Kansas agitator. [volume] (Garnett, Kan.) 1890-1905, 1900-11-16

London Is getting ready Tor dig
fight, and thirty miles of street are
torn up for the conflict, which a little
army of thousand men is bringing
on as rapidly as possible. In all
probability no blood will be shed, but
q heap of gold is at stake.
After the struggle Is over we shall
know more than we do now about the
vcxed question as to whether it profit
eth a people to run their own tele-
phones. Incidentally, the contest will
put a large sum Of money into Ameri-
can pockets, for it brought to an Am
erican company the largest telephone
contract ever given in Europe.
The strangcst feature Of the fight Is
that 1t will be struggle for trade
between the British government and
some of its own most respected citi-
zens who form the National Telephone
company. Some of the company's d.
rectors and some OF the
stockholders are peers OF the
realm But the government is
going to crowd them out Of business If
it can, and parliament has granted
$40 100000 with which to begin this
queer competition.
The National Telephone Company Is
the biggest thing of its kind in Eng
land. 1t is practically monopoly,
rich and powerful. 1t has given a
phenomenally bad telephone service
to London. Consequently fewer tele-
phones per capita are in use in the
worlds metropolis today than In any
American city of $4,000 inhabitants.
Complaints were Intellectual until sud-
denly a bill popped up in parliament
authorizing the postoffice department
to establish a rival service. The tele-
phone people in the house of commons
were bowled over, and now, before
London folk fairly realize it, the post
office is laying it's wires in mile after
mile of streets, and the existing mon
opoly is preparing to battle for It's
life.
The contract for the enormous guam
the government was awarded to the
Western Electric company of Chica-
go. For the central exchange alone
$4,000 telephones will be required,
while mary more instruments are be-
ing made for the suburban districts.
No single factory could hope to have
all the work done on time, and so the
apparatus is being made in the shops
of the Western Electric company in
three cities Simultaneously, the key
boards and their attachments in Chi
cago, the cables in North WoolUich
and the telephones in Antwerp.
/ At the rostofice they estimate that
the whole district Of GAO square miles
cannot he completed for five years, but
some of the new telephones will prob
ably be in use in about two years. The
man in charge Of the whole vast OPP
Grafton is John Gavey, assistant chief
engineer Of the postoillce, and under
him the work is being handled by
three separate forces-the contractors
Will lay Tile uuClS, nHiNh oiO Gil VA
the American pattern; the Western
Electric company will equip the CEN
ter from cellar to garnet and lay the
wires to the ground, end the postofiice
force will take up the work there and
lay the wires and cables.
The postofice will give a much
cheaper service than the National
Telephone company has given. The
present price for unlimited use of a
telephone is EFT (about $3.50 year,
while the postoffice telephones are ex-
pected to rent for less than $50. The
toll system will be in use in many OF
the shops modelled on the Swiss plan.
By this the tradesman will pay $15,
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