New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-01-26

nendablv vipilapt. and whenever house
threatened they aroused the inmates ana warned
them to secure safer quarters.
One of the most serious phases Of the damage to
poles and wires was the destruction OF the IRE
alarm and police telegraph service From an carly
hour in the morning there was no communication
between the thrty-ive stations of the Police De
partment. or between them and headquarters
All messages from the stations to Headquarters
carried by policemen VINO were presseu Hl'o
service as passengers A.,
For time the city almost entirely at the
mercy Of the fire element but fortunately mere mere
no communication from the Fire Department
Headquarters, in East SXty-Seventh-st., 70 the
houses of the various engine companies. and conse>
The downtown part of the Guy was
without protection, and the delay r,oH III
would have given even an ordinary blaze such
Roadway that the loss inevitably would nave
been enormous. Chief Inspector 5yrncs apprc
ciated the danger and early in the day sent
communication to all police captains lnstrucllHS
them 10 order all policemen on patrol IN case OF
fire 10 turn in an alarm in the usual way, ana
then 10 90 al once TO the nearest enelne-house 10
report the same, afterward giving an assistance
possible to the iremen. The Chief Inspector as So
extremely vigilant at night as the darkness owing
to the suspension of electric lighting, might en-
courage thieves TO plunder
CHIEF BoSNER's VIGILANCE.
Chief Bonner. of the Fire Department, was kept
busy all day experimenting the work OF repairing
the departments poles ana wires All u"S 'i'
was riding in his gig from one end OF the CITY 10
the other, personally directing OPERATORS Inc
Chief fully realized the danger from fire, ana AT
an early hour issued orders TO Inc lreneu ~
patrol the streets in the neiShDorhOou ol uheie
engine houses, as TO insure prompt reSponse
Word was sent to Police Headquarters just after
noon that there danger from falling po.eS III
Park-ave north of Seventy fourth-st An lh-
vestioation showed that every pole from Seventy
fourth TO Ninety -fourth-St. was down, Dut uieS
had all fallen into the street. 'huS preventing
Abent Q rs a. m. seven large telegraph poles
in Fourth-ave., between Northumberland twenty
frst-st and observation-disclosures twenty -ith-st
carrying 20 wires fell into the New York Central
Railroad cut. Fortunately no trains happened To
lie passing at the time but trains were delayedd
for nearly two hours before the wreckage could
he cleared away. At Seventeenth-st and Third
ave pole fell across the elevated rdllroau uaohe
and trains had to stop runnlnS Tor ne s,rSng y"o
number of electric light wires, Tell at ~ c,ocn
at Thirteenth-st. and Fourth-ave. A. these We're
live" wires fremcn were sent to the spot 10
warn pedestrians TO keep away; .
A number of the Western Union Company
poles in Fourth-st., between Tenth and Chris
tonber Sis fell shortly after o'clock. and the
Beecker-st. cars were unable 10 run lor seN VA
hours. All of the Western Union poles III west
Twcnty-first-st from Seventh II Tenth ayes. came
down early in the morning, littering the street
with spnters and tangled wires Two p0ies o.
the Metropolitan Telephone Company at i Delahcey
and Tompkins SITS fell over against buildings ana
were cut down to prevent them from crashing
into the street. Tenth-ave. from One,hIndffeG-
anst with to p 0ce nnd %Tsn as is
Ninth-ave. north of One-hundred- and-twenty-hit
st. A number of poles fell alse IN tie neighbof-
heod of Eichth-ave and ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ST. A big pole which Teclined against DulldIl!3
at Twenty scond-st. and Fourth-ave. was pulei
down to prevent il from falling upon uhWary
pedestrians.
sTREETCAR TRAVEL INSTRUCTED.
lot of the telephone companys poles fell in
Fast hist
wires obstructed the street-car travel for two or
three hours. The poles drawn out of the
way by the strect-car cOmnanys horses
number OF high-tcnson arc lights arc used
TO illuminate the block in SXth-ave. between
Eleventh and Twelfth SITS. The wires bearing
snow, aid policemen were sent there 70 prevent
pedestrians from touching them. Poles fell at
fifty-eghth-st. and SecOnd-avc., and twenty
third-st and firstave' doing little damage t eG
striking the windows on the Fourth-ave side and
smashing many panes of glass: Its top end
rested the edge OF window sill, and policemen
lowered to the street. Three poles fell in Tenth
ave, between Scventy-thild and Seventy-tourth
SITS, but landed in the street without damaging
buildings Five Western Union poles crashed
into West Seventy third-st, between the Boule-
yard and West Enda ave bat I'd did r no dama &C.
tween Seventeen and Seventy second SIS.
In other places poles are down In Avenne A, IRON
Sixty 81 Xth-st TO SiXtySPVcnthSt. IN SccOnd-aNe.
from Fifty-ninth-st to Sixty-ffth-st and from
Sever ty-sNth TO Scventyninth-sts.; in Lexington
ave- from Seventy-ffth TO Seycntyninth sts.;
Madison-avc, from SjXty-scventh 70 Syty-ninth
between First and Second avcs: Ninety fourth
St, between Madison and Fifth aves; One-hun-
dred-and tenth ST.. Tlird-ave.
Tie telegraph pole at the northwest corner of
Park-aye. and Eighty;Si%th-st; fell upon, an, and
crushed in the roof Of the New-NOrk Central Rail
road station at that point AS the pole had been
swaying for some tim" the inmates had sufficient
warning TO get out of harms way; and no one
was injured. About a; m. big pole fell
against the fve-stOry brick tencmcnt-hOuSe No
5s Oal;-st, smashing windows and startling the
inmates, who fed, in a panic to the street be
lieving the house had cavcd in. When they saw
what had happened they all went back TO bed
HUNDREDS OF WIRES GO DOWN
Until yesterday morning the south side Of One
hundred aad-t wenticth-st, east and west, was
lined with telegraph poles as tall as fve-story
house, each pole bearing lGi wires. Now all the
poles from Fifth-avc. to Ninth-avc., twenty -eght
in number are down. and east Of Filth-avc. all the
poles have been pulled ont Of position and many
of them cracked. The wires drawn tight be-
tween the poles ard were close together. Wher the
storm loaded them with snow making almost d solid
mass. the weight upon them must have been ire
mcndous. AbOUt : m one Of the poles at or near
Nnth-ave. broke under the strain, and then the
Others eastward to Fifth-ave. went down one after
another with a great noise until the pole IN
front of No. II East Observation-Disclosures
St, unfinished flat-house, was reached. This
pole was thrown against the house and damaged
the cornice of the front wall but did not break.
In West One-hundrcd-and- twenteth-St. the cor
nices Of the houses Nos. IA, 1G. 26 81, 1874, 144,
TAG and 14s were broken. and the rear wall Of
No. 100 Lcnox-ave. was injured. Between Seventh
and st. Nicholas ayes. broken pole hangs
within three feet Of the top Of
florists glass houses The wires both
sides Of the pole caught the roofs OF two TIL
houses and checked the fall Of the broken part
just in time 10 prevent great smashing OF glass.
CLEARING AWAY wRECKAGE.
The telegraph, telephone and electric light com
panies had gangs of men out from an early hour
in the morning. but their efforts during the day
were mainly confined TO clearing away wreckaee.