WASTED PENNIES

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 129, 28 November 1923, Page 14

WASTED PENNIES

SLOT TELEPKKCBSE FAJMLTS

TTSTTAT.r.T" XJXTM TO) nSTEBHESrEMTE. ' '

I TBg sfefc ttaflqgEnniaa mm fflhe prikfieefc <& EnatfibHr innnjlkfiriis ttmnrgjift tmjfejr tfie , nastfiie! <nff ""He Bait"" A. UeVrEftums snfcamrilbar \E&a) fas acEKHbrc in use tflse slat "js&saes; m gcracE dfesdl -srfusm le Ssc a^rasy Smct Ms jnrs.«a£ss loonse EeßaiaEaa ex-, pmierce •Cmxtsm.y y?zzs, y»"»- tike tramway crafting »EnH]s g m Fcaiay marn> fag-, and alleges tfcat iha Defwrtment cxKiterollhiig' iffin© fceJWpfesna tTEteni * '|DiTacfaKaMy lays fitnelf open to a cbsrge of taking money under false pnetMtoes. He went to a slat, te&pfcnne, No. 24, at 7.30 a-m,, c&Ued the exchange by placing ! one penny in the dot, and received no reply. Another penny tras inserted in the machine with the same result, wherenpon lie tried his luck at slot telephone No. 23, which adjoin* No. 24. The third penny had the desired result, and the telephone attendant at toe exchange was informed that two previous calls had been made without any response from the exchange. A conversation followed along the following lines: — Attendant: "Where are you ringing from?" Subscriber: "Courtenay place alot "phones. I received no answer at No. 24 boi." "That 'phone is out of order." "Then, why is no indication to that effect given to the public?" ' "We cannot see to that until.we get a report." The subscriber points out that the attendant knew that the 'phone- was out of order, and that there was, therefore, no need for any report about the matter. The twopence expended without result was not returned. After speaking to hie house, the subscriber communicated with "Complaints" at the . exchange, that necessitating the insertion of a fourth penny. He was informed that such things could; not be fixed up. immediately. "The position, then, said the subscriber, "is that you- are taking money under false pretences. Are you still going to take money at that machine which is out of order?" He explains that apparently nothing very satisfactory came of his action in making the complaint, in spite of the fact that he was charged one penny for drawing attention to the matter. In such cases, he suggests, a notice should be placed in the boxes for the benefit of persons desirous of using the 'phones, or, better still, the boxes should be locked when the 'phones are out of order. Another complaint is to the effect that the 'phone boxes in front of the Chief Post Office "are a menace to the public health." At the top of each box is a little square, twelve inches by nine, of one-eighth-hole perforated zinc, to act as a- ventilator. It is corroded with dust, states the complainant, and there is no chance of the bad,air escaping. It is suggested that the perforated- zinc should be replaced by very fine wirenetting. Other complaints are similar to that detailed by the subscriber, who spent. four time 3as much as he anticipatedwhen making a call on Friday morning. DEPARTMENTAL ■ EXPLANATION. A responsible officer of the Post and Telegraph Department, to whom these complaints were represented on Saturday, whil& unable to give a definite explanation of the case referred to, explained the steps which are taken to keep- the slot machines in order and to rectify faults that are reported. The Department' has a system of inspection of all'slot telephones. The machines in the city area, which includes the group of boxes at Courtenay place, are inspected every day by a roundsman. Those machines which are not used so much are tested _ every second day, and those in the distant suburbs are attended to weekly. If a machine is reported out of order a faultman is dispatched immediately to repair it, and if necessary the telephone is labelled "out of order" until it is repaired. The telephone authorities usually find that a machine becomes defective not so much through mechanical mishap as through abuse by the user. The principal cause of a slot machine going out of order is misuse by the insertion in the slot of articles such as pieces of metal, paper, etc., and in some cases chewing gum. The clearanges now and again reveal a wonderful collection of foreign materials amongst the honest pennies. Very few automatic inventions are infallible, and they_ are not always fool-proof; and, judging- by the results o£ inspections, it is usually the human interferer that is to blame. The faultmen have a wide round to make daily, as there are something like seventy telephone boxes scattered all over and around the city, and it sometimes takes them some little time to reach a machine. The telephones are not fitted with a device by which the operator may indicate that a fault has been • reported and is about to be rectified, and while the faultman is on his way to repair the defect, quite a number of people may have the experience complained of above. If the subscriber so desires, he may call at the fost Umce and get a refund of-his money, if his case appears genuine. It was. explained that the difficulty in regard to ventilation was to strike a happy medium between a call-box as nearly as possible proof against the noise of passing traffic and sufficiently airy. In addition to the gauze ventilator at the top of the box a space of a couple of inches is left under the door Other means of ventilation have been tried, but they are not always-consistent witli the elimination of noise.