The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-12-06
BAD SERVICE DUE
TO WAR, STATES
TELEPHONE MAN
Bell System People No Better
Satisfied With Service Than
Public, Commercial Repre-
sentative Says.

The probability that the service Of the
Cumberland Telephone and Telegram
company in Memphis may be inefn.
cient and aggravatlng was frankly adj
mitted by Douglas d. Milne, Of New
York, commercial representative Of the
long distance lines department OF the
American Telephone and Telegraph
company, head of tho system of which
the local company IS an associate unit.
IN an interview given The News Semi
TAR Friday. Il find the public In no city
m the country satisfied with the tele.
phone service said Mira Milne. I'VE
are not satisfied with It ourselYes-far
from IT."
The present inefficiency Of telephone
service throughout the country IL an
unhappy consequence of conditions
brought about by the war, MIR, Milne
claimed In excavation, and is not due
TO mismanagcmeut or lack OF effort on
the part Of the phone companies to give
good service, The war literally shot"
their. personnel ito pieces" from hello
girls to iineuCn, he said, and inter-
rupted building and equipment accumu
Atlon programs to such an extent as TO
cause a deterioration In facilities for
handling business,
we are working M hard as we can
to restore our facilities 10 normal" he
said, hut this viii take time and we
arc stu fighting against h%andicaps."
Tho labor unrest has greatly retarded
recovery from the wartime difficulties,
ho declared, the telephone companies
FuilerlnE from this postwar malady
equally with all other lines Of Industry.
During tho war many OF tho on
orators left us to go into various kinds
Of war work and since then have not
! TntLTnad FFhEHA A... 4aU.a 49,
,ither secured better paying positions
in other lines Of endeavor; they hav.
married, or else their men folk ar,
making more money and they no longer
have to work for n living, This has
forced the phone companies to take OF
many unframed, green girls. And they
have not yet been able to make eff.
cicnt operators out Of them. ON tn,
average the operators are now severn
years younger than those we had he.
fore the u Prior to that time In,
majority of the young women were q
Years OF age or over; now most of then
RFe In their teens and consequently arr
not rs capable. And, besides, the turn
over of operators has been tremendous
Inc companies are continually hayin,
TO break In new girls,
Then as to buildings and equip
mcnt, We could do very little II an,
building during the war, We coul'
not get equipment we needed to NEE
increasing requirements and replac,
WORKOUT appliances. II has always beef
our policy to keep equipment two year
ahead Of current demands, But the war
Of course, interrupted this policy"
Mr., Milne stated that he is not IN
millar with local conditions, except Ii
the most cursory manner but he tool
I as a fair suppositton. that condition
IN Memphis were not aAgreat deal dlf
fetent from those In Virtually ever
city In the country. lie spoke, he said
only from "A general knowledge OF con
ditions. lie is making u tour OF tn
Southwestern cities for the purpose d
gathering data for prospective bushes
expansion for the next several wear
upon which may he based plans for ok
pandlnR the facilities OF the telephon
companies, especially as applies to Ion
distance service,
Mr., Milne conferred with w. II. Hay
ley, secretary, and Mark Fenton. In
dustrial director Of the Chamber q
Commerce. from whom he secured dat
on Memphis industrial and CONNER
cial growth, lie denied that the In
V%cstlgation OF the local service by tn
law committee Of the Chamber Of Com
merce had anything to do with his vlaI
to Memphis,