Chicago eagle., 1912-07-27
THE MAYOR AND THE Telg.
PHONE TRUST.

No matter how people may have
differed with Mayor Carter H. Har.
rison on side issues everybody regards
him az an honest man. He has proven
this fact over and over again. But
the telephone situation in Chicago has
given another instance Of the mayors
possession Of this cardinal virtue. Ev.
erybody is familiar with the facts. For
q long time the Telephone Monopoly
has been lording 1t over the people
Of Chicago. It has been charging what
It pleased for telephone service and
has paid enormous dividends out OF
money wrung from the pockets OF the
people of this city. It has been fight
ing the Illinois Tunnel Company be.
cause It has installed an effective and
useful competitive service. Backed by
the trust press, the monopoly tried Ito
best to forfeit the Tunnel Company's
franchise that It might continue on its
career Of unopposed aggrandizement.
As The Eagle has repeatedly pointed
out, the ruthless Telephone Trust has
all along, through its hirelings, been
abusing the honest mayor and honest
aldermen because they did not sur
render the whole telephone field to
II. Mayor Harrison and his admins
tration have met the situation man
fully and the people will not forget
them. The council committee on gas,
oil and electric light, Of which Alder
man Cermak is chairman. was asked
by the Telephone Monopoly to forfeit
the franchise Of the Automatic com
pany. The committee asked the cor
poration counsel what its powers
would be in the premises In case the
bluff Of the monopoly hirelings was
made good in anyway. The wrong
number" monopoly had the gall to
demand the forfeiture of the Automat'
ic company's franchise on the alleged
ground that it did not have a sufficient
number OF subscribers on q given
date. For this reason 1t asked the al
dermen to give the Telephone Trust
the right to continue its exorbitant
charges without any chance OF compe
tition or business opposition. The
corporation counsel was not long IN
furnishing an opinion which has been
hailed by the people Of Chicago with
delight.
II was held in the opinion that the
company had acted In good faith; tina,
1t had the necessary number OF sub
scribers; that 1t was delayed In secur
ing them because of inaction on the
part Of the city, and that the courts
were slow to forfeit equities under
such conditions. The opinion was
written by Assistant Corporation Coun
sci Craig and approved by Corporation
Counsel Sexton.
1--WE are of the opinion" reads the
closing paragraph OF the opinion, that
under the facts shown in the report
Of the Everett Audit company and the
public utility inspector in charge, the
courts would not decree or sustain q
forfeiture of the companys right &C
quired under the ordinance OF Feb
20, 1899, or a forfeiture of its plant
and equipment for telephone pur
poses"
Mayor Harrison expressed himself
as believing that better service coulc
be obtained from a dual telephone
service than from a single one.
In every instance that ] have beer
personally informed Of" he said, "th'
two systems have been about as cheal
10 the consumer as one. Competition
seems 10 produce better service.
really believe that better service cal
be expected from two companies thai
from one"