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The day book. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1911-1917, February 08, 1915, LAST EDITION, Image 2

Image and text provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL

Persistent link: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045487/1915-02-08/ed-1/seq-2/

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Is the biggest stogie obstacle to gov
ernment ownership. I must reply it Is
public Ignorance. The actual facts
about the situation are not generally
known."
Members of the" --Penny Phone
league point out that the Chicago
Telephone Co., a part of the Ameri
can Telephone & Telegraph Co., the
Bel lmonopoly, has peddled out over
$1,000,000 for advertising in Chicago
newspapers the last four years. This
explains why the speeches of Lewis
in congress, his testimony before the
federal industrial commission at New
York, and the mass meeting tonight
in Orchestra hall, got the silent treat
ment from the loop newspapers.
Lewis' speech tonight will go into
the how and why of the high prices
and rotten service of the Bell phone
company. He will give figures on
how government ownership has
worked out, its results for users and
its effect on .labor? At the City club
this noon, he said:
"Private monopolies are conducted
to get the highest possible profits; the
.public service motive to serve the
most possible at the lowest cost Is
absent. The public does not realize
that private monopoly costs more
than public ownership, but it does.
Public service is not only cheaper to
the user, but does its work with less
expense.
"The Bell system averaged nearly
2 cents a call in 1912, its efficiency
was 65,000 calls per employe. The
average in Norway was 118,500 calls
.per employe on a rate of y2 cent per
call"
Miss Harriet Vittum, president of
the Woman's City club, will preside
at the Orchestra-hall meeting. Wom
en's organizations, Jabor bodies and
, the Penny Phone league will be rep
resented. , Aid. Charles E. Merriam says he
will speak at the meeting provided
there is an early enough adjourn-J
ment of the city council meeting so
that he can get over to Orchestra
'hall before the Lewis meeting Is over.
Merriam has been invited by the Fed
ny Phone league to speak.
The questions to be asked mayoral
and aldermanfo candidates on the
phone situation will be read at the
meeting tonight. The committee
drawing up the list of questions has
these members: Morton L. Johnson,
president Fenny Phone league; Miss
Alice Henry, executive board Wom
an's Trade Union league and editor
Life and Labor; Harry Frankling Por
ter, chairman telephone committee
Progressive club; S. Konnenkamp,
secretary Commercial Telegraphers'
union; John C. Kennedy, secretary
Illinois Socialist party.
Congressman Lewis was scheduled
to arrive on the B. & O. at 9:45 this
morning. He, comes straight from
Washington. His plan was to leave
Washington Sunday afternoon, ar
rive Chicago this morning, and after
the meeting tonight get back to
Washington for his work there to- '
morrow.
Victor Olander, secretary Illinois
Federation of Labor, heads a recep
tion committee to meet Lewis. ptb
ers of the -committee are Dan P. BJor-
dan, former secretary Civil Service
league and now secretary of the Pen
ny Phone league; Ben Tetzlaff, busi
ness agent electrifcal workers' union,
and S. Konnenkamp of the Commer
cial Telegraphers.
The main ins and outs of running
the telephone and telegraph systems
of the nation along with xthe postal
system of the national will be taken
up by Lewis at a noon luncheon of
the City dub and at the 'Orchestra.
.hall meeting tonight Already Iewis
n&s neipen straignten out one of the
worst robbery monopolies of the
country. He is known as the "Fa
ther of the Parcels Post' V It was his
bill and his advocacy of it that start
ed the federal government carrying
heavier parcels, competing with the
express companies, and forcing the
express companies to base their pric
es on a iair profit basis instead of
what Jthe traffic would bear, Orgaa-

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