THE Wairarapa Age. MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, MAY 4, 1908. CONTINUOUS TELEPHONE SERVICE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9081, 4 May 1908, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age. MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, MAY 4, 1908. CONTINUOUS TELEPHONE SERVICE.

At the meeting of the Masterton Chamber of Commerce in February last it will be remembered that a communication was received from Messrs Jackson Bros., telephone contractors, expressing the opinion that if the telephone exchange at Masterton were opened at, say, six o'clock —or seven o'clock —in the morning, instead of at eight o'clock, as at present, it would be found very convenient to subscribers in business. The Chamber expressed strong sympathy with the views outlined in the letter, and it was unanimously decided to request the telephone authorities to open the exchange at six a.m., and also during the time the telegraph office is open on Sundays. This was done, and the reply from the Secretary of the Department was to the effect that although they could not erant the request as set out by the Chamber, he would be prepared to recommend the Postmaster-Gen-eral to open the Exchange continu-

ously if the 342 subscribers paid £6 instead of £5 minimum subscription. The letter from the Department was read at the last meeting of the Chamber, and in a decidedly brief discussion it was agreed that the matter had been placed sufficiently before the authorities, and little further could be done. In other words the Chamber dropped the matter with a readiness that was quite remarkable. Why this was done is inexplicable. The Department did more than they were asked, and offered a continuous telephone service for the modest extra charge of £1 per annum for each subscriber. They have ful- I filled their part of the contract in outlining what they are prepared to do, and it was for the Chamber to say whether they were prepared to accept the offer or at any rate make some forward movement to ascertain the feeling of the subscribers in the matter. There is no doubt that the time has arrived for Masterton to have a continuous telephone service, and the extra cost is trifling compared with the advantages that it carries. It is a question that will havd to be faced in the near future, and we feel sure that if the subscribers were approached in the matter the continuous service would be adopted. Hastings, a smaller town ship than ours, Palmerston, and other places, have adopted the service, and found it a complete success. An important point that should not be lost sight of is that the continuous telephone service in Masterton also carries with it the privilege of constant communication with the Empire City per medium of the special wire recently installed, and which has proved such a boon evtn with our present restricted hours of service. There is no doubt that the Telephone Department is most ably administered, and thousands of settlers are to-day enjoying the facilities provided for l.y this enterprising Department. We hope that the Chamber of Commerce will take up the question again at their 'next meeting, and devise a scheme to ascertain whether subscribers are desirous of having a continuous telephone service or not.