Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-12-29
STORM CUTS CITY
OFF FROM WORLD
Icontinued From First Pagc.l

| lSOntinueu From FIRST rage.
telegraph became an impossibility, as
1 the sleet formed on the wires, break
| ing them in many places. AS the ice
formed over the city, poles. branches
of trees and small saplings were bent
over and snapped off, increasing the
| trouble in all directions.
To repair the breaks and establish
| service even temporarily was given up
as hopeless after a few futile attempts.
: The continuous rainfall of the morn
J ing, freezing as ii fell combined with
| sleet at odd intervals, kept the trouble
! shooters working at a tremendous
| disadvantage and made consistent at
tempts at repairs impossible.
Telephone Service Demoralizcd
| The Bell Telephone Company faced
4 trouble in every direction, according to
! officials. Communication in any direc-
/ tlon was reported virtually cut off, and
the hope of relief grew simmer as
the storm settled down over this sec
tlon. Linemen out on the district could
! scarcely keep in touch with the breaks
in connections and worked against big
odds.
At the Cumberland Valley telephone
| exchange the same conditions existed.
| Lebanon, on the Philadelphia lines.
| was the farthest point to which calls
could be gotten through. Attempts are
\ being made by both companies to get
| COMMUNICATIONS Strengthened out IeHl-
porarily by roundabout ways. but the
crippled service tied up many calls
| during the day.
Messages Delayed
The telegraph companies worked
slowly all morning. and although wires
We're kept open, the places were linn
| tied and messages were delayed.
Should the weather conditions remain
| unchanged for any great length of
time. more trouble is expected, but
] every means is being taken, according
! to officials, to keep the connections
open for messages.
At the Postal Telegraph Office it was
! said that conditions had remained the
same for some time, but, eXpectant of
trouble, watch is being kept on the
lines in every direction.
Trolleys on Schedule
The railways companies kept cars
| running, but the trolleys were delayed
to all points. Service was maintained,
but officials said that schedules could
not be Strengthened out.
Communications to the local weather
| bureau were delayed and the report
for the day with the forecast was in
complete. The storm. which is caus-
ing big trouble all over this section of
the country. is centered in the South
west and has caused rain. snow and
sleet over practically he entire terri
tory. In some places the rainfall has
| exceeded three inches and no let-up
is in sight. At noon about half an inch
had fallen in the city and vicinity. but
! the forecast of rain this afternoon and
tonight makes a total rainfall of
about two inches a probability.
River to Rise
A general rise i'm the Susquehanna
and its branches is predicted, but no
flood danger is expected at present.
The storm has caused much trouble
in nearly every section. Property
damage to individuals in the city was
small. but the breaks in the wires of
the telegraph and telephone companies
have caused losses everywhere.
Fire Alarm System Derangcd
All over the city electric light wires
were reported down. Few poles top
pied over. In South Harrisburg the
fire and police alarm system was put
out of business when a pole fell in
Dock street near Hanna. In the upper
end of the city the wires and poles suf-
fered. The pole to which Box No. 1913,
Sixth and Mahantongo streets, is at
tached was on fire at II o'clock this
morning. William Crozier, with John
C. Kinder, the fire chief, worked all
day repairing the breaks.
Trouble increasing
S. B. Watts, local manager, said the
storm seems worst in Cumberland.
York and Lancaster counties, as all
wires to these, points are down in ad-
dition to lines to Reading. There is
also trouble north and east, but there
are still some circuits in service.
The trouble began about 8 o'clock
and has been increasing since that time.
There are additional gangs on their
way here now from Altoona and
Scranton to assist in clearing this trou
BILE. At the time of this interview
there were about one hundred local
subscribers out of service. Every eff
fort will be made to clear this trouble
at the earliest possible moment, Mr..
Watts announces.