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space big enough for their conduits, on provision thatthey install 20,000 telephones. They failed to live up to this agreement, and, though by not living up to it they forfeite'd their franchise, the city council allowed them to get away with it and now propose to allow them to sell the automatic to the Bell Company for $6,000,000. " The Illinois Tunnel .Company were bitterly scored for using the auto matic telephone as a cloak'for their real design, which was to get ultimate control of tlje subway. It was clearly pointed out that they had used a telephone system as a mask with which to get underground space. "And now that they have violated the terms tinder which they got the underground space," said Sen. Jones, "these same men have the au dacity to come before the city council and ask the right to sell out their au tomatic, which they never wanted, to the telephone trust for $6,000,000, and that they be permitted to retain the tunnel, which was all they ever wanted, but which, without a tele phone system, they couldn't have gotten. "The Bell Company doesn't want the automatic exceptto dismantle it and destroy competition that they might have absolute control over the rates. "And why have the newspapers kept so strangety silent about this theft? Why are the people kept in the dark concerning this sinister scheme? Why don't the members of the city council take the people into 'their confidence? Is itVbecause the scheme is so rotten clean through? "Nothing proves the need of a referendum more clearly than this present case. With the referendum we cchild make the aldermen stand by their pledges to guard the people's interests and refuse to be parties to this nefarious plan. "The automatic right now stands forfeited by their refusal to comply with their contract. If the aldermen do the right thing they will take over the automatic and in that way block the theft "I sincerely hope that this will be only the first of a series of meetings so that the people may know how they're being victimized. The news papers seen singularly afraid to re veal the plot. "We must have publicity, and if we must shout it from theN platforms throughout the city. "In 1895 the Bell patent expired. Before that time the Bell Company had a monopoly. After 1895 several independent companies were started. Competition was keen and the people got better service at cheaper rates. Then the Bell Company started grab bing off its rivals. But there are still independent companies in Philadel phia, Buffalo, Kansas City, Omaha and other large cities. Competition is the only-safeguard of the pubhc. You can see the effect of it in the war between the Western Union and the Postal Telegraph companies. "They are constantly improving service and underbidding each other in the race for business. For instance, the Western Union starts the night letter and the Postal Telegraph comes thrcuigh with the lettergram. And so on. "And the same conditions couldibe true in telephone service on a com-' netitive basis. In some places where there are two systems you can get both for the same price that one formerly cost. "Recently the city granted the telephone company a new contract for five years. Even supposing the rates in that contract are fair, that's no argument against competition. It's the future we have got to look to. But Here in Chicago we're not only up against the desire of the telephone company to control rates, we are also up against the desire of a few men to steal the tunnel and eventually con- can't get it through the papers we trol the subway system i-J&SiieJL&3lJjiil