Jasper County Democrat, Volume 1, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 March 1899 — Long-Distance Telephone. [ARTICLE]

Long-Distance Telephone.

A representative of the Central Union or Bell long-distance telephone Company was before the city council Monday night asking for a franchise to enter the city with a branch of their lines. They simply wish to enter a longdistance toll line, which will not interfere in any way with any other corporation and furnish service which local companies can not give. Such a service would be >of great benefit to our business men who often desire to communicate with Indianapolis, Chicago or other outside points, and would probably save them many a trip to those places. The majority of the city council, however, some of whom are said to be financially interested in the Jasper County Telephone Co., were not favorable to anything they hadn’t a finger in, and the matter was referred to the ordinance committee where it is intended to be “killed.” The Democrat believes the people are in favor of this company coming here, and it is a high-handed outrage to shut them out for no other reason than that the moguls of the Jasper County Telephone Co., which pays the munificent sum of $2.29 taxes in Rensselaer, desires it. We have taken the trouble to investigate this long-distance franchise matter a little and will submit the following facts for the consideration of the people of Rensselaer and of Jasper county: The Central Union Telephone Co., and the American Telephone and Telegraph Co., (both a part of the Beu system) were assessed in 1898 on 3,729 miles of lines in Indiana at $250 per mile, a total of $932,342. With the extension to be made this year their assessment will probably reach $1,250,000 for 1899. The lines they expect to put in in this section of the state the coming spring will be from Logansport to Watseka, the line passing through Remington and Carpenter tp. They will run a line from Remington to Rensselaer if granted a franchise to enter this city, which would give them in the neighborhood of 22 or 23 miles of line in this county, the assessment of which would be nearly $4,000, and their annual taxes paid here would amount to about SSO. The Jasper County Telephone Co., is assessed on 38 miles of lines in Jasper county at $25 per mile, a total of $950, therefore the former company would, pay more taxes here in one year than will the Jasper County Co., in four and one-half years. Must the people of Rensselaer and of Jasper county be deprived of the advantage of a long-distan-ce line and the money which it would pay here in taxes to satisfy the whims of stockholders in a company which pays but $2.29 taxes in Rensselaer on a reported SB,OOO investment?