Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-04-15
THE DEADLY TROLLEY WIRE.
BosToNe ALARMING EXPERIENCE DURING
THE PAST WEEK

THE PAST WEEK
How DEATH WAS CAUSED BY CONTACT OF OTHER
WIRES WITH A TROLLEY wnE-THI FIRE DE-
PARTxEST IxPEpED-A pEMAxp At TIE ''HUB"
ToB lEHovAL or Such WIRES.
Boston thu week has had an experience with
trolley wires that has emphasized the great
objections to the use Of such wires on street
railroads in cities. First there was FIRE Sun
day night, when operations Of the fire depart
ment were impeded by trolley wires,
hremen being unable to raise ladders. Then
came . shocking tragedy Monday morning
when Q ineman was killed in most frightful
manner while readjusting the carbons Of .
lamp. An account Of the tragedy has appeared
in The stan. The lineman, James Hayes, had
ascended . pole ON Dover street and was
at work putting new carbons in . lamp, when
suddenly he reeled back, evidently in great
agony, and va: soon hanging dead from the
placed over the cross bar. When II was
removed IL was discovered that he had
been killed by shock from . line
wire. One Of his hands, which had touched
the wire, was badly burned The death was
wire connected with the lamp was supposed to
be dead" as the arc light circuits had been
cut out for the day. Investigation disclosed
that this wire had been charged by contact
at some point with . West End trolley wire.
THE RESULT OF THE INVESTIGATION.
The Boston journal Of Tuesday evening
states the result of the investigation Of the
lineman's death a. follows:
Crossed wires were in all probability the
cause. The explanation given BY expert cleo
tricians II that the wire which caused Hayes
daaf nr1ofh ovn hanH To- All al
rectly or by means Of . telephone wire, with .
West End trolley feed wire. This connec-
ton might have been miles away from
the scene Of the accident Distance
is no allayer Of electricity, and . tele-
self crossed by an electric light wire, would
transmit the power to any given point on that
circuit At the lamp where Hayes met his
death. as at any point on that particular cir
cult. tie wire was charged and 1t needed but q
completion Of . circuit to show its deadliness.
On testing the circuit upon which Hayes was
killed flame was produced resembling in
every particular that which was discovered
some two months ago upon one Of the circuits
at the time West End wire was found crossed
upon an electric light wire in Roxbury. 1t
was also found that Hayes had removed both
OF the old carbons, and had placed one of the
new ones in position, showing that the circuit
was dead when he commenced work.
Whatever may have been the cause it has
now been removed. That it was result of
contact either direct or remote, with q trolley
feed wire is believed, because at the hour in
the morning when the accident occurred the
trolley wires were the only ones carrying volt
age sufficient to cause DEATH
Would 500 VOLTS such as the West End claims
destroy human life? This is a mooted question.
The West End Company claims not Under
certain circumstances, however, electricians say
it will kill human being. Five hundred
volts passing through a mans body by
alternating currents, if sustained for q long
enough period, might SO weaken the body and
the heart that death would ensue. The condi-
ton OF the body Is an all-impertant factor. If
mans heart be sound and unaffected BY pal
pitation or weakened by disease he would be
able to allow 500 to 800 volts to pass through
his system without serious injury. But if his
heart be in the least diseased $50 to $50 volts
might be sufficient to cause death.
The power such as the trolley wires carry, that
is between 500 and 600 volts, will instantly kill
a horse or any shod animal, as the shoe nails
are driven into the hoof close to the nerve An
animal Will sometimes survive q continued
voltage OF ovor 200, and yet die instantly by
contact with voltage Of 100 and less.
THE DEADLY TROLLEY WIRE.
The Boston Post Of April IL in its news COL
umns says:
There are strong reasons for the belief that
at dawn yesterday. On Sunday the trolley wire
interfered with the iremen at o Washington
street blaze and panic resulted. Had the fire
had longer start death must have resulted
That such trouble is possible is in direct vio-
lation Of an agreement between the West End
and the city, which deals specifically with lust
such cases and stipulates that West End wires
must is no way interfere with the operations of
the fremen or In any way menace life.
In the face OF this, the frightful event of
va H. L. H. L..
nation OF the current which proved fatal
showed that it was one Of low voltage, similar
to that Of the West End trolley, and identical
with that which caused trouble two months
ago, which, it was found, was West End wire.
"DowN WITH THE WIRES"
The Boston Post of April IL, commenting
editorially on the fire and the tragedy, said,
under the caption, "Down With the Wires"
the people Of Boston have had their warning.
Fortunately, no lives were lost and no great
destruction OF property followed the obsiruc-
department. Sunday night. A few thousand
dollars will cover the additional loss due to
this cause, and the suffering of terror and
anxiety while the fremen were vainly trying to
raise ladders was all that the women and child
rem had to endure.
1t might have been so much worse, that We
may be thankful that the warning has come SO
gently.
But what happened ct this fire will happen
at other fires, and We shall not escape 20
lightly.
The city is strung with wires from one end to
the other. They carry currents of electricity
which 10 itself incendiary, and they form an
to the fremen in their work which
will some day give opportunity for devastat-
ing confagration.
The last really great fire in this city was set
by overhead wires. Only few days ago the
entire fire alarm system was disabled and the
City Hall building threatened with destruction
from the same cause.
1t is not definitely determined that the awful
death Of Lineman Hayes was caused by the
crossing Of West End overhead trolley wire
with the wire supplying the electric light; but
that 10 accepted as the most likely explanation.
The overhead wires are an unsightly nuis-
snce and . danger-telegraph, telephone,
trolley and all the rest Of them. They have no
place numbering the Streets threatening life
and property and disfguring the city. They
must come down.
1t is no longer possible to offer the objection
that the wires cannot be carried underground.
Practical experience has proved that they can
be buried. There are many miles of buried
wires already in the city Of Boston. All of
them should be treated in the same way