The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-09-29
IS NOT FOR THEM.
Telephone Companies Object to
Electric Ordinance.
Think Expense Provided for Is
UnWarranted.
MIR. BIZ. PANKEY TALKS
Manager of Independent Com
pany Points Out Weakness.
Injustice of the so Cent In
spection Fee.
MR.. B.F.PANKEY TALKS

The Independent and Bell telephone
companies OF the city object strongly
to portions of the proposed electrical
inspection ordinance which comes up
for recommendation before the electric
lights and gas committee of the city
council.
They are objeeting especially to three
different sections.
The one section provides for a charge
of inspection OF so cents per hour, for
all jobs of inspection of telephone wir
ing.
Another section calls for the issuance
of a permit by the city's electrician ev
cry time a change is made in telephone
wiring or in installation. The third sec
ton which inyokes criticism gives the
city electrician the power to remove or
cause to be removed all dead wiring in
the city.
A charge is also made against C. E.
Eldridge, manager of the fire insurance
rating bureau. IT is claimed that by
having city inspector of electrical
wiring, Eldridge will be able to do away
with considerable os his own work of
inspection here in Topeka and in conse-
quence be able to cut down his Office
expense of enga ging the services of
electrical inspectors.
B. F. Pankey, manager of the indie
pendent Telephone company, said: Il
don't think very much of the whole or
dinance. I don't believe that the city
will secure enough in the way of fees
to pay the salary of an inspector. I
don't believe the office will be self
sustaining. We don't. object to the in
spection part or having our wiring in
spected, but we do object to being
forced to pay so cents an hour to a
city inspector for going over our work.
We are very careful in putting in all of
our wiring. We have to be, it is to our
interest to do So The best men that
we have got are sent out to do the
wiring. Then again the telephone wire
does not carry enough voltage to burn
a building. You could put your tongue
on one of our wires and you would suf-
fer no injury.
Even if one of the wires should come
in contact with another wire. such as
a trolley wire, no injury would result
and no fire would be occaSioned. The
wire would simply be burnt in two so
quick that all you would see would be
a flash. I don't believe that telephone
wires ever caused a house or building
to be set on fire. All OF our wiring
is done in accordance with the code
used by the insurance companies and
our wiring is done on the most improved
1--WE know our wiring is right and
we would simply be paying out so
cents an hour to city inspector for
work which already meets the ap-
prevail of the insurance companies.
There is no way by which we can
charge up this inspection fee to our
patrons and we have to bear it our
selves This works. an injustice be-
simply bring their wires to the build
ing and all of the interior work is
done by electrical construction firms
which can charge in the cost of in
spection in their bill against the user
of electric light or power 1t is not
fair or even. The people bear this
burden of inspection fees, it is not the
construction firms in the city. You
can rest assured of that.
TITS impossible. too, to enforce this
called upon to make small change
in the placing of the telephones. A
house is getting papered and we have
to move the phone for the time.
Probably man wants his telephone
changed from one position on his desk
to another. They are just little
changes yet every time we do that we
have to take out a permit. We make
on an average of about 10 changes
during the day, it would consume most
of our time running after a permit.
And we would have to pay so cents an
hour for the time of the city cleo
trician for inspecting these small
changes. We do them as a matter of
ford to pay the inspection fee and the
user of the telephone would not stand
for the extra expense if we charged
him up with it.
we cOuldn do business if an at
tempt should be made to enforce that
part about dead wiring. We have to
have some dead wiring, we couldn't do
business unless we did. There are
times when something goes wrong
with one of the cables. All we do is
to hitch on to some of our dead wires
and everything is all right, it is done
so quick you can't notice it But if
we did not have those dead wires
some of this service would be cut out
for a half day. You can well believe
that we are not going to leave any
dead wires if we haven't got some use
for them, copper wire is too expensive
to leave hanging l don't believe that
the ordinance will have any effect in
lowering the insurance rates and I
simply believe that it is a scheme on
the part of Mr.. Eldridge to have the