The month just passed has been an eventful one in California history, made so by the arrival of the great Atlantic fleet, the greatest aggregation of warships ever collected for a long cruise. At every stop there have been tremendous celebrations in honor of the sailormen and the seaport towns have been thronged with visitors. from the interior. A Boost While the public generally and the business interests in particular have responded most creditably to the unusual requirements which the visit of the fleet imposed upon them, there cannot but be a great deal of satisfaction throughout the territory of The Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Company to know that the Telephone Company did its part and did it well. The officers and men of the fleet, accustomed to isolation from the busy world, were put into immediate communication with the mainland by telephone when they reached San Diego and the innovation made a decidedly favorable impression. At San Pedro, and again at Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Monterey and San Francisco, telephone facilities were provided almost immediately upon the ships coming to anchor. While the spectacular work in connection with the visit of the fleet was handled in spirited fashion, it is gratifying to be able to record also that the increase of regular telephone business which resulted from the unusual influx of popu lation was hantlled none the less credit ably. San Francisco the day before the fleet came, the number of trans-bay calls handled was more than twice that recorded for any other day. This Month Mr. Phillips. Mr. W. J. Phillips, whose portrait is the June frontispiece, entered the employ of the Telephone Company in April, 1898, as a solicitor and shortly afterward covered the company's territory as Traveling Auditor. He was appointed local Manager of the Portland Exchange in 1899, which position he held until January, 1900, when he went to Detroit, Mich., as General Manager of the Detroit and New State Telephone Companies, where he remained until these companies were consolidated with the Michigan Bell Telephone Company. Mr. Phillips then returned to the Coast and was made Division Manager for the territory including the States of Oregon, Washington and Idaho. He held this position until the territory was divided, and was then transferred to San Francisco in October, 1903, as Division Superintendent of the San Francisco division. He is the oldest division superintendent, in point of service. with the public, would have taken away the breath of financiers if it had been issued a few years ago. The corporation of which Mr. Vail is the head is the controlling company of the great Bell telephone system, which operates nearly four million telephones throughout the country, and therefore has direct dealings with some fifteen to twenty millions of Americans, or nearly one-quarter of the whole population. In his report President Vail discusses at some length the question of competition in telephone operation, and argues that competition in this particular industry involves a great direct and indirect loss to the public. This is the familiar attitude which his predecessors have held, but he adds: "It is contended that if there is to be no competition there should be public control. It is not believed that there is any serious objection to such control, provided it is independent, intelligent, considerate, thorough, and just, recognizing, as does the Interstate Commerce Commission in its report recently issued, that capital is entitled to its fair return and good management or enterprise to its reward." This might have been an utterance of Governor Hughes himself, whose recommendations to the New York Legislature in regard to the inclusion of telephone companies within the operations of the Public Service Commissions in New York it seems to countenance. Furthermore, Mr. Vail embraces the belief that the public has the right to full information in regard to the business of corporations on whom it depends for the necessities of business, in which classification the telephone certainly may be included today. He says on this point: "In controversies as to rates, the policy of our associated companies has been to make a complete and absolute showing of the condition, cost and value of plant, cost and value of service, cost and necessity of proper maintenance, and the broad position is taken that neither our company nor the associated companies |