Bogalusa enterprise and American. (Bogalusa, La.) 1918-19??, 1920-10-28
New Orleans, La.

lFs...s-
New Orleans, La.
Dear SIR az, IL ,,ou-. not
nal ouestion, and one which demands full and
frank reply, which l am glad to make.
While the prices of a great many things haVes
snparentlv been reduced, these Reductions IN
rF;ees do not apply to articles used by the tele-
pbone company or affect the expenditures nee
essarv in the construction, maintenance and OPP
Grafton of the telephone plant.
the following classes of expenses constitute
more than ninety-five per cent OF the cost VI
furnishing telephone services
LABOR
More than fifty-five per cent OF the total ex-
penditures of the Company IN rendering service
are for wages and salaries; less than one-tentn
81 one per cent of this being for executive and
general salaries.
The wages paid to our employees cannot, and
ehould not be reduced On the contrary, they
must be increased, in many cases, to bring our
wage scale on a level with wages paid BY IN
regulated business, sol that we may retain our
skilled employees necessary to give you efficient
service.
MATERIAL AND APPARATUS
Many items of material and apparatus are in
yolved in the current maintenance OF the prop
erty, entirely apart from the enormous quanti-
ties involved in the construction OF new prop
erty and this represents large item OF ex-
pense. There has been no reduction, nor any
indication of reduction, IN the price OF .tnese
essential articles, in practically all OF which the
kbor, freight and hauling cost is by lar the
largest proportion of the total cost
We know that the manufacturers OF telephone
equipment and material have orders booked Tor
two years in advance, with constantly 1ncreas-
ing demand and which in turn makes reduction
in price in the near future most improbable.
FREIGHT AND PASSENGER COSTS
Our annual expense for the transportation OF
freight and passengers is more than one million
dollars No one expects the railroads to reduce
their charges under the level Of costs IN render
ing their service.
RENT
Except in the larger centers our central Of
fees and stocks Of material are housed IN rented
buildings, and even in the larger centers we
rent varying amounts Of properties.
like everyone else, our rents have been greatly
increased, with no prospect of any reduction
Even in pre-war days all leases for property oc-
cupied by US were renewed only at hlgher
charges than for the previous rental period.
HOTELS
The board and lodging bill for our men, who
must travel in connection with the operation ana
maintenance of the property, costs many thou-
sands OF dollars every year, and we can see nc
prospect of the hotels lowering their charges
Until they do we must pay the present high
charges
ELECTRIC POWER AND LIGHT
STREET CAR FARE
We spend many thousands of dollars every
year for these services rendered to employees en-
gagged in the maintenance Of the property. Prac-
acaily every year the rates charged by these
companies have been substantially increased, ana
mere is no thought of any reduction. The Iele-
Raone Company, like all others, must pay these
increased rates.
PAPER, PRINTING AND STATIONERY
We consume tons Of paper for bookkeeping,
correspondence and directory purposes and pay
many thousands Of dollars for printing annually.
ms item Of expense has increased in percentage
more than the others, and no one has suggested
taat any reduction in these costs is probable.
COAL BILL
The Telephone Company purchases coal IN
age quantities to heat the buildings occupied BY
is employees in rendering the service
We, Of course, must pay whatever price IS
necessary to secure the coal for this purpose.
INSURANCE
Even where the actual rate per one thousand
seoilafs has not been increased, we are compelled
y carry larger amount Of insurance than in
tls-Wsr days in order to protect ourselves = the
spfoduction of any of the property v a:ch may
= destroyed b fire, and this is reflected in
sfg large increase in the total insurance bill.