Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1896-12-07
CHEAP TELEPHONES FoR ST. LOUIS.
Gigantic Deal to Include Various
Electrical Entcrprises.

ST. LOUIS, Dec. GA gigantic deal, in
volving a revolution In the telephone and
electric lighting business of st. Louis, has
been consummated. Three big companies
with an aggregate paid up stock of nearly
600, have been organized by about
twenty OF the most prominent and wealthy
citizens of st. Louis. One of the companies
will introduce a new telephone system in
st. Louis at much lower service rates than
these prevailing at present. 1t will estab-
lish home telephone plant which will In
time extend to neighboring points. The
second company, owned by the same per-
sons, Will operate an immense electric plant
supplying power of all kinds for public and
private use. The third company will con-
struct the telephone and electric plants for
the two other companies. manufacture the
equipments and will construct a complete
system of underground conduits. fourth
company is also in the deal, but 1t will not
figure in the proceedings at present. The
local capitalists interested in the new com
panies are: Ellis Wainwright Adolphus
Busch, August Gehner. Sam NJ. Kennard,
Julius s. Walsh, Rolla Wells Charles H
Turner. William F. Nolker, William T. Haar-
tick, William F. Marquard Forster, Henry
Nicholas, George J. Kobusch, Philip Stock,
Lawrence b. Pierce. Breckenridge Jones,
c. X. ID. Walsh. Otto Won Schrader, Will
liam d. Orthwein and H. S. Priest. The
Kinloch Telephone company is the name of
a concern chartered at jefferson City Sat
urday, with a paid up capital stock of
$1,50O,O00. The incorporators were the ST.
Louisians just named, and Hopkins j. Han
ford of Evanston, ILL.,, and James II. Par
ish of Brooklyn, N. Y. The capital stock
OF the company, however, will all be taken
by the st. Louis parties Articles of in
corporation of the st. Louis Electric and
Construction company. with a fully paid
capital of 100000, were filed in the re-
corder's office of this city. The papers con
tain the same list of incorporators. Late
yesterday afternoon the same gentlemen
held meeting and closed a. deal which put
them in possession of the Citizens Electric
Lighting and Power company and the Tele-
phone and Telegraphic Service company
both OF which have had but a nominal
business for many years The Citizens
Electric Lighting and Power company was
then practically organized with a fully paid
capital stock of S750,000 and officers were
elected.
The deal is one of the largest ever ac.
complished in St. Louis, and its effects are
far reaching. The combination was made
for the avowed purpose of reyolutioniZing
the telephone and general electrical bust
ness in st. Louis. The local capitalists
start out with the announcement that the
new telephone company will provide tele-
phones at $36 per year for residences, $50
for physicians and $50 for business houses.
The present telephone rate is 800 per year
for the Bell telephone service. The new
company will open general Offices next week
and Will at once get out and hustle after
prospective subscribers The local capital
lists apparently mean business, as they filed
their applications for conduit space with
the Board of Public Improvements late yes
terday afternoon and also filed four bonds
agsregating $4,000 with the mayor and