The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1911-03-02
Wilson Does Not See Things as
Wainnlan Does
TAKES ISSUE WITH HIM
Sank Centre Man Comes Back With
a Reply to the Telephone
COmpany'S letter

| Editor Herald:-In last weeks issue
of The Herald, under the heading
"Wilson is Shown" there appears a
communication from the Northwest
ern Telephone Co., signed by their
vice president, G. p. Wainman, in
which the gentleman, whose name is
an unknown quantity in this vicinity,
failed to answer q set of questions
that have been asked by scores OF
citizens, not alone in Sank Centre
but by hundreds of fair-minded peo-
pie of the surrounding towns who
would know why conditions such as
those now in existence in our City
should be allowed to prevail. When
the writer of the questions called up
on the Northwestern Telephone Com
pany for an explanation he did not
intend to hurt the feelings of the in
dividuals connected with said COM
pany. They were asked in good faith
and the writer expected civil an
swer.
We are very sorry to know~that a
man of Mr.. Wainman's caliber should
resort to such tactics as to attribute
to his neighbors his own words, 'to be
either entirely ignorant or disingenu-
ous," when the fact of the matter
was that we were ingenious In
other words, frank and candid in ask
! ing the questions at issue. We would
say, however, that if the questions
were SO foolish as Mr.. Wainman would
have us believe, he should not have
replied in a manner that carries the
inference that he was nettled by
them.
To come back to the original ques-
lions. The first one. relative to the
Telephone Company having six solicit
tors at Faribault cutting rates, was
based on items printed in the Mime
apolis Journal during the week of
Feb. 1918, 1911, under Faribault date
lines.
Second. Why are subscribers at
Sank Centre compelled to pay more
for their phones than at Anoka and
Red Wing? Mr.. Wainman admits
that we pay no more than is charged
at Anoka with its population of 1000.
Now if we are to figure out proper
tion as stated, in our franchise with
our population of 2,164 against that
of Anoka, the only conclusion we can
draw from the foregoing figures is
that the farther such towns as ours
are located from their competitors the
higher apparently the rates. This
naturally leads our people to believe
that we are being imposed upon. If
competition has been the means of
rates. being reduced, as reported at
Faribault, to Is cts. per month, we
will leave it to every fair minded
man if a little competition would not
be a good thing for our citizens.
Third. Why can other telephone
companies afford to furnish phones
at 81. 90 and $500 even where there is
no competition, and in some instances
when they have cable system?"
Mr.. Wainman here becomes a false
prophet, prophesying bankruptcy for
all Independent telephone companies
operating in Minnesota at S1.O0 and
$500. How can he reconcile his
statement with the following extract
from the Redwood Falls, MIMI,
Gazette of Feb. q, 1911:
1.-THE Redwood Falls Electric Tele-
phone Co., has been able to distribute
a ten per cent dividend out of the
earnings of their first years business.
Many business men went into the
company under the impression that
they would do well enough to get
through the first year and break even,
Continued on page 5.