The Indianapolis journal., 1891-04-13
THE TELEPHONE.
Demoralizing Effect the Invention Is Exert
ing Upon the Human Race.

Demoralizing Effect the Invention IL Exert
ing Upon the Human Race.
Detroit Free Press.
"Glad it's gone,n said Detroit grocer
the other day as man walked off with his
telephone. which had been taken out by
order.
"Well, it's q convenience, of course, but
it has caused me considerable loss and no
end of trouble, and finally decided to take
it out"
Explain"
"Well, not more than one woman out of
seven knows how to talk through tele-
phone, even though they've had 'em in
ordering goods in my line YOU can't get 'em
distinctly. That has made a mix of things
Again. every one using atelephone to send
in occasional orders is pretty certain to
dispute the monthly bill. They telephone
on an emergency. want the goods In q
hurry. and forget they ever had 'em. /
have thirty instances month"
Il see.n
"Then the dead-beat makes good use of
the telephone, and she is as apt to be a
don't know her. but we know her husband
to rate as shady on the list. She runs into
a neighbor's, says she has a hard cold and
can't use the phone, and asks the other
woman to give her order. 1t comes in such
q way that we must offend q good customer
or lose bad one"
II can see that"
"Then the woman who doesn't know her
own mind two hours at time makes use of
the telephone to our cost. She'll call us up
at o'clock in the morning and give her or
der for the day. Pve known 'em to change
the meat order three times before 10 o'clock
Sometimes, after we have put up gallon
of vinegar. they'll change it to a pint. If
it gallon. and so on through. This makes
lots of extra trouble. and causes more or
less loss. Hear that man asking for our
'pone"
"Yes.r
well, I've had from five to twenty day.
You have no idea of the bother. Once in
fifty times man leaves 10 cents to pay for
using the wire. but the great majority
cheek 1T. They use IL for all sorts of pur-
poses. interrupt our business without the
men around me do not hesitate to walk III
here and use it as they please. l may lose
few dollars per week In orders, but /
shan't complain"
What's your experience with the tele-
phoneF' was next asked of a private citi-
zen living in the northern part of the city.
ut goes out with the MONTH" was his an
swer.
"Well, whyf'
For many more reasons than have time
to detail The average citizen who puts a
telephone in his house sets his family up as
mark. The idea. of course. is his own
convenience, but how does it workf There
ought to be six telephones in my block. ac-
cording to the wealth of the families and
the use they make of mine, but i have the
only one. They run in-men, women. serv-
ant girls and children-calmly observe that
they want to use the phone. and then bang
away from five minutes to half an hour
You can't refuse them and you don't want
to demand pay. and yet 1t is cheeky
swindle on you. just the same.
Il used to have the telephone In the lower
hall" he continued, after pause to swal-
low his Indignation, but as q gentle hint
to the cheeky / had it moved upstairs.
Made no difference TO them. though. They
walked right upstairs Just as coolly as they
our bedroom it would be just the same"
And so you Will let it got"
Most assuredly. | wouldn't keep it if
the company paid me $40 per month for so
doing. Outside of the annoyance of people
coming into the house, we get about two
messages per day from outsiders. who want
US to please step over TO Mr.. Blanks and
tell them so-and-so. My wife has had to 60,
my children have been kept on the Jump,
and 1T is part of the hired girls duty TO car
ry messages about the nelghborhood. Say,
I've been called up at IL O'clock at night by
woman two miles away, who wanted me
to run over and tell Mrs. Doe that she
couldn't be no there next day, as she had
promisedl We've been an intelligence of
fee for hired girls. s.dress-makers agents and
all sorts of gossip. and are tired out and dis
gusted. IL is only this morning that our
door-bell rung at twenty minutes after 6,
to telephone to boy two miles away. that
he'd be there at 8 o'clock to go rabbit hunt
ing! Goodbye, telephone. Farewell.
nuisance,"