New-York tribune., 1904-10-30

necticut a telephone construction party engaged
in work amid conditions not much unlike those
in a rugged Western country. The line. which is
on direct route between New-York and Bos-
ton, will consist of sixty wires over which both
telegrams and speech may travel. The Ameri-
Telephone and Telegraph Company is con-
structing it,
The portion Of the line building
through rough. wooded region. cut up by
streams and rayines, and we'll calculated to tax
the ingenuity and Drawn Of the construction
crew. Densely populated Connecticut ap-
parently is its people for the most part,
gathered into cities and large towns. and this
rocky country through which the party Is cper-
ating is sparseIy settled that 1t contains few
houses. The men live under canvas. following
The line and moving forward about every three
weeks
AS soon as the wires have been stretched to a
point three or four miles beyond camp. moving
day. arrives. Then the fifty or more men turn
TO. rip up camp" and In less than an hour the
dozen wagons hired for the occasion are on the
road to the next stamping ground. which Is
usually five six miles beyond the last "ue,"
and located. as all good camps should be. with
an eye to drainage. wood and water.
I'm the construction OF. this line from Boston to
New-York the poles, exceptionally fine ones OF
chestnut timber. weighing about two tons EACH
are obtained from the neighborhood through
which the wires run.
All the while that the necessary permissions
and rights OF way are L .ing procured the 'tin-
Der men" are getting out the poles and seeing
that they are placed by the line Naturally all
the sticks OF timber which the wires are to
be strung not OF the same length. "35-
foot iine" such the one now constructing.
gives minimum OF that length to the poles, but
in depressons sixty. seventy or one hundred foot
poles are sometimes needed
Nm.
pared the gang is organized. AS first step the
.-trimuers" are started out to clear the route.
cutting away all brush and trees which might
interfere with the construction Then follow the
-diggers." whose duty IT is to prepare the holes
I'm the rocky soil. often they Obliged to use
charges OF dynamite in excayatiag
Along with the ''dggers" are found the gain
ers" who prepare the poles for the cross arms.
which have previously been placed beside each
pole by two men whose base of supplies Is a two
or four horse team. Then come the pole sell
ters" who In an ordinary party. number from
twenty TO thirty. Next after these are six or
seven men engaged in ''illing"-that Is. straight
ening the poles and filling up the holes. Ihen
the wire stringers." who keep always close up
20 the "hllers" and put the wire in place. leav-
ing behind a line that is complete as far as the
wires go. Finally the bankers" bring up the
rear banking the dirt about the bases OF the
poies These last are expected also to bring
along any tools which have been left behind
by the others.
The wire wagon" which effects a simultane-
ous 'stringing'' OF ten wires at once. consists
essentially Of heavy. specially construct
cd wagon with five wire reels placed horizon
tally on each side. There Is a long bar OF wood
with ten catches on II for the wire to pass
through at the back Of the wagon bed II
serves to keep the wires separate and TO facili-
tate handling them. When a run is made
that is when a section of wires is to be strung
the ends OF the wires are first passed through
the catches and then hooked upon the BOARD.
q niece OF steel about two feet wide to which
long rope Is attached. This rope 10 passed over
the cross arms Of the first two or three poles BY
cliubess and the wagon team Is hitched to II