Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-10-28

Andrew Rosewater, Mr.. Henry A. Rowland
and First Lieut. Francis +. skunk, engineer
corps. appointed by the President under due
Authority of the District appropriation act aP-
proved August .. 1880. 70 consider the location,
arrangement and operation of electric wires
in the District OF Columbia, has been placed N
the hands Of the President.
The report itself is a long document and it is
accompanied by a voluminous mass of charts,
tables diagrams and exhibits Of various kinds.
The report sketches first in general way the
Investigations made by the board and the gen.
-eral results OF the correspondence of the board
with the telegraph companies and others inter
ssted-
The ONLY OPPONENT.
1.-The Western Union Company" says the re-
port, stands alone III its persistent opposition
to underground wires tns District. Its
managers still Use the old arguments that
electric induction consequent upon under
grOand work will tend TO materially
decrease he speed Of transmission
where the multipIex system of telegraphy Is
used. as l. the ease with them. and thus either
Increase the tGTif messages or force them
to discontinue iaaay OF their branch Cthces IN
Washington. aad possibly establish their
nlsIa lines ami O1hccs just outside The
c4ty. AZ other words. the telegraph company
may ruE Its main lines around the critics Inc
NJ Eastment further argues that Ii overhead
vines are a nuisance in Washington, why not In
Alexandra and every other small town, thus
leading TO the inference that underground sery-
lee must either be genera! or not at all
CONTRARY TESTIMONY LEcEIvED.
The board says they found by correspondence
with the authorities OF New York, Chicago,
Brooklyn, Philadelphia and London that tele-
graph wires operating duplex, qUadruplex AID
other devices OF signaling are anu Rave Deen,
TO. many years. operated successfully with
wires of the main circuits In their passage
through cites lIIi underground
The report REMARKS that the Importance OF
acquiring a safer and more permanent system
than that secured by overhead wiring In citIes
becomes evident when We refer to the havoc OF
recent storms, in which, aside from the
general commercial loss and inconyen-
.snce a large SmOant OF indirect damage
was cecasIOncd BY tie broken poles and
falling wires. Leaving out o! question all the
other wires II seems 10 The commission as II nc
telegraph lines. which are national carriers OF
messages. should be made a. Tcilab.e III their
Service the railways axe IN theirs. ..Hd. IN
view Of the public iI.,uclI>, which they enjoy.
The service of these com. u-Iies should be made
a. good ~ Reasonable requirements can make
G.cl;-
IRE -IIGH- TAX PAID.
TO satisfy oarseIvc-. the report goes on,
'IiIa, the Iv,, ...rcLI,Ht -. ...clIS their wires
underground =: ;.Ie District VIII 10. add to
what might seem an J.-I.:.l. ~ ase ~ burden
upon the TELEGRAPH All. O-urr electrical COM
IanIes We .,yu :. lea q s.,'-. To- .'cr;i.:n viIt
these yar;ous ,oTTnI@upa- contribute toIdr,.
the maintenance II t.c p-Li!c th"ToGGiiidrvS
and Other i.1.r-cvclle.ts %: t-c ftstr-C; wEIch
t..ey use liz common with U-si..~ .:.N. ayers Ne.
therefore aDulIs-i - the District ;.sscSsOI, Ny.
lrlmUie, fOI Iusotna.t'-4 upurI he iiaIect.
His statement which embrace al the corr 0r..-
tiOn- usius TIE public streets HIG-r various
fTGscLIs.s, Nii y' .rLll. ~ -" ;pis:;i,..X- -
uIii be notice. thtt ,Ev @-5T gate am II. YAK
Of :he Western taIDu "m.a,ry IpoI It's basl-
MSS and pToIl RS for i : B.
The FostI Telegraph Company t.!oubtlessly
through mist the d"es not appear on tine tax
books ct ell. While tAo United states Eltctric
Lighting Company pays -2L5 III all. or tTiHe
over tie receipts upos one aud one Aali arc llSht
the aggregate annual t;tN sor 1890 OF al the
Telegraph. electric LCl.ti- : and telephone COM
panles OF the Ilslsi-, = : .CIi-J0.
Is TIE TrLzsKAsH C"s.FSST BIGGER THAN THE
cow ENNTST!
These facts need no comment The mainte
nance OF overhead wires in defiance of public
requirements. under such circumstances
places the responsibility of failure upon the
government. While the suggestion OF Major
RAYMOND to impose high .aX upon each
pole maintained. carried out, might
have q tendency to induce compliance. II would
at the same time be "a hCr.Ill...fg confession
that the Western nl",i Com, ANY. though de-
riyias Its power f',.H, Is uU.e potent than
me United States government. These raetL-
ods OF conciiiatUry cJaAiUS have proved vain
in New York. CLi-Eso a"d brooklyn. and
only the summary exercise OF power by ac-
tual removal with the AK has aucceeded."
Tine board having. after due IL Investigation.
concluded that UndersI CuId wiring in the city
Is practicable from ulcc.aElcal and electrical
standpoint proceeded TO ascertain the nature
of the obstacles encountered. how to over
come them and determine which of
the varied systems of constructions already
tried are best suited to the wants of .he nis-
trict of Columbia and whether lual!c interests
will best be served unCer private or public
ownership.
The report then considers the various con-
Gitions, surface and underground. having d
bearing on system and method vi con trtct.On.
the location of sewers, ,as pipes. the methods
Used 10 prevent gas eXpio,iOus. ac.
BEST UNDERGROUND s.sIEM.
After brief discU ssiou of the electrical
problems involved and a reference t. expe-
rience o. other cities. the report concludes
that 1t is evident that with r,a-onaJie care. Iy
the of separate or siouylr-c hGmUcIeI man
holes for distribution. system Of c, ndUits
with separate distinct duets TOT different Poten-
tial cables can be regarded practicable
The most important problem to be solved
from tEe standard OF EluuIClpa! economy. the
commission asserts. Is embodied IL she qles-
tion, shall the underground nIrlug be elected
through open subwa VI. solid Insulated coHirc.-
E
or mechanically protected Jact-.. Cons.,!-
cradle space IL gwen in tho report To
the discussion OF tins question. and the vaIious
AUXILIARY questions TtI-c b. IT, the ma tier OF
cOa,tuits for house service. &c. The On!y plan
" subway construction possessing the sem
blancc OF practIcUbIiIty Tor all the conditions
nanltd ii. the report cor. u,c-. IL that afOrdn..
separate and distinct underground SPACE
for pipe and VIE service upon each
sGe of the streets near to
the buildings as practicable. This
would require duplicate water sas and sewer
service upon each side Of The streets such a
system of subways wpIId C5viate the necessity
of gong into the street fcE any house cornec-
lions and would further PRECLUDE the cOnsJruc-
Ion of the cross tributary cOudults, iudIs-
pensable to the central subway system.
cosr OF DOUBLE SUBWAY.
The cost of a double subway. .Lat is. one
upon each side OF tie stree. - described,
under present conditions viii range
from $4,000 TO s2CJCGU in the aggregate
per mile. varying with tlsc extent OF service 10
be provided for. However, the sewer. gas
and water service already provided
sor In the greater part If the District. even
this outlay would Lar,:ly te justified nj this
time In fact. il Is 4 serious question whether
tr the frequented thOro ughfaIes o. any city.
unless il be Broadway New York sgch an ex-
penditure would be justified Tor the pur-
pose OF avoiding the Inconvenience and
expense of occasional repairs Incidental
su IN he IL - a.,