Very much has recently been written in the local press regarding charges made for telephones, Harbin, ay the public consider that they are being forced to pay more than necessary. At one time the automatic telephone Ser ice of Warbin belonged to. the Chinese Eastern Railway and charged a rate of 65 gold. roubles for six months, the sum being transferred into local dollars at the rate of the day and On the telephone, service, being taken over by the Chinese Government the rate was changed to. 65 silver dollars and as at. the time when this was done the rate of exchange for local dollars was about 145 to 100 silver, this was the rate fixed upon for' payment of the telephone.
'On the' formation of the Central Bank of *Manchukuo and. the. announcement of the authorities that the new Manchukuo. notes would be of the same value ae silver notes China proper the rate for, these {motos was fixed at 125 local dollars 40 100" Manchukuo and. it was generally expected that. the Tele-hone Administration which is a concern would. accept Manchukuo notes. in payment for the telephone on the basis of silver, but the Telephone "Administeation'did. not do s0, andy in reply. to. inquiries, have state that the telephone station does not fig Manchukuo dollar silver ones, but as a special money" token which corresponds. to 425, for local dollars, This being a most extraordinary statement on the part of a govern-ofo, the Chinese Commercial Administration for a full explana wrote to the Telephone
tion and in reply have been inform-that on the transfer of the Telephone Station to the Chinese Government the rates for telephones ere fixed in silver dollars but that the payment was made in, local dollars at the rate of 145 owing to there being no silver obtainable in the town, Farther the Telephone 'Administration stated that from the moment of the establishment of the Central Bank' of Manchulgo and Jaccording to. Government Instractions for the establishment of silver Jeurrency the new dollar should be fealeatated at 125 to 100 local dollars, the Telephone Station in compliance with this order altered its rates to Manchukuo silver, but to enable it to receive the same sum in income as before, it does not reckon the Manchukuo dollar as a silver dollar, but considers that the difference value' of Manchukuo note and liver dollar is 20 cents on each joller, and therefore there has been no increase in the price of the telephone.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.