Telegraph in Oregon, EC & M supplying west coast

The Telegraph in Oregon. - New Wires. - Telegraphic Personals, etc.

ALBANY, OREGON, Sept. 4.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TELEGRAPHER.

TELEGRAPHICALLY everything is quiet here in Oregon, but what news there is of interest I will give you for THE TELEGRAPHER.

Dr. Plummer, District Superintendent, and also Construction Superintendent of the Western Union Telegraph Company, is now making the necessary arrangements, and having received a full supply of building material by the last steamer, will proceed at once to construct that new double wire line, along the Oregon and California Railroad, of which I have spoken in previous communications. One of the new wires will be for the service of the Western Union Telegraph Company and the other for the use of the railroad company. Both of these wires will no doubt be completed to Oakland, Oregon, by the 1st of January next - a distance of 180 miles from Portland. At places where the business demands it there are "city" and railroad offices both. These places at present are Portland, Oregon City, Salem and Albany. These offices are furnished either with two sets of instruments or plug switches, so that the operators may use either wire as may be necessary. As soon as the double wires are completed all of the offices will be equipped in this way.

Mutation seems to be written on everything connected with the telegraph in Oregon, and more especially is this the case with the railroad line. Since my last communication the following changes on this line have taken place: In the machine shop office - Crow has been appointed, vice Billy Williams, transferred to Jefferson. The Aurora office W. H. Shaw, from Shingle Spring, Placerville Railroad office, has been appointed, vice G. W. Thurman, transferred to Portland, Oregon, commercial office. The latter takes the place of W. C. Goodwyn, who has resigned and gone to Australia. The Jefferson Railroad office has been moved to Marion, and a Mr. Reid, an operator from the East, has been appointed in place of William Williams, resigned to engage in other business.

Albany office still wags along under the management of G. Q. Stewart, a very amiable young man, who gets very religious sometimes, and the city office under W. B. Rice. Messrs. Halsey and Frank Johnson have resigned, and Mr. G. M. Devendorf has been appointed to a position in the office. At Harrisburg a new office has been opened, and J. J. Kenny, from San Francisco, Cal., Western Union office, has been appointed operator. These are all the changes in the railroad line not previously reported.

On the commercial (Western Union) line the following changes have taken place: Myer Harris has been appointed agent and operator at Corvallis, vice J. E. Grace, transferred to "H. T." office, at Railroad Camp, between Eugene and Oakland, on the grade of the railroad. The Waconda, Oregon, office has been closed. In "rushing" times it probably paid fifty cents per month salary to the operator, and I suppose the company thought he was making too much and therefore closed the office, though another, and perhaps main reason was that the office did not happen to be on the railroad, and a loop of some six miles would not pay for a town of perhaps 100 inhabitants.

The Electrical Construction and Maintenance Company seem to be doing a fair business in supplying agents in nearly every town on the coast, where there is a telegraph office, for the sale of their goods.

Am trying and hope soon to obtain some more subscribers to THE TELEGRAPHER.

WEBFOOT.