directors made
a radical change in the plan Of
installing rural phones. Here
after any subscriber who purchases
two shares Of the capital stock
may have a phone without any
subscription to construction stock
required in the past. So. too,
those who do not want stock of
any kind may have telephone SER
vice by paying the sum of $47.50
in advance for three years. phone
rental. For those who do not wish
to pay cash rental in advance or
buy capital stock, construction
stock will be sold for $50. 100 a share
as before. On this stock the SUBJ
scriber pays $4,000 cash and the
balance by two notes of $4,000
each. These notes do not draw in
terest, and against this stock the
company charges the phone rental,
so that this amounts to only guar
anty that the subscriber will take
a phone and pay the agreed rent
for same.
This makes a very liberal prop
osition for every class of subscrib-
ers and is giving the company
some guaranty that it's lines will
be used and the phone rent a paid
promptly when installed. On
these points the company needs to
be secure if it is to succeed in
giving its customers first class SER
vice. 1t is q big undertaking to
build a first class line in a country
like this where labor and freight
are high and the distance between
farms is a great deal more than in
the east. Those who talk about
cheaper rates in the east must re.
member that labor and material
are higher her, while the number
of subscribers to the area, great
deal less. To have equally as good
service as in the east the rental
must be higher. What the peo.
pie here demand is good service at
reasonable cost.
The Golden Valley Telephone
Company is a local enterprise
launched by the local people and
controlled by local men. More
than two-thirds of the capital
stock is now owned by residents o1
Beach and the surrounding farms
It desires to have every farmer ir