| Show THE LOCAL TELEPHONE The local telephone situation continues to be the center of common for by virtue of its universal and general use the public each and every one is intimately in the This city has long labored under the oppressive demands occasioned by two telephone systems and it is with a great deal of relief that most of the particularly the business heard of the Utah Independent Telephone company's sale to the Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone company for and of the ultimate merger of the two As a protection to his business interests it was necessary for the business man to subscribe to both system and it is on them that most of the expense of the dual service for failure to have both telephones might result in loss of business among those only having but then the annoyance caused between answering the wrong bell and giving the one company's telephone number to the other central has been not only a continual irritant but the direct cause of a wasteful loss of The changing of the arrangement which now holds will doubtless take some time as one can readily realize that the amalgamating of two companies the size of those in Salt Lake whose cables and underground ducts honeycomb the is a task in itself which will entail not only expert knowledge but a tremendous amount of labor as The subject of rates is the in which the general public is the most as that which affects the pocketbook touches home in a vital President Lane of the Rocky Mountain Bell Telephone company has said that there will be some adjustments in the rates which have held heretofore because of the increased number of subscribers and increased against this change the argument has frequently been advanced of late that bV virtue of its increased business and revenue the telephone company should rather reduce its rates than increase The telephone business is a peculiar one among commercial in that as business the instead of becoming becomes for while the subscriber may only put through the same number of calls as in the past the company has to provide operating facilities to take care of the additional should they be called with the enlargement of a telephone the mechanism becomes more intricate and that much harder to keep in good working detailed supervision of the forces is extra clerical help is and an expert corps of electrical engineers to study the traffic loads and distribute them properly is The proportion of discontinuances to installations is greater as the exchange increases in owing to the fact that the character of the population becomes less stable and the proportion of nomads The expense in wiring becomes heavier with each and as the exchange idle line wires while unwise to yet bring in no Depreciation of the plant value increases with each for while repairs are made from time to time the equipment eventually must be This can be better illustrated perhaps by comparing the telephone to a suit of the clothes can be pressed and repaired and ifor awhile will look and wear about as well as they did the first if the clothes are continuously no amount of pressing and cleaning will obviate the necessity of eventually discarding and buying a new The telephone people therefore argue that in view of the the necessity of subscribing for but one telephone to reach every station in the and recognizing the increased value of the telephone to the subscriber as the number of telephone stations it does not seem unreasonable that the telephone officials should raise their rates sufficiently to cover expenses and allow them a reasonable return upon their This our readers' will is the argument of the telephone We are not yet prepared either to corroborate or to dispute We invite the views of the people on this |
