Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-06
The Telephone Amendments.

There is no doubt that the prevailing SEN
timent in the District with regard to the
pending telephone legislation is that the
conferees on the District bill should re-
frame both the House and the Senate para
graphs relating to that subject and produce
an entirely new provision. The House
amendment, adopted, as was that OF 1898,
in the haste of the appropria ton bills con-
sideration on the floor, applies only to resi-
dence telephones. but leaves undisturbed
the provision of 1898 which applies to both
business and residential phones.
The Senate amendment has the question
able merit that it meets the approval of the
telephone company and will be put into
effect Immediately upon the passage of the
act. 1t continues the objectionable House
limitation of the stated rate to the resi-
Dental phones, only about one-third of the
entire number, and 1t states a scale which
will bring very slight relief to the SUBJ
scribers 1t has the positive demerit of
leaving the company entirely free to charge
what it may choose for business telephones,
and it repeats the regulation of business
phones provided by the act of 1893. This
repeal proposition opens up for cOnsidera-
ton by the conferees the whole question of
telephone rates, both business and resi-
DENTAL
The telephone subscribers do not regard
the Senate amendment as offering an ade-
quate substitute for the provision of the '9S
law which it repeats. This is the first op-
portunity Congress has had since the final
decision of the court in the telephone cases
to apply itself to this problem If the al
tentative propositions now before the con-
ferees stand for the best that can be done
for the telephone users of Washington the
case is indeed unpromising. But it is not
to be believed that this Is the best. There
is very marked sentiment on the House
side in favor of effective telephone reform
in the District. 1t is not to be questioned
that that body would have passed with
equal facility an amendment stating a rate
for the business telephones had it been
offered. There was in truth practically no
discussion of this matter. and the belief
obtains that many members of the House.
owing to the confusion incident to the de-
bate. actually believed they were voting
relief to all the telephone users of the Dis
trict To further this impression came the
debate in the Senate when the paragraph
was under consideration, in the course Of
which not single word was said by any
one to show that the discrimination existed
or was noticed Indeed, it was explicitly
stated by several senators that the House
amendment (Which omitted business tele-
phones) was an exact duplicate in it's word
ing of the amendment of 1898 (Which in
cluded business telephones).
Telephone legislation which affects only
one-thrd of the service is hardly worthy
the name. If the conferees, when they get
together to adjust the differences between
the House and Senate drafts of the District
bill, do not evolve a paragraph which will
state legal maximum rates for all classes of
telephones, in terms to grant -appreciable
relief to all users. the District will be very
much disappointed.