Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1913-11-27
WOULD HAVE MADE
A $1,3OO,O 100000
TELEPHONE TRUST

Chicago, Nov. 22.-An attempt by the
american Telephone n Telegraph
company to absorb Independent COM
panies with an appraised value of
oo,ooo,O 600, and add to its own holdings
to an appraisal of 5000, 000,-
ooo' was made a year and a half ago,
according to B. G. Hubbell, president
OF the Federal Telephone and Tele-
graph company, of Buffalo, who testi-
ned mere for the government in it's
prosecution of the American company
on charges of violation of the Sherman
anti-trust law.
MT. Hubbel asserted that Theodore
n. Vail, president of the Western Union
Telegraph company, and a director Of
the American company, n H. P.
Dawson, member of J.. p. Morgan &
Co., attempted to engineer the huge
deal.
Thirty Independents involved.
Mr.. Hubbell said that Mr.. Vail APP
peared at a meeting of owners of 80
OF the larger independent telephone
companies in Chicago about IS months
ago, and suggested there might be a
division of territory by the American
and the independent companies. The
plan was intended to stop profit cutting
competition, h witness said.
1T happened that : was one of the
independent telephone people at this
meeting" said Mr.. Hubbell. Mr.. Vail
talked quite a while and pointed out
the advantage Of a division of the ma
ton into various territories and the
assignment of either the American
company or a group of the ~independ-
ent companies to exclusive control Of
one or another Of these territories. The
upshot of his talk was the appoint
ment of a committee of seven, of which
l was one, to confer further with Mr..
a and also with Mr.. Davidson in
NaW Vnr( on n roccsL11 r,1<1@l 80
adopting such a scheme.
Such a conference was held in New
York and arrangements were made to
appraise the value of the 10000 indie
pendent companies involved and also to
divide them into classes.
Truce Is Violated.
Pending the furtherance of such
plans the independents and the Ameri-
can company, through Mr.. Vail and the
committee of seven. agreed to a truce"
Mr.. Hubbell continued. 1.-THE principal
provision Of this truce was that the
American company until further notice
should not attempt to absorb any of the
independent companies.
I'm July. 1912, however, less thar
two months after this truce, the Ameri-
can company secretly acquired the
Kansas City Long Distance Telephone
company. an Independent. This breach
of promise resulted in a break in the
pans Whlcn were under way. Nothing
further has ever been done with them"
independents" Not Indcp endent.
Fiv independent telephone compa-
MES. which, he said. had been pur-
purchased by the American Telephone
and Telegraph company and thereafter
operated ostensibly as still independent
and in competition with the American
company, were named today by w. S.
Vivian, of Grand Rapids, Mich, secre-
tary of the Independent Telephone as
ISOLATION, testifying in the government
antitrust suit against the American
company.
THE United States Telephone COM
ANY, OF Cleveland, Ohio; the Column
bus Citizens Telephone company, of
Columbus, Ohio; the new Long Dis
lance Telephone company, of Indian
apolis, Ind; the indianapolis Tele-
phone company. of Indianapolis, and
the Kansas City Long Distance Tele-
phone company We're absorbed by the
American company" said Mr.. Vivian.
THE purchase of the Kansas City COM
pany never has been made public. The
companies We're secretly purchased
and are ostensibly competing with the
trust"