The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-04-27
DEATH AND DESTRUCTION
Threatened atlAny Time by aLais I'm.
movement,

NL
Recently q reporter was walking down
Market street in company with . leading
physician, when a party Of men working at
one Of the heavy wires Of the electricallight
was passed, HDo you Know said the Doc.
tor, that I have been expecting ever since
those things were put up here, 70 wake up
some morning and see the words Death and
Destructien' staring at me from the morning
paper. Those things are dangerous In the
extreme. The current of electricity passing
through that wire when the lights are on Ia
sufficient to send you and me both ipto king.
dom.come 80 quickly we would not missouri.
selves. And IL Is q great wonder to me that
thee haven't been numerous fires from
them"
''Butthe wires are insulated" said the re-
porter.
~ know that. aud / believe the company
here aud It's employees are as careful 70 avoid
the ame there 10 danger In those wires"
MeetingA gentleman we'll known in tele-
graphic circles after this conversation, the
reporter asked bis opinion, and he expressed
It freely. He thought wires carrying such q
strong current should be laid nnder ground.
"They say they are insulated" said he, 'and
they are. But that Is only partial protec-
ton. The most perfect non-conduotor known
Is only q resistant to the force, and II 10 only
the extreme care which Mr.. Sweeney himself
aud his employees take which has prevented
harmful results from the introduction OF the
electric light"
Chief Marshal Duuning, Of the Fire De.
partment, Wa next seen. He had given the
matter some thought, and handed the re-
porter Il paper In which the following para
graph was printed:
Ellison, the electrician, declares that cleo
trio light wires are q source OF great danger
TO the public, when placed on poles, and that
they should be run under ground. To q
Herald reporter be said yesterday: Il know
that scarcely y day passes without some
warning being given Of the danger Of the arc
light wires running through the air. Wher.
ever these wires are suspended from tele.
graph or telephone poles they are liable 70
cause 4 fire. For should the current be di.
yerted-and this might occur from the slight
est coutact-the heat would be sufficient To
consume telegraph and telephone instru.
ments and set Iite to any ordinary material
that might lie near at hand. Some weeks
move the release KEY OF q Gre alarm box. Al
be touched the key he. received q severe
shock. There Is every reason TO believe tha,
In this case the fire telegraph wire had be:
come crossed with an electric light wire, and
the current had thus been diverted. Had the
ground upon which the fireman stood been
damp, or had the soles OF bis boots been wet,
the chances are that the current going
through his body would have killed him on
the spot" He also relsted other instances "a
show the danger firemen are exposed TO-. A
warning from snch an authority should be
sufficient TO induce all States to pass law
compelling electric wires TO be placed under
ground.
OF course these remarks refer 10 wire:
which are not insulated, however, and in
Wheeling the danger is much less. Sill
there is food for thought in the remarks
quoted above.