La Junta tribune., 1914-12-26
CITY COUNCIL.
City Dads Have AnOtller Fruitles,
sessiOn With Telephone Com.
pany Over New Franchise.

l'any Over New Franchise.
Last Monday night the city dads
had prolonged and fruitless ses-
sion with J. s. Elfred. OF Denver.
representing the general managers
office OF the Mountain States Tele-
phone Company. over the renewal Of
that company's franchise which ex-
pired In the month OF October.
Everybody seems to have q mania
these days to swat the corporations
whenever they have chance. and
the city council is no exception to
this latter day rule. The railroads
have been swatted no hard and often
during recent years that most Of
them are about to go into the hands
or receiver-or submit ioyfully to
government ownership. They final
ly convinced the powers that be that
they were really In distress and have
now been granted n five per cent
increase In rates. which they admit
will relieve them to considerable
extent and give them a new lease Of
life at a very insignificant additional
cost to the individual shipper.
As a consequence OF this mania to
swat the corporations while the swat
ting is good. the entire U. S. A.. and
most of the rest OF the earth. is on
the bum proper. and II has come
down to the point where II is affect
ing every industry and business on
earth. When the corporations and
big industries are prosperous every
individual shares In the prosperity.
I and II is about time to Gall n halt on
this swattiDg propensity. or else all
of us will go to the demnition bow
vows
The only proposition Mr.. Elfred
had to offer was the same one he
made In the first instance--two per
cent OF the gross earnings. which will
yield the city n revenue OF about
$500 per year. and this is just $500
more than the city ever received be-
lore. His company expects to make
fseten~pev- cent on their inyestment,
and clatm that in 1913 Il had oper-
ated In La Junta at a loss-thc cx-
act amount being $465.63. The de-
mand Of the city council that the
wires he placed underground would
not be considered by his company
under present conditions. An un-
! dcrground system would nccessitatc
new building and this would re-
quire nm additional investment for
his company Of over 100000. OF
which amount $1,000 would be- for
site and new building. His COM
pany WAS not looking for new bust
ness. because new business meant nd
/ ditionai Investment. and M long as
money was as hard To get as II In
now. the telephone company did not
want any new business. The install
iaiion Of every new telephone means
an additional Investment Of ei3s.
and additional telephones meant
more loss unless the Investment was
Increased. No one had money 10
invest In telephone stock under the
present conditions. according 10 Mr..
t:ifred. n telephone users were will.
Ing tn submit to an increase Of 50
per year IN telephone rates his CON-
pany would install nm underground
system aud put the wires under
ground. but not otherwise.
when telephone rates were read.
jussed In IA Junta = year or more
ago BY the telephone company. and
district service was cut out, Mr. IT.
fred claimed that his company Lost
revenue thereby. Although resi-.
dencc phones we're Increased to ei.7s
PER month. district phones were cut
from es = month 70 81 and e3.so PET
month. and the Increase for residence
phones did not offset the loss from
business phones.
A. there was no prospect Of srviv.
Ing st IN smicsble agreement over
the telephone franchise. the msttes
vas laid over for IN indefinits per.
iod. The telephone company will nov
continue to operate wiihoua . fran
chise. and the city dads Will thereby
iose the two per cent revenue from
the gross earnings that has been o.
sered them. This world ID made ~
of . lot Of queer people. II thsJ
can't have what they want they Will
Try 10 he content With nothing.