Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-10-30
MUST PUT WIRES UNDERGROUND.
This the Only Way To Prevent the
EYiIs of E,IcctroINsis.

/ To the Editor Of the Dispatch:
VIII you kindly publish the following
| for the benefit Of your readers?
There are two questions Of great i'm
portance that now present themselves to
| the public mind First, the removal. OF
| the clectric-cars from Franklin and Bank
! streets 10 Main street, from Twenty-first
| 70 Seventh streets now before the Street
| COmmittee). Second electroysis or the
power that drives the cars, which Mr..
Charles Boiling, Superintendent Of the
Water-Works, asserts is eating the water
and gas.pipes. Officials in other cities also
confirm this fact. Removing the cars from
! Franklin street to Main street VIII not
help the pipes in any way for the return
current will find the pipes squares or.
All electrical people know that the troll
ley wires have an amperage (volume) Of
$500 amperes. allowing for a loss of 10
per cent. which is admitted. The fact
remains that there will be more loss M
the best single trolley line that can De
built one ampere will dissolve two tons
OF iron per year. This alone is enough 10
prove that electrOlysis IS a very danger
Gus thing, as 10 city caa 90 without IT'S
pipes.
Let us see what other cities are doing
We take IL tram IT the Union Depot for
the North, and stop at Wdshmg-p1. We
find all wires underground, with fifty-one
miles of underground trolley; the last two
cable roads about 20 go underground.
We next visit Baltimore. The fire, police,
and telephone companies Of that city
have wires underground within radius
Of probably a mile from the centre Of
the city. This was accomplished up TO
the first III tae year. Tho Board Of Al
dermen # Ddlci.norc last summer said
to the corporations or That city that they
must put all wires Underground, or they
would cake Their franchises from them.
and give them 10 tllosa that would put
them under ground.
At Wilmington, Del, The next city visit
ed. we find telephone, police and fire
wires underground Mr.. Ayden. the SUI
perintendent OF Fire and Police Tele-
graph, reports that there has been
some trouble caused by the escape Of
current from the trolley roads return cir
cult but the extent Of u has not been
fully ascertainsd. The city viii find, when
IL is developed that The damage will be
greater than was anticipated. About 40
per cent. OF loss current certainly finds
it's avenue OF escape through water and
gas-pipes. a high potential will discharge
to a lower one. II close enough. and the
chemical decomposition caused by the
electric current VIII III lND ytt , 80 udlil-
age water-pipe as 20 cause it's removal
In some places the earth current is so
heavy. by reason OF escape from trolley
and electric. light circuits, that Pinch
water-pipes have 10 be replaced about
every two years. and enough can be
brought from a ground connection 20
readily fuse q 1 IT ampere fuse strap.
Now, II is about fifty minutes run from
here 10 Philadelphia Mr.. David r.
Walker chief Of the Electric Bureau
here. says all wires should be under
ground 1--WE now nave buried some 6.S1
miles OF telegraph and telephone cables.
and are forcing all wires of all kinds Off
the streets
At J -sey City Mr.. John Spencer. super
intcndcnt Of the city's wires. says: "rhe
telephone companies have most OF their
wires underground, and they have had
20 renew them twice since they were put
down I'm l&i-'9, owing 90 the action OF
the electrolysis on the lead cables which
had eaten holes In II all along the line
Of the trolley" He says the action on
the gas and water-pipes IS about the
same as on the underground lead cables.
and 10 viii only be a : after OF a year or
two when the pipes all over the city will
be giving out
We now take the boat. and I'm a few
minutes land In New York city. Here
we find eight or ten roads using the un-
foreground trolley The Broadway cable.
seven years old, which cost more money
than any surface road in the world work
men arc changing now TO underground
trolley Ninety per cent of all other
wires are below tho surface Any one can
get This information in one days travel
The trolley and electric-lght people |
continue 10 say, Let Us ge: our tracks
down and things going, and We will prove
tnat there Is no danger Of falling wires
or electrolys!s action. IL will be too
late 10 lock the stable door after the
horse has been stolen. II may take
months to Go the damage. and no one can
say whether the spot attacked Will be
obhging enough 10 locate Itself where II
can be observed. Mr.. Charles Curtis,
chief electr.c elan OF the Commercial Ca
bic Company G, New York. says: 1.-THE
use OF ,ha rails as a return cjrenit is dam