Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-12-11

I One of the attractive features of the
automatic service from the subscribers
| standpoint is that when additional ex-
changes are installed it does not i'm
pair the service in any way.
| ITO handle the long distance buSi-
ness new four position toll board has
| been installed. This board was es-
| peclally designed with the view to Civ
ing the very best possible transmission.
| 1t is also designed for automatic toll
calling, which means that the Harris
| burg operator by use of the dial can
automatically switch through the vari-
Gus towns in making u connection to
distant point.
New and modern testing, in
: formation and wire chief daskS have
also been installed.
l. The main cable distributing frame
is of the very latest type designed and
marketed by the Automatic Electric
Company and is the latest word in
this type of apparatus.
100000 On Outside Plant
| To insure good transmission and
service the Cumberland Valley Tele-
| phone has spent more than 100000
on the outside plant" continued the
engineer. "OVer ten miles of aerial
cables have been cut into service and
! several miles of underground cable
/ nave been installed, together with
special trunking cables for long dis
/ tance service. An entire new cable
has been put into service between the
Harrisburg and Steelton exchanges
The entire outside plant has been care
| FULLY gone over and placed in first class
/ condition. The service to and from
! Steelton is the quickest known to the
/ telephone art. With the use of the
| dial a connection can be completed be-
tween the city and the big mill town
in six seconds. All details for giving
hsNg. Il Il.
been carefully worked out at an ex-
I pense OF thousands of dollars. but we
believe it will be worth it to both the
subscriber and the company"
G. V. T. Home Company
Great interest has been evinced
| Cumberland Valley Telephone to re-
place its manual system with the auto
| matte because the Cumberland Valley
is home company and great deal of
local capital is invested therein.
The Cumberland Valley Telephone
| Company was formed by a merger of
| hve telephone companies in 1901 COW
erlng all the territory of the Cumber-
! land Valley. The Harrisburg COM
pany which entered into the merger
was the Dauphin County Telephone
| Company. Benjamin f. Meyers, after
| the merger and until 1907, was presi-
/ dent of the company.
| Shortly after the merger was formed
/ the property was leased to the United
! Telephone and Telegraph Company
which operated it until 1907, when
the Cumberland Valley and the United
Telephone and Telegraph Companies
| We're both leased to the American
Union Telephone Company.
CompanyS Holdings
| BESIDES the tVe original companies
| which went into the merger the COM
| pany afterward acquired the Juniata
and SusquehannG Telephone Company,
the Lykens Telephone and Telegraph
! Company and telephone properties in
the states of Maryland, Virginia and
! West Virginia. The property now ex-
tends from Sunbury on the north,
| Lewistown on the west, and goes south
through Central Pennsylvania, taking
IN the towns of Mechanicsburg, Car
Isle, Shippensburg, Hanover, Gettys-
| burg, ChamberSburg, and thence
| through Maryland, West Virginia and
| Virginia, covering Hagerstown, Mar
tinsburg and Winchester.
The company operates 33 exchanges,
has 600 miles of toll lines and 76S,S25
miles of line wire.
Tracy Made Receiver
ON January /, 1912, the property
was taken out of the hands of the
American Union Telephone Company
and placed in the control of Henry NJ
| Tracy, the present president, as re-
ceiver. AT this time the property had
become so depleted that its service was
seriously impaired and the revenues so
! reduced and cost of operation in
creased that it barely earned operating
expenses. Through the efficient man.
agement of the receiver the property
was reconstructed. the business built |
up, confidence of the public restored |
and at the end of four years of the |
receivership Mr.. Tracy had spent al |
most 100000 from earnings of the |
company on reconstruction work, turn |
ing over the property to the new COM |
pany free of any receivers obligations |
and in excellent working condition. |
The toll lines had all been recon- |
structed, most of the lines rebuilt, new
exchanges of a modern type installed |
at Mechanicsburg, Carlisle, Shippens-
burg, Gettysburg, Hagerstown and |
Marunsburg, together with q number |
of smaller exchanges at various points. |
The automatic telephone was a |
hobby of the receiver and for the last |
two years of the receivership he was |
investigating its merits and strength
ening the suburban districts of Harris !
burg in order to make it essential and |
valuable to Harrisburg subscribers. He
visited various cities in the West to |
get first-hand knowledge of the work |
ings of the automatic telephone and |
its popularity among it's patrons and
was convinced Of it's merits
1t remained, however, for the di- |
rectorare of the new company to au-
thorize the expenditure of the large
amount of capital required to install
automatic equipment and new cable.
This was taken care of in the plan
for reorganization. and after a thor
ough investigation by the board of
directors the work was authorized.
The present directors of the COM
pany are William ]. Lcscure, Charles
A. Kunkel Henry NJ. Tracy, S. win
Shunkweiler, of Lewistown; f. A. Zim-
norman, of Chambersburg; T. J.
O'Neill, of Hanover; S. Wynne Foulkes
and A. e. Prendergast. The late James
Brady was also director. His va
cancy in the board has not yet been
filled