The New York herald., 1876-08-14
TELEGRAPH POLES.
VIEWS OF THE PRESIDENTS OF THE DIFFERENT

VIEWS OF THE PRESIDENTS OF THE DIFFERENT
LINES IN THE CITY ON THEIR CONDITION.
We give below the opinions Of Mr.. William Orton, OF
the Western Union, and DIR. T. S. Eckeri, OF tho
Atlantic aud Pacific Telegraph companies, on the
condition OF the telegraph poles throughout The
city They argue that II Us TO their interest to keep
them in good repair and claim that they do So rhoy
being held responsible before the public
when the poles complained Of do not belong to them
and are not used in business The inquest in the
case OF the unfortunate woman who killed on the
Sd inst by u falling telegraph pole has failed to elicit
where the responsibility rests The owners of tho polo
are censurcd for negligence but who the owners arc
does not appear From the evidence II that tho
pole in question OF the old ro telegraph lire,
which reverted the builder by the terms OF the con-
tract for the new line. The contractor, il
appears, sold the old line to the Manhattan
Telegraph Company. They now claim that '" +.
Coffee, who bought the line in their interest," has re-
fused TO the papers TO the company and IS
now under contempt Of court. The Department of En-
cumbrances and the Board OF Health arc battling Tor
the right poles that in dangerous con.
dton, but although the pole in question was reported
neither of these bureaus have paid any aten-
ton 10 il. This matter should not be allowed to rest
until the responsibility Of the death OF Mrs. Maguire
is definitely fixed and until proper precautions arc
taken TO avoid a similar occurrence In future
INTERVIEW WITH WILLIAM oRToN.
A reporter OF the HERALD called upon Mr.. William
Urton, President of the Western Union Telegraph Com
pany, with Wow to obtaining his opinion upon the
condition of the telegraph poles in this city, and those
of his own company in particular. The gentleman
spoke earnestly and pointedy upon the subject Of the
. recent rophe He said :-s'ln recording the un
fortunate accident has been customary to speak of
the telegraph company, and ours being the
largest line many people have been led 10 at
tribute tho blamo OF the affair to u.s.
This is entrcy.unjust for tho pole which fell down
originally erected by for tho city of Now York
do not understand from tho best of my inform alton,
that the pole used by company Ny
knowledge of the subject Is derived from those who
employed by this company to superntcnd and In
vcstigate such matters, and who ought TO be COM
petent to judge 1t is of consequence to tho public
know who of the large class OF city officials are
liable for this negligence. From the testimony pub
lished it would appear that the Fire Department
wished 10 avoid their liability for the accident upon
small techncaty. They say the pole had been sold
to a contractor and did not belong to them, conse-
quently 1t not their business TO that it
moved. one of my superntendents reports that the
Fire Departmc originally used the pole, and whom it
was longer useful they transferred their wires to
nearer ones and abandoned II. As remember now
thero new York tive telegraph companies
and Stock, American District and Manhattan
private line To the best OF my knowledge all these
lines are kept in safe condition When companies pus
up poles and wires they construct for and they
cannot wires unless the poles kept In good or
der. Ny own Instructions are strict-to Immediately
take down poles from which the wires have beeL re-
moved should be very glad 70 see ordinance
passed. requiring all companies to brand the poles be-
longing their respective lines We have to
considerable in lines already. Since this
killing was the result OF gross negligence u should bo
mado the occasion TO remove all ur,her possibility OF
regard to the pubic welfare and convenience and bo
ove no person. excep. the employees Of the company,
has ever been injured by them Several Of our
have sustained accidental injuries while the ACT Of
detacnlng wires from tho poes."
rnB WESTERN UNION LINES.
Mr. Orion next put the HERALD reporter in communi.
cation with MIR. A. s. Brown, superintendent
company lines the CITY OF New rk:-''rne Western
Union has altogether tho city limits 500 miles OF
wire ana 80 miles oil pole Forty poles are set 70 each
pal streets upon which these lines constructed
the Bowcsy, hudson, Greenwich, Washington, West,
Church aud West Broadway, and tho principal avenues
tho Second Third, Sixth, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth and
South Fifth All OF the lines have been rebuilt within
the past i've years. and considered saio and
Every spring and tail men sent all the Ines
to examine tncr condition They test thc strength Of
the poles with long pixies, which they place the
Top OF The poles and sway them 70 and ro If any are
found to be rotten weak they replaced by
others IL they are loose they are reset The wires
transferred a pole until the old pole
is removed The men have just completed this work
OF ovorhaung and the lines particularly the polcs,
wooa have been used for poos, such spruce, cedar
and jumper but within the last four years chestnut
wood has been used exclusively 1t was found TO be
the strongest and most endurabe ever used. Good
poles will last for twenty years. but the West
Cnlon Company do allow theirs stand longer
than Gecn. At present they have poles the city
than five years old The work of setting the
poles never let out 10 contractors but s done BY the
regular workmcn Of the company. Tho longest sci
TO depth oI eight ieet six inches ana the shon
ones to depth of five SIX feet Neither
old poles takon out by contractors nol
sold 30 them by the company. When they rot it 10
generally about the AR or surface lne and the poles
forty ty feet length when found cond,tiou
taken OUT on and sent to tho country for use.
1t is estimated that fully two-thIrds Of the poles bc
longing to the Western Union in this city have tho
stencil mark OF the company upon them. AL shat
have been erected within ;he past four years. at least
have been thus marked"
ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC TELEGRAPH POLES
HERALD reporter waited on General T. 5. Eckert,
the President Of the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph
should The following facts were clio.
ited:-''rhat the rotting poles, lately falling.
OF the companies that have beeu popuiarly bo
lcved to have owned them 1t Is, OF course our in.
tcrcst to keep poles order; otherwise wires
could be worked, tho the line would
be impaired We have the poles regularly tested and
receive reports TO their soundness from tho in
specors The tragic occurrences lately the
papers in connection with the falling Of telegraph
pole are much TO be regretted but IL seems to tho
city aloe is responsible Tor the disasters. From all
tho accounts get appears that the poles question
were condemned and reports mado 10 the proper au-
thorities recommending their removal but nc. hing
seems TO have been done about IT, There not q
stretched tho rotten poles, and they only re-
manned on tho streets As rule corporations manage
their AFFAIRS in busncss-ikc manner, and II Is only
when such grave events have transpred como bo
discussed in the newspapers that the axy Of the city
becomes apparent
THE PIRE TELEGRAPH LINES
Tho Fire Department have at different times
coi-cd complaints of the condition OF somo OF their
poles. These complaints have always becn invcsti.
gated and the poles removed whenever danger
found to exist When poles have been standing for
any length Of time they are regularly examined and
taken down when found In an unsato condition They
generally decay at the base first, and soou
Us found such condition they are
removed and shortened and put back in
their places. IL Is difficult TO tell from
appearance alone how strong pole is. OF them
will rot to the depth OF inch from surface and
the heart remain sound and strong as ever. They
report their poles 10 be in good order. During the
last eighteen months they have taken down and re-
placed /, 800 OF them. They are not all marked the
OF tho dcpartUcni. There ara With mr.