Alma record. (Alma, Mich.) 1878-1928, 1910-10-06

company, the president of the old
Michigan State Telephone Company
becoming the president of the new, or
Lenawee county company
This company was planned to be
entirely independent in its actions,
and by its contract was to be partial
to neither of the competing companies
operating lines around it. When the
Southern Michigan Telephone Com
pany independently was notified by
the Lenawee company, as referred TO
above, no such notification was given
to the Michigan State Telephone
Company, which continued TO use the
Lenawee County Telephone Com
pany's wires.
This action froze out the independ-
ent company completely and was but
a step in the so-called trusts cam
paign to break up the toll service of
the independent companies through
out both the state and the United
States, reduce their services to local
confines and so break them up COM
pletely, for, where a telephone COM
pany cannot maintain connection with
outside points, it must eventually go
under. This action of denying toll
service on the part of the Lenawee
County Telephone Company was
deemed in direct violation of the
states antitrust statutes by the indie
pendent companies and the matter
was brought before the attorney gen
eral by their association to determine
definitely if il was illegal.
"If so shown at the forthcoming
trial, then the Lenawee County Tele-
phone Company will be forced to not
only discontinue business, but to dis
solve, which will bring up the ques
ton Of the right OF the American
Telephone and Telegraph Company to
continue to do business under the
name of the Michigan State Telephone
Company after the latter has sought
to restrain competition and SO estab-
lsh a monopoly.
MANY people apparently have the
erroneous idea that the telephone
companies in the state doing business
under the name OF the Citizens Tele-
phone Company and independent COM
pany are all branches OF one big COM
pany. The fact is that there are over
a dozen Independent companies, large
and small, doing business in this state,
each one a separate and distinct COM
pany. but all with interests in com
4 Ill t.I t.a, 81,
lection under the name OF the Mich
igan Independent Telephone Asso-
ciation
"As each company must use the
wires OF all the others in making toll
connections and as this involves much
labor. time and trouble when it comes
to settling up accounts they have
formed the Michigan Independent
Telephone Traffic Association, which
is nothing more than a central clear
ing house for the settlement OF ac-
counts The headquarters of both
associations are located in this city
+. b. Fisher, secretary OF the Citizens
Telephone Company, is president Of
the Michigan Independent Telephone
Association, while NJ. S. Vivian OF this
city is secretary OF both associations.
Joseph b. Ware, who acted as re-
ator in the affidavit submitted TO the
attorney general, is also of this city
and is secretary-treasurer OF the Ma
tional Independent Telephone Asso-
citation. The association has en-
ployed the services of Shaw, Warren,
Cady and Oakes OF Detroit, one of the
leading law firms OF Michigan, to rep
resent its interests, and cX-Justice OF
the Supreme Court Claudius b. Grant,
a member OF the firm, was chosen to
submit the matter TO the states high
est tribunal
Like action is being taken by the
independent companies of several
other states, including Nebraska, and
telegram received yesterday from
Lincoln, Neb.. by Mr.. Ware, states
that an injunction restraining the Bell
company from refusing connections to
the independent companies was grant
ed by the supreme court OF Nebraska
on Saturday. In every one OF its
actions to restrain the Bell company
from monopolizing trade the indie
pendent association has received fav-
orable court action.