The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1911-02-23

Telephone Company Hands Him
Back a Warm Reply
QUESTIONS ANSWERED
Vice President Wainman Takes up
Gauntlet Thrown Down by
Sank Centre Merchant

MINNEAPoLIs, Feb %, 1911. Tc
Editor of Herald" Sank Centre
Mimi. Dear Sir:
In your issue of Feb. 10th appears
an article under the caption wilson
Would Know" in which that gentle
man arrogates to himself the privi-
lege of catechising the Northwestern
Telephone Exchange Company as to
its business. Who Mr.. Wilson may
Ee or whom he represents, the writer
does not know, but it is perfectly eyi.
dent from the questions which he
asks to have answered through your
columns that he is either entirely
Ignorant or that he is very disingen-
uous.
It is useless to waste time answer
ing a question which of itself states
an untruth. For instance, he asks,
4Why does the Northwestern Com
pany have six solicitors at Faribault,
cutting rates, etc." when the fact OF
the matter is that it has not six soil
citors at Faribault.
He asks, "Why are subscribers at
Sank Centre compelled to pay more
for phones than they pay al Anoka
or at Red Wing" when the fact is
that they do not pay any more than
is charged at Anoka nor as much as
is charged at Red Wing for the same
class of service.
He asks why other telephone COM
panies andprivate lines furnish phones
at S100 for residences and $500 for
business houses, his question presup-
posing that the companies quoting
! these charges are making profit in
the operation of their plant, when i
venture to say that there is not q
telephone company in the state Of
Minnesota operating an exchange of
the size of the one in Sank Centre at
the rates above stated which. is not
now or in the near future will be,
bankrupt.
He asks, .sWhy have we not in
stalled a central energy system, as
was promised" when in fact there
was no central energy system promised
and the records of the city council
will show such to be the fact.
He asks "why we go to the expense
of having solicitor in Sank Centre
to induce citizens to re-install phones
and at the same time stating that we
will never cut the price and will keep
the Office open for long distance and
toll business alone" No such state
ment has ever been made by officials
of the company or by any employee
having authority to speak for the
company. Having solicitor in Sank
Centre, as in other places, is purely
business proposition.
To show the disingenuousness of
the gentleman, his next question asks,
"Why have you charged ore of the
citizens only $1.O0 for his residence
phone for the month of February,
1911, and the balance S1.5O?'' Now
Mr.. Wilson knows, if he knows any
thing in regard to the matter, that
>, the citizen charged Sl.O0 per month
is clergyman and that the Tele-
phone Company makes special rates
under specific authority Of the statute
to clergymen throughout the state.
His last question is, .Why do you
not answer the protest dated January
10th, when he knows perfectly well
that the letter was answered under
date of January 27th, in which COM
munication he was advised that the
writer was i'll and absent from the of
fee and that upon his recovery and
return his so-called protest would re-
ceive personal attention.
This company is always ready and
Continued on page 81