Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-01-24
CLIMBING POLES.
w t1yEMEN LABOR TO RE
PAR DAMAGED WIRES
work in stormy weather to
Keep Communication Intact
working Night and Day.

Washington Star. ,,o
,s1on me unfortunate employe Of the
,vs.lern Union Telegraph company lay
49, ne madplcx of wires in front
go ~, company's building up on FIT
y - street suspended between heaven
. "a e,rth with life almost shocked out
Sim by the crossing Of an electric lisht
l.-a majority of the terrified onlookers
and eomprehended for the first time
Iso dangers Of lineman's calling. a
r. Md occurred carly in the evening
H. IN the battery room; all the wires
fai,r into the telegraph building had
,sn burned out, and during the progress
Il Jownpour of rain, the linemen had
i = IN work to stroighten out the foriniu-
/ 4. ,snse Of wires. While performing
s 80 one of the repair gang grasped
u - io,tlad with the deadly current
sboIi that followed threw him across
a ..,rei wires foot below, ana there
\ Mug limp aud almost liteless ior
q .ny half hour, when he was taken
Ixu In safety. and few days lhler
tported for duty. a.,
=. The outcome OF me hVSiutht ""H
. IA fortunate one, a., under the same
\ circumstances, a life would nave Deeh
nine times out of ten. The FISK
II ~ lnemrn place them in the same
.s.cr with railroad employees when
" stsrt ont on repair trip they have
Y, chances out Of ten for returning
n he early days Of tclegraphy, when
~ limo wont down Ii meant CcsSn-
~ business for an indefinite period
n an moi mike much difference In these
Ia ~ because the public had not learned
~ 4, bnsiness hy wire to any great eN-
hat now 1t is quite different. If
II. .,,ranhic communication Is cut OIL for
|od M one day business is almost at Il
'.H ndstlll. The two big storms, coming
NJ "a together last fall, APPLY illustrated
III fact. Hence the necessity OF pre-
katlou for any emergency. by the EN-
|ymnt OF capable, industrious lnelnen
ia diversity OF lines themselves. be'
l.. 4 ,aen the great centers of business to-
IN There are hundreds Of wins, by DIFF
,,nt routes, which bind them together.
M keep these wires in working order
( nost continually requires a large corps
"A linefnen. an Of Of whom are experts
4Ithelr calling, and although their work
81 N apnear merely mechanical, woe be-
III the qreenhorn that nttenips u little
81 hiring on his own hook without the
KS essary appliances to protectin a man
ief his ignorance,
'A large system requires a man at the
4N 4 who Is able to cope with any emer-
|.Acy with the means ut hand, for he
IN have 10 send dispatch around the
..!fld In order to reach San Francisco
f8n New York. The press associa'
|tAs know the value of good wire
-atn and nj important points ike New
I'm, Washington and Chicago, have men
4lfbloyed who when they ask Tor
ncS wlref can tell TO nicely by wnnt
f,dte they would like the wire asked
idt TO run and also the wire wanted
.I1t Western Union has gohbled up 50
{}.ebly lines during the last fifteen years,
III of which have different ratio as TO
.-rfngth and durability, that the different
t<oi es trayersed still carry their original
6&Is. For instances. the American
%&on company erected their lines In
athOrough q manner that they stand
LIN as about the best property the
stern Union possesses. The lines of
American Rapid were built IN hurry
~ under contract and are about the
~ strung ON poles. So when an
de wire chief asks for n new wire
chances are he will say: BILLY, try
n in an A. u. for US II you
ibg can.
putng conversation recently with
II the wire chiefs employed by The
siem Union, and Evening Star re
per switched him on on to the life
work Of a telegraph lincman. He
n A cDscientious wire chief, when he
Us bis eyes in the morning and finds
81 weather. bad, will make a Decline for
oihce, as his experience teaches him
HiEe-tr0uble can be surely expected
be will cndeavor TO patch things up
TIE time the general operating force
frls Tor duty. When any line retuseF
MNlrk or cuts up mouk cy-shines we
reliately sound the wire to find the
Nion nearest to the break. Sitting
hairs not far from the board are our
III men ready for the word go When
fOeate the break between two stations
*SlsNe Tie word and the linemen start
70 md tho trouble, and frequently,
tt galiy during the winter monthA, II
severe task TO repair the break after
once discovered.
soon as the terminal station Is
W sAy Philadelphia or Richmond,
nude on the switch board to de
I"tle whether the wire Is open, crossed
XII iyuaied' The strength of the cur
sn9Ws whether the trouble is close
tanu OF some distance away. The
III,fol nearest to where the fault is Gus.
then called. If there Is no
..se other stations are called until
iognd Is located.
1e uhenen are then ordered to the
" repair the damage. Meanwhile
al II
Inverted TO another line. OF
M me demands and importance of
&] stNlee have to be taken into con-
-eun, and this is where the execu-
faculties of the wire chief are
XIV INTO play. Patching or joining
"sapied line with another on the
.NW 'gule must be done with wire
{.W Importance than that at fault. II
I>. We one. The linemen are very i'm
'0a ~ peFsonages at all times, but their
s Increases in proportion to
.I aeuNllS after destructive storms
If o,e OF last fail. A certain NUM-
raI,. altaehed TO each division. They
'fr' Mork IN couples when wires are
lI g9sssed, grounded or broken.
ouult Is unique, but simple.
M attached to their heavy boots
lil" mem 10 climb the poles easily
i1Iffs' nut they have to possess the
snack in hanging on and work
!I|| shaky places. Poles sway like
sn gsH OF a shin in heavy wind,
"a XIV ss' ns wires or fixing insulators al
~ OF hliy or seventy-five feet re-
euol head as well as strong and
N{t l., myers. When storm Is roar
~ and about them The danger and
q the work are incraa sed
io., lhis is especially true of an
,n si NJ when l was a messenger
M N Atoony, Pa, that a rara ex-
.,1 " nerve came under my uotiee
46h lau been given to place "A ne,r
lolrd In ihn nmnn - n,N