Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1904-05-10
INDEPENDENTS WIN
In Crest Telephone Fight in
Kansas City.
The Bell People Clearly Outclassed
In the Modern improvements
in the Business.

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success in its fight against the Bell
Company in that territory. The
most influenza l associations OF
business men in that city have de-
cided to discontinue the use of the
Missouri and Kansas (BelD service
and hereafter support the Kansas
City Telephone Company service
only. Among the associations that
have taken this step and ordered
the removal of the BELL" instru-
ments are the Retail Druggists /,
Retail Grocers', Liverymen s, Mas.
ter Plumbers, Undertakers'
Jackson County Medical Associa.
tion and the Missouri Academy of
Medicine. The Homeopathic ply
sicians are ready to fall into line
and this will make practically every
physician in Kansas City, Mo-, and
Kansas City, Kas., subscribers for
the Home telephones only. At a
meeting held in the Coates House
on April 18th the matter was thor
oughly discussed by the business
men. The Kansas City Times in
speaking of the meeting says in
part as follows:
1.-The meeting lasted nearly three
hours. At least twenty men made
speeches describing their gTiev-
ances against the Missouri. and
Kansas Tor Bell Telephone Com
pany. The doctors were particu.
larly bitter in their denunciatlon of
the treatment which they said had
been accorded them after they had
ordered their Bell telephones taken
out. One doctor said that careful
investigation showed that the ope-
rators had, apparently acting un-
der orders, neglected to tell callers
that certain telephones had been
removed, but had instead told them
that the line was "busy
The Bell company did not give
up without a struggle, as Will be
seen by the following extract from,
the Kansas City Journal of April
IA, q its report OF the same nesting:
THE telephone controversy with
which the druggists have been iden-
titled ever since the entry OF the
Home company into the local held
again claimed attention yesterday.
AT the last meeting OF the associa-
ton The Bell company made prop
ositlon 10 furnish service 40 the
druggists in various ways in order
to forestall the contract that was to
be entered into by the druggists TO
adopt the Home service exclusively.
At the former meeting it was decid-
ed unanimously by the drug men to
accept only the Home service and
the latter company agreed to put
in nickel.in -the-slot phones of any
other kind that the druggists want
ed.
"At yesterday 5 meeting the
Home company presented a written
proposal ratifying the formal verbal
agreement which was accepted
The representatives of the Bell
company asked to be allowed to
make new proposal to the drug
glsts but they were not allowed to
enter the meeting. They then
sought a conference with President
Riddle, but the latter told them
that he was not authorized 10 treat
with the Bell company. They
asked HIM to take the matter before
the druggists, which DR.. Riddle
did. The druggists sent word tc
the Bell representatives that the
matter of a telephone had beer
settled definitely and that nothing
the Bell company could do now
, would serve to square it with them
"Dr. w. f. Morrow, chairman o
the telephone committee of the Jack
son County Medical Society, was
present and told the druggists o
the determination OF his orgauiza
ton to stand by the Home company
and that it was the company tina
had made the first proposition t
lower telephone! rates to bushes
o organizations. He pointed out tina
after the Home company had don
this the former arrogant Bell com
pany sought to come in on the con-
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