The independent-reporter. [volume] (Skowhegan, Me.) 1909-1955, 1916-01-13
". c. HOBARTS IELE.
PHONE REPORT
Tells of Yearly Business of Somerset
Farmers Telephone Company

Farmers Telephone Company
The following annual report was
presented by Manager w. c. Hobart
at the yearly meeting of the Somer-
set Farmers Cooperative Telephone
Company:
We have had, for the past five
years, two fixed purposes in mind;
first, to improve our service and
standing as a company; second, to
have some reserve for depreciation
and future maintenance.
We have had a full and constant
realization of the fact, that in order
to accomplish any part of our first
purpose our second was an absolute
necessity, SO much so. that if we were
not able to any more than pay our
running expenses at the $500 per
year, our rates would have to be
raised. In order to accomplish any
part of either purpose. our policy
must of necessity be a very conserva-
tive one, and we have had practi-
cally the unanimous support of your
directors in persuing that policy. 1t
would be impossible to persue any
course without criticism Honest
criticism from any source is good
for any of us at any thing.
Our construction of course you are
all familiar with. The small pole
is bad. but so many of them were
not set where staked out or accord
ing to specifications and in MANY
cases no guys, that it is hard work to
keep them right end up, and last
winter was especially hard on ac-
count of the deep frost, but fortunate
ly the leaning pole does not interfere
with the talking if the line is clear,
but it looks bad; still if you will no.
tice the other companies leave them
until they have all served the aver
age length the line is supposed to go
and then cover the whole line and
rebuild where necessary.
We have had the foundations Cor
congested territory in the villages
where we have completely outgrown
the original construction) to relay
North Arson was covered after the
fire, Skowhegan when the Office was
changed and Norrdgewock, just
new. Scion and Bingham must fol-
low at the earliest possible moment.
What we have done so far has been
of first class, permanent lasting char
acter
While we have but one lineman, or
trouble man, who can fix switch
boards and phones, we have a man
in Canaan, who looks after the line
trouble, one in Starks, one in North
Arson, one in New Portland, one at
Flagstaff, and Mr.. Baker does some
in Bingham, besides work which the
individual stakeholder can do in his
own immediate location much cheap
er than we could send a man to do
and for which we gladly pay and this
year the regular man has in some
cases had man go with him.
For our work for the past year,
we happened to be fortunate enough
to make the most of our purchases
in the early part of the year and
have them delivered and paid for, as
many of them advanced quite a lit
tie in price.
Our first company work was in
dividing our Fairfield line on the
back road so called in Skowhegan, as
i: was heavily loaded and the most
direct route to Watervile. For the
first three miles out of Skowhegan,
all we had to do was to put on brack-
cts and glass and string the wire as
ii was nearly new line of poles, but
for the last two miles or so, most
all of the poles were reset and some
new ones put up. This was all
done by your regular man and my
help so the only outlay was wire,
brackets, glass and spikes, or $3945
for materials.
Our next was changing over and
building some new line to shorten
the distance between our central in
New Portland and the central in
Kingfield, dividing the line to make
room for more subscribers, and re-
lieve the heavily loaded line at West
New Portland. This work was all
done by and through Mr.. George Cor
don. our New Portland operator at a
cost of materials $2629
for labor 1889
Or a total of $65.
For the Norridgewoek construction
we have paid out for
Materials $15997
And for labor 125.70
Or total of $2S5.67
We have tried to make this con-
struction as good as can be put up,
the only thing we know of that we
haven't done that we might have
done was to paint the poles.
The lineman, Mr.. Taylor, has been
there and it has been absolutely or
nearly all of it, under his supervi-
sion.
We have paid for the labor for the
outside linemen righting up lines and
getting out crosses, etc. $43089 and
to this We have added the cost of the