The star-progress. (Opelousas, La.) 1917-1921, 1920-03-13
PHONE SERVICE
IS CRITICISED
Antiquated Equipment and
Starvation Wages Cause of
Inefficient Service Here

lnefriclent Service Hefe
The patience of the people of OPP
eIousas is almost at an end. Unless
something is done Immediately, dras-
tic steps may have to be taken to
have the telephone service improved,
even if it is necessary for a delega-
ton of citizens to go before the state
railroad commission to file strenu-
Gus complaint.
The Cumberland Telephone Com
pahy has been "cussedo by local sub
scribers for over two years. When
the first ''howl" went forth and got
to the ears of officials of the COM
pany, diplomatic 'higher-ups" Of the
corporation came to Opelousas and
made countless pledges Of good faith,
promising better service shortly. The
people are still waiting for the prom
ises to be fulfilled In the meantime
the service is wrose than ever, the
company seems to be Indifferent and
recently caused H G. Voorhies, who
was striving against odds to accom-
modate the phone subscribers, to re-
sign. AS "a result, Opelousas is a
veritable outcast of the company and
the local exchange is now being man
aged by an official Of the company
stationed in Lafayette Some bust
ness idea, no doubt, according to
prominent citizens of this city.
The principal reasons for the very
inefficient service are doubtless the
fact that the equipment here is anti
quated and that the operators are
paid starvation" wages, and as soon
as they become efficient, finding the
glowing promises Of the company to
be mere pipe dreams" and Receiving
so many complaints from the sub
scribers, deliberately quit rather than
serve under such almost revolving con
ditions and as natural consequence
the rotten service is made further
abominable and worse by their resig-
nation.
Opelousas, with its four hundred
odd telephones, is the scape goat of
the gigantic monopoly. There is no
discounting this fact. Hundreds of
dollars are spent by local subscribers
each month-more than enough to
give the employees good wages, the
city good equipment and the public
excellent service. As long, however,
as Opelousas is 'crazy" enough to al
low the trust to continue giving inef
ficient service the richer the monopo-
,ly viii become, and the more incen-
tive it will have in paying less to its
over-worked and under-paid employ
ees and giving pOors-no, not poor,
but absolutely rotten-service.
The antiquated switch board, some
one said, must have been manufac-
tured when the telephone exchange
business was in its infancy The sys-
tenn of meager wages, especially in
these times of high cost Of everything,
must have originated in the bright
noodle of some particular get-rich-
quick petty official of the giant mo-
nopoly. The idea of paying the Ov-
er-worked @helIo" girls such miser-
Bile pitance as we understand they re-
ceive! 1t is crying shame and an
insult to all decency. No wonder the
girls take so little heart in their
work. They have been "fed-up" on
glowing promises of the monopoly,
but the promises made to these girls
has been in keeping with the wind
bag promises to the people of ope-
lousas for an improvement in local
service conditions.
It is time to call halt on the par
ticular methods used by the monopoly.
AS long as people in this city simply
''kick" and pay their bills each month,
just so long will the monopoly con-
tinue to garner in the shekels, pay the
girls miserable wages and laugh at
the empty howIs of the people Of Ope-
lousas. The time for mere word kick
ing is passed. Action that win COM
pei the company to give better serv-
ice is now in order
n