Bill to Provide Proper Telephone Service to Goldsboro Killed When Phone Companies Lobbied the State Senate, Says Matt Allen, Sept. 10, 1919

From The Daily Times, Wilson, N.C., Sept. 10, 1919

How His Telephone Bill Was Killed

Goldsboro, Sept. 9—At their last regular monthly meeting held last night the board of aldermen disposed of several important business matters, included among which was a motion unanimously adopted instructing the city manager to immediately notify the officials of the Southern Bell Telephone & Telegraph company that unless better service is at once given to patrons of the local exchange, that steps would be taken by the city of Goldsboro to have the franchise of said company revoked.

The motion also required that a representative of this company appear before the board at the next meeting and show cause why said company had not lived up to their contract with the city of Goldsboro, which required that the company give the citizens of Goldsboro an improved service following a recent action taken by the board of aldermen, who granted the telephone company the privilege of raising their rates in Goldsboro provided they installed a system that would render a service that would justify said rates being increased.

Major Matt H. Allen, a member of the Goldsboro bar, was present at the meeting last night, and when this matter came up for discussion he stated to the board that he came to the meeting to discuss another matter that had already been acted upon and had no idea that the telephone question was before the board. But since it was up for consideration he hoped that he might be permitted to say a few words.

Major Allen stated that in 1915 he introduced a bill in the legislature to provide for proper telephone service in Goldsboro, and it passed the House, but by the time it reached the Senate somebody had called a meeting of every little telephone company in the State to lobby the Senate against the bill and it was killed.