The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1914-04-17
TELEPHONE TO THE LINE.
Build South From Fairview
and Connect With Line
From Oroville

With the renewal of active work on
the mining claims of Kruger mountain
few miles north of Oroville, requir-
ing frequent communication between
town and the several working prop
critics, the necessity OF telephone SER
vice has become almost imperative.
Not only is such means OF commune
cation between mine and town cry
ing need, but business men here have
felt for long time that similar
means fOc reaching Fairview, Penti-
ton and other nearby Canadian towns
would be great convenience. 1t was
realized that owing to the sparsely
settled country to the north a Suf-
ficient income could not be derived
from such service to justify private
corporation constructing line over
the route, and hence other than pri-
vate capital had to be depended upon
ii telephone connections were ever
secured. 1t was known that the do
miniOn government owns a short SER
vice line connecting PentictOn and
Fairview, and it was decided that ii
the dominion government could be in
duced to extend the line to the bound
ary at OsOyoos custom house, the bus
mess interests of Oroville, and the
mine operators, would put up line
to Kruger mountain and the border,
thus making the much desired con-
nectiOn.
Some time in March J. A. House,
representing the dominion government
telegraph service, made a trip over
the road from Fairview to Oroville.
and while here conferred with num-
Der OF business men upon the proposal
of extending the telephone service
from Fairview southwark to Osoyoos,
Mr.. House gave those with whom he
conferred to understand that if rep
resentative citizens OF Oroville would
present to him by TELEGRAPH at Vernon
an authoritative and concrete prop
osition as to what might be expected
from this side of the line in the way
OF construction in case his govern
ment extended the system to the bord-
er he might be able to secure a suf-
then in session, to extend the line from
Fairview south as had been suggested.
After Mr.. House returned north the
following telegram was forwarded to
him at Vernon, B. c.:
We, the undersigned representing
the town and commercial interests of
Oroville, WASH, respectfully request
the dominion government to extend
the present telephone line from Fair
view to the International boundary
line. In said event we will construct
line connecting Oroville Herewith"
Signed: K. N. Grubb, mayor; Bert
Mills, postmaster; Dell Hart, The Oro-
vile Commercial Co., The Dividend
Mining Co., The Gold Dust Mining Co.,
l.. l.. Work, j. f. Samson, l.. F. Pour
tales, The United Mine, j. l.. Harper,
e. E. Elmer, F. V. Covert.
Whether the representations of Mr.
House, supplemented by the offer
made by the Orovile telegram, made
favorable impression upon the Cana
dian officials, or whether parliament
induced to act by movement to ac-
cOmplish the same object initiated by
other interests and communities, is
not known, but the dominion govern
ment did act favorably upon the prop
osition by providing $4,000 for the ex-
tension Of the "Okanogan valley tele-
phone system to the U. s. Boundary
from Fairview via Osoyoos, Sidley,
Bridesville, Rock Creek and Midway"
The emergency has been met by
prompt action on the other side of the
line, and soon as the system is ex-
tended to OsOyoos it will become the
duty of Oroville citizens and business
interests to carry out the letter and
spirit of the telegram. There will be
no shirking the responsibility, and
some time this summer OrOville will
be in direct communication, by the
way of telephone line, with the
country to the north and beyond the
international boundary.