The Sentinel=record., 1913-12-21
MEETS WITH GRATlFIED APPRo, VAL ON THE PART OF THE IN.
 DEPENDENT COMPANIES.
COMPETITION WILL RETURN
Opening of Bell Lines to All Other Companies Will Be a Great conven. fence to the Subscribers of All Tel. ephone Companies.

Washington, Dec. 20.-Attornev General McReynolds told friends to- day that scores of the independent telephone companies in the United States are gratfied with the agree ment the so-called telephone rust has made with the Department of Justice, which will give them the use of thousands of miles of trunk lines operated by the Bell company.
 The department. he said, hardly could have expected any court to or. der the Bell company 70 allow inde- pendents to make use of Bell equip ment, and there practically was no chance that the independents could raise sufficient funds, if they had the desire, to build competing long dis tance lines.
 To bring about competition in inter s'ate business, 1t was pointed out would have required an outlay of millions of dollars and probably would have meant a serious falling off in the receipts of the Bell and the in dependents that tried to get long dis tance business. According to figures laid before the attorney general by N C Kingshury vice president of the American Telephone and Tele- graph Company. who conducted he negotiations which led 10 the agree ment of last night there are more than 20.00O independent telephone companies in the country. The open ing of the Bell lines to all these com panies under the simple and mex. pensive plan it is declared, will mean tha. every one of these companies has the right to make use of the Bell lines in every part of the union,
 There was talk today at the De partment of Justice of action by the Hell company to allow subscribers of independent companies in cities to -alk to Bell subscribers through Bell exchanges. but Mir. McReynolds said that this was the step that seemed to be far in the future. So far as he knew the independent companies were well satisfied with the American Telephone and Telegraph C0mpany's proposal and its agreement to make no further extensions and to give up its holdings in instances where the department or the interstate com merce commission suggested such ac- ton
 Ann g..,N .F h.p Anf G ! caused an unusual buzz of specula ton here today. In some quarters II was regarded as an indication CT ne fight that some of the conservative members of President Wilson's cab inet will make against governmen ownership of public utilities. It is known that Mir McReynolds strongly opposes government ownership. The attorney general is said to feel mat government ownership is likely tt come in the United States unless there can be a restoration of free compeu ton in public service, but he believes the agreement with the American Tel ephone and Telegraph Company IS q long step toward a return to compe- ttion in the telephone and telegrap' field In his opinion, the sherman law is a sufficiently strong weapon to force any monopoly to come to terms and he Is convinced that clear demons ration of it's power will do much to allay the growing sentiment for government ownership.
 Postmaster General Burleson, 1t be- came known today. now has before him all data collected and put In eols' crete form respecting the proposed Government acquisition of telegraph and telephone lines, but f is under- stood that it is not his present puI- pose to submit the findings or ms experts to Congress unless they afs desired If Congress wishes to tdN9 up the question, the postmaster gen eral is prepared at an hours hot'oe to submit data on the subject.
 In the summary of MT. Burleson $ additional report supplied to the newspapers, under the caption ros' tai Photographs and Telephones ap' peared this paragraph:
 In June las. committee was ap pointed to make an investigation ol this subject, to determine the preihi mary steps necessary for the gov ernment to take toward the acduisf ton of the telegraph lines Ill ,he country. in accordance with secIlon 5267 of the revised statutes lu'is