davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The San Francisco call., 1897-10-30
John Conception Held Up by
Masked Men on Har-
rison Street.
BOUND FAST TO 4 LiMPPOST.
Bold Work of Highwaymen on
a Public Thoroughfare
Wednesday Night,
lie WAS THREATENED WITH DEATH.
Struck on the Head With a Re-
\ vOlver and Warned Against an
Outcry.

The police have been called upon to
investigate the case of John Conception,
a Spaniard recently arrived from Hong
kong, Oh na, who was held up and robbed
late lass Wednesday evening at Harrison
and Sixth streets. According to the story
told by Conception, he was returning to
his room In the Continental Hotel about
1890 o'clock on Wednesday evening from
the Mission, having missed the last car
inward bound.
When he reached Harrison and Sixth
streets he was accosted by a welI-dressed
man who asked him for some tobacco,
stating that as all the stores were closed
for the night he would be unable to pur
chase any Of the weed.
Conception was reaching for a rear
pocket to get his tobacco pouch when he
was suddenly seized from behind by two
men, who wore masks. He struggled 10
get loose, but without success.
the man who first accosted him drew a
revolver, which he pointed at Concep-
tion's head, ordered his confederates to
release the victim and commanded the
Spanlard to throw up his arms" One
of the masked men then came around
from behind and searched Conceptions ;
pockets. When he located Conception s
purse in one OF the Iatter's trouser-pockets
he drew a long knife and cut out the en-
tire pocket.
The third confederate had in the mean
time procured a rope and the three rob-
bers tnen bound Conception, hands and
feet, and tied him TO a nearby lamppo 81.
After informing him that if lie made an
ouicry they would return and kill him,
tie well-dressed man, in ali proba bility
the leader, struck the pless man over
the head with his revolver and the trio
disappeared down Sixth stree; toward the
TDarves.
a passer-b by extricated Conception from
his uncomfortable position about half an
hour later.
Conception, who IS about % years of
age, Is IN s,raitened circumstances, and
The money taken by the robbers constitu.
ted his only belongings.
He describes the Leader as tall, We IL
dressed man. clad in dark coat and vest
and light Trousers. He also wore a dark
ieIt stiff hat, and his face was disguised
with false black mustache and beard.
The other TWO were of medium height
and build, and mad clean-shaven faces.
They were clad in dark clothes and wore
hort masks.
Conception has been at Cam bridge uni
versitv, where he graduated as a botanical
and philosophical student. He is the
master OF eight languages.
The San Francisco call., 1897-10-30

for things beyond their control are due TO
a stlngy policy at headQ Qaarters there can
be no DOUBT. There is limit to the capa-
city of every human being. The hello
girls cannot perform i'm possibilities, yet
they are daily blamed, aud even cursed,
for abuses n the system for which they
are no more 20 be blamed than the COM
planning subscriber, who is often rude
enough TO swear at them over the tele-
phone, or heartless enough to report them
TO the company. The slightest study of
the situation would show that the girls at
times are so overworked that it is impos-
sible for them to respond TO the calls with
promptness.
Complaints concerning the telephone
service are almost universal, but undreds
of people are timid and 10th to speak out
for publication concerning their griev-
ances. Several CALL reporters have in
vestigated the state of tie public feelin z
on the telephone question during the
past week. From almost every patron OF
The company there came complaints.
Some had great trouble IN getting any re-
Spouse from the telephone Office. some
seldom got any thing save a serenade from
the Dhonograph, while others found the
girls asking again aud again, Mum ber,
please" as if the girl who first heard the
request had passed it to another and the
second had forgotten IL or passed it to a
third. These things are said to occur
when one branch of the service switches
the subscriber TO another, as when the
m ain-Ilne girl turns the call over to the
southern or the western office.
To prevent rush of business beyond
the ca pacity of The operators the company
has switch boards, called overflow
switches" 1t is the purpose OF this sys-
TEN to relieve girls who are working Oh
boards where calls have piled up Deyond
their ability to answer them. Instances
are frequent when the overflow switch
operators are as hard pressed as those on
the main lines, showing beyond argument
that the company has not enough servants
10 properly transact even the normal
business. and that there is absolutely no
ad quate provision for unusual rusheS.
Tie girls nearly all work ten hours at
sire ch, and at some of the offices there
ara great abuses of authority by petty
overseers. These are usually men, They
are clothed with the authority to hne the
girls for tri1ing errors, such as are com
mon in every business.
There have been complaints that girls
The San Francisco call., 1897-10-30
MONUMENT TO BURNS.
An Enthusiastic Meeting Was
Held by the Committee
Yesterday,
An Effort Will Be Made to Raise a
Fund of $4,000 to Erect a
Creditable Memorial.

The Burns Monument Committee met
yesterday afternoon at 405 Montgomery
Street, large number OF enthusiastic
gentlemen being present. Colin II. Boyd
presided and briefly stated the object of
the meeting, viz, to devise ways and
means OF obtaining sufficient funds with
which TO erect in Golden Gate Park, this
city, monument to Scotland's bard,
Robert Burns-a monument which shou Id
be alike an honor and a credit to San
I ranClsco and its Scottish residents
Since the preliminary meeting, held some
time ago, Secretary Y. c. Lawson had
been IN com m unication with various
noted sculptors throughout the world and
presented to the meeting a mum Der Of de-
signs and photograp phs of rare merit which
had been forwarded to bim from yarious
cities throughout the United States and
Europe. Chairman Boyd named the fol
lowing com mlttees and imm ediate action
will be taken by each with a view to hav.
ing the funds raised and the monument
erected at an early date:
Committee on permanent organization
John F. Kennedy, DR.. w. F. McNutt William
Nicol, John ,. Rober rtsou.
Committee on site-John McLaren. John
Reid, George Davidson.
Committee on designs-Judge Edward
belcher, john d. McGflVray, Irving NJ. Scott
committee on correspond eDce-Y. G. Law
sOtl, JohH H. no pertson, James II. Duncan.
committee on ways and means-Colonel W
Macdonald, James MeNsh, James s Webster,
Andrew MiIkie, D. R Mcneil, A. B. Nc.
Creery, Captain Thomas Me1n. James Dunn,
captain Robert Sudden, Jonn F. Kennedy,
David Kerr, John Center, Robert Watt, jam es
": Kerr: Angus Mcleod, Alexander
Maeklen A. G. BallingalI, DR.. J. A J.
Mcdonald, James Stuart, James McMullin,
Peter Robertson, Hugh Hume, s. F. suther-
land, R. A Crothers, Joseph D. Grant, James
Hamilton; Peter Thompson. Oakland: D. E.
Collins, Oakland; james P. Taylor, Oakland
David Jacks, Monterey; william Rennie.
Santa Cruz; William Barr, San Rafael; Hon. J.
Vile.
1t was the unanimous opinion Of those
present that the sum OF $40 coo should be
ia'sed, and In view of the TACT that quite q
Nsrge amount has already been paid in
ana many offers of generous contributions
nave been received it is expected that no
q IN ulty will be experienced in raising
the desired amount. The general COM
mltiee comprises many of the prominent t
citizens OF San Francisco and the Burns
Monument may already be considered an
assured fact.
The San Francisco call., 1897-10-30

! have been fined by being compelled TO
work eight and nine hours overtime Tor
the lnfraction of some slight rule, or Tor
making some trivial and almost unavold-
a bic error. These penalties have some
times been enforced when girls were sick.
If there were Tom Hood in San Fran
CISCO be would find ii some of the tele-
phone abuses theme equal TO that which
spired the immortal Song OF The
SHIRT"
From the very nature of tho case, SUBJ
scribers to a service owned by company
that has a monopoly OF the telephone
business, do not care 10 make complaints
in the public prints, fearing some sort OF
inconvenience from the criticism. There
are some, however, who do not care
whether the company knows of their COM
plants. The opinions of many such are
subjoined. They give fair idea OF the
com paints that are all but universal,
VARYING in degree according to the
frequency OF telephone service on the line
in question. Here are some representative
opinions:
D. w. Raphael - The telephone
system OF tuls city could he improved
without much effort. The nlckel-In the
slot arrangement Is q nuisance and should
be done away with and some system sub
sti uted that would give satisfaction. l
have ir, quently waited fife minutes for
an answer TO my ring. When a nickel is
dropped in tie slot ana number asked
a repIv often comes that a nickel M ust be
dropped before connection is made. L
think the force is not sufficient to carry
Oh the business. a general Improvement
IN the system j.. s.certain.y in order.
a. II. Cohu, general manager of
RaphaeI & Co. store-The entire system
Is exceedingly bad but the party line Is
something that Shou d be done away with
entirely. live at 1916 O'Farrell, and my
tele phone is on a line with nine others. 1
am unable to carry on a conversation
without the whole line hearing wnat L
have 10 saw. l have frequently waited
ten minutes for a connection and then l
have been told by the Irresistible phono-
graph that the line was busy. When i've
Dells ring | go 10 the phone 10 answer the
call, and often hear all the parties on my
line take off the transm tier and listen 10
what have to say. l mistook four bells
for five one day, and when l removed the
receiver L was insulted by some other
party vino was talking to four bells. l
have often determined TO remove the tele-
phone. but 1t is necessary adjunct TO my
business. l hope the whole system Will
be cna ged and improved.
Ill. G. Gerdes, Druggist-Two
weeks ago the telephone in my place of
business caused me considera bic trouble,
as it was difficult to get an answer from
the central office, but now connections are
made in fairly good time, but the speaker
is hard TO hear at times, and the voice
seems blurred. / cannot account foc 1t.
Henry Kahn of Kahn Bros.
AeiI n CO.-PGt US down u, klckers.
We Iind 1t very hard TO get connections.
- Wood ~ Cove have tried
time and again % get the telephone ques-
ton under control, out it seems almost
i'm possible for Us to get good attention.
We have no blame Tor the poor girls.
The San Francisco call., 1897-10-30

the people whose messages have been sent
10 people not at the telephone.
Take ell these annoyances, together
with The fact that bad CONS are often put
in the machines, and the company would
be pleased TO do away with the slots if Il
cou;d do SO, but as the instruments are
put there for the pubic at e lowest pos
siDle price we cannot aDohsh them. This
enables Us to give cheaper service than
any city in the United States, and the
service is better also. 1t is our desire TO
please and to renGer as good service 10 the
public as we can possibly do, and TO do
this ana do it we'll the company leaves
nothing amiss-neiiher money nor means.
But, like the human system, telephones
will get out OF order and they need careful
looking after"
The San Francisco call., 1897-10-30

They do al they can, but are evidently
overworked. We have most fault to find
with the party lines. They are a nuis-
ance, for II is often the case that we have
TO wait ten or fifteen minutes to get an an
swer 1t seems very hard at times TO ge /;
any reply from central. and this seems to
be at a time of the day when people are
ab ut to 60 10 luncheon or dinner. If
there were no party lines and if they had
more operators l think the evil would dis
appear.
Mr. Porter of Porter. SIes-
singer ~ Cove have had consldera-
bic LrUu6le IN getting answers to our teIe-
phone calls. There is sumething radically
wrong in the system-just what it is it Is
hard to tell. A good overhaulIng of some
sore will be a godsend to The patrons.
There do not seem to be enough girls to do
the work.
VIII 81 Finck-We have no very
great com plant, but It is evident that the
telephone people do not have time TO do
all the work required of them. We do
not want 10 complain II it is likely 10 get
the girls in trouble. The greatest diff.
Guilty is in getting central during the busi-
est hours of he CAV.
The Maze-We have h ad a grea,
deal of trouble with our telephone, but we
nave decided that much of il has been due
the system. 1t is evident that there are
not enough girls on some of the lines, o,
at certain times of the day. 1t seem. that
more help would surely remedy some oil
the evils.
Nolan Bros Shoe Company
We do not want to antagonIze the com.
pany or get the poor girls in trouble, fol-
they are probably doing all they can, bu,
we have had great deal of trouble with
the party line system, as well as in get
ing attention at all times at the central
office.
Green BrOs.-There have been times
when people stood here for twenty min
utes trying to get central. The line would
appear dead, as If there was no electricity
afioat. After a long time 1t would agai,
b-gin to buzz with life and central
would ask what was wanted. This NAV
have been caused by nduction in some
such wav as to baffi9 the skill of the com.
pany, but 1t is ply If the abuse canno,
be cured.
q. A. Saint Clair-It is a m VS.
terry wha: gels INTO the service d. tim es
The San Francisco call., 1897-10-30
FINES BUSY, CALL AGAIN. !"
Complaint Among Inadequate Telephone
Service Caused by the Use of Photographs Instead
of Sufficient Attendants on Party Lines

for there are days when central seems
deaf | think there is something away
off at such times. 1t may be the cleo
tricity. The most intolerab be of all an
noyances is the parly-line humbug. A
man cannot get his mum Der in half wear
on a party line. 1t is very bad system
and a man might as well not have tele-
phone as to expect good service from a
party line.
w. HI. Nolan n Cove are thor
oughly ulsgusted with the usual answer
We get TO our calls, "lire busy" Some
times we ge: no reply at all, and we never
can get any salts faction when we ask for
an explanation. Nearly every time We
call up q number we have TO drop three or
four nickels:bsfore we are connected with
the party we wish TO talk with. For the
past three or four days the service has
been exceptionally poor, and l feel very
much like having the telephone taken out
altogether.
&. y. Collins of Collins ~ CO.
We have experienced considerable trou BILE
with our telephone Parties wanting
mum bers very frequently have to wait fif-
teen or twenty minutes before they get
what they want, and it Is very common
The San Francisco call., 1897-10-30

wires underground. When this service is
com plete the com plants will be reduced
fully half"
Regarding mplaints that come from
the slot machines, the assistant superin-
tendent said: This is one of the most
fruitful sources OF complaint. 1t is a
necessity, ana the company does all it can
for the subscriber. Our rules are that
when slot telephone rings In the girl sees
whether the mum Der desired is busy. If it
is not the subscriber is asked 10 put his
nickel in the slot. Ii he does this brig Int
red light is the signal which tells the
operator that the company is five cents
ahead. II no answer is given the girl in
forms the patron of that fact and that
ends the company's service, as much as if
the message had been sent by a boy or
t. rough the mails. In all these cases 1t is
not the failure of the carrier that the per-
son sought is not at home at the hour of
the arrival OF the message. We never ask
a subscriber 10 drop nj nickel il the line
asked for is busy at the time. But many
people think we should try again and
again for the one nickel. This, however,
is not rule. The girl at the switch
board has too much TO do 10 remember all
The San Francisco call., 1897-10-30
222222229000Q30QQQQQQQQ0 QQQQ0Q0QQQQ0QQQQ0QQQQQQQQ
William A. Kelly OF the Lii.

thing TO he cut off two or three times
while you are talking.
William A. Kelly Of the Lion
Pba Is general dlssatis-
iac,lon among the patrons of the teie-
phone com pany over the poor service. In
my store II frequently happens that par
ties using the phon' are made to put
in several nickels before they can get a
connection. If you tell The operator that
you have already dropped the nickel sh e
will say she didn't hear it and the infer
ence is that you haven't been strictly
truthful. They are very keen to get the
money, but whether tGev give you service
or not is matter of small concern.
When, in collecting the money for the
machines "siug" is found they try 10
collect from the renter OF the instrument.
In an instance of this kind The company
is deirauded, but they never take into
consideration the fact that they are TAX
ing money under false pretenses when
they do not give good service.
George Campbell. attorney
al law-Io-uay L rang up Central and
asked for a mum Der and was 20 d that the
line was busy. After this l asked Tor the
number three times With the same result.
Finally l went TO see the party | desired
to speak with, and on inquiry found
that his telephone had not been in use
during The time was trying to get him.
The gentleman toid me lie had great
deal of trouble the same way.
Dr. II. L.. HILL have trouble in
getting the CONNECTIONS / ask for On sew
eraI occasions / have en- obliged to ring
five or SIX times before getting the num-
oers | wanted. l thought IL the fault Of
the instrument at first and contem lated
having another one put in, but | have
come 10 e conclusion that 1t is the fault
OF The system.
There are doubtless many abuses in the
system for which the telephone company
Is not directly blamable. These relate to
bad plan OF wiring. Assistant Manager
Glass OF the company says there are many
evils due to overhead wires.
Mr.. Glass says this city has II, 450 Iele-
phones, while Chicago. with Eeariy five
times ne population. hss but Il, 500 and
New York has but $1,000, In all these
cities, he says, the cost of the serv .ce Is
greater than here.
I'VE do not have more than a hundred
complaints q day" said Mr.. Glass, and
this mum Ger is a reduction made since we
put some OF the wires underground. 1t
will not be long until the telephone poles
and overhead wires will be q thing of the
past. We are doing all We can to put the
The San Francisco call., 1897-10-30
THERE is a general impression that

THERE is a general i'm preston that
the telephone system of San Francisco
is cond lcted in such n way as to
cause more profanity than all other annoy
ances combined.
Nobody bames the overworked girls
who conduct the hello department for the
thousands Of delinquencies that daily give
rise to passion and seductively tempt men
of quiet demeanor to utter curses loud
and deep, but there is general feeling
that there are grave abuses somewhere; /;
abuses in the management of the busi-
ness, for they are OF q character not in
herent in the wires, transmitters or bat
teries.
One of the most vexatious and recurrent
OF evils is the party line a scheme that
wears out more Photographs and tempers
than all other defects CONT bined. There
are often from ten TO twenty or more SUBJ
scribers on one branch line. and this is so
arranged that if any gwen subscriber of
the entire com pany is using his telephone
all others are sideJracked. The company
ealerIaius them, however, by having a
ghosily voice sing out again and again ::
Line is busy-call again"
1t the subscriber waits with patience
accepting the pbonograph's oft-repeated
invitation to call again, he will be fortu-
nate if some other subscri ber has not cut
in ahead of him, in which event be is sure
of another illustration OF the base uses TO
which Edison's great invention IS put by
the telephone company. l. has been
noticed cy Baciagaupi that people who
have telephones hear the phonograph so
often during the day that they never
patronize the phonOgraph parlors.
1t has been discovered that the phono-
graphs in the telephone offices OF the city
do not limit themselves to party lines,
but they often STROLL over the wires OF the
main lined and wall like perturbed spirits,
sometimes lying about the condition of
telephones desired By the anxious sub
scrl5 Der who has made the request, Many
instances are reported OF phonographic
statements that would put Ananlas to
shame. Lines have been reported as bury
by the phonograph when hey have been
idle all day.
Another common cause of complaint
among people who have frequent use of
the lephoEes is that the central girls are
SO busy that they cannot answer calls
promptly. There are many instances
where it has required from five 10 fifteen
minutes 10 get attention. There are cer-
tain busy hours on all the lines when il is
evident 10 the most casual observer that
thClC dlC llp' OPS4 iH tuc
telephone offices. The girls voices at
such times beIray that they are rushed
and overworkeI, ratified and driven b.
yond endurance. They speak quickly,
nervously inquiriug, Mum ber-num ber?'
until the subscriber realizes that so many
ind Gators are dropping around the poor
beilo girls that tney scarcely Know which
way 10 look or whom TO answer first
That thousands of the deiavs and defects
mat daily arise to annoy subscribers and
cause the girls to be unnecessarily blamed
The San Francisco call., 1897-10-30
ANOTHER ALLIANCE.
A Member of the French Nobility wins
the Daughter of an Adopted
SON of California.

The marriage of Miss Fannie L. Fithian.
youngest daughter of Major and Mrs. J.
A. Fthian, to the Comte Arthur de Cab
riac, son OF the Marquis de Gabriac, for
merly French EN- bassador to ST. Peters
burg an again to the Vatican. took place
last Thursday at Paris. Major Fithlan
comes from an old New Jersey family and
Is memb Der of the California Command
erv OF the Loyal Legion. He resigned
from the army in 1866, and since then has
principally lived abroad, although he has
extensive roperty in Santa Barbara
county, whsre his two sons reside. The
De Ga0riacs belong to the family of the
Duke de GrHmmont ana have held high
positions in France for centuries. Miss
Ftthian was born abroad and Is quite
French In her ideas. The wedding wa,
elegant, great taste having been displayed
in its conduct and appointments, and the
weather was charming
The San Francisco call., 1897-10-30
The Wasp This Week.

The Wasp this week is an extra good mum
Der, containing cartoons on timely subjects
and editorial comments that are extra snappv
"Bierce's New Inspiration" Mother Demoe-
racy's Quandry" and The Cloud Over Whit
tier" are the leading subject for the cartoon.
lists pencil The photo-engravings are numer
Gus and excellent, ana all department. Is are
filed with matters of interest
The San Francisco call., 1897-10-30
Wake Up.

Yes wake up to the danger which threatens
you if your kidneys and bladder are inactive or
weak. Don't you know that If you fail to fmpel
them action Bright's disease or diabetes awaits
you? Use Hostetter's stomach Bitters without
delay. 1t has most beneficial effec, upon the
kidneys when sluggish, aud upon the howe
liver, stomach ana nervous system
The San Francisco call., 1897-10-30
Pacific Yacht ace

The Pacific Yacht Clubwin have members
race tomorrow afternoon, the start be ing q xed
for 1 O'clock The boats purchased by the
CT ub for he use of he me n bers will ALI he an.
tered. Those members wishing to tnke part
in the race are asked 10 report 10 r p
PHommedieu at the boathouse at IL 80 to-
morrow.
The San Francisco call., 1897-10-30
MOUNT TAMiLPiIS SCENIC RAILWAY

(Via Sausalito Ferry).
Leave San Franci Commencing Sept.
I9, 1897:
WEEK DAYS-e BOA. NJ Arrive :. f. 4:55rM
SUNDAYS-S:oU, l0:0O. IL 80 A NJ; 1:l6 r. N.
special frIps an ne arranged for py applying 0
THo>. COOK q SON, 621 Market ST., San Fran
cisco, or lelephonins Tavern OF amapsiA
The San Francisco call., 1897-10-30
j. j. Coonev,s C,,.

The case of ]. j Cooney, charged with per-
Jury, has been put on Judge Wailace's calen-
iar and will be called on The 5th of next
month, az which time 1t Will be set for trial.
The San Francisco call., 1897-10-30

hui, GTetey, Bach. Pergolesi Cimarosa, Saliva
tor Rosa, Veracina, Handel. Beethoven Schn.
mann, Mendelssohu, Brahms, Henschei, Schu-
bert Hervey and Boie lieu