The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-08-28
MUTUAL RELATIONS AVID INTERESTS
OF THE BELL system AND THE PUBLIC

certain telephone properties in tbe
northwest, as well as the pending in.
Ierstate commerce commission teIe i
phone investigation, have cansed |
many inquiries. Without taking IN
ANYTHING going to the merits NJ !
these proceedings. il has seemed IN
US proper TO state generally what has
pee1 our policy and purpose in the
conauct OF our business.
we nave found, or Thought that
we mad, that our interests were best
SCI. yea when the public interests
nTeie pest served; and we believe
tnat such success as we have had has
oeen because our business has heen
conducted on these lines,
we oeheVe that our company has
an interest as vital as that of the
Pupl1c IN the proper administration OF
the problems OF electrical intcrcon.
munlcatlon. The success and nros.
Perity OF our company depend upon
solution of these problems which
snail be sound from both the stand.
point OF the company and the public
which it serves.
foilowlng our own best Judgment
supplemented by the best obtainabIe
aGVlce, we have endeavored to do
what would best serve the public in.
terest; wherever possible our plans
nave been disclosed to the public in
advance, and what has been done i'm
carrying them out has been along or
dInary business lines, with the i'm.
plied and generally with the ex
pressed approval, authorization or
consent OF the municipal and state
authorities directly interested Our
effort has been not only to obev the
law. but to avoid everything which
might even have the appearance of
an attempt at evasion.
Our business methods and policy.
and practically all Of the details as
10 the transaction of our business.
are matters of common knowledge
ana are, and for many years have
6een, well known to the government.
we VIII willingly furnish the gov.
eminent any additional information
winch is in our possession or under
our control. and will cordially CO.
operate with it in obtaining such fur.
ther information as it may require
Every possible assistance will be piv.
en- by us to the courts in their ef-
tort to determine whether our policy
is or has been inimical to the public
interest. We desire that anything
wrong be corrected; we will voIun,
tarily rectify any wrong that may be
pointed out to us; and, so far as it
may be determined that our policy OF
any act under it is against the public
interest, we will promptly conform to
such determination.
We believe that if each of our ex
changes were made an independent
unit and If each connecting line were
put under separate control, the eff
rect upon the telephone service of
the country would be a condition so
lntolerablee that the public would re-
Iuse 10 submit to 1T and would imme.
diately require such physical connec.
tion and common control of these
various units as would amalgamate
them into single system. PHYSICAL
connection In the case of teIephone or
telegraph does not mean transfer of
messages from one line to the other
III means such a connection as will
permit one person to have the actual
possession of the particular line of
communication from one end of it to
tne other and this can only be given
eiflclently by exchange systems and
connecting lines under common
control, and that is what the Bell
system is
In this connection, and for general
information, we will restate the mol.
icy which controlled the building nm
OF the Bell system, and our belief as
to what telephone system should be
and what are its relations to the
public.
We believe in and were the first 10
ADVOCATE state or government control
and regulation of public utilities;
that tins control or regulation should
De py permanent quasi judicial
oodles, acting after thorough investi.
CATION and governed by the equities
of each. case, and that this control
or regulation, beyond requiring the
greatest efficiency and economy.
should not interfere with manage.
ment OF operation, We believe that
these bodies, if they are TO be per.
manenI, eftectlve and of public bene-
NJ, should be thoroughly representa-
tive; they should be of such charac.
ter and should SO conduct their in.
vestlgations and deliberations as TO
command such respect from both the
public and the corporations that both
Will without question accept their
conclusions.
We believe that the public would
IN this way get all the advantages
and avoid all the manifest disadvan.
tages OF public ownership.
We believe that centers of bust
ness and population exist for the
convenience of the public as a whole.
and that no such center can prosper
without sufficient and efficient
means of intercourse with other cen.
tiers and tributary territories; that
such means can only he afforded bv
prosperous utjlitv and service com.
panles and that fair rates are essen.
tial TO prosperous companies. We do
not believe that any public either de.
slres or can obtain, nor can any serv-
Ice or utility furnish. permanent and
etflcient service mt less than cost. in.
eluding capital charges We believe
that ultimately the public, either di.
rectlv or Indirectly. paws fhe losses
involved in the efforts 20 furnish
such service at less than its fair
cost. either through the loss of the
capital involved, the losses incident
to poor service or the necessary in.
crease in charges required TO pay for
dunlication of capital.
We heliove that ihe highest com.
mercial value Of the telephone cerv
i"s depends on its completenrss-on
the extent and eomprchensivonugS of
the facilities for INSTRUMENTATION
no; only betwCSl individuals t.nt