Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 99, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 August 1909 — Mutual Telephone Company Elect Directors Saturday. [ARTICLE]

Mutual Telephone Company Elect Directors Saturday.

Twenty-six of the sixty-four stockholders of the Home Telephone Company met in the east court room Saturday afternoon and elected directors of the new company. Robert Yeoman, of Newton township, acted as chairman of the meeting and in the absence of Harvey Davisson, the secretary, F. E. Babcock acted in that capacity. The state charter for the corporation was read and several matters of business discussed before the election of the directors. The impression seemed to have gone out that all subscribers for stock were to have telephones and some believed that they were to have free service. Mr. Yeoman made a speech calculated to right any impressions of this sort, saying that it would be impossible to place telephones in farm residences where the cost of line construction was not justified by the receipts. The expense of constructing the lines of the proposed company would be so great that the lines would be built along the mainly populated highways and the others reached at future dates when the prospects for business looked encouraging. James Britt, of Barkley township, took an active interest in the meeting. He had solicited for stock subscriptions and had informed prospective subscribers that the monthly rental would be SI.OO per month to stockholders as well as to non-stockholders, but that the stockholders would share in the earnings of the business. The question arose as to whether the parties who had subscribed for stock by attaching their names to the subscription lists were legally liable to buy the stock and Mr. Yeoman expressed the opinion that they were liable. The county was divided into districts and one director elected for each district except for Marion township, which has two directors. The result was as follows: Wheatfield, Kankakee and Keener township—Geo. O. Stemble. Barkley—Grant Davisson. Union —Harvey Davisson. Hanging Grove and Milroy—C. A. Lefler. Marion—F. E. Babcock and Marion Adams. Walker and Gillam —John O’Connor. Carpentep and Jordan Frank Welsh. - Newton—Robert Yeoman. A committee consisting of Marion Adams, J. F. Bruner and James E. Britt was appointed to draft a constitution and by-laws. The directors are called to meet next Saturday morning at 11 o’clock and organize by electing officers and a general stockholders meeting is called for 1 o’clock Saturday afternoon to approve the constitution and by-laws and transact such other business as may come up. The company proposes to ask a franchise from the city and also secure the consent of the county commissioners to erect their lines along the country highways. The meeting was not a very enthusiastic one and as the stock subscriptions reported did not exceed $3,600 it is apparent that the company will not be able to operate on the extensive lines at first proposed. A number of those who subscribed for stock are said to regret their haste and from all appearances the consummation of the company is rather doubtful. The fact that the Jasper County Telephone Company has reduced its rates to the former price of $1 per month in the country has resulted also in many reinstating the phones of that * company and many have thought it best to forget the former disagreement and take no part in the new organization, which was inspired largely by the old company’s increase of rates.