El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-08-20

.
ate.I under agreements which result II
one common control and one common
inte est, in effect 'daking them a SIN
gle system.
We believe that rates should be 50
adjusted as to afford the company
sufficient revenue to pay such wages and
compensation as viii 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 research
and inventions as to apparatus and
methods as to insure the highest stand
ards, and to carry to reserve and de-
probation such amounts as Will enable
the company 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 to the
advantage of the service. We believe
that in addition, such fair charges should
be paid upon the investment in plant as
viii enable the company at any time to
obtain money necessary to provide the
plant required 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 a centralized general admin
istration in close communication with
and having general authority over the
whole OF. matters common to all or mat
tiers of general policy
We believe that any surplus beyond
that necessary to equalize dividends on
4 fair basis should be used by the com
pany for the benefit of the public and
should be inalienable for any other pur-
pose. and should be either invested in
revenue earning plant until necessary
to substitute plant which may become
inadequate OF obsolete, or should be used
to make the service cheaper or better.
We believe that under proper gov
ernmentaI control and regulation. the
profits from promotion or operation al
lowed 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 organization, operating, mainte-
nance and depreciation expenses; and
we do not believe that utilities giving at
fair rates an efficient and sufficiently
comprehensive universal service should
be subject to limited competition, not
giving such service. Competition which
ignores the obligation to furnish a COM
plete and comprehensive service is not !
is not for the benefit of the !
public IN that it does not reach the |
whole public interested
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 go hand
in hand with competition.
We believe that the record Of the
Bell System viii be accepted by the ,
public as fully in accord with these |
this policy has given the public OF the |
United States the best, most compre- /
lensive and cheapest telephone service |
IN the world and made the Bell stand I
ards the standards of all nations.
To remove any possible excuse for !
on account OF the /
many misleading statements which have |
been circulated as to the alleged IN I
necessary and Yercapitahzation and /
excessive charges OF the Bell System, !
he following statistics are given. EX- /
;ept where stated, the figures are for /
he Bell System; that is, the American /
To1ar,bouo on1 rTnlarrran nh and ]
,iated Companies.
The entire Bell System on June 80, I
1913, had outstanding in the hands OF /
he public obligations H. E., notes, open 4
accounts, bonds and shares to the par
-alue of S776,000,000.
The book value of the total tangible |
lssets, which Is considerably less than /
heir replacement value, amounted to !
596O,OOOOOO. Many appralsals of prop
.rty included in these assets have been
made, and most of them under the di-
-ec5IOn OF public authorities. In no
ase has the value as it stands on the
looks failed to be sustained, and in most I
asses it has been very largely exceeded
The total dividends and interest paid !
Turing the year 1912 amounted to only
Il percent on the average of its out
tanding obligations, and to less than
percent on the average value of its as
cts
The actual cash which has been paid
nto the treasury of the American Tele-
hone and Telegraph company on ac-
cunt of the capital obligations now out
landing amounts to S22,000,000 more
han the par of such outstanding OBJ
igatiOns.
The Associated companies collected
rom the public and paid back in taxes
yer S10,000,000 during the year 1912.
The steadily increasing necessities of
he public not only for additional but
OF new telephone service can only be
net by new construction, involving cap
tai outlay. To meet these demands
uring the six and one-haIf years from
907 to June, 1913, inclusive, the in
rease IN telephone plant was as follows:
oil line wire increased from 1,460000
niles to 2,242,000 miles; exchange wire
increased from 100000 miles to 13,-
100000; the number of exchange stations
increased from 2,730,0O0 to 100000;
he number of stations of independent
Ompanies connected with the Bell
,ystem increased from $4,000 to
$4,000. The number of independent
Ompanies connected with the Bell Sys-
en- Is about $4,000. The number of en-
lOyes in the Bell System, not including
he employees of connected companies, on
lnenru har 81 1919 3