The Maui news. [volume] (Wailuku, Maui, H.I.) 1900-current, 1920-08-27
All Maui United In
Phone Toll Protest
Many Letters Sent To Public Utilities
Opposing Plan Of Company -
Chamber OF Commerce Enters For
nal Protest Decision Soon.

Many letters of protest, it is under.
stood, have gone frcm all parts of
Maui to the public utilities commits
sion, in Honolulu, urging that BODY
not to grant the petition of the Maui
Telephone Co, Ltd, for permission to
establish a toll system between the
several central exchanges of central
Maui. The utilities body, it is under
stood, had the matter up for consid-
GRAFTON yesterday, but if decision has
been rendered news of it has not yet
been received here.
Among the communication object.
irg to the telephone company's plan
for increasing its revenues and lower
ing its expenses, was one from the
chamber of commerce committee, ap-
pointed at the last meeting of the
chamber. The members of the com
mittee, consisting of Will J. Cooper, 4
R. Bevins and j. Garcia, were instruct
ed at the time of their appointment 10
ask the utilities commission, which
was in session in Wailuku at the time,
to ask for 80 days in which to form
ulate the views of Maui people on the
methods proposed by the company.
This request was refused by tho
commissioners on the ground that
Maui people had had ample time in
which to become familiar with the re-
quests of the telephone company.
This refusal was made in spite of tha
fact that it was shown that the com
munity had had no previous notice
whatever of the form that the Pro
posed increase of rates was to take,
and that the proposed toll system was
enirely new to all but the officers of
the company. Later the commission
modified it's order and granted the
chamber of commerce 10 days in
which to file written objections supple
menting the verbal ones already made
by the committee.
The tenor of the objections made
of the individuals and firms who have
written, is, as has already been stated
in these columns, that central Maui
is one community and not number
of separate ones, and that to set up
g system of tolls for communication
between Wailuku, Paia, Makawao, Ha-
iku, ETC., would work a great hardship
and seriously injure the unity of the
community. 1t has also been pointed
out that the plan of the company, as
stated, to cause a reduction by at
least two-thirds of the use of the tele
hone in central Maui, will be the re-.
verse of what should be aimed for in
the best interests of the community.
Various business firms, and the
Alexander House Settlement, have
pointed out to the commissioners that
under the toll system planned, their
telephone service will be almost pro-
hibitive from cost. The Haiku Fruit
6 Packing Co., figures that it's phones
will cost about S125 per month. Head
Worker Childs, of the Alexander
House, points out that it's business
communications alone for one phone,
based upon q record of the use of the
instrument for one dull week, will
cost something like $400 per year.
So far as can be learned, there has
been little if any objection to the COM
pany's increasing its rates sufficiently
to earn it fair return on its invest
ment. Apparently the reasonableness
OF this has been so generally conceded
that no one took the trouble 10 attend
the meeting of the commissioners in
Wailuku two weeks ago Had the
tolls plan been known there is no
question that the commissioners
would have been overwhelmed with
personal protests at that time.