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Show H y TELEPHONE RATES. H The telephone problem in Utah remains unsolved with the an- M nouncement that the Bell company, with the field held exclusively, H is planning to increase the telephone rates in many of the cities of Hi the state. B The commercial clubs of the state recently named a committee M to inquire into the subject, and. at a meeting held Wednesday, H. F. Fenncmore, division commercial superintendent of the Bell Tele- phone company, made the following statement: M "With the consolidation of the two telephone companies there will undoubtedly in some quarters be a slight increase. "But in just what towns or districts this increase will be made H it is difficult to say definitely uutil our engineers complete their H part of the work of combining the two systems. So far increases H have been made in the business telephones of Bingham, Eureka and H Park City, w'c have announced definitely that there will be no in- Hi crease in the rates now in effect in Salt Lake. H "The increase in rates, however, -wherever it may be made, is H more properly a readjustment of rates. In many places and districts H the system has been operated at a loss. A certain return must be re- B ceiveil by the company to maintain the depreciation in the plant and H to pay dividends to the stockholders, and the result inevitably under H former conditions thai some stations, those who were self-sustaining. H had to bear the deficits of the poorer paying stations; that is. those H -whose revenues under the low rates did not earn sufficient to cover H their maintenance. H "The plan of the company is now to make each plant or central H station a separate unit and to make it self-sustaining from its rev- H enuc. In the case of Salt Lake, for instance, there will be no increase H in the rate, because the presentkrate is sufficient, but under the new H plan Salt Lake will not be compelled to contribute to the deficits of Hl outside points. H "We expect to give good service, but to receive a fair return for H it, of course. In Bingham merchants "who had Iavo telephones, that H is, the Bell and Independent, paid a total of $7 monthly now they H will obtain the complete service for $5." H The Salt Lake papers, where the meeting was held, state that Hl the immediate result of the meeting was the appointment of a com- Hr mittec to investigate the raising of rates already made and to fully 1 investigate the conditions relative to tire territory affected by the H raise in rates. This committee has instructions to complete its re- 1 port as soon as possible and present it, to theboard of governors of H the league at a meeting to be called foV the purpose of hearing this H report. This committee is composed tof George J. Kelly, Ogden; H George llavercamp, Provo; George B. Greenwood, Milfordj George H E. Merrill, Salt Lake, and G. R. Mabcy, Bountiful, fl E. W. TTammer, president of the General Engineering company of j Chicago, directed a communication to the meeting, which was read M before the members of the board. In this letter Mr. Hammer went H into detail on the merits of an independent telephone company op- Hl crating in Utah, and gave that as the best and only solution to the H question of increased telephone rates. His discussion of tin; subject H was lengthy ,iind covered many points recently discussed by the Hj board. lie urged the board to consider the interests of the state, Hl sa3'ing that the people of Utah deserve the best telephone service that H! is possible to provide.- On this subject he said: "The science of H telephony is where it is today because of competition. In the field H of active operation competition is the virtue of all industrial devclop- j ments, and the American people Anil not stand for the monopolistic H grind." M To further emphasize his contention that competition in an in- H dependent company is the solution, Mr. Hammer quoted from a de- M cision of the supreme court of New York as follows: "There is no 1 fili'onger inducement to the managers of a public service corporation j to serve the public well than in a healthy-apprehension that a rival H concern will do so.' H TIic double phone service failed to work a good when tried and H we cannot see wherein it would be of benefit, if again encouraged. |