The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-10-30
MORE POLES TO COME DOWN.
CITY CAN PUT ITS WIRES UNDER
GROUND AT LITTLE EXPENSE.

This Would Bring Down Eighty More
Poles to Join the Hundred Already
Taken Down by the Bell Teie-
phone COmpany-A Free Duct for
the City Provided in the Conduit
For the Fire Alarm and Police
Telegraph Wires-TeIegraph Com
Danies Can Get Their Wires Into
the Conduit TOO-EIectrfc Light
Company Willing to Put It's Wires
Under Ground on Certain COndi-
lions.
The Bell Telephone Company has about
completed the work of removing from the
streets the poles for which it no longer
has any need on account of having placed
its wires in the business section under
ground. In all about 100 poles have been
removed or will be shortly.
The Improvement in the appearance of
the streets in the business section of the
city is very remarkable, being even more
so than that caused by the removal of the
overhead wires by the company. The
streets have quite a changed appearance
where the poles We're thickest and the few
poles left standing appear all the uglier
by contrast.
The improved appearance of the streets,
as the result of the removal of the poles,
has caused a general desire that the i'm
provement be carried still further There
is no reason why this desire should not
be granted with little exertion and small
expense on the part of the city General
Manager Polk of the telephone company,
when spoken to yesterday about the mat
ter, said that about 50 telephone poles, for
which the company has no further use
have been left standing for the use of the
city on account of its fire alarm and police
telegraph wires. The majority of these
he said, could be done away with if the
city would take the trouble to put its
wires under ground. This can easily be
done, as when the telephone company con-
structed its underground conduit, it volun-
tarily provided a section of the conduit for
the use of the city. This conduit is at the
service of the city without cost. The re-
moval of the police telegraph and fire
alarm wires to it would be small ex-
pense, Manager Polk said AS the tele-
phone conduit does not extend further
east than Drayton street, however, it
would be necessary for the city to lay a
connecting conduit on Oglethorpe avenue
from Habersham street to Drayton, pass
ing the police barracks, and No. 8 engine
house, the latter place being the headquar-
ters of the fire alarm system. The cost
of laying a pipe this distance to connect
with the conduit, Mr.. Polk estimated at
less than 81, coo.
The two telegraph companies, the Wes-
tern Union and Postal Gable companies,
do not use a great many poles. Still, if
their wires were underground the appear
ance of the streets would be improved
that much more Mr.. Polk was asked if
the wires of the telegraph lines could be
accommodate ted in the telephone conduit
and said this could be done with the
greatest ease.
I'VE are not making any bid for this
business said Mr.. Polk 1.-THE charge
would be small anyway probably less than
the telegraph companies pay for the
maintenance of poles and If they desired
it, we would allow them to make use of
the conduit for their accommodation and
the benefit of the city
President s. p. Hamilton of the Brush
Electric Light and Power Company was
asked what prospect there is for the wires
of his company to go underground.
Every little at present, I am afraid" re-
piled Mr.. Hamilton. IF the city builds its
own plant and deprlves us of the city
lighting we could not afford to go under
ground, and it would hardly be worth
while anyway, as the cty's wires would
then take the place of ours. We volun-
teered several months ago to place our
wires underground on condition that the
city would enter into an agreement to re-
quire all companies competing for the cleo
trio light and power business here to go
under ground also. Should the city decide
not to enter the lighting business and
should it renew its contract with us our
proposition would still be open. 1t would
cost us about 100000 to put our wires
under ground
Mr.. Hamilton said that should the city
install its own lighting plant the result
would very probably be to prevent any
further competition in the commercial
lighting line from entering the field here
and the Brush company would then have
this field to itself. the prospect of the city
contract being the main inducement to
new companies.
NEWSPAPERS IN VENEZUELA.