Evening star., 1898-10-14
when the price is fixed by law, as it now is

when the price is fixed by law, as it now is,
on the tender of such fixed price.
To be more specific this company as such
common carrier of telephone messages for
hire by the use of its rented telephones is
bound, under the law governing common
carriers who assume to serve the public, to
furnish any of its customers within the
limits of the territory of it's operation with
telephone on a separate wire since the
passage of this act tender of the maxi
mum price fixed by it for it's rental, if it
reasonably so can do, taking into consid-
Grafton Its existing system and the wants
and necessities of its pre-existing subscrb
ers. In other words, it would not be justi-
fled in arbitrarily refusing to furnish Gus
toner who was desirouS of renting a tele
phone on separate wire, telephone
there being two or more on the same wire,
if such customer rendered it the maximum
price fixed for the service so desired and it
could reasonably SO furnish the service.
OF this provision of law, in it's applioa-
ton to an individual subscriber for
dlnary telephone to be used in his office or
other place of business in the District of
Columbia. II may well be said, as is said in
the case of the mayor of Cumberland agt.
Magruder, concerning "a certain provision
of the law of Maryland:
Its language is too plain to be misunder-
stooa; too imperative to be disregarded; :;
tary and too important to be defeated by
any strained or subtle construction"
District Supreme Court Ruling.
In a decision Of the Supreme Court of
the District, in the recent case of James
F. Manning & Co. Ys. this company, handed
down August last, the court, in speaking
of this provision aniong other things says
Its language is of the most general
character. 1t forbids any telephone COM
pany to charge or receive more than the
designated rate s<e for it is matter
Of universal knowledge, and esq Eecially well
known to the defendant company, that its
passage TO apply the statutory rates
t. every telephone operated by any person
or company in the District of Columbia. -
If there be difficulty in the application
of this provision of law,itO the facts grow
Ing out of the manner in which the tele
phones were installed under the contract
In question: the difficulty necessarily arises
out of doubt that may suggest itself as
to whether the system so installed is with
in the purview of this provision of law.
More simply stated, are these thirty nine
telephones in use and operation by the
public printer such telephones 'as Con-
gress sought by this legislation, to fix,
control and limit the price of their use or
rental? If this question is answered in the
affirmative, Congress had the right and
exercised it to fix a maximum price for the
of all telephones in the District. the
contract is necessarily invalidated by ITS
passage.
Preliminary, however, to the proper an
swer to this question, it is important to
understand in a general way what te!e-
phone is, and of what general telephone
system consists, for it IS concerning these
things the provision of law speaks.
The Telephone.
This company was operating a modern
electric telephone system in the District of
Columbia when the provision in question
was passed and became a law, and it was
with reference the existing
state OF facts and the history of the times
as regards telephones and their use by the
public.
A telephone is defined an instrument
or set of instruments for reproducing sound
at distant point by the transmission Of
impulses over a conducting WIRE especially
by the agency Of electricity.
The ordinary electrical telephone appara-
tus consists of a transmitter, wire for
conducting the electric current, and a
ceiver The modern electrical telephone
box, which in popular usage is called
telephone or station, consists of both
ransmitter and receiver. Ky the use of the
transmitter, with the aid OF the connecting
wire and the other electric contrivances,
we enabled to transmit the sound IN
troduced into the transmitter to the re-
ceiver of any other telephone in the sys-
TEN, and by the use of the receiver, the
person at the receiving end is enabled to
hear the sound transmitted, and he like
wise, by the use Of the transmitter in the
box he is using, may also transmit sound to
the original sender, and he may likewise re-
ceive this sound and II 1t be the articulate
human voice, the receiver will understand
i. by the aid of these contrivances.
All the apparatus and appliances used in
telephone system are used to effect ard
SubserVe these results.
In modern telephone system, in order to
accomplish ;nese results, especially in rhe
cities an. larger towns, all telephone com
panies have and maintain a general ex-
ft ntral W ct,hc il,ar
to one or mora telephones can, by the use
of an automatic electrical contrivance, or
by the ringing of bell attached to the tele-
phone, get into conn eef4on with such eX-
change technically yTTdenominated a switch
beard and have the telephone operator at
such central or switch board put him into
direct telephone communication with every
other telephone ino thaJJi system the tele-
phones in the system bsfng connected vita
such switch board zor central in such way
that each telephone is1 upon separate
wire, or several telephones upon the same
wire.
If a telephone is upon a separate wire.
the use of any other telephone in the sys-
tenn at the same instant of time cannot in
terfere with the use ofgsuch telephone in
the transmitting otgrecsiving of sound, as
before explained. N If. r however two or
more telephones are upon the same wire
the use of one necessarily depends upon
whether the otherslis being used at the
same instant of time.
1t is also realized at Glance that as gen.
eral rule a telephone Is useful in propor-
ton to the number of Its subscribers, and
convenient in exact proportion to the GER
tainty and facility of It's use when needed
The Printing Office System
The president of this company, in re.
sponse to an inquiry made by me en- the
10th Of September by letter to the num-
her of telephones In use under this con-
tract. and how many of these telephones arc
upon one or more wires up TO four on the
LIST ultimo answered that there are thirty
rine stations. each connected by one
party metallic circuit with the SWITCH
stating also in reference to the three sta
tions on the independent line that these
three stations are not on one 'wfre. but on
two wires.