The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-01-08
Relatives Alarmed, Women Frantic and a
LynChing Party Formed by
Citizens.
Crushing Expose by The Call of the Way the
Telephone Company Betrays Its Patrons
interests.

Rafael to learn the details Of the bloody
encounter as well as the result of the
recklessness of the telephone company s
disclosure. Women in many cases were
In Mysteries over the news
About II o'clock one Of the supposed
victims sauntered into town and was
greeted as one returned from the dead.
His friends congratulated him and sew
eral women wept while shaking his hand.
| The gentleman was dumfounded to learn
that he was thought to recline on a slab
Several other victims" made their APP
! pearance later, and soon all was confu-
sion and mystery.
Then followed the expose of the tele-
phone company 1t was discovered that
at an early hour the operator had tele-
phoned the details of the affair as sent to
The Call to Mrs. Duncan at Larkspur
She called up P. T. Burtchaell, the gro
Ger, and told him what she had heard
He sent to the telephone office for con-
! frmation and received 1t.
Then the story quickly spread and as
last as person heard it he went to the
operator, who is required by law to keer
messages sent over the lines a secret ant
mad been specially cautioned in this in.
stance, let no person leave the office hun.
cry Tor news. He told them all that The
Call correspondent had been to the office
twice and the second time had sent the
e Story 10 MS rs, paper Not a detail was
omitted. His mother woke a citizen
named Dougherty up the same morning
and told him what had been sent The
Gail. The operator on leaving the office
went to the saloon of Jacob Blume and
there told a crowd of what had been semi sent
Inc can. lie was asked by a citizen II
ne We're not violating the rules by thus
dlVulging what had been sent as a priv
ate communication ana said in response
mat he had never been instructed not 10
do so. 49, ~
When the populace came to realize that
I mothing OF the decoy tale sent The Call
was true, the true reason for sending the
tale not at first being known, anger was
| aroused against the person who had sent
IN me ulspatch After while it came to
De known that the story was a decoy and
not intended for publication, and then the
| sentiment changed completely MANY
people frankly admitted that il was the
eiLeaIest expose OF the criminal ineffi-
cheney OF the telephone company ever
mace IN the State. Nothing was published
OIL the occurrence on Friday and all dav
Iohg came earnest requests from citizens
or Marin County that the company he
SHOWN up in its true light as a cornora-
ton that permitted the interests Of IFS
patrons to be disclosed to the public even
| AFTER II had been warned of what was
tactics as
The company is also likely to find sew
eral suits for damages on its hands The
gentlemen concerned in the decoy mes
! sage assert that it was a legitimate pron.
osltlon on the part of this paper. but that
When the company permitted the news to
aeacn the public it became Islander. The
expose was the sole topic of conversation
/ across the bay all day YESTERDAY. 90 t'0i'
MI Boyle, manager of the San Rafael
telephone office who is a most conscien-
tous of1cial and has tried in vain to pre-
serve invtolate the right of subscribers IN
nave their messages kept secret. dis
charged the operator who scattered the
details OF the decoy story to the four
winds Of heaven, and asserts that he him
self is in no wise to blame for the leakage
This is admitted by everybody and gen
eral sympathy is felt for Boyle on ac-
punt OF the predicament in which he has
fault.
The telephone company has also rem
aered tardy justice in the case Of the
furnished other papers with the news {" =" Of
the Chispa shooting after it was sent -
TINS paper, by informing him that his
services ale no longer required 1t is
pretty evident, in the language of the
street street gamin, that the company is at last
taking a tumble" los