The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-02-12
BURY TAe WIRES.

Throughout this discussion Of the
proposition to tax electrical poles one
need has been almost entirely over
looked aud vet It is destined eyentu.
ally 10 p5coms tho key to ths whole
psrplexipg problem. There is not an
intelligent electrician today who hon
sstly and firmly believes that the resi-
dents Of our lsrIe cities will much
longer tolerate the giving away Of val
nabls franchises. coupled with the con.
version OF busy streets iuto taugleS Of
uasigbtly poles and still more obuox.
ious wires Take any one Of the prom
insnt business thorousACares Of ScrAa-
ton and note ths space occupied by
these iu.srlacsd tilamsn;s and their
sustaining props Ols can scarcely ssa
through the network; while for get
tlns ladders up to tall buildings in case
Of ire. the thing woald, iamlny places,
be literally impossible
Another point. Whea the public
gives these companies certain rights it
naturally expects a certain quality Of
service in retura But under the over
leld wire system il: no: only has its
streets populated with deadly live"
wires involving constan: psrils to man
and beast; it no: only converts the
curbiugs Of thsss streets into ru ls re.
sambianc9s TO rows OF hom9ly bean
poles, obstructiug travel, wasting val
liable space and forming a clum'y and
altogether needless incident Of urban
growth but i: opens the d)or to di-
rect i'm pairm4nt Of the service it pays
well FOR Take the telegraph. E7ety
wind storm throws i:s wires into
condition Of chaos. Every fall Of snow
or hail snaps thsss thin conductors,
leaving the ends to dlngIs aud sizzls
in our public places and to destroy by
fire thousands Of dollars in property
each year. Likewise with the telephone.
The slightest atmospheric disturbance
converts its underton9 into a deafening
and ildistinguishaole roar. Conver-
sa;ion becomes impossible. Wires
snap and cross each other. Tns ball Is
kept vibrant with false calls and the
individual patron accounts himself
lucky, on an average Of at least two
days in seven. If he can keep safely
away from a receiver 90 useless anl an
ear trumpet 80 offsnsivslY full Of
cracking, sputtsring babsls Of sound
OF the fifteen thousand poles in
Scranton, today, not mora than one In
three is necessity, even under the
present conditions Only the supine-
ness Of the public. encouraging the az
grsssions Of the electrical corporations
themselves. sver permitted the placing
at many street corners Of three and
four and Ave poles In groups where one
would have been amply sufficient. II
a tax on these poles would have the Of.
feet to divide their excessive number
by three. or even BY two, 1t woull ap-
peal strongly 10 public sym pathy. re-
garlls's oi after consequences Bat
even 5000 poles where there are now
10. 900. would not ovsrcoms the sur
mounting difficulty Tne dollar tax
would altogether eylde it. What pop
ulsr sentiment will. sooner or later.
demand lS the burying Of thess uu.
slightly and dangerous wires altogether
What the electrical companies. as n
matter Of selH-intsrsst should do ia to
free tho streets Of their present AMI
growing thralldom. Get rid OF the
enlarging tanglo Of multiplying wires
and cables. Remove the necessity Of
taxing poles by doing away with the
poles themselves Contribute the
amount Of thstaG, a. business invest.
ment. to tho laying OF underground
conduitS. Take time. thus shrswdly,
by the forslock, and don't wait for tho
public to achieve by force what It now
mildly suggests.
Underground wires must come some
day. The sooner they como tho better
for all concerned Why not have
them now