Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1895-03-18
UNDERGROUND NEW YORK.
LONG AVENUES OF COMMUNICA-
TON AND HOMES UNDER FOOT.
Honeycombed Ground Beneath the
Street Level, Where Thousands
Live and Work.

X SECTIONAL view of almost
"A any part of the city of New
~ York, says the Herald, would
present sight quite aston
ishing to the uninformed, as to the
actual condition of the apparently
solid ground below the street level.
The firm foundations on which rest
the city and its teeming life lie far
below the pavements, and the streets
themselves are only long and narrow
elevated ridges, supported by the
walls of the great buildings, and rest
ing on subways, channels and numer-
GUS underground structures.
Beneath the skin of paving lies the
circulating, nervous and muscular
system of the city; in other words,
the sewers, water and gas pipes, the
wires, distributing electrical energy,
and the powerful engines, whose work
is made manifest through whirling ma
chinery, lifting elevators and miles of
cables moving underground and con-
veying hundreds of cars, loaded with
thousands of passengers. For all of
this there must be great rooms, miles
of pipe, long, arched passages, nu-
oue ooJM"ye n%sins 'noi1 up
ious entrances. These constitute an
intricate system of avenues, over
which we walk and ride, and the en-
frances to which .nre marked by the
numerous iron plates and grated open
ings that are seen by the thousands
alono the streets Add to this tbe
dark. ilI-ventilated dwelling below tho
Sidewalks info which novertv forces
thousands in a preat city. and we have
underground New York
The multiform use of electric;tv
and the vast increase of the business
in New York brouobt the decree tbnt
wires mnst 20 nnder oronnd II was
n hard fgbt bnt the poles and wires
had +o,oo and snhwavs were brilt
There are now 125 Of these wavs
raoob;n, ort to ovorv nortion of a.
c;tv and corrv;no the various w; A.
nsed oa electrical conductors inclnd- :
mo teleoranb teIenbone electric
liebt and fire alarm wires These are
un5er nearly evorv street and in monv
streets are two sets of snbwavs-one
Cor electric l;obtino or hiob fers;or
end tho other FOR teIegranb and +elo'
nbone or low tension Res;des tbe
main trunk lines of subwavs there oro
lateral ducts which reach ont like
oreot orma to tho centros of the bIocks
on either side.
Above and below and on either side
of these electric snbwovs ia n vast cir
oulot;no svstem that works an ;mnort.
ont ,ori IN tho oitv,s economv Th;s
sustan, fo;r,v bonevcon,hs the oronnd
in every diyeot;on There arc large
n;nea With smoller branches and these
iost hovo uat smollar ornos +hot ontor
oyorv hn;id;no in Greater or Iess NM
hers This system is made mn of the
gas and wafer nines The. oas. start
inc from the Great tanks PLACED on
the lowest oronnd in the citv. aoats
tbronob moro than two Thousand miles
of mines that end in millions of bprn-
era where tho ans is used TO contribpte
70 the convenience and .comfort of n
vost nonuloti,n
And Tho water start,no from Tho
buoe reservoirs on tbe b;gbest gropnd
Hnwq tbrpunb mora Than nJDht hu n
dred miles of mains. which have their
lateral branches terminatino with vet
smaller nines at tho bundreaa of
thousands of places where water ia
needed.
nhouo ill., IN
lnsa.a 80 80 - oun,p"i ttat h"n
axr;1a.sLIa IoltL I.. ,,u"s.;oa
~ oons. t ~ aDi .t;a1'I, .tIn, D" ~ pon,1o
matte tubes. OF which there are now
about five miles That several miles
of these tubes will have TO be con-
structed Inv tbe PostofTica. De,artn,ent
is ouite likely Tbero ;s also now in
nsa in tbe city four miles Of solt wafer
ninos
Tbe orootest wava of underororrd
New York are those throngh which
tho sewage Of the citv is d;snosed of
Tb;s ia q wonderful system in ito nv.
tent and imnortance It's ramifico.
tions reach every noint. and it's hun