The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1914-03-13

independent companies are asking
simply for clean-cut proposition so
that a man with telephone in any
place can talk to every other tele-
phone in any other place regardless
OF what telephone company owns the
telephone systems used The propo-
sition is as wide as II is long. 1t
gives the Bell subscribers service
over the independent and farm lines
and in return gives like service to
the independents. and the farmers. all
parties TO pay reasonable rAice for
the service secured Unless some
such arrangement is brought about
the telephone interests are facing
government ownership and rightly
so. And government ownership, with
its close supervision, might erradi.
cate much of the pleasant social Wis
iting now so prevalent over the farm
lines, and which has been the means
not only of popularizing the tele-
phone business, but OF making farm
life more pleasant, contamination
which Is being sought by all stu
dents OF sociology. For instance a
Fairmont lady recently took down
the receiver of her telephone to
place an order for some things she
wanted from the country, but dis
covered the line was busy. I've Just
put on a pan OF beans for dinner
she heard one woman complacently
informing another. She hung up the
receiver and waited fifteen minutes.
Upon returning TO the telephone she
found the woman still talking. Three
times she waited and at last, be-
coming exasperated, broke into the
conversation with the startling an.
nouncement, Madam, smell your
beans burning A Mortified scream
greeted her remark and then she
was able to secure the line to ne
gotiate with her butter woman for
her weekly supply Of butter, eggs and
poultry.
Industry Has Developed.
The telephone industry has de-
yeloped by leaps and bounds. The
Bell interests have investments Of
$3.50, 100000. During the SIX and one
half years from December. 1907, to
June, 1913, according to their own
reports, their exchange wire increased
100000 miles giving them a total
Of 100000 miles of exchange wire
ard 2,242,000 miles of toll wire That
they are annually connecting up
with more independent companies is
apparent when II is shown that they
now connect with 100000 such
phones. to $4,000 seven years ago.
The Independent companies are
growing still faster. Frnm one or
two companies twenty years ago, they
have expanded until today there are
over 10000 independent companies
doing business, to say nothing of the
hundreds OF companies which were
absorbed in the years gone by
through the activity of the Bell
people. These 10000 companies have
approximately 100000 phones. Our
own company which came into ex-
istence just fifteen years ago, start
ing out with only 27S phones and a
single exchange has grown until, &C.
cording TO the report of Manager
Ferguson, we now have over 5000
telephones in service, three hundred
Of which were installed the past
year or more than the total number
with which the company started. This
growth indicates that the end Is not
yet in sight and the improvements
which has just been Installed will
mean still greater growth the com.
ing year. So fast has been the de-
velopment that Manager Ferguson
has found 1t difficult to secure a suf-
ficient number of competent opera
tors and has often been sorely tried
in his endeayors to at all times main
tain such service as would keep the
critical public satisfied"
Mr.. NeiII Addressed Meetifu.
Mr.. Patterson nov presented ID. NJ.
Neil OF Redwing, commercial super
intendent of the Tri-State Telephone
company and president OF the Red
wing Telephone company.
Mr.. Neill said that there was a
general impression on the part OF
the public that any telephone system
had to replace itself ever little while.
For that reason It was often very
hard to sell the stock to start up a
new concern OF that kind. He re-
marked that the cost OF construction
in Mankato was now s67 per phone,
whereas at the beginning 1t had been
s75 per phone. and this reduction
meant decided increase in the pro-
fits. He said he felt that the Man.
kato Citizens Telephone company
was to be congratulated for its a.
nancial success. as well as for its
success as an operating proposition.
The speaker observed that the
telephone company had troubles OF
its own and one of the prime re-
quisites OF telephone operator was
an unlimited amount OF patience and
good nature. He stated emphatically
that the local company had a good