Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-02-08

-
ne Tslephsas Service.
- Nsw Era also % impressed with
( losAoetccmings OF the telephone service
- thiD city, tho impotence Of its lease
Negotiations and The need for such . bill a.
4. Kaufman proposes. This community
!; - boon long suffering under its misera-
~ to1uqhcne service and It IL time that
4 - Nv \ brought 70 bear 10 secure reas-
0R6le service and reasonable rates from
1 ~ oppgon1lve monopoly.
E b vtIl not probably be . monopoly
49, lone, since the United States has
61ooeked its patent for fraud in the ap.
Talea&ion tor Il, and . fair presumption is
11nt the government suit has not been
4 beo0sht without good cause and will not
IN. Never before has the government
undertaken to annula q patent obtained by
3nnd. This ignominious aspersion rests
upon theBsll telephone monopoly alone Of
~ those that have been created by the
tatent laws Of the country, that are
!. t1sed upon the belief that the exclu-
4 uavecreation of Q mans inventive thoughts
should belong TO him, as well as those Of
hls hands.
But they did not aim TO build up crea.
tures that would claim to be greater than
4 - people who permitted them their ex.
/ olusive privileges; their conduct needs to
- reasonable to be permitted, and when
1 = b unreasonable the courts OF Justice
VII condemn It.
We do not doubt that IL the fact stated
by the Nep Era, and which we and all
q our readers who use the telephone
y know to be fact, that the best telephone
Instruments are not used In the Lancas.
ter service, should be brought TO the
aktention Of the court by . proper COM
plaint, the company would be subjected
% the payment Of damages for its failure
. % perform what the very nature Of its
undertaking implies that it shall per.
form, namely, supply the best instru-
Uents to all its customers that
$ it anywhere uses In it's service.
There are certain things we know to he
law ~ soon as they are stated ; and one
q these u that the law will not permit q
fraud to be practised upon the country
y 4 it 10 invoked against 1t and especially
Oue practised by !. corporation created
y ~ the people for the better service of their
needs and every ones sense tells him
that telephone company, unless 1t spe.
cialiy stipulates to be permitted to sup.
ply . poor instrument when there is a
bstter one, perpetrates q fraud upon its
customers in using the poor instrument.
And furthermore every ones sense will
tsll him that when a telephone company
osks it customers to sign an agreement,
SurFendering the exemption from execu.
Ton, given toevery one by the law, Of sSoO
worth OF his property, as condition pre-
oodsnt 70 granting the use of telephone,
company makes demand as unlawful
n1it ID indecent and impudent; and one
therefore that the law will not permit IL
- make. 1t is truly an outrageous thing
that this foreign corporation should come
Into our midst and undertake to set
aside our laws; and to cast an imputa.
sion upon the honesty OF our community
byasserting that 1t is necessary, for their
( protection In collecting their money, tina,
thsy should have pledged to them every
I 1Ag that their customers own; and this
SO when they. ask payment in advance.
And this is not the only unwarranted
Uhpulation that they demand from those
who uss the telephone; which, remember,
Aas become q public need; and which
overyone who is willing to pay for, is as
much entitled to get, as he is to have
4 himself or his goods carried on the rail.
1oad upon paying the fair charge and obey.
ing the reasonable rules. This telephone
D1ntract Is not easily understood, as 1t
has been composed by one not expert in
ths use Of words TO express his ideas and
Z Who consequently leaves them very indeii-
3 mite; but 1t Is intended 10 bs q contract
4or 1t least year and ittries to tie up and
limit the nse of the instrument in an exas-
4 perating way, and such that no customer
en- we'll observe. The man who presents
1e Tor signature should be ashamed to be
the slave OF 10 mean monopoly; and we
frust that the monopoly itself will be 50
bound with penalties by the Legislature q
- to be taught to practice decency in Its
dealipgs.