The New York herald., 1876-08-18
President Orion on the Western
Union Company's Position.
NO CHANCE OF UNDERoROUN WIRES
The Fire Telegraph Poles Relic Of the
Tweed Regime.
THE EUROPEAN SYSTEMS.

val OF these p0los II becomes q serious matter how
this demand is TO be met The general impression is
that tho companies responsible for the accidents
mas also boon circulation thnt II Is the in
| tcntion of the Western Union Telegraph Company to
abolish tho present system of poles altogether and
lay the wires underground. In connection with both
these matters lIERALD reporter yesterday bad con-
| versaton with Mr. 0rton President OF the Western
Union Telegraph Company, from tho substance OF
which, given below, It will bo seen that public opn-
ion entirely variance with his regard TO
the telegraph companies and chances of having the
| wires laid underground
The object Of tho reporters visit having bccn cx-
planned, Mr. Oron said emphatically that serious
accident had ever happened TO any citizen from the
telegraph poles OF tho Western Union Company These
poles always kept in safe and sound condition
and were in way cause Of uneasincss to citizens
The two accidents which recently occurred not Ia
any way connected with the Western Union Company.
The responsibility, whatever was belonged elsewhere
| 1Ie might say that the Western Union Company would
take present Of or have at all, the
rial belonging to tho city government for its telegraph
purposes The city telegraph line was put up under
the Twoed regime Now, he could not do better, In
speaking Of this matter than rcpea. what he had
said before the Committee on Appropriations at
Washington 1872. the subject OF the postal tcle-
graph
Charles Shesss &c. Sp Voc one Gs
years Fire Alarm Telegraph Of that
city And We hay: had had the curiosity 70 nvs'sa.e Mr.
tanned from Fire Department, the prop
City s fss Dsi sS @ s' OF tho
%s' "ss u
. S.d Sr n nS Ss witch s A; ssa Mr.
says can Be built for for eighteen and quarter
a: .. WI as n% s ~s ss ss
5 IN a: ea
Of poles In fac. tho poles hsvo b,en in masy
,s
fail to how tina, affects the question .hci, value
OF BE- TO the
''The inference is that tho poles in by the city
| are sound sae?"
EXACTLY. Tho work was no doubt q job some.
where"
UNDERGROUND WIRES.
Gas TO laying the wires underground" Mr. Orton
said, I do not believe that, within this present
,ury thcro will be underground wires in the United
States.'
SIN London underground wires used to a large
extent, arc they not?"
eyes but tho two cities are entirely unlike in their
wants and facilities. In London all the railroads
verge within short distance OF other and tho
wires accompany the railroads There numbers OF
private telegraph companies with wires the house
tops. The placing Of poles In tho Streets from tho
construction Of these Streets would be impossi-
| bty, and hence underground wires arc used whero
poles tho housctops cannot DO utilized conveniently
But Underground lines not the rule London or in
| the large European cities"
"Arc you not at the present time making expert
| mcnt in laying underground wrc?"
''Only connection with tho pneumatic tupcs be-
tween the central Office and tho branch Offices down
town. The pipes are laid. but tho wires have
rived from Europe. Tho object is TO institute
| scientific test"
sThe telegraph companies blamed for accidents
on roofs OF houses caused by the wrcss"
"The Western Union Company gives, If asked,
guarantee for any damage that may DO done by its
wires, in every We always promise and will.
ing keep order every roof over which wires
pass No accidcnis have happened from our
wires which could not be expected in ordinary evcry
| day Surroundings"
The reporter then called on Mr. George B. PRESCOTT,
the electrician to the Western Union Telegraph
Company for information relative to under.
ground telegraph lines, and that gentleman
very courtcously furnished abundant statistics.
where underground wires have been tried they have
been found 10 be failure. The following interesting
graph line built IN England. on the Great Western
Railway, between Paddingtpn and Drayton, thirteen
miles, in 1889 1t consisted Of copper wires,
cred with hemp and placed in an iron tube an inch
and hah in diameter The waicr go. into
tho tube and destroyed tho insulation, and tho
tube had TO be subsequently, suspended posts above
the ground. The FIRST telegraph lnc built this
country (bctwccn Washington and BAltimore)
|
copper wlrcs covered with cotton and shellnc were
drawn into lead pipes and ten miles OF the cable
laid from Baltimore to the Relay House. but the expert
ment proved total failure from lack OF Insulation,
and poles had TO be used. This in lS4t In 1856
miles of underground line were butt Nantucket
and Mariha's Vineyard with gu,ia percha Insulation.
| THIS also proved to be failure, and since thcn
underground lines have been built IN this country.
| The frs, extensive system OF underground lines
was laid ia Prussia. In 1SsI an underground
limo oil tour miles between Berlin and Gross
| Bcreen laid with gu'ta pcrchd insulation
l which successful In the samc and tho following
ye,r more than thousand miles OF guita pcrcha
coated line wire was laid down underground. These
encascd in lead pipe ht,lug close thereto
and buried In the ground about two feet. Amer they
had been laid down few years much difficulty
pcrcnccd in working them, arising from defective in
suation aud repairs became necessary continually.
The interruptions for examinations of the buried
| became annoying and expensive and the government
ordered tho Underground system 10 be abandoned ana
the wires placed upon poles In 1850 there were CAS-
miles of Underground wires operation Prussia
| and 30 additional under construction, all Of which
was replaced by lines on poles within the succeeding
three years AT examination Of the buried lines
showed that the lead covering had been away by
the acids OF the earth, thus exposing the pcrcha
TO the action Of the atmosphere which quickly dccon
poses il and thus leaves The wire without Insulation.
Guua pcrcha KEEP, in water is, SO far now known,
iudcs,ructble but when exposed TO the air IL dccom-
| poses in n snort time aud crumbcs ike old putty.
In 1882 Russia established an underground line from
compelled abandon Il and erect the wires on poles
In Denmark lines werc laid as in Russia and Prussia
po:cs The Grst extensive underground system Of
lines In England was commenced IN 1852. and
sisted III the placing of non ard carthenwnro pipes
under ground along tho lines OF the various rawsys
and subsequently, OF drawing loose cables, which
| were composed Of copper wirc insulated with gutta
| pcrcha tspcd, tarrcd and sandcd The cables
quarter mile lengths anu test boxes were placed
at every mile. The work was soon ial
nrc from The same causes as operated in
| Russia, Prussia aud Denmark In 1858 the
Magnetic Telegraph Company built an underground
line between LONDON ana Manchester, consisting OF a
cable containing ten wires laid groovcd boarding
along the highway The wires were No 10 copper. in
suiaicd with gui,a pcrcha No. gauge The work was
executed with tho greatest care, and no expense was
spared TO make 1t permanent success. Yet, few
years after completion,
rnE WIRES CONTINUALLY FAILED,
| and the cables were finally abandoned. The faults
which led To this First, cables lying in dry,
sandy places the gutta pcrcha dried up contrace
lelylnc cracks for a