The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1881-03-09
telegram RepNirerS.


Every one has seer q cline man.
walk up o telegraph pole as readily as
if he were going up flight of stairs.
With q quick, nervous jerk of the foot
he drives the spurs into the wood and
takes a firm hold every time. This dcx-
terity comes from practice. 1t looks
dangerous when q man is near the top
of the pole, but that there is really lit.
tie danger is proved Ivy the fact that nc
cidents very rarely occur. The men be-
come accustomed to working at a great
height, and mind it NJ more than sail.
ors Oh a ship. An experienced man
look, ont for rotten poles and rotten
cross.bcams, and once confident OF
these, he feels no further alarm. He
hangs on by his legs rs clevenv as u
monkey by its tail, and thus has the
free use of his arms and hands.
The spurs are OF steel and consist OF
a fiat bar with q bend, which passes
under the instcp. A sharp point pro.
iccts diagonally downward so as to bear
q heavy weight from above. The
greater the weight the deeper the point
sinks, ard the wood would have to he
very rotten for it to slip. 1t leaves be-
hind Oh the pole those queer little hcles,
which so much resemble the work of q
woodpeckcr On Il; tree.
The line mnn are divided into two
classes, climbers and %groundmcn. The
latter rank little higher than ordinary
laborerS, but i'll time, if they are
anxious to learn, they graduate into
climbers. Climbers are paid from $40
to $50 q month, and at present are in
great demand owing to the large amount
Of telegraph construction gong Oh
throughout the country. Groundmen
dig holes. pla t poles, carry wire,
! and do whatever other labor is neces-
sary.
The climber is provided with a pair
of pliers, a hand. wise and q strap. He
catches up the broken ends Of wire,
draws them together with the wise and
strap, and spices them with the pliers.
Care is taken to leave a certain slack,
so as to allow for contraction y cold in
winter. In large cities q number OF
climbers are kept constantly on duty Mt
the central Office, so as to be sent out ut
o moments notice to repair q break. If
a pole falls, prompt action is taken.
The fallen portion is chopped into sec.
tons and dragged out of the way of
traffic. The stump is dug out. If a
hole is to be dug, it is bored with q
great earth auger, which does its work
more neatly and quickly than spades.
1t is easy to locate q break in the city,
where line men are constantly on the
lookout, but in the country it is q diff
ferent thing. Line men, who are
necessarily climbers, are engaged
by the month, and have each a
certain tract of line assigned to
their care. If the lines run along Il
railroad i man las control of an average
of fifty miles. In case Of o break he
travels on % baggage or hand car to :he
place of trouble. These line men are
under the control Of certain head offices,
and can be conc ntrated ut any serious
point OF damage. In many instances
the operators at unimpo:tant stations
also act rs line men, and this is q part
of their regular duty. Where the OPP
orator works on commission, he is paid
extra for his line work. II the line runs
on q turnpike away from a railroad
the line man has only fifteen miles
under his care. He is obliged to live
within call Of tile nearest station, and
to be ready to 60 out ct any time.
Night or day, hot CT cold, he must he
prepared to start for the scene OF trou-
bic. The lines often run through desc
late places, on the sides CT noun
ta!ns, and in wide prairics. Tho line
man ON horseback daSl,cs from pole to
pole following the wires with his prac-
ticed eye. lie often camps ont all
night, for he must not stop until the
work is completed. In the winter ON
of these men travel o. snow shoes, and
out West they lave had the strange ex-
pericnce of digging d,wn to the wires,
where the snow was 50 deep as to
cover the poles. 1t is n rule that
the line a must go over the line
nee @ week, to see that the poles
are in order AMI to replace broken il
sulators. His hours of toll are often
repaid by days of ease. He is alert for
duty, bat may have nothing to do for q
long time. His pay continues just the
same, and as long as he keeps within
call, he can do what he pleases.
The telegraph companies would like
to run their wires underground, but
they find it won't work. They have
been unable to insulate the wires so
that they will work properly for any
length Of time. This compels tho use
of poles, which are generally Of two
kinds, cedar Or chestnut. Cedar is the
lighlest, trimmest and best-looking,
but chestnut lasts longer. Wires last
from six to eight years. Rust is their
great enemy, and smoke is another foe.
Neither wires nor poles are expensive.
Labor is :llc great item in making re-
pairs, and in times when there is uni
versal disaster to lines the companies
have to Fay high wages.-.Se~ York
.Spu.
The Moons Effect upOn Fish.