The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-03-05
ELECTRICITY IN COURT.
TIE BELT LINE ENJOINEO BY THE
TEL PHONE COMPANY.

Prevent the Railroad from Turning
on the Current or Intsrlacing Tele-
phone Wires on Its Barnard Strest
| Extens on - Danger of Fatality to
Telephone Subscribers the Basis OF
the Injunction-A Big Legal Battle
| Ahead.
A temporary injunction was granted
yesterday morning by Judge Falligant in
the superior court 70 restrain the Savannah
Street and Rural Resort Railroad Com
paDy from turning on the electric current
or operating its Barnard street extension.
| The injunction was granted on the prayer
of the Southern Bell Telephone and Tele-
graph Company, and if all is true that the
company alleges in its petition the matter
is OF the utmost importance TO telephone
subscribers. The petition for injunction
reads as follows:
Your petitioner has been for some time
past, and no" is, engaged in transmitting
messages by telephone from and to places
within and without the city Of Savannah,
where it has lawfully established plant
for said purpose. Among other things this
plant CONSISTS of numerous lines OF wire
running through the streets of said city,
supported above the surface Of the ground
by means OF poles, along or through which
lines OF wire, messages and communion
tions are transmitted for him by means of
and through the agency of an electric cur
rent, generated by your petitioner.
The electric current, which is essential to
the transmission of said messages. Is made
by connection with return wire, in like
manner suspended through the said streets
on said posts, and If the said current is
broken or diverted, messages cannot be
transmitted as aforesaid.
WIRES PUT UP LEGALLY.
These wires have been erected under
authority Of law, and 70 now where your
petitioner has perfect right to have them.
Your petitioner further shows that the
Savannah Street. and Rural Resort Rail-
road Company, a corporation existing and
established under and by virtue Of the laws
OF the state OF Georgia, is a street railroad
whose motive power Is electricity; that the
said Savannah Street and Rural Resort
railroad Is extending its line over and
through various streets Of the said city of
Savannah, along and through which your
petitioner has lines Of telephone wire as
aforesaid; that the said railroad company is
now proceeding to run through the said
streets a certain metallic wire, called
a trolley, along or through which
runs the electric current used by said rail-
road company for the purpose of moving its
oars over its tracks; that the said trolley is
TO be supported by means Of a system of
wires suspended across the streets OF said
city; that some part OF this said trolley has
been placed in position, and that said rail-
read company has placed the wires sup
porting the same between. among and in
contact with the said telephone wires and
return wire Of your petitioners, thereby
making an interviewer network Of wires
having contact with each other.
DANGER TO THE TELEPHONE SYSTEM.
That the said contact so made connects
the several currents of electricity running
through the separate lines Of said telephone
wires of your petitioners, thereby diverting
and breaking said currents of electricity
over and In your petitioners wires and de-
stroying and preventing telephone COM
munication by means thereof. causing some
messages to be totally lost, some to be sent
to the wrong persons, while other such mes
sagas are so broken and disconnected as 30 be
meaningless.
The said railroad company, its officers
and agents, threaten to tear down, cut and
destroy your petitioners wires wherever
they may interfere with the erection Of Its
trolley and the wires supporting the same;
to continue to interlace its wires with said
telephone wires, to place them in contact
Herewith as aforesaid, and otherwise to i'm
terfere with your petitioners wires, well
knowing the damage done thereby to its
business, and has on this the Sd day of
March. 1891, by its attorneys, Lawton &
Cunningham, put this petitioner on no.
tice that It will proceed to run
its wires for the purpose of operat-
ing its cars from Bay street to Barnard
street, around the east side of the market
to Anderson street, calling petitioners
notice to its intention to run this wire In
accordance with notices already given, to
the effect that it would cut, tear down and
destroy said telephone wires, and telling
said petitioner to protect itself from the
consequences OF the said intended action of
the said railroad company.
FEARFUL OF ITS WIRES.
The current used by your petitioners
for telephone purposes ia weak
current, and the wires traveFsed by it
are small and not capable of transmitting
strong and heavy currents of electricity,
such as furnish the motive power for rail-
rords, which are transmitted over much
larger wires The wires supporting the said
trolley are not insulated sufficiently
to contine the current to the
trolleys, but permit the said current 10 e.
cape therefrom, aud will, when the current
is turned on over the trolley, convey the
same to the adjoining telephone wires, the
result whereof will be burning out and
destruction Of said telephone wires and the
instruments to which they are attached,
which are not capable Of sustaining heavy
currents OF electricity; and these heavy cur
rents being transmitted over your petition
er's lines by the action OF said street rail-
road company as aforesaid may, and
probably will, be transmitted 10 persons
using said telephone, holding the ear piece
and standing near the phone, causing great
and serious personal injuries, and possibly
causing deash to ensua. The said railroad
company has notified this petitioner that
on Saturday next it will turn its current on
over the said trolley.
DON'T WANT TO BE SHOCKED.
Your petitioner further shows that thu
interference with its wires and business as
aforesaid. together with the threat of con-
tiGuance and much more serious damage in
the future, and the fear caused by the said
threats that customers of your petitioner
will run the risk of severe shocks from
electric currents from said railroad, has
greatly injured the business and custom of
your petitioner, and threatens to cause
much greater loss; and that the loss so
threatened is great, irreparable and imme-
date, for which no adequate remedy is pro-
vided at law.
Wherefore the petitioner prays for a tenn
porary injunction instanter, to become
and the railroad company be en-
joined from turning on the current. and
particularly from interlacing its wires or in