Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1918-12-16
CUT MADE IN
LONG DISTANCE
TELEPHONE TOLL
New Schedule Figured Upon
Basic Charge of 6 "a
Mills a Mile, Effective
January II.


reductions in long distance and toll
telephone rates by the adoption of
basic charge OF Oh mills mile,
airline mileage, and half the day
rate for night service up to mid
night and one-fourth the day rate
after that hour were announced to-
day by Postmaster General Burle-
son. They become effective next
January II.
The new rates were recommended
in the first report of the committee
on rate Standardization and Mr..
Burleson's statement said their
effect is to equaize the toll and
long distance charges over the coun-
try.
"A night service rate" said the
statement, which is one-half the
day rate, is established between $50
and Il p. m. Between midnight and
4:30 a. m, the night rate is one
fourth the day rate. These are great
er reductions in night rates than
have ever been made in any country,
and doubtless will be extensively
used, especially for social and fam
lily purposes. A person might talk
from San Francisco to New York
for about 81 whereas the day rate
is approximately $40.
Station to Station" Service.
"a station to station service is
established such as now exists in
the remainder of the world, that is,
when the connection is established
with mans house or office, the op-
portunity to converse is provided
and the station to station rate, which
is the basic rate, applies and is pay
able whether the particular persons
desired responds or not. This rate
up to "a miles is at the rate OF FIVE
cents for six miles and for greater
distances five cents for each eight
miles or about six and one-fourth
mills a mile. The distance is COM
puted by air line methods and not
by pole line or public highways.
The air line distances are common
~ about 100 miles, when the others
would run $50 miles. 1t is stated by
the committee that more than 90
varities of toll rates have existed
in the United States up to the pres
ent time. The effect of this uni
iotm or basic rate in the station to
station service is to reduce or not
effect about 20 per cent of the rates
through necessarily slightly raising
about 80 per cent in the process OF
Standardization.
Fraud Eliminated.
1T requires about two and one
half times as much work to estab-
lish connection with a particular
person than the station-to-statlon
service. Hitherto the rates have
been the same for both kinds of
services, nothing being paid, how
ever great the service performed, on
the failure of the telephone institu-
ton to secure the particular person.
The particular person service has
also been used to defraud the gov
,rnment out of its toll revenues. De-
signing persons employ codes under
which, although the desired tele-
phone is reached. the particular per-
son is said not to be there. but
words of explanation given from
his phone answer all the purposes
Of the cali under the code arrange
ment.
"The particular person service is
not discontinued. but the rate there
or is so modified as to prevent
these abuses and compensate the
telephone service in part for the
extra expense of labor and plant in
volved, and a charge of Is per cent
Of the Standardization rate is made
for such service, when the particular
person is secured and a report of
Is per cent of the station-to-station
rate Is made when the house or Of
fee number is obtained and his
whereabouts or refusal to talk is
reported.
TN many large sections of the |
country the smallest toll rate has
not been less than IS cents. Under
the new scheme for short distances
the rates are reduced to five cents
and ten cents. For the cheapest
form of service the person can talk
five minutes as compared with three
minutes now. or, in some cases, only |
two minutes, or one minute. Free
toll areas where the exchange rate
was designed to cover the free serv-
ice or low charge therefor are not
n HaStad hxy tb;e orJarS