Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-12
THE POLES MUST GO.
Attorney Thomas Construes the Law
About Overhead Wires.
The COMMISSIONERS AUTHORITY.
No Excuse for Continuing a Dan
gerous System Any Longer.
AN INTERESTING OPINION

AN INTERESTING OPINION.
The overhead wire must go underground.
The attorney for the District. in an i'm
pcrtant opinion. rendered to the Commits
sioners today, comes out fiat-footed for this.
and takes occasion to give q strong argu-
ment in support Of his position, together
| with the law on the subject.
The Commissioners, who are a unit re-
garding the removal of overhead wires.
were much gratified by the opinion OF Mr..
| Thomas.
The opinion was not looked for. 1t was
brought out In a very peculiar manner. The
United States Electric Lighting Company,
| which maintains a set of poles and over
head wires on 18th street. applied for per-
! mission to replace the poles. which were
| in a dangerous condition, with new ones.
| Capt Febeger, who has always strongly
opposed overhead wires. doubted the advisa~
bility of the Commissioners granting this
permission, as the company had system
of underground conduits along that street.
| and 1t was upon his Recommendation that
| the attorney was asked to give his opinion
on the case.
This he did today. The text Of his opin-
| ion follows:
| II have the honor to return to you here
with communication from Capt. u. ).
Fiebeger of the corps OF engineers 10 the
Engineer Commissioner, under date Noveni-
Der 90 1893, suggesting that on the east
side of 18th street, between New York ave-
nue. and Pennsylvania avenue in this city,
the United States Electric Light Company
have an overhead line Of wires supported
by three poles which are considerably de-
cayed and in a dangerous condition, which
the company desires to replace with new
poles. and that on said streets the company
has a conduit between the points named,
and requesting that the opinion of the at
torney of the District be taken as to the
power of the Commissioners to order the
Electric Lighting Company to take down
the dangerous poles and put its wires in
the conduit in the street.
The multiplication of Wires.
1.-The multiplication during the past ten
years Of telegraph. telephone and electric
light poles. with numerous cross-arms, and
great number of wires stretched thereon,
has resulted in filling many of the busiest
streets and avenues Of this city with un-
slightly poles and dangerous wires. At
many points these wires form a network of
iron and copper, which not only disfigure
the streets, but constitute dangerous OBJ
structions to firemen in putting out fires.
OF different kinds for other purposes, and
one current is often found to interfere with
the free use of another. But aside from
this, wires for electric lighting carry heavy
and dangerous currents and when operated
by the overhead system Of bare wires are
IN themselves a nuisance and a constant
menace to life and property. For these
reasons there appears to be a very general
public demand that telegraph, telephone and
electric lighting wires be placed under
ground
The Laws in Other Places,
In the state Of New York they have a
statute passed in 1SS4) which REQUIRES all
telegraph. telephone and electric light wires
ana cables In cities in the state having a
population of five hundred thousand or over
to place their wires underground. In 1ss,
the legislature of New York provided for a
board OF electrical control, and IL was made
the outy or this board 10 cause to be re-
moved from the surface OF the steets of the
Sn Si.y Oh New \ ork and to be maintained un-
loerground whenever practicable all electric
wires and cables and subways were re-
Qulred to be built under the supervision of
the board OF control. and when subways
are quilt all corporations operating over
head electric wires shall have the right to
put them in the subways under certain
specified conditions. The telegraph and
electric lighting companies of New York
city at first vigorously resisted this legis-
lation, claiming that it impaired rights Sc
cured to them by the Constitution of the
United States. and refused to put their
wires IN the subways, but the courts held
that legislation in regard to electric wires
was a valid exercise of the police power
and denied injunction against the removal
or the wires, and directed Judgment for the
defendants in actions for damages for cut
ting the wires. Thus in Western Union
Telegraph Co. VS.. New York (3Sth Ed Rem.
2aC the cirucit court for the southern
district OF New York in 1889 denied an in
junction against cutting down telegraph
wires left hanging over the streets after
notice to place them in the subways
IN the case of the American Rapid Tele-
graph Company VS.. Hess OBS n Y 64Il
decided as late February "a, 1891. il an
lpeared that the telegraph company was or
ganized under the telegraph acts of 1SIS 53
of New York and without any special gran #
from the city. The telegraph comnanv
claimed that those acts operated as a ora M
TO it or franchise to use the streets,
whlch constituted an inviolable contra Of
under the protection of the Constitution Of
the United states. so that neither the state
nor the city could cause the wires and poles
TO be removed without making compensa-
ton. But the courts held that the stat
utes did not grant the telegraph companv
any interest in the streets. but only con-
ferred upon 1t an authority or license TO
enter upon the streets and use them for a
public use not inconsistent with a use for
general street purposes and that the acts of
the legiSa ture were general public lepis,a :
tive acts In the exercise of the police power
of the state. and they were not beyond the
reach of future legisla tion, and even n there
was II grant OF some sort or q franchise Vet
the state did not abdicate it's power over
the public streets nor in any way its poljce
power, nor ahsolve itself from the duty Of
maintaining the streets and highways of
the state In a safe and proper condition for
public travel. and II was held that the order
of the city authorities to remove the poles
and wires and put the wires in the sub
ways after due notice was a proper and
reasonable exercise OF their control over
streets. end that cutting down the wires
after failure to comply with the notice
was not taking of property for public
use. but simply the removal Of II after n
had become nuisance. That the leeisla
ture having determined that the wires on
structed the public use OF the streets ha 8
right to direct them to be put benea tn the
surface. The telegraph comnany instst.s
that rnaer the pot of Congress OF Julv o.
1868 REV. Stat 5263,. thev were entitled 70
use the most roads ~ the United States and
that under section 1904 of the Revised Stat
utes Of tho United States and the oct ~
NHrch 7 1854. all letter carriers routes and
oil public highways were post ropas R,t
the court bold that these acts ~ Congress-
could not denrive the state Of its control
over the streets and its right to reg,Ila 70
them un6ar the n0lice nNwa- and .hat tho
laws of Congress are perfactlv satisfied nv
nernission to place the wires in the sub
ways.
The District Legislation.
TN 1893 Congress took up the subject for
this District and bv act approyed I,Ilv 10