Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-01-14
Wants Phone Data.
Correspondent Asks About Link
With Handbook Making.
To the Editor of The Star !:

1 To the Editor OF The star:
! In most accounts published in the
| press in connection with police raids
on places where handbooks are made
and bets placed on horse racing, the
| statement is made that among other
equipment found is a number of pub
lie telephones. Sometimes the number
| is given as 10 and more.
| The places raided are often small
storerooms or buildings and the tele.
phones are found in the back portion
of such places where only the owners
of the place or the regular patrons
have access to them.
/ Here, then, is a public utility, the
| telephone company, placing as many
telephones in place as a patron will
| sign for or agree to pay for. Does
| not the telephone company have
| knowledge that these phones are to
| be used in connection with an unlaW
| full enterprise? Surely when a con
| tract Is requested for a large number
of individual telephones, each con.
| nected with a separate wire and not
| operated by a private branch ex-
change, and to be put in a back
room of a Observation-Disclosures place,
there is ground enough for suspicion
| as to what these phones are to do?
Or Is the telephone company a pub
| lie utility that must provide a patron
with a series of telephones, without
limit and without question as to what
purpose they are to be used?
| When an individual patron goes to
! the telephone company and makes re-
| quest for telephone installation. the
| nature of his business is questioned,
| it's location, the number of calls to
| be used, the rate and many other de-
tails, before the contract will be made
| Besides, If several telephones are re
| quested in one establishment. the
| question is taken up of placing a
! private branch exchange, it being
| pointed out that the installation of
| such service is more easily made and
that service is therefore to be given
over one or two listed numbers in the
| telephone book whereas, if a large
| number of individual telephones, each
| with a separate wire from the place
| of business to the telephone ex
| change, were installed, it would re
quire a listing of each individual
| phone number in the book, If the
| patron were to secure results from
the individual phones placed in his
! business house or office.
But even suppose that the tele
phone company was unaware as tc
| the purposes of telephones used in
| Misunderstanding places at the time
of their installation, would not, sooner
or later, calls be made for repairs and
adjustments of many of such phones
when they got out of order, and thus
would not the repair man have his
| suspicious aroused as to the purpose
for which such phones were being
used? Or IL there was a doubt in the
mind of telephone officials, would not
the listening in" of the operator or
| such phones, as is bound to happen
when making connections at times
bring to the attention of the tele
| phone, company the fact that bets
were being placed?
| One thing is sure, the handbook
makers cannot successfully operate
on a very large scale without the
services of many telephones. What
I want to know is, Where does the
| telephone company. public utility
! deriving it's franchise from the local
| government, figure in the operation
of places where the handbooks are
| operated?" HI. c.. DIRK.