The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-08-20
MUTUAL RELATIONS AND INTERESTS
or THE BELL SYSTEM AND THE PUBLIC

terest, III erect making them single
system.
We believe that rates should be SO
adjusted as to afford the company suf-.
ficient revenue TO pay such wages and
compensation as will secure the most
efficient service; to maintain the very
highest and most advanced standards
of plant and apparatus, to carry ON
such scientific and experimental re-,
search and inventions as to apparatus
and methods as to insure the highest
standards, and to carry to reserve and
depreciation such amounts as will en-
able the company at any time to re-
place old plant and old methods with
new plant and new methods as fast as
they may be developed and found to be
to the advantage of the service. We
believe that in addition, such fair
charges should be paid upon the in
vestment in plant as will enable the
company at any time to obtain money
necessary to provide the plant re-
quired to meet the continuing demands
of the public; and in order that waste
and duplication of effort may be avoid
ed and uniformity of purpose and COM
mon control be enforced, that there
should be centralized general admin
istration in close communication with
and having general authority over the,
whole on matters common to all or
matters of general policy.
We believe that any surplus beyond
that necessary to equalize dividends on
fair basis should be used by the COM
pany for the benefit of the public and
should be inalienable for any other
purpose, and should be either invested
in revenue-earning plant until neces-
sary to substitute plant which may be-
come inadequate or obsolete, or should
be used to make the service cheaper
or better.
We believe that under proper gov
ernmental control and regulation the
profits from promotion or operation
allowed to be distributed should not be
so large as to warrant or tempt conn
plete duplication of plant and organi-
cation, with it's duplication of its capi-
tai charges and its organization, oper-
ating, maintenance and depreciation
expenses; and we do not believe that
utilities giving at fair rates an efficient
and sufficiently comprehensive uniyers-
al service should be subject to limited
not giving such service.
Competition which ignores the obliga-
ton to furnish a complete and compre-
hensive service is not competition, is
not for the benefit of the public in that
it does not reach the whole public in
terested.
If, therefore, complete duplication,
with its dual exchange connection and
dual bills for service, is a prerequisite
to complete competition, government
control and regulation cannot 90 hand
in hand with competition.
We believe that the record of the
Bell System will be accepted by the
public as fully in accord with these
declarations. Consistent adherence to
this policy has given the public of the
United States the best, most compre-
hensive and cheapest telephone service
in the world and made the Bell stand
ards the standards of all nations.
To remove any possible excuse for
misapprehension on account of the
many misleading statements which
have been circulated as to the alleged
and overcapitalization and
excessive charges of the Bell Lystem,
The following statistics are given. Ex-
,ept where stated, the figures are for
the Bell System; that is, the Ameri-
AN Telephone and Telegraph, and its
Associated Companies.
The entire Bell System on June 80,
1918, had outstanding in the hands
If the public obligations ii. e., notes,
open accounts, bonds and shares) to
he par value of $776,000,000.
The book value of the total tangible
tssets, which is considerably less than
heir replacement value, amounted to
98O,o00,000. Many appraisals of prop
,rty included in these assets have been
made, and most of them under the d.
ection of public authorities. In no case
las the value as it stands on the books
allied to be sustained, and in most
asses it has been very largely exceeded.
The total dividends and interest paid
Turing the year 1912 amounted to only
IL per cent. on the average of its out
tanding obligations, and to less than
per cent. ON the average value of it's
ssets.
The actual cash which has been paid
nto the treasury of the American Tel
phone and Telephone Company on ac-
cunt of the capital obligations now
amounts to $22,000,00O
lore than the par of such outstanding
bligations.
The Associated Companies collected
rom the public and paid back in taxes
yer $l0O00,000 during the year 1912.
The steadily increasing necessities of
he public not only for additional but
Or new telephone service can only be
let by new construction, involving
lpital outlay. To meet these demands
uring the six and one-half years from
BOZ to June, 1918, inclusive, the in
rease in telephone plant was as fol-
WIS: Toll line wire increased from
400 900 miles to 2,242,000 miles; ex-
mango wire increased from 100000
lilies to 100000; the number of ex-
iange stations increased from $780,
10 to 100000; the number of sta
ons of independent companies con-
ected with the Bell System increased
ON 343, 900 to 100000 The number
Independent companies connected
it'll the Bell System is about $4,000.
he number of employees in the Bell