Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1912-01-20

Popular Count
energy and business knowledge Of
such Q man % Armour, who has the
money. who 10 not frightened By the
power Of Q monopoly, and who might,
II he chose, be remembered - one Of
the real bensfactors Of the country
BY breaking down the telephone mon.
opoly and making Of the great tele.
phone convenience . blessing within
the reach Of oil and % cheap, In pro.
portion. % the national postonacs.
Action by the city council upon the
question Of doing away with the telo'
phones In which nickel IL required
before the attention Of central 10 oh.
tained 10 likely to be taken at the first
meeting after the council vacation.
Announcement was made by Aid.
Britten of the 23d ward that he in.
tended to present at the meeting an
ordinance compelling the telephone
company to remove whot are known
40 "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 motion for the
suspension Of the rules for this pur.
pose.
II 10 asserted BY Aid. Britten that
the "tick tick" telephones constitute
Q 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 II 10 impossible 70
obtain the attention Of the telephone
Operator until Q nickel has been de-
posted in the box. Every one who
10 familiar with the nickel In the slot
telephones knows how often one nnds
ones self without . nickel.
"A mans homo might bs burned
down or he might be robbed and mur'
dered simply because he did not have
q coin Of the right size at the right
time. Another dificulty 10 that form
Ierly q 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 the authority given the
telephone company to install the do
vices on nickel telephones whore the
money 10 deposited before . patron ID
able to get the operator at the 10
quest Of AID. Charles N. Thomson
Mr.. Sexton holds that the city car
regulate by its police power In case
the services rendered 10 unreasonable
or unfair.
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 thu
prosecution Of certain persons FOL
bribery and other offenses against thl
state" made by committee appoint
ed by the mayor Of that city and pub
!. iished by order Of the board Of %
pervisors, city and county Of Sal
.. Francisco. January 8, 1910:
.. "The Pacif- Telephone and Tele
> graph Company bribed the Supervil
ors to prevent the Home TELEPHONY
Company or any other organization
Z from obtaining telephone franchis
in San Francisco. No attack Of an
: kind on the Pacific Telephone an
: Telegraph Company was threatene
: by the Supervisors, and the sole pul
: pose of the crime was to maintain
y profit which might be cut by tn
= competition of business rivals. Th
u Supervisors were paid In all owe
$4,000. The managing committee {
the board of directors .of the compan
. swore before the Grand Jury that the
. did not know how the funds weE
= procured for the bribery"
= This report was signed by Willial
: Kent, formerly q we'll known aide
y y man and reformer Of Chicago and si
!. other members Of the committee o.
y pointed by the mayor Of San Franci
= CO. Oct. ~, 1908.
,. Chicago Daily News editorial, d
x cember 10. 1911:
b It has been the aim Of the telephor
% company to do away with unlimite
% service as far as possible and to r
b quire all users OF its instruments
b 60 on the measured service basis. o
70 position to the measured service pla
0. is aroused whenever a patron of Il
u telephone company 10 made to pa
two tolls where one should be sui
70 cient.
"a The ordinary person In attemptir
]. to telephone to q railroad passeng,
station. for example. is likely to al
.. for the wrong number for the purpol