Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-04-18

erty felled by the city. A great part Of the
metropolis was in darkness last night.
NEW YORK, April 17.-wires came down
with q swish and rush upon the cobble
stones on Broadway this morning, faster
than the rain drops. In every direction as
far as the eye could reach, were gangs of
men hacking and cutting as If their lives
depended upon 1t.
Crowds Of curious people watched the
men work, and they cheered every time
pole crashed across the thoroughfafe. The
contractors had their hands full in keeping
venturesome pedestrians and drivers of
vehicles from being crushed under the fall
ing poles.
A contractor, an inspector and 15 men be-
gan work at o'clock this morning. They
commenced at the corner Of Seventeenth
street and in 20 minutes the twelfth pole,
IL having been chopped yesterday, toppled
over with crash.
PROGRESS OF THE WORK.
By o'clock four more poles had sue
cumbed to the cleaning axes, and coils of
wire Uttered the street. Contractor Busby
was on hand earlier. With Inspectors Roth
and Reilly and 20 men he commenced at 8
o'clock at the corner of Nineteenth street.
By 10 clock eight poles had fallen, and by
1890 o'clock there was not pole or q wire
in sight on the east side of Broadway, be-
tween Fourteenth and Twenty-second
streets.
Then the men began their work on the
last block on their march from Union square
to Madison square. While these operations
were going in, another party of men were
working on Twenty-third street, beginning
at Broadway. The street, between Broad
way and Sixth avenue, has q network of
wires, but yesterday Mayor Grant modified
his order in regard to Twenty-third street 50
as to have only the electric light wires re-
moved therefrom.
The reason is that there is no subway for
telegraph or telephone wires on Twenty
third street. So the men gave their whole
attention to the electric light wires, and
they were soon down. The last electric
wire fell under the Sixth avenue elevated
station at IL o'clock.
NO REST WAS TAKEN.
The wire cutters were not allowed 70 rest,
however. No sooner had the corporation
cart taken up the wires than Foreman
Busbey ordered the men to begin work on
Sixth avenue up to Fifty-eighth street. The
wires up to Thirty-third street were nipped
before dark.
The Brush Company and the United
! States Electric Light Company have at last
awakened to the fact that the Mayor means
business, and il dawned upon them to-day
that the miles upon miles Of fine copper wire
was worth saving. Unwilling to do any
thing at first toward saving the wire them
selves, the Brush Company to-day sent ont
| their Superintendent of Repairs, Sears, by
name, who turned up smilingly this morn
ing, accompanied by couple Of trustees
and half dozen men.
He watched the enemy chop the wires
down for few minutes and then turned to
| his men.
''Throw those wires on the trucks, he
ordered.
Superintendent Richardson, of the Bureau
of Encumbrances, was standing near, and
he swore when he heard Sears give the or
| der
what did you say?'' he shouted.
NO LACK OF NERVE.
trucks" he replied eoolly. "They belong
I to us, believe" he continued.
The Superintendent said something about
"nerve," and ordered the men to leave the
wires alone.
''1f you want to save your property, &" he
said, turning to Mr. Sears, ''you can 90 on
ahead of us and take down all the wires and
poles you like. This stuff belongs to us, and
won't have you interfering with US any
| longer"
Sears stormed and blufed, but the Super.
intendent called him every time. Sears
then procured an extra force Of linemen and
at once commenced taking down the wires.
Commencing at Twenty-third street his men
stripped everything to Twenty-ffth street,
and through the latter street. They will
strip everything along the route of de
struction. The United States Company is
doing the same thing. They have already
taken down go poles and several miles of
wire.
THE MAGNATEs GLUM.
At the offices of the different companies
this morning everybody looked glum. Su-
perintendent McGrath, of the Brush CON-
pany, said that he had made connections on
the east and west circuits, and that Fourth,
Fifth, Sixth and Second avenues would be
lighted tonight Along this roadway it
was dark At the United States Office there
was also blue feeling. They predict that
electric lighting has received its death
blow.
sit costs $500 to stretch amile of wire
overhead" they said. 'It will now cost
50, 900 to lay mile of wire underground.
| In addition to this the company has to
make its own connections from the subways
to the houses, and separate one to each
| building.
"Why not run the wires from cellar to
cellar?" was suggested.
Cant do it. If we touch a wall any
where, even If it be four feet thick, and of
stone, the insurance companies will not in
sure. Electric lights are better than gas in
every way, but when people have to pay
three or four times as much for them, why,
what can you expect?"
BROADWAY LOOKS QUEER.
Broadway presents queer appearance in
the absence of the maze of wires. Every
thing looks bare and rather deserted, but de-
cidedly improved. There will be no stops
now and the route will be quickly ira
yersed, for the companies are helping amaz-
ingly by taking down their own wires and
| poles.
Tonight the upper portion of the city
from Fourteenth street to Fifty-ninth street
is still shrouded in darkness on account of
/ Mayor Grants war on the overhead wires
Fifth avenue was entirely black from
| Twenty-eighth to Fifty-ninth streets, Broad
way from Fourteenth to Fifty-ninth streets.
and also the principal crosstown streets In
that district. There are few gas lights
burning.
They Sell at Sight.
Light colored check suits will be all the
90 this season, as will also neat stripes
! Many of these suits we are selling at $40 and
S12; come in for these patterns. They are
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