Delaware gazette and state journal., 1896-07-30
WIRES TO GO DOWN.


Tho Delaware a. Atlantic Telegraph and
Tsiphone Co. Given Permission to Lay
Conduits.
The Board Of Directors of the Street
and Sewer Department Tuesday night
granted a franchise for the laying OF
conduits for the placing of wires un-
derground to the Delaware q Atlantic
Telegraph and Telephone Go. The
franchise gives permission to the COM
pany to lay conduits, ducts, mains or
pipes. and to erect overhead wires to
subscribers stations. The company is
required to give bond OF $5, 00c and
must leave the streets in good condi-
tion after laying the conduite. Tho
company is to submit plan for the
laying of the conduits and on approval
by the board may proceed with the
work under tho supervision OF the
board. The company must not tear up
more streets than ii can again put in
shape and must not disturb pipes and
sewers without permission. Within IL
months of the acceptance of the fran
chise the company must have laid $500
| feet or more of conduit on streets where
wires are the most numerous. 1t must
| also furnish without expense to the
| city space OF one cable in each conduit,
and no high tension current is to be
| used in the space. The city is to have
| the space for the use OF the fire alarm
| and police patrol systems. The com
| pany must indemnify the city from
damage and the franchise Is understood
not to give this company the exclusive
| right to lay conduits.
In the discussion of the proposed fran
chise Director Pratt expressed himself
as in favor of limiting the conduit to
2, 500 feet under this franchise, or to
| add to the franchise, as it stood, a
| provision that if more than 2, 800 feet
| was not laid in certain time the rest
of the franchise be void. He favored
allowing tho company to put down
| 2, 800 feet on certain streets and then
| to come to the department again for
| further permission. He would favor
| the city putting down the conduits IL
il there was a law by which the wires
could be put underground.
After the discussion Mr.. Simmons
moved that the franchise be granted
as submitted and President Chambers
seconded the motion. Mr.. Pratt would
have voted for it with the clause added
as he suggested, but the clause was not
added.
TO COMMENCE WORK SOON.
Manager Mehaffy of tho telephone
company was asked by a reporter OF
The Gazette in regard to the conduits
Tuesday evening. He expects work will
be started soon. There will be much
to be done in the way OF planning
before the wires are put underground.
Employees of the company who have had
experience in conduit laying in other
cities will come here toASr gage in this
work. Although the Company cannot
get into its new quarters at Sixth and
Shipley streets until next March, yet
much preparatory work can be done
beforehand.
Usually in the conduit system the
wires are laid in the condults in cables
of 100 or 200 wires. At each corner
there is manhole convenient to the
conduits. The wires run in the con-
duit to terminal poles, as they are called,
the poles being tall enough TO carry
ths wires over the highest buildings.
From these terminal poles placed one
to every four adjoining squares, the
wires run to the various subscribers.
Thus a terminal pcle at Fifth and
Market streets would contain the wires
for all tine telephones lying within one
block in any direction. In the laying
Of the cables provision is made by
extra wires for increase in the number
of subscribers so that new phones may
be connected through the terminal pole
and without tearing up the street te
add more wires to the conduit. Just
what streets win have conduits wil
be matter for decision when the en-
gineers come to consider the matter.