The times., 1898-02-09
THE GUESTS MUST PAY
They Cannot Use Hotel Telephones
Free of Expense.
Judge Coxs~ Decision i'm the + Fredonia
Case, However, n Pa rtiai Vic
tory for the Plaintiff.

Mr.. William W. Danenhower, the pro
prietor of the Fredonia Hotel, stated
last night that he is reasonably salts
fled with the decision of Judge Cox yes,
terday i'll his case against the tele.
| phone company. 1t is said that he viii
| not appeal the case. Unless some one
| else takes grievance to the courts
| therefore, this decision viii probably
| remain the law as to the use of tele-
| phones in hotels.
This decision is virtually that guests
have no right To use hotel phones
without paying for them. The instru-
ments are to be used only in hotel bust
| ness and this does not include free
| telephones for guests. If guests have
| business that may be considered to be
| connected with the running of the
| hotel such as inquiries about baggage
| a clerk of the house may transact it
| over the phone, but that is as far as
| the legitimate use can extend. II a
| hotel proprietor transgresses this rule
| the compan-- may remove his instru-
ment.
The only victory for Mr.. Danehower
in the decision was the ruling that the
phone in his hotel may remain with the
restrictions. The telephone company
had issued orders to have it removed
summarily.
Judge Cox said in part: THE tele-
phone company is obliged to maintain
an expensive plant, and is entitled to
charge for its services, and / presume.
TO charge for every message sent. All
that the law requires of the company is
that it shall not discriminate between
its patrons. 1t must serve all it's Gus
toners alike on equal terms
Mr.. Danehower's contract. enter
ed into and signed and made bind
ing in every possible way when Mr..
Danenhower rented the phone, must be
the law of his case.
Judge Cox called attention to the
explicit terms of the contract for
subscribers use only" and said that
any larger use would violate the con-
tract.
When a subscriber allows others to
use his instrument. the court held
three parties are injured, viz: the Tel
pany and the other subscrib-
ers. The time of a telephone op-
orator is taken up to send messages
that are not paid for The Bell Com
pany receives a royalty on the bust
ness of the Telephone Company and
thus becomes a loser also Every man
who uses another's instrument might
himself become a subscriber, if he
were not allowed to use It.
The third class interested are the
paying customers of the company
They pay for prompt service When
they ring up and find the line occu-
pied by some one who does not pay
they are to this extent injured, much,
or little as the case may be. Judge
Cox said that he had a telephone in
his own house and had had this
trouble himself.
AS to the contention of Mr. Thomas
that any guest of the Fredonia is en-
titled to use its phone for any purpose
and that such use must be considered
"the business of the hotel" the court
held that it could not stand. The
guests of hotel do not expect to send
kilograms or employ messengers. or
use carriages free, and the use of the
telephone must be considered to be no
different from any of these matters
Inquiries for theater tickets or
flowers or talks with the guests Con-
gressmen would not be hotel business.
Judge Cox concluded his decision
with the opinion that he could not see
that Mr.. Danenhower had been, dis
eliminated against or treated differ
emily from other subscribers.