The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-03-23
.TAWNEY WHAlCKS
PHONE COMBINE
The Congressman Wins a Big
Point for the Independent
Companies.
Postmaster General Payne's Elk
clusion Of independents From
Postoffice Is Nullified.

Postmaster General Payne has not
been upheld by congress in his effort
to bar independent telephone systems
from the postoffices Of the United
States. Yesterday Representative
Tawney offered an amendment to the
postoffice appropriation bill, provid-
ing that no part of the amount appro-
priated for miscellaneous expenses
shall be used in any postoffice where
the postmaster is required by order
OF the postmaster general, or other
wise, to use no other telephone service
than that of the Bell or companies
controlled by that organization. The
amendment was adopted. 3
In canvassing the situation to-day,
e. II. Moulton, president of the Twin
City Telephone company, said:
Until Mr.. Payne became postmas-
ter general, the postoffice department
at Washington had never interfered
in the choice of telephones made by
postmasters, but when he came in he
began ordering out the Independent
phones that had been installed in diff
ferent postoffices in the country. No
general order was issued, but they
began taking first one office and then
another. Among the first offices to
receive the order was st. Paul. Post
master McGill had put in the Twin
City system, and when the order was
received Mr.. McGill protested, saying
he wanted the Twin City. He finally
received a peremptory order to take
it out and establish the Northwestern.
We had one Of our officials call upon
Mr.. Payne and asked the reason for
his action in the face of the fact that
Mr.. McGill preferred our phone.
No Long Distance Calls.
''Mr. Payne said that the reason
they wished the Northwestern service
was because it gave them a connec-
ton with the Bell. long distance lines.
Dun official, who was thoroly we'll &C.
quairlted with the conditions, both
during and long before Mr.. Payne's
incumbency, as he had been In the
employ of the Northwestern for a
number Of years before coming to us,
told Mr.. Payne that the postmaster in
st. Paul had never used the North
western long distance phone. He also
told him that the toll operators had
strict orders not to allow any one
connected with the postoffice to use
it. Mr.. Payne was very dictatOrial in
his manner and said that it was of no
use to consider the matter further, as
the Twin City phones would not be
replaced.
This action was SO extraordinary,
in the face Of what we learned from
| postoffice officials as to their prefer
ence for the Twin City service and
the fact that the long distance service
! had never been used. that we imme
diately got into communication with
the 5000 other independent compa-
MES of the United States, and found
that Mr.. Payne, or his subordinates,
| were ordering out Independents all
over the country, in all cases against
the protests of local postmasters, who
said that they never had used the
long distance service, and were never
called up by postoffice inspectors or
any one else, on official business. b
I'VE also found that for several SEES
| siOns Mr.. Payne was a lobbyist at
Madison, Wis, for the local Bell tele-
phone system, and that up to within
year or two he was stockholders in
the Bell company, and at one time
was president of the Bell Telephone
company of Wisconsin" &