The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-06-09
TO PUSH ITS WIRES THIS WAY.
Val ,DOSTA TELEPHONE co. TO CON-
Meet WITH SAVANNAH co.

Ar Agreement Reached Between the
Two Lines-The VaIdOsta Long Dis
lance Lines 10 BE Operated
Through the Savannah Exchange.
The New Company to Be in Opera
ton by Fall and Connection ES-
tabIished Throughout SOuthe nst
Georgia.
A deal was completed yesterday between
the. Southern Telephone and Telegraph
Company Of Valdosta and the Savannah
Telephone Company by which the Val
dosta company will connect with the ex-
change of the Savannah Telephone Com
pany.
The work OF building into Savannah from
Jesup will occupy between sixty and nine
ty days by which time 1t is expected that
the Savannah Telephone Company will be
ready for business.
The deal was made by Mr.. G.. L. Good
rum, superintendent of construction Of the
Va.dosta company, and Mr.. ]. T. Row
land Of the Savannah company. This
means that Savannah will have Tong dis
lance telephone connection with all of
Southwest Georgia by fall The Valdosta
company has already complete and in op-
GRAFTON the largest long distance telephone
system in the south, about $40 miles being
already constructed.
The Vaidosta people have shown wonder
full enterprise In inaugura ting and push
ing the long distance telephone, work hav-
ing been begun about a year ago. Mr..
Goodrum gives some interesting lnforma-
uon concerning the company. The Val
dosta exchange began operations a year
ago with $50 telephones. The line was
then extended to Triton, distance of fifty
miles, ana an exchange was put in which
now has seventy-six telephones The
line was then extended from Valdosta to
Lake City, Fla, a distance of seventy
miles, and from Valdosta to Thomasvflle
by way of Quitman. An exchange was
put in al Quitman, which now has eighty
four subscribers. The company has sta
lions at Townsville and Lake City, but
an exchange will probably be put in at
brownsville. A branch line was built from
Pidcock to Moultrie. The line was then
extended from Valdosta to Waycross and
an exchange put in at the latter place
with 100 subscribers. The line was next
extended from Waycross to Jesup. and
from Jesup to Brunswick.
Inc company is now ready to extend its
line to Savannah. This would have been
done before, but there was no exchange
here with which the company could con
meet, the Bell Telephone Company having
refused to make connection. The Bell
Company nevertheless recognized the val
ue OF the long distance line and made an
effort to buy out the company, but with
out success. The line would have been ex-
tended to Savannah anyway this spring
out the nigh waters of the Altamaha
proved such an obstacle that it was east
er to build to Brunswick. The distance
from Jesup to Savannah is only fifty-sev-
en- miles, and there are no obstacles in the
way of rapid completion of the line.
The advantages to Savannah of tele-
phone connection with the towns already
reached by the Valdosta company, are ap-
parent. In addition to the towns named
there are numerous stations along the line
at small towns, saw mills and turpentine
farms When the line is completed the
Savannah merchants and their South
Georgia customers can transact business
with the greatest dispatch and a consid-
erable saving in expense.
The Waycross Telephone Company
whose application for a franchise for a
long distance telephone exchange at Sa-
vannah, is now pending before council, is
an entirely different concern from the VAL
dosta company, and in fact, a rival COM
pany. The Waycross company has secur-
ed franchises at Brunswick, Darien and
Jacksonville, but has so far not extended
two small points near that city.