The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1953-06-27
Long Distance
Calls May Be
Big Headache
BY WAYNE OLIVER

j
count for-only to discover a week
end guest had made it without say
ing anything about it?
Such unauthorized calls are rel
atively rare, says American Tele-
phone and Telegraph Co. But they
turn up. There is the case of the
lady burglar who broke into a
, Baltimore apartment and ran up
.. a SIS bill on a call to Paris before
being cut off.
The company didn't disclose who
. paid that bill, but a st. Louis real
estate firm had to pick up a $500
. long distance tab on a working
telephone it had put in a model
house to give it more homelike
appearance. Prospective clients
had made themselves too much
at home, calling friends all over
the country.
Then there was the father in
Charleston, w. Va, who had or
dered a telephone installed. When
he returned from work he was told
by his two young children the
phone was in and operating.
1T works fine" they told him.
"We've spent all day talking to
other people who have telephones,
even people who live way far
away"
It's well known that folks often
get a yen to make long distance
calls when they've had a couple
too many, and lady customer in
a Connecticut town took steps to
protect herself. She asked the
manager to have her telephone
fixed so she could receive calls
but couldn't make any.
She explained that she liked to
take a drink now and then and
on those occasions not only made
a lot of calls but was insulting to
her friends. She would order the
one-way arrangement for a few
days at a time, then would ask
regular service restored.
The manager finally suggested
the real solution might be for her
to stop drinking, to which she re-
torted, "Young man, you tend to
the telephone business and I'll tend
to my drinking"
Sometimes long distance calls
from coin boxes can bring compli-
cations, as in the case of a Chi
nese in Summit, N. j., who was
raising such q c0mmotbn in the
booth that two patrolmen stopped
by TO see if they could help.
He was having loud argument
with the long distance operator
over whether he had deposited the
requested S3.65. Newly arrived in
this country, and unfamiliar with
the operation Of a coin box, he had
stuffed four 81 bills into the slot,
! figuring he'd let the operator keep
the extra IS cents as a tip. The
cops and the telephone company
got him Strengthened out, and his
call went through.
A. T. and T. lists among its I'M
usual authorized calls one by
Yankee baseball fan in Birming-
ham, la, who had a yen one eve
ming to hear how the Yanks-
Browns game was going.
| Get me Station WINS in New
York and don't cut me off, I've got
plenty of quarters in my pocket, "
he told the operator from a booth.
He had a member of the staff
of the radio station in New York
hold the telephone tnouthpiece in
front OF a loudSpeaker carrying
Mel Aliens broadcast Of the game,
and listened for three innings
| SIG worth-for which he dropped
| in 81 quarters.
| On the question Of collecting for
long distance calls that are ques-
toned. A. T. and T. says it takes
| the position that everyone is hon
est, and has 10 operate that way.
II expects the customer 20 assume
! responsibility for calls made from
his telephone Just as be does for
electricity or gas registered On his
house meter.
A spokesman says that II the
ticket shows beyond question that
/ A. cali was made from the sub.
! scriber's number. the company
viii give him a strong argument
on paying for il. On the other
hand. if there's a reasonable
doubt. the company is reasonable
about an adjustment.
| General Telephone Corp, the
/ largest Of the independent OF Eon-
/ Bell companies. reports il has te&
difficulties with unauthorized calls
from subscriber phones bgt has
problems now ard then with girl
operators co night shifts wfo call
boy friends in distant cltieS--o0
the house.
A company official SAYS such
calls, kao@s ss ~3eaahead calls
are extremely difficult ~ eatcA
I since SO Feeord Is nasse es 3beea.
I They w48 b. eliminated shea yo3e-
p.sane service Is converted to ds
lrpcg customer tazlHE * 5eas d
sA9ce calls. Nttss aggssas@3se AaAAas
: BIS gsacalre