The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1915-01-07
FARMERS COOPERATIVE TELE.
PHONE COMPANY
Contin aed from First Page

Continued from First Page
ary A. D. 1904, and after eleven ears
We must acknowledge that our found
ers builded wisely and well.
While we may at times have fallen
far short of perfection in the tele-
phone art, so hard to attain at any
thing, yet at that it has an almost
inestimable value in the saving of
time and convenience, so much SO.
that the most reliable computation
for this country upon all lines gives
1t as SIS, 900 900 daily. Certainly with
our assessments at $500 per year
which gives us the right to call any
one of the 1850 shareholders any
where in the county without tolls and
with the mutual connection we make
with the Franklin County, Oxford
County, Kennebec County, and the
Peoples Company making about 1900
more, that we can call with no other
expense than the $500 per year, we
surely must be getting our part of
the daily saving.
Article TX of our bylaws reads
No stakeholder shall be assessed for
the building of new lines, nor shall
the Directors authorize the building
of new lines until a sufficient amount
of additional stock has been pledged
or sold to pay in full for the cost of
the said additional line or lines"
What we are able to save from our
$500 assessments We can eXpend for
improvements on what is already
built, never losing sight of a very
roo cDpo h1n no ~ cf II For. dnnpooiatin
and future maintenance.
This past year, we have added a
Public Liability Insurance Policy with
the regular Employees Policy on
which the premium is in excess of
$4,000.
We have added one hour of con-
tinuous service at an additional eX-
pense of so per week at each central
office. beginning February 1st making
in all $4,000. For extra line in
spection according to the vote at the
annual meeting a year ago $4,000.
Our first outside work was in Emblem
in April, dividing lines 10 and 13 and
getting a new line at an expense of
$52.75. In May and June we built
over the lines in Scion, or rather
harmed the poles on the upper side
of the village toward Bingham, that
we might have room for another wire
making a metallic circuit to Bingham
using "a of the very best Harms
washington Fir) Is bundles of wire,
$50 brackets, $50 insulators. at a
total cost including extra labor and
expenses of $215.10. While there, we
strung about l and 1-2 miles of wire
out over French Hill to divide line
8 that was heavily loaded. which cost
with extension bell and all 1929.
We had an unexpected job and a
very annoying one on the State Road
from Norridgewock to Madison, which
required the setting over of a great
deal of line and lots of breaks in the
service. We have had SO new poles
for the same and in all expended
1884 there and it isn't lone yet.
We changed the equipment of the
Bingham switchboard to the latest
improved drops at a cost of $38.75
We bought rs extension bells for
North Arson and Canaan at about
one-half price (they had been used a
very little) at $500.
We made a complete change of the
switchboards at Norridgewock. equip
ping the SAME with an entire new sci
of jacks and plugs. both at the night
and day Offices at an expense OF
$43.34.
AT Canaan we changed the working
parts of the switchboard from the
drops that the company had quit
making to the very latest improve
ments at a cost of $4,000, making a
total of $64417 expended upon the
lines and sw|itchboards above the reg.
ular work. yet what we wanted to dc
most and so voted at the first meet
ing of the Directors for the year, that
was to build over the lines in Nor
r~idgewock village. We haven't done
at all. as we couldn't seem TO make
satisfactory arrangements in the To-
cation of the poles.
During 1913 We increased the sal
aries at Madison 81 10 per week OF
S52.0 o for this year. Starks, S1.00 per
week or $500 for this year; Athens
80 per week or S26o0 for this year.
New Sharon sl125 per quarter OF
$500 for this year and with this the
$4,000 for extra hours in all offices
and $4,000 extra on Liability Policy
and $500 extra on the Treasures
salary making a total s65200 added
10 our fixed charges and this with the
s64417 expended upon the lines makes
a total Of sl296l7 and vet our cash
on hand has increased s41S.39 from
s99s. 7S last year to s1il7i7 this year.
so that our accounts stand today
Due upon the stock ledger s3ss64S
Less 10 per cent poor ae-
counts and for collection $40 81
k35a6gl
On the general ledger ln7 SO
Material and stock on hand 30 90
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