The San Francisco call., 1899-07-01
ELECTRIC WIRES
WILL Be PUT.
UNDER GROUND
Companies Sign an
Agreement.
AN ORDINANCE PREPARED
WORK ACCOMPLISHED BY THE
MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION.
The City Divided Into Four Districts
and the Last of the Overhead
Wires to Go in Three
Years.

Within three years overhead electric
wires, with the exception of wires for, the
propulsion of streetcars, will be entirely
done away with In all but the outlying
residence districts of the city.
In compliance with resolution adopted
by the Board of Supervisors the board of
directors of the Merchants Association
has held numerous conferences of late
with representatives of the various tele-
graph, telephone and electric Hight com
panies and the result is. an agreement
signed by the companies to place their
wires under ground as rapidly as possible.
the last of them to be buried within three
years.
In accordance with this agreement the
Merchants Association has prepared an
ordinance which Will be presented TO the
Supervisors today, together ,9ai With a,d dhe e
map of the section to be cleared OF the
obnoxious wires. Accompanying the pro
posed ordinance is a communication set
ting forth the result of the conference
with the authorized agents of the West
ern Union Telegraph, Pacific Postal -Iele-
graph. San Francisco Gas and Electric
Mutual Electric Light. Sunset Telephone
and Telegraph and the Southern Pacjhc
companies All Of these signed the agree
ment with the exception of the Mutual
Electric Light Company.
The proposed ordinance divides tha t
portion of the city to be cleared OF wires
into four districts which are so laid out
use of overhead wires until the lest. In
order that the service of the companies
will not be crppledi The tirst id dissrtes r c..
the passage of the ordinance, ard en-
braces all that section between Montgon.-
cry, Washington, Sansome,, California
New Montgomery streets, with the eX-
ceptfon of Mission street.
District No. 2 must be cleared by dan
uary /, 1901 and includes that section
bounded by Montgomery street and
Montgomery avenue. Kearny and Bush
Fourth. both sides of Folsom, Howard
excepting Third, and New Montgomery
District No. 8. in which the wires nust
be placed underground by July l, 1901 EN-
braces that section bounded ,by toGI r9i,i a.
Stocton sutter Mason R3t5 II hl5I maF5qrd nd
Howard streets.
The companies are given until July l,
1902, to place their wires undeGgronnoi IN IN
mense stretch of territory IN TINS 9ls-
trict is included Third street from, Town
send to Mission @ 4Roth 81 sidss poth 5d ow II@gs
ard, Twelfth Brady. Market to Valencia
and back to Franklin. Fell streets, Van
Ness avenue. Hayes, LarIins Sutter; FOX
to Clay. back along the east side OF. PoIh
and Larlxin TO Golden Gate avenue. LeaX-
enworth. Turk. Jones Eddy, TaNlQr,. ~ :
lis Mason, Sutter, Stockton and Fourth
Every pole and overhead wire within
the boundaries named must be removed
within the prescribed time or, the offend
ing company will be subjected TO heavy
fine. Terminal poles and poles for single
lights may be maintained, but they must
not be connected by wire with another
pole. At the expiration of the allotted
Alarm and Police Telegraph, or the Chief
of the Department of Electricity under
the new charter. is authorized to remove
any poles and wires that may remain in
the district District telegraph and mes
senger service wires are exempted srom
provisions Of the proposed ordinance all
companies are granted permission With
out prejudice to lay underground conduirs
for their wires.
The Mutual Electric Light Company
now has its wires underground in the dis
tricts prescribed. so it will not be af-
fected by the ordinance.