The Oskaloosa herald., 1904-01-14
new SWITCH. BOARDS.
Iowa Telephone Adds Another Big
Improvement.

The Home Telephone company or
this city starts on the new year with
an extensive Improvement, the en-
larging of its local exchange by two
new additional sections to its switch
board and the stringing Of consider
able new wire about the city. Also a
new metallic circuit for the long
distance service. The cost Of the
improvements to the company will
amount to several thousand dollars.
The new switch board will accom-
modate the increasing demand for
telephone service about the city for
some time to come, as portion of
the new service will be. devoted to
what are called party lines. That
is, four persons may be placed on one
line with but very little, IL any, in
convenience to any of the parties us
ing the line. No one of the subscrib-
ers is disturbed by the ringing of the
others, for the mechanism of the
phone alarm is so arranged that only
the number desired by the caller is
rung. The only inconvenience would
be that the line might possibly be in
use by one Of the parties when an
other subscriber desired to use the
phone. This sort OF service Is best
adapted to the residence districts of
the exchange where the individual
phones are not used to any great ex-
tent. Say a few calls per day at
most, and some days none. 1t makes
possible a perfect service at small
cost to the subscriber. The cost OF
the party line instrument to the sub
scriber will be only one dollar per
month.
A board of one hundred numbers
will accommodate four hundred sub
scribers with this sort of service and
will thus take care of the growth OF
the exchange in the residence dis
tricts for some time to come.
The new boards now being place.
in the Office mark the extent of the
possible growth of the present ex-
change. Should the unprecedented
increase Of the past several years be
continued much longer it will be inn
possible for the exchange to be ham
died with the present system of oper-
alton and multiple board will be
necessary. Manager w. D. Duns-
more states that the field is now pref
ty thoroughly covered and he believes
that the new board will be sufficient
to accommodate the demands of the
exchange Fer some time to come.
The exchange now has about If
teen hundred subscribers, and others
are being added almost daily. The
humber of additions is rar In excess
of the Withdrawals, so that the in
crease iw the Number of subscribers
has been steady.
A new directory or the exchange
will be published as soon >as the new
switch boards accommodating the
party line service are instalie1 az.
in operation. There are man. ID
scribers who have desired the 40 I'm!
modations that this service gives and
it is the intention of the management
to have all of these subscribers
placed in the new directory.
The growth of the rural telephone
service continues, and to meet this
growth the exchange has had to ex-
pand.' A new additional section of
the switch board will be put in TO ac-
commodate this, dept ment.
The new metallic Circuit to Ere
mont was completed Thursday. This
new service for the toll lines includes
Cedar and Wright and gives a per-
feet toll service for these stations.
The lines are copper and are working
to the satisfaction of all concerned