Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1912-03-09

voPickA.
,ml nation for Board Of Review.
graph Company bribed the Suporvis.
ors TO prevent the Home Telephone
Company or any other organisation
from obtaining . telephone franchise
In San Francisco. No attack Of any
kind on the Pacific Telephone and
Telegraph Company was threatened
BY the Supervisors, and the sole pur.
pose Of the crime was 70 maintain Q
pront which might be cut By the
competition Of business rivals. The
Supervisors we're paid In all over
$4,000. The managing committee Of
the board Of directors Of the company
swors before the Grand Jury that they
did not know how the funds were
procured for the bribery"
This report was signed By william
Kent, formerly Q well known alder.
man and refor:nsr Of Chicago and six
other members Of the committee ap.
pointed By the mayor Of San Francis.
co. Oct -. 1908.
Chicago Daily News editorial. De-
cember 10. 1911.
It has been the aim Of the telephone
company to do away with unlimited
service % far % possible and to r.
quire all users Of IT, instruments to
60 on the measured service basis. Op-
position to tho measured service plan
10 aroused whenever Q patron Of the
telephone company 10 made TO pay
two tolls whore one should be sum.
Client.
The ordinary person In attempting
to telephone to railroad passenger
station, for example. IL likely to ask
for the wrong number for the purpose
Of his call. for 20 confusing ID the
array Of titles and numbers In the
telephone directory that II 10 often
difacult to decide upon the department
that 10 wanted. Frequently the infor.
nation bureau at railroad station.
when appealed to, refers the inquirer
to another telephone number In the
same building This necessitates the
.r-yment Of q second toll. Telephone
operators are careful to prevent the
second call from being made without
the payment Of second nickel.
Both the railroad companies and the
telephone company should do their
best to see that the arrangement OF
department names In tho telephone di.
rectory is suniciently clear to enable
inquirers to call the hrst time for
the number they really want.
The city ought to have . bureau OF
complaints to which appeals for the
Improvement Of faulty conditions OF
service might be made BY patrons Of
local public utility corporation.
Penny telephones are to be estab'
lished In Detroit and there 10 no good
reason why they should not be estab'
l!she' IN Chicago. The following
dispatch from Detroit explains itself:
Reduction Of local telephone rates
80 per cent for the average user,
elimination Of the distinction between
residences and business telephones
and the establishment OF q rate Of
$3.50 per month and ! cent each for
outgoing messages In excess Of 200
per month on single party lines, with
no limit on incoming calls are pro.
vided for In an ordinance. on which
a common council committee began
hearings"
Telephone. rates are entirely too
high in Chicago. The Aldermen have
q chance to lower them. VIII they
do It?
The penny telephone will come in
time. Lower rates on all phones are
demanded.
II is reported that the telephone
company has hit upon new scheme
for the extraction Of the nimble nickel
from the clothes OF customers.
The new scheme Is called the
"short ring"
Heretofore when q call was made
the telephone bells jlngled a long
time or until they were answered.
Now, in some parts Of the city they
are barely tapped.
OF course II the party called does
not hear the mild ring or takes the
sound for CROSSED wire." or a mis-
take" the caller has to try 1t over
again and drop another nickel.
This nickel movement 10 q great
thing.
In fact. In Chicago the telephone
company has discovered the richest
nickel mine on earth.
A telephone company that pays
eight per cent dividends on twenty.
nine millions Of stock is making too
much money. The people are paying
A. o.. kANA