The Churchill county standard. (Fallon, Nev.) 1908-1920, 1919-01-15
FALLoN. NEVADA. WEDNESDAY. JANUARY
COUNTY TELEPHONE SYSTEM
A PROBLEM TO Be SOLVED
Lack Of Funds Retards Needed I'm
provements and Extensions and
Legislative Relief Sought

The Churchill County Telephone
System has for some time been the
target for abuse and complaints
from those whose necessities compel
them to make use of il.
Irritation and impatience fire.
quently follow the attempt to secure
prompt communication and despite
conscientious effort ON the part of
manager and county officials to i'm
prove the service ii must be admit
ted that as a satisfactory telephone
system it is deplorably lacking.
After an experience of over 20
years this public utility of which so
much was promised, and more ex-
pected. is proven to be non-sustain-
ing, the expense of maintaining it
having exceeded the revenue derived
therefrom by $500 And in all
fairness to the management, this
loss cannot be charged to extrava-
gance, as anyone familiar with the
allowance for salaries and mainte-
nance must admit.
Numerous demands for extensions
through the lack of funds and the
sure possibility that such lines would
prove to be liabilities rather than
assets have been denied these reas-
ons. just though they lie. seldom
succeeding in allaying tie disap-
pointment of the applicant
The paramount object Of public
utility Is service and this Of 4 kind
as complete as human ingenuity can
provide. lacking this it fails of It's
fundamental purpose. and applying
this truth to the conditions existing
In this county Il cannot be gainsaid
that we are facing a dliema and one
that must be met promptly and
courageously. The taxpayers of this
county are brought face to face with
the choice of two problems II the
present unsatisfactory service is to
be improved, either an agreement to
vote upon n bond proposition to ex-
tend and rehabilitate the system or
dispose of the entire plant.
To the latter course there arises
the objection that even under pri
vate ownership no assurance can be
given that the service would be inn
proved at least to the extent of car
rying lines into non-paying districts,
as the general policy of such cor
porations is that of producing sufiic-
lent revenue on capital invested as
TO warrant at least occasional divi-
dends, and extension work under
such ownership only follows the
closest investigation by trained ex-
perts.
AS to the other horn Of the di-
lemma the question resolves itself
to the point OF the contentment of
the taxpayers with the present un-
satisfactory service or to improve It
which can be accomplished in no
other way than by an outlay of at
least $4,000 which after all things
are considered is not too high price
to pay for a service that in these
days is deemed indispensable.
Incidental. and of vital Importance
to the question. is the present un-
businesslike and antiquated method
of securing a manager through the
medium OF advertising for bids, the
award, according to usage. falling TO
the lowest bidder.
No such method is followed by any
private individual or corporation,
the test IN all such cases being one
of eminent fitness for the position
to be filled and in this there is no
intention to reflect upon any of the
officers who have heretofore directed
the affairs OF the Churchill County
telephone system, but is intended to
again emphasize the need of intro
ducing modern business methods in
to the affairs of an important public
utility.
Whatever is to be attempted in
this direction the present is the op-
Fortune time for such action, as the
legislature will shortly convene ,and
relief may be had through the intro
duction of a carefully drawn bill
with instructions to our representa-
tives to urge its passage without de-
lay.