New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-06-13
Terrific Electrical Disturbances
Break Communication with
Many Parts Of Country.
RAILROADS SUFFER GREATLY
With Wires Dead Dispatchers
Are in Trouble-Hail and
Wind Sweep Baltimore,
Centre of Storm.

oc,erroon and last night west and soutn
of New York cut the metropolis on rro"
communication with almost every iarso
CITY TO the south and west. Accordine Z"
the telegraph and telephone people tney
haven't had as much trouble with crip-
pled wires since the memorable sho"
and ice storm that swept the Middle Az
,sntic States when President Taft was
inaugurated. on March I. 1909.
A remarkable storm that struck Balti-'
more at 6: 80 o'clock last night destroyed
communication with that city for bofh
Western Union and Postal Telegraph
companies. which lost all their wires pe-
tween Philadelphia and Baltimore oefore
o'clock. Exchange OF news between
Washington and New York was para
lyzd. and lat in the evening 1t was car
rid on by roundabout routes and then
only with the greatest difficulty.
Evening newspapers had to get along
without baseball scores. and even tns
news from the national capital was held
no. Washington wires running into the
newspaper offices In this city were out OF
commission soon after they were opened
at night. and the officials Of the teie-
graph companies in dismay couldn't
promise a resumption Of service. for al
fast as they restored connections in one
direction a fresh storm came rafting
down on their wires and burned OUT
fuses as soon as the linemen could re-
place them.
An official OF the Postal Telegraph Conn
panv lamented the damage the system
had suffered since Saturday. and with
all the optimism he could muster
couldn't cheerfully say when things
would he straightened out II would
be several days at least he said. II was
the same story with the Western Union
company. The night managers put IN
a lively evening directing the work and
trying their best to restore the news
paper wires between here and Wash
ington.
Trouble Up the State.
Local storms again swept Westchestsr
and trouble was reported with wires 70
Albany. and even in New England A
violent storm swept over Poughkeepsie
about o'clock and knocked down all
the wires Of the New York Central
Railroad Train dispatchers al the Grand
Central Station were cropping around
like blind men, trying To keep track of
their trains the rest OF the night. but as
far as it could be learned no serious
damage was reported 10 the operating
department.
Storms swept over Syracuse and other
upstate points at dark last evening and
communication was practically cut of
UP TO a late hour. The telegraph and
telephone people have been contending
with unusual difficulties without inter-
ruption since the big storm Of Satur-
day night. AS for the newspapers con-
dtions We're much the same last night
as existed before the days of telegraphy.
The big Pennsylvania Railroad system
felt the shock Of the lightning flashes.
for its wires went out of business along
with the others between Philadelphia
and Baltimore. Wires were kept work.
ing between here and Philadelphia for
a time, but the men who made the marks
on the train charts were badly handi-
capped.
The Great Storm Of 1909.
The telegraph men had no time yester-
day to think about what happened IN
| No
waiting for the wires TO resume signs Of
life were able 10 recall the circumstances.
With a nation waiting 10 learn the de-
tails of the Inauguration Of Mr.. Taft.
every Washington wire went dead. Willis
L. Moore had predicted fair weather for
March 4. and all the signs the day be-
fore bore him out But II began to rain
before daylight A disturbance that
wasn't charted whirled in from the North
Atlantic and began to do things. II
turned the rain TO sleet and the water
everywhere 10 ice The wires were heavy
with ice, and down they went. how
ling gale swept up the coast from Hat
teras. and all along the railroad lines
| telegraph poles went down. The tracks
were blocked. there were no wires, and
the railroads We're paralyzed.
Trains stopped where they were. The
worst of the trouble was centred around
Baltimore, but it was bad enough all the
way from Washington To Philadelphia.
| The 9TH Regiment went to WASHINGTON
to take part in the show. II got there
starved and thirsty. drenched and cold,
too late for the inauguration.
IL wasn't easy To learn all the facts
that day. Some news trickled through
syace by wireless from Washington 10
Philadelphia. and by ways more or less
devious from Philadelphia To New York
one or Two wires were opened between
Washington and distant points south.
and long distance circuits We're opened
TO New York once they got clear of the
actual path Of the ice storm that day
the wiremen were all right. But last
! night the continent seemed to be covered
by malevolent pail, shooting static
electricity at every wire that showed
symptoms of activity The Iroubi-
might end at any moment. for the ways
hension.
In 1909 the news from Washington was
being sent to nearby cities over 2.60&
miles OF wire. Messages went first to
Richmond. Va. il6 miles away. and were
relayed to Atlanta. 532 miles distant.