The Detroit times., 1912-07-25
KINGSBURY REPLIES TO
A. [ SMITHS PROTEST
Says Good Phone Service De
mands That Company Equip
All Switchboards

ger III the Union Paper & Irvine Co.,
and chairman OF the BeIrd OF Com
merce committee investigating the
proposed absorption OF the Home Tel
ephoaC Co. by the Michigan State
Telephone Co. has registered a vigor-
GUS protest against the plan. Mr..
Smith claims that the Michigan CON-
| pany IL imposing upon the public be-
cause It will not connect its lines
with the eleven privately installed tel
ephone systems owned by the Home
company subscribers, insisting upon
installing and maintaining switch
boards for It's customers.
Mr.. Smith has written a letter TO
the state railroad commission In
which he says:
In connection with the telephone
| service, l should like to refer TO some
OF the features OF other public service
corporation business. In the FIRST
to Grand Ledge or any other place,
YOU are permitted TO go TO the railroad
station In any manner that suits YOU.
You can walk. take the street car, ride
horse, take a tRxicab. or go In an
airsbip. The railroad company does not
refuse a passage on Its trains simply
beckuEe you do not go In the carriage
or or.nlbus or transfer company
which may have close working ar
ranEements with the railroad COM
pany.
that YOU use a stove lighting fixtures
and other connections which shall be
rented from IL at exorbitant prices
SO II Is with electricity. You ara
permitted to buy and to own and 10
use anything you like, provided IL VIII
pnss proper inspection and provided
you pay for the current which you
will consume and which Is delivered TO
your door by the corporation.
In the case OF the telephone com
pany. however, IL insists not only that
all conversations over Its mans SHAH
switch boards leased from IL at fancy
prices but II makes II impossible Tor
any business concern 10 use any sys-
TEN of ntercommunicalon exeept
through rental from the Bell company
or through installation OF It's service
and some other, which means oupil-
cation OF expense. This position or the
reds OF dollars annually. and the total
unnecessary cost OF telephone service
/, because OF this attitude. must be some
thing tremendous.
tho American Telephone q Telegraph
Co., aud former president OF the Mich
igan State Telephone Co., said In re-
IT.
company was interested only In ser
Woe and that the rule about indie
! pendent installations had been made
for the benefit OF the service.
1.-THE entire telephone system Is
very delicately adjusted" he said,
There are countless little things
which must be kept In tune with the
whole system II II Is to work prop
erly, aud to insure proper service We
believe that all installations should
be uniform. Mr.. Smith might buy
the same sort OF equipment that we
use on our lines and install II with
az much care as we could, and 1t
might work satisfactorily, but his
nsxt.door. neighbor might call for the
same privilege OF putting In his own
system, buy a cheaper equipment ana
put the service In the whole city out
Of Older by an overcharge OF elec'
trictiy, or something OF the sort, be-
cause he did not conform to standard
regulations. Then Mr.. Smith and
everybody who uses telephone would
suffer.
"Mr. Smiths reference to the rail-
road train Is hardly In point because
1t makes no difference whatsoever to
the rest OF the passengers In the train
what means of conveyance he may
have used to get to the station, nut
1t Is vitality important to every tele-
phone user in the United States that
every piece of equipment on the lines
should be in tune. Mr.. Smiths priv
ate Installation might work perfectly
for calls in the city but II would prob
ably not be adjusted at all for long
distance calls.
"Odr rule In regard to private in
stollations Is made for the good OF
every telephone user. II would be ut
terly impossible to inspect every
private system that business houses
might want to install and make sure
that It was UP to standard, and II
we were to be asked to maintain
such systems and keep them In re-
pair, as we do our own, the users
would soon find that 1t would cost
more than II would to rent equip
ment from us.
"The only real question which Mr..
Smith raises Is the question of ex.
orbitant rental charges, and under
the Giles act the rates TO be charged
for every class OF service are entirely
in the hands Of the state railroad
commission. The question which he
raises has nothing whatever to do
with the proposed merger. 1t is for
the railroad commission to settle up
OH its merits
THE proposed merger has been
negotiated for the purpose of imprcv.
ing the service that we can give to
the people OF Detroit. We could
spend 100000 over period OF four
years and make the same improves
ments in service that we expect to
be able to make by the addition OF
the facilities OF the Hume company.
We set aside 100000 to be spent
this year for improvements, but n
has not been touched pending the
outcome OF these negotiations. Our
facilities are overtaxed at present,
while the Home company Is only op-
Grating to about two-thhrds Df its ca
pacity We will be able to put all
the equipment OF the Home company
into service at once to relieve our
own lines"
Mr. Kingsbury spent the afternoon
in Detroit on his way UP TO Lake
Superior. where he will spend va
cation.