OCR Text |
Show DOWN WITH THE TELEPHONE. I notice thai my other friend, the government at Washington, has instituted proceedings calculated cal-culated to hamper, impair and destroy tho Bell Telephone Company. Of course that is not the title of tho action that has been started at Portland. Port-land. This now bit of business crippling wears all the gay garb of tho Shernian anti-trust law a bit of ancient law fathered by the chilliest old party that ever broke into either house of congress, con-gress, not excepting tho late Benjamin Harrison, of frigid memory. Tho theory is that tho suit is instituted in tho interest of tho people of these United States, and that when tho government has carried tho case to a successful termination fiom the standpoint jof tho prosecution, then telephoning tel-ephoning will cost (the people less, and be of better service qualitythan it is now, or could bo without tho prosecution. And that is a silly and a baseless assumption. assump-tion. If there is any business on the face of the earth that ought to be loft alone, it is the telephone. tel-ephone. We of Salt Lako have had our day of experience in that sort of thing, and it isn't at all a pleasant memory. It wasn't tho fault of oithor company that tho service laoked something some-thing of perfection when both the companies were hero but it was tho fault of both of them that there worn two. No man could do any considerable con-siderable business without having two phonos, and the expense wa? doubled, whilo tho vexation, annoyance and profanity were trebled. That same Portland in which this now suit has just been launched is at this goodly hour in tho throes of a double telephone systom. There aro fow cities between tho oceans in which too same is not true. And In ovory ono of them a bettor service could bo rendered by the Boll than by any opposing concern for the very excellent reason that tho Bell has tho long lines, and no alleged independent company on earth could hope to secure that equipment and none of them do expect to secure it, now or evermore. It is no curtailing of the commercial liber-lies liber-lies of investing gentlemen to say they ought to find something else as good as the telephone business bus-iness in which to risk their money. Unless they expect to make their profits by selling out to the big firm, there is small chance indeed for them to get rich by the hollo route. And there are such a host of other opportunities whore the profits aro sure, tho way is clean, and tho wild zest to serve tho dear people is vastly more easy to gratify. Tho government spent money enough to build tho Lincoln highway of its own and that of tho defendants trying tho Northern Securities, the Tobacco and tho Harvester and tho Southern Pacific cases. And all the effect was to lay on tho people of tho republic a little heavier burden. bur-den. It doesn't make freight rates or passenger tickets any cheaper. It doesn't add a whit to the oaso by which farmers can got a mowing machine or a package of tobacco. And tho only effect of this suit against tho telephone tel-ephone company will be to deprive tho big bulk of tho citizens of cost and convenience in tho use of tho most necessary and most highly valued agency that over has been added to tho forward march of the race. For tho lovo of peace, prosperity and improved im-proved service, let tho government quitl |