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- JHE LAST WORD Don't be silent T he stories are legion of people who witnessed crimes and chose not to get involved. Even if direct intervention was not possible, when the police asked for eyewitnesses to help bring the culprit to justice, they remained silent. Over time, if they have any conscience whatsoever , guilt pangs will creep in for not having helped someone in a time of need. Members of the coin-op amusement industry are being asked to help fend off the seven regional Bell operating companies CRBOCsl, among the world's most powerful entities in terms of money and power. No, the RBOCs have committed no crimes , though some feel it would be criminal to allow them into the information services business. The baby Bells throw money around like it's confetti. They are in the top echelon of congressional schmoozers , with a gauntlet of lobbying might at the ready to cater to its members' every whim. Bill Stone of Stone Amusement says his congressman, Rep. Jim Cooper {D-Tenn.l, has told him stories that illustrate why the RBOCs so often get their way on Capitol Hill. "They've got a fleet of airplanes a vailable to fl y congressmen wherever they want to go," Stone said. "Recently they held a reception for congressmen and spent PLAY METER 136 JANUARY 1992 $90,000 just on the hors d 'oeuvres! Jim Cooper tells me that they'll do things like this for three or four years before asking a congressman for a specific vote. Like he told me, 'Bill, how then are we supposed to say no?' It's kind of scary the power those guys have." Cooper, though, is saying "no" to the RBOCs in the form of H .R. 3515, the "Telecommunications Act of 1991 ." The bill, an attempt to weaken the momentum gained by the RBOCs in the courts, lets the RBOCs compete in the information services market-but with stringent safeguards and controls to allow for a level playing field. "The baby Bells are spending millions of dollars to persuade Congress that their monopolies hold all the keys to the future, " wrote Cooper in a letter to his colleagues. "Let's look at the record. In the 1970s, Americans finally got the right to choose their own brand of telephone . Ma Bell fought it every step of the way. In the 1980s, Americans finally were able to choose their long-distance company. Ma Bell fought it every step of the way . In the 1990s , Americans needed the right to choose their local telephone provider and information services. The baby Bells are fighting it every step of the way. "But they can't stop progress. Competition and more choice will spring from H.R. 3515, even for the baby Bells. It protects no one, it punishes no one. The Bells began running full-page ads against our effort before we even introduced H .R. 3515. We hope you'll read it before believing the ad copy." If you're wondering what all this has to do with you, read the story on the baby Bells in this issue. Then, when you're duly concerned with the threat, do what Rep . Cooper and AMOA's Bob Wilbur ask: write a letter to your Congressman in support of H .B. 3515. The baby Bells have a leg up on their opponents in the race for grass-roots lobbying. But it's not too late to catch up. And don't procrastinate; H.R. 3515 will be one of the first items on the agenda when the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee meets in January or February. Don't put yourself in the position of having to look back five or 10 years from now and saying, " I should've done my part to keep the baby Bells from wrecking our industry." You'll hate yourself for it. D Christopher Caire News Editor