Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-11-04

Offices of one of the light companies. Per-
chance he may tell me all about these
poles"
So saying, he hurried down the thronged
streets, passing myriads of poles upon his
way, and reached at length, the office of
the Secretary. Not forgetting to leave his
shoes upon the dOormat, and prostrating
himself humbly to the level of the carpet,
according to the custom of the faithful, the
inauisitiVe man thus addressed the wise
Secretary:
''In the name of the Prophet, hail! L
have come hither to learn certain facts con-
cerning Pittsburg telegraph and electric
poles. Sunbeam of the Morning, can you
inform me of what wood they are, where
they come from, and how many of the kind
Pittsburg now possesses?
The magnanimous Secretary lifted his
eyes and reptile DOG of an inquirer, you
ask wondrous questions. Know, then, that
the poles of Pittsburg are almost beyond
counting. To every mile of wire, even in
the suburbs, there are over % poles, and in
the crowded marts of the city you will find
some 60 poles to the mile. There are in
Pittsburg about 10 900 miles of wire. accord
ing to a high authority, cited some three
years since. Draw your own conclusions,
oh man with the ugly facep'
THAT would make over 250,00 poles!''
uuoth the inquisitive man.
'tPerhaps more" said the wise Secretary.
putting his chibouk. LAS to where the tim
Der comes from, and how it is shaped into
poles, that is not difficult to narrate. These
ungainly poles were once graceful cedars
an6 odorous chestnuts-'
''ChestnutsI' cried the inuuisitive man.
''May my beard come out by the roots if
that be net the reason why such stale stories
are sent to some of the newspapers over the
wires! These chestnuts are infectious, it
would SEEM"
The sage Secretary looked with supreme
disdain upon the speaker. 'Son of a mag
pie" he exclaimed, cease thy chatter, and
be instructed. TIE great majority of the
poles are of cedarwOcd. They come from
the vast forests of Canada and Michigan.
where for ages they reared their giant crests
above the virgin earth, till the ruthless ak
of the clearer laid them low. Bv the shores
of the great lakes they are stripped of their
luxurisnt foliage and sent to these distant
cities of the South, East and West In our
yards the workmen hack them of their bark,
and hew them into shape docking them of
their fair proportions and leaving them un-
slightly poles ready for either the painters
brush or the lineman's spurs. When fin
ished they vary in size from 25 to
80 feet, and are set up throughout
the CITY wherever needed and most OBJ
structive to the view.
"In some parts of Pittsburg the poles are
forest thick Along Fifth avenue, between
the two decidedly adjacent thoroughfares of
Smithfeld and Wood, there are not less
than eight of those great poles. That is all
1 know about telegraph or other poles. 1
have spokenP'
''With regard to the painting-'' began
the inquisitiye man.
81 have spOkenp' reiterated the sapient
Secretary.
"Will you not inform your servant
implored the inquisitive man.
Hwhat no, wIthout!'' the Secretary ex-
clsimed. "Drop this persevering offspring
of dysPeptic mule over the nearest BAN
nisters."
"Kismetr' cried the inquisitive one. SCI
am resigned. Salaam to your Excellency.
Son of the Morning, good afternoonP'
In short space Of time the inquirer was
once more in the street. among the telegraph
poles. There they stood-long rows Of san
less, none too slender, posts, along the side
walks and at the corners;-miles upon miles
of posts stretching through street and alley
from one end of the city to the other.
"Spoils of a mighty forest - exclaimed
the inouisitive man, as he sauntered in the
direction of Fifth avenue Would that
YOU mad never fallen from your places in
the ranks of sylvan legions Would that
Won still stood, proudly panoplied in all the
yerdure of the Woodland Would that your
luxuriant foliage still dallied with the
breezes here in our midst, if not in your far
of Northern homer
Just then an idea shot athwart the intel
lect Of the iuquisitive man. What if leaves
and branches still grew upon these naked
poles What if every telegraph or electric
post within the city were robed once more
in its native green
''By the dove OF thepProphetW he cried,
ait would be q glorious prospect. Imagine