OUR TELEPHONE SYSTEM.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIV, Issue 109, 8 May 1903, Page 4

OUR TELEPHONE SYSTEM.

We have the assurance' of Mr Meddihgs, of the Telegraph Department, that an. attempt.is t,o be made as soon as possible to improve the condition of pur telephone service. Just now, those of our readers who are in the habit of using this indispensable means of communication are -painfully aware that the system has for the time being practically broken down. It is quite impossible' to hea/ a message distinctly in many parts of the city, and the delays caused by the loud noises and casual "short circuits" are .too. exasperating to be faced by anyone anxious to transact business in a hurry. The cause of all this is, of course, the failure of; the Telegraph Department to take proper precautions, against the. inevitable effects of the electric tram Installation. The Tramway Company's electrician has explained that the, disturbance of the telephone,system is duefto-the fact that both telephone wires and trolley wires at present have a ground return, and the remedy, as both Mr Carey and Mr Meddings have pointed out, is to provide a complete metallic circuit for the telephones—in other words to lay a, second telephone wire for returns insulated and twisted round the outgoing wire. This is, of course, a matter involving the expenditure of many thousands pi pounds, but Mr Meddings assures us that the material is now on the way to the colony, and that the work will be carried out as quickly as possible and with all due regard for the convenience of the public. We are glad to hear it, but the public will be more grateful when they see some signs of the work being actually begun. Mr Carey has stated that throughout America it has been, found necessary to change the telephone system from ground returns to metallic returns, as soon as ever the electric trams started work. Yet', knowing this, the Department gave no warning, and made no provision against the heavy loss in time and convenience that we have been suffering for months past, and must endure as patiently as we. can for. many months to come. The least, that ~the Telegraph Department can do now to repair its previous ..negject is to hurry on the introduction of the metallic circuit system with all-possible speed.. At present, except-as a Constant Inducement to wrath and profanity, our telephones seem to have little excuse for their existence. '■■'' ,/