The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1891-01-28
CUT OFF FROM THE WORLD.
THE EAST CONFINED TO ITSELF.
All TeIegraphIc Communication Blocked
by the stOrm-TTans-At antic Steamers
Delayed by the storm-TiIkes-
barre in Darkness.


have they experienced such complete and
absolute havoc. The condition OF their
lines during the memorable blizzard was
nothing compared with the state of things
telegraphic today.
The storm OF yesterday was bv all odds
the worst that the telegraphic companies
have ever had to deal with. The sleet
storm in 81 had the record for general
havoc, because it laid low every wire be-
longing to any company in this town. But
yesterdays storm went further even than
that. An idea of what wrecking of
lines was done may be gathered from the
fact that out OF $40 running out of the
/ city, the Western Union company, has 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 company actually had not one
wire working out from the city, while the
Metropolitan telegraph and telephone
company roughly estimates, it has not yet
had time to learn the exact damage, that
| $500 of wires have been laid low. The
total damage TO the companies mentioned
which will result from this condition of
/ affairs is roughly estimated at $500, 900.
I Two weeks unceasng effort will be re-
/ qulred to get the wires back into the con-
/ dltion viii 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 totally
wrecked. All along the line of the Penn
! sylvania railroad, where ran some of the
! heaviest trunk lines, the poles and wires
are scattered about on the ground. All
/ the Eastern wires are down between Will
/ Jams Bridge and Stanford, and all West
ern wires between Williams Bridge and
/ Groom Falls are in the same condition.
At Pieasantviile, which is just back of
/ Sing Sing, every wire is down for distance
of two miles. Every one of the compsny's
! wires which run along the line of the
/ West Shore railroad Is down south of
: Cornwall. The poles in the same direc-
I ton are also wing beside the rail
! road track. The Western Union
1 wires, which run through Jersey.
are piled into small heaps on the
/ Jersey Flats. Not pole can be seen stand
ing across the Meadows. Reports OF that
! kind the company received IRON employees
! who came in on the trains this morning.
! The total number of wires usually work
/ ing to the North and West is 2 o in all.
| The company has in the neighborhood of
! 800 wires rendered useless. They cannot
/ be got into complete working order for
two weeks. In this city thu number of
wires down is roughly estimated at 1850
and the poles down or broken at 250.
IN addition to the forest of poles that
We're strewn about the street as many
were hanging in dangerous condition.
! Immense gangs of men were busy remoV-
! ing the snow and wreck, and toward after
noon matters began TO assume a 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 hay
the mist from yesterdays storm hung like
heavy fog. It was impossible to report
any incoming vessels from Highlands or
/ Sandy Hook. Not only were they not
discernble, but The wires had been broken
down by the heavy fall of snow and the
gale that blew while the storm was in
progress.
Soon after daylight two big Atlantic
steamships loomed up at quarantine en-
crusted in snow and ice and their shrouds
| fringed with snow. They were the French
line steamship La Bretagne and the Gu
nard 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
pace. The ships were not reported
| from the Hook and their arrival was
known only when they reached a
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 & asses in order to sight
! and report vessels arrival. The wires be-
tween this city and Fire Island and Barne-
gat also were down and not ship was re-
ported from either place. As far as could
be seen from the barge Office the bay was
strewn with vesse with their whole cam
vas spread out to dry. 1t presented pic
ture that is rarely seen and Afforded pleas
ure for many curiosity-seekers.
Rolls and tangled nets OF telegraph, tel
ephone and electric wires filled Brook
lyns streets, causing a damage estimated
| at Sl50000. Jersey Citv's fire alarm sys-
TEN was rendered useless and the old
| a protection against fire.
The postal telegraph company will take
no messages in this city except those of
| absolute necessitv. Boston is now reached
by way of Montreal. In order 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 stock exchange was completely
cut of from all quarters but London, and
as no buying orders could get in from Bos-
ton, Philadelphia or Chicago, the room
traders, who are all on the bear side, ham
mered the market in all directions. The
only resistance they met was fromLondon,
but as soon as the buying orders from
there were filled, they had no trouble in
depressing stocks. They turned quickly,
however. and by buying and selling at
short Intervals they kept the volume of
business up to a respectab figure. West
ern Union, which will su er to a great ex-
tent by the storm was forced down to I,
but the bears were afraid to go heavily
short of il and sold only few hundred
shares. The Western Union Office at l56
Broad-st, which handles most OF the
brokers' out-of-town business was at a
standstill.
4 In Boston.