Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 36, Number 57, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 March 1904 — BIG TELEPHONE MERGER. [ARTICLE]

BIG TELEPHONE MERGER.

jONE COUNTRY, ONE FUG AND ONE BUNCH OF “HELLO GIRLS” Will Be the Rule Hereafter in Rensselaer A very important transaction in telephone circles has just been CQn6ummafedHin!Pnß3elaer, and one which can not, it would seem, fail t > bo very"advantageous to the general public. It is in short, a general combining of the two here tofore warring telephone syet- ms, doing business in Rensselaer, Namely the Jasper County Telephone Company commonly called the Bell lines and the independent Bruner & Merry and Halle; k lines. Briefly stated, by the terms of the agreement between the different compauies-there will hereafter be but one telephone c ntral in Rensselaer and that of course will be the Bell Ail the Bruner <fe' Merry town telephones will be transferred to the Bell system, and merchants and others who have bothphones will now be saved the expense of the Bruner & Merry phone. The monthly rates of the Bell phones will not be increased. Thus the change gives To the renters of the Bell phones all the lines heretofore readied by the Bruner & Merry system, and Vice versa, at the cost of only one phone. The change will be still more advantageous, as regards the country lines. The Bruner & Merry and .the fiatleck companies will still retain all their country and small town systems, but will be exchanged over the Bell switchboard at Rensselaer. And this mesne that all Bell and all independent subscribers are now in one big system, and anyone on either companies’ lines oan reach anyone on either of the other lines, without additional cost.

There will be no change in toll rates into and out of Rensselaer, inside of Jasper county. Thus the r ite to and from Remington or to and from Wheatfield, will still be 10 cents. But the rate through Rensselaer to some other toll station as from Wht atfi-dd to Remington, will probably be increased u liitie. As will probably also the I rates to sumo places outside of Jasper county. No monthly rate j will hereafter be given to toll stations. When this change is effected subaorib rs in Rensselaer and sur- ■ rounding oountry will have the use I of a system of over 700 telephones | for the, month ly rental now paid i to the Bell alone. The work of making the change will begin at once and is expected 1 to go into i ffeot on March 15th.