The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1881-07-30
THE LIGHTNING-RoD MAN

general thing OF selling by the SET. n
set was understood to he forty feet by
them, but the buyers was led to believe
that it meant whole rod. That hallu
cinatiOn always vanished when the bill
came in. As for prices, well I've got
81 cents per foot-mighty particular
about the half, for we want to give them
just the best possible bargain, and y
would be too much, while we'd lose
money at 57-for galvanized iron rod
worth 81 cents; and s. for points worth
say Il, or less. There's good deal in
knowing how to take man. One time
l went to see q man named Delamtel.
near Sedalia. Mo. Just as soon as told
him my business, he said, Get away from
here. | wouldn't have anything to d.
with any lightning rod man under amy
circumstances | said to him: MY
friend. what have done to you that you
should speak so to me? Have not ah-
dressed you in gentlemanly way?' Vel
that sort of slammed him for moment.
came back at me, went on. Never
mind about lightning rods: don't care
to talk about them myself, I'm sick Of
the business, for I'm not the sort of man
to play the tricks that seem to be expect
ed of lightning-rod men, and I'm sick cf
the reputation that seems to attach 10
the business. I'm going hack to farming
Do you know what I'd like to do? I'd
just like to plough around this land two
or three times. You see he was plough
ing when l tackled him. He gave up
along. On the second round of the Iand'
he introduced the lightning-rod business
himself, and before | left his place l had
rodded his house and two big barns. And
haven't gone back to farming YET.
"The lightning-rod agents are not all
Yankees; good many Dutchmen are
selling rods now. The agent is generally
expected to sell about 1000 feet week.
The lightning rod gang generally consists
of four men; two of them are salesmen-
one generally the manager-and two men
with the wagon, one of them the fore
man, who collects the bills, and the other
the ladder-man or light weight, us we
call him, who does the climbing and puts
up the rod. The statesmen so ahead in Il
buggy and get the orders. The Others
do the work and explode the bombs We
have loaded, or. in other words, collect
of April to the LIST of October. There i
a good deal of money made in it. The
biggest firm at lightning-rod manufact
urers in the country-located i'll Philadel
phia-began business by peddling light
ming rods about the country. When
person settles down as manufacturer OK
works from an established place in q city.
he has to give up the sharp practices
from which the largest profits are derlva-
BILE in the country. But there are risks
in putting up the rods. ] rodded the
steeple of an Episcopal church in Topeka
Kansas, myself, because | couldn't sc, II
light weight to do it. The steeple Wa
1875 feet high. Although | weigh e3H
pounds, went up and did it myself But
| charged them for it enough to pay
me-
Yes" chimed in the manufacture al
lightning rods. who sat by, ''it is risky
sometimes. The worst job ever had
done was the rodding Of the Contra
Presbyterian Church in Fifty-seventh
street, near Eighth avenue. They
wouldn't have it done, when the steep!e
was put up. when it would have been
easy, but after the lightning had given
them one light touch; then they wanted
it fixed up Immediately. 1t would have
cost 800 to put up the scaflolding to do
the work safely then, but they would not
pay that added sum. or anything like II.
The best they would do was go. and II
was a puzzle TO know how we could d"
il for that J. B. Turner, the most dar-
inc and expert climber in the business
probably, took the Job. He went up the
inside of the steeple as far as he could,
forty feet from the roof, and there poked
out through two holes 4 couple OF scant-
lings, on which he fastened board. On
that board he set up a couple OF scan'-
Iinrs with cleats nailed across them like
ladder, mailing them on as he went up
and mailing other scantlings on to the
ends of those when he got to the top
There was no possibility Of fastening
that ladder TO the steeple until he got
up where the steeple was SO slim
that he could throw rope around it AMI
tic it. 1t was simply leaned against the
smooth-slated side of the steeple,
puff of wind OF careless movement ont
of balance would have hurled him down.
In that way he worked his way up slxt,
feet from the point where he started his
ladder-about 100 feet from the root, and
say $50 from the ground. Il makes my
blood run cold to think of it. wouidu
have attempted it for anything IN the
world. But he did it safely, fixed the
rod, took down his ladder again. am
fastened the states ingeniously from thu
inside over the holes made for his scanr-
lings, leaving all as good as before. ihat
was in September, 1878.
"Another time Turner had to go up 1"
put lightning rod on a chimney stack
ND town. 1t was necessary TO do the
work on Sunday, SO as not to interfere
with the firing up of the works. When
he got there on Sunday morning the
chimney was full of gases and smoke
from the fire still bedded down below.
and almost red hot. They thew watts
on the fire and waited several hours, b"
still the heat was intense and the gast
sitting. TO get up he would have TO,
cend inside the stack by iron bars
staples, fastened in the wall all : II
up, after the fashion Of laSe tr..r
wrapped rags around his haand star,
the bars should not burn the felt hi
ed. Half way to the. a. es and heat
forces giving way. Tns, managed I"
were sitting him. az. After long
descend without 4. Tue walls were
rest he tried it he rags on his hands
still $" hot the;n he got to the top, t''
erumbled. e ground, he had barely
feet from 1lough left to throw hin'"'
strength last on the edge, with his hea''
on ms is hanging over in the fresh "'