TELEPHONE EXCHANGE.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13915, 28 May 1909, Page 2

TELEPHONE EXCHANGE.

To the Editor of the ••Timaru Herald." Sir. —1 have, 1 presume ill common with all telephone subscribers, received a circular, emanating from the Mayor of Tiinaru, asking lae to vote for a continuous service at the rate ,of £7 a year. If 1 am not mistaken this is the fourth attempt of. the Mayor to get an all night service. lam sure the subscribers will agree with me that his persistency is worthy of a better cause. Now, there are roughly speaking 400 subscribers at £5 each—£2ooo —and to add £2 per year more that would be £2BOO, leaving £BOO with which to pay an operator on night duty, say, £IOO a year, which leaves a balance of £7OO profit. This is not so dusty, is it!' Fanov any private tradesman and especially a money-lender or landlord — charging such an exorbitant interest! Wouldn't there be a howl? Personally I pay quite sufficient, and 1 will not pay any more. I presume the majority are in the same street as 1 am. It would be interesting to know how many subscribers had requested an increase of £2 per year telephone rental. for not even at the last ballot did all the private subscribers vote for an ail-night- service. I think there is more need to reduce telephone charges than to increase them. If they were to reduce them to £2 per year they would be much more "lopitlar and profitable. My advice, to all subscribers is to vote dead against .•ny increased charges and give the answer given a year ago. I am afraid the number who requested him to increase the charge would turn out to be as small, as the first meeting he held in the Borough Council for the purpose, only eight present, includine the Mayor, who was" chairman and convener, and out of the eight four were against the proposal, —I am. etc.. J. B. St. V. JAXOX. [Mr Jason read the circular too hurriedly. The proposed increase is £2 on business places only with no increase on private connections, unless the alternative of £1 in both cases is preferred. .A few personalities have been deleted from the letter. The circular asks for a vote of th" subscribers, a voting paper is appended to it, and if these ar? sent in. as thev should be..the matter will l>e settl'fl r|i>ietlv. one way or the other. —Ed. T.U.]