Virginian-pilot. (Norfolk, Va.) 1898-1911, 1900-10-25
~ ( !
TELEPHONE SERVICE
ON "PARTY LINES"
INADEQUATE.
Eloquent Agents Make Spe-
cious Arguments as to the
Cheapness of the Scheme,
Which are Delusive.
an
The Widely Advertised So
Called party Line" Entire
ly Unsatisfactory 10 Sub
scribers.
Electrical Authorities Say That
a Five-Cent Rate for Local
Calls Would be an Equi-
table Charge.
(New York journal, Oct. 2s.l

(New York Journal, Oct. 23.)
All through the directory of the New
York Telephone Company appear adj
vertisements setting forth the cheap
ness and efficiency of the service sup
piled by the monopoly to persons de-
string to place telephone Instruments
IN their homes. Energetic and smooth
spoken solicitors cover the city every
day. and they drag into the monopoly
net hundreds of people who listen to
their specious arguments. On the sur
lace the charges appear to be moderate,
but when figured down they are extor-
tionate. as will be shown.
another line that the telephone mo-
nopoly is pushing with all the resources
at its command is the party line"
scheme. The rate upon this service
was recently reduced, and the monop-
oily at once proceeded to have a set of
Nirtuous Mysteries. The rates for
party line" service vary from 500 IA
year for GOO messages to Sl35 a year for
1880 messages. Most of the telephones
placed in homes work on the party
line" scheme.
BY the party line" is meant a line
used by a certain number of subscrib-
ers, and connecting with general
line. One subscriber on a party line
ties up the whole subscription list de-
pending upon that particular line for
service If that subscriber Is using the
phone. AS one of the arguments used
by the solicitor is that the telephone is
quicker than the telegraph or any o,.er
method of transmission, the subscriber
naturally believes that he or SHE may
secure prompt service, yet on a party
line II always happens that when the
most important message is to be sent
somebody else Is "hogging" the line.
PARTY LINE" SYSTEM ANNOY
MIG.
At the $50 rate the fortunate sub
scriber is allowed to transmit 600 local
messages-less than two day and at
pay stations. AT the Si35 rate the sub
scriber is allowed $500 calls at the rate
or seven and one-half cents a call, and
is subjected to the annoyance of the
party line" system. The question
that arises is this
If the telephone monopoly can afford
TO allow certain small section of sub
scribers to use telephones at the rate
or seven and one-half cents a call WHY
cannot 1T allow the great bulk of tele-
phone users to communicate freely all
over the city at five cents call. thus
increasing the business enormously
without the necessity for the expendi-
ture of more money in the extension of
lines? 1t would cut the income from
pay stations in two, of course but the
Journal has already shown that the
profits of the monopoly pass the limits
OF reason and that it is practically OBJ
tanning money under false retences.
The Journal is not alone in it's advo-
cacy of five-cent rate. One OF the
most prominent trade papers in the city
is Electricity. a periodical devoted TO
the electrical industry. This paper said
recently in an editorial:
Let the local lessee of the Bell mo-
nopoly reduce its rates to say five cents
call and do away with party. lines
and, although 1t might not he able IN
pay the munificent dividends in the flu
ture that it has in the past. the COM
pany would by no means go into the
hands of receiver and the public
of New York City would be enjoying
telephone service at somewhere near
the same rates that are in force In
other large communities"
The most eXasperating thing about
this telephone monopoly is the fact that
the men who are running II are in n
position to sit back and smiling say,
What are you going 10 about it?"
INCONSISTENCY OF CALL RATES.
The charge for a commute call
the borough of Manhattan is ten cents
In the borough of the Bronx il costs
twenty cents TO call up the borough of
Manhattan. and users of telephones in
that borough are compelled to pay $500
a year for the use of their instruments
500 more than their fellows on this
side OF the Harlem River are charged.
1t costs twenty cents in Brooklyn to
call up Il number in the borough of
Manhattan, but from Coney Island.
which is part of the borough OF
Brooklyn. the cost is twenty-five cents.
Similar outrageous charges are made
from all of the outlying sections of the