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The Commoner.
Public Ownership of Telephones
House Roll No. 3. A bill for an act to pro
vldo for tho establishment, maintenance, exten
sion and operation of public tolepbone systems,
nnd declaring an emergency. Introduced by
Representative Fuller and passed by tbe lower
house of tho Nebraska' legislature.
Ho it enacted by tlo people of the state of
Nebraska:
Section 1. Power and authority is hereby
granted and bestowed upon the various coun
ties' of this stato to establish publje telephone
systems within the respective counties accord
ing to (ho provisions of this act.
Section 2. For tho purpose of establishing
ouch county telephone systems, tho county
boards having tho general power to lovy taxes
for county purposes throughout tho stato are
empowered and authorized to cause a tax of
not nioro than two (2) mills on the dollar of
tho assessed valuation of said county to bo
levied and collected for tho purpose of estab
lishing or assisting in establishing a public
tolephono system for any county within this
stato. Provided that tho county board shall
submit tho question of such levy to the electors
at a general or special election when a petition
is filed with tho clerk of said board signed by
at least ten per cent of tho electors of tho
county and if carried by a majority vote of all
electors cast at said election tho board shall
niako tho lovy aforesaid.
Section 3. When tho amount of revenue
which such a tax would produco in any one year
shall bo insuUlciont to establish such public
tolephono system, tho county board of super
visors or county commissioners of any county
shall, upon petition of 10 per cent of the elec
tors of tho county praying therefor, issue tho
bonds of said county to an amount not to ex
ceed 2 per cent of tho total assessed valua
tion of said county, and bearing not to exceed
(I per cont interest and payable in not to exceed
20 years, but with an option on the part of
tho county that same may bo paid at any time
within ilvo years from date, provided however
that before such bonds shall bo issued the
question of issuing tho same shall bp submitted
to a voto of tho electors of said county at a
general or special election, and bo authorized
by a majority vote of the electors voting at
such election, and such bond issue and all
matters concerned therewith shall bo governed
in all respects, except where in conflict with
this present act, by tho provisions of law for
tho issuance of bonds by counties for the pur
pose of intornal improvement, and when so
issued shall bo deemed regular and valid in all
respects. And when such bonds are so issued
the sa d boards shall provide for the levy and
collection of a tax annually suflicient to pay the
interest thereon, and for a tax to provide a sink
ing fund for the payment of said bonds as thef
w??Uon 4" T,hQ county commissioners or
Hon fm-f supervises shall provide by resolu
tion foi tho establishment of such telephone
system, and all contracts for tho construction
of the same, or any part thereof, shall be by
brimhlVrtlnn4!11 UPn tWGnty dayS n0tiC
by publication in som0 newspaper of general
circulat on published in said county. Prodded
that said boards may reject any and all bids
and cause tho work of construction to be per
formed under their supervision.
Section 5. Such board shall further provide
for tho proper organization, regulation main
tenance and extension of such telephone" system
and shall be authorized, if necessary? to le
a tax of not to exceed 1 mill on tho dollar upon
the taxable property of said county for the pu
pose of maintaining and extending the same
Section G. They shall further provide 'for
the employment of a telephone chief, who shall
bo hired by contract with the county board fop
a term o not to exceed five years, and sha 1 gi?o
Wee0 V1? C0,Inty ln th0 1)enal s" of at llast
$5,000 ana not more than twice the value of
the said system, as may be determined by the
sad board which bond shall be approved b?
said board and filed before such contract is
?nnfhJnVnate( ' aml 8,ln" b0 conditioned for the
faithful performance of all duties, and to
proper accounting and payment of ail moneys-
and to the said telephone chief shal be com'
mitted under the direction of the said countv
board, the full control and operation of "a id
telephone system. Tho county board may uno
recommendation of said telephone chief em
Ploy such assistants as may be required tho
number and compensation thereof to , 'be d
" -J . f)t v
termined by the county board. The said tele
phone chief and such assistants shall be paid
by the county by warrant out of the telephone
fund hereinafter referred to, the compensation
fixed by the county board for them respectively,
provided that they nor any of them shall never
bo paid any sum out of any other fund for their
services or otherwise, except that the compensa
tion of the telephone chief may be wholly or
partly paid out of the county general fund, dur
ing the construction of said system or for the
period of one year thereafter, providing sufli
cient funds are not available in said telephone
fund for that purpose.
Sec. 7. Tho county board shall provide by
resolution which shall bo published with their
regular proceedings for the rates and tolls to
bo charged each subscriber to said system for
the use of said -system -within said county, pro
vided that in their discretion they may provide
rates and tolls for the use of the entire county
system, and may also, in case more than one
local exchange is established, provide charges
and tolls for the use of tho telephones con
nected to the various exchanges. In provid
ing such charges and tolls the same shall, so
far as may be, be based upon the actual cost of
service, including operation expenses, salaries,
maintenance of property and the like, and after
the deduction from tho gross income of a
reasonable percentage for deprecitation of
property, and for necessary extension work; the
intention being that the system shall be operated
as nearly as may be for actual cost of service,
but shall be self-suBtaining and self-perpetuating.
The said charges and tolls shall be col
lected by said telephone chief and by him paid
over monthly into the county treasurer's office
into a fund to bo known as the county telephone
fund, in which shall also bo included the funds,
if any, derived from the above mentioned
maintenance and extension tax.
Section 8. The power to establish public
telephone systems as provided for by this act
shall include the right to purchase from any
company, association, corporation, or individual
the whole or any part of any system already
established, provided that before the avails of
any bond issue can be used for that purpose, the
question of such purchase must be submitted
to and approved by a vote of a majority of the
electors voting at a general or special election
of the county, called for that purpose, and the
notice therefor must state the purchase price
at which it is proposed to buy such system or
part of system, which notice shall be published
for thirty days in some newspaper of general
circulation in the county. fecnerai
Section 9. For the purpose of carrying out
the provisions of this act, the right of eminent
domain is granted to the various counties to
condemn any and all private property neces
sary, but only on just compensation to the
owner thereof, to be determined in the 8aZ
manner as now provided by law for the con-
undeTt rightPriVate by COunties
Section 10. Any county maintaining and
Snr?iln,g CiUnty teleP"one system as herein
provided shall also have power, through its
county board, to enter into yearly contracts with
other counties and municipalities owning and
operating telephone systems, and also with
persons, firms and corporations operating Tele-
Snobby80?8, fr phy8ical connection with
such other telephone systems for the inter
change of telephone service and the t?ansmta
sion of telephone messages to points beS
the county line of such county and from nTf
without to points within such' ?oun yanor
the transmission of messages from points ith
out such county over its phone wires to othVr"
lntBf beyon(1 the boundaries of such countv
with full power to fix and agree upon toll rate
for such inter-county service atqs
Section 11. All acts and parts of acts ill
ZJTln' hl CnmCt hereWith' aVhlVeby
Section 12 Whereas an emergency exlin
?? ?' Sla11 tako effect ad be in foroe from
and after its passage and approval. om
rStSn?18lnr- and
time January 16, 1913. Referred So SeCond
on telegraph, telephone and 5?ctrte comn
January 16, 1913. Sent to printer Jammrv f
1913. Introduced by Fuller for in no G
vide for transfer facilities and physical o"0'
nection between telephone xctleterm-"
VOLUME 13, NUMBER U
ining how the expenses thereof shall bo nnM
fixing the penalty for the violation of the S
visions of this act, and empowering the sUt
railway commission to enforce the same
Be it enacted by the people of the state nr
Nebraska: Ul
Section 1. All telephone companies in thh
state, in every city, town or village, who
there are two or more exchanges, shall, within
six (6) months after this act takes effect nnko
physical connections between all such ex
changes, providing thereby a reasonable amnio
and equal transfer facilities for telephonic con
nection between such exchanges, and between"
all patrons of the telephone line or lines 0f
such telephone company or companies No tele
phone company shall discriminate in tho rates
or charges for telephone service between con
necting lines, nor shall any telephone company
decline or refuse to receive or transmit any
message received or offered from any connect
ing line. Each connecting line shall pay its
proportionate share of the costs of making and
maintaining such physical connection between
exchanges, that may be necessary to furnish the
transfer facilities required by this act, and in
case the telephone companies are unable to
agree on the amount each shall pay for the ex
pense of making such physical telephone con
nection, the amount shall; upon application of
either party, be determined by the stato railway
commission, provided the right to appeal from
the decision of such commission is granted to
the district court of the county in which the
state capitol is located. Such appeal shall in
all respects be regulated by the provisions of
law for appeal in civil actions, so far as tho
same are applicable, and. said appeals shall bo
tried de novo.
Section 2. The state railway commission is
hereby authorized, empowered and directed to
investigate all cases arising under this act,
whether upon complaint or otherwise, and niako
such order in the premises as shall seem just
and reasonable.
Section 3. Any telephone company or man
ager thereof, failing or neglecting to comply
with the provisions of this act, or who shall
violate any of the provisions of this act, shall,
for each offense, upon conviction thereof, be
fined in any sum not less than S100, nor more
than $500.
Section 4. Whereas an emergency exists,
this act shall be in force from 'and after its
passage and approval, according to law.
THE NEBRASKA PUBLIC AND THE
TELEPHONE
An argument for House Roll No. 3 and House
Roll No. 21. By Representative George W.
Fuller of Seward.
The question of public ownership of natural
monopolies has passed from fancy to fact, from
the theory of the socialist to the realization of
the practical public man. There is no question
in the mind of any sane man that a private
business even in a natural monopoly is more
economically conducted and- more efficient by a
large percentage than a public enterprise, be
cause the public's business is never so well cared
for as the individual's. That, however, is
neither here nor there. If the private business
is oppressive to the public and the rates and
tolls charged extortionate, then the public must
assume management of it.
Some say let us have regulation. Well, my
friends, we have had regulation and are now
having it. Many people feel that regulation has
so far been a failure and will continue so to be.
iho intracicies of the ousiness sought to be
r1eeulated tft opportunities that exist for pad
cimg the value of equipment and fixtures and
oiei Vk,and difficulty of getting at tho exact
anu legitimate expenses, the large salaries paid
to the executive heads, the duplications of lines,
aii tneso make the work of a- regulatory body
a herculean task. Practically the regulatory
n X mu know as much about the business
as the officers who run it, if it is to be effec
tive. io cast on three mortal men the burden
ot regulating the public service corporations of
even an undeveloped state like Nebraska is to
overwhelm them.
r1illeBe,JactB were Drought home to the people
Srnie ,ym0f Sewrd, when the Lincoln T.-le-J'Jf"
,ami Telephone company recently acquired
'ol ,of both the Bell and the Independent
companies in that city. The Independent had
operated for ten years and still it had been able
twi8 n,at a moderate cost a county right,
mat .is a free toll rate over the county to all
f,, J b lbf cribers' Tis tho Lincoln company re
i ' 't0 d0; It maintained the Independent
switchboard but persuaded as many as it could
10 cut ovei' to the old Bell switchboard thus
,it.
.
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