The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1918-04-05
DIVISION OF TERRITORY MERGER OF
UNION AND BELL TELEPHONE COS.

Union Company to be Only Company
In Owosso and Surround ng Terri
tory-Universai Long Distance Ser.
| Woe-A Distinct Advantage to Pat
| rons.
Permission to put through a deal
that will result in but one telephone
in the communities in which both COM
paries now operate, doing away with
the nuisance and unnecessary expense
of two telephone systems, is asked by
the Michigan State Telephone Com
pany and The Union Telephone Com
/ pany in petition filed today with the
Michigan Railroad Commission.
| The two companies, after negotiat-
ing for the past year or more, have
reached an, agreement as to the ex-
change of territory, and the sale of
certain exchanges and toll lines, and
now ask the Railroad Commission,
which has control over public utilities
companies, to give it's approval there
Of. Not only will the approval of the
commission be necessary, but it must
also be approved by the Attorney
General of the United States.
The deal involves the exchange or
sale of thousands of telephone sta
tions, and several hundred miles of
toll circuits. The Union Company is
taking over four times as much as it
is relinquishing, and will pay approx
imately $126,000 to the Michigan
State or Bell Telephone Company
| The deal is one of particular inter-
est here, in view of the agitation of
long standing, for one telephone sys-
TEN, and for the improvements that
such a system would permit. While
the local Bell office will be abolished,
that company's toll business through
here will be either handled by the
Union Company in conjunction with
its own business, or by separate Of
flee to be maintained in the building
OF the Union Company.
These Exchanges Transferred
The exchanges which The Union
Company will take over are at Alma,
Breckenridge, Corunna, Durand, Ith-
aca, Mt. Pleasant, Owosso, Shepherd,
ST. Louis, Wiedman and Wheeler.
Those which the Bell will take over
viz: are Byron, Clare, Farwell, Fen
ton, Harrison and Midland. In addi-
Cion there are countless small toll
stations, in the counties named be-
low, which will be transferred. The
transfer will mean that each of the
companies will be alone in the terri
tory which it acquires.
Among other improvements here
that will result from the merger, will
be the removal of all of the Bell Com
pany's poles, now remaining in the
business district, with the exception
of the few carrying the through toll
lines. The Union Company now has
all its wires in the downtown district
underground and all those outside the
business district in aerial cables.
The Michigan State Telephone Com
pany desires to sell to the Union Tel
ephone Company all it's exchanges,
toll stations and toll lines in that por-
tion of Mecosta, Isabella, Montcalm,
Gratiot, Saginaw, Ionia, Clinton and
Shiawassee Counties, where the Un-
ion Company now operate.
The Union Company will buy ap-
$500 telephone stations
and 75O miles of toll circuit, and with
this addition it will operate about 15,-
900 stations and $500 miles of toll
ircuits. *'FMS. sEHfF as@aaI Il
The Union Telephone Company de-
sires to sell all its exchanges, toll lines
and toll stations that it now operates
in Clare, Midland, Bay and Genesee
to the Michigan State Tele-
phone Company. The Michigan State
Telephone Company will buy approx
imately 1900 telephone stations and
275 miles of toll circuit.
The result will be that in the entire
territory in Central Michigan now
by The Union Telephone
Company only one telephone system
will be operated, and in this city the
Union Company by taking over all
he property and business of the
Michigan State Telephone Company
will be able after the exchanges are
merged to furnish service not only to
Ill the Independent Telephone sub
cribers in this city and in the state
# Michigan and elsewhere, but will {
llso be able from the same telephone
o furnish service to any subscriber (
Who has the Bell service in any part |
# the United States. The Union !
Company will take over the local ex-
hange and merge the two plants at {
ONE future date, when this can be {
'rought about. Before this merger |
an lawfully be consummated the mat
er must be presented to the Michigan
Commission, who must pass
avorably thereon, and, in addition to G
his, the companies must secure J
avorable opinion from the Attorney
ieneral of the United States. This, of {
curse, will probably take some time, I
ut as soon as this is accomplished, \
he work Of merging the two plants !
an be started. This will involve a i
asst amount of work, and it will prob
bly, be year or more before it can
e done on the entire system.
Subscribers Protected
IL