The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-03-27
I"o TELEPHONE CONCERNS ARD
SEEKING ADMISSION TO ST.
PAUL.
AGENTS OF IOWA COMPANY
ARE ALREADY SOIJCTTINc mrs.
NESS ON A REDUCED SCHEDULE
OF RATES.
they VIII Ask the Council Co.
H"hch1se-The Second Is to In
troduee the Drabough System.

st. Paul, or the Twin Cities. .anneara
to be the Mecca for at least two ne,y
telephone companies which are irving
to secure a foothold with a view 81
ultimately gaining franchises from the
city. The two companies are doing
their work secretly, and very likelv
without knowledge of each other. The
obJect of both concerns is to crowd
out the Bell company and cut prices
in two.
one system which is said to be seek.
Ing Tor an introduction to the ST Pa,,I
public is the so-called Hubinger svs-
tenn, which is said to have secured
some foothold in Iowa and other states
During the past three DAYS several
agents have been quietly at work
among the subscribers of the Bell TeIe-
phone company trying to introduce the
HuDlnger system to popular fancy. A
NUMBER OF persons whose business il
solicited were found by a reporter for
the q o e yesterday. In one case a
subscriber to the Bell company. who
was paying $72 year for his service
had been asked to sign a contract with
the Hubinger people, who agreed ia
give the same service for $45. All OF
the subscribers have been thus far
asked to observe secrecy. The agents
are displaying in their work what DUR
ports to be clipping from the Keokuk
or Burlington Democrat-JournaI. In
which is narrated the report of a meet
ing at Keokuk by the citizens asso-
citation. The meeting was supposed
to have been held for the purpose of
hearing the report of a special commit
tee appointed to investigate the merits
OF the Hubinger system. The report
OF the committee is presented on the
clipping. The report commends the
system to the people Of Keokuk and
says the instruments tested by the
committee are perfect in their service.
Inc report also claims the Hubinger
telephones are cheaper
The agents working in ST Paul were
asked why they were working in such
secrecy. The reply was that the Bell
Telephone company would probably re-
duce their prices to force the new con-
Germ out of business, if they knew they
had rival in the field
st. Paul and Minneapolis capitalists
are said to be forming a company to
install a new system known as the
DraWboueh system, which is said to
have merits over any now in use. The
men who are back of the alleged pro-
ject are very 10th to speak and names
are withheld from the press.
This system uses nothing but long
distance phones" with the metallic
circuit and the very latest improve
ment in wiring. The use of this phone
does away with the service of the
'.hello girls by means of an automatic
switch at central and a dial on the
telephone. You call the number wanted
direct, instead of by the aid of an
operator at central" This switch is
novel and beautiful piece of mechan-
ism, absolutely sure and. positive.
There can be no interference by an
other subscriber after you have moved
your dial. The service is private in all
that the word implies no person can
cut in or hear you while you are talk
ing. The system has been given the
most perfect tests by the gentlemen
who control the rights for Minnesota.
The parent company is now putting
in several systems, some of them COLI
tanning a thousand or more phones.
The capacity of this automatic switch
is unlimited; any number of phones
can be handled as easily as two or
three. If it does what is claimed for
it, it IS the telephone service of the
future.
The idea now is to put in one sys-
tenn in the Twin Cities, using one
switchboard centrally located between
the cities, giving the subscribers the
use of phones in both cities for one
rental. This company will extend the
system over the state, while the parent
company is doing the same over the
United States, thereby making it pos
sible for a subscriber to talk with par
ties all over the country without leav-
ing his Office.