Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1913-08-28


 yersal intercommunication justify and require some services partly at the expense of the whole for the Deneflt of the whole.
 We believe that this highest com mercial value can only be attained by one system under one common control and that it cannot be given by lnde- pendent systems unless they are oper- ated under agreements which result i'll one common control and one common interest. in effect making them single system
 We believe that rates should be so adjusted as to afford the company sufficient revenue to pay such wages and compensation as will secure the most efficient service; to maintain the very highest and most advanced stand- ards 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 ln- 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 avoided and uniformity of purpose and common control be enforced, that there should be centralized general administration 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 a fair basis should be used by the company for the benefit of the public and should be inalienable for any other purpose, and should be either in- vested in revenue-earning plant until necessary to substitute plant which may become 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 complete duplication of plant and or ganization, with it's duplication of it's capital charges and it's organization, operating, maintenance and deprecla- tion expenses; and we do not believe that utilities giving at fair rates an efficient and sufficiently comprehen- sive universal service should be sub ject to limited competition, not giving such service Competition which ig- nores the obligation to furnish com plete and comprehensive service is not competition, is not for the benefit of the public in that it does not reach the whole public interested.
 lf therefore complete duplication, with it's dual exchange connection and dual bills for service, is a prerequisite to complete competition. government control and regulation cannot go hand in hand with competition.
 We believe that the record of the Bell System will be accepted by the public as fully ill accord with these declarations. Consistent adherence to this policy has given the public of the United States the best, most com prehensive and cheapest telephone ser vice in the world and made the Bell standards the standards of all nations. 1 To remove any possible excuse for misapprehension on account of the many misleading statements which have been circulated as to the alleged unnecessary and overCapitalization and excessive charges of the Bell Sys- tenn, the following statistics are given Except where stated, the figures are for the Bell System; that is, the American Telephone and Telegraph and it's Associated Companies.
 The entire Bell System on June 30 1913. had outstanding in the hands oi the public obligations G e., notes open accounts. bonds and shares) te the par value of $776,00O, ,00O.
 The book value of the total tangible assets, which is considerably less than their replacement value. amounted tt $960, 100000. Many appraisals o1 property included in these assets have been made, and most of them under the direction of public authorities. h no case has the value as it stands or the books failed to be sustained, anC in most cases it has been very largel, exceeded.
 The total dividends and interes paid during the year 1912 amounted to only 6.1 per cent on tho average O. it's outstanding obligations, and te less than per cent on the average value of it's assets.
 The actual cash which has been pai( into the treasury of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company ol account of the capital obligations nov outstanding amounts to $22,OOO, %, l more than the par of such outstandin, obligations.
 The Associated Companies collected from the public and paid back il taxes over $1O,000,000 during the veal 1912.
 1 The steadily increasing necessities of the public not only for additiona but for new telephone service can onl, he met by new construction, involv. ing capital outlay. To meet these de mands during the six and one-hal years from 1907 to June, 1913. inclu sive, the increase in telephone plan was as follows: Toll line wire in. l