Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-11-29
oBsTRUCTING CHRISTIAN STREET.
ERECTING GIGANTIC TELEGRAPH
POLES.

f.ASASX oA"ANAAO
POLES.
CrowtiinS Out Vehicles and Pc,ie,lriaus-
Property Owners Resist Invasion.
Workmcn for the Rapid telegraph COM
pany. the new alleged rival of the West
crn ! nion, were busy yesterday arranging
street, leading from tho limo of the com
pauy IN the upper part Of the city down
town, for the location of central office
on East Kim: street. Like the poles prcvi-
Ously erected on the streets and alleys in
the northern and eastern sections Of tho
city by this company, those laid on Chris
tian street were of enormous sizo. about
IS or 20 inches in diameter. There
is already i line of poles ON Christian
street, carrying :: number OF telegraph and
telephone wires and intcr;erin. greatly
with the right Of way for vehicles in this
narrow but busy thorolghiarc. The
street, especially from Walnut to East
King. is much travelled by wagons aud
other vehicles and by pedestrians hurryiuS
to and from the station, the stables and
workshops OH its line, and between the
station and court house. The side
walks arc very narrow and the street
is in such condition that in
bad weather it is very disagrccable to
have to take to the middle Of it. Except
when the walking is good there is not
room now for two persons to pass on the
pavement. Lo when the disgers of the
holes for the poles came to sink their i'm
plcmcntS, they dug at points 80 yards
apart, marked on the very pavement
and soon had excavations made nearly
as wide rs well aud deep enough to bury
a mule. TO plant 4 gigantic pole in this,
would b. to simply Obstruct tho sidewalk
and make it almost impossible if not ut
terly useless. The property holders M
turally became excited at tho peremptory
occupation of their premises and protested
against it. james Emingtpn was in charge
of the company's work and his employees
said they had their authority from the
street committee, acting under direction
of councils aud that the street commit
teemen had s;luwn them where to dig,
and they were going to put the poles right
there. One property owner said plainly
that if they pat upa pole ut the place
marked on his pavement, he would prompt
ly cut it down. A number of tho aggrievcd
carried their cases to the mayor, who
promptly pronounced the proccedin. an
outrage, and that the invasion of private
rights and the obstruction Of the streets
should not be submitted t.. He had under
stood, it was claimed, that all this was
being dcne under an alleged authority
from councils he did not think such ;.u-
thority could extend to the grant Of rights
to Obstruct sidewalks and travel through
the streets, aud he agreed with property
holders who were dcterElne.l to resist the
of the poles in their sidewalks or
to remove them if their erection WAS per-
sisted in, though, as the contractors were
acting under authority OF councils, the
police could not inter fcrc with them.
Chairman of the Street Committee Nc
Mullen, in IN interview with the telegraph
men this morning, pointed out tho OBJ
jectiODable size Of the poles. The repre-
of tho company declared that
they want to keep on SOoa terms with our
citizens and promised T., shave all the
poles down to ten inches in thickness
above tho ground. Mr.. McMullcn was
satisfied with this.
Meantime it WAS discovered by the re
Of DR.. j. NJ. Fol:Z' decd, es-
tate that a pole was to be planted in the
pavement on the west side of the Union
hotel, belonging to this estate, if not with
in the line of the property Fred Brimmcr
found that the entrance 10 the street would
be too much Obstructed for 4 load Of hay To-
get into his livery stable; Mr. John Il.
Wariel discovered that n hole had been
dug right over his sewer where it runs out
into the street, and al Objectionable
abyss yawncd on Major lIoweil's Chris
tian street sidewalk. The property owners
had these holes filled up, ordered the telc-
graph men to quit work and set
their own hands to keep the holes
closed. The operatives moved down
street a little why and started
to put up one of the b.: poles just behind
John A Snyder's lot ai near his back
entrance. All the above .iancd property
owners are determined to resist invasion
of their rights, and are in consultation
with counsel devising what they are going
to do about it.
by 2 o'clock this afternoon Il large
crowd of persons Lad gathered in Chris
tian street, between the railroad and
Orange, to see what was going on. Tho
pole on the rear of Snyder's is up, full size,
and is partly over the property line. Sny-
der threatens to cut it down. The project
to erect one on Major HOwel's pavement
is abandoned, and pole has gone up ON
Marion street, just of Christian, close be-
side Dr.. McCalla's stable, and narrowing
ing the street some 1S inches. Contractor
Gill and his superintendent have tried to
get permission Of 5. II. Reynolds, esq, to
set one inside tho line Of his stable prop.
erty, aud hoped to get through the alley
that way, but he declines to give it
Tho construction corps are trying to
find places for poles which were to have
been planted aside Of Mr.. Warfcl's and
tho FOltz properties. and they say that if
they cannot get sites OH private property
they will set them OH the street rs directed
by the street committee and commissioner.
The citizens universally protest against
The obstruction, and threaten to resort to
IN injunction to prevent it. Much fault is
found with councils for granting the right
To- traverse street SD much Travelled
As Christian. There will be more fun
when the square between Orange an!
East King is entered.
The latest adyiccs from the scat Of war,
3 p. m., are that that the pole raisers have
failed to arrange amicably with the pro
perty holders, for the right to Obstruct
their sidewalks, and will put up the poles;
where they please. and "stand any fight"
made against them, defending themselves
behind the alleged authority given them
by councils to ''comc down Chessn
street."
SEWER CAVED IN.
Three Men Hurt by Failing Earth.
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