Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-04-09
NOTES iOE LONDON
The English IRE Also Having Trou-
bic Over Telephones.
CHILLY WELCudEEoN TEE AMAzoNAS
Poultney Biael@~ to Make His
Home IN Washington.
ATTITUDE OF THE TINES
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.

Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.
LONDON, April 1, 1898.
London, like Washington, is engaging in
campaign against it's telephone monopoly.
The grievances of the two cities are prac-
ticaily the same, high rates and poor serv-
Ice Subscribers in this metropolis pay an
average yearly rate of SIS for telephone
service, which, the company assures them.
is remarkably reasonable tariff, but they
are clamoring for reduction to the rates
which prevail in continental Cities and
which ARE about third of the London
company's charges. The fight here differs
from Washington's agitation in that it ar
rays the municipal against the general gov
eminent. The National Telephone Com
pany, which practically monopolizes the
business of all England, enjoys it's reign by
virtue of the peculiar favor of the post
office department. Attempts have been
made to secure charters for other and rival
companies iE London, but these movements
have been so effectually blocked by gov
ernmental discrimination in behalf of the
established system that they have come
to nothing. Accordingly the vestries and
local boards which govern London have
formed an organization having for it's sole
objects the cheapening and improvement
or the service. This week the unique So
ciety held its first meeting in the guild
nall with the lord mayor in the chair.
Attorneys for the telephone company ap-
peared unlimited and read statement
which clearly proved their client to be
the most poverty stricken and misjudged
corporation in the united kingdom. pre-
Sented many arguments for q stay of judy
ment, but lodged the main issue of rates
and dividends. Such obstacles as this or
ganized philanthropy has to contend with
in Its efforts to serve the interests of the
h In <II1ff ahra 90 pf
the meeting scoffed at the defense and
decided to institute an investigation. Tele
phonfc reform is becoming infectious. fol
Glasgow and Bath are also in the throes of
agitation.
They make little headway however for
the power to lioeI Sc competing companies
is practically in the hands of the post
office department, and the postmaster
general has just refused the application of
company which was backed by the city
corporation of Glasgow. Some of the agi-
tators charge that there is corrupt alli
ance for gain between the post office and
the National Telephone Company, but that
cannot be, because English statesmen so
often assert that snch iniquities are linn
tied to America, where they are the rule
rathen than the exception.
Americans who ieurneyed from London
down to Gravesend1 this week to see the
newest ship of the American navy receiv-
ed q decidedly chilly welcome. The ANA
!
cal country, and, accordingly. the, factor
of heat was overlooked in her construc-
ton. The officers and crew discovered this
during their first night aboard, soon aftel
they had settled In their new quarters.
There is no heating apparatus of any sort
whatever In the ship outside of the cook g
domains. The Thames in March,, with a
stiff breeze coming up from the sea, is not
summer resort go, the members of the
staff were found sitting about the cabin
wrapped in their heaviest storm coats
discussing how long 1t would take them
tel get to Cuba. Some genius suggested
Oil stoves. and yesterday the hardware
stores OF Gravesend were raided, and the
Amazonas will cross the Atlantic with
an Oil stove in every stateroom. Apart
from the matter of freezing, the officers
are well pleased with their new charge,
and declare their readiness to try conclu-
sions with any craft of its build which is
likely to meet 1t. They have found great
deal Of polishing, scrubbng and painting
necessary to bring the cruiser up to the
American standard of neatness, although
she had been out of the dock in the hands
Of the Brazilians but a few days. The
American standard. however, is ashigh one.
Those Spanish officers who have carped
about the general laxnesS prevailing on
American ships as an explanation of the
Maine disaster might have found an inter
esting contrast between the appearance OF
the Amazonas and the San Francisco. as
the two came together last Friday. The
former mad seen months service, the lat
ter was coming in from cruise of two or
three years, yet an outsider looking over
the two craft would have picked out the
American ship as the new one and the
Brazilian as the old.
The officers of the San Francisco have
seen much of the world since they left
home but were particularly impressed by
Lisbon where they had been in harbor for
q month, and by the hospitality of the Por-
tuguese grandees, who. they report. are
apparently in sympathy with the United
States in the Cuban affair. They became
quite chummy with the King of Portugal,
and were greatly impressed by the beauty
and brilliancy of the queen, who is unique
among the royal women of Europe in her
personal charm. Several of the officers put
| in some pleasant hours duck shooting with
his majesty, and found that the king was
| better marksman than the professional
warriors, which is no reflection upon the
craftsmanship Of the navy, because his
majesty has bested several foremost pro-
| fessionals with the revolver. Lieutenant
Knapp has a large signed photograph of
| the king in his state room as trophy of
the visit.
Ambassador Hay is another American
who has been hobnobbing with royalty.
In Athens recently the ambassador spent
| an hour gossiping about international poll
| tics with the King of Greece. and brought
away high estimation of the talents of
| that unfortunate sovereign. Colonel Hay
| and Mr.. Henry Adams, who are neighbors
When they live IN washington, were pOking
about among antique ruins in the east
when q bare announcement of the Maine
disaster, 1000 miles away, reached Them
| Several days passed before they could Sc
cure details, and the first question Mr..
| Adams asked of their informant was:
What time did it happen?"s.
About 10 o'clock at night" was the re-
| ply.
Then the SpaniR4ds blew her up." he
asserted. withoue thaeslightest- hesitation,
1
1t seems reallysa PITY that Mr.. George W.
| Smalley, the AMertean correspondent OF
| the London Times, ~ should be forced to
| dwell in a country which CRATES upon his
| sensibilities SO hatshi5 as the United States
| appears to do. Nothing that the American
| people can do seems 70 be able to Command
Mr.. Smalley's approval. He alone among
| the American correspondents for london
papers is American by birth, believe. vet
singularly enough he is the only one of
| them whose dispatches are drafted in a
| tone consistently unfriendly to the people
with whom he is feeced to live. In the
words Of the costaf-song it is not SO
much the things ne says as the nasty way
! he says them Hiss attitude toward the
| United States Isl hahitually sneering, sar-
| castle and belittlelihg. Throughout the
| Cuban crisis heshass combated the belief
| prevailing in England that America would
| he 4,,,%i6o<1 In, II oros,.x C-.a-