Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-05-05
COMPANIES LINING UP.
They Talk of Taking United Action
Upon the Proposition
TO BURY THE OVERHEAD WIRES.
The Department Of Public Works to Have
Supreme Control.
FIGHT ON DISTRIBUTING SYSTEM

The publication in yesterdays DISPATCH
what will be expected of electric light and
telegraph companies in the matter of under
ground wires has stirred up the representa-
tives of the affected corporations in this city
and they are preparing for united action.
General Superintendents Campbell and
Rowe, of the Postal and Western Union
Telegraph Companies respectively, held an
extended conference yesterday afternoon to
discuss the situation, but afterward de-
clined to state what steps they proposed to
take or what had been agreed upon. 1t Is
understood that another conference will be
held tomorrow to which representatives Of
the electric light and telephone companies
will be invited, the purpose being to decide
upon the points they will ask for in the
proposed underground wire ordinance.
The conference between tho companies
and the city officials that was to have taken
place in the Mayors Office this morning
has been postponed until Saturday or Mon
day on account of the Mayors absence from
the city. He received a telegram from
Philadelphia yesterday and left for the East
last night, expecting to return tomorrow
night
Principal Point OF Contention.
1t Is understood that the principal point
of contention in the proposed ordinance is
the method of carrying wires from the
streets to the buildings In the ordinance
presented last year no provision had been
made for this, but at conference of the
companies and the Public Safety Commit
tee provision was inserted allowing the
use of one pole to each block or
square from which the wires could
be carried up from the ground and radiated.
There was prolonged discussion OF this
point before and after its adoption. 1t was
FIRST argued on behalf of the companies that
they should be allowed to place poles
wherever they might find it necessary to
supply their patrons with electric light,
telephone or telegraph service. This being
decided against them they argued that each
company should be allowed a pole on each
block, on the ground that single pole
would be insufficient and would cause
trouble in keeping the wires separated,
the heavily charged light wires from the
less active telegraph or phone wires.
Chief Brown took a stand against this,
claiming that if each company was to be al
lowed a pole on each square there would be
as many poles as now. ard the benefit would
amount to nothing. The object, he said, of
putting wires underground was to give the
fire department chance at fires and to i'm
prove the appearance of the streets, as we'll
as to lessen the danger to life from the
overhead wires and the proposition of the
companies would not affect any of these i'm
provements. The matter was finally settled
l,,o , hot
be allowed on each square from which all
companies must radiate wires to their
patrons.
No Wires to Cross Streets.
In tho new ordinance the same provision
is to be inserted, and 1t will be further pro-
vided that no wires shall be allowed to
cross any street overhead. A pole placed
in the middle OF square will be hollow
iron, and the wires will be carried up to a
height of 30 feet inside the pole or pipe,
thence radiated in fan shape along that side
of the street. But even this will be regu-
lated by the Department of Public Works,
to whom each proposed connection with
building must be submitted before the work
is done, and if he decides that the connec-
ton could best be made without running the
wire from pole it must be done accord
ing to his order. 1t is expected that
on streets where there may be but
few persons using wires the use of
poles can be dispensed with entirely by
running the wires into the buildings under
ground, or by passing them up over the
roofs of buildings, as is now done in many
instances by the telephone company.
All these points it is expected will be
fought as far as possible by the companies,
but the attitude of Chief Brown, the Mayor
and the Councils is to reduce the overhead
wire nuisance to minimum, and it is safe
to say they will combat anything that will
not produce that result