Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-02-26
NOW TuE TELEPHONE PEOPLE
rvseur THE BLIZZARD.
eRsLT plxlsg CAUSED BY ICE.
Wires We're Broken and Poles Tor"
frsm Their Bearinas-Tbe Lanemsn
Expos~a 20 MANY Hardshtps-Grest
Increase I'm Number ~ Messages.

the storm hug and his grandeur, but We
Telephone people have been paying the
freight n has cogt ~ more % entertain
your storm King than 30 does the British
nobility ~ on~r their Hospitality % the
Prince q wales Wen never forget this
cola snap especially the snap part. for
we've had nothing bat broken wires ana
hsr5 vork pr the last two weeks. Every
thing has bseD against Va, the sieet, the
snow, the ice. the cold weather, and
tho river. and yet we're sin doing bud-
ness ~ the old stand. There has been
no ringing on with Us; Ye'ys stood IKE
Patience on = monument. smiling a. shat
tered poles and broken wires Until we'd
almost sell ont ~ q ~ per cent discount
for just one little slice Of Fo0rth-of-July
weather"
when all others had forsaken the pub
lie the telopbons company passed the good
word ana secErsd for us the busnel OF
coal which saved or family from de-
strUotion. when tho strset-cars took a
vaoaaon and the horses refused 10 move
IN the snow and our bsst friends wouldn't
venture out for love or money, Il was
the telephons company who told our
grocer Of the need Tor potatoes and bacon
and the other nocegsaries OF ifo.
A FIGHT AGAINST NATURE.
Now that the blizzard IL only a memory
which Is rapidly sinking into iBslgnin-
eance. and even Narping. whom brought
into comparison with the storm Ot 1871
people are prone 20 discuss u snd 20
realize what might have been done 10
counterfeit tho difficulties 81 the sltUa-
ton. The telephone officials are. perhaps,
the only contingent who feel quite
satisfied with their part in the great and
destructive event IL was n period OF
work end anxiety at tbs headquarters OF
tho Southern Bell Company, and the bun
hsd 30 De taken by the horns forthwith.
and even then he did not yield az readily
as ola the aurochs In "Quo Nodis' From
start 10 finish & was q fight against that
most remorsolcss Of fOes-Noture.
Grange 20 say, the 6leet which played
such havoc with the trees ana wires IN
this section wos almost local IN us ma
ture. II was confined ~ belt bounded
on the north by Fredericksburg and on
the south by Petersburg In this district
the damage was lncalcuable; beyond II
aid but little harm.
MILES OF PENDANT ICE.
While the snow and biting cold were IN |
their way disagreo8blo enough 10 satisfy /
the worst Of pesslmists II was the sl'f ri
above an else which did the damage 10 |
wires A mathematician might nnd sub |
siantial amusement in hsuting out the /
costs incurred. The Southern Ben Tele-
phone Company has in this city nearly |
10 miles OF bare wire and 90 least $50 |
miles of wire IN cables. Tho ordinary |
service wire h about oue-siNicfnth Of an /
Inch in diameter, but when winter under |
took t0 add her silyery enamel these dl- |
menal0ns Wcr increased 90 three fourths |
or an inch In diameter. The man who |
loves figures and dOesnt balS az hard |
work. might tell Us something very In
terestlng about the actual tonnage ~
lee which ovorhung our heads curing mat |
crystal era Of friridiy
A telephone wire. Ike many ether good |
things. IL willing % SHIRE IT. proper quUa |
of burdens but there Il limit TO us en-
durance. This limit was reached during |
the slect The tension became enormous.
aud was aggravated by The winds Had
these been calm not half tie damage |
would have occurred But they were not |
calm: ergo the wires broke. Ia the out
lying sections which shNefed and crack
ed like skeletons dangling from gibbets.
poles and chaotic raminca ions were
everywhere the result
work FOR THE IINEdEN.
II was beautiful and grand-to al tN-
oept the telephone people With them IL
was like nightmare. superipdneed by /
an overdose OF ice-cream. II meant cease.
less work for days aud nignts~work OF |
tho most dangerous sort. and In the worst |
OF weather Forty liuemen all that could /
be gotten from far aud near-hraved the /
storm and sought 60 reduce telephone
order out OF tcmpestu0us chaos The |
company did all Il could 10 make these |
poor souls comfortable. Wagons of eat |
ahlcs and coffee followed IN tneir wake. |
and choored them when the cold nippod |
and the blcozes cut. The wires Were re
paired as fast as they fell, and the com
panys operatives did valiant work.
For Eve DAYS these troubles ran riot and |
during this period there VAS no end Of toll |
Tor the lincmon. They had 20 run cir |
cults for miles. and experienced especial |
trouble on Mayo's bridge. Here the whole |
pole route was blown over into the rlNer |
and within three hours from the time
when the first pole went down a tenn
porary cable was strung over the bridge,
and long-distance connection established
TROUBLE FOR the GIRLS.
Nv the snow which struggled so efaNely
60 equal it's predecessor OF 1871, the tele-
phone girl began 90 md her share at trou-
HE Hitherto she had taken 40 part M
the contest With nature. hut when she
Rwokc GA that memorable Monday moth-
lux and saw fifteen inches ot the 'feecN
awaiting the pathway t0 he carved ny
her dainty ovcrshoes, she shuNdered ana
determined to resign her job rather than
face the elements. Hello, StiWM Won't
touch me today" she said. but later on
when the company provided transperta-
tion for her. she changed her mind and
became more amiable--N telephone-sifls
ever need "a become amiatle ,'nce at the
Office her meals were provided Tor Ner
and that night she aud her energetic Sis
tiers were provided with cosy quarters
in an adiacent hotel This was quite
lark Ia IFS way. but there Is no rose With
our a thorn when the pue'ic-that great
bowling unreasonable. impatient mass
OF humanity realised that all modes OF
locomouen were sono fer the nonce. they
hiea themselves 60 their telephones and
hawicd for everything they needed. The
,elephone-girl In reading sentimental
works of fiction had occasionally heard
OF hydrA-headed monsters but after her
experiences tina, Monday she concluded
that many OF her patrons We're hydra
mouthed as well. 10 seems as II the
whole town wanted 70 telephone. The
number OF calls increased - per cent.
thai day. despite the difficulties incident
10 the mechanical operations OF the SER
vice Fortunately, everybody was ta-
eliaed 70 take things good na,uredly, and
though. 10 use : startling colloQuislisn.
neighbors frequently "cut into" one an
other. few los their tcmpers
THEN THE JAMES RIVER.
IL the telephone people calculated on
seeiag an end OF their troubles when the