The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-11-17
MEANS A DOUBLE EXPENSE
EXPERIENCE OF CITIES WHERE
TWO TELEPHONES ARE
USED.
Council Tonight Expected to Dispose
of Franchise Sought for by
Automatic Company.

The automatic telephone franchise
will probably be brought up for dis
posal one way or the other at to-
nights meeting Of the council, but
from replies to inquiries sent to
mayors and reputable citizens of
cities where dual telephone systems
are in use it is hardly probable that
the council will care to burden Wal
la Walla business men and citizens
with another telephone system in
competition with the Pacific States
Telephone and Telegraph company.
In cities where there are two dis
tinct telephone systems in competi-
ton it has been fully demonstrated
that the dual system will not result
in a lessening of telephone rates, but
does result in the burden of a double
expense to business men, who under
necessity would be compelled to use
both systems in orCer to be in COM
munication with all his customers.
This would also apply to physicians,
professional men in general and those
who have frequent use of the tele-
phone in transacting business.
Dual telephone systems have been
the Oakland, California, and Olym-
pia councils have refused to grant
franchises to the automatic telephone
company.
Report of Committee.
The Oakland council made a thor
ough investigation of the workings of
two systems in Los Angeles, with the
result that majority of the investi-
eating committee recommended that
a franchise sought for by the auto
matte company be not granted. The
report Of the Oakland committee gives
a detailed account of it's findings and
is as follows:
Oakland, Cal, Sept 80, 1905.
| ITO the Honorable, the Council of the
City Of Oakland.
"SirS: The undersigned, members
! of the council of the city of Oakland,
represent that they were among the
seven members OF the council of the
| city of Oakland who lately went to
Los Angeles and spent several days
inspecting and becoming familiar with
the telephone service at that place.
They present the following statement
| in order that the results of their in
/
record.
For the sake of brevity the subject
will be considered under the following
heads:
Il Consequences of dual system. (a)
On rates; b On general conven-
fence; (c) On expense to subscribers
II. Experience and opinion of sub
scribers. We found from inquiry
ma do h. c-,,1r -
both manual systems at Los Angeles
that the operation of each of the COM
panies from the standpoint of a sub
scriber is equally satisfactory and the
! telephone service at Los Angeles, it
must be said, is excellent.
! The experience occasionally met
with of third parties cutting in on
| conversation between two subscribers
took place al Los Angeles in the
| lines of the Home company while one
! of their automatic telephones was in
'se and there can be little doubt that
there is no more assurance of secrecy
| IN the use of the automatic telephone
| than there is in the use of a telephone
with a manual switch board. With
reference to the secrecy of the latter
! it must be borne in mind that the GEN.
trail. operator after receiving the sub
scrlber's call, acts only upon signals
seen by the eye ana not upon words
| communicated to the ear. The act
OF the operator connecting the sub
! Scrlber with the number called for
| instantly cuts the operator out of the
circuit. 1t must also be remembered
| in this connection that automatic tel
| ephones are not in use in the bust
ness section of Los Angeles, but solely
! IN outlying districts, and many bust
ness men who were interviewed freely
| declared that they would not have an
automatic telephone in the office.
No Reduction in Rates.
Vt was found that there had been