The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-01-07
Who STABBED N shipping LAST HRSG THE HPHL HR GEWL CLEAR WIRES NA-M Rail-
TELEPHONE AND ELECTRIC sYs-
TENS BENEFITED
Government Possession of Alarm Sys-
tem-will Necessitate Owners Allow
ing Tree S To Be Trimmed.

The setting up Of the standards Of the
Gamewell Fire and police alarm system
will result in bring other good results
to the city than the service rendered
by the system itself. There will be
fear Of interruption in future with either
the telephone or electric light wires
weighted boughs as the contracts
made by the government with these
two latter branches Of electric service
practically means that the government
will look otter keeping the wires clear
of all interruption.
The Mutual Telephone Company and
the Hawaiian Electric Company, with
an eye to future convenience, readily
gave their consent to the brackets Of
the Gamewell people being placed upon
their poles. Colonel Coffee merely act
ing as a contractor paid by the terri
torial government was not treated
with by the two companies who closed
their agreements with the government
direct in consultation with the head of
the police department and the fire COM
missioners.
The contracts give to the government
the right to place in position and main
tain the cast iron standards carrying
the wires for the various alarms where
ever the routes laid out 70 the said
systems necessitate theu Sc of pies and
can be facilitated by using the electric
light or telephone poles.
The standards are placed at the ex-
treme tip top of the poles and are cast
with a prOnglike base which clips the
tops Of the posts and is rivetted
through them. Each base has exten-
sion arms or brackets that will carry
six wires on each side. Their applica-
ton will add about eighteen inches to
the height Of the poles and as the lines.
for effective fire and police work, must
be kept free from all overhanging or
approximate boughs, the work that will
devolve on the government will also
keep the lines of the owners of the poles
free from all trouble.
Godfrey Brown of the Mutual Tele-
phone Company stated this morning
that the clearing of the boughs by the
government would help telephone mat
ters considerably as many private ow-
ners are very averse to having their
trees cut in anyway in order to allow
fee passage, although they object still
more emphatichlly when a moving
bough or twig shuts off their cOnversa-
| tion through a phone, upon which oc-
casions they most emphatically pro-
ceed to call up the main office and call
down the operators. With the govern
ment operation, matters will be mend
| ed however, and a right of way will be
taken for the wires that will ensure the
/ a fr,g gtsa
Alonzo Gartley Of the Hawaiian Elec-
trio Company concurred with Mr..
| Brown. They almost use shot guns
on you sometimes when you want to
| trim the trees and are always ready to
howl calamity when some bough that
/ they would not allow to be cut. rubs
the insulation off wire or says in
wet weather and there is a live wire i'm
consequence. There has been much le-
gislation in various parts of the States
| over the rights of owners to trees over
hanging the sidewalks. In certain parts
of New York state, the law holds that
the citizens right in his own premises
extends only to the fence and not to
the curbing.
Take any number of cities in the
/ States where there are long avenues
Of trees and you viii find a circle clear
er around the wires although the clear
ance is hardly noticeable unless YOU
| look for it from a particular point of
view. The people recognize the neces-
sity of keeping the wires clear for the
value of good service aside from possi-
BILE dangers and if the new system is tc
! be effective, why the wires will have tC
be kept clear Honolulu is particularly
well blessed with trees, although the
blessing seems mitigated to us when
rainy weather comes on and citizens
prove unaccommodating However the
government authorities should expert
ence much less opposition than we did
and it will take a lot Of trouble off our
/ shoulders.
In order to set up the new system.
which has already been installed as far
as placing the standards, along the
! Waikiki road into town as far as the
judiciary buildings, the men have to
climb up through the present wires,
Continued on page five)