Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-01-26
TELEGRAPH WIRES DOWN.
The City Almost Completely Cut on From
the North.

the North.
The storm Of Saturday night was harder on
the telegraph wires throughout this part Of
the country than was the great blizzard of
lSSS. The rain and sleet striking on the wires
froze there in such a manner as TO offer q ine
resistance TO the high wind that was blowing.
As result long stretches of wire were blown
down, carrying the telegraph poles along in
their downward career.
THE CITY SHUT OFF.
Today this city is largely shut of from tele-
graphic communication, more especially toward
the north. At the offices Of the Western Union
and the Postal Telegraph companies all mes
sages for points beyond Pliiladoll hia are taken
subject to indefinite delay. and il may be sew
eral days Vet before through communication
will be established. Both companies have some
OF their wires up as far as Philadelphia, and
about noon today a STAR reporter was told
at the Office of the Postal Telegraph
that they might have one through TO New York
some time today. as they had had a large Iorce
of men at work all yesterday and last night
On the Western Union there are several bad
breaks between Wilmington and Philadelphia
but most of the damage Is the other side of the
latter point, and the news is frankly given out
that it may be several days Yet before they are
all right once more.
ROUNDABOUT WAY.
Messages might be sent to New York around
by way of Buffalo and Albany and down tie
Hudson river were il not for the fact that there
are not enough wires left there to attend TO
their regular business, and it would be quite
out of the question TO make them do any more.
There is but one line between here and Cincin-
natl that is in working order, and almost
all the wires along the railroads are
down. The wires along the turnpikes did not
suffer quite az badly and they will proDly be the
first to be gotten back in shape again. North
and east of New York the wires were all down
yesterday and it is not thought that they are in
ANYTHING like shape yet. All the cables that
could possibly be obtained were hurried of in
that direction, and if the supply Of cable gives
out 1t may delay the work of REL air in this sec
tion. Wherever a number of wires are strung
together on poles and break Of any length
occurs the attempt is not made to connect
each broken wire separately at once,
but temporary repair is made by inserting a
piece of cable that contains a number of
wires in it. This is strung along from the last
good pole before the break to the ext good
one on the other side and work can go on
temporarily in that way until the poles be
erected again and permanent repairs made.
UNDERGROUND AND OVERHEAD.
A STAR reporter asked Manager Marean of
the Western Union Company whether a few
more damaging storms like the blizzard and
the one of Saturday night would not induce the
telegraph companies to adopt some method of
running their wires that would be a little more
permanent and substantial than the present
overhead system, that seems to get under foot
every time the wind blows hard.
Il hardly think SO, said Mr.. Marean. Not.
at any rate. for long distances Any under
ground or conduit system would be too expen-
sive. Why, it would cost as much to Law an
underground cable it would an Atlantic
cable, with resulting tariff Of charges neces-
sarily SO high that IL would put stop to the
general use of the telegraph as a means of COM
munication."
on THE RAILRoADA
The storm did not affect local travel on the
Baltimore and Potomac railroad. The wires
this side Of Havre-de-Grace were not at all dis
turbed, but beyond that place. as far north as
New York. there was considerable trouble and
the New York and Philadelphia trains were
therefore behind time. The wires north Of
Philadelphia had not all been repaired today,
but the trains today were about on time.
The blizzard did not affect the running Of
trains on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad and
thus tar all have arrived on time.
IN MARYLAND.
Hagerstown, Md, was visited Saturday night
and Sunday morning by a terrible snow and
sleet storm which prostrated all wires and has
seriously interrupted railway travel on all the
roads centering at that point. The fast
mail over the Western Maryland from
Baltimore was three hours late and
reports twenty inches of snow on the Blue
mountains. All wires are down and a large
force of men il at work clearing the tracks of
fallen wires and poles. The Norfolk and West
ern. Cumberland Valley and Baltimore and
Ohio made similar reports.
The storm at baltimore yesterday was very
severe and did great damage to telegraph,
telephone and all sorts of overhead wires
There were heavy easterly winds along the
coast Saturday night and Sunday morning. but
the signal service wires are down and it is i'm
possible 10 obtain news Of any wrecks.