The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-10-09
TRICKS OF LINEMEN.
HOW THEY STRING WIRES WHERE
PEOPLE DON'T WANT THEM.
Some of These Deft Fingered Fellows Are
So SkiIlful That They Can Run a Line
Almost Under a Persons Nose without
His Being Aware Of 1t.

So SkiIlfuI That They Can Run Line
Almost Under Persons Nose without
His Being Aware Of 1t.
On the roof of lofty building in the
business district two brawny linemen were
toiling among the network of wires fas-
tened to high series of cross arms. One
bent his ear close to tiny telegraph in
strument connected with wire, while the
other, under his direction, busily twisted
two wires together.
"Hold on" cried the man listening at
the instrument. "They want to measure
resistance. Well have to wait awhile"
The two descended, and behind a huge
chimney lit their pipes. Asked ayoung
man, who had been watching them with
interest
Suppose you wanted to string wire
from this TO that building opposite, how
would you do its"
That's against the law, young man."
responded the taller of the two linemen.
Telegraph companies never break the
law
But suppose you wanted to"
"Young man, if / wanted to carry awire
across the street from here I'd let you go
down on the sidewalk and watch, and
while you were watching I'd get the wire
over and you'd never know it. How9 Well,
that's business secret, but don't mind
telling you that I've known men to per-
form the feat several ways If wanted
to do it l might take that pilot wire, for
instance, that is composed Of two or three
strands. Imight twist bunch of wires to
90 across the street till they exactly re-
sembled the pilot wire to an observer on
the sidewalk. might cut the pilot wire,
hitching on my bunch, and keeping ittaut
by main strength my man opposite would
slowly haul it over.
"You wouldn't know it was moving.
When he had wire enough I'd shake out
the wires wanted from the bunch and
leave the rest to make good the gap in the
pilot. II couldn't find pilot wire on the
particular roof I'd take the biggest gauge
single wire there and hitch two small wires
twisted together to it, make fine joint,
and my assistant would haul them over.
One would serve to make up the break in
the big wire, the other would be mine. If
were driven to it and had to get rope
across the street I'd work either early in
the evening or early in the morning, when
l have heard there are only few police
men around, and those either asleep or
chumps that wouldn't know what | was
doing.
II knew man on Dearborn street who
had one wire in his Office and had to have
another. An enemy swore he shouldn't,
and hired man and a policeman to watch
the corners of two buildings on opposite
sides of the street and the sky to see that
no wire was strung. While they were
looking the wire went over. twas little,
two strand cable just the size of the single
wire, and after it was fastened to the lat
ter and the joint nicely soldered it took an
hour to pull it slowly over"
''If you were to undertake such job
wouldn't you be liable to mistake the wire
get the wrong one? There are a good
many on the roof tops"
Eyes, there are thousands of theN-tel-
egraph, telephone electric light, signal,
fire alarm, public and private, dead and
secrcss--Duee there are scores of linemen
that know every one. ! can put my hands
on dozen men, any cue of whom you can
take bindfolded on any Spof and he'll tell
ayou the name, number, NawDership, us ;,
ydestination, origin and age Of every wire
in the biggest rack you can find. It's
kind of a natural knowledge. You either
know it or you don't know a man who
can't read or write, but he can break open
thirty-two strand cable and pick out the
wire he wants.
1T is always fellow VIII" knows the
wire geography of the roo " he con-
tinued, "that makes the taps. Are there
many taps? You don't hear of fraction
of them. 1t is natural that sometimes
people would try to catch the secrets
worth thousands of dollars that 90 over
q, telegraph wires, amt it,"
Il was after tap the other day and
found it in our own Office tower. 1t re-
minded me of another in the days of the
hottest war against the bucket shops. A
certain shop was getting quotations. We
made dozen tests and tours and found
nothing. Finally, by accident, l discov-
cred the operator in certain hotel had his
instrument near telephone, and shouted
quotations out too loudly. locked at that
telephone and found that it Is kept in
circuit by little wooden pei Npder the
lever, which was apparently W, the ear
piece hanging in it. That w ( a good
dodge, but the tappers made it beautiful
one by taking that telephone wire all over
town and actually breaking open a tele-
phone cable, running it through that a
piece, then into another cable and finally
taking it through a central tower, all to
disarm suspicion. We located its other
end in an Office in high building on Clark
street, and there sat telegraph operator,
the phone to his ear, catching the shouted
quotations of the other operator and tele-
graphing them over secret wire to the
bucket shop.
in another case they left blind lead
for us in the shape of wire half concealed
running into hole in a brick wall, while
they broke open the linen covered line wire,
fastened their tiny copper threads to it and
ran them down holes bored in the insulator
into chimney. In another case they
tapped every wire of a certain company
and rugged up battery of their own, thus
making themselves independent. and babe
defiance to that company for four weeks,
till it dropped on the taps in its own Office.
In another case they went on certain root,
the owner of which swore he would lhoot
any man found there stringing more wires,
and kept guard to do it, and while the
guard was ON hand they tapped the wire
they wanted. OF course we didn't think Of
looking there, and didn't go up there till
we ha, to, fearing we'd be thrown off. Oh,
there al >ricks in all trades-but ours"-
Chicago 1.ibune.
Crimes of High Civilization.
Nav NOT NJ IT, p6tr MN nj org ha n n.