Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 234, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 October 1914 — Jasper County Telephone Co. Sells the Wolcott Exchange. [ARTICLE]

Jasper County Telephone Co. Sells the Wolcott Exchange.

The Jasper County Telephone Co. has negotiated the sale of the Wolcott exchange, including the toll line from Remington through Wolcott to Seafield. The sale has to be approved by the state public service commission. The purchaser is J. C. Dixon, of Earl Park, from whom A. L. Clark, one of the local owners of the Jasper County Telephone Co., purchased the Morocco exchange several years ago. The Wolcott exchange has about 370 telephones. The reason Messrs. Clark and Bott had for selling was that both expected to remain in Rensselaer and to give their time to the management of the local plant. There are 817 telephones on *the Rensselaet exchange of the Jasper County Telephone Co., and about 230 additional ones on the exchange belonging to the Bruner system. By the terms of an old contract made when the telephone war was brought to a close some fifteen years ago, the business of 115 telephones of the Bruner system are given central service without cost. The contract has ten years yet to run, but it is quite probable that the public service commission would rule against such a contract, from the fact that in a question of rates between the public and the Jasper County Telephone Co., the latter would be charging up against the users of their phones a part of the cost of handling the Bruner business. The local exchange has completed Its change of central offices and the new switchboard is now in operation. The enterprise shown by the new management should meet the approval of the public, notwithstanding the inconveniences experienced, during the past few months. The modern equipment, the experienced management and the fact that the chief owners are themselves engaged in running it will give Rensselaer a system to be proud of and we hope and expect to have some of the toll rates in the county lowered. < '