Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-05-08
UNDERGROUND TELEGRAPHY.


Experiments ,Uith the Nc,v Invention.
Gen. Stager, of Chicago, one of the vice
presidents of the Western Union Telegraph
company and president of the Western
Electric Manufacturing company, has pur-
chased the sole right to the use of the Brooks
underground telegraph system in the United
States, the owners of which were the Brooks
Underground Telegraph Construction COM
pany, organized in this city one year ago last
December for twenty-five years. David
Brooks, the electrician, of this city, has been
engaged in the manufacture of insulators for
telegraph wires. The Brooks insulator, of
which he is the inventor and patentee, has
been in use for long time on wires in the
United States and Europe. For years Mr..
Brooks had entertained the belief that sys
tenn of underground telegraphy could be de-
vised which would be far superior in point OF
economy and convenience to the Overhead"
system. Many experiments had been tried
by others, both in America and Europe, but
the results always proved unsatisfactory.
The object was to find something
which, placed in the iron pipe containing the
wires, would prove impenetrable to the damp
ness and moisture. Mr.. Brooks began to
experiment. with oils. The telegraph system
he had in view was simply number of
small wires twenty, thirty, forty or fifty, q
little thicker than pins, all bundled together
with cotton binding and each, one separate
| medium of communication. The greatest
number of wires he contemplated putting to-
gether in this style was fifty, to contain
which he had iron pipes made one inch and
| quarter in diameter. The wires, each one
bound in its own cotton and all bundled to-
gether in tight netting, were thrust into the
pipe rope fashion. After the pipe was laid
oil was introduced into it at one end and al.
lowed to run the entire length, the source OF
supply being an elevated vessel always KEEP
full so as to keep constant pressure on the
oil already in the pipe, The first experiment
with this plan was made in West Philadel
phia about two years ago, the line being
about one mile long. At that time Gen
Stager and others laughed at Mr.. Brooks ex
periments, and said the thing would neve
amount to anything, yet Gen. Stager ha
within Sthe past few days paid sum which
is reported to be over 100000 for the OK
elusive right to use the system in the Unitet
States. So far from being only temporar
success, it has improved with time, so tina
after two years it's insulation is said to hav
pertinent made was at the instance and 81
pense of the Philadelphia, Wilmington an
Baltimore railroad company. A line wa
laid across the Schuylkill in September, 1877
in thirty-fv feet of water. It has been i
operation ever since, and, like the other, il
insulation has increased instead of depre
ciating. The next trial was made to cor
meet switch boxes with the signal tower {
! ha Ponnav1vania roiIroo1 oov,o Tlo =
are about three miles of underground viii
there. Lines have been laid across th
Christina and Brandywine creeks at Wi
: mington, and two lines across the Hacker
sack river at Jersey CITY, one {
them eight hundred feet Ion
. and in forty-fve feet of wate1
. Negotiations were under way at the time ,
the sale to Gen. Stager to lay line acros
the Delaware between this city and Camde
and one across the Hudson at New York.
:, contract has already been made by the ne
owner to lay the line across the Delawar
A line between this city and New York wi
:. :. be constructed in the next six months. TT
system is expected to do away entirely vii
: the overhead system. Fifty of these copp
- wires, not much thicker than pins, inclose
in an inch and quarter pipe will do
much work. according to the electricians,
fifty telegraph wires overhead. It is expec
ed that with this number of wires, or evt
8. with twenty or thirty, some can be leas
out to business men for communication b
;: tween this city and New York by telephor
3. Gen. Stager, it is understood, has bougl
1t not as an agent of the Western Union col
2 pany, but acting in his individual capaci
IL No one supposes, however, that the purcha
o was made without an understanding with I
2 Waatarn Union