The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1921-04-14
CITIZENS DISCUSS PHONE RATES
General Manager Speir Tells Dillon
Folk Why Rates Were Raised.

Two dozen or more citizens met
MI Morgan B. Speir. general mana
ger of the Southern Bell Telephone
Co., at the court house Friday and
heard him explain why the company
round 1t necessary to raise rates. Mr.
lSpelr went into a lengthy detailed
statement of the company's affairs in
an effort to convince those present
'hat 1t was necessary to increase
rates or go out OF business, but there
were many in the audience who were
not convinced by Mr.. Speir's afgu-
ments.
Dillon subscribers to the Southern
beli service are not protesting against
the general raise in rates. That was
ordered by the Railroad Commission
and II the commission has the au-
thorlty there is no appeal. But what
the Dillon subscribers are standing
OIL is contract entered into in 1913
IN which the Southern Bell agreed
10 FURNISH business and residence
phones in Dillon at $3.50 and 50 re-
sPectlvely. The contract remains in
force until $50 phones have been in
stalled in the Dillon office, and up to
the present writing only 325 have
been installed
In 1913 the company agreed to put
lii modern system at Dillon, which
they did. The subscribers agreed TO
pay higher rate for this modern
service, which they have been doing
BUSINESS phones in Dillon are $3.50
and residence phones are $500
whereas IN other towns the rates are
much lower. Each party to the CON
tract has been carrying out its provis-
IONS 10 the letter, but now the telc-
phohe company says the government
does not allow them to make discrim-
inatory rates-that is one rate in one
town and another rate in another -
ana so they refuse to stand by the
contract and tell Dillon subscribers
they must pay the increased rate as
ordered by the Railroad Commission
or have their phones cut out.
In his argument before the Dillon
subscribers Mr.. Speir dealt in gener-
alities and every time the contract
was mentioned he seemed TO want TO
get away from it. He spoke at some
length in which he reviewed the fin
anclal condition of the company. how
much 1t was paying its employees
and how much its operating EXPENSES
mad increased in the last few years.
Inc gentlemen who heard him do
not question these statements. but
regardless of how much money his
company is making or is not making.
or what it is doing in other towns
and cities, all the Dillon subscribers
want is for the company to stand
by its contract made in 1918.
1t was evident early in the meeting
that Mr.. Speir and the Dillon citi-
Zens would never get together. The
southern Bell is a large corporation
and like all big corporations with
many executive heads it has certain
rules by which it does business and
those rules are as infleXible as the
rising and setting of the sun. They
VIII not vary those rules to suit Dill
Ion or any other town or city
Mr.. Speir holds that Dillon's CON
tract is not valid. Dillon phone sub
scribers hold that 1t is, and the ONLY
way TO adjust the matter is to take il
INTO courts and let them pass upon il
! ON its merits. If the contract is not
valid, the Southern Bell may have to
refund the over-plus il has charged
Dillon subscribers for the last 10
years; if il is valid the company can
not raise its rates. regardless of
what the Railroad Commission saws
CT does. That is all there is TO the
controversy.