TELEPHONE CHARGES

Southland Times, Issue 19482, 4 April 1922, Page 5

TELEPHONE CHARGES

DISCUSSED BY WELLINGTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE INVERCARGILL PROTEST SUPPORTED (Special to the TAmes.) 1 WELLINGTON, April 3. The reported intention of the Postal Department to increase the telephone charges was discussed briefly at a meeting of the council of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce to-day. The question was raised by a letter from the Invercargill Chamber of Commerce asking for support in objecting to the increase. The letter from the Invercargill Chamber stated that the present was a very inopportune time for placing an increased burden upon the community. The effect of increasing the charges would be to reduce the telephone revenue, since many would be forced to do without telephones altogether. The secretary of the Wellington Chamber (Mr Vickery) said he had been asked by the Invercargill Chamber to ascertain just what the new charges were to be. He had been informed by the secretary of the Post Office that the new charges reported in the newspapers were not official and that recommendation had yet been made to Cabinet by the Postmaster-General. The matter had been discussed but the question of increased telephone charges had not been decided. The president (Mr J. T. Martin) said he was fairly confident that if any attempt was made to increase the charges, which admittedly were high, there would be strong resentment on the part of the commercial community. The telegraph rates were oppressively high at present, and the commercial community was looking for some reduction in such chargee rather than for an increase. A member of the Council remarked that he understood the New Zealand telephone charges were the lowest in the world. He did not think that much objection could be made if the increase were merely a small one. The council decided to seek further information concerning the intentions of the Government