Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-04-06
RATE CUT TO BRING
MORE TELEPHONES
States Order Reducing Bell
Revenue 81, 100000 Well
Received
NO COMPANY STATEMENT

A large increase in the number OF c"y
,eiepbone users Is generally expected as
result of the reduction in Bell TeIepno'e
Company rates, amounting TO sfoo'ouV
wear i'm Philadelphia and an aggregate "
81 900, 900 year In the entire S'a'e' ,,I
was ordered yesterday by the @ @rup,e
Service Commission. The present .u 80
of subscribers in this city is about l'o'ooV
The opinions of telephone men also agree
,.i,b tho conclusions nut forth in the order
of the commission to the enect t'ia. .,'o ~,
measured system of charging, wherepy tl,c
subscriber pays only for actual use uiuo
10 a more rapid development OF telephohe
usage and thus enables the telephone oo''-
panies to extend their services 10 as larse
a portion of the public as is commercially
possible.
No official statement by the Bell COM
pany has been made regarding the oruef,
l. A. Einnard. vice president ana general
manager of the Bell Telephone Company OF
PENNSYLVANIA, refused this morning 10 make
any comment. He announced through MS
private secretary that he as yet knew noun
ing official of the Publ: Service 'onmlS-
sion order. and until he received copy ana
took time to study it he would be unable
to talk
The cut ordered. which is approximately
per cent of the annual gross earnings
of the Bell company. Will amount TO
much larger percentage of cut in rates 10
small subscribers The findings of the
commission show that the same fiat rate
TO each subscriber results in a benefit to
the relatively few and detriment to the
many who use relatively few messages
No period for the filing of the new sched-
ule of rates Is named in the order, but 1t
is supposed that the reduction Will be
settled in conference between the company
officials and the commission.
a
'he most far-reaching ever issued III this
State. ordering one of the largest reductions
in toll rates obtained through commission
authority in any State of the Union. 1t is the
result Of four years Of Investigation, hear
ings and arguments. While the commission
does not state .t, the order Is believed to be
a compromise following the recent hearing
of the Pittsburgh district case.
The commission ordered that the annual
reductions be divided follows: Phladel-
phia, s450,000; Pittsburgh. 100000, and
toll rates S250,000. The reduction in toll
rates will effect an equalization in these
rates in all parts of the State. Large re-
ducton in telephone rentals will result
in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, where these
rentals are highest
The order which was signed by all MEM
bers of the commission. holds that the tele-
phone companies properties Must be con-
sidered on a Statewide rather than on
segregated district basis. The commits
sion approves the measured service for
business telephones as opposed TO unlimited
service rates in the larger cities, such as
Philadelphia and Pittsburgh
The telephone rate inquiry was begun by
the old State Railroad Commission in 1918.
Following the receipt of a large number
of complaints they decided to take up the
entire question OF telephone charges and
equalize them if possible. The Public
Service Commission, which succeeded the