The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1912-07-26
KINGSBURY REPLIES TO
A. + SMITHS PROTEST
Says Good Phone Service De-
mands That Company Equip
All Switchboards

A. Lawrence Smith, general mana
ger ~ the Union Paper a. Irvine Co.,
and Chairman OF the BCLrd 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 com
pany II imposing upon the public be-
cause Ii 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 its customers.
MIR. Smith has written a letter to
the state railroad commission In
. (which he says:
In connection with the telephone
service, / should like 10 refer 10 some
OF the features OF other public service
corporation business In the first
place, IL you wish 10 so from Detroit
to Grand Ledge or any other place
YOU are permitted TO 80 TO the railroad
station In any manner that suits you
You can walk. take the street car, ride
horse. take a taxicab. or 20 In an
- atrsbip. The railroad company does not
refuse a passage on It's trains simply
because YOU do not go In the carriage
or omnibus of transfer company
ranEements with the railroad COM
pany.
The gas company does not insist
that you use a stove lighting hNtures
and other connections which shall be
rented from II at eXorbitant prices.
SO IL is with electricity, You are
permitted to buy and 10 own and 10
. use anything you like. provided II Will
pass 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 mains shall
be through Instruments wires ana
sWitchboards leased from IL at Fancy
prices but II makes IL impossible for
9 any business concern 10 use any sys-
TEN OF intercOmmuntcation except
through rental from the Bell company
or through installation OF its service
and some other, which means dupil-
cation of expense. This position OF the
Pell Telephone Co has cost us humid
reds OF dollars annually, and the total
unnecessary cost OF telephone service
because Of this attitude, must be some
thing tremendous.
N. C. Kingsbury, vice-president or
tho American Telephone & Telegraph
Co., anu former president OF the Mich
igan State Telephone Co. said In re-
ply TO Mr.. Smiths objection that the
company was interested only in SER
vice and that the rule about inde-
pendent installations had been made
for the benefit OF the service.
~ "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 It Is TO work prop
erly. and 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 1t with
as much care as we could, and 1t !
might work satisfactorily, but his
next-door neighbor might call for the
. same privilege OF putting in his own
system buy cheaper equipment and
put the service in the whole city out
OF Older by an overcharge OF cleo
trictiy, or something OF the sort, be-
cause ne did not conform TO standard /
regulations. Then Mr.. Smith and
everybody who uses a telephone would
suffer.
"Mr. Smiths reference to the rail |
road train is hardly in point because
II makes no difference whatsoever 10
the rest OF the passengers in the train !
what means OF conveyance he may
have used to get TO the station, but
It 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.
n.,r rttln In I'D IN
st3llations is made for the good OF ,
every telephone user. 1t would be ut |
terly impossible to inspect every |
private system that business houses |
might want TO install and make sure |
that 1t was up to standard, and IL |
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-
orbtant rental charges, and under !
Z 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 |
on its merits.
THE proposed merger has been |
negotiated for the purpose of imprCv' |
ing the service that we can give 10 !
the people Of Detroit. We could |
spend s4.O00,000 over a period Of four
years and make the same improve
ments in service that We expect to |
be able to make by the addition OF !
the facilities OF the Home company. !
We set aside $1,00000o 10 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 twotfirds Of 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 10 Lake
G,,pnvfnr tVhara h. mill