The San Francisco call., 1899-04-14
TELEPHONE
COMPANY
UNDER FIRE
Merchants Denounce
Unjust Charges.
COMPLAINT RECENTLY MADE
PRESIDENT sABIN's "ANsWER"
THAT DOESN'T ANSWER.
COMPLAINT RECENTLY MADE
PRESIDENT SABIN'S "ANSWER'
THAT DOESN'T ANSWER.
Talk of a Large Number of Business
Men Ordering Out Their Hello
Boxes-Action To-
Night.

The Merchants Association is about to
have a little seance with the officers of
the Pacific Telephone and Telegraph Com
pany relative to what many of the mem
bers of the commercial body believe to
be an injustice in the matter of charging
for switches. At the meeting of the as
sociation this evening it will form no
small part of the business to be consid-
cred. Several weeks ago a number of the
members made complaint to the board of
directors of the injustice of paying for a
service that is never rendered. Accord
ing to one of the merchants a subscriber
patronizing a nickel-in-the-slo telephone
calls for a certain number. The operator
at central directs the customer to place
nickel in the slot, which he does, and
then waits. Many times he waits in vain
and when he inquiries of central" the
reason for the delay he is informed that
1.-The subscriber called for does not re-
ply" or else he has the phonograph with
an uncanny voice turned loose upon him
with line is busy-call again"
While either may be the truth, still
the customer feels that he is neatly bun
koed out of the nickel that he has depos-
tied in the SLOT and the information of the
operator that he may call at the main Of
nee and receive his change does not soften
his feelings or modify the cuss words that
seem to be the only relief he has in the
premises. According to the statements of
the SeHtleIIleH Ine telephone company
must secure hundreds of nickels in this
manner for which no service is given An
other little kick that was made along the
same lines is the local system of charging
for switches. In many of the Eastern
cities the telephones are put in at a Flat
rate"-that is, rental is paid for their
use and there the expense to the sub
scriber ends. In this city a man rents a
phone and then pays for the use of it
at SO much per switch. In some of the
larger houses, where the telephone is CON
stantly in use, the bills are something
SO large that they make the customers
feel that they are doing much toward
paying off the interest on the companies
bonds, II there be any
So many of these complaints were
made at that meeting that it was decided
10 refer the matter to the committee on
public affairs, with instructions to have
conference with the officials of the teIe-
phone company with view of modifying
the conditions complained Of. To this end
a letter was sent to John l. Sabin presi-
dent OF the company, setting forth
the points mentioned and asking for a
meeting between sthe company's officers
and representatives of the association.
In time an answer was received from
PRESIDENT Sabin in which he briefly said
The Enclosed circular, What Is a
SWitchw ~ M answers the =, complaint in your
to was reprint clipping from an evening
paper, published three years ago over
the signature of President Sabin 1t is
dry dissertation upon the running of a
telephone office and the amount of ser
vice rendered by the company in excess
of compensation received. The merchants
do not seem to comprehend how this cir
cular is an answer" to their request to
meet and discuss certain matters, which
request is entirely ignored 1t will not
be ignored this evening, for 1t is said that
even the more conservative element of
the body is thinking of taking decided