The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-29

vietion IN Congress that the telephone
and telegraph business-largely because
of its natural monepolistic character
ought to be operated and owned by the
government
Competition Is Impractical
Unchecked and without the strictest
regulation any concern which usually
operates without the fear of competition
usually drifts into the abuse of their
privileges. Competition in the telephone
business has been demonstrated time and
time agam as entirely impractical. In
any city where there are two separate
telephone concerns; 1t simply means a
slightly less charge to the customers and
means further that progressive mer-
chants, and business houses-not to say
the residences of lawyers. doctors and
men OF affairs, must have two phones,
thus making double charge upon a
large class of the people. 1t is only a
feN therefore, that benefit and enjoy
the use of hone, that get cheaper rates
by competition.
On the other hand, it is not generally
believed that the service that is being
rendered by the American Telephone and
Telegraph conpany-the so-called Bell
telephone trusts as cheap to the con-
sumers as it ought to be. Particularly
Is this true in the east The city of
Washington itself furnishes fine exam
pie to the legislators in the way of heavy
charges for telephones.
Here business phone may be rented
in an office for $50 a year-which is as
matter OF fact, cheap enough, and per-
haps cheaper than the business phones
ront in Birmingham, but in such event
your contract calls for 1900 calls, which is
just exactly cents call. If during the
year you exceed 1900 calls, each and every
additional call is charged up to you. In
other words, Sour contract-which is for
1900 ca'ls--may run out in five months
in which event you pay at the rate of
6 cents far the additional seven months,
up to a certain number, and then the
price is reduced to cents. In the mean
time, if you do not use the 1900 calls in
year, you are really paying more than
cents for each cali Where an unlim-
tied service is given the price is of course
much greater than $50 year. In fact,
the price is really made prohibitive, In or
der that no unlimited contracts may be
made
Five Cents at Pay Station
1t is to be presumed that IL the tele-
phone company will make such charges in
washington that they do elsewhere At
be used for cents. If you are a sub
scriher to the telephone company, how
ever, and you exceed your number of
calls specified in the contract wou pay at
the rate of cents a call until you have
run into a large number of calls, and
then they graciously reduce the price to
5 cents-the same as the citizen on the
outside gets, WHO uses any old public
phone he happens to be convenient to-.
Without doubt, it is the belief of many
statesment, the government can render
the same service to the public at mate
ria ~ less cost and enjoy big profit.
OF course the same cry is heard that
was heard in the case of the parcel post
The government had no business-accord-
ing to some of our timid and scrupulous
frieads--of going into the express busi-
ness and now It has no business in going
into the telephone business. Handling
the mail and small packages of COM
merce, and the telephone and telegra phi
business of this country must necessarily
be of a monopoisiic ma ture purely on ac-
count of their character. The express
business Island was in the hands of
few large companies which apportioned
off the territory to suit themselves, and
charged rates entirely of their own MAX
ing. They abused their powers till the
country demanded the parcel post. which
has proven a most decided success, and
has not wrought the havoc with the
country merchants and the small dealers
its enemies prophesjed. The telephone
and telegraph business is analogous, and
it is so rgarded by large number of
the representatives in Congress. and ul-
timately the government Will either take
over the organizations which now control
this business, or it will independently
build lines of its own.
Service Has Constantly Improved
Tt is conceded that the telephone serv-
ice has improved Every year there has
been marked advancement in the service