The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-05-28
CLIMBING TELEPHONE POLES.
Perils of the Basiness-Its Rewards
and How Ii Is Done.

ana now IL Is DOnS-
From the New York Post.
In the suburbs of New York, where the
poles are often eighty feet high, and look
over pavements or hard ground, single
misstep on the part of the man WAC
steps the telegraph Poles means either
sudden death or lasting injury.
Eve are supposed to wear a belt around
our bodies" said an employe, which fits
around the pole, and enables us to lean
back and not oVerbalance, but you see,
every time We got up few feet, we have
10 stop TO slip up the belt on the pole, and
1t takes so long that we seldom wear il.
And when We fall and break our necks,
our families don't get anything, because
We were supposed to wear the belt, and
when we do wear it they are always growl-
ing on account of our slowness, SO there
you are
The climbers of telephone poles have
much more hazardous time than the
groundmen; these latter get S12 a week
from local companies and from $35 10 $40
month from the long-distance lines,
which provide food and lodging in add
lion to the wages; the men who step the
poles get SIS week from the local and
from $50 to $40 a month from the long
distance companies.
u used to be a coachman for a Mrs.
-- in the city" said tall light-haired
Scandinavian, but she kept me standing
m front of the department stores on the
coolest days in winter. One afternoon l
waited four hours for her, with the Their
mometer below zero, and when 1 got back
l found that she had gone home and for
gotten that l was waiting. L left after
chat. This is better; of course the work Is
harder, but one is not treated like a dog.
The telephone companies are credited
with taking excellent care of their en-
ployes. When man is sick he is sent
70 a hospital, and no expense is spared to
aid in his recovery. AZ the same time
his wages go on just as if he were work.
ing; in the case of the long-distance gangs
the best boarding houses are picked out
for the men, and often they are quartered
in tirst-class hotels.
Building a line is a difficult piece of
work. Right of way has to De secured,
poles laid along the stretch of road decided
upon the brush cleared off on either side,
and above, where the cross-arms protect,
the overhanging branches of trees have
to be cut away or trimmed so that nothing
shall interfere with the wires
I've seen many sad sight" said an
old telephone man. "a.ong the country
outside of Philadelphia and in Ohio and
Indiana; when we came along and climbed
the trees and began to cut down the
branches, old women and men and chill
dren would come out and beg us TO stop;
I've seen the women throw their arms
around the trees and cry, and the men
go in and bring our shotguns and threat
en- TO shoot us if we didn't quit, but il
never did any good. Sometimes when we
did come down we would 80 back az night
and finish up the JOB while the folks were
sleeping; once in a while we'd get jagged,
but the company always bailed US right
out, and we went on again just the same"
The man who climbs poles generally
comes to grief sooner or later. The gen.
eral idea is that the man who climbs
grasps the pole tightly with both hands,
but such is not the case. His fingers
barely touch the wood; he never looks at
his feet, but ascends easily; in coming
down, If he sticks the spur of his climber
into a knot. he falls, unless he can eaten
himself with the other foot; it is when
both spurs fail to hold that he loses his
grip and falls. Sharp spurs are a neces-
sity, and often the neglect of them and
the carelessness acquired by long climbing
send an experienced man 10 his death.