Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-05-17
NTsCFILANFOus RECORD.
conduIte nnd Poles.

& conduits and Poles.
A new electric light company in this
city applied TO the Street and Sewer De
partment for permission 10 lay conduits
for It's wires along Market street from
Front 10 Eighth. The department re-
fused this privilege, on account Of the
natural objection to having the street
torn up, but gave permission for the erec-
tion Of poles along the street, for the con-
Z veyanoe Of electric light wires, and pos
sibly telephone wires, as the new COM
pAny Is engaged in the telephone business
as we'll.
Here again we have the subject Of over
head wires 10 deal with, as well as the
, equally serious subject Of the condition
in which streets are left by those who dig
them up for the laying Of wire conduits
and other conveniences.
That the condition Of many streets
which have been dug up for underground
storage purposes calls for a radical change
of policy will not be doubted Attention
was called to this fact by an editorial in
J the Morning News Of yesterday, in which
il was holdtha a mistake had been made
in regard 10 the privileges granted; also,
that il is now "too late" for any remedy
and that "hindsight is Of no use" in such
matters.
But hindsight is Of use. Il is tho light
Of practical experience by which future
actions may be guided It is a fact that
franchises for digging up streets for under
ground storage purposes have been granted
without due provision for the performance
Of the work in such manner as to leave
the street in as good condition as il was
before the operations were commenced,
thus leaving the city to do what the con-
tractors should have done Hindsight
naturally suggests the remedy. Il is to
grant no further privileges along these
lines 10 those who have abused them until
the damage inflicted by previous work has
been amply repaired. Also, as TO new
applications, 10 grant no privilege un-
accompanied by the most stringent pro-
visions, enforced by bond with sufficient
penalty, that the work shall be done
properly and promptly, with the least
possible interruption to traffic; and that
the surface Of the street shall be left abso-
lutely unmarried by the operations. But
so long as work Of this character is done
as the parties interested see fit TO do it.
with several blocks torn up at one time
and left in that condition at the caprice
OF the contractors; with the work Of filling
IN done so carelessly that in a short time
the street is marrsd by an unsightly dc
preston; with an entire lack Of system
to provide for the least possible annoy
ance to the people during operations
long viii the present undesirable condi-
tions continue.
II has been demonstrated by the ex-
perience of other cities that work in
volving the tearing up Of streets may bc
done with convenience and dispatch and
with the least possible detriment 10 the
availability Of the street for the purposes
Of traffic and travel; also that the filling
may be done in such a substantial manner
that the street will not be damaged Ia
the slightest extent. But strict enforce
ment Of regulations is requisite to this
much desired end. This, however. is a
matter for the street authorities If they
prove lenient nothing need be expected
Of the contractors or the bene6ciaries
of the franchise.
AS TO permits for the erection Of more
poles in any of the streets Of Wilmington
70 enhance the danger and nuisance aris.
ing from overhead wires, words fail Ia
express the condemnation that those
in authority who permit such backward
step are deserving of. The aim and pur.
pose Of every community where wires
have been strung on poles is TO get them
buried under ground as soon as possible
Recently Wilmington has been making
commendable progress in this direction
but now great retrograde stride ha,
> been taken by granting permission foi
the erection of a line Of poles in the CITY,
main thoroughfare There is a provi
sion that "as soon As the street is dug up
the wires strung on these poles shall b,
placed underground, but, viewed in IN,
light Of experience, this provision 4
reasonably sure to prove . dead letter
Once up, the poles will stay until thosl
owning them see fit to take them down
And this in the Twentieth Century.