Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-01-04
'PHQNESFOR ALL :.
Or. -.
SEEN IN j. S. RULE
A. P. Conner Declares Lower
Rates Would Follow Pur-
chase of Lines Here. -
GOVERNMENT PAYS HEAVILY


A telephone in every home In waeh.
ington would result should the Lewis
and Pomerene bills I'm Congress. call
ing for purchase by the government OF
the telephone in the National Capital
be enacted into law. according to A. p.
Conner, chairman of the public utilities
committee OF the Southeast Citizens As
ISOLATION. in an article in the current
number OF Telephony
The city of Washington, in the mat-
ter of rates for telephone service. has
to pay about the highest price in the
country" says Mr.. Conner. The Cow
eminent pays even higher than tho
private individual in Washington. BY
reason of a contract arrangement"
The control of the telephone by pflS
vate interests in Washington" says
the writer, enables any one controlling
1t to spy on our government and all
the other governments represented In
Washington without detection. so that
many government secrets could be ob-
tanned, and even neutrality itself in-
vaded. 1t would be very easy at the
present time for foreign government
to buy out private telephone interests
in washington and use the system TO
,, .-
Reason for Move.
Declaring that the District Commits,
sioners. as Commissioners. have all
they can attend to in that position. and
therefore have been unable to hold
hearings of the public utilities com.
mission. of which they are the headss
upon the local telephone situation. Mr..
Conner continues: -,f
1T is. therefore, no wonder that the
public and government have to pay the
bill. when it comes to the telephone,
and that they feel il is time to rush
into government ownership, as that
will, at least. promise them some bets
ter treatment"
The manner in which the telephone
interesting, continues the article. The
supply committee of the Treasury De-
partment, it is declared, writes a letter
to the Chesapeake and Potomac Teie-
phone Company, which is a part OF the
Bell interests, for its bid on telephone
service, land a made-out contract 10
submitted in due time by the telephone
company. There is no attempt at adj
vertising or otherwise publishing the
matter, so other telephone interests
can offer any kind of bid that might be
to the governments benefit to con-
sider"
Now. the telephone contract is on
its pretensions a contract for service.
but. as matter of fact. 1t Is monopoly
of the supply of telephone apparatus to
the government at a rental rate. he
continues. Thus. for instance. IL the
government were to get apparatus
properly in the matter it could buy
many of these items for about two
thirds of what it is compelled to pay
yearly as rent for them under this.
contract. All telephone manufacturers
could bid on the same basis and comply
with satisfactory specifications. WHEN
Would Own Apparatus. -
1.-The government would then own. this
apparatus and would not be compelled
to repeat paying for the apparatus
every year. as it now does under the
guise of its being rental" .e~~--
Mr.. Conner makes the following
charges: sf
1.-The contract shows: The Bell In
terests make the conditions of the con.
tract instead of government experts.
etc. The government is not protected
in the buying of telephone apparatus
by specifications inspections. tests and
expert services. as the law requires
uses. The government gives the Bell
interests monopoly in the renting OF
telephone apparatus to it, The govern
ment pays. high for the privilege of
dealing with the Bell interests in re-
gard to its telephone apparatus.
There is no definite charge for tele-
phone service. The government has no
tangible or definite way of checking up
the actual number of calls il uses
There is no publicity to the contract in
a manner that permits independent
telephone interests to legitimately COM
pete. Its rates for telephone service
are not less than those charged an ordis
nary subscriber. --e
Contract Is Complicated. .~.s
The contract is not a simple one for
telephone service. 1t is rather a combi.
and notwithstanding ar.
that is made as complicated
as possible, to the financial detrment OF
the government and the competitive
rights of the outside telephone inter.
ests."
Government ownership would not
only take care of the telephone situa-
ton for the government. Mr.. Common
for use on the citizens circuits in
'At present" he says. "only the rela-r
lively well-to-do can afford to have q
telephone in their homes in washing-
tom"