PUBLIC TELEPHONES.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 58, 8 March 1913, Page 4

PUBLIC TELEPHONES.

iWe have received from Mr H. G. Ell, •M.P., iwho had charge of the Postal Department under Mr Mackenzie, a number of interesting comments upon the proposal to increase the number of public telephones in our cities. As Mr° Ell was practically responsible for this scheme in the first place, he is naturally anxious to 6ee it extended, and he carfnot understand the objections raised by the departmental officials or the reason for their long delay. Our readers may remember that .when the PoetmasterCreneral a few days ago announced his intention of supplying more slot telephones in Auckland, it was intimated by a departmental official that they would probably be placed in stores or otherwise under cover. The reason apparently is that otherwise- the telephones ■would be exposed to injury front irresponsible members of the general public. Mr Ell, however, contends that the experience of Christchurch and where the telephones arc placed in ca.binets open to the street proves conclusively that there is very little risk of such damage. At the same time, by placing the 'machines in stores and shops, the Department would debar the public from using them after these places of business clcee, and nfore particularH- at night, when they are mest useful. It is manifest that if the machines are always in the puWie view and open to the public they will attract far more attention and custom than if they are shut up under cover; and, in any case, to put them in shops seriously limits the opportunities for making use of them. It seems to us that these arguments are unanswerable, and that the Department has very inadequate ground for its apparent anxiety to avoid .the open cabinet system, which has worked co well elsewhere.

Naturally those public telephones will be most useful at night, and .here the question of lighting comes in. The exper.ise of lighting the cabinets has been made a gre.tt de.il of hy the critics of the system, but Mr Ell states that it costs only 45/ a y«tr in Christchurch and 40/, a year in Wellington; so that this is lrardly an insuperable objection. As -regards the return to the Department, Mr Ell Ims compiled some figures which show that in Christchurch, where ten machines are placed in cabinets, lighted at night and accessible to the public by night and day. the average earnings per week came collectively to from £11 to £14. Considering that a private telephone brings in generally £7 a year, it would certainly seem that slot machines in lighted cabinets are a financial success.

As to the initial cost, Mr Ell has sub- I jected the departmental estimate to a searching analysis. He points out that in Christchurch the nine additional machines installed since July, 1912, have not neceesitated any increase in the mechanical, clerical ot telephone exchange st-afl". Therefore £3 10/ included in the yearly estimate for switching at the exchange, and £3 14/6 charged against each roaoh'in'e foT collecting and counting coppers should be deleted. As to capital cost, the Department charges the cable up at the rate of £20 for the first mile and £15 for each succeeding mile; 'whereas the actual cost of the cable is £4 2/. The slot telephones are put down at £12, though two firms have informed Mr Ell that they are prepared to deliver machines to the Department in full working order at £7 10/ and £8 10/ respectively; while if an order for 25 or more were given they could be produced for less. The cabinets, again, are charged ap at £24; whereas in quantity they could be obtained for £21 each. These figures certainly appear to prove that the Department has immensely over-estimated the initial cost of installing the puWie telephones, while it has under-estimated their earning power. Altogether, the departmental objections to these extremely useful machines are very hard to understand, and we true-t that they iwiTl be speedily overruled. So far as Auckland is concerned, we may point oat that last year the average earnings per week of the slot telephones set up a* the Railway Station and in the Strand Arcade were 2!)/ and 22/4 respectively—Barely a very •han-d'.='ome return on the outlay, compared with the earning*! of private telephones. In reply to the argument that if the number of telephones is increased the average earningß will fall, Mr Ell points out that this has not been the experience of Christchurch, .where telephones installed only 300 yards from each other maintain their original average. This suggests that each telephone serves the convenience of the people in its immediate neighbourhood, and that the machines create the demand in thenown vicinity. On the whole, Mr Ell seems to have made out an exceedingly strong case for the cabinet telephone. nccrssiWe to the public at night as well ns in the day. and we hope that the Department will act accordingly, so far as Auckland's needs are concerned.