The correspondent who suggests that under the proposed new telephone rates his monthly bill will rise from the present flat rate of $1224 to $40 a month undoubledly draws! attention to the substantial increase that will of necessity be entailed by the new system of charging. But in fairness to the company It should be pointed out that he is allowing for 1000 calls a month, or, roughly 30 a day. If that be indeed the case, then under item No. 4 of the proposals of the company it is to Roticed that under the' existing "Exchange Lines Business Message Rate' over 700 calls per mensem each line charged at 0559 per message or $55.90 per month. Obviously the cor-Fespondent appears to have been lucky that he was not on the business message rate long before now. At the same time tt should be pointed out that under the new proposals the buslness flat rate and the business message rate will be the same, and therefore, those who have paid in the past for: 41,000 calls a month under the latter scale will actually find $1590 a month, Perhaps a belter rethed of comparison Is to take the business message rate for 300 calls $6.76 or about 55 per cent. Where: the misunderstanding appears have arisen is in mistaking the fifth column of the company's table of Proposals, showing the percentage "Sdiect of Changes on Total Revenue" for the actual percentage snerease the charges. reveal the financial charges accruing from the relationship between the Shanghai Telephone Company and the International Telephone snd Telegraph Corporation. This may. possibly, have effect en the significance of the Geacit cited by' the "Company. Tt ts Bote thatthe" andiers make no ralprobably it did not come within their purview. It seems clear, however, that ft tso distinctly per= tinent factor for the Councils to fake {nto account. "At the present me any Inereuse in cots which tends to hinder the process of trade recovery has to be severely scrutinized, The Shanghat Telephone Company Is itself entitled to be acquitted of the odium of un necessarily contributing 0 auch an ereaee, But Shanghai. which the commitments of the 'Tele hone "Company "with "its parent rgantzation and, perhaps, subsidiary equipment concerns affect the appllca-Yon" now 'Tejected," No "doubt the Company'
con supply "the necessary. enlightenment; it will certainly be of foruaerable importance, for guidance
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.