No. 6. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 887 



MR. HUTCHISON: Who kept up the expenses? 



MR. MILLER: I am manager of the line. We charge outside 

 people for talking over the line five cents on one section, ten cents 

 on two sections and fifteen cents on three sections. Then we charge 

 two cents switch fees for the members of the company coming 

 through the switch. If you talk through the switch you have a 

 right to pay for talking through it and that keeps up our switch 

 expenses. If you have built your line properly and secured it 

 with lightning arresters you will have no trouble from lightning. 

 There has not been one 'phone knocked out on our line; the light- 

 ning runs down to the ground by having the lightning arresters. 

 Our telephone is a mutual farmers' line and we have thirty farmers 

 on one line. 



MR. HUTCHISON: Do you talk to Altoona? 



MR. MILLER: No, sir; only through the county, but we can talk 

 any distance we wish. We have the long distance 'phone. 



MR. McGOWAN: How many 'phones are you able to carry on 

 one line? 



MR. MILLER: Forty parties and it gives satisfaction. You can 

 ring up anybody. 



MR. McGOWAN: Just a question, that might be a little out of 

 the family: How many are listening? 



MR. MILLER: Everybody. That is where you get your news. 



MR. McHENRY: We have decided just lately on our line that 

 we will not try to carry over fifteen 'phones on one wire. 



MR. MILLER: We have the metallic system — two wires. 



MR. McHENRY: We don't propose to carry over fifteen 'phones 

 on any one wire but we vvdll add more wires on our poles. The way 

 we get rid of the trouble is, we put up an extra line, that is, a public 

 line and that is our pay-line, which is not connected. 



MR. MILLER: It is called a trunk line? 



MR. McHENRY: Yes, sir; it is not connected with the local 

 line. 



MR. MILLER: We do that. 



MR. McHENRY: If I have any business that I don't want my 

 neighbors to know I call him up on the local 'phone and have him 

 come to the nearest point on the other line and we can talk there. 



