Omaha daily bee., 1893-12-31
TELEPHONE ann TELEGRAPH.
Splendid Record of improvements and In
urenRed RuHIness IN OmAhA's mnRn

splendid Record of improvements and In
creased Business IN omRha's Companies.
The Nebraska Telephone company fairly
ouJdid itself in the way of extensions and
improvements during 1893, and when the
year closed il showed an expenditure on this
account Of over S24O,nOO. fully two-thirds of
which had been invested in this city.
This company is an Omaha corporation,
officered by Omaha men and maintaining its
general offices in this city, but its lines ex-
tend all through eastern and central
Nebraska and western Iowa. During the
past year it mas operated thirty-thlee ex-
changes, sevsuty-six toll Offices, and has
1926 telephones in use. Ii has PAP miles Of
toll lines ana !, 1911 miles of toll line wires.
1t has 200 employees regularly on the pay
roll, with 255 in the summer months, and
the monthly pay roll amounts 10 s., 800. The
officers OF the company are: c. e. Yost,
president J. j. Dickey, vice president; L. H.
Korty, secretary and treasurer; B. F. Grit
fifth, assistant treasurer; V. =. MusselmAu,
auditor Vance Lane, local manager.
The most important Improvement of the
year was the completion Of the new fire.
proof exchange building nj Eighteenth and
Douglas streets, and the placing under
ground of the entire wire system in the cen
trRl portion of the city This work was
begun last year, but only the building Of the
subways vas completed in 1892. The under
ground system neCessiLated The laying of
l.500 miles Of copper wire in 10000 feet Of 100
pair cables, the cables alone costing 5000
The switchboard in the new building, from
which the wires are handled has D capacity
Of 4,SOO subscribers, and that piece of
mechanism was built and set up at the eX-
pense of another $40. 900. The cost Of the
building and the equipments necessary for
the operation Of the plant fell but b Jritie
short of 500. 00O. making the total outlay
here $3.50, 900. AL the newest inventions
and appliances are there in use, and il is the
model concern of its kind IN DO daJe, repre-
senting an outlay OF S25O,OOU.
But the company did not cOutine its
extensions and improvements 10 This city, as
$50, 900 was expended in the extension Of new
lines and the changing OF grounded lines to
cnmnlete metallic circuits. The changes
thus MADE were RS follows New metallic
circuit line from Fremont 10 Norfolk, eighty
two miles, SlG,40O; Lincoln TO Beatrice,
changed from grounded 10 metallic circuit,
forty miles, s., 900: Lincoln TO Hastings, re
built 10 Sutton and new from there to Hast
ings, 100 miles, S2l, 900; Council Bluffs 10
Walnut, changed from grounded IN metallic
circuit, tifty-eiEnt miles, 81 800; Platts-
mouth 10 Lincoln, changed from grounded
10 metallic circuit, eiR hty miles, $4,000.
The company now has Sol miles of com
plete metallic circuit lines III operation IN
the state outside Of Omaha.
Omaha is the headquarters OF the Third
district Of the western division Of the West
ern Union Telegraph company, comprising
wholly or IN part fourteen states md terri.
tories. The management is: J. d. DlcKey
superintendent &. 3 Horton, assistant
superintendent; ". W EmsIed, manage
II. L. JennisOu general foreman Of construc-
tion In this district during the past year the
company has strung 1900 miles of new wire
and built 700 miles OF new pole lines, the eX-
pense aggreEatlng about S2al,OO Early
last summer two new upper trunk lines
We're brought IN from Chicago, and one cop.
per wire strung from Omaha 10 Denver; also
an additional wire for commercial business
over the line Of the Fremont, Elkhnrn *
Missouri Valley railroad Tit entire line Of
twelve wires between Omhha ana Chicago,
over the Rock Island road, was rebuilt dur
ing the summer, new wires aud poles being
used, giving OmaLl IN exceptionally sub
stAntial and reliable outlet 70 the east. The
extension Of new lines and the general re-
pair on old lines III the Omaha district fur
uisbes employment 10 nearly 800 lipemen,
There are fifteen branch Offices IN the city,
which, together with the main office, have
handled nearly G,0Ou,U $40 messages during the
year. The ONCE furnishes employment 20
200 persons, whose sHlRries aggregate Sl2, 900
per month.
Omaha Is also a division headquarters Of
the Postal TelsgrHph-Cable company, which
sprang into existence eleven years ago. Tn
business is looked after by ". =. Dimmock,
who is mHuAg Of the division, During 1893
this company strung four through wires he
tween Omaha und Chicago. two from Omaha
10 Lincoln two from Omahn 10 Kansas City,
two from Omaha 50 Sioux City, and severa!
each 10 Council Bluffs ana South Omaha
TIT expenditure on new Lines built Out OF
Omaha amounted 10 S45,O0J, unu even more
expensive extensions are contemplated for
the cuWiug year The company has
lately entered largely sut0 the grain
business, ana with such success that every