The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-05-02
A LIGHTNING MOVE.
North American Company Makes
Record for Itself.

Record for Itself.
''Two movings are as bad as fire." is an
old adage which may not be literally true in
this day Of great vans that carry at one load
all the furniture in the average home, but
it is more than true about the movings of
telegraph and telephone companies The
North American Telegraph company moved
its Offices from Washington avenue to the
Minneapolis Trust building. and located at
II Fourth street south, yesterday afternoon,
and its experience fully bears out the. old
there is practically nothing of the old office
at the one. Yesterday afternoon the
operators were working as they have been
for the past ten years at the old office.
Word was sent to them to come up to the
new building; the office was qcut out and the
new Office was cut in, and the deed was done.
The office Of the North American occu-
pies four floors of the Minneapolis Trust
building. On the ground floor is the main
public Office where receiving clerks, book
keepers, messenger boys and the principal
force of the office, aside from the operators,
are employed. In the basement extending
out under the sidewalk, is the dynamo room
and small room, into which run the cables
and in which is placed the lightning
roster, an intricate and delicate device to
prevent shock of lightning entering the
building by following ths wires. In case
any wire is struck the increased voltage
burns out thin mica plate and the electric
current Is carried off into the ground. In
the dynamo room six dynamos are set up
on brick foundations, and rheostadts and a.
switchboard device regulated the amount of
current to be supplied for the operation of
the telegraph instruments There is also a
blower which operates the fan for the pneu-
matte tube appliance which carries the mes
sages from the operating room to the main
Office or the other way. ~ -
On the second floor are the Offices of Cen
eral Manager Tuttle, and the other general
offices. And on the upper floor is the operat-
ing room. A large light and airy place
where about fifty operators can be busy at
the same time receiving and sending mes
sages. In this room the two switch
boards, with capacity. each Of fifty wires
and the usual apparatus and implements OF
telegraphy. i.s-54ssts.f
A. s. Harris, the chief operator, had imme-
date charge Of the work which was incident
to the change. He modestly stated that the
entire change had been made without hitch.
Not single wire was crossed, not single
patron lost so much as minute In the de-
livery OF message. The work. besides the
laying Of the new cables and the connecting
up with the new switchboard, which re-
quires great deal Of care, is prosecuted by
what Is called making half joints. That is,
at some point on the wires leading to the
old office the wire leading to the new office
is connected. AS long as there Is no con-
nection in the new office with some instru-
that is, dead After, all the wires have been
so connected with the new switchboard it is
only matter of minute to push in the
plugs and so connect with the instruments
In the new Office. Then the plugs are pulled
out Of the switchboard in the old Office and
the trick is done. The points were these half
joints were made were i'm the several. man.
holes at Washington and Hennepin avenues.
ct Washington and Nicollet avenues, ct