The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-12-05
QUESTIONABLE
OPENS PROBE Of
PHONE SERVICE
CONTINUED From Ylrst Page,

QUESTIONABLE TO the secretaries OF
Chamber Of Commerce of 20 to 30 rep
resentative cities, and have at least as
many as five or 10 answered by citizens
Of those cities, preferably directors Of
the various chambers of commerce for
the purpose of comparison"
The QUESTIONABLE follows;
., state your name, style of the
firm or corporation with which you are
connected, position with said firm, bust
ness address and home address, bust
ness telephone and home telephone?
A. Name
Style OF the firm or corporation with
which o are connected
Position with said firm
Business address
Home address
Business telephone
Home telephone
Q. State whether in your opinion
the telephone service in the city of
Memphis Is efficient or inefficient, and
give fully your reasons for your an
swer.
A. =
Y. S-Glve your best judgment as to
average time II takes you to get a
local cali completed her no answer
such as Line busy" Line out Of or
der, They don't answer" etc, is
given, as a reason for not connecting
q, i9-Glve your best judgment as to
the average length OF time TO get cen
you take down the receiver.
A. e.
q, 5-State to what extent, il at all,
you are troubled by being disconnected
while talking to someone yer a local
line.
Q, s-State to what extent. II at ell,
you have the wrong number given to
you.
4, g
Q, .7-Do you know Of any authenti-
Gated instances of where you have
been told another telephone was busy,
or out OF order, or not answering, when
you have later learned that the tele-
phone was working II not busy, and
someone was In hearing distance. ready
to answer same? Give the details of
same.
Q. S-Do you know of any authenti-
Gated instances where your telephone
has been reported busy, out of order,
or not answering, when in fact Il was
In working order and someone in hear
ing distance ready to answer 1t, Give
fully h details of such instances as
YOU can recall.
A. $
=. Sit is requested that either you
or your stenographer will keep actual
time on - or more telephone calls made
by you, or on your behalf. after receiv-
ing this QUESTIONABLE and set out in
the space below.
A. 9-(a) The length Of time in each
instance required to get central
A. 9-(b) The length OF time in each
instance required to get the other party
when no reason is given for them not
answering.
A. go Whether in any instance,
| nnn If or hnu pnnnU fHr.A a. .--
number was given.
A. I'D Whether in any instance,
and II 30 how many times, you were
disconnected before you have finished
your conversation.
Q. l0-Did you ever have the ex-
perience OF putting In a long distance
call and having your telephone tied up
while the ong-distance call is COM
| pleted?
A. 10
Q, lido you approve of this practice
and II so why, and If not, why not?
O.. l2-How long have you been oh.
serving the telephone system in Mem
phis, and state whether or not In that
time 1t has improved or deteriorated,
and state whether in your opinion II
is at the present time better or worse
thai previously, and II so, in what re-
spect?
A. 12-
.. Estate whether or not you have
used local telephones in other cities
within the last three years, and give
the names of said cities, and il posi-
BILE, the names Of the telephone COM
panies, and state how the telephone
service In those cities compares with
that Of the city of Memphis at present,
and give fully the reasons for your
answer.
A. 10
Q, 14-What is the reason for the
efficiency or inefficiency Of the pres
tnt telephone service in Memphis, AMI,
If in your opinion 1t Is inefficient, what
remedy have you to suggest?
I'm answering this question please
state. specifically which part OF the
answer is based on actual facts known
~ you, and which is a matter OF opin-
ion).
A. IA
Ql5-If you care to, please give the
substance Of any conversation mot con.
fidentiaD which you may have had with
any official or employee OF the tele-
phone company, In which he stated his
opinion Of the present telephone SER
vice IN Memphis n the reasons given
by him for same. and the remedy, If
any, suggested by him,
Q. lido you approve Of the omls.
sion OF the numerical list of telephone
subscribers from the telephone book, and
II so, why; and II not, why not?
A. 16-
Q. 17-State any other matter you
many think relevant or material to this
investigation.
A. IL
Questions ....,...... .....,..... were
oiS"titu w '''.t'sf',,, WHO Is my
tstenographer, secretary, assistant,
partner, etc.) and whose business ad-
uTSSS If .,..,s,.. .........
'SiEn)