The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-09-17


the deadman is put in place underneath
and the pole allowed to rest on st while
the live men get a fresh hold and lift il
| little higher. When this has been &C
complished the deadman is showed a few
feet nearer the big or hold end of the
pole and these operations are repeated till
the pole is up. After the erectors the
plumb bob TO see that the pole is exactly
vertical. and he and the Hampers COM
plete the setting of the pole.
Working in the Air.
The wire stringers follow about two
miles behind. They work much more rap
idly now than formerly. In the old days
they were content to put up one wire at
time; now they string ten together.
The first wire-stringing operation is per-
formed by man who drives horse haul
ing the running rope" To it is attached
the running board" formerly made of
wood, but now Of steel, triangular in shape
and fitted with SNAP hooks" somewhat
like those on harnesses, to which the wires
as unwound from the reels, are attached
The rope is carried over the cross pieces of
the poles and halt is made for each pole
as soon as the wires have reached it,
While the horse has been hauling them a
lineman has been shining up the pole
He attaches each wire TO its proper insu-
lator with fingers so expert that the work
is done at an incredible rate. Then ne
climbs down, makes for the next pole, 1870
feet away, and repeats the operation. This
goes on at the rate of 40 poles 10 the mile
and 21a miles day 200 poles is a standard
days work., mile after mile and day after
day, till the line is completed. At every
three-quarters of a mile the wires are cut
temporarily "deadended' to the insulators
and new lengths of wire taken up. While
the latter are being got in place the wires
oil Axr Ct stretched
another gang of men working with block
and fall " This is done in order that each
wire may be of exactly the same length
as all the others and under the same strain
Wires exactly equal vibrate in unison when
the wind blows and never strike each other
wires of varying tension vibrate various
ly. often strike together in windy times
and so cause no end of confusion among
telephone subscribers.
After the stretching comes "transposi-
tion' of the wires "rransposttion means
cutting two wires carried by the same
cross-bar and crossing them at definite
intervals so that the current travels first
on one side and then on the other side
of the line of poles. This is often over
looked in telegraphic construction, but
never in long distance telephone work. A
complete explanation of Its why's ana
wherefores would need to be treatise on
induction and other intricate electrical phe-
In modern telephony metallic and not
ground circuits are used; that makes two
wires necessary for each circuit so that
ten wires mean only five circuits. Ex-
perience has shown that the mystic cur
rent plays all sorts of pranks with the
transmission of sounds when a lot of
wires running straight along are strung
on the same poles. The pranks are most
ly eliminated by transposing the wires,
but curlously enough, it won't do to trans
pose two sets of wires which run over the
same line of poles at identical points, for
this leads to complete parallelism," phe-
nomenon which all telephone men dread
but which few outside the business have
ever heard of. Accordingly, transposi-
ton SCHEME" has to be wrought out for
every line and when there are several
wires the scheme is a highly elaborate af-
fair. Like the man who fastens the wires
to the insulators, the one who transposes
them spends much of his time shining up
and down poles. He must have great
expertness, but his knowledge of electric
ity need not be great, no matter how COM
plicated the transportation scheme, for 1t
Is made ready in advance and he has only
to follow instructions. He is the last man
TO pass over the line. When he has fin
ished the wires are as nearly ready to
talk as the overhead construction party
can make them.
So much for the actual construction work
between towns. The commissary and
material departments are quite as import
ant, for the men must be housed and fed
in their hustling progress across the coun-
try and their materials must always be
at hand.
The method of conducting the commits
sary department varies according to the
nature of the territory passed through. In
ha
sleep at hotels, farm houses and boarding
houses along the route, hotels being pre-
ferred The advent of a gang of eighty
men creates no end of excitement in each
neighborhood, and, of course their ac
commodation fills all the spare bedrooms
and the extra places at every table. Ev-
cry construction gang is preceded by one
or more men hunting for boarding places,
and these men are also charged with ar
rangements for the transportation of the
force to and from work mornings and
nights. From seven to eight miles is about
as far as they can be taken economically,
and there is, therefore, an average dis
lance of about fifteen miles between head
quarters.
When the country is thinly settled the
party is furnished with vans-great spe-
cially constructed wagons, somewhat like
circus wagons-some containing berths for
sleeping purposes, some being fitted with
ranges ana cooking utensils TO serve as
kitchens, and others being loaded with
food for the men. fodder for the horses
and miscellaneous supplies. camp is
pitched at the close of each days work
and the number of men in the party is
augmented by teamsters, cooks walters
and doors of all sorts of odd Jobs House
boats were built to accommodate the par
ty which constructed a line along the
course of certain Southern river through
region ill-supplied with highways, and
all hands We're foated down by the stream
by night between days works That par
~ was highly unfortunate; the men in
sisted upon drinking the river water
lot of them fell sick of typhoid fever and
several died before its ravages could be
checked.
Getting poles, wires, cross-pieces and
other essentials of construction to the men
promptly is as necessary as feeding and
| housing them. This work is in charge OF
the material man, who precedes the con-
structon party, and must be possessed of
unusual executive ability. He must be in
close touch with the pole-buyers scattered
all over the country the enpfpaor NJ IN Ire.