The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1909-12-23
CAUSE OF GRIEF.
Business Men Protest Against
Telephone Nuisance.
Druggists the Ones Who Have
Most Trouble.
PEOPLE Do NOT THINK
Use Phone for Long Converse
lions and visits"
Women Are Most Often the
Offenders.

Public telephones. the free kind, are
vicious in their influence, demoralizing
| to business, a nuisance to the business
| man and must eventually give way to
| the nickel in the slot or some other
| paid telephone. according to number
| of Topeka business men. This is es
pecially true of the druggists whose
| places are made headquarters for wo-
men and girls who use the telephones
| for visiting purposes.
| The druggists are anxious for the
| time to come when the paid telephone
| scheme. whatever 1t may be, will be
adopted. Physicians who cannot get
prescriptions filed when they want
| them because the Line is busy are
| also waiting for some invention that
| will do away with the free telephone
nuisance, and if mothers knew the use
to which their daughters put these
! telephones many of them would join
in the cry for the doing away with
| the free telephone.
The druggist is hit hardest by the
| telephone nuisance There seems to be
no particular reason for this but the
| fact remains that they are the victims.
And women are the chief offenders.
| True, when woman is visiting over
| the telephone in some drug store there
| is usually. or at least often, a man
| on the other end of the line but he,
| usually, is in his office or using
nickel in the slot machine. 1t is the
woman who makes life a burden to
the druggists by her visits over the
| phone
Just what sort of system will be
| adopted to do away with the dangers
| and annoyances of the free use of the
telephone is not known, but both of
! the local telephone companies are try
| ing to find such a plan. Whether it
| will be successful when found also re-
| mains to be seen and depends largely
upon the education of the people to
such a system.
And while the loss of business and
annoyance is what Will probably final
| ly do away with the free use of the
telephone. there is a moral point in
| volved which is worthy. according to
| the druggists, of attention.
Il sit here day after day and cannot
| help but hear women talking rot into
| the telephone" said James P. Rowley,
| whose store is at the corner. of Sixth
| street and Kansas avenue. They visit
| over the wire and meanwhile some
| physician is probably trying to get my
store to have prescription filed
quickly. He tries and tries and has to
| call some other store where the visi-
| tors do not happen to be operating at
| that time and the next time he sees
| me wants to know what in blazes is
| the matter with my telephone.
Two girls will come in here at
night with couple of fellows. The
boys walk 20 the front of the store and
the girls Use the phone. First sone
| and then the other will use the tele-
phone and each tell their mother she
| is going to stay over night with the
| other girl. Then they will go out of
the store with the boys. 1 fire EN- out
| of here when I catch them at anything
like that, but 1 can't be always putting
people out of my store.
| There is also the woman who uses
my telephone for things for which she
! will not use her telephone at home.
1t may be bad, it may not, but the
inference is that it is not proper. Then
| there are many women, and the most
| of them I think belong to this class,
| who use the telephone for visiting
| purposes, but who are innocent of
wrong intent or wrongdoing- But their
| conversation ranges from ten to thirty
minutes in length and people who
want to telephone in orders can not
| do it until these visits are ended
Other druggists make similar state
| mentS- Doctors who have called for
drug stores in times of emergency
| and found the line in use are also
| hoping that some method of doing
away with the telephone visitor will be
| found
| In many Of the larger cities the free
| telephone mas been discontinued. In
| some places signs near the phone an
| nounce that it is for business purposes
| only. In Chicago it is impossible to
| use a telephone free. And this helps
1 abate the nuisance.
| 1t is not the telephone business the
| druggists and others, too, object to,
! but it is TO the fact that they lose
business while the telephone Is used
| by visitors that their wrath is due
| And they are waiting for some solu-
| ton to be suggested.
| One Topeka man has a scutoff'' by
| which he can put a stop to CONVERSE
| ton when he thinks it has continued
| long enough Others might do we'll
| to follow his example.