Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-07-18
LEARN TO USE THE 'PHONE.

! To The Editor OF the D!spaien'
please request all grown persons in the
| city 90 learn TO use ~ telephone. IL Is a
great burden to store clerks 10 have TO
eton work 10 use telephone for a
grown man, who can read and hear
X Y.
our friend is right. Every man and wo-
! man who is not too far advanced In years
or is not deficient I'm sight or hearing
| ought 10 learn to use telephone. per-
son OF average intelligence ought TO be
able TO use a phone after two or three
trials.
IL is enough TO ask shop-keeper 10
allow you TO use his 'phone-which, strict
w speaking. he has no right 10 do-bnt
10 expect him TO leave the column or fig
uros he IS engaged In summing UP, or the
prescription be is compromising, or the
package ne IS wrapping up, IL too bad.
II the shopman. or his clerk, had only
one or two such demands made upon him
each day, nc would have little rieht to
complain, but such demands are Of very
frequent occurrence. The poor fellow who
is asked TO do this service is put at great
disadvantage. because If he refuses, or
consents with evident reluctance, he may
lose customer. and have cause TO regret
1T. on the other hand it would give him
great pleasure to permit you to use his
phone.
To our certain knowledge some proprfe-
tors Of stores, where no one is employed
as a regular attendant upon the phones
ut,s ~ =
not to say distressed, at the number OF
requests made Of them to leave their
work and 20 TO the phones TO transmit
messages.
There is a still worse complaint heard
to-wlt, that those who have phones are
not infrequenuy requested to send mes
sagcs TO others in the neighborhood.
Sometimes such requests are proper.
Much depends upon the urgency Of the
message. ard your intimacy with the pro-
prietor of the store. The man OF whom
YOU ask this favor may be asking fayors
OF YOU daily. But If YOU have no sub
stantal ground upon which to base such
a favor. It IS little az you can do to offer
II pay the stoIc-boy, or the porter, for
taking your message. and in case your
offer should be refused. you would not 80
amiss if you wrote note to your friend,
thanking him for his kindness.
The telephone is coming into such gene
raj use that he or she who cannot use it
is placed at a disadvantage. All young
people ought 10 be taught to use 1t; TO
use it expertly, If possible. At present We
are sorry to know that the number OF
persons who are able 10 Use the phone
eNpertly is not great They either take an
unsuitable distance from the instrument
or shout too loudly Some other persons
can always make themselves heard dis
tnctly and without making any great
effort to do So How do they manage 1t?
That's what you must try to learn.
We hope we have not said anything
which Will encourage a telephone sub
scriber TO be churlish or unaccommo-
dating. Certainly that is not our purpose.
our design is TO encourage all young pco-
pie 20 learn so use the telephone. The
old folks we must be very patient with,
particularly as many Of them have not
sufficient sight to enable them to find on
the telephone list the name required,
nor hearing good enough to hear what
the person at tie other end of the line
is saying,