Daily Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1876-1884, 1881-07-14

LIGHTNING RODS.


Remarkable Increase in Their uss--unols
Daniel Taken In BY an Agent.
lraik OF Rod Peddler In N. Y. SuD.l
ssrhe use OF lightning rods has
increased steadily ever since Frank
lin discovered their usefulness.
There are now three large factories,
10 Philadelphia, Chicago and st.
Louis, which make all sorts of rods,
and there are an almost infinite
number Of smaller concerns. We
manufacture . great deal for Mex
loo, South America and the West
indies. In the latter country they
want the best. 1 have had to furn-
Ten for these specially constructed
points or tips. heavily plated With
platinum, which cost fifty dollars
each. All the tips are supposed to
be pointed with platinum or gold
plated, bat very often they are
simply brass. or covered with yell
low wash-that Ia the sort which
the peddIers very often sell. Good
ordinary tips are worth, manufac-
tnrers' prices, 81 to 81 each; iron
rods about eight cents per foot; cop~
nor rods from six to twenty cents;
1nsulators, or trimmings, at the rate
IL from one and one. half to two
oente up TO fifteen cents per
foot on the length OF rod em-
ployed. We do not send any
lightning rods to Europe. The
best projected building In New
York. I think, is the new Union
League club house. The churches
Of sc. Leo and st. Bernard are ale 0
we'll roddsd. The Cooper Institute
10 we'll supplied with. lightninR-
rods, which were intelligently pro-
vlded for In the original oonstruc-
tion o. the Building by the making
u small well.h0le, from the rooi
70 the ground, inside of the ediflce
NEAR where the elevator now is
y <hrough which they run down. The
best rodded private residence
know Of 10 that OF Mr.. Moses Tay.
Ior. 1t Elberon, near Long Branch
e WAS y good thing for both tbs
puhllo and the lightning-rod mer
when the discovery Was made thal
lightning aiways went for angles
and sharp projections of buildings
20 that rods were required at eact
corner to make the house reall J
s6lS. What with sections, foul
ground connections, rodded tips
Gto. the bill for rodding hous
ought to be satisfactory to the mai
who makes IL out, and the result
o1eht to satisfy the man who pay
IA liehtning-rod man cam
. down to Uncle Dan'l Drew once
With 9 note from some professor q
K the theological college that he wa
interested in suggesting that thl
college should be rodded. sWha
will Il oost2' asked Uncle Dan'l. s
cannot say positively said tn,
man, until I have measured it
but IL may be as much as $500, OF
possfbly, even $780, oh! That
al right, 60 ahead said Unc',
Dansl, and he gave him writer
order. The work was done and tn,
bill was sent for $1,000. UncI,
Dan'l declared that he wouldn'
pay It; that the man who took tn
order said 1t would be only $500 o
$500. 'Ahl' replied the bland gen
tleman who came to collect, w
cannot be responsible for the mis-
tokes and bad judgment of our EN-
.pleyes.' Uncle Dan'l had to send ,
man to the college to zee il the,
had actually put up as many fee
Of rod IS they claimed. He foun,
the bulldog overiaid with rods un
tilt looked rs If IL was in q big Gage
That professor would not let hin
dlgsto ascertain what the grount
connections were, but he did pull
up one ground rod on the sly, ant
found At tho bottom OF deep hol,
eighteen feet of rod coiled up. Un
Glo Dan'l eventually paid the bill
butsI never heard OF his buyinI
any more lightning rods.
~ never heard of lightning rot
man getting the worst of job ex
oopt In one ease. and don't vouct
fof the truth of that. It is sale
MAT one of the craft drove up il
front OF fine, new and large hous,
out West and told man who wa
reading at the door that he ough
70 have lightning rods on hfs house
The man eald he hadn't though
much about 1t. Then the peddle
said: Have you any objections L
my putting up q rod on this cor
ner p No. said the man, Il hsv,
not, And, as the peddler's Wagon
WAS right behind him, the exper
climber had the rod up in u few
minutes. Now said he, tina
corner Ii safe,' addressing thu
Qns who was still reading
sbot the lightning night comi
aIonR and knock blanks delights
ont Of one Of the other corners
Have you any objection to my put.
Ting up rod on each of themi
And the quiet reader looked VI
from bis paper and said he had nl
any objection. When the Job wat
done the peddler presented The bill
whats this?' said the man yawn.
ing and folding up his paper
bill for the rods.' exclaimed the
peddler.' Rods! / didn't order
any rods! why, certainly you
DID, Mot at all. I only said
hAd no objection to your putting
them up. And badb't. This IL
the county court house. don't
e<en live In this county. OF course
I bad no objection"