The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931, 1915-03-20
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Continued from First Page.)
ent local rates are continued where
the company proposed to increase
them.
Many features Of the company's
are approved By the commits
sion. including the principle Of mes
sass charges beginning at cents re-
tail and scaling down to ~ cents
Wholesale. Its sone system also II
adopted, but the tolls heavily cut.
Since announcement by the tele-
phone company Of Its proposed redue-
lions. complaint centred chiefly on the
private branch exchange schedule.
This tended to prevent owners Of
small apartment houses from giving
their tenants a cent telephone call
without direct loss themselves. be-
cause OF charges imposed ON switch
boards, extra trunk wires and extern
sion stations. In large houses the
rate would have been possible because
Of Wholesale uses Of messages at IL
cents each. But in small houses II
averaged above cents.
EXPENSE INCURRED ~ own.
ERs NOT FIGURED.
The commission took the ground that
any expense incurred BY owners for
operators or attendance could not bs
considered In rate making. because
that was either Offset by value Of froe
interior telephone communication or
else was indirectly charged In the
rent. Likewise the claim Of large
hotels that valuable rental space was
given to switchboard and booths was
discarded. Only actual ssrtics pay
ments to the telephone company were
considered.
Taking the company's proposed
schedule for this class, the Commits
sion cut switchboard charges, but
left unchanged the rate for extension
telephones at Is per year each for the
first ten. and scaling down to $3.50 for
twenty or more. A. result they
figured out the following:
A ten family apartment house could
obtain under the now rates q switch
board. one trunk line. ten extension
telephones and 1000 messages. which
was considered . fair quota. for $40
per year. which 10 equivalent to 4 Ia
cents per message. The same service
with two trunk lines would cost ~
cents per message. In . largo house
with 80 telephones and increased con-
sumption Of calls the rate would DO
approximately I cents.
Under such . schedule the COM
mission considered that tenants
could expect fve cent calls. II 10
q question. however. to b settled
between tenant and landlord. a. the
commission cannot dictate the charge
that one subscriber may impose ON
persons In his house. II can regulate
tho company's rates. but not tho
landlords.
TENANTs CAN sUBscRisE 70 A
OIRECT LINE.
II tenant 10 Charged too much he
has the alternative Of becoming q d.
rect line subscriber at . cent rate
500 messages for $40.
A. for large hotels their messages
cost them considerably less than nve
cents each. 90 far a. payments to the
telephone company are concerned.
The commission declined to take cog
nixance Of their charges to guests.
Telephone service at 10 cents Dor To-
cal call 10 a source Of fine pront to
the large hotels.
Senator James A. Foley, Chairman
Of tho legislative committee inves-
tigating telephones. examined the
Public Service Commissions sched-
ule and approved It.
while It Ia not as long a. that
prepared by Prof. Bemis for our COM
mittee." no said. yet Il meets %
many Of the demands that think We
can accept Il a. the best available
under the circumstances.
I'm the Bsmis schedule there were
more reductions In private branch sx-
change and extension station charges.
Also In the sliding scale Of rates for
wholesale use Of messages from 8
cents down TO az cents each, the
Bemis schedule began III cuts earlier.
CUT IN iNrERsoRouoH ToLLs
A FINE THING.
But the Commission has done we'll
In it, cut Of Interborough toll charges
for direct wire service to $40 Tor 500
messages.
III It 10 necessary 70 strengthen the
CemmisAoh'e order By legislative &C.
10 ] think THE. sshs1uli could -
nhe1e1 - ~ l(lS aisealy jnlse.
800 ~. i'i, Il ~