Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1903-09-15
TO INCREASE
RATE OCT. l
Residence Phones from 81 to
$1.25 and Business Phones
from $2.25 to $3.50.
MANAGER STARKS HAS
DECIDED TO REMAIN
His Salary Raised--Circular Let
ter to Be Issued in a
Few Days.

The directors Of the Wood County
| Telephone company met Saturday
afternoon to consider the resignation
of Manager StarkS and discuss the
adviSeability Of raising the telephone
rentals.
1t was unanimously decided to offer
Manager Starks $50 per month, and
also to increase the telephone rentals.
Beginning Oct. /, the residence
| phones will be raised from ST. to SI.25
and the business phones from s2 25
to $3.50 per month.
The directors will issue a circular
letter in few days to the subscribers
explaining the reasons why the raise
in telephone rentals has been made.
Manager Starks, when seen yester-
| day, said that he had decided to
accept the advance in salary as offered
by the board of directors.
Telephone Weather Forecast Service.
The farmers in the vicinity of
Grand Rapids are much interested in
establishing rural telephone service.
The advantages Of such a syste em is
| well set forth in an article by Geo.
NJ. Chapel, local forecaster. of Des
Moines: "Itis the policy to serve their
patrons in the best way possible, and
these officials work soley for the benefit
of the people and not for financial gain.
Ever since the U. S. Weather SER
vice was established, it has been the
aim of all officials to give as wide a
distribution to the information they
possess, and many schemes have been
inaugurated to accomplish this end.
In the early days of the service,
when it was under the army regime,
| Farmers Bulletins were published
at certain stations throughout the
country and distributed by mail to
postmasterS and railroad agents that
could be reached at an early hour in
tanned synopsis of the weather con-
ditions over the whole of the country
as shown by the reports of the night
| observations, and also the forecasts,
or, as they were then called, 'Proba-
bilitieS', and later, Indications, for
the coming Uwenty-four or thirty-six
| hours.
Upon their receipt by the railroad
agents and postmasters, the bulletins
were posted in CONSPICUOUS places in
their respective offices for the benefit
of the public. At a later date, the
bulletins were superseded by the daily
weather map, with which all intelli-
gent people are familiar. We have
found nothing TO take the place of
the weather map, but as it can not be
issued by any but regular Weather
Bureau stations it's use is limited to
the city from which it is issued, and
to few near by towns, high schools
and colleges. In order that the
people in the rural districts and dis
tant towns might have the benefit of
the forecasts, forecast display stations
were established which were furnish
ed with set of weather signal flags,
and TO which the forecasts were tele-
graphed at Government expense each
morning, from some central Weather
Bureau station. Upon receipt Of the
forecast by the displayman, the pro-
per flags would be hOiSted on a high
staff to indicate the probable weather
for the next thirty-SiX hours, SO that
|every one in town and the surround
ing country could see at glance
what kind of weather was expected.
This feature Of the service was ex-
panded by furnishing certain signal.
men, located at points having good
mail facilities, with a logotype outfit
and a supply of franked postal cards
addressed to the postmasterS and
business houses in all towns that
could be reached in three or for hours
The display man would stamp the
forecasts on the cards and despatch
them on the first departing mai
train. There are about 1000 town:
in this state supplied with the daily
weather forecasts in this manner, an(
the people appreciate the service very
highly. The next step in increasing
the diSsemin alton of the forecast
was made when the rural free deliver,
mail service was established. Thi
enabled Us to place the forecasts a
the doors of over 10000 farmers il
this state. With the inauguration
of rural telephone lines, we we're per
mitted to take another step and plac'
the forecasts on the inside of the doc
of the farmers houses, and we ar,
now supplying about $4,000 farmer
with the forecasts each day befor
dinner.
"The service is being EXTENDED
rapidly, and the demand from tele
: phone companies and farmers is ia
in advance of our ability to suppl