The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1914-04-23
Concerning Public Ownership of Tele.
phones

The following article which was
written by a well known citizen Of
Bingham. concerning the public owner
ship of telephones, will doubtless
prove of interest to our readers:
Editor Independent-Repo
The American Telephone & Tele-
graph Co, it appears are opposed to
the government ownership of these
utilities according to President Vail.
This opposition would naturally be ex.
pcctcd but not for the reason set forth.
In the light of the Company's history
the reason is more than funny. 1t
is very much sugarcoated reason
it go down with the millions of peo-
pie who know the difference between
a public utility, run for the dividends.
and one that is run for the people
Here is the reason given by President
Vail, for the Company: Because it
is interested in the upbuilding of a
great public utility and does not be-
lieve a government owned telephone
system would give as cheap and eff
ficient service" This sounds very
nicely, but we who have seen the birth.
growth and death of the Bell patents.
have memories. Amongst other
things we can remember when il was
impossible to own telephone. they
mers never thought of using a tele-
phone. Paul Latzke says When
competition began, in 1894 there was
literally not a farmhouse in the coun-
try that was connected with a telc-
phone exchange; and perhaps, it is no
eXaggeration to say that there was
not farmhouse that had a telephone.
The Bell Company declined absolutely
to construct or establish farmers ex-
changes or to build farmers lines.
The best that a farmer who desired
connection with the nearest town
could do was to rent two instruments
at $4,000 year and build and main
tain his own line. When a farmer
wanted the telephone people to build
a line out to his place, he was com
PEELED to guarantee tolls amounting to
at least $4,000 a year. Naturally
under such conditions, the farmer was
cut off from telephone communication,
and that meant from the world. as he
understands it today"
The Somerset County Farmers lire
serves over a thousand customers for
yearly toll of eight dollars. Think
what our condition, as far as telephone
service. would be if there were no In.
dependent Companies. Does anyone
imagine that New England Telephone
rates would be no higher without COM
petition? Mr.. Latzke says THE
American Bell Company's own records
show that in 1894, when the last Bell
patent expired and the present com
petition began, it had in operation a
total of only 291 1858 telephones. That
is, under complete monopoly of the
business, the company had put on. in
eighteen years, less than 300 900 in
struments.
AS against this. there were in use,
on June 30th, 1905, 2.547321 complete
instruments under Bell control, and as
| have already stated, something over
5000, 600 instruments under Indepen-
dent control. That is. during eleven
years of free competition, over $780,
900 telephones were manufactured and
put into use, as against less than
100000 during the eighteen years of
the monopoly"
Although efficient service and low
rates may now be the aim of the Amer
lean Telephone & Telegraph Company
some of us can remember when the
rule of its ancestors was "Arbitrary
treatment, poor service. high rates and
general meanness and incompetence"
Brother Republican, Democrat, Pro
gressiye, Socialist or Prohibitionist-
Take a share in the Somerset Farmers
Line and pay the tolls to yourselves.
H. B. WHIPPLE.
Druggists Claim HamiltOn's Old Eng.