The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-08-28

result m one common control and one
common Interest. ID effect making
them single system.
We believe that rates should be so
ad diusted as 20 afford the company
sufficient revenue 10 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 eX
perimental research and inventions
a. 10 apparatus and methods as TO
insure the highest standards, and
to carry to reserve and depreciation
such amounts as will enable the COM
pany at any time to replace old plant
and old methods with new plant and
new methods as fast as they may be
developed and found TO be 10 the
advantage of the service. We be-
lieve that III addition, such fair
charges should be paid upon the IN
vestmcnt IN plant as will enable the
company at any time 10 obtain
money necessary 10 provide the plant
required TO meet the continuing de-
mands of the public; and that IN or
der that waste and duplication OF ef-
fort may be avoided and uniformity
OF purpose and common control be
enforced, that there should be cen
tralized general administration in
close communication with and hav-
ing general authority over the whole
on matters common to all or matters
of general policy.
We believe that any surplus be-
yond that necessary to equallze divi-
dends on fair basis should be used
by the company for the benefit of
tha r,,1l l,lIn anl ehnu1I hn "a a lnla
for any other purpose, and should
be either invested IL revenue-earn-
ing plant until necessary to substi-
tute plant which may become made
quate or obsolete, or should be used
TO make the service cheaper or bat.
ter.
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
complete duplication of plant and
organization, with its duplication of
its capital charges and its organiza
ton, operating, maintenance and de-
probation expenses; and we do not
believe that utilities giving at fair
rates an efficient and sufficiently
comprehensive universal service
should be subject to limited compe-
tition, not giving such service. Com
petition which ignores the obliga
tion 20 furnish complete and com
prehensive service is not for the
benefit of the public in that it does
not reach the whole public inter
ested.
If, therefore, complete duplication,
with its dual exchange connection
! l.
requisite to complete competition,
government control and regulation
cannot go hand in hand with COM
petition.
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
! comprehensive and cheapest tele-
phone service in the world and made
| the Bell standards 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 al
legged unnecessary and overcapitali-
zation and excessive charges Of the
Bell System, the following statistics
are given: Except where stated,
the figures are for the Bell System;
that is, the American Telephone and
Telegraph, and its Associated Com
panies.
The entire Bell System on June
50. 1918, had outstanding in the
hands of the public obligations Ii. E.,
notes, open accounts, bonds and
shares) to the par value OF S776,-
900, 900
The book value of the total tan
gible assets, which is considerably
less than their replacement value,
amounted to 5000. 100000 Many ap-
praisals of property included in these
assets have been made, and most of
them under the direction OF public
authorities. In no case has the
value as it stands on the books failed
to be sustained, and in most cases it
has been very largely exceeded.
The total dividends and interest
paid during the year 1912 amounted
to only 6.1 per cent on the average
of its outstanding obligations. and TO
less than 5 per cent on the average
value of its assets.
The actual cash which has been
paid into the treasury of the Ameri-
can Telephone and Telegraph Com
panv on account of the capital obi
cations now outstanding amounts TO
S22. 100000 more than the par of
such outstanding obligations.
The Associated Companies col
lected from the public and paid back
in taxes over S10,000,000 during the
year 1912,
The steadily increasing necessi-
ties of the public not only for sddi-
tional but for new telephone service
can only be met by new construction,
involving capital outlay. To meet
these demands during the six and
one-half years from 1907 to June,
1913, inclusive. the increase in tele-
phone plant was as follows: Toll
line wire increased from l,460,0o0
miles to 2,242,000 miles; exchange
wire increased from 100000 miles
to 100000; the number of ex-
change stations increased from
2,73O,0O0 to 100000; the number
of stations of Independent companies
connected with the Bel! System in
creased from $4,000 to 2,620,000.
The number of Independent COM
pauies connected with the Bell Sys.
tenn is about $4,000. The number OF
employees in the Bell System, not in.
cuding the employees of connected
companies. on December 81, 1912,
wns 900,
During this same period the num-
I,or of shareholders of the American