Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1912-01-13

crease Of rates will bs branded % hs
ought to bs.
The Chicago American Of June 20
contained the following vigorous Or.
ticle on the subject OF merger:
The New York Times announces
that there 10 hope Of telephone com.
petition In New York City and that
Armour. the great packer Of Chicago
10 said to be back Of the plan.
The idea 10 70 buy up certain fran.
chises In the state Of New York, 60.
pecially to get IN entrance into New
York City. and TO givs to the oitisens
the bsnent Of telephone competition
and Of actually cheap service.
Tho idea Of cheap telephone service
10 going to grow In the United States.
and eventually II 10 going to bs real.
ICED, despite the power Of any mon.
opoly or the profits Of any group Of
individuals.
II costs less. or under proper man.
agement would cost less. to send q
telephone message than TO send .
letter.
There was q time In the United
States when private individuals ex.
plotted the mails and when the citi.
zen writing q letter paid from ten
cents to Q dollar or more 70 have
II delivered. Government ownership.
economical. businesslike methods.
have reduced the price Of sending lot.
ters to two cents all over the United
States-even in the Klondike. where
the letters are carried on dog sledges.
And sane, businesslike administra-
tion Of the telephone system Of this
country. with the latest uptodats 40.
tomato methods. would make tele.
phoning % cheap % writing letters.
and cheaper.
That will not come at once. but .
very great improvement viii come.
and right away.
The price charged By the Ben mon.
opoly 10 osterous-there 70 no
worse form Of extortion among al the
sxtortions in the United States.
A man who lives In the suburbs
thirty miles from . big city gets Q
communication ticket. The railroad
carries his acknowledgement body
back and forth twice . day for
twenty-five cents Q day. II he wants
to talk TO HE house twice . day the
telephone company charges him sixty
cents. and charges for the wire b.
sides.
In other words. the telephone mon
opoly 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 oi
solid steel rails.
And the railroad has 70 have ter
minals. and locomotives. and power;
whereas. with the telephone. The
mans own voice 10 the chief power
involved.
Armour OF Chicago 10 . man whe
could give the people OF this oountry
the benefit OF cheap telephone service
Ii he should make up his mind 70 de
II. He has proved his ability - q
organiser: he 10 Q man Of grea.
wealth and Of unusual industry apt
application. Il 10 notorious that iii
working hours are from seven In th(
morning until ok In the evening. and
that work y ~ only amusement
The idea = not visionary. for Al
mour, associated with others-with tn,
Hartman estate. with Kennedy TodS
and De Forest of New York. and viii
the receivers OF the Chicago subwa!
as a body-has already begun tn
work of giving genuinely cheap an,
eficient telephone service to the cit.
Of Chicago.
In Chicago the receivers of the suit
way have installed already more thai
twenty-five thousand automatic tele
phones. They give an unlimited sery
ice for $85 year-about one.hall ii
charge Of the Bell monopoly. The
give unlimited telephone service I
private families for less than thirt
dollars year. With q full extensio
Of their system even the poorest fan
lilies will use the telephones. and b
better OF at the end of the yea
through the saving Of carfare.
The charge for pay stations wit
: this new system. which 10 backed b
Armour and the others. 10 three cent
per call, and the intention 10 to lowe
this rate eventually from three cent
to one cent At one cent the prof
would be enormous. with the eoon'
mics Of the automatic telephone IN
q sufiicient number Of subscriber.
The right plan would be, Of cours'
fer the business men Of New Yor
who pay enormous tolls to the toll
D phone monopoly to get together.
= bind themselves to take a new servic
an automatic cheap service wit
certain guarantees - and throug
J. pressure of public opinion compel th
. granting Of a franchise to an aut
: matte company charging the lowei
possible rate.
!. But 1t IL difhcult to get bushes
Q men to unite; difiicult TO make thel
. resent effectively even the most pa
pable extortion.
u The chief hope lies In the courag'