The day book. [volume], April 01, 1914, LAST EDITION, Image 27

About The day book. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1911-1917

Image provided by: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL

                
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PENNY 'PHONE LEAGUE WJLC
HOLD MEETING TONIGHT
The Penny 'Phone League meets
tonight at 65 W. Monroe street to
complete a permanent organization
to stay in the field until city owner
ship and operation of the Automatic
system comes through with a penny-a-call
service.
."" "If there is any practical plan be
fore Chicago people for relief from
robbery by public utility corporations
the Penny 'Phone League offers such
a plan," said Morton L. Johnson,
president of the league.
"The traction, gas and lighting
corporations have the city tied up
with franchises. But telephone con
ditions are such that any time the
city chooses it can take over the Au
tomatic system and run a penny ser
vice. "Why shouldn't Chicago 'take the
lead among the large cities and be
fhe first to own and run a 'phone
system?
"Efvery point of law is in favor of
the city taking the Automatic sys
tem now. We have a mass of evi
dence that can not be disputed to
Bhow that the Automatic is managed
"at the present time by New York
financiers who want permission from
the city to openly own what they al
ready secretly control.
"The ramshackle, run-down busi
ness methods, the poor service, the
refusal to extend service or make
'new Installations the -whole man
agement of the Automatic, in the past
years, shows a plan to junk it as soon
as that can be legally done.
"Once-the Automatic is wrecked
,nd out of business the way will be
clear for the Chicaeo Telephone Co..
a Dart of the Bell mononolv. owned bv
, he American Telegraph and Tele-
, phone Co., to go further in its ex
ploitation or small pnone users in
Chicago.
"Never was there a better chance
for municipal ownership advocates to
mass their strength and go to it and
clean up one definite accomplish
ment. "Municipal ownership of public,
utilities must come one by one. The
time is going to cdme when all the
street railways and the gas and light
ing systems wilt be owned by the
city with consumers buying service
at cost.
"The place to make a start now is
in the telephone field. The Tenny ;
'Phone League is going to stay on
this job until it is done.
"We know thatthe scheme to give
the Automatic permission to sell out
to Bell interests is so rotten that it
will not go through. But we want to
go farther than that. We will not
merely be satisfied with stopping a
proposed plunder. We are going
further and get a city-wide 'phone
system by which every 'phone user
willget service for four cents less at
each call than he pays now."
o o
MAN EXPECTED TO CLEAR UP
MISSING BOY MYSTERY
Philadelphia, April 1. Thousands
in the city who have been puzzled for
weeks by the mysterious disappear
ance of seven-year-old Warren Mc
Garrick were in hourly expectation
today that his fate would be cleared
by the appearance of a Germanarm
er, who in a letter declared the child
had been accidentally killed and his
body secretly buried.
Written in German, the farmer's
letter came to Samuel Ephraim, a
lawyer. It declared that the boy tried
to get a hoop from under the hoofs
of the farmer's horse and was kicked
to death. Then, said the letters, the
body was taken into the farmer's
wagon and he, fearing trouble, took
it away and buried it in a lonely spot
The letter said the farmer would
come forward and prove his, story if
secured immunity. This has been
promised by police and by James Mc
Carrick, the boy's father, and the
clearing of the mystery is expected
at any hour.
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