Hi,
If it has never worked then it's probably the xinetd config.
When you install most Redhat xinetd controlled servers (incl. telnet-server and wu-ftpd), the config file within the rpm is shipped with a setting that leaves the service disabled. This is to stop naive users just installing everything and leaving their box open to hackers. You have to tell the system you want to enable the service by editing the matching file in the /etc/xinetd.d/ directory - i.e. /etc/xinetd.d/telnet & /etc/xinetd.d/wu-ftpd .
All you do is make sure that the line in those files that says 'disable=yes' is changed to 'disable=no'. Then restart xinetd with '/sbin/service xinetd restart'.
You may then find that the redhat firewall is stopping inbound traffic so go to a console window and as root enter the command 'lokkit'. Follow the screens to configure that firewall to allow inbound port 23 (telnet) and port 21 (ftp).
You must, of course, have the xinetd package (rpm) installed and set to be active :
/sbin/chkconfig --levels 2345 xinetd on
Actually you can also use 'chkconfig' or 'ntsysv' to control the xinetd services themselves if you don't fancy editing the config files.
Rgds