Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-11-03


CABLEs-A TALK WITH THa ELECTRICIAN IN
CHARGE
The Standard Underground Cable company
have Commenced laying their cables from the
Capitol aad along b street northwest. from
North Capitol street TO lst street and thence
they VIII extend it north to the different parts
OF the city as DESIGNATED in their permit granted
by the Commissioners on the 9th of October.
Their intention il To lay at present about four
ami three-fourth miles of cable. with wires for
three telephone lines all two Morse telegraph
Hue- fc- TIE use of the United States and Dis
tr.ct governments. Twenty men are al present
employed in doing the work. Oa Thursday
they Tail about eight hundred feet OF cable and
yesterday Thousand feet rhe superintendent
says tne avcrt-se Wll be about
THOUSAND FEET EACH DAY.
With the force OF men they now have the
work viii bn completed in week or ten days
The cables are the same a. have been in use on
trial in Pjttsbur- for eighteen months past
known as the Warning cable They consist of
six copper wires bound tightly with cotton
thread. and saturated with or te. said to be the
best llSuiat II substance known. and enCaScd
In cable about an inch and quarter in
diameter Each wire is separated from the rest
by ii thick lead coating. that they can, in no
now THE CABLES ARE MADE.
The cables are made at the cornpany's facto-
ries ID plttshurg, and the process the superin-
tenient explained TO a STAR reporter. was very
simple. two being all the force necessary to
manufacture it. The wires are conducted
through a mould so arranged that they. will not
tonch each other. and lead poured around them
and subjected to a pressure of 5000 pounds to
the square inch. This pressure forces the liauid
Head around and between the wires. forming the
Cable. As MANY as % wires have thus been
united in one cable, and an unlimited number
might be 50 combined
Mr.. Henry Van H0evenberrh the electrician
in charge of the construction. told II STAR re-
porter yesterday that he had tested ali the cables
TO be used here and found them perfectly salts
factory
TESTING THE CABLES.
The instrument used IN testing the wires Is a
Thomas Rejecting Galvanometer, such as is
used in transmitting messages across the At
lantc cable. and is attached to the end of the
cable in the vaults of the Capitol. This instru-
ment. Mr.. Van Hoevenbergh saws. is so delicate
that if there were the least imperfpction in the
Cable at any point it would b., at once discoy-
cred however remote or small the defect might
De. 30 illustrate tiis he placed one hand on the
wire anu one on the lead surrounding it. and the
needle of the instrument became dreadiully aTi-
sound and will never need to be- disturbed after
it il laid. Ii will last Indefinitely believe a
thousand years. IL cannot be in ured unless
some one cuts it."
What effect would severe storm have upon
iii: asked The STAR.
None whatever. During the electric storm
We had about u Year aco-perhaps you will re-
member it-ail the overhead telegraph and tel
ephont wires were rendered useless Tor a while
but our underground cable in Pittsburg was in
f~H llTi tu.. " In ,iI Sf4
turbed in the least. Another thnr" he con-
tnued. lis tllat there is never any buzzine
sound heard in the telephone when these under
ground cables are used. The sound Is perfectly
uniform and not effected by an, change in the
weather or any other cause which generally
renders the articulation Imperfect across over
head wires
Could youconduct electric light wires under
ground a. successfully a. YOU can the telephone
and telegraph w,Tts:
just ~ well The electric light wires would
have 10 be- much larger; that would be the only
difference"
Would there not be danger of melting the
lead from around the wires if connected with
the dy aan.o Used for electric liuhts:" asked the
reporter
lon these small wires yes but not on the
large wires used Tor that purpose"
Night not a heavy charge of electricity pass
ing tHruu IN the w!reS during severe storm in-
jGre the cable b, me.t;ne!'
''lmpOSSible. said the electrician: mo charge
upon the wires could touch the lead case. This
could only happen II case some conductor such
a. Il lightning rod, law against the cable"
What is the d ff..rence in the cost of the
cables and the overhead wires?'
The cables cost about three hundred dollars
per mile more IN the first instance. but in the
long run / believe that the cables are much
Cheaper. The overhead wires need constant
attention, While these. once laid, are there for
ever"
What do you think the prospect is for this
underground system to become UNIVERSAL"
asked the reporter.
II think IN all large cities 1t IS bound to be-
come SO. but that depends greatly upon the &C
tlon of the authorities. The telegraph com
Panes will probably not do away with their
overhead plant voluntarily. though new COM
panes would probably prefer to adopt the IN
foreground sySten- The city authorities, how
ever now that the underground system has
proven To be perfectly practicable will doubt
less aSiSt on it. The cutting of the streets is
but slight objection. the cuts are never
over eighteen Inches deep and half that wide
and they are filed up aud pounded over a. fast
aS the work is done"
Could you transmit a message as far by tel
ephoHe over this cable as by the overhead sys-
TEN
Much farther. think that a message could
be sent 1T least 100 miles across the cable as
there is nothing 10 interfere with it."
"'NOnlan i'm The War;,
To Tie Editor Of TIE EVENING STAR: