Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1912-08-17

payment Of q second toll. Telephone
operators are careful to prevent the
second call from being made without
the payment Of q second nickel.
Both the railroad companies and the
telephone company should do their
best to see that the arrangement Of
department names in the telephone d..
rectory 10 sufnciently clear to enable
lnQuirers to call the Arst time for
the number they really want.
The city ought TO have Q bureau Of
complaints to which appeals for the
Of faulty conditions Of
service might be made By patrons Of
local public utility corporation.
The Chicago Telephone Company
charges q much lower rental for its
service In suburban towns than Il
does In the city. Yet the onlcers Of
the corporation have the gail to Gay
that all Of the big gain In IT, service
reported at the annual meeting this
year came from the country. This. Of
course, 10 Q reason for raising the
rates. The following from thu Chica.
60 Daily News shows how the phone
people bank on the reports Of the
city experts"
slight gains in revenues were -.
ported to the stockholders Of the Chi.
cago Telephone Company at the an.
nual meeting. although there was q
falling OF In the profts in the city Of
Chicago itself. This loss was due,
according to President Bernard T.
Sunny's report. to the constantly In.
creasing number Of "nickel Q day"
telephones. the revenue on which ~.
erages $22.70 per annum 40 against Q
cost Of operation, he said. Of 32s.6l,
as fixed by one city expert. and 325.2S
40 fixed BY another city expert. The
pecentage Of nickel telephones In
Chicago increased SO per cent in 1908
and ~ per cent In 1911. The com.
pany reports increased earnings In
the suburban division, which Offset
the losses In Chicago"
The Telephone Trust doesn't want
much from the City Council.
Il only wants the phone rates raised
. tribe. They are not high enough at
present to swell tho dividends Of the
local and the parent company.
It only wants permission to install
pay.in.advance slot machines all over
thu city, because people are not losing
enough nickels already.
II wants the people to bear more OF
Its earning expenses than they do now.
It wants them to deposit o nickel
before they can get police or fire pro.
lection on an emergency call.
Il wants the city to give Il free
rein to carry out its designs on the
public.
II wants a great deal more.
What aldermen will sell out their
constituents to help this monopoly
From learned Experts" reports
to the City Council We learn that:
Telephone rates should be raised
because the Bell Telephone Company
owns the local telephone company.
Because the Western Electrical
Company is also owned by the Bell
Telephone Company.
Because the local telephone com.
pany Is obliged to buy all OF its equip.
ment and necesaries from the West.
ern Electrical Company.
Because neither the Western Elec.
trical Company or the local telephone
company would have big enough prof.
its to suit the Bell Telephone, which
owns them, If Chicago people were
not pressed for little more coin and
their telephone rates raised.
Because the local telephone COM
pany has increased It's capital stock
from the original 100000 to s27,O00,.
900 and s5,0O0,000 more in bonds.
Because the stockholders would not
get big enough dividends on this i'm.
mense stock issue If the people Of Chi
cago were not squeezed.
Therefore the telephone company
has the nerve to ask the City Council
to raise the rates on the people OF
Chicago.
The people of Chicago are to be
used as serfs by the Telephone Mon
opoly and the last drop Is to be
squeezed out Of them.
In the meantime it would be we'll
for the aldermen to inquire into the
alleged relations, in the past, OF Ger.
tain city officials with the above cleo
trical company, the twin of the local
telephone company, both being owned
by the Bell Monopoly.
The telephone gang want the coun'
Gil to raise the rates on all phones.
To abolish all fiat phones and make
everybody take measured service.
To put nickel in every phone be-
fore connection Is made.
Fire Marshal Seyferlich asserted
that as practically one-half OF the fire
and police alarms are received by tele'
phone, he did not favor the general
installation of the "pay-in.advance"
type of telephone instrument now be-
ing placed in various parts OF the city