Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1900-06-21
A POWERFUL NUISANCE.
Wisconsin Telephone Co. Pays Little Heed
to the Demands of CITY Council.

This company has less than a dozen
paying phones in our city, all of which
are used for long distance purposes
only: but it has nevertheless continued
for more tnan three years to cucumber
our streets with its dead wires and
poles, in violation Of law. Our Common
Council, at its last meeting, with a
view OF improving Cranberry street,
among other things, ordered the Wood
County Telephone company, the Twin
City Electric Light company, and the
Wisconsin Telephone company, to
move onto one set of poles on the
south side of that street, or to move
off the street. This notice was served
on all these companies. and was COM
piled with, at once, by the two local
companies, and they offered to give to
the Wisconsin Telephone company
space on their poles for all the live
wires they might need and for three
extra dead wires; at the same time
giving that company, the most deSir-
able place upon the poles.
Soon after we were informed by the
Milwaukee office that the whole mat
ter had to be submitted to the Board
of Directors at Lowell, Mass That
OObJ, uuC SSlIU llCIc
on Thursday last, their attorney, H.
.. Seymour, to ADJUST the matter: but
he was so hemmed in, by instructions
from his SuperiorS, that his personal
presence here, was of no more value
than his letter of instruction would
have been. The decision of that
august body, at Lowell, was that, if
they should unite with us, they would
require us to maintain the poles and
crOSs-arms without charge to them,
and provide space for all their live
wires, and in addition, thirty dead
wires. When asked what they offered
in exchange for this, we were told
that they would remove, as requested
by the Council and would condescend
to associate with us on the same set of
poles. 1t is needless to say, that we
came to no agreement with them.
While it is true, our city granted
franchise to that company to occupy
our streets for telephone purposes, it
was with the distinct provision that
they would move their poles and wires
as often as required to do so, by the
proper authorities, but when asked to
perform this part of their contract,
they now seem to resent it, as an in
trusiOn upon their rights. 1t affords
us feeling of satisfaction to realize
that we are not dependent upon that
gigantic monopoly, nor do we have to
contribute to the support of that high
paid Board of Directors at Lowell, nor
to the support of it's high-paid travel
ing attorney.
The whole matter is of trifing i'm
portance, and 1T could have been
adjusted here to the advantage of all
concerned by their gentlemanly agent,
John T. Avery, if he only had author
ity to do so, but in these mammoth
corporations, every employee is mere
automaton, hemmed in and fettered
by d mass of red tape authority, all of
which has to be paid for by their un-
fortunate patrons.
So far, we have protected ourselves
against the impoSitionS and tyranny
of that corporation through the
patriotism of our people, without
having to resort to expensive litiga-
ton: and we hope to be able to do so
in the future; but the time may come
when we will have to establish our
legal rights in the courts.