Jasper County Democrat, Volume 12, Number 30, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 July 1909 — BROOK WANTS TO HITCH ON. [ARTICLE]

BROOK WANTS TO HITCH ON.

Hopes Mutual Telephone Move Here Will Be a “Go” and Will Gladly Connect Up With Us. Reports come from Brook that the Mutual Telephone Company of that place would like very much to see the proposition for the organization of a mutual telephone company in Jasper county succeed, and will gladly connect up with our lines should a mutual system be installed here. The success of the Brook mutual is weH known along the west side of Jordan and a part of Carpenter and Newton townships. In Jordan there are several farmers along the west side who are stockholders in the Brook company and have the Brook phones. They are cut off from service with Rensselaer but, of course, have the service of the entire Brook exchangeThey would like connection with Rensselaer, as would many of the other Brook and hope that the mutual move instituted by The Democrat will be successful.

In conversation Monday with a prominent farmer of Jordan tp.. who is a stockholder in the Brook mutual, be repeated what has alreadybeen published in The Democrat regarding the excellent service and reasonable prices given by the Brook mutual. As heretofore stated there are 98 stockholders in that company, each have paid in between $67 and S6B for their stock. In addition to making great improvements to their lines, putting in practically all new poles in Brook, a new switch board, and about 200 new phones, all of which has been done out of the earnings of the company received from phone rentals to non-stockhold-ers. The stockholders themselves have had their own phones free from any cost whatever, during the period they have owned the Brook exchange, some three years. Last spring they refused an offer of $12,000 for their country lines and exchange. Had they sold, this would have paid every dollar of indebtedness and given about SIOO to each of the 98 stockholders, making them a net profit of $32 per share in addition to the free service which they have had.

This gentleman stated that he went into the organization against his will. They had very “bum” service in his neighborhood and when his neighbors started the move for a mutual system he had to either get in or be cut out altogether. Rather than do this he very reluctantly became a member of the new mutual comptany. Now he is glad that he did so, for he not only enjoys excellent free phone service on an investment of only S6B, and the stock is rapidly increasing in value. He said that he would not take $l5O for his one share of stock, apd he did not think that anyother stockholder would sell for that price either. To say nothing of the increasing value of the stock, he considers (he phone service that he gets worth sl2 per year, which would be the interest on S2OO at 6 per cent.