Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1912-02-10

JAMGs p
Popular RspubI
tion Of The telephone system q tAis
country. with tho latest up.to6ato 90 |
tomato methods. would make tolo' |
phoning % cheap - writing lettses.
and cheaper.
That win not come q ooce. but . |
very great improvement win eomA
and hight away.
The price charged by Ne Dsll non.
opoly 10 prepostsrous-<Ases % 10
worse form Of extortion among al1 he
extortions IN the United States.
A man who ive0 IN he 0u0uFo0
thirty miles from . BIG city GotD Q
commutation ticket. The railroad
carries his two.hundred.pounA body
back and forth twice Q day Tor
twenty-five cents Q day. II hs wants
% taik 70 his house twice Q DAY the
telephone company charges him sixty
cents. and charges for he wire ~
sides.
In other words, the telephone mon.
opoiy charges more than twice -
much 70 carry over Q wire Q human
voice, which weighs nothing. - the
railroad charges to carry . two.hun.
dred.pound man over thirty miles OF
solid steel rails.
And the railroad has 70 have tsr.
minals, and locomotives. and power:
whereas. with the telephone. The
mans own voice 10 the chief power
involved.
Armour Of Chicago 70 . man who
could givs the people Of this country
the benefit Of cheap telephone service
Ii he should make up his mind 70 do
T. He has proved bic ability - q
organiser: hs 10 . man Of great
wealth and Of unusual industry and
application. Il 10 notorious that his
working hours are from seven In the
morning until six In the evening. and
that. work = ~ only amusement
The idea = not visionary. for A.
mour. associated with othsrs-with the
Hartman estate. with Kennedy Todd
and Dc Forest Of New York, and with
the receivers Of the Chicago subway
40 Q body-has already begun the
work Of giving genuinely cheap and
eficisnt telephone service 70 The city
Of Chicago
In Chicago the receivers Of the sub.
way have installed already more than
twenty-five thousand automatic tele.
phones. They give an unlimited serv.
Ice for @S6 Q year-about one-half the
charge OF the Bell monopoly. They
give unlimited telephone service TO
private families for less than thirty
dollars q year. With 0 full extension
OF their system even the poorest fam.
ilies viii use the telephones. and b.
better OF at the end Of the year
through the saving Of carfare.
The charge for pay stations With
this new system. which 10 backed By
Armour and the others. 10 three cents
per call, and the intention 10 10 lower
this rate eventually from three cents
to one cent At one cent the pro0t
would be enormous. With the eoono.
mics of the automatic telephone and
. sufacient number Of subscribsrs.
The right plan would bs. Of course.
for the business men Of New York
who pay enormous tolls to the tele'
phone monopoly to get together. to
bind themselves to take new service
An automatic cheap service with
certain guarantees = and through
pressure of public opinion compel the
granting OF q franchise TO IN auto
matte company charging the Lowest
possible rate.
But II 10 difhcult TO get business
men to unite; difiicult to make then
resent effectively even the most pal
pable extortion.
The chief hope lies in the courage
energy and business knowledge o
such . man 40 Armour. who has thu
money. who 10 not frightened by th'
power Of q monopoly, and who might
II he chose, be remembered as one O
the real benefactors OF the countr!
by breaking down the telephone mon
opoly and making Of the great tele
phone convenience . blessing within
the reach Of all and 40 cheap. In pro
portion. - the national postofics.
The telephone trust Is the mos
grinding Of the many trusts that exis
In the United States.
It snuffs out competition by th'
power OF its money and the people
are like so many serfs to be used a
It's own beck and call.
The rising tide of indignation will
never subside until the whole tele
phone trust and its aides and abettor
are punished.
Charles F. DeWoody. division super
intendent in the Department Of Jus
; tice secret service. returned from
trip on which II Ia reported he ha