The San Francisco call., 1899-10-11
WILL CONNECT
ALASKAN CITIES
Telegraph Line Planned
to juneau.
TO BE READY NEXT FALL
PROMOTERS OF THE SCHEME
HAVE A GOOD BACKING.
TO BE READY NEXT FALL
BY HAL HOFFMAN.

JUNEAU, Alaska. Oct. (via Seattle.
Wash, Oct 10.-The year 1900 will bring
considerable telegraphic development to
Alaska. This city will in all probability
have telegraphic communication with the
world at large by next fall and with
Skaguay early next spring. In fact,
Juneau VIII be in telegraphic touch with
the rest of mankind just as soon as Daw-
son and Skaguay.
Robert l.. Moore, chief inspector of the
Western Union office at Victoria, b. c.,
representing a company to be known as
the British Columbia and Alaska Tele-
graph Company, has been here several
days working up the project. Mr.. Moore
proposes to use the Edison phonoplex sys-
tenn, laying cable from Juneau TO Skag-
uay a distance of 100 miles, over Which 1t
is said the phonopleX system Will work
very satisfactorily. 1t is proposed to have
the cable in operation next March. Mr..
Moore wants the business interests of Ju
neau 10 subscribe to take total OF $l0,0O0
worth Of coupons, good for that much
business over the line, the coupons TO be
delivered and paid for when the cable is
in successful operation. He is meeting
with enCOura cement.
The Canadian Government has already
completed a telegraph line from Lake
Bennett TO Dawson and from Iagish to
Atlin City, where an office has been
opened. Ar. appropriation OF 100000 has
been made for the purpose of stringing a
wire from Quesnene, on the Fraser River,
200 miles north of Ashcroft, B. c., to At
lin, and cords of wire are now said to be
piled up at Ashcroft. AS early next
spring as possible two gangs of men will
be put to work. one at the Quesnelle end
and the other at the Atlin, and they are
expected to meet somewhere in the in
terror next fall and join wires. That mo-
ment Juneau, Skaguay and Dawson will
cease to be isolated places of the north.
They will, so far communication IS con-
cerned, be just as close to New York and
London as Seattle or San FRANCISCO.
The Dominion Government Will use sew
eral hundred miles of the old telegraph
trail and survey. which was a Jay Gould
and Western Union cheme to put an over
land wire through Siberia to st. Peters
burg and Europe. This was defeated by
the completion of the Cyrus w. Field ca
bic across the Atlantic. Several million
dollars were lost and tons of wire We're
left on the ground Some of it is there
yet.
Some speculation has been indulged in
here and at Skaguay already as to the
combined press rate to be charged by the
several lines From Juneau the British
Columbia and Alaska Telegraph Company
Will probably ask one cent word to
Skaguay. according to Mr.. Moore The
Tagish. must have something, and that
may be another cent. Then the Dominion
Government will probably want at least
cent for the long jump from Tagish to
Ashcroft, and Just to keep things uniform
the Western Union or other company that
delivers the stuff to its destination in the
States may fix its slice at one cent. This
makes cents a word. or 81 per 100 words
which rate must be considerably lowered.
or there will O~0ha hlv he verv little press
matter get overland. The commercial rate
VIII PROBABLY ue OH enough at birth to
stand alone.
G. B. Swinehart of Juneau. the we'll
known newspaper man of Alaska, was in
the field here several weeks ahead of Mr..
Moore with a subscription paper for an
overland line. TO be ready in a year, be-
tween Juneau and Skaguay. and secured
about $4,000 in subscriptions. The Swine
| hart proposition has interfered with the
sB,itish Columbia and Alaska Company.
| but one or the other of the lines will
| doubtless be stretched next year.