Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-23
Telephone Patrons Join in
Swelling Refrain.
DESIRE IMPROVEMENT
DECLARE THAT RATES IN VOGUE
SHOULD WARRANT IT.
Housewives as Well as Business Men
Find Plenty of Reasons for
Complaint.

only ones who have cause for complaint pc
cause of poor telephone service
| The wife of well-known Westinghouse
| made this observation this afternoon. she
had read the articles that have appeared in
| The Evening Star, and was announcing her
pleasure that there was at last DISPOSE
| ton to wage a campaign for a better serv-
ice.
You may think it strange" she said,
| "that women should dare to complain. But
| we who pay for the use of telephone feel
that We should have a service of some sat
| isfaction.'
| An Evening Star reporter arranged with
her to make an attempt to call up her
husband by telephone. She placed her ear
at the receiver and waited long time for
a reply, reply that did not materiaiize
Did you get any answer whatever?
| was asked.
| None"
| Perhaps there was some misunderstand-
ing" was suggested. Suppose you ring
| again"
''Oh, 1 always do that" she said. Some
! times / call up half dozen times before
| get any recognition
But, perhaps, you don't ring the Dell
| long enough" was suggested.
| Il don't? Well, listen to this"
| And the woman revolved the little ebony
7 handled crank with an agitation that might
! readily have torn 1t from Its accustomed
place.
| TT doesn't make any difference. l have
| tried 1t so many times that patience mas
ceased to be virtuee. l wanted to reach
| my husband at his Office last evening. He
assured me that he would call me up If he
| did not hear from me before O'Clock. At
| $3.50 l went to the telephone. 1 rang the
bell as usual. There was no reply. Again
l rang, and the only>answer that got was:
1.-The line is busy.
"When my husband returned for dinner
the first thing he asked was:
why didn't you call me up?
81 did, l told him.
but you didn't he said. and there was
| every suggestion that he felt 1 had forgot
ten him.
| was told that it was impossible to reach
| you They said the line was busy
THAT is just what we have to contend
with the woman continued. The teie-
phone is a menace to the happiness of my
family.
An Evening Star reporter, who was max
ing the rounds of the resident districts OF
| the city, particularly in the northwest sec
| ton, called upon the wife of another pus-
| mess man, who was in anything but
pleasant mood, because of the inadequate
service
I'VE women who stay at home feel that
we have some rights In the premises she
said I'm my home the telephone is in the
library. In the homes of at least twenty OF
my friends 1 know that the telephone Is
lOcateQ IN the library, IHc SitliHS IOUil vi
some other part of the house, where the
family members spend their time when
they go to meet their family.
" The line is busy statement has become
absolutely unbearable. l was glad to see
the stories printed in The Evening Star last
night and night before. 1t is a pleasure to
feel that some one is taking an interest in
the people of Washington, who have
right to expect something in return for the
money that they pay for telephone serv-
Ice
What has been recorded above is fair
sample of the talk that was heard by rep
reSentativeS of The Evening Star on their
rounds today.
Compared With Baltimore.
Now that the agitation for decent serv-
ice has begun, 1t Is entertaining, even If
painful, to learn of hundreds that have
apparently been heaped upon the custom
ers of the Chesapeake and Potomac Com
pany.
The city of Washington has popula-
ton estimated approximately at 300, 600.
The same company-the Chesapeake and
Potomac-supplies the people of Baltimore
with their telephone service. Baltimore
has population that is estimated approx
| mately at 6OO, 900, or double that of the ma
tional capital.
Here in Washington it costs $50 year
for a telephone in a private residence that
will permit the renter two calls day. Any
calls above that are charged at the rate of
cents call.
In Baltimore the person who is fortunate
enough to have home to live in may have
a telephone placed therein with the same
service-viz, two calls day and extra
calls at the rate of cents each-for SIS
year. just one-half of the money de-
manded of residents of the national capital
II thought that Mr.. Madhurst, superin-
tendent of traffic of the Chesapeake and
Potomac Company attributed the poorness
of the service in Washington to the con-
gestion here" said a Washington business
man today when these figures were brought
to his attention.
Mr.. Madhurst did say that the incom-
plete service in Washington was due to a
congestion that would take some time TO
remedy" said the reporter.
But how do you account for the fact
that his company asks twice as much for
telephone service here in Washington, a
city that has, according to the United
States census, approximately half of the
congestion of population" asked the bust
ness man.
The Evening Star reporter was, as will be
readily seen, unable to answer with salts
faction this Interrogation.
1t would actually seem that the people of
Washington have not yet reached the stage
of dissatisfaction where they desire a teIe-
phone service for the same compensat ton
as charged the people who inhabit the
neighboring city of Baltimore
1t would seem that they appreciate the
TACT that the congestion here must be- ac-
cording to the statement of the experienced
superintendent of traffic of the Chesapeake
ana POTOMAC company, Mr.. Madhurst, much
greater than the congestion of the Mary
land metropolis with its double population
Baltimore, too. being a manufa curing city,
commercial mart, would naturally have
less use for telephone service than the peo-
pie of the national capital.
The people of Washington seem to have
given up the fight they were once willing to
wage for cheaper rates. They now only ask
that decent service be given for the mon
ey that is exacted by the Chesapeake and
Potomac Company
This might be considered not an Unjust
request.
Business men, housewives, everybody who
may have occasion to use a telephone in
the city of Washington is interested in the
betterment of the service.
1t should be remembered that this does
not fall alone upon the person who has a
! telephone in his place of business or in his
home.
The man woman who patronizes a
LAY telephone" has the same right to de-
mand satisfactory service, and the cam
paign that has been begun would seem to
suggest that satisfactory results will be
| accomplished.