Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-06-24
Talk That TRAVELS
Under the Ground

When hundreds Of users of the tel
ephone talk into their instruments
thoir words travel under ground. What
they say speed along wires buried in
streets and alleys while above pedes-
rrians pass. horses and wagons clatter.
automobiles chug.. street cars clang
and the whole busy traffic Of the city
surges unconscious Of what 10 passing
under foot.
Much u the telephone converse ton
OF the city Is done under the earths
surface. For the local telephone COM
pany has buried In conduits below
grounds thousand Of It's wires in cables
miles long. These cables that start
from the exchange building ramify like
nerves In all directions and far out
into the residence sections Of the city.
Compared with Iowa cities Of it's
size Marshalltown has more miles OF
underground telephone wires than any
other. The reasons why are two. Bet
ter service and lower upkeep cost. But
the initial cost OF digging trenches,
laying in them terra cotto conduits,
and stringing thru these the lead COW
erad cables is high. Once put under
ground, tho, the life of wire is
heightened FIVE times. Also it's free
from many Of the troubles-electricity
that jumps from power wires, light
ming, wind, rain and trees-that are
the bane Of overhead wires.
But however strong and water tight
the col.duits are the wires inside them
are not entirely free from trouble. But
Aa inf t.
of men. For plumbers will dig into the
streets ard alleys, so will city and pub
lie utilities employees. And sometimes
they. while digging. break thru con-
Quits aad damage the lead casing Of
the cable. Then when water gets IN
arnong the wires it's trouble, trouble,
trouble 81! along the whole circuit
served by thai cable
| Then the trouble men with a little
electrical device trace the course of the
cable until they find where the circuit
! is broken. Diggers uncover the conduit.
Workmen open the cable and pour into
it melted paraf1ne that evaporates the
moisture. repair the casing and relay
the conduit. Then service becomes
! normal again. But the process Of re-
pairing is tedious and expensive. Some
| times lightning gets into a cable burns
| the insulation from the wires, melts
them and slashes holes in the lead cas-
ing.
Recently following a severe electrical
storm all the phones of a whole section
OF the south side of the city that is
served thru a large cable were reported
out of service. Lightning was supposed
to be to blame. But hours of search
70 1c,1f 70 F,,x1
spot was found. Far down toward the
depot district where workmen for an
other company had been laying pipes
the break in the service was located
While filling their ditch the workmen
had tamped the earth, SO tightly over
their pipe that they, had broken the
conduit carrying the phone wires which
they had undermined. Rain had seeped
inside the broken cable and a hundred
phones were put out of use. It's the
interference Of man. over which the
telephone company has no control and
not the elements that causes most OF
trouble to underground wires.
1t was sixteen years ago that the first
| underground telephone wires were laid
| by the Marshall Telephone Company
Some of these cables are still doing
good service but some of thefi have
| been replaced by ,conduits of larger size
and greater durability
More and more of the wires are to be
buried year by year 50 that eventually
much Of the SYSTEM Mdl be under the
streets. This plan Is in line with the
policy Of the company to keep up the
standard of the service to its highest
practicable level.
MARSHALL TELEPHONE co