Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1920-10-28
Atlanta, Ca, October Is, 1920.

rour letter of October 18th asks very
natural question: and one which der ands a
mi, and frank reply, which | am gad to
,nake.
While the prices of great many things
have apparently. been reduced, these reduc-
rions in prices do not apply to articles used by
s;.e telephone company, or affect the eSpeho'
,,,r,s necessary in the construction, man
xeaance and operation of the telephone plant
The following classes OF expenses cohSt'-
,ute more than ninety-hve per cent OF the
cost of furnishing telephone service:
LABOR:
siore than tfty-fve per cent of the total
expenditures of the Company is rendering
service are for wages and salaries less tnAl'
.ne-tenth of one per cent of this beng TOT
executive and general salaries:
The wages paid to our employees cannot
and should not, be reduced. On the contrary
they must be increased, in many cases. ~
bring our wage scale on level with wages
paid by unregulated businesses, so that we may
retain our skilled employees necessary to give
sou efficient service:
MATERIAL AND APPARATUS
many Items u itat "1N HfPs;" W.T. ~
involved IN 1ne current mantennce Of the prop
stty. entirely part from the enormous aaah@7
lies involved n the construction OF new PROV
sxty, and this represents large item OF eH-
ueuse There has been no reduction, nor any
snulcatlon OF reduction, in the price or these
.,set,aI articles, in practically all OF watch the
,;.,or. trelgl., and hauling cost is by far the
largest proportion of the total cost
we know rnat the manufacturers OF telephone
equipment and material have orders oookeo lof
Two years IN advance, with a constaltly IN
creaslng demand, and which in turn nakes
reduction IN price in the near future most I'M
probable
FREIGHT AND PASSENGER COSTS
Our annual expense TOR the transportation
a 4ieignt ana passengers is more than one
v..illon dollars. No one expects the Haii-
,,,aus 10 reduce their charges under the leVei
u costs IN rendering their service.
RENT.
Except in the lager eenters eur central oificeS
aaa stocks OF material are housed IN renteA
buildings and even in the larger centers we
rent varying amounts OF properties,
Like every one else, our rents nave peea
aleatly increased, with no prospect VI any re-
auction. Even in pre-war days all leases Tor
osuuerty occupied by US were renewed only az
iugner charges than for the previous rental
perlod, .- ---4-A..1I
HOTELS
l'ne board and lodging bill for our meh
VINO must travel in connection with tue opera
ron AND maintenance of the proper ", costs
uany thousands of dollars every yea, and we
can see no 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
,aar for these services rendered to employees
naaeed In the maintenance OF the properly.
In the majority of cases the rates charged ny
,thasae companies have heen substantially IN
creased. and there is no thought Of any reduc-
ton. The Telephone Company, like all others,
must paw these increased rates.
PAPER, PRINTING AND STATIONERY
We consume tons Of paper for hookskeepiing
correspondence and directory purposes, ana
aav manv thousands of dollars for printing
annually. This item of expense has increaseo
in percentage more than the others, and no ene
has suggested that any reduction in these eests
is probable.
COAL BILL
The telephone Company purchases coa' II
large quantities to heat the buildings OCCUPIES
nv it's employees in rendering the service !.
We. of course, must pay whatever prlce
necessary to secure the coal for this purpose
INSURANCE
Even where the actual rate per one tn9H
sand dollars has not Deen increased, W. I.
Compelled to carry larger amount Of lnsu.
s sace than in pre-war days in order TO pro.sc
nIoperty which may be destroyed by fire, 81
this IS reflected in very large increase in n
total insurance bill.
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