The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-09-11
EXPLAINS REASONS r 0R ASKING RAISE
 IN TELEPHONE RATE
Official Says Company Not Making Money and Is In Need of Facilities to Ren-
 der Needed Service

What does Birmingham get from the proposed increase of telephone rates for which the Southern Bell Telephone Com pany is asking. is a question which Bir- mingham people are asking each other every day. Some say there will be lots eyebrow.
 George F, Knox. general manager for the company here, says they will eventually realize several new buildings, with much new equipment and gratly increased force.
 Any future improvements depend en- tirely on he ability of the company to- secure materials and equipment" said Mir. Knox There will probably be no new exchanges any time in the near future. Nc definite improvements are directly in sight for the local service. Birmingham citizens should consider themselves fortunate; Atlanta and a great many other cities are very much worse off"
 Included in the things, which, accord- ing to Mt. Knox. must be provided for tue Birmingham service are two new central buildings, and in the next ten years the number must be- it IS esti- mated, increased to three. The com pany estimates that in order to meet the requirements of Birmingham during the next five years three million dollars additional must be invested to permit the plant co supply the telephone serV- ice that will be required.
 The company has a total investment of property in Birmingham of approxi- nately three and a half million dollars including 1S500 telephones, 1O672 of Whicn are residence stations. and approxinlate- ly 35,So7 miles of wire in cables and oS- miles of telephone lines, open wire. The ccmpany carries in Birmingham total of 709 employees and has made additions to the Ilant, or additions under Way, representing in money $S75.ooo during the past year.
 The average rate that subscribers pay in Birmingham for service is about lS cents per day per telephone. and there are about 1S00o0 local telephone calls per day. In no other way could communi- cation between people be at so modest d sum.
 The telephone company. Mr. knex states, has for the past five years earned on the money actually invested in it's property in Birmingham less than one fourth of 1 per cent. and the serious problem that now confronts the com pany is to find investors who will 9e willing to put up approximatey tntFe r,;,iion dollars, which will be requireh fo- the next five years to meet the de- mand for service in Birminghan Maui festly. no ane will want to invest i'll d property which has never in the past paid, and during the past fiVe years has paid less than one-fourth Of per cent per year With the increased cost of materials and labor, the prospects are that they will rot only not earn aay thing in Birmingham during 1920, put there will be an actual deficit, wtth no prospects of better situation dorms the coming years. .,, With this situation confronting e"e telephone company. the industry cannot continue to exist and cannot obtain 'hs noney necessary for extensions ana ue' velopment on any such financial snow ing as the facts set out. ., Thirty-four per cent of all the nsil telephones in Alabama are within .ne city of Birmingham, and approNlmaee,y this ratio of the money that must pu w invested in Alabama will be invested |" Birmingham for additions
 If is on these facts and figures .1a' the telephone company is asking TOT a"
 increase in rates in the BirminshaH o's- trict, MT. Knox concluded