The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 49

TUESDAY May 3, 1988 9-C BUSINESS The growing fight to disconnect dial-a-porn numbers they would have to provide whenever they called for one of the erotic messages. The law goes into effect July 1. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is considering a proposal from Bell of Pennsylvania that would give dial-a-porn numbers a new. exchange that could only be reached by phone users who ask for such access in writing. All in all, these are dark days for this shadowy, yet lucrative industry.

"I'm trying to make a decision right now about what to do," said Joseph Lee, a man identified by Bell of Pennsylvania records as the proprietor of one of the dial-a-porn services, MW Enterprises of Huntingdon Valley. Joseph Lee is an alias, the man said, but he declined to reveal his real name. "I don't think it should be part of the government's responsibility to tell people what they can pay for and listen to," Lee said. His is an argument that has been used before against anti-pornography laws. And the arguments have worked.

"This will be the 32d federal obscenity law," Barry W. Lynn, legisla California dial-a-porn firms $600,000 for failing to take steps to prevent children from hearing their messages on interstate calls. On April 25. the Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by adult-line providers who argued that Mountain Bell's refusal to carry such services was unconstitutional. On March 31, Gov.

Casey signed a bill that would require would-be users of dial-a-porn services to register with the companies providing the services in Pennsylvania. The customers would be assigned nine-digit identification numbers that dent Reagan has said he will sign the -law. While its sponsors said the legisla-, tion is intended to put dial-a-porn once and for all out of the reach of youthful ears, opponents say the law is an unconstitutional infringement on freedom of speech that will be shot down by the federal courts. Meanwhile, battles are being waged against the dial-a-porn indus-. try by the Federal Communications Commission, in the courts, by state legislatures and before state utility regulators.

Some of the battles: On April 21, the FCC fined two By Anthony Gnoffo Jr. Inquirer Stall Writer With trade names like Telesex, Best Sex, Mistress, Adult Fantasy, Love Line and Hot Stuff, there's little doubt about the content of these so-called dial-a-porn telephone services. At least one of the services caters to people who enjoy painful sexual fantasies. But are the messages obscene? Congress thinks so. Last month, the VS.

House and Senate approved legislation that would make it illegal for local phone companies to provide telephone lines for such fare. Presi Supreme Court decision a blow to discounters Wmkn t-r;" life MM I 1 1 II Jilliiim.f'. inntlninrmimfa. IM nriniii, -T ul t. With the three-alarm fire under control, a Provident National Bank employee checks papers in a third-floor office for damage.

Fire knocks out bank's computers keeping were back in operation about 9 p.m. yesterday. "We're in the process of firing them back up to see if we have any problems," Goldsmith said. The cause of the fire is. under investigation, a Fire Department official said.

Fire officials evacuated 30 people from the upper floors of the building, including four who were rescued by fire-engine ladders, said Robert Drennen, a Fire Department battalion chief. Four police officers and a civilian, computer center a floor below, according to a bank spokesman. But the computers were shut down about 7 a.m. to prevent water from short-circuiting them. "The computers were shut down as a precautionary measure," said Philip R.

Goldsmith, an executive vice president for Provident. "But by about 5 p.m. our automated-teller computer was up and running, so our customers could use the MAC machines." Other bank computers that handle check processing and other record By Robert J. Terry and Janet L. Fix Ilu)lrr Stall Writers A three-alarm fire early yesterday knocked Provident Bank's computers out of operation and left customers unable to withdraw cash from automated teller machines or to check their account balances at branch offices.

The fire broke out at 5:15 a.m. in the 17-story building at 120 S. 17th St. that houses Provident's computer center. The fire began in a second-floor office and did not spread to the tive council for the American Civil Liberties Union in Washington, said of the federal legislation.

"And though we don't like the lawsl, we also know for a fact that they are not a very efficient way of curtailing sexually oriented material. There have been a lot of bans, but there is also a lot of material available." Lynn said that by forsaking compromise legislation that would have worked similarly to Bell of Pennsylvania's proposal, Congress missed an opportunity to keep telephone por-(See TELEPHONE on 10-C) Court to people who would terminate off-pricers." But the decision pleased the Reagan administration, which has advocated greater leeway for manufacturers. The National Association of Manufacturers has argued that the ability of a manufacturer Jo eliminate price-cutting dealers "is important to an efficient, competitive economy." The National Association of Manufacturers, the members of which are said to produce 80 percent of the nation's manufactured goods, argued that discounters often become "free riders" by sales to customers who have already been educated and convinced about the product by the full-servibe dealer." In the case decided yesterday, Hartwell's Office World, a full-serv-- (See RULING on 15-C) President ofWTAF-TV parent quits By Anthony Gnoffo Jr. Inquirer stall Writer The president of financially troubled TVX Broadcast Group which owns Philadelphia's WTAF-TV (Channel 29), resigned yesterday, saying that a recently announced financing plan had secured the future of the company. Timothy S.

McDonald had been president and director of the Virginia Beach, company for five years. After accepting McDonald's resignation, the company's board of directors elected John A. Trinder, an executive vice president and chief operating officer, to the additional posts of chief executive officer and president. TVX's troubles began with the Oct. 19, 1987, stock market crash, which forced the company to halt plans to sell high-yield bonds to repay a $248 million bridge loan from Salomon Bros.

Holding Co. of New York. The loan helped finance TVX's purchase last year of five independent television stations, including WTAF, from Taft Radio Television Co. TVX was forced to seek an extension on a $200 million payment to Salomon in January. More extensions followed, and the company said it would sell some of its holdings company officials said Channel 29 would not be among them to reduce its debt.

On April 18, TVX agreed to implement a recapitalization plan to raise money to repay the Salomon Bros, debt, which had swelled to $267 million. According to Securities and Exchange Commission filings, the company plans to issue $120 million worth of senior secured notes and $90 million worth of secured accruing notes to institutional investors. At the same time, Salomon Bros, placed three of its managing directors on TVX's eight-member board of directors. Trinder, who has been an officer and director at TVX for nine years, said yesterday that the company had letters of intent to sell two of its 12 stations, WCAY-TV in Nashville, and KJTM-TV in Little Rock, Ark. He said the company expected to sell more properties later this year.

(See RESIGN on 10-C) on slow day Nationwide turnover in NYSE- listed issues, including trades in those stocks on regional exchanges and in the over-the-counter market, totaled 155.74 million shares. Standard Poor's industrial index rose 0.46 to 304.94. 500-stock composite index was up 0.23 at 261.56. The NASDAQ composite index for the over-the-counter market gained 0.51 to 379.74. At the American Stock Exchange, the market value Index closed at 302.46, down 0.68.

The Associated Press contributed to this article. Tech check Stock exchange recreates Oct 19 By Aaron Epstein and Barbara Demick Inquirer Stall Writer! WASHINGTON The Supreme Court yesterday dealt a setback to discount stores and their bargain-hunting customers. The 6-2 ruling makes it easier for a manufacturer to escape antitrust damages for withdrawing its products from a discounter's store because a competing dealer complained about the reduced prices. A 'manufacturer's agreement with a full-service dealer to stop doing business with a discounter does not violate antitrust law unless it includes "some agreement on price or price levels," the justices concluded. Among those disappointed by the decision were the attorneys general of 42 states, who had argued in a legal brief that such a ruling would eliminate competition between retailers and force consumers to pay higher prices.

Ohio Attorney General Anthony J. Celebreeze Jr. said Congress should pass legislation to undo "the chilling effect" of yesterday's court ruling. The decision also drew fire from the discount-retail industry. "It is an absolutely horrendous decision," said Barry Lefkowitz, a lobbyist for the International Mass Retailing Association, the trade association for discount and off-price retailers.

"The fallout could be devastating on legitimate discount retailers and consumers." Jonathan Cuneo, general counsel for the Washington-based Committee to Support Antitrust Laws, agreed, saying, "Effectively, it Ithe decision is a green light from the Supreme Associated Pross Exchange during the test. are mixed in crude oil prices. OPEC's failure to agree with non-cartel nations to cut output erased last weeks advance. But transportation issues were aided by the prospect of lower oil prices, and the Dow transport index gained 11.79 points to 853.79. Carolina Freight rose 2 to 23, Allegis, the parent of United Airlines, jumped 2 to 84 and Delta Air Lines rose IV to 49'A.

As measured by Wilshire Associates' index of more than 5,000 actively traded stocks, the market lost $0.31 billion, or 0.01 percent, in value. Tha PhilKMphis Inquwar WILLIAM F. STEINMETZ believed to be a Provident employee, were treated at Graduate Hospital for smoke inhalation or minor cuts and were released, according to a hospital spokesman. The fire, which was brought under control shortly after 6 a.m., kept Provident employees out of the building until 2 p.m. and left bank officials scrambling for alternative ways to conduct business.

Goldsmith said that as a backup Provident early in the day moved some of its processing to computers (See PROVIDENT on 10-C) An area of the New York Stock struction spending may indicate that the economy has enough strength for it to become necessary for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates to curb inflation and keep the dollar stable, analysts said. "The market is in a mode where it can't stand good news," said Robert Stovall, president of StovallTwenty First Advisers. He contends that most investors see only inflation and rising interest rates in the healthy economic data Prices of oil-company shares fell, responding to a drop of nearly $1 a barrel iiili mi i Him Hfi'f' nr-T ''t 'i Torrenzano, a stock exchange spokesman, said at a media briefing after the mock session. Although' the final analysis of the test session will not be completed for a few weeks, the early results are "very satisfying," Torrenzano said. He said that at certain moments during the mock session the computer system was handling a volume of trading that was 30 percent to 40 percent more than peak levels reached during the week the market crashed last fall.

Exchange officials "really tried to see if they could wreck the software," said Philip Kopp, the head of operations for PPN Partners, a stock exchange specialist firm. "But it came through very well." Since October, the state of the Big Board's computer systems has been the target of scrutiny and criticism from government investigators' probing the market crash. In particular, a January report by the GAO concluded that weaknesses in the exchange's technology worsened the market decline. The GAO reported that on Oct. 19, nine of the 12 computer systems at the Big Board had operating problems.

The study said some buy or sell orders were delayed or did not reach the trading floor for execution. Those problems, as a result, added to the uncertainty about whether timely trades could be executed at all, according to the study. Richard Fogel, the GAO's assistant controller general, said yesterday that the agency had been "pleased" -with measures taken by the exchange since the crash to upgrade its computer systems. "We think they are going in the right direction," said Fogel. "We feel more confident today that they can handle a 600-million-share trading day and not have the same backlog as they did back on Oct.

19." Recent improvements have ranged from low-tech (See TEST on 10-C) By Jennifer Lin Inquirer Stall Writer NEW YORK When the opening bell clanged on Saturday morning at the New York Stock Exchange, more than a few people felt an eerie flash of vu. The exchange was swamped with selling. Printers clicked furiously. Stock symbols zipped across the big electronic ticker, marking sale after sale. Some stocks had so many sell orders that the start of trading had been delayed.

"At 9:30, when the session openedl, when I was standing there on the floor, I had a little chill up and down my spine," said Robert Newman, a stock specialist on the exchange. "Then I just stopped watching the tape." Newman knew that it was all just a test, and if he and other volunteers at the mock session discerned any chilling similarities between it and events of Oct. 19, it was just what the stock exchange wanted. Like a cardiac patient fearing another heart attack, the Big Board gave itself a stress test on Saturday. The idea was to determine whether its newly upgraded computers could react better to a day like Oct.

19, when the market collapsed and an unprecedented 604 million shares were traded three times the normal volume. About 500 volunteers from the exchange and member firms spent three hoursjon Saturday executing simulated trades that were fed to them at sometimes breakneck speed. Watching it all were representatives of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress. "You could hear the printing machines moving very quickly. It was a sound that you remember from Oct.

19 and that you don't hear very often," Richard Dow up 10.94, but other indicators Yesterday's stocks Dow Jones industrial average I 2.043.27 Closed HM- Op.n 2,032,16 I (Close Friday 2,032.33) 2.030- 1 frJ tB'jiin'l i i i i i rvi rri i mfvrn M0 10:00 11:00 12 00 1:00 2 00 3:00 4:00 A.M. P.M. vances 879 to 603, reflecting investors' hesitance to establish positions in the market. Volume was a light 136.47 million shares, up slightly from 135.62 million shares on Friday. Larger-than-expected rises in U.S.

factory orders and construction spending in March put the bond market on the defensive early, making it difficult for stocks to rally. The market was "fighting a downward tide for much of the day," one trader said. The 1.6 percent rise in factory orders and the 1.5 percent gain in con By Gary Seidman Reuters NEW YORK Wall Street's blue-chip index rose yesterday, but the broader market was lower as worries about inflation and higher interest rates cast a pall over trading. A sharp fall in oil prices was the only good news for Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average, which was lower in early trading, rose 10.94 points from Friday's close to end the day at 2,043.27.

But declining issues outpaced ad SOURCE: Knighl-Riddor MoneyCenter.