Omaha daily bee., 1899-12-20
NEW TELEPHONE COMPETITION
wcII-Informcd Man Says II Is Doubt
full whether New Companies
win soon MutcriaIizc.

"You may expect to hear a great deal Of
talk from now on about competition in the
telephone business through the Inauguration
of new telephone companies in this section"
said an Omaha man closely connected with
the telephone business But It is doubtful
whether much OF it will materalize very
soon There is no question but that the
telephone, especially the long distance part
of 1t, has cut into the business of the tele-
graph companies extensively and that they
are feeling the competition and are looking
about for some plan by which they can meet
it, II is not surprising therefore, that both
the old telegraph companies are talking
about using their wires for telephone pur
poses.
"The fact is that there has never been any
direct competition in the telegraph business.
Both the Western Union and the Postal have
an ironclad agreement not to cut rates.
The Western Union and the Bell people had
some kind of agreement by which each was
to confine itself to its own particular field;
lust what that agreement was nobody but the
parties to it can tell, but the general under
standing Is that the Bell people
we're to keep out of the telegraph business
and the telegraph people out of the telephone
business, while both were to maintain rates
at competing points. Some discussion came
UP a year ago as to when this agreement eX
pircd, some contending that 1t ran out last
Nav, while others said it would not run out
until the coming May. l presume that the
prospective termination of this agreement
is what is stimulating the plans for the new
telephone companies.
"As a matter of fact, however, the tee
phone company can cut into the telegraph
CT nc r1nph n c tho 1ottpr
into it, It would be much easier for the tel
ephone company to arrange its system so
that its wires can be used for telegraph pur-
poses than for the reverse. The telephone
company now. with its stations in almost
all the towns, large and small, in Nebraska,
Iowa and surrounding states, is in position
to start a full-fedged telegraph at almost
a moments notice, and by the economics it
could effect it could give rates much lower
than those now eXacted by the Western
Union and the Postal. If it really comes TO
a fight between these large corporations you
may be sure it will be carried on all along
the line and that telephone rates will not
come down half as fast as telegraph tolls"
Manager Umsted of the Western Union
Telegraph company last evening said
There is positively no truth in the article
published in the World Herald concerning
the merging of various small telephone
companies into one concern, for final con-
solidation with the Western Union COM
pany, and form a telegraph and long dis
tance telephone corporation. l am positive
neither the Western Union nor its officers
are in any way related with new telephone
interests. On the contrary, the closest re-
lations exist between the Western Union
and the Bell Telephone company, which of
course includes the Nebraska Telephone
company"
Superintendent Dickey left for Denver
yesterday afternoon, but Manager Umsted
stated that Mr.. Dickey positively denied
the fake report.