Evening star., 1904-03-28
TROUBLE WITH PHONES
sUBscRIBER WHO REGARDS sERv-
ICE AS ABolxINABLE.
Experience in Trying to Connect With
His Own ofRce-views
Of Others.

II know of no one to whom 1 would
rather talk than to reporter Of a represen-
tatfve Washington newspaper when the
| troubles we experience with the telephone
service every day are to be the subject of
that conversation.
This remark was made this morning to q
Star reporter by Mr.. Edward s. Clark of
the firm of Clark & Davenport. when he
was asked about the service given by the
Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Conn
pany for the business establishment of Mr..
Clark.
THE service has simply been abomina-
ble," continued Mr.. Clark. Lets take
case in point. Saturday afternoon I hap
pened to be up town and was particularly
anxious to talk with some one in my office.
The following will give you q pretty good
idea Of what happened:
Central. give me Main 1855, please"
You will have to walt minute" was
| the response Of the young woman at the
central Office.
Il waited ten minutes without getting
any response. Then rang central again.
That time the hello girl asked me to wait
again, but when insisted upon having my
office she said she would give me the chief
operator I waited several minutes longer
for the chief operator. but with no success
and rang several times more without being
able to get any response. Finally after
being in the telephone booth about twenty
five minutes-yes, can say exactly twenty
five minutes, for I recall looking at my
watch-I heard a voice which thought I
recognized as being one of my employees 1t
turned out to be my bookkeeper at the
phone trying to cali up someone else. He
recognized my voice and upon being asked,
informed me that the telephone bell had not
rung in the office: that had 1t done SO there
were four people In the Office who would
have heard It, one of whom would have
4 q n M l.yx h0x 1vfxr IN
my Office twice and back to my starting
point in the time 1t took me to get the con-
nection."
rs there any other person on your wire.
Not to my knowledge. I am paying for
a single party wire and am supposed TO
control 1t. but as matter OF fact I have
| frequently been asked to wait minute
when called up central on my phone and
have heard voices when I placed the re-
cefver to my ear. I am simply disguised
with the service. but yiiat are you going
| to do? One has to have a phone for the
| beEeft of customers who are successful
enough at times to get connected with the
office. We can never be sure when We go
to the phone whether we are going 20
reach the person we want. Anything The
Evening Star can do to better the service
should certainly be appreciated by long
f suffering public.
"This state Of affairs has existed for the
past several months, and there appears to
be no relief from II"
An Amusing Experience.
Mr.. Charles F. Nesbit recently had a
rather amusing experience with the local
telephone company. Mr.. Nesbit has two
phones one in his Office in the Bond build
ing and the other In his residence. He said
| to a reporter for The Star today that the
service Is absolutely laughable and far
cical."
1--WE have no service to speak of. he add
ed, yet the following postal card received
short time ago explains how closely the
company keeps in touch with it's subscrlb-
ers They are after business all right,
though. and don't you forget. but giving
the service appears to be another question.
This is the postal:i
Business Office Washington, d. c.
1--WE beg to call your attention to the fact
that there was total of several cahs Tor
you by telephone during the week. ended
March 4, 1904. People nowadays transact
| much business very easily by telephone
"Our rates are very reasonable. May we
explain them to you?
chesapeake and Potomac Telephone
Company, 619 14th street northwest.
"This Is my answer to the postal: .Af
"Gentlemen:-I amin receipt of your card
calling my attention to the fact that there
| telephone during the week ending March
| A. My recent experience In trying to get
| other people makes me very ready TO De-
| lieve it. AS have a telephone in my house
| promptIy-will you kindly see that when
| people call for me they get me-"
Trouble at Washington End.
.There is Mr.. Greene Of st. Louis stop
ping at the Arlington Hotel" said busi-
ness man to a Star reporter today. HE
was talking to me about the excellent tel
| ephone facilities in New York. Boston.
| Philadelphia and St. Louis. He said he
! frequently had occasion to use the phones
| between the cities mentioned. and as a rule
| got excellent service. but when 1t came to
| talking from Washington he was never
! able to get even the slightest pretense OF
service. Just few nights ago he tried to
get into conversation with friends In st.
Louis, but after waiting with a buzzing in
| his ear for eleven minutes was unsuccess,
full, except to the extent of being presented
with a bill for more than "A. which he po-
| litely declined to pay, and finally compro-
missed by paying half of II"
| Mr. Anson s. Taylor. in referring to the
| telephone service said: II am stock
| holder In the C. and P. Telephone Company
| and subscriber to the service. DIVIDENDS
as a stockholder are not In IT as compared
| with a better and cheaper service. have
| been using phone for more than twenty
years, and must say. with all the improve
/ ments and higher prices. they are much
more unsatisfactory than the old service at
| a cheaper rate. The proposed amendment
| to the District appropriation bill Is a delu-
| sion the business and office man are not
| benefited by 1t. The District and residence
| users are the only persons benefited Why
| don't the company give us, as they can, an
unlimited service at $75. and make every
| body happy? A measured service Is pro-
hibitive service.
President Robert N. Harper of the Amer
! lean National Bank tells another side of
| the story. To a Star reporter today Mr..
| Harper said: ''The telephone service In
| Washington has improved 100 per cent in
/ the past month or six weeks and is grow
| ing more satisfactory every day. i have
/ three phones. and find them very valuable
adjunc.s to my business"
| N-