Omaha daily bee., 1897-05-02
WILL TALK TO new YORK
Telephone Connection Between Omaha and
the Eastern City About Completed.
FOURTEEN DOLLARS PER CONVERSATION
Line IL Built to Davenport and officers
of the Company Predict II VIII
he Extended to Omaha
This summer.

Telephone connection between Omaha and
New York City and Boston will be COM
pleted on August 1. This announcement wac
made to The Bee yesterday by President G.
e.. Vest of the Nebraska Telephone company.
The long distance line stretching half way
across the continent from the gateway of
the new world to the metropolis of the trans
mississippi country has been In operation be-
tween Chicago and the eastern cities for
several years. 1t has been gradually ex-
tended westward, the intention being to
make Omaha the western terminus for the
present at least. The line is now completed
to a point about twenty miles this side of
as rapidly as experienced workmen can set
the poles and hang the wires.
President Yost says that it will be ready
for business on August l and that the man
who desires to transact business in New
York can do so through the telephone as
easily and as conveniently as he now can
talk to his friend in Lincoln or Hastings.
Still, it is not probable that the line will be
used very frequently by men who desire
to call up New York just for the fun of the
thing. The charges will be somewhat steep,
amounting to about $14 for a fve-minute
conversation. But even with the apparently
high rates 1t is believed that the line will
be used frequently by business men. The
line from Chicago to New York is almost
overburdened with business, although the
charges are SO for u five minute CONVEX
sation.
SIOUX CITY WILL COME IN.
Omaha will also be placed in telephone
communication with Sioux City within a
few weeks. The lines of the Iowa Telephone
company are now being extended south from
Sioux City to onawa and from that point to
Missouri Valley. The lines of the Nebraska
Telephone company already extend to Mis-
souri, Valley and as soon as the Iowa ex-
tension is completed Omaha will be able to
reach the city up the river.
The Nebraska Telephone company, of
which Mr.. Yost is president, will make more
extensions in Nebraska during the year 1897
than in any other year in its previous history.
A number Of new lines are to be constructed
and more than twenty new stations will be
added to the already long list. The ma
terial for these new extensions has been
purchased and work upon all of them will
be pushed without delay.
One of the extensions will commence at
Palmyra, in Otoe county, and take in the
towns of Douglas, Sterling, Smartville and
Tecumseh. Another new line will commence
at Elk Creek and run to Table Rock. From
the latter point two branches will be built,
one running to Pawnee City and the other to
tho towns of Humboldt, Dawson, Salem and
Falls City. The towns of Pawnee City and
Falls City will be the most important ones
on this line. The line to York will be ex-
tended south to McCool Junction and Fair
mont. The Hastings line will be extended
to Juniata, while the Grand Island line will
be continued on west to Kearney, taking in
the towns of Aida, Wood River, Shelton,
Gibbon and Buda.
WIRES TO GO UNDER GROUND.
In all these many improvements the city
of Omaha will not be overlooked. President
Yost returned from Chicago the latter part
of last week, where he purchased 10000
worth of new cable, with which Omaha's
underground system will be greatly ex-
tended. The new cable will be placed in
the conduit already laid from the central
office to Cass street and will carry the great
~festoons of wire which now ornament the
atmosphere in the territory Immediately sur
rounding the northwestern part of the city
adjacent to the central Office.
The new metallic circuit between Omaha
and Kansas City is carrying a large amount
OF business, and there will be even more
service when Omaha is connected with New
York. When the latter connection is made
the only way the Kansas City people can
communicate with New York is by way of
Omaha.