Evening star., 1916-12-12
WANTSU. s. TO0WN
TELEPHONES IN D. C.
Representative Lewis Intro
duces Bill to Take Over
Entire System.
0NE-CENT CALLS PROVIDED

A new attack on the cost OF living
was delivered today by Representative
David ]. Lewis of Maryland. who in
troduced a comprehensive bill for gov
ernment ownership of telephone sys-
TENS in the District of Columbia Tho
bill provides a one-cent night rate tele-
phone call. to he used especially in
telephoning to farmers in the first
parcel post zone. While this feature
of the bill is important and is designed
to facilitate communication between
city consumers and farmer producers.
it is not the entire bill.
The present telephone system. says
Mr.. Lewis, is not used enough in Wash.
1ngton because of excessive rates.
Under the Lewis plan she Post Office
Department would take over the sys-
tenn and by establishing lower rates
would produce telephone usage much
higher than at present, and on profit
able lines. according to Representative
Lewis.
Mr.. Lewis Expains His Plan.
An explanation of the scheme was
made in statement by Representative
Lewis To-Day He said:
For experimental purposes the bill
fixes a low night rate for the use Of
farmers and consumers. within the first
parcel post zone about Washington.
permitting direct dealing in farm prod
ucts. The night rate is one cent for
each ten miles of distance. plus one
cent initial charge, and is availabIe
only for food transactions. During the
day. from in the morning to p.m..
added time. The first parcel post zone
is about fifty miles in every direction.
Low as is the rate proposed. 1t is some-
what higher for fifty miles than the
telephone rates prevailing in Europe.
Mr.. Vail Of the Bell Telephone Company
has declared that they could give rates.
more or less equal to those in Europe,
and make a profit, too but that the
American people do not want them. It
remains to be seen whether he Is Eight.
Whether SO or not. the wires are nearly
entirely idle after business hours and
at night, when the housewife and farm-
er are at home, they might well use
these idle wires to facilitate buying and
selling their food supplies through the
parcel post
"At present the toll rates are pro-
hibitive for such small transactions. ALI
though Washington 10 completely en-.
vironed by farms, they cannot be reach
ed within a practicable cost by tele-
phone, while letter communication to
impracticable: for the transaction.
however small. requires the bargaining
conversation. Take Poolesville. Mont.
gomery county, Nd. 1t is farming.
center within twenty miles direct dfs/
tance of the District. The toll rates.
20 cents for three-minute talk; OF
course, prohibitive. The night rate un-
der the bill would be 3 cents. which
would make it as easy to give a phone
order to Poolesville farmer as to the
grocer in the city. What likely would
happen is that the farmer. who also
would enjoy the rate, would phone a
list of his products and prices to cen-.
trail for information, which would thus
evolve into a clearing house for farm
supply information, and be able to d.
rect the housewife to farmer actually
having the supplies desired. In this way
the prudent housekeeper could get such
necessaries at their first price and with
their first smell
Best Place to Make Experiment.
The Washington telephone situation
would seem to be an inviting one for
this postal experiment. Its postal
chiefs are there. and could settle all
problems with the light of direct ex-
perience. Moreover, the telephone re-
port for 1914 shows that the average
charge for each local call in Wash
ington was about Az CENTS. This is
more than four times the average
charge per call with the independent
companies in such cities as Pittsburgh.
Indianapolis. Kansas City. Louisville.
L. Sala
user in these cities pays 81 cents for
100 local calls. which in Washington
cost an average to the user OF $4.21.
The effect of these high rates is to
produce a ridiculously low use of the
phone in Washington. In 1914 it aver
aged only s23 calls. The average for
the cities named was over 400 calls
per phone. The investment cost per
phone averaged fully as high in these
cities as in Washington. and their tele.
phone employees attended to about
forty-ive phones each, while In Wash
ington the average was fifty-two phones
per employe. But in these cities the
employe showed an average service prod
uct of more than 100000 calls per em-
ploye per annum. while in Washington
the employees showed product Of less
than $4,000 calls Here is a case in
service greatly reduces the unit cost.
High utilization means low cost per
unit, and low message rates insure this
higher use The potential traffic. Is as
high in Washington as elsewhere, but,
lust as with the parcel traffic before
the parcel post, most Of it is killed by
the relatively prohibitive tariffs
exacted.
herit the masses In respect to this most
recent and useful communicating-and
properly postal facility. The hotels
here as in other cities. have extension
phones in each room: some OF them
more telephones than In ten residence
blocks around them.
mAcTInN GROUP FORMED.