The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-03-17

4
| the date of this order reduce its multi
$lS to SIS, and file such change of rate
with the clerk of the commission"
New England Tel. & Tel. Co.
The testimony taken regarding the
New England Tel. & Tel. Co. is reviewed
! by the commission at considerable
length, saying in part as follows:
! "All the subsidiary companies, with
the possible exception of the Vermont
company, were organized for the pnr'
pose of suppressing competition and
large sums were used by these COM
panies in the purchase of competing
plants at high valuations and some OF
these plants when acquired were
scrapped. The New England company
has been active in the suppression OF
competition and in financing the subsi-
diary companies for that purpose. As
result OF these activities and expendi-
lures, some of which are detailed more
at length elsewhere in this report, the
New England company and the sub
salaries monopolize the territory in
which they operate within the state,
and are as much of monopoly, al
though on smaller scale, as is the Con-
solidated Gas Co. in the city of New
York.
"The commission is of the opinion
that the items of going concern value
above referred to should be disregarded.
The auditor of the companies testified
at the hearing that the accumulated
depreciation reserve invested in plant
should be deducted in computing the
plant value upon which the company
was entitled to earn. Consequently we
have deducted these reserves from the
inventory plant values of the several
companies as determined by the com
mission, before computing the amounts
which the companies are entitled to
earn upon said plant values.
''In view of the fact that these com
panies have a virtual monopoly of the
telephone business within their respec
tive territories, we have determined
that they are entitled to earn six per
cent upon the value of their respective
plants and upon their other assets used
in the business.
"The New England company and its
four subsidiaries are five different cor
porations. The majority of the stock
of each subsidiary company is owned by
the New England company and the ma
iority of the directories of the sub
sdiary companies are New England conf
pany officials, but the business of the
companies is carried on separately and
the companies are operated as separate
organizations. Consequently, the com
mission has, treated them as separate
r.yr,a nj 4 ,r,,o ~ 4hsS rapnrt
Concluding its report on the New Eng
land company, the commission says:
1T is ordered that the New England
Telephone & Telegraph Co., within 80
days from the date of this order reduce
its six-party residence rate and Is or
more party farmer line rate from SIS to
SIS and file such change of rate with
the clerk of the commission"
No Change on Passumpsic.
Taking up the case of the Passumpsic
Telephone Co., subsidiary of the New
England company, the commission con
cludes as follows;
"The comparison with the multi-party
residence rates of the independent COM
panies shown in table one confirms the
commission in this opinion. These in
dependent companies furnish in all in
stances service which is equal to, and in
many instances superior, with the ex-
ception of st. Johnsbury service, to that
of the Passumpsic company. We are
of the opinion that under all the cir
we are not warranted in re-
ducing the multi-party residence ex-
change rate or the other exchange rates
of the Passumpsic company and the
is hereby dismissed"
Barre, Montpelier and Waterbury.
Concerning the Vermont Telephone &
Co., the commission reports
verbatim, as follows:
"Mr. A. C. Brown of Montpelier, in
the year 1880, secured contract and
license from the American Bell Tele.
phone Co. for carrying on telephone
business in Washington county. This
business was conducted by Mr.. Brown
as an individual until October Is, 1892,
when he caused the Vermont Telephone
& Telegraph Co. to be incorporated by
special charter from the state of Yer
mont. and on March 9th, 1893, trans
ferred his individual telephone property
to the corporation. Mr.. Brown received
stock of the Vermont company to the
amount of $4,000 for this property. On
November 10th, 1907, the New England
& Telegraph Co. purchased
the entire stock of the Vermont com
pany from Mr.. Brown and few other
who were members of his
family, and paid therefor the sum OF
$4,000. On May goth, 1907, capital
stock was issued of par value of $751;
300 for cash and on August LIST, 1911, |
capital stock of par value of 100000
was issued for cash, making the total
stock SlS5,000. The New
England company owned $l7s,525 par |
value of this stock on June 80, 1913.
"The company operates exchanges at |
Barre, Montpelier and Waterbury, Barre |
serving lab stations, Montpelier serv-
ng l,739 stations and Waterbury serv-
ng 275 stations. The present rates OF |
-he company are as follows:
"Barre and Montpelier"
Gone party, business SO, residence 81;
Two party business 25, residence 81; four |
party business 25; six party residence
IS; Is party farmers lie, business 81
,r IS l.; residence Is.
Waterbury"
Zone party business 33, residence 81; |
TWO party business 25, residence 2l; |
Iix party business q, residence 10; Is |
,arty farmers line, business Is or 2l-l-,
'esidence Is.
"-I-l5 party farmers line business
a 10 xvas shown in ayhihit I07 hlYa