New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-01-27
CLEARING UP THE RUINS.
HAVOC WROUGHT BY THE SNOW.
LITTLE PROGRESS REPORTED IN SETTING
THINGS TO RIGHTS

TELEGRAPHIc AND TELEPHONE coMMUNIcA-
TIoN ONLY BEGINNING TO BE RESTORED
MAILS LATE-STREETS ANKLE DEEP IN
sLUsH-ACCIDENTs FROM FALLEN
WIRES - ELECTRIC STREET
LAMPS NOT RELIGHTED
NO FIRE ALARMS
or the damaging storm of rain, sleet and snow
Of Saturday night and Sunday there remained in
the air yesterday no sign. The weather had
cleared beautifully. The appeared doubly
bright from reflected splendor, his rays flashing
back from dazzling reaches of snow But upon
the earth there fingered numerous signs. The
snow was one, the slush another, the filth Of the
streets a third Then there were the miles OF
wires cntangled with everything and the hundreds
of bent or broken poles. BY night many OF these
were put away Poles were chopped up and
carried to the homes of the needy to be used as
kindling-wood Wires were straightened where
Strengthened was possible, and fastened 10 tenn
porary supports. Those that were much klnked
and broken were carted off to the rolling mill or
consigned 10 the waste heap.
Under Commissioner Beatties reviviiied energy
the snow rapidly disappeared from lew main
,borouchfares The city remained during the
greater part Of the day wholly without tcegraphlC
communication with most of its nei9hbors. Long
Island. beyond Brooklyn, might 0s we'll have been
in the heart of Africa. At dark Philadelphia had
not been heard from, and all the intervening
country was wrapped in solitude. Tons Of wire
and forests of poles were down in the snow. By
G n m CHICAGO was reached by four wires, two
dupcx and two Wheatstones: ST. Louis Dy one
Albany by two: Boston by one direct; CeVe-
land by one and Buffalo by two. Various es'l-
mates are made of the damage done the telegraph
and telephone system, the figures reaching from
$4,000 to $l,OOO,0O0.
The Metropolitan Telephone and Telegraph
Company has absolutely lost 3,?l3 wires, ana
300 Others are in imperfect order AS the en-
fire system embraces only 10000, the service
is badly crippled.
Not in nineteen years has the isolation OF nre-
engine houses been so complete Many OF theih
have no communication with the alarm boxes III
tbeir districts The department, however, Is
awake. and has its men patrollins every iooV
of the city.
Little damage was done the electric llght wires
most cf them being underground. Inc uistlic'S
between the subways and the generating stations
in which the wires are of necessity on poles, iele
the whole extent Oh llt INJURY '""'"'''
comnonics These were ready TO proceed WIN
thc ,irhting Of the city last night. but the Com
,,issioncr Of Public Works refused to let the
currents bo turned on while so many cross "lrcs
worn donclinr in the streets. II subways were
.'...,,o,,L - tho generating stations so that
the entire electric lighting system could he uh"fr
round the city would never he required 10 SUD-
nit to such an order as this.
On all railroads leading into the CITY traNhs
,,ore run with little less than the usual regularity
No damage 10 roadbcds was reported, puo o'lole
,,,e considerable trouble on account OF prohe"
,Io,r,nh communication. Such a thlhg a. u"ln
,usn,tchinr was ont Of the question on some OF
,lo Xo,-Jcrscv roads The od-tlme system OF
a,rrinc was adopted as a temporary eAp'di'h''
,Tle DELAYS 70 the mails were of little consequence
T>1K WITH DIR. NoRvIN GREEN
Dr yorvin Green calm, collected deli"era'e,
buri.d in his swivel chair under ''"uNe' "''.
Of huge dimensions, permitted r'i"'Ul " "
-, rho corner Of his desk and ask tentative qne'
tionS. ~ "w,
"Wcu doctor" bclan tho young man. we
.,,,rL This os a Golden opportunity for the DIS
cussion Of the subwar problem. Aren you So'IS
..,, did,,, mt your wires underground? ~
Tho doctor c\hiblt2d no surprise at this methou
- ,,,,ck He simply looked AT the reporter ana
lana hi, ci.ar stump on the cdse OF the uesN'
Then hc took o' his hat.
80 am not sorr>." he said, after long
interval of silence. "Why?'
The damage caused by this storm Is IMMENSE
your wir,s are down albover the city, ana your
husincS, i, crippled. Your suprnntenh'ht' MI
Uuu,stoue. informs me that you are receiving no
tclcrrams except such ~ crazy people lhsiS' Oh
handing in at their own risk, SUBJECT 10 ""l"S.
your cable service is intact, and by dlnt oi mar"
,,orl, Won retain wire 10 Albany ana nave
opcncd one to Eostcn. but from the rest oi the
world You are cut of.
hi, statement did not seem to excite the presi-
lcpt Of the Western Union in the rcmotest de-
gree
The immense damage you speak ot, mere Ill
the citv is no concern Of ours he SAID
Nrcu.t they your wires that We see tangled
obout everything in the streets. twisted around
lomppo,t,. cocd mp on Sidewalks hanging upon
ir,.c,raprs stretched in cutters dangling from
borSr-tops. tripping car-hoIscS, frightening pcdeS
tria.S with their dcath-dcaling possbiiics-are
they no concern of yours >?
perhaps YOU are not aware that from
o6 10 - per cent of the Western Union
wires IN this city are fastened securely un-
dcr thr elevated railroad structures, out OF
harms way No storm, no weight of hail, or slcct
or snow could damage them. We have few cross
town wires in Twcnty-thiId-st. which are dam
AGED. but tie trouble is of little consequence
Do not those stately poles, costing $50 apiece
belong To YOU? Many have snapped in twain IN
various parts of the city, bringing down miles ol
wire"
No. they are not ours. They proDanE re-
long to the telephone companies which have hVe
times as much wire in the city as we nave ih'N
Ia. farm
ground. but cannot manufacture insulated wire
fast enough to do away with the overhead sSs-
tenn"
WHY do you oppose the underground system
"F For practical reasons. II would lessen our |
1--.l..ia- mn hnfnrn therc any law on |