The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1899-01-24
Superintendent W. H. Thompson
Gives His Opinion.
THE SOURCE OF MUCH DANGER
MIR. Thompson Strongly Advocates
Putting Them All Under Ground
as Speedily as Possible.
Drops Into Poetry.

electricity as closely as any one VINO ca"
ho fo,nd lie has long been opposed 10
| tho overhead wires. as source OF uah-
ger especially TO the firemen, ana IN con-
versatiou on the subject yesterday sdiu'
eft has been said that there Is a cei
tain resemblance between the htiolsh VI
the soldier who rushes 10 the battie
front. and the brave lad who comDalS
the fire fend The one is a hero OF war
the other. mo- less "a hero of peace, both
entering upon their duties with their
lives I'M their hands. The soldier ls wen
aware Of the dangers he is 20 encounter
and he goes into the combat with as per
feet preparation as the science OF
modern warfare permits.
1.-THE dangers that surround The ire
men are often unsupported until too late
for prevention. too late for cure.
Faulty construction VI buildings, OK
pl0sitcs, chemical sases. ETC., which lie
may be compelled 10 breathe, are an
against him. ana either one may be the
cause Of his being buried beneath the
ruins.
There is also another danger Of some
what recent birth and which is rapidly
increasing in this as well as in other
cities and which is little understood by
She average citizen. IL is hardly neces-
sary to say that ! refer TO the overhead
wires i'm our streets and alleys, cspec-
tally those iu tho centre or business pOr-
tion Of our city
FORESTS or MASTs
Some OF these streets look ike "a for
est OF masts and one could hardly fire a
bullet in the air without striking one OF
these innocent looking little wires. They
are an very popular and We could not
well at present do without them, being
dependent on them for our telegraph
falountut4 and ofesfrf. Ifohf and f,otvgr
service. This being the case it is well for
as 10 know what mischief they are cap
able Of. The dangers are tWO-fOld those
which threaten life and those which
threaten property.
With the latter form Of danger the fire
men are interested collectively. with the
former as individuals and it IS but ma
tural that the individuals interest should
be the most important by far, being
nearest 10 himself. To get at the matter
so every one will understand IT, 1t Will
not be necessary to go deeply into any
scientific explanations. 50 the following
may aid I'm its comprehension.
Suppose. for instance, we have a bat
terry or generator located at the city
Hall. and we run a wire out Broad street
making "a turn and coming back with
the end 10 the place we started from,
thus making a complete circuit. This
wire is insulated from the ground by
means Of glass or porcelain insulators,
both of which are non-cOnductors Of cleo
tricity.
We now assume that the line is per
fectly clear of any connection with the
earth. technically called a ground
After running for some time, probably
one OF the poles gives way little al-
lowing the wire 10 come in contact with
q roof, awning-pole, lightning rod, etc,
thus causing a ground
AS long as there is this single ground
only. on the line. there is no danger. the
danger comes when through the breaking
of some pole wire, sleet, etc. at another
place on the line another ground is
formed. thus forming a circuit through
the earth and back TO the starting point.
Should either Of these wires fan on a TIM
roof or even on a wet shingle roof, II
would be very apt 10 start fire at that
point or. should II fall and strike per-
son. he would receive a shock, fatal or
otherwise, according to the strength OF
the current.
BURN OUT PHONES.
Again. should this wire, in falling,
strike n telephone wire, running 10 q
phone possibly miles away, IL could very
easily burn out the phone, thus setting
up q mysterious fire. the cause of when
might never be discovered
Some persons of course can stahu
much more current than others ana out
Of a dozen men taken at random, no
two measure the same I'm cmductivity
and the measurements are never the
same from one point 20 another on the
same person. A person measured when
the contact points. say the hands. are
covered with perspiration will carry more
current than after washing them. al
though they are left as wet as before
simply because salt water is a better
conductor than fresh, and perspiration
is salty.
The amount Of current that Il is safe
TO risk is hard to specify as a current
that would kill one person would posi-
bly, not harm another. The current How
ing from a dynamo is all the way from |
900 to 1000 times greater than the cur
rent flowing from a single cell.
Probably you have had a great deal |
of fun from a small medical battery. |
there is. however. "A wide difference be- |
tween the current supplied from this bat |
terry and that used 70 work our electric |
light and power apparatus. Any cur
rent that maintains an electric light is |
good enough 10 be left severely alone, |
and intimacy with such is best left TO
the electrical fraternity.
Whereas the medical battery gives |
only a tickling sensation or an invita-
ton 10 dance the electric light and 9TH
or high current wires dspenses entirely /
with the invitation and makes you dance
or possibly furnishes a subject for q
frst-class funeral.
There are men. however. who claim 10
have taken the entire current from a
machine and lived. somehow
IL Is hard matter 10 get one Of these
modest fellows 10 come out and give an
exhibition. they always do this sort of
thing when they are alone. as for my
self. ! am perfectly willing for them 10
have all OF the fame If they want it.
How an OF these dangers may be-
guarded against is a pertinent question.
Chicago, Boston. Philadelphia and i'm
fact all Northern as well as great
many Of the cities south of Washington
have inspectors of wires whose duty 81
IS 10 personally inspect and pass upon
m electrical construction within the city
limits
lie carefully considers the possibilities |
AS wei as the probabilities in the case
and orders such changes and dispositions
as he deems necessary and proper before
granting a permit 70 start the same
Tn addition 20 This examination. cleo
'ricel measurements are made by him
.o insure the removal Of grounds. etc
PUT WIRES UNDERGROUND
] must strongly urge upon an the ne
.HNH.