Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1911-11-18

Il and Social World Of Chicago.
the reach Of all and as cheap. in pro.
portion, as the national postofiice.
Action by the city council upon the
question Of doing away with the tele.
phones III which nickel Is required
before the attention Of central IL oh.
tanned is likely to be taken at the first
meeting after the council vacation.
Announcement was made by AID.
Britten of the 2Sd ward that he in.
tended to present at the meeting an
ordinance compelling the telephone
company to remove whot are known
as "tick tick" phone boxes. His en-.
nouncement followed the delivering
Of an opinion by Corporation Counsel
Sexton that such an ordinance could
be passed under the police powers Of
the city. An effort will be made to
have the council take action upon the
ordinance without referring It to q
committee, several aldermen having
promised to support a motion for the
suspension Of the rules for this pur.
pose.
It is asserted by Aid. Britten that
the "tick tick" telephones constitute
serious menace.
"The installing Of these devices
has deprived the persons In whose
homes they are Of protection to
which they are entitled against hre
and robbers" he said. with these
devices at work It Is impossible to
obtain the attention Of the telephone
operator until o nickel has been de.
posted In the box. Every one who
is familiar with the nickel In the slot
telephones knows how often one finds
ones self without nickel.
"A mans homo might be burned
down or he might be robbed and muir.
dered simply because he did not have
a coin OF the right size at the right
time. Another difIiculty Is that form.
erly a person had to take chances
only because his telephone might be
out Of order. Now the telephone itself
might be working, but the slot ma.
chine box device be out OF order"
Corporation Counsel Sexton gave
his opinion on tho authority given the
telephone company to install the de-
vices on nickel telephones where the
money is deposited before patron Is
able to get the operator at the re.
quest of Aid. Charles NJ. Thomson.
Mr.. Sexton holds that the city can
regulate by its police power In case
tho services rendered is unreasonable
or unfair.
Drop O penny In the slot and tele'
phone"
Aid. Herman ]. Bauler, who origi.
mated the Seventy Cent Gas league in
the mayoral campaign. proposes to
settle telephone rates now that the
leagNe has completed its end of the
gas price rates and left 1t for the
courts to say whether the Is to SO
cent sliding scale ordinance Is fair.
Aid. Bauler insists that the penny
telephone idea Is all right and says
he has worked out the idea without
the aid OF any expert like Edward w
Bemis or w. I Hagenah, who were
engaged in both the gas and telephone
rate Investigations.
Aid. Bauler wants to change the
name of the Seventy Cent Gas League
to the penny Telephone League
The alderman declares that the tele
phone meter problem may be salts
factorily solved, although mechanical
experts throughout tho country have
been endeavoring to solve 1t for years
We take the following from page
"a of the Report on the Causes ol
Municipal Corruption in San Fran
cisco as disclosed by the investiga
tions of the Oliver grand jury and the
prosecution of certain persons fol
bribery and other offenses against thu
state" made by a committee appoint
: ed by the mayor of that city and pub
lished by order OF the board OF su
pervisors, city and county OF SaI
Francisco, January 8, 1910:
"The Paciti- Telephone and Tele
; graph Company bribed the Supervis
ors to prevent the Home Telephone
Company Or any other organization
from obtaining a telephone franchise
in San Francisco. No attack OF an!
kind on the Pacific Telephone apt
Telegraph Company was threatened
by the Supervisors. and the sole pur
pose of the crime was to maintain ,
profit which might be cut by tn
competition of business rivals. Th'
Supervisors We're paid In all owe
$4,000. The managing committee o
the board Of directors of the compan!
swore before the Grand Jury that the!
, did not know how the funds wer'
, procured for the bribery"
. This report was signed by William
| Kent, formerly we'll known alder
! man and reformer of Chicago and sil
. other members of the committee ap