Evening Star Newspaper, October 14, 1898, Page 14

THE EVENING STAR, FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1898-16 PAGES. 32 SO S90938960 RATES FOR 'PHONES 314to 318 Z Boer cee ARCH ——— ° Public Printer’s Question Answered SOPHO Ooo oeeereroessreseererrrosesoeorereeeeserrereerere Livibon. LO’ Clothing for the Boys! Re . . . . . . . . . . . . by Controller Tracewell. ~ Over different kinds of Delicious Candies—pure and fresh—t Now, tomorrow we shall 6 ices QC, ¢)| CHARGES WERE FILED BY CONGRESS . Two Specials From Pica occa te pe ey The point where the greatest majority of mothers and @ ran, 2 ° the greatest stock of the best Boys’ Clothing meet is the 2 ° 4 Benefits Should Be Shared by the Our I \ en's Furnishing Dept. place where the most Boy a be = a 8 > The Cloak and Suit ; eee Goveraments the second floor of this store. The many win- dows in this department let through a bright, clear light that shows colors and qualities. Am- ple space and easy chairs make visitors comforta- ble. The ideal stock and pleasant surroundings Fleece Finish Un- That's the substance of the first offering and a value it is beyond compere. Now for details: Thirty-six dozen Suits are all we pessess. In a Jiffy thes" be gone. Winter-welght, fleeced tin ished, Well made undergarments, such as are wh most everywhere at 75e. a garment. Shirts have pearl buttons and silk braid ribbed skirt: Drawers are thoroughly retuforced, finished with suspencer tapes, double stitched’ and cut the same as our $1.50 quality. While this small lot . . . . . . . . . . ° . . . . ° ° . —— Sale of the Season. 2 DECISION IN THE CASE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Remarkably unseasonable weather } makes these prices possible. Controller Tracewell of the treasury to- pertance and interest to the people of the District of Columbia. The decision 1s that the Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company “is a creature of th> law, is pro- Tomorrow we shall offer: Skirts worth $6, $7, $8 at . . . . . . . eS . Co eerreroeccooos Separz - tected by the law, and must obey the law lasts, yeurs at 20c. per garment. create perfect conditions Winter Coats, worth $12.50 to $15.00 at The controller has given much study to the galte,necond offering te some will probably appear for clothing trading. Ladies’ Suits, worth $15.00, at cildh Cs Si ry word of his decision will Best ‘Quality That's a great point. The . a pe closely read. : ; Misses’ Jackets worth $7.50 at Wikilss ther dscisionwot: Gontrellen traces White Dress c 2 charm of our Boys well is directed to the public printer, it 0) OS os Clothing is everything applies to all government departments Shirts =.=. —2- 2 new. No old stock. We've solved the problem of clothing using the telephon of the company . boys best and cheapest. The fact is your affair. Its ac- named. Mr. Tracewell had recently re- ihe make of the famed shirt and collar honse of « Bae - P eG Te + ts ac M0 1 1 e . C. Curtis & Co. Boeome are open and rut complishment ours. Now for prices. ceived inquiries from the disbursing 0! extra wide, every detail that a perfect shirt . ane an a ne a rs ie should have is possessed. All sizes, from 14 to 17. 5 : cers of the Treasury and War Departments. Equal. vilue never before Yetaliod nine, aur S Boys’ Short Pants Sutts of black [ Does the Hittle fellow want a Top The decision cuts by about two-thirds th: less than $1.50. Sony to say the lot is not very and mixed cheviots; nobby patterns: | Coat? We have them in ¢ ke Suiguit avuich ihe: telenhawelomuenyanad large, only 21 dozen, so If you'd share—hurry— this teed fast colors and strictly all |. seys, Scotch and Trish fr word to the tardy folks who were disappointed on cur last shirt offering. We thought the qnantity large enough to last the day, but before the chimes of 12 stinek—presto—they were gone. While these last, yours at Sc, PARKER, BRIDGET & CO., Head-to-Foot Outfitters to Man. Penna. Ave. and Ninth St. Actually worth $4.50. Spe- | best” m latest ahac "$2.98 | "$4 to $12 | ; : Rial) sierton” quali mi | Specials from the cell for. $5; agen 3 Chi ¢ ishi il for $5: §3.48 arse acetic aag years. Our leader at This department contains everything in the wny of Underwear, Hosiery, Neckwear, Shirts, Shirt Waists, (: been receiving from the government. The amount is a considerable one. The decision of Mr. Tracewell is, of course, based on the law, but Mr. Tracewell personally has considerable knowledge of the telephon> business. He owns a larg interest in the telephone system at his heme in Indiana, and hes familiarized himself for many years with the workings of the business. He was able, consequ2nt- ly, to bring experience and common sense . . . . . . . . . . . . Another lot of those Strict wool Knee Punts, worth 75e. For . peesecnwcs . . . . . . . . Oo pret Cheviots. Handsome Choice into: his Children’s Reefers, 6 to 14 Made in Fancy Mixtures, $4.45 r stvles ever made. years; Misses’ Jackets, 12 to 18 year Boucles, Coverts, Astrakhans, Kerseys trimmed, lined made up in the most stylish manner. and Yale Blues: including all the stylish shap trakhans, Venetians, Boucl To the Public Printer, Washington, D. C of August 1 whether the provision in the act of June pany August 16, delibera’ Ladies’ Jackets, all sizes and colors, including, Light Tans, made up inall the most stylish shapes, new cut sleeves ; handsomely lined all through in satins and taffeta si $9.50) in Kersey Cheviots, Worth $12.50 and $15.00. Choice Separate Skirts, worth $6, moire overt cloths, viots s Those $15.00 Suits at $10.85 tis al = $10.85 $2.98 for Furs worth $5.00 st a clear saving : ettes. stone Stone Mar- jars. Water 2.98 $7 & $8, $4.49. n and warranted. the hunds for Birds, Quills, &¢ i ‘25C. A8c. Ye. Sterling $3.79 silk finished, 19¢. of English steel rod men’s sizes Ribbons. Rit bon—7 n’s Extra Pleeee- -25c. Hosiery. tly fast black. down Coats— trimmed : 15c. summary of the laws. ‘Treasury officials are satisfied with the decision. Some of them wer: asked today what would be done should the telephone company refuse to serve the government at the price fixed by th> decision. They promptly answered that the Attorney Ger eral would inaugurate injunction proceed- ings without loss of time. They felt con- fident, too, that such proceedings would result in a final and full decision agaiast the company. Nobody knows what tle telephone company may do, but the offi- cials are confident that Mr. Tracewell’s de- cision will be sust ned if it is ever passed upon by the court ‘The aecision is as follows: The Decinion. ur communication of the 2 st you requested my decis Sir—In 1808, fixing the amounts which may be paid for the use of telephones in the Dis- trict of Columbia GO St 38), invalidates the contract entered fn y you with the peake and Potomac Telephone Com- for the installation ¢ government printing office of a twen- ation board telepho: ery- maintenance from year to year for a period of ten years. The delay in answering your communicz tion arose from the importante of the sub- ject submitted, and my desire for thorough n and all obtainable information before rendering a decision upon the ques- tions involved. No formal contract w the contracting parti made consists of estimates specifying the equipments to be furnished and the prices to be charged, which were submitted by the company a proposal and accepted by the public printer. No fixed time was specified in this acceptance during which the contract should continue in force. It appears to have been und by the contracting parties that i in force from year to the public printer for a peri Printing Office Switch Board. The contract thus consummated provides for the installation and maintenance of a telephone system consisting of a switch board in the building occupied by the gov- ernment printing office, with twenty-eight stations or telephones located in said butid- ing, each directly ccnnected therewith by a single wire, together with ten other s tions er tebephones located outside of this building, but each directly connected with such switch board by a single wire; and also three additional Stations or telephones connecting the record clerk at the Capitol, the foreman of printing at the government printing office and t foreman of the bindery at the government printing office, which latter telephones do not connect with the switch board above referred to or the switch board of the company at its cen- tral office. In fact, it is an independent line of telephones, connecting these several points, and these three latter telephones are on a wire upon which there are two other telephon The switch board in the government printing office building is connected with the switch board of the company its ¢ tral or main exchange by four trank lines or wires. The prices stipulated for the instal- ion and maintenance of the telephones, “pt the latter three, are graduated ac- cording to the period of annual service, as follows: The first year, twenty-five sta- tions, $72 per annum, additional stations, $40; the second year, twenty-five stations, $50 per annum; additional stations, $36; the third year, twenty-five stations, $40 per anny; additional ‘stations, the fourth to tenth year, $32 per annum; additional stations, $40. The prices stipulated for installation and maintenance of lines are as follows: For trunk lines to main exchange, for distance of one mile, $100 per annum; for greater distance, $125 per annum; for trunk lines, to the departments and for outside lines, $10 for each quarter mile. It is understood that the four trunk lines running from the switch board in the building of the government printing office to the main exchange of the company at its building are charged for, under’ the terms of the contract, at the rate of $500 per annum, and for the nine outside Hnes at $400 per annum. The charge made for the three latter stations on the independent line, including wire rental, is $110 per an- num. Iam not certainly adv this independent line was installed under the contract above referred to, or was in use and operation under contract before the Gate of this proposal and its acceptance. not a matter of consequence, however, sidering the conclusion I have arrived at, as to when this independent line was led. s executed between The cont tas t the option of of ten years. das to whether ry > . . ° . . . . . . ° . . . . . . . . . . . . o . ° ° . ° . . . day renderod a Gecision of the highest im- | « ° . . . . ° . . . . . ° ° ° ° . ° . . Ps . . . . . . ° . ° . PS . . . . 3 Pee meee ere reess sree seer see eee esseieeseseesessseesees when the price is fixed by law, as it now ts, on_the tender of such fixed price. To be more spetific, this company as such common carrier of telephone messages for hire by the use of its rented telephones is bound, under the law governing common carriers who assume to serve the public, to furnish any of its customers within the limits of the territory of its operation with a telephone on a separate wire since the passage of this act on tender of the maxi- mum price fixed by it for its rental, if it reasonably so can do, taking into consid- eration {its existing s: em and the wants and necessities of its pre-existing subscrib- ers. In other words, it would not be justi- fied in arbitrarily refusing to furnish a c tomer who as desirous of renting a tele- phone on a separate wire, or a telephone there being two or more on the same wire, if such customer tendered it the maximum price fixed for the service so desired and it could mnably so furnish the service. Of this provision of law, in its applica- tion to an individual subscriber for an or- dinary telephone to be used in his office or other place of business in the District of Columbia, it may well be said, as is said in the cuse of the mayor of Cumberland agt. Magruder, concerning a certain provision of the law of Maryland: “Its language is too plain to be misunder- stood; tuo imperative to be disregarded; and the result it séeks“to attain too salu- iry and too impoftant to be defeated by eny strained or subtle ¢onstruction.” District Supréme Court Ruling. In a decision of;the: Supreme Court of the District, in the regent case of James F. Manning & Co. ys. this company, handed down August 4 last, the court, in speaking of this provision agong other things says “Its language is of ‘the mest general character. It forbids any telephone com- pany to charge or receive more than the designated rate *-* * for it is a matter of universal knowledge, and especially weil known to the defendantscompany, that its passage was to apply the stattitory rates te every telephone operated by any person or company in the District of Columbia.” If there be difficulty in the application of this provision of lawsto the facts grow- ing out of the manner in which the tele- phones were installed under the contract in question, the diffiehity necessarily arises out of a doubt that may suggest’ itself as to whether the system so installed is with: in the purview of this provision of law More simply stated, are these thirty-nine telephones in use and operation by the public printer such telephones as Con- gress sought, by this legislation, to fix, control and limit the price*of their use or rental? If this question is answered in the affirmative, as Congress had the right and exercised it to fix a maximum price for the vse of all telephones in the District, the contract 1s necessarily invalidated by ‘ts passage. Preliminary, however, to the proper an- swer to this question, it is important to understand in a general way what a tele- phone is, and ot what a general telephone system consists, for it is concerning these things the provision of law speaks. The Yelephone. This company was operating a modern electric telephone system in the District of Columbia when the provision in question was passed and became a law, and it was enacted with reference to the existing state or facts and the history of the times as regards telephones and their use by the public. ‘A telephone {s defined as an instrument or set of instruments for reproducing sound at a distant point by the transmission of impulses over a conducting wire, especially by the agency of electricity. ‘The ordinary electrical telephone appara- tus consists of a transmitter, a wire for conducting the electric current, and a re- ceiver. The modern el-ctrical telephone box, which in popular usage is called a telephone or station, ccnsists of both a transmitter and receiver. Ey the use of the transmitter, with the aid of the connzcting wire and the other electric contrivances, we are enabled to transmit the sound in- troduced into the transmitter to the re- ceiver of any other telephone in tne sys- tem, and by the use of the receiver, the person at the receiving end is enabled to hear the sound transmitted, and he lik>- wise, by the use of the transmitter in the box he is using, may also transmit sound to the original sender, and he may likewise re- seive this sound, and If it b> the articulate human voice, the receiver will understand it by the ald of thes2 contrivances. Ail the apparatus and appliances used in a telephone system are us2d to effect ar subserve these results, that the switch-board in the building of the government printing office. 1s connected with the switch-board of tfe company by four trunk lines or wires, K is apparent that each of these thirty-nine telephon are upon separate wires up to the switc board in the government building. where they converge, and from this point to the switch-board of the company by these four fres running from the switeh-board in the government building to the switch-board of the compar What. I ask, the purpose, use and ef- fect of this subswitch-board in the govern- ment building? It is very evident that when any user of either of these thirty-nine telephones de- sires to communicate with any other per- son through either of the other thirty-nine telephones, by taking the receiver off the heok, being upon a separate wire to this switchbcard, he would be enabled through the telephone operator at this switchboard to be put into communication with either of the other thirty-nine telephones. I un- derstand it to be a further fact that th operator is not an employe of the telephone company, but a government employe. The effect of this switchboard, then, that when the government is using eith of these thirty-nine boxes or telephones to communicate with any cne of the other thirty-nine, the company is not called upon to rendef eny service whatever; is not even apprised at its switchboard that there has been such call, but the contrary, the government operator at such switchboard answers the call and gives the desired con- nection. But in case the user of either of these thirty-nine telephones desires con- nection with any subscriber of the com- pany, a right he undoubtedly has, he must first call up the operator at this sub- switchboard and procure him to call up the comps switch, and this call must of necessity be made over one of the four wires connecting these switch- boards, before he can be put into commu- nication with the desired telephone by the company’s operator. This cubswitchboard is of no practical use to the user of these telephones, for if these telephones were each upon a separ- ate wire to the company’s switchboard, when the user took the receiver from off the hook he would be in connection wita the company switch and could be put into connection by the company’s operator at central with either of the other thirty-nine telephones as readily by the company’s op- erator as by the operator at the subswitch- board, and not be subject to the delays in- cident to the use of two switchboards and operators. It necessarily follows because of the fact that these thirty-nine telephones are con- nected with the central switchboard of the company by only four cables or wires that no more than four of these telephones can be used at the same instant of time in com- municating or receiving messages from ather subscribers of the system Every telephone must of necessity be upon a wire, but more than one telephone inay be upon the same wire. Considering che fact that these telephones are connecte 1 With the central switch beard of the com- pany by only four cables or wires, it would be as erroneous to affirm of them that each was upon a separate wire as it woulu be to affirm of a single link of a chain that it was the chain itself. If upon a separate wire, the use of any other telephone in the entire system could not possibly affect their use at the same instant of time; but as in- stalled under the terms of this contract, being upon a separate wire only to the switch board in the government printing office, the use of only four of them at the same instant of time when endeavoring to communicate with outside subscribers is possible. ‘The provision supra, describing the class of telephones, the charges or rentals cf which are fixed therein, is broad enough to ccver any possible installment of a tele- phone or system of telephones. This pro- vision fixes the charge for a telephone upon a separate wire, for any number of tcie- pLones upon a wire; hence covers and reg- ulates the charges for every conceival k'nd of a telephone. These thirty-nine telephones, and cach of them, are clearly telephones the charges fer which are fixed at $25 each, there being four or more of them on the same wire. Contract Abrogated. In my opinion, and I so decide, that from and after the taking effsct of this provision of law its effect was to abrogate the con- tract set out, for the prices therein fixed are in excess of those fixed by the law for the us? or rental of a telephone. Under the terms of this contract the rental of these thirty-nine telephones for the period of one year is— We show the largest most va- ted stock of Boys’ Fine Short Pants Suits in the city at prices ranging from $5 to $10. The stock represents everything latest and swellest for the Lttle fellows, from 3 to 16 yeats of age. . . . . . . . . . Children’s All-wool Astrakhan Re ers, in black, blue, green and broy made with large saflor collars; hand. somely trimmed and bra’ would e chean at $4. We offer them ax Loree Sy eek S500 . . . . . . . . POCO C ere eerecescccrsecsecees price as you can of us. - Blankets. $1.25 Heavy-weight 11-4 White Blanket, in a an aa red berders. pad $1.00 $1.50 tra Heavy 11-4 Blanket, in gray and white, pink, blue and red bor- ders, finely finished. Special $1.25 f€ £1.89 Gray 11-4 Blanket, weight ¥ pounds, blue and red borders. $1.48 cial $3.00 All-wool 10-4 Blanket, slightly soil- £ a only a ’ i left. sr $2.00 f€ $4.50 Famous New York Mills 11-4 Aurora Wool Blanket, extra heavy. An exceedingly lucky purel them at...... THIS IS AN EXCELLENT BARGAIN. $6.00 All-wool 11-4 White and Gray Blan- ket, made of the best selected weol, extra heavy and finished in the best possible man- ter, in pink, blue, red and yellow $4.98 borders. Special... THIS NUMBER IS OUR LEADER. A large line of Finer Blankets at corre- spondingly low prices. PARKER, BRIDGET & CO., Head-to-Foot Outfitters to Man. ‘Lansburgh & Bro. Blankets, and Spreads. You can’t buy them elsewhere of as good quality or at as low lars. Caffe and ail else needful to the Well dressing of boys, both little and big. Boys’ Brown ad Black Fedoras and Derbys 98c. Another lot of those Popular Boys’ Calf. cofn and ul soles. Kang lasts as our Mi $1.50 and $2.25 in the new toes, extra hi 3 kame st Penna. Ave. and Ninth St. POO OOOO EOE HEHEHE EEEEO ESE SEES ES ES EES EEF EES ESO SESESEFEHESEHEH OOOO EEHSEHEOHESHEESESEEOE® te eeeeocees eee . PEPE RE ROKR RE Comforts A@A@seaenea@aenas | aes Comforts. $1.75 Silkeline Comforts, filled with the best white cotton ard tufted in the best manner, all new designs. — Spe hal 2" $1.25 $1.75 Moule Cloth Comt. rts. laree 1 5Q designs, in ali colors al $3.00 Very Fine Silka Cloth ly quilted White cotton. Spreads. rochet Spreads. Special... 49, aforts, fine- ie teat 6 35 Renee rg SJ SSe. Or ads, hemmed resdy for use Ey We, Whit Spread. rood weight, prerty Speciale 73¢. $1 15 we Crock ‘, Spreads, lange size raised desigus, hemiued ready for = White Crochet Spread, extra larce siz Pillows. One lot of ‘eorle x or Pi F lows, the $150 quality. ‘Special SLND § Blanket Department, third floor. Take elevator. Lansburgh & Bro., 420, 422, 424, 426 7th St. Bolster to metch, $1.00. Better Pillows if g you want them. PPI IRE measure suit for an even Soasetoegoetoegoesoaseatoetoeseaseaseaseeseeteesoeedseasenseasedsersweceset sedate sg a sa ne Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan{ <@ Friday, October 14, 1898. —is part of the Mertz method of merchant tailoring. As a result we have planned to produce the finest all-wool, made-to-personal- *15 = —= (G) os osto rte ceeioaion’ | quality In oderr ‘elephone system, in ler to | For-the first twenty-five, at $72 each.$1, The Congressional Provision. eebamplenecnese Peers encatiaitinin the | For fourteen additional, at $40 each. The provision in the act of June 30, 1898, | cities ani larger towns, all telephone cum- | For installation and rental of cable: follows: panies have and maintain a general ex- rom and after the passage of this act | ©: ange or ‘“‘central,"”” where any subscriber = Total sete it shall be unlawful for any person or | t® One or mor2 telephones can, by the use | Under the prices fixed by this law the any telephone company doing business 1n | of 4% automatic eleetrical contrivance, or | proper charges would be— : $1.29 nelette Dres td Howe, all sizes, in the new- Boe. PI est’ patterns and colore—cholee, 25c. C Only 20 d Toilet Specials. that you ever saw for such a smal] amount of money. It is full of the “dainty touches” and has about it that “indescribable some- thing” that makes the Mertz garments pre-eminently stylish. Call—look—and be measured. SOc. value, for iost half— 59c. fi $1.00 Se. Woodbury’s Pactal Soap for... the District of columbia to charge or re- = the Sete caging a pcned co tneiteies Thirty-nine telephones, there being Sc. for $1.00. Be. Woodbury's 1 Cream f. ceive more than §50 per annum for the use | Phone, ge! &dMon ch ex- | more than four upon the same wir: : * i, 4 sista o alts cache tee tecoe Reig Soeciten Saran of 4 telephone on a separate wire; $40 for | Change technicallyfderominated a switch | at $25 each $975 Tailoring Headquarters, lin Gown: k ng and et) : each telephone, there being not more than | beard, and have the talephone operator at et Covers Umbrella Drawers and mess RE SGC Coe Grrl acs ra autre, Maer 44c. bars Olive Oil Castile Soap—t mbcie — ali Iba., for...... 3 4th 35c. Rath Brusbes—with and wit ° handles, f esos pe I see no reason why the government should not share in the benefits of the pro- visions of this enactment, as well as the private individuals of th2 District. two on a wire; $30 for each telephone, | such centra’ or switchiboard put him into there being not more than three on a wire, | direct telephonic communication with every and §25 for each telephone, there being | other telephone in’ thé%'system, the tele- four or more on the same wire.” phones in the systéth b¥ing connected’ with Shosdongosfondeaseatreseesonsondedfoatondonteeseetestecte 906 F Street N.W. $1.00 to $200 Hot Water Bo ° bottles Witch Perfumed or Borated T. Msoraing!| Velie celal Sarda yeod ieee 35¢ for . a ° Fountain Syringes—3 Se. Chfidren’s Hand I Kerchiefs—colored bor (ws ders—for = 2» ° Books and Stationery. 1,000 Paper Novels at MWe. Men's Handter- citafo—plain,, wiita| end Ac colored borders—for..... ° 4 gauze ribbon—for........ ¢ BON MARCH & SSSS9S SS SHS SSSOSIO and 15c. Envelupes—25 + Children’s Books: ares of Dewey and Sampson— Oxford & Ba Se. bottles Black Ink for Se bottles Best Mueilage for.. 314 to 318 9 SEVENTH. BSSSee9 Jf this provision of law is constitutional —and for the purposes of this decision it prima facie is, for every statute is pre- sumed to be constitutional when regularly passed by Congress and approved by the executive—it cannot be doubted that it is unlawful for this or any other telephone company operating a system of telephones in the District of Columbia to charge more or receive more than §50 per annum for the use of a telephone on a separate wire; $40 for such use where there ts not more then two on a wire, and $30, there being not more than three on a wire, and §25, there being four or more on the same wire. This telephone company is, and was at the date of the passage of the act in ques- tion, a common carrier of telephone mes- | Sages for hire, and as such was amenable to the power of Congress to establish what it might consider proper rates of charges for individual messages at its pay stations, or for the use or rental of its instruments, subject to the limitation that such use 1s not required to be rendered without» ade- quate, or, at least, some, compensation. Holding itself out as a common carrier of telephone messages in the District of Co- lumbia for hire, it is, and was, bound to furnish all its customers in the territory in whicit it operates all reasonable telephonic facilities at its command for the proper, convenient and intelligent use of its tele- phones and its telephone system, in the ab- sence of a law fixing the price for such use or rental, at a fair and reasonable price, to be agreed upon by. contract. and tendered to the company for such use or rental, or, x such switch board,er.central in such way that each telephone t#: upon a separate wire, or several telephones upon the same wire. = if a telephone is MPOR @ separate wire, the use of any other telephone in the sys- tem at the same instant of time cannot in- terfere with the usé afUsuch telephone in the transmitting of,rectiving of sound, as before explained. 7;If.;however, two or more telephones ane-upen the same wire, the use of one nevessarily depends upon whether the other“is being used at the same instant of tinte. © It isalso realized gt a glance that as agen- eral rule a telephone is useful in propor- tion to the number of its subscribers, and convenient in exact proportion to the cer- tainty and facility of its use when needed. The Printing Office System. The president of this company, in re- sponse to an inquiry made by me cn the 19th of September by letter as to the num. ber of telephones in use under this con- tract. and how many of these telphones are upon one or more wires up to four, on the ist ultimo answered that there are irty- rine stations, each connected. by a. one- party . metallic cireult with the -switch- board in the government printing office, stating also in reference to the.threc. sta- tions on the independent line that these three stations are not on one wire; but on two wires. . PPad28 This telephone company being a corpora- tion is a creature of th2 law, is protected by the law and must obey the law. It must furnish both individuals and the govern- ment the benefits of its telzphone system, and do this under the rate of charges fixed by law or give way to others who will. ‘The three telephones upon the indep2nd- ent line, there being five telephones upon the same wire, can only b> charged for at the rate of $25 each since the taking effect of this provision of law. Respectfully yours, R. J. TRACEWELL, Controller. Course to Be Followed. ‘The attorneys of the Telephone Subscrib- ers’ Association, Messrs. Birney and Wood- ard, expressed satisfaction when informed today of the decision of the controller. ‘They said that it tallied exactly with their advice to the members of the associat:on and the explanation of the large number of injunction suits that had been filed against the telephone company lay in the fact that the subscribers insisted on paying the rates for the telephone service fixed by Congress, while the telephone company refused t accept those rates. = | . 2 . The attorneys.added that the only course. for law-abiding people .to. pursue. was to" obey the law of Congress, rather. than the. rules of the telephone company, until ‘a judicial decision onthe question of consti-. From this statement, and remembering ' tutionality of the act of Congress is made. Sotoedondondontectontnetneteeteesneseeteeteate Mertz and Mertz, Value givers in merchant tailoring. FOOTPAD CONVICTED. Charles Cammack Sent to Workhouse for Three Months. Saloonkeeper Schlotterback, who is in business near New Jers:y avenue and E street northwest, was highly commended by Judge Scott today for the interest he took in causing the arrest of Charles Cam- mack as an alleged suspicious character. Wednesday evening the saloonkeeper's wife was stopped on Ist street near the Botar- ical Gardens and_asked for money. . The. man who meade the demand threatened to knock her down if she did not at once meet th? ‘requirement. Mrs. Shlotterback, fear- ing-the man‘ would assault her, gave him Teid her: hyaband. af whet hed mepponee, ‘old. her- husband o! had. 3 and yesterday the latter went to Ist strest and did police duty. He paid particular at- tention to Cammack, who answered the de- scription given of the footpad who had ex- tcrted money from his wife. A short time after he went on patrol duty Cammack stopped a woman and asked her for money. Not far from him was another suspicious looking man, who escaped. Mr. Schlotterback called Sergt. Lombardy and hed Cammack arrested. The prisoner be-* came profane and objected to being ar- rested. After hearing the proof, Judge Scott said he thought {f all good citizens would follow Mr. Schiotterback’s example more of these violators of the kaw would be punished. A great many people. the judge said, make complaint and then expect the police to da hhrpossibilities. If more of them will coma to the front: the community will be better off. The prisoner was committed for thre¢ months.