Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1892-10-25
no ACTION TAKEN YET.
Tho Committee on streets Again Con-
siders the singie-Poie Subject

! The Committee on Streets, at a special
| meeting held in the Hastings Court room
1 last evening. considered at great length
! the proposed ordinance requiring that all
electric wires IN the city be strung upon
one set OF poles. There we're present more
ihan quorum OF the committee. the City
/ Engineer and Attorney, and representa-
/ tives OF the telephone and electric light
and car companies.
Major Stiles, representing the telephone
! company, spoke upon the matter taking
tho ground so perslstently held by Colonel
McCluer, superintendent of that corpora
/ ton in Richmond, that it was dangerous
to life and property to place strong and
! weak current wires upon the same poles
/ lie denied that the telephone company
had ever accepted the new ordinance, and
said that Colonel Cutshaw had been ex-
| ceedingly autocratic in regard to priyi-
ieges extended the company. Major Stiles
very fully exhausted the history of the
| telephone corporation here. narrating the
troubles that have been experienced in
operating both classes of wires upon the
same set Of poles.
WILLING TO DO ANYTHING ELSE,
He stated that his people had offered to
| do anything in the world TO obviate the
difiiculty-to 60 underground, into alleys,
to have separate poles, or ANYTHING else;
but that it did most seriously object to
going into O thing that would be suicidal
and allow their wires to 90 upon the same
poles with the strong current and danger
GUS wires. Major Stiles referred to the
statements Of experts. which were in ex-
act accordance with tue position taken by
I his company.
COLONEL cUTsHAw TALKS.
Colonel Cutshaw made q forcible argu-
ment III favor of the ordinance. He said
In the first place he thought it wrong
precedent for the city to have granted an
ordinance which could not be revoked at
tho pleasure of the Council. az it had done
IN the case of the telephone company.
The City Engineer differed with Major Stiles
as to the danger from induction by the use
of one set OF poles. and cited the testi-
mony OF certain experts sustaining him IN
his views upon the question.
REFUSED TO ACCEPT.
Colonel Cutshaw stated that the City At
torney and himself had studied the matter
carefully and recently decided to recon-
mend TO the Council an ordinance pro-
yiding for the placing OF one set of wires
on one side of the street and the other
upon the opposite side, this being attend
ed by certain crossing of the streets by the
telephone wires, or going around to the
back OF the houses of phone subscribers;
bat this measure was seriously objected TO
by MIR. Carson, manager of the southern
Bell Telephone Company, who said that he
had rather place his wires upon the poles
with those with the strong current. This,
Colonel Cutshaw said. brought up again
the sinPle-pole ordinance. which he
thought TO be the proper measure for the
committee to recommend.
After some further discussion upon the
matter action was postponed until No
yember DIST, when expert testimony as to
the practlcabiitv of using all sorts of
wires on one string of poles will be ad-
vanced on both sides.