New-York tribune., 1915-03-13
TELEPHONE REDUCTIONS
Old Rates Almost as Good as New
Protests Subscriber.
o the Editor of The Tribune.

To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: Referring to the proposed change OF
telephone rates, as suggested by the New
York Telephone Company to the Public Ser
vice Commission on March 3, 1915, have
computed some figures on the old and new
rate. and from careful reckoning | figure
that the old rate, less 10 per cent, is almost
as good as the new rate. do not figure
that the company is making any considera
bic or sufficient reduction.
Nv figures are arrived at by taking the
average consumption house, in houses OF
the three different types which are most
prevalent In the City of New York. tn
principal item upon which the telephone
company offers a reduction is the annual
rental Of extensions. However, you VII
note that after twenty extensions are paid
for the rate per extension is reduced 10
$500 The company, on the other hand,
states that where the switchboard con-
tains over thirty extensions Sl.20 will be
added 10 the rental Of the switchboard for
each extension, so that the regular rate an
extension will average $3.50. These exten-
sions, I understand, cost the telephone com
pany 50 each to purchase outright; and on
a charge of $3.50 the company will be max
ing 60 per cent profit the first year. and will
be making a profit Of sl.SO thereafter on
every extension. This is a reduction of Sl.2O
on the old rate. but when you consider that
we have already received reduction of so
cents on the old rate, we are getting very
little on this new rate.
The cost a message is stll exceedingly
high, and think that the telephone com
pany could easily aEOrd to charge US only .
cents. The switchboard charge at S2i might
be o. K. but when you add TO that Sl.20 for
each extension over thirty, you will find that
in house of fifty families 7our switchboard
under the new system will cost you S4S;
whereas previously it cost $50, less 10 per
cent, or S32.40. Furthermore, for each trunk
lire after the initial trunk the company
charges an annual rental of s24. | believe
that the trunk lines should be given free
with the understanding that there should be
at least one trunk line for every 1000 calls;
and if the owner wi-hes any more than one
trunk line for 5000 calls, that these addi-
tional trunk lines should be paid for at
moderate rate.
Although the present scheme is somewhat
improved, | am OF the opinion that the tele-
phone company should provide for US, as
Wholesale users, at least the same as they do
for the nickel-in-the-slot machines which
they place in all stores and public pay sta
tions. In these machines the consumer is
charged cents a message, and the store
keeper in whose store the slot machine is
placed IS given a commission Of 20 per cent
on each call From this you can see that the
telephone company Is supplying the nickel
ln-the-slot machine at the rate of cents a
call, whereas under { II proposed rate to US
in spite Of the fact that we use a great many
more messages than in the single machines,
we shall be payine as follows un er the new
rate:
In a twenty-family house, 7+6 cents mes
sage.
In a thrtyfamily house, 5.62 cents a mes
sage
In a ffty-family house, 6S3 cents mes
sage.
These messages we must sell 10 the tenant
at the rate Of cents a message, and in ad-
dIt!on TO our bookkeeping and general ex-
penses, including collections, etc. we have 70
pay the operators at least S25 a month which
would bring the cost of supplying messages
70 the tenants in a twenty family house 10
1895 cents, IN thirty family house 70 96l
cents and in a ffty-famlly house to 773
cents, so that We will be under the new rate
still az a considerable loss
We believe that the telephone company can
afford and should give US a rate that will en-
able the owner supply the tenants with
messages at cents a .lessage and stand A
chance Of breaking en-
SIDNEY II. SONN.
New York, March 5, 1915.