The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-10-06
PHONE
SERVICE ASKED
Of STATE BOARD
City Charges InoffiCienCy and
Would Have Rates Reduced
for Violation of Obligation.
Want Early H3aring.


Charging chat the business and So
ciaI life of the citizens Of Memphs
is disturbed
That the service rendered by the
Cumberland Ts'ephons end Telegraph
company is inadequate and inef
fieient;
That the telephone company Is
failing to fulfill ito obligations ard
live up to the requirements of its
contract with the city Of Memphis,
and;
That unless proper and sdeauste
service is provided the rates now be
ing charged by tire telephone com
pany ohouId be reduced and the com
pany otherwise penalized. Walter p.
Armstrong, city attorney, Wednesday
completed his petition to tho state
utilities commission in which he
seeks to have that body force the
company to provide efficient and
proper service as provided for in its
contract.
The petition against the telephone
company is one of two that Mr
Armstrong has prepared at the al.
rection of Mayor Paine. the first be-
ing directed against the Memphis
Gas and Electric company and In
which II Is sought to have the gas
company resume full and proper SER
vice in both gas and electrical de-
partments. The petition against the
gas company was completed late
Tuesday and mailed to Nashville
later in the day.
Failure and refusal to provide full
and adequate service is charged
charges being the outgrowth OF the
gas company's stoppage Of gas and
electric extension service some time
ago. The charges against the tele-
phone company are prompted by the
many recent instances Of slow work
in answering calls for fires and other
emergencies which endangeS the life
or property Of citizens.
Outlines Charges.
Outlining the duty Of the tele.
phone company under the common
law and under the statutes OF Ten
nessee, the city's petition says:
Said public utilities are forbidden
to maintain any service that Ia un-
safe, improper or inadequate. or with
hold or refuse any service that can
reasonably be demanded and fur
nished, when ordered by said COM
| mission.
THE telephone is used In the city
of Memphis, and in other similar
cities. in all the emergencies of life
and IL this service is not such that
these emergency needs can be met
quickly and without mistake, the
consequences are in many instances
serious"
Under section five of the petition
Mr.. Armstrong outlines some of the
errors of omission and commission Of
the telephone company.
| Your petitioner shows that re-
spondent has not met this obIiga
| ton, either under the statutes or
the common law, and ls not furnish
| ing sufficient. adequate and proper
telephone service. Delays In giving
numbers are excessive, II sometimes
recurring several minutes to obtain
n connection, when all experts agree
that the average time In obtaining
a connection should be very few
seconds, under normal conditions.
| mistakes in giving wrong numbers
| are frequent: after conversation rs
held over theg telephone lines 1t is diff
ficult TO get the connection released;
many numbers are called by mis-
take, when other numbers are want
ed. In this and In various other ways
the business and social life OF the
city OF Memphis is greatly retarded
and hampered.
$50 great has become the ineffici-
ency of the telephone service, and
the delay of the respondent in giv-
ing numbers when called, that In
many instances in the business dis
trict Of Memphis time may be saved
by walking to a place with which
one desires to communicate. rather
than by attempting to call that place
over the telephone"
The telephone company is also
charged with failure and refusal to
make connections with reasonable
expectation and has thus hampered
the business life of Memphis. Con-
Guiding the petition the commission
is asked to:
Enter an order fixing the standard
of telephone service In the city os
Memphis. and requiring the responds
ent to observe and maintain said
standard OF service and further re-
quring them to install telephone in-
struments and to make telephone
connections for service to all per-
sons who apply for same. without
unreasonable delay.
"That IL respondent fails, neglects
or refuses 70 observe and maintain
such standard OF service and install
telephone instruments and make con-
nections, that the rates which 1t may
be allowed to charge the city 0i
Memphis be reduced to an amount
to be fixed by the commission and a
| no otherwise penalized as provided