New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-01-21
ELECTRICITY AND THE HIGHWAY.
JOHN S. wIsEs ADDRESS BEFORE THE STATE
BAR ASSOCIATION.


BAR ASSOCIATION.
Albany, Jan. 2O.-The fourteenth annual meeting
of the New.York state Bar Association opened in
Blocker Hall this afternoon. Matthew Hale delivered
the presidents address. sletching the work Of the
ISOLATION for the last year. and saying that that BODY
had never been in a more fourishing condition. AZ
the close Of the presidents address John ID. Wise de-
lvered the annual address, taking for his subject
" New Sources of Litigation, under Which VIII BE
Considered Controversies that Have Arisen between
Electrical Enterprises
Mr. WISE in beginning his address. announced thao
he ehOnd cOnine himself to the discussion OF the new
uses Of public highways resulting Of late years from
electrical discoveries and the novel legal question'
which have arisen from these The speaker
rapidly outlined the decisions Of the judges for the iasc
hundred Years upon what Is the primary and dominant
object in the dedication Of a public highway; and
showed The grounds which the steam railway was
excluded from the highway and the street railway was
admitted it. After describing the terms on winch
the telegraph companies are allowed by the various
state, to occupy the highway, the speaker continued:
The next claimant OF place upon the highway was
the telephone. Little legal conflict arose between
the telephone and the telegraph. Thus matters stood
until 19-O when electric lighting was ntrdnced ana
then We have the third and fourth electrical occupants
OF the public highway: for electric lighting is OF TWO
kinds tn wit lighting and incandesceni lighting
Mr. Wise went into an elaborate exposition OF ts
ployed BIZ the and inc ,ndes ent iGh 'y't,ms ana
cop:.uaed in part: No sooner did electric Lighting
appear than a great cry wen: mp from the telephone
rhe telephone had been constructed upon grounded
circuit almost everywhere. using the earth for us re-
turn current. When the electric light companies be-
gan TO string their in the highway in the neigh
borhood of and parallel the grounded telephone, war
was inau:lrated on the spot. The telephone COM
panes I'm seeking the earth for their return currents
had almost everywhere attached their wires 10 the gas
and water pipes and the result was truy aosuW
hubbub upon their grounded wires. The leakage from
the electric wires rang their alarm bells knocked down
their annuncators. occasionally burned out their nstr'
ments gave false calls and clicked ard buzzed and
lummcd away in their grounded wires 10 such an ex
TEN as greatly 10 annoy ihc.r patrons. .esdes TINS
earth leakage, wherever parailel'm existed between
their wire, and electric light wires ndnctve noises
appeared I'm the telephone wires to such extent as ire
queny to the human voice in It's effort 10 pro
iect itself over the wires Of the telephone
4 great deal Of litigation ensued between
the light companies aud the telephone
ON the whole, the telephone companies were much
enbodened By their success against the electric Shi
companies.
In 1857 came new development in street rail
WAYS a development which was marvellous az lt'
out,et and which, although no longer novel. is still
wonderful beyond expression. The hrt cleo ric street
railway of any magnitude or imp rtance in the unlteP
states was built in Richmond. Va Mr. Wise tnen
enumerated the different methods Of electric street
railway construction Ear attempted. Ihey are
Tie storage battery the conduit >yS EN-, The double
trolley overhead system and The single trolley over
head system The last method, said the speaker was
he only that had proved financially ana com
mercialy successful In order 10 explain the con-
,roycr,y between il and the American Bell Telephone
Company lie briefly described the Jingle troley sys'
tenn. In the street railways he went on, me
telcphone found no such weak adversary as IT had IN
li.-,fi rfr
even before tho discovery of the telephone me grants
Of street railroad franchises Lad cnbrc ID tho ngh
to u>c any method OF propulsion ten or tlerc-'iVe'
discovered except steam. In right of occupancy tM
electric railways on the pIblc highway, eAer'
cisng the very use for which the highway had been
originally dedicated In the u,e OF he grounded er-
cult the tcephon', them,tlVe, were simply ENJOY
ing he Identical rsh possessed by the street rail
road. and order to deny the right OF IN; suees
railroad, TO Use the grounded cinut tue leiephole
must t>cf establish hat it was entitled to Inc ex'
Mr. Wise then gave sketch OF the extensive ItiSa-
ton between the Bell Telephone company ano INC
electric sweet ro ID, and said that az eAcept ON
Of the decisions hal been in favor Of the railways
- thc rel. plone wr,s and instrument, are now con-
Quoted grounds, circuits ana ata' nen l" amy ,ol
veuient conductor, 10 the earth added W. VIE,
" they are in my opinion. more dangerous to properly
than all the other electrical structure, now ere.ea
especially by the large number of electrical experts
present. and vote of thank, was gwen 10 MN nt ~ e
member, of the association for hiS adi.sne alon bh
The annual banquet Of the ASSOCIATION was h.Ia
TO night at the Hotel Kenmore. Plates "ere lsl9 vi
40 guests, Including members Of the leSlsiatuir'
iudgrs of the Court OF Appeals and state 1mreIo'
SrcSident Hale sat at the head OF the table, WITH e
tenant Governor Jones his right and John = Wse
IN his left The toasts and responses were: our
cnrmtrv Charles r.. Patterson. The state OF New.
Norl > Lieutenant Governor Jones: " The Court %
Appeals David Dudley Field The FEDERAL ooiI1s, s
i'rited states District Attorney ID. j. Alexander Ing
Legal Profession John Wise = The Lesiss sq,y.
N.yor lanes H. Manning: The Press William II.
McFjroy Relation of the Pulpit to the PENCIL Dean
Robbins: THE Lawyer in His ONCE George L'
tee