The record-union., 1891-01-26
TERRIBLE STORMS.
Telegraphic Communication is Badly
Affected Thereby.


Telegraphic Communication is Badly
Affected Thereby.
NEW YORK, Jan. 25.-The violent wind
and snow-storm in this city last night
and early this morning proved one of the
most disastrous to telegraph, telephone
and electric wires that has ever visited
this city. Poles and wires are down all
over the city. Many narrow escapes are
recorded, and the fire alarm and telephone
service is rendered nearly useless. A big
force of men were put to work repairing
the damage as early as o'clock this
morning.
So serious is the condition of affairs
that Chief Inspector Byrnes sent out the
following instructions to all police cap
tains this afternoon:
The recent storm having impaired the
fire telegraph lines, you will instruct the
officers on patrol that when fires occur,
after sending in the alarm in the usual
manner from the fire-alarm box, to go at
once to the nearest fire engine-house and
report"
The city tonight is in darkness, save
as far as gaslight is concerned. BY much
delayed trains come reports of the utter
prostration of all means of communica-
ton in and from the outlying towns to
New Jersey.
This morning seven huge telegraph
poles on Fourth avenue We're broken Oft
close to the ground, falling with great
crash into cut of the New York Central
Railroad, effectively blocking the track
The passenger train came laundering
down the track, and could only be stopped
within few feet of the wreckage.
AT 2l0 East Broadway an immense tree
fell into the street and narrowly escaped
hitting a carload of street-car passengers
In its descent it carried down an immense
number OF wires of all descriptions.
All the telegraph poles on Seventh ave-
nue., from Forty-seventh street to Fifty
ninth, are lying fiat on the pavement
The heavy poles on Fifty-ninth street
and Eighth avenue suffered the same
fate. One of the poles is hanging directly
over the entrance of Roosevelt's Hospital,
suspended by wires.
AT the corner of Fifty-ninth street and
Ninth avenue the elevated railroad sta
II n is partially crushed by falling poles.
Iit O'Clock in the morning line of i'm
mense poles fell with a crash, carrying
not less than $50 wires and numerous ca
bles two inches thick, in which were in
cased from 40 to 70 wires each.
On Chambers street the electric light
wire was carried down by falling pole
and struck the street car horses, killing
one of them instantly. A number of
fires were started by the electric light
wires, but were extinguished with tri-
fling damage.
At O'Clock this morning the wind was
blowing 30 to 45 miles an hour. The
storm opened in the Gulf of Mexico on
Friday and increased in severity until it
reached Cape Hatteras and New York at
10:45 last night.
The rain changed to snow about mid
night, and continued until 10 A. NJ. to-
day, and nine inches fell. 1t is thought
that the blizzard does not extend more
than hundred miles inland.
The Western Union is badly crippled,
all wires being down but three, and those
are now working in the Western circuit,
connecting Albany, Rochester, Buffalo
and Chicago. The work of repairs will
take several days. Thousands of men
will leave tonight to repair the lines.
The storm extended over the entire re-
gion from Boston through the lower
Jersey, Delaware and south of Maryland
At O'Clock this morning there were
only few wires running from the West
ern Union office, and at 8 o'clock nearly
every wire was rendered useless. At one
time communication to PHILADELPHIA,
Albany and Boston was entirely cut off
The wires TO Albany were the first to re-
sumo working, which was at 10 o'clock
During the day telegraph matter has been
sent by train from here to points in New
England and New Jersey to be for
warded.
AT JERSEY CITY.
JERSEY CITY, Jan. 25.-The storm has
made Jersey City a buried town. There
is not an effective wire to be found either
by telegraph or telephone, fire alarm or
electric light. Save Tor the submarine
cables to New York and Brooklyn the
isolation is complete.
The same is true of Hoboken. The
Western Union wires are dead on the
West Shore Railroad, and the only hope
south is said to be by the New Jersey
Central Railroad line. All poles on the
vast Hackensack meadows are wrecked.
The entire police and fire force OF Jersey
City and Hoboken are on duty to quell
any fire.
IF PENNSYLVANIA.
HARRISBURG (Pa.), Jan. 25.-The east
ern part of the State was visited by a
severe snow-storm last night and this
morning. Passengers from Philadelphia
report the storm very severe there, great
havoc having been done TO telegraph and
telephone wires, and telegraphic commu-
cication is practically suspended.