The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-07-02
EXTENSIVE WORK
 NOW IN PROGRESS Vice President Gentry Talks of
 Telephone Expansion. SOME CAUSES OF DELAY Southern Bell Telephone Company Ex- pending Quarter of a Million Dol.
 lars In Improvements Here.
 Shipments Are Slow. 
SOME CAUSES OF DELAY

Col. W. T. Gentry, vice president of the Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph company, spent several days in Birming- ham last week looking over the extensive work his company has in progress in this city. Colonel Gentry states that the work here is progressing well. but would be much nearer completion except for ping the required material. Large forces of men are at work and the Southern Bell company is spending 5000 per month in extraordinary expense, over and above the necessary normal expense of conduct ing the business here
 "The new trunking cables between the main exchange in Birmingham and the branch exchanges in the surrounding towns, are rapidly nearing completion" said Colonel Gentry. "The manufacturers have been very slow in delivering this material. A number of lengths in various cables have not arrived, but bills of lading for these delayed shipments have reach ed us and the material is expected with in the next ten days.
 Large Force Working.
 'All of the cable from East Lake and Woodlawn and from Woodlawn to Bir- mingham has arrived and Is in position. We have a large force of men now at work splicing and testing it out It IS thought that this part of the work will be completed within ten days. We will then have thirty trunk lines between East Lake and Birmingham instead of twelve as at present, and will have 100 trunk lines between Woodlawn and Birming- ham instead of twenty, as at present. All of the trunks will be ncased in new cables, there being no open wires used. and service will not be interrupted by lightning storms.
 About half the trunking cables be- tween the Birmingham main exchange and West End and Ensley have been completed and work on the remainder is proceeding rapidly These cables should be in service within twenty-five days, and the improvement will be the same as that between Birmingham and Wood lawn and East Lake.
 Caused Embarrassment.
 "The delays in the shipment of material by the manufacturers have caused us very great embarrassment as we expected | to have all the cable work completed by the end of March Birmingham has been visited by several terrific lightning storms during the past two weeks and the storm of the 18th of June put more than 300 telephones out of commission It has taken several days to repair them all, owing to the fact that five cables were struck by lightning, some of them being damaged in a number of places.
 Work on the telephone building Is pro- ceeding satisfactorily. but necessarily very slowly, on account of the conditions that now confront the contractor. He will. however, reach the third floor within the next two or three weeks, after which time he can go ahead rapidly
 "Mr. F. L. Woodruff, division superin- tendent, will remain in Birmingham sev- eral weeks. An expert from the en- gineer's office M. H. O. Riley, super intendent of construction, district maln- tenance supervisor and a district traffic supervisor are all In Birmingham and will all remain until the tremendous lob now underway Is completed We have a very large force of employees at work here and the company Is neglecting noth- ing which can be thought of in order to furnish telephone service to its patrons The company is expending in Brming- ham more than 5000 per month in extra ordinary expense, I mean above the ex- pense which would be necessary under This is done in order to maintain the best service possible under the present conditions while the plant is being great ly enlarged.
 Large Expenditures.
 "The total amount to be expended In Birmingham will exceed $250,000 and when the work is completed Birmingham will have one of the finest telephone systems in the world. I prophecy now that this time next year the people of Birming- ham will refer to their telephone system with pride and that more than 90 per cent of our patrons will declare that the telephone system of Birmingham is gilt-edged and fully up to any demands which they may make upon it.
 FOUR PRISONERS GET