Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1912-05-11

bribery ana Otner OuenSeS aBb1uSt tu0
state" made BY q committee appoint
ed by the mayor Of that city and pub.
lished by order Of the board Of %.
pervisors, city and county Of San
Francisco, January s, 1910:
1.-THE Pacifi Telephone and Tele.
graph Company bribed the Supervis.
ors to prevent the Home Telephone
Company Or any other organisation
from obtaining . telephone franchise
In San Francisco. No attack Of any
kind on the Pacific Telephone and
Telegraph Company was threatened
by the Supervisors. and the sole pur.
pose Of the crime was to maintain .
profit which might be cut BY the
competition Of business rivals. The
Supervisors were paid In all over
$4,000. The managing committee Of
the board Of directors Of the company
swors before the Grand Jury that they
did not know how the funds were
procured for tho bribery"
This report was signed BY william
Kent, formerly well known alder.
man and refor,ner Of Chicago and six
other members Of the committee ap-
pointed by the mayor Of San Francis
co. Oct. -. 1908.
Telephone rates are entirely too
high in Chicago. The Aldermen have
chance to lower them. VIII they
do It?
All telephone patents should be con.
hscated by the government when they
become the exclusive property Of the
Telephone Trust. The following from
an editorial In the Chicago Daily
News Of July II. 1911. hits ths oass
exactly:
I'm IN argument before the national
senats's interstate commerce 0omit'
tee. Senator Kenyon recently urged
several notifications Of he 0heemAl
antitrust law. One Of then Drovilel
that when any patent granted By tn
government 10 used 70 build Up Q trusl
or combination the patent shan - -
eeitel."
A telephone company that pays
eight per cent dividends on twenty
nine millions Of stock 10 making toe
much money. The people are paying
too much for telephone service.
Penny telephones are to be estab
lished In Detroit and there 10 no good
reason why they should not be estab
l!she. IN Chicago. The following
dispatch from Detroit explains itself;
Reduction Of local telephone ratel
30 per cent for the average user
elimination Of the distinction between
residences and business telephone,
and the establishment Of . rate ol
$3.50 per month and / cent each fol
outgoing messages In excess Of 20(
per month on single party lines. will
no limit on incoming calls are pro
vided for In an ordinance. on which
common council committee begaI
hearings"
The Telephone Trust doesn't wan
much from the City Council.
II only wants the phone rates RAISED
triae. They are not high enough a
present to swell the dividends OF tn,
local and the parent company.
It only wants permission to install
pay'in.advance slot machines all ovel
the city, because people are not losinl
enough nickels already.
II wants the people to bear more o
Its earning expenses than they do now
It wants them to deposit a nicke
before they can get police or fire pro
lection on an emergency call.
IL wants the city to give It fre'
rein to carry out its designs ON tn,
public.
II wants great deal more.
What aldermen will sell out thei
constituents to help this monopoly?
The Chicago Telephone Compan,
charges a much lower rental for it
service in suburban towns than
does in the city. Yet the officers o
the corporation have the gall to sa,
that all of the big gain In its service
reported at the annual meeting thi
year came from the country. This, O
course, is reason for raising tn
rates. The following from the Chica
go Daily News shows how the phon
people bank on the reports Of tn
city experts"
"Slight gains in revenues We're re
ported to the stockholders of the CHI
cago Telephone Company at the an
nual meeting, although there was
falling off in the profits in the city O
Chicago itself. This loss was due
according to President Bernard I
Sunny's report, to the constantly II
creasing number of nickel a day
telephones, the revenue on which ay
erages $22.70 per annum as against
cost OF operation, he said, of $28.64
as fixed by one city expert, and $25.2
as fixed by another city expert. Tn
pecentage OF nickel telephones Il
Chicago increased SO per cent In 100
and 42 per cent In 1911. The com
pany reports increased earnings Il