Imperial Valley press., 1919-03-10
BURLES0N IN
EXPLANATION OF
PHONE RATES

In explanation of the telephon,
rates recently ordered, Postmaster
General BUrlescn has sent the fol
lowing letter to Congressman Doc
little:
"IIon. Dudley Doolittle, House OF
Representatives-My Dear MIR. Doc.
little: I beg to acknowledge the re-
ceint Cf your letter of the 3tst OF
January, requesting some informa-
ton regarding the plan used hy the
department in arriving at the new
tell rates for long distance telephone
calls and inquiring whether local adj
ilstmonts may be expected from
time TO time. l am very glad in
deed to supply You with this infor-
mation.
The purpose of the new schedule
Of telephone toll rates is to stand
ardizc the long distance service
throughout the country and to es-
tablish uniform charges. The> toll
service is not local in character and,
unlike exchange service, is largely
conducted over the lines of more
than one company and across state
boundaries. When the postmaster
general took over the operation of
the telephones. the difference in toll
rates and in the methods of hand
ling tell business on many routes
were such as greatly to complicate
the quoting of through rates The
result was unnecessary delay and
waste of effort in handling long dis
tance traffic and corresponding in
convenience and expense to the pub
lie. Under the toll rates now estab-
liShed, the toll service is an inter
community, Interstate and inter-re
gional service, available to all Amer
leans. at all times. everywhere.
IN preparing the new toll rates
the Telegraph and Telephone Admin
istration has endeavored to introduce
additional forms of service required
by the public, to establish conditions
with respect to the long distance bus
mess which will result in economies
of operation, to make substantial re-
ductioHs in rates where they We're
excessive. and to increase the charges
for certain kinds of service where
rates We're inadequate. For example,
the distinction between calls fer
particular person and those Tor any
person at d particular station was
established for the whole country.
This distinction is based on sound
engineering principles. Messages
handled by the pelson-to person
method require more labor on the
part of the telephone operators than
those handled by the station-to- sta
ton method. TIE former also tie up
the lines. which in the case Of many
long distance calls represent q heavy
investment in copper wire and other
equipment, far a longer period OF
time. Heretofore the telephone caller
who was satisfied 10 reach any party
at a particular station often con-
,ributcd toward the extra cost of
serving the particular person for a
long distance talker. Hereafter the
charges in such cases viii be better
proportioned to the cost Of service
and to its value t the user.
TIE introduction Of station-to-sta-
ton service is not a new departure.
\ large part of the Toll business Of
the country has long been handled
by this method. The basic schedule
under the new rate order IS that for
this class Of service. The rates are
generally lower than the toll rates
formerly in effect throughout the
country. This reduction was possible
only through the economies in the
method of operation which have been
accomplished.
similar considerations justify the
new report charges. The informa-
ton reported to the telephone user,
who Paws the report charge, may not
always be Of value 10 him, but it has
been obtained at considerable eX
rensc. Il is fairer to charge the eX-
pense against the party who origi-
mated the call than against other
completely innocent parties More
over, in many eases, regrettably, re-
ports from stations that the p&rticu-
ar person called for was not avail
able. have been made medium Of
conveying important information
Thus the parties were enabled to
eyade payment and gross fraud was
successfully perpctraled upon the
company From every standpoint it
seems desirable to make d reason
able charge for this class Of service
Charges for particular person aerv-
ice undcr the new schedule, unlike
those for station-to-station service,
are generally higher than the former
rates But it ought not to be for
gotten that many users Of this class
Of service formerly escaped . por-
tion Of the charge that should have
been made, if other users had not
been helping to meet the cost. More
over, the government took over the
telephones in a period Of advancing
rates Already in 1918, during the
period preceding government opera
/ tion, several Of the telephone compa-
uies had secu ed the approved Of the
state public service commissions,
having jurisdiction over their lines,
10 substantial rate increases. Many
mad applied for permission to make
increases Others would shortly have
/ been compelled 10 seek authority for
similar increases, if the government