The Indianapolis journal., 1891-01-27
In New York Alone Nearly Five Thousand
Wires Are Lying in the Streets a. Re-
suit of the Great Snow and Sleet Storm.
Transactions on the Stock and Com
mercial Exchanges Almost Suspended.
Poles Lsveled All Along the Coast-Phila-
delphia and Other Cities Without Tele-
graphic Service-Experience of Ships
WRECKED WIRES.

they are pafalyZed. Never before have
they experienced such complete and abso-
lutte havoc. The condition of their lines
during the memorable blizzard was moth
ing compared with the state of things tele-
graphic to-day. The storm OF yesterday
was by all odds the worst that the tele-
graph companies have ever had to deal
with. The sleet-storm, in 1881, had the
record for general havoc. because it laid
low every wire belonging to any company
In this city. But yesterdays storm went
further even than that. An idea of what
wrecking of lines was done may be gath
cred from the fact that out of 1900 running
out of the city, the Western Union Com
pany had but three wires working this
morning. The rest. with the poles that
supported them, now lie beside railroad
tracks, and across fields. and are caught in
trees. The Postal Telegraph Com
pany actually had not one wire
working out from the city, while
the Metropolitan Telegraph and Telephone
Company roughly estimates-it has not y ct
had time to learn the exact damage-that
$500 of it's wires have been laid low. The
total damage 70 the companies mentioned.
which will result from this condition of
Two weeks unceasing effort Will be re-
quired to get the wires back into the condi-
tion which existed before the storm broke
and tore down the poles and wires.
Between Philadelphia and Trenton, and
between that point and New Brunswick,
the telegraphic equipment Is wrecked along
the line of the Pennsylvania railroad.
where ran some of the heaviest trunk lines
the ground. All the eastern wires are down
between Williams Bridge and Stamford,
and all western wires between Williams
Bridge and Croton Falls are in the
same condition. At Pleasantville, which
is just back of Sing Sing. every wire is
down for distance of two miles. Every
one of the company's wires which run
along the line OF the West Shore railroad
is down. South of Cornwall the poles In
the same direction are also lying beside the
railroad track. The Western Union wires
which run through Jersey are piled into
small heaps on tho Jersey Flats. Not Q
pole can be seen standing across the mead
ows. Reports of this kind the company
received from employees who came in on
trains this morning. The total number of
wires usually working to the north and
west is two hundred. The company has
in the neighoorhood of 800 wires rendered
useless. They cannot be got into complete
working order for two weeks.
In this city the number of wires down is
roughly estimated at 4,500. and the poles
down or broken at $50. In addition to the
streets as many were banging in o
dangerous condition. Immense gans Of men
were busy removing the snow and wreck,
aud toward afternoon matters began to as
sumo more cheerful appearance. A long.
thick heavy veil of mist shuts out from
view the Long island, New Jersey and
Staten island shores, while down the lower
bay the mist from yesterdays storm hung
like heavy fog. 1t was impossible to re-
port any incoming vessels from Highlands
or Sandy Hook. Not only were they not
discernible, but the wires had been broken
down by the heavy fall of snow and the
gale that blew while the storm was in prog
reSS.
SHIPS COVERED WITH ICE AND SNOW.
Soon after daylight two big Atlantic
steamships loomed at atquarantine. encrusted
in snow and ice, and their shrouds fringed
with snow. They were the French line
steamship La Bretagne and the Cunard
steamship Aurania. Both of these vessels
were due yesterday, but owing to the
severity of yesterdays storm and the
heavy seas that were running they were
compelled to slacken their speed. The
ships were not reported from the hook"
and their arrival was known only when
they reached position where they could
be seen with glasses from the barge Office.
There was no way of communicating with
quarantine, as the wires could not be made
to work. Lookouts were placed in the
tower of the barge Office. with glasses. in
| The wires between this city and
| Fire island and Barnegat also were
down and not ship was reported from
| either place. AS far as could be seen from
vessels with their whole canvas spread out
| to dry. 1t presented q picture that is rare
| ly seen. and afforded pleasure for many
| curiosity seekers.
| phone and electric wires filled Brooklyn's
streets. causing a damage estimated at
| Sl50,000. Jersey City's tire-alarm system
was rendered useless, and the old sy stem Of
alarm-towers was resorted to as q ,protec-
| tion against fire. The Postal Telegraph
| Company will take no messages in this city
| except those of absolute necessity. Boston
is now reached by way of Montreal. In Or
der to reach California messages will be
sent from here to Port Chester, thence to
| Montreal and to the Pacific coast via the
| Canadian Pacific line.
| The storm IN Boston yesterday complete
| ly demoralized the fire alarm telegraph
and the entire force OF firemen was patroil-
| phone and electric-light companies also
suffered more or less damage.
| The Stock Exchange was completely cut
| off from all quarters but London. and as
Philadelphia or Chicago, the room-traders
| who are all on the bear side. hammered the
| market in all directions. The only resist
ance they met was from London, but as
| soon as the buying orders from there were
| filled they had no trouble in depressing z
stocks. They turned quickly, however, and
| by buying and selling at short intervals
| they kept the volume of business MP to q
respectable figure. Western Union. which
! will suffer to a great extent by the storm.
was forced down 81 TO 7s, but the bears
were afraid to 60 heavily short of it aud
sold only few hundred shares. The West
ern Union Office at l56 Broad street, which
handles most of the brokers out-of- to wn
business was at stand-still. No wires
were working from there and the manager
did not know when he would have any
| working
A Seagirt, N. j.. dispatch says: As far
as can be ascertained there are no vessels
| ashore between here and Sandy Hook,
| although several have been seen in distress
about half-mile off shore. At Asbury
Park the wires are all down, with the ex-
ception of those of the Electric-light and
Power Company. No news can be secured
either north or south. The surf has cut
s, out the beach and undermined the bathing
houses. The storm wrought great damage
along the New Jersey coast between Sandy
Hook and Point Pleasant City. The suri
cut into tho bluff ct Long Branch and tore