The Forest Service of the United States Department of Agriculture has under construction, and proposed, several hundred miles of telephone line through the national forests of California, Oregon and Washington to be used by the forest rangers in calling for assistance in case of fire in the national forests.

A general contract has been entered into between the Telephone Company and the Forest Service under which any lines owned and controlled by the Forest Service may be connected with the nearest local exchange of the Telephone Company, the latter to meet the Forest Service lines at the town limits.

Parties living along the route of the Forest Service line may connect with it and secure exchange service from the Telephone Company by paying the Telephone Company its regular farmer line rates.

The Telephone Company gives the Forest Service the right to attach its lines upon the poles of the Telephone Company, located within the national forests, and between the boundary of the national forests and the nearest exchange of the Telephone Company, such lines to be placed in accordance with the instructions of the Telephone Company.

The Forest Service permits the Telephone Company to attach its wires to the poles of the Forest Service, and issues to the Telephone Company free right-of-way over any of the national forests, with free timber for poles for construction and maintenance of any part of the lines within the national forests, and will sell to the Telephone Company timber for the construction and maintenance of the Telephone Company's lines outside of the national forests.

Scores of ranchers in isolated localities, now without any wire communication with the outside world, will be benefited by the lines of the Forest Service, and, at small

Construction Notes.

The work of installing a new No. 8 switchboard at Palo Alto will be commenced early in February. This, with the outside work contemplated, will make Palo Alto one of the modernly equipped exchanges.

Right-of-way men are in the field securing rights-of-way between Davisville and Colusa Junction. It is the intention to build a standard line between these points to carry main northern leads.

The work of securing rights-of-way between Fresno and Goshen has been taken up. When completed, this will allow the Company to build a standard line. The line is now on the Postal Telegraph Company's poles.

The Executive Committee has approved the extension of the underground system from East Oakland, along Talcot Road to Fruitvale. This, with the aerial construction now in progress, will mean a big increase to the East Oakland plant, and make it possible to give much better service.

The work of transposing toll lines between San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara, for the purpose of creating phantom circuits, has been commenced. After this portion of the line has been completed it is the plan to take up the work between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. This will relieve the congestion of the toll lines in the southern territory.

Mr. Robert E. Power, formerly Inspector for the Construction Department, has been promoted to the position of General Construction Foreman of the Portland District, with headquarters at Portland.

The outside construction necessary to establish Tabor District, Portland, will be taken up shortly.

The work of converting the Seattle main office equipment has been commenced. This work will consist of converting twenty-one sections of "A" Board, and also provides for the installation of seven sections of "B" Board No. 1, and two sections of "B" Board No. 2. There will be an entire new rack equipment and battery and power plant. The plans call for the installation of seven line sections and three recording sections of

Toll Board. When this is completed, Seattle will have one of the finest equipped offices on the Coast.

The equipment in the new West Office and Main Office, Spokane, is being installed.

Napa Employees Organize.

The Napa Telephone Society was organized on January 1, all employées of Napa Exchange being members. While no initiation fee was charged and the candidates complained at not having a goat ride, a jolly time was enjoyed by all present.

The purpose of the organization is to devise ways and means of giving, if possible, better service to the subscribers, to (by courteous treatment) convince the subscribers that every effort is being made to give them the connection desired and that "Central" is really trying to be accommodating; to meet and have a heart-to-heart talk together on matters of interest to both the Company and employées; to make the work as pleasant as possible consistent with carrying out our motto, which is, "An answer from Central in three seconds or less." To this end every employée, from the President of the Napa Telephone Society (who has been fourteen years in Napa Office, twelve years as Chief Operator and two years as Cashier and Recorder) to the operator employed last month, are bending their energies.

As to the subscribers of Napa: They are, almost without exception, good subscribers. During the Christmas and New Year week in the neighborhood of fifty boxes of candy, glacé fruit, etc., were received at the counter from satisfied subscribers. This certainly speaks well for the personnel of the employées.

At the meeting the following officers were elected: Helen De Carteret, President; Maude Lang, Vice-President; Annie McKenzie, Secretary; Della Sullivan, Treasurer; County Manager De Carteret, Outside Doorkeeper and Janitor.

At the conclusion of the regular business songs were sung and the meeting adjourned to meet again at the call of the President.

Some Independent Failures. Bondholders of the Lakeside Telephone Company of New York have instituted foreclosure action against their company, which is alleged to be bankrupt.

The Citizens' Telephone Company of Sioux Falls South Dakota, has defaulted the payment of interest on its bonds and fears a suit to foreclose the mortgage.

The Franklin Telephone Company at Franklin, Indiana, has announced a raise in rates amounting to 50 cents per month. In the meantime patrons are complaining of poor service.

In Wichita, Kansas, the independent company says that it can not install more telephones until more money is secured, and that more money can not be secured until more bonds are sold, and that more bonds can not be sold until rates can be raised.

The City Council of Flint, Michigan, has granted the third telephone franchise to Joseph W. Martin of Detroit. The residents of Flint presumably will have one telephone in the parlor, one in the guest chamber, and a third for the use of the cook in the butler's pantry. Such progress is worthy of emulation. It is possible to conceive of a city so abundantly supplied with telephone systems that the coachman can have his particular telephone and the coachman's small boy can have a telephone in place of a Teddy bear.

Rates of the Rochester Telephone Company have been raised 25 and 50 per cent, effective January 1.

The Jamestown (New York) Common Council has advised the citizens by formal resolutions to protest against new rates adopted by the Home Telephone Company. The new rates call for an advance of 25 per cent.

In the January 4 issue of The American Telephone Journal is a programme of the Annual Convention of the International Independent Telephone Association, which will be held in the Coliseum Annex, Chicago, January 20 to 23, 1908. Among the papers which will be presented is one entitled "How to Raise Rates" by L. A. Herrick, Freeport, Illinois.

Seattle Society has 109 Members. The Pacific Telephone Society of Seattle, organized on October 15, is prospering beyond the most sanguine hope of its organizers. The society had 109 members on the occasion of its first meeting of the new year, held on January 7, in the class rooms at 1103 Third Avenue.

Election of officers had been held at the meeting on December 17, and the new officers were installed as follows: C. Lambdin, President; T. L. Chambers, Vice-President; C. B. Bennett, Secretary; G. M. Noltner, Treasurer.

The Magazine Committee, composed of Messrs. Knago, Lambdin and Noltner, advised subscription at once to the Scientific American with supplement, the Western Electrician, Journal of Electricity, Power and Gas, Electrical Age, Electrical Review, and Electrical and Engineering Age. The report was approved.

A committee composed of Messrs. Griffith, Ohlson, and Kliphardt reported that the treasurer's books had been found correct.

The lesson books-Part 2, Arithmeticwere distributed with instructions by Treasurer Noltner that the problems were to be solved and brought to class at the next meeting. It was decided, on suggestion of Mr. Noltner, that the society obtain from the American Correspondence Schools of Chicago Parts 1 and 3 of the series of instruction papers, making a complete set for each member.

In place of the regular study of arithmetic, the time was devoted to a practical demonstration of the workings of the Puolson Telegraphone. Mr. O'Reilly, agent for the instrument, explained its advantages, and Division Superintendent Corcoran gave a demonstration. Mr. O'Reilly complimented the society on the success which has attended its meetings.

Mr. W. H. Hennessey, Division Wire Chief, was called upon for an address and talked on maintenance and construction, tracing the history of telephony briefly from 1876 to the present day. Mr. Hennessey promised to address the class on storage batteries at a future meeting.

Studying Telephony in the South.

The Southern Division has noted with considerable interest the articles in THE PACIFIC TELEPHONE MAGAZINE referring to work of the telephone meetings, etc., in other divisions and wishes to call the attention of the readers of the magazine to the fact that the Main Office in Los Angeles has had for two months a series of meetings, held under the auspices of the Main Office School of Telephony, of which Mr. John Adams, Wire Chief, is Chairman and Mr. P. J. Ramsey, Secretary.

The first meeting was held on the first Tuesday in November, and Mr. Ramsey gave a paper on the history of the telephone, which took up various phases of the development, and in an instructive and popular manner discussed the various ideas on common battery, etc. This paper was followed by one on Induction Coils by Mr. George Eagan.

The second meeting was held the last Tuesday in November and Mr. Earl Hoff gave a paper on bells, taking up all classes and describing thoroughly their construction and use.

On the first Tuesday in December a very interesting illustrative talk on the Wheatstone Bridge was given by Messrs. Flint, Clark, and Doss. This was by far the most interesting of the meetings held so far.

The papers at all meetings have shown an exceptional amount of forethought and interest in the general welfare of the men attending, and interest in the general work taken up by the various members for the Company in the various branches of their calling. The meetings are well attended. The members have organized a baseball team and four practice games have been held during the past month.

The team anticipates several good games before the season is over.

Don't block the channel. That was the trouble-through a spirit of fault-finding they got themselves swung around so they blocked the channel, and had to be dynamited, and, no longer being a help, they had to be removed.—Hubbard.

A Blue Bell Social.

A most successful social evening was held in the Kearny Office, San Francisco, on Thursday, January 9, for the purpose of raising funds for the Blue Bell Library. The entire sixth floor of the Exchange Building was decorated with flags, bunting, ferns, and flowers. About 200 guests were present, including a delegation from Oakland headed by Miss Davis. Several officials of the Company attended and gave brief addresses, among them being Mr. W. J. Phillips, Division Superintendent, and Mr. M. D. Sedam, City Chief Operator. The receipts of the evening totaled $76. The following program was given, after which icecream and cake were served:

Overture; remarks by Librarian, Miss S. Welch; vocal selection, "Love Me and the World Is Mine," Miss Hawkins; comic recitation, Miss Grothman; vocal selection, "Will You," Irene Sugarman; remarks by Miss M. Hartery; vocal solo, “Dear Girl,” Miss Russing; recitation, "How Private Reilly Died," Mr. Van Buren; vocal solo, Mr. Riley; rag time song and dance, Miss E. Pries; comic recitation, "From Missouri," Miss T. Matthai; vocal solo, "School Days," Miss Culligan; sword dance in costume, Miss King; recitation, Mr. Nestor; vocal selection, Miss Flint; closing remarks, Miss A. Anderson; music by the orchestra.

Opportunity's Reply.

They do me wrong who say I come no more,
When once I knock and fail to find you in;
For every day I stand outside your door,
And bide you wake and rise to fight and win.

Wail not for precious changes passed away;
Weep not for golden ages on the wane;
Each night I burn the records of the day;
At sunrise every soul is born again.

Laugh like a boy at splendors that have sped;

To vanished joys be blind, and deaf and dumb; My judgments seat the dead past with its dead, But never bind a moment yet to come. -Walter Malone.

It is a good plan to do the hardest work first-after that the comparatively easy job.

is fun.

In the East and Middle West the freaks of the weather cause much more telephone trouble than on the Pacific Coast, but there are some places where snow and frost work havoc. In the Siskiyou Mountains and the Sierra Mountains the maintenance of toll leads is a serious problem, for the snow attains a depth of from five to twenty-five feet and the temperature sometimes reaches 20 degrees below zero.

The winter season in these mountains commences in the middle of November and lasts until the latter part of May, during which time all work must be handled by trained men, as the work is extremely difficult and dangerous. The men must be physically fit and expert snowshoe men, possessed of great endurance, and able to stand extreme hardship and cold.

Between Colfax and Truckee, California, and Reno, Nevada, approximately 100 miles, this entire distance can be patrolled only on snowshoes, and when on cases of trouble our men are compelled to follow directly under the lead, climbing high mountains and crossing deep chasms, through snow which

in places is over twenty feet deep. Every foot of the lead must be watched closely until the trouble is located. These men have been taught by bitter experience to follow the lines closely, for there is hardly one who can not remember having missed the. trouble by skirting the mountains and gorges and being compelled to go back over the lead again.

From reports which have been made by these men from time to time, it is found that the principal cause of our toll line trouble in these districts during the winter is due to the fact that ice forms on the wires, making a solid foundation for the falling snow. The snow will cling to these ice-covered wires, forming a cable from four to eight inches in diameter. This enormous weight overcomes the tensile strength of the wire, and in consequence either the wires break, the cross-arms pull off, or the pole gives way, or in some cases the three conditions may prevail, and the entire lead go down;