The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-04-11
LATEST IN TELEPHONES
Interesting F FEATURES Of Chicago's
Plan For Underground Wires.
SIX NILE TUNNEL BUILDING.

$500
Towel Method of Excavation In Use,
Superior Construction Of Telephone
Wircs-Absolute Secrecy For Subj
s~crfbers-No Fixed Monthly or Year
IL Rates For Phones.
In view Of the great havoc in tele.
graph, telephone and other wires in
the recent storms, says the New York
Evening Post, the plan adopted in Chi
cago should be an object lesson to the
east. Six miles of the tunnel of the
Illinois Telephone and Telegraph com.
pany have been completed, the under.
ground work prepared for the intro
duction of telephone wires Of the new
company operating in that city, now
covering the better part Of the main
business district Of the city, having
been built since September last with
remarkable rapidity. Already more
than $3,OOO.OOO has been spent upon
the tunnel, and by next September the
downtown operations will be complet-
ed, and $40, 100000 will have gone into
the underground work, the exchange
and the wiring Of important municipal
and business structures. The president
Of the new company claims that by
August he will have in operation 1900
telephones in the downtown business
district, and when this is done the
company proposes to ask for power to
carry freight in the tunnel as we'll as
mail and newspapers, which latter are
already permitted.
The tunnel in it's trunk or main
thOrOughfares is twelve feet high and
fourteen feet wide, with space for all.
wire cables and double track electric
freight track. The feeder or collateral
tunnels are eight feet high and six
feet wide and have room for both ca
bles and tracks. 1t is in effect a series
of underground streets in the most con-
gested part Of the city. which will be
extended under the river in one OF
more places. In speaking of the tun-
mel the president of the company said
that the first object Of it was to carry
the wires of the company. After that
came in order to carry the police and
fire alarm wires of the city, the 300
tons of daily mail handled by the post
office from the various stations, the
newspaper mail of the city from the
various offices to the railway stations,
to carry eventually, as necessity arises,
all other telephone and telegraph
wires of the city and. finally. after all
pledges as to telephone service have
been carried out. to make application
to the city council for the right to
transport freight through the tunnel.
!. The method OF building the tunnel
has been unique. Under the terms of
the ordinance permitting the tunnel
digging down to the forty foot level
could not be begun from the street, and
no dumping could be done in the
streets. The whole construction had to.
be carried on without interfering in
any way with public traffic or public
rights. The company therefore hired
Easements and empty buildings along
the route to begin shaft operations in.
Permits were then secured to build
shafthouses on the edge of the walks
Forty foot shafts were then sunk. and
the men worked each way from them.
The mem were and are worked in two
gangs, n excavating and the other
cementing. In e%xcavating nothing but
blue clay was met with. so the work
has been easy. AS fast as the clay Is
dug out and the bore shored up a ce.
ment grouting twelve inches thick is
built in. Compressed air, with twenty
four pounds pressure to the square
inch, is used not only to supply the tun-
mel with fresh air, but to close every
interstice in the cement. Now that the
work has progressed so far 1t is posi-
bic to carry the earth excavated to the
shore of the lake in the tunnel and
there dump it on boats to carry /,
away. which makes the work much
easier.
The method Of service to be given by
the new company in August is differ
ent from any used before. In the es-
Establishments of reputable business
houses and individuals instruments
will be installed free OF charge. In
some instances, however, 1t will be nee
essary to ask for a deposit Of S.,
which will be returned when the user
gives up his telephone. No contracts
will be made by the company for a
Fixed monthly or yearly rate. After the
telephone has been installed the user
will pay for its service according to the
number of times he uses it. The check
upon his use will be through a meter
installed at the central Offices Of the
company. He will have no telephone
company switchboard to deal with;
there will be 10 telephone girls, no par
ty wires, no possibility of other than
secret service. The switch key which
operates with it makes it impossible
for one subscriber to overhear the talk
Of another or a central exchange to
know what its patrons are talking
ah0ut. IT ia claimed nv fho new conn.