Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 34, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 January 1902 — Halleck Company Wants Valparaiso Franchise. [ARTICLE]

Halleck Company Wants Valparaiso Franchise.

The Halleck Telephone Company of Rensselaer wants to put an exchange in at Valparaiso, but has a rocky road to secure a franchise. The city has about 6,000 people and is up-to-date in most things but has an Jantiquted and high priced telephone system. The charges are so high in fact that hardly any private families are connected with the system at all. Residences are $2 per month and business houses $4, or just twice the rates here. Moreover the residences are mostly on “party” lines, four or five or six on one wire, and the result is that wheA anyone wants to talk he- Is apt to find three or four other persons trying to also, over the same wire; and when a rare chance to talk does happen three or four other people are listening to hear what is said. The result is that Valparaiso with three times the population of Rensselaer has a telephone system only one third as large and hot one fifth as satisfactory. The Halleck Company wants to put in a system, *with 11 and $2 rates and every phone on its own wire, but the owner of the present system has a,big “pull” and it is doubtful if a franchise will be granted. The matter was before their city council last Friday night and in an indirect way a vote to kill the franchise ordinance was adopted, by the mayor’s casting vote. The vote was afterwards reconsidered, however, and the ordinance was referred to the proper committee and will be considered again at a later meeting.