Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1896-05-07
Telephone Matters


telephone situation in Grant county.
1t Is perfectly fair in its treatment of
Messrs. Beebe and Marlow-a great
deal fairer than people thought it could
be when they remember that the Wit
ness has been practically shut ont
from receiving late county seat news
for years on account Of the Teller Of
flee terminal of the Beebe line. A
telephone terminus has no business to
be in any printing Office in any town.
and should be cared for by a person
who has no interest in gathering news.
1t is said that the central of the
Grant and Crawford county lines will
be in the Enterprise printing office at
Boscobel. II that is true, all other
newspapers in the two counties, and
there are 16 others. will not be able to
do business over the lines, and bust
ness men and individuals who do not
desire to see their private affairs print
ed in the Boseobel paper will continue
to communicate BY mail. These as
sertions are not made in spirit of
hostility to injure competitor, but
in all fairness to ourselves and to all
others whose interests are thus jeop-
ardized. Give newspaper Offices
phone that connects with central
and thus put them on an equal footing
at least with each other. and Won will
never hear murmur from any of
them.
OF course, any Office that is hugging
to its innermost self the idea that by
getting central station it is get
ting tremendous scoop on its
brethren Of the press, will not hesitate
to represent to the telephone owners
that it will conduct the business hon
estly ana fairly. It is natural that
they should 50 promise. and perhaps
they intend so to do on the start-in;
but you might as well expect hun
CRY horse to Keep up its head in a
grass-plot without a check rein as to
look to an editor to keep startling news
out of his paper that he knows the
.'other fellow can not get. 1t is the
first instinct of a true printer to be at
the fore in giving his readers the news;
indeed, he is no printer at all and UNI
worthy the name if he does not do SO.
Take an example; Wednesday af-
ternoop at o'clock movers wagon
from PlatteviIle way coming through
Lancaster is sighted by a HERALD re-
porter who is paid a good salery to
look out for news and feels that he
would like to do good work for the
money he gets. The reporter inter-
views the prairie schooner" man who
in the course Of his talk drops the re-
mark that three men were accidentally
killed in Platteville just as he came
through. He does not know the par
ticulars nor even the names OF the men.
Nobody in Lancaster has heard Of it.
Allthe city papers will 60 to press at
about 5 O'Clock. The reporter can
get scoop" on the other papers if
they do not hear of the affair and he
can get the part 'ulars. If he goes to
the Teller Office to use the telephone
line for a short account Of the accident
the Teller editor. who can do his tele-
phoning without cost, is let on to the
piece Of news and proceeds, after the
reporter has depar ed, to get a great
deal longer aud better account Of it
than can the original diseoverer.
Rather than to be thus beaten the
HERALD reporter will keep away from
the telephone Office and let the paper
90 TO press without the news, know
ing that he can get as good a report
OF it by mail as the ''other fellow can
by waiting week. This is one side
Of it.
Here is another side: A telephone
central Office is nuisance in print
ing Office. Laborers in the office are
continually annoyed in their work by
having to stop and answer calls. They
finally get to the point where they will
not attend to telephone calls, if they
can possibly avoid it, because the edi-
tor gets little or no money from the
phone and he would much rather they
attend to their type-setting which does
yield him an income. Then the right |
to attend the bell is source OF endless
quarreling amongst the workmen-a
fountai' head as prolific Of trouble in
a.