El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-08-20
PLANS 4 BETTER
PHONE SERVICE
Purchase Of Automatic Com
pany's Equipment
Helps It Along.

As chronicled exclusively in yester-
days Herald the Tri-State Telephone
company has purchased the majority
of the physical properties of the now
defunct Southern Independent com
pany. Assistant to the president,
Philip HamIin, and general manager
L. NJ Burgess, OF the Trl-State IeIe-
phone company, who are IN the CITY
on general tour of inspection of the
properties of the southwest, were
asked today at the Toltec club as just
what the purchase meant and If their
company had any intention of operat-
ing the automatic apparatus in con-
junction with the Tri-State exchange
Mr.. Hamilton said:
Emphaticaly no. Our only reason
for purchasing the properties after
business was discontinued was TO save
the labor necessary in laying con-
Quits and stringing cables in order TO
reach not only former. subscribers OF
the Southern Independent company
but also to take care Of the great
amount of new business which threat
ems to swamp US. 1t would be phys1-
cally impossible to operate the two
so desired. The Tri-State company
now has nearly 5000 local subscribers,
and at the time of its demise, the
Southern Independent company was
serving something like 1000 or 1900 at
the outside, of which great ma
jority were also subscribers Of the
Tri-State company. We have ample
switchboard facilities and plenty OF
instruments with which to supply our
growth, but in certain portions of the
city we are handicapped by the lack
of sufficient conduit and cable capac-
ity.
Saves a Delay.
In order 10 meet the many demands
upon US at this time. it would have
been necessary to lay conduits and
place cables in them before we could
reach all of the public, which was
asking US for service. This would
mean a delay Of several months ana
our franchise does not permit US TO
go overhead within fire limits, so that
no temporary work could be done. The
fact that the Southern Independent
company had a considerable amount OF
idle conduit and some unused cable
spa e is what led Us to make the pur-
chase, and we are now in position TO
give service to practically all VINO
ask for it
please understand me, the growth
of cur business at this time IS due
quite as much to the large influx Of
refugees from Mexico and the genera
btSincS" growth, as 1t is to any par
ticular demands for service from eX-
subscribers CT the Southern Independ-
ert company.
says Bought Much Junk.
at is common knowledge that the
downhiu grade for several years For
lack of use and for economical reasons
a great deal of the plant has been
allowed = depreciate very rapidly, and
we probably paid a good round price
TO what we have acquired, but rather
than be PUT in a position of delaying
the installation of telephones for new
subscribers We were willing to pay
such a price. = great deal of the
plant is necessarily junk and VIII be
so treated. The work OF dtSmantlng
undertaken some two weeks ago oy
M1ssrs Wentworth and Lepp, who
bought in the plant will be continued
as rapidly as possible. and only such
portions of the plant as we. can use
n serving additional subscribers Will
be retained. We have already ar
ranged for the sale of the automatic
switchboaTds and instruments. in fact
We entered into negotiations along
this line as soon as we knew there
" as u possibility of our being able to
acquire that portion of the plant which
we really needed
The Natter of Rates.
When asked If any change would be
made III the rates by virtue of the
Of service by the indie
pendent company Mr.. Hamlin re-
piled
Not in the least. Our franchise
strictly controls questions of rates in
this city and We have no option IN
tina. rratteg even if we had any desire
This has aiwsys been true. Our rela-
with tkc citizens of FL Paso
is such znat We cannot afford to open
this question. or SnE similar one. in
ether hut in the max ner provided for
BY our franchise"