Arizona republican., 1918-12-16
bURLESON REDUCES
PHONE TOLLS; OPENS
NEW SERVICE PLAN
Basic Charge Made Six and
Quarter Mills - Three
Glasses of Rates. Sched-
uled-Effective Jan. u

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15.-Sweeping
reductions in long distance and toll
telephone rates by the adoption of a
basic charge of 6A cents a mile, airline
mileage, and half the day rate for
night service up to midnight and one
fourth the day rate after that hour
were announced today by Postmaster
General Burleson. They become eff
fective next January p.
The new rates were recommended in
the first report of the committee on
rate Standardization, and Mr.. Burle-
sons statement said their effect is
to equalize the toll and long distance
charges over the country, removing
disparities and preferences, and pro-
viding a scientific basis for future re-
ductions, contemplated as unification
of telephone and telegraph wires pro-
ceeds.''
"A night service" said the state
ment, which is one half the day rate,
is established between $50 and u
p. m. Between midnight and 430 a. m.
the night rate is one fourth sthe day
rate. These are greater reductions in
night rates than have ever been made
in any country, and doubtless will be
extensively used, especially for social
and family purposes. a person might
talk from San Francisco to New York
for about 81. whereas the day rate is
approximately SIG.
Establishes New Service
A station to station service is es-
tablished, such as now exists in the
balance of the world, that is when a
connection is established with a mans
house or office, the opportunity tc
converse is provided and the station
to station rate. which is the basic rate
applies and is payable whether the
person desired responds or not. This
rate, up to "A miles. is at the rate
of five cents for six miles. and fol
greater distances five cents for each
eight miles, or about six and one
fourth mills a mile. The distance i:
computed by airline methods and not
by pole line or public highways. The
airline distances are commonly abou'
100 miles when the others would bC
$50 miles 1t is stated by the com
mittee that more than sixty varietie:
of toll rates have existed in The
United States up to the present time
The effect of the uniform or basi,
rate in the station to station service
| is to reduce or not affect about 20 per,
cent of the rates, though necessaril,
slightly raising about 80 per cent il
the process of Standardization.
Particular Persons Call
| 1T requires about two and one-hal
| times as much work to establish con
| nection with a particular person as tn
| station to station service. Hithert
the rates have been the same for bot
kinds of service. nothing being pal,
| however great the services performe,
on the failure of the telephone insti
tuition to secure the particular person
The particular person service has ais
been used to defraud the governmen
out of its toll revenues. Designip
persons employ codes under which, al
though the desired telephone i
reached, the particular person is sal
not to be there, but words of explana
ton given from his phone answer a
the purposes of the call under the cod
arrangement.
'The particular person service is nc
discontinued, but the rate therefor i
so modified as to prevent these abuse
and compensate the telephone servic,
in part, for the extra expense of labc
and plant involved and a charge of 2
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