Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-01-17

lContinued From First Page
concern. known as the Bell Telephone
Company of Pennsylvania, the other
known as the Long Distance operating
under the name given above.
The Bell Telephone Company of
PENNSYLVANIA, which is the successor
to the Pennsylvania Telephone Com
pany, assumed the franchises of the
latter concern. The city franchise of
this company is what might be con-
sidered blanket franchise, giving it
the right to construct pole lines or
conduits in practically all the streets
and avenues of the city
A. Il. and Il. franchise
"On the other hand the franchise of
the American Telephone and Tele-
grapE Company only authorizes the
construction of pole lines in certain
streets defined in the ordinance.
Among the streets mentioned are Wal
nut, Front to Filbert, to State, to the
eastern city limits. The company has
no underground franchise.
so far as the replacing of the pole
In question is concerned, this was
ordered by this department because
the old pole was in dangerous condi-
ton.
There is no general ordinance re-
curing the placing of wires under
ground. The requirement that the
Harrisburg Light & Power Company
should place its wires underground
within certain zone within q stipu-
lated time, is embodied in the so-called
merger ordinance. This seems to have
been misunderstood as applying to all
companies maintaining poles within
such zone.
While other companies have
placed many, and some all of their
wires underground within this zone,
1t has been done voluntarily or in ac-
cordance with their individual fran
chise ordinance.
Can't Get Materials
An ordinance was passed some
time ago giving the Cumberland VAL
ley Telephone Company the rigLt to
lease ducts to the Western Union
Telegraph Company, which was ex-
pected to eliminate number of eX-
tremely Objectionable poles in the
business section. No action has so far
been taken by the company given this
right to carry out the contemplated
change. This is said to be due to not
only the excessive cost of material, but
as well to inability to secure the mate
rial from the manufacturers at this
time.
"Witl2 respect to the poles of the
American Telephone and Telegraph
Company, it is understood that the
matter of placing the line underground
! has already been given consideration
by that concern. 1t is said that owing
to the fact that this line is link in
the main trunk line between New
York and Chicago a special large
gauge cable is required and this can
not be obtained at this time. AS this
line extends through TIE Capitol
Park Extension its removal will doubt
less be necessitated within short
| time, even though no general ordi-
nance requiring its removal is enacted
| by the city.
1T should be understood that the
several public service companies main
| tanning poles in the city are doing so
under individual franchises. These
cannot be abrogated except under the
| police powers of the city by general
ordinance requiring all to go under
| ground. Drastic action in the matter
has never been taken by the autkori-
| ties, presumably because of the fact
that the companies have shown q dis
position to go underground, although
some of them, particularly the West
ern Union Telegraph Company and the
American Telephone and Telegraph
Company, have made little progress
except that the former las secured
from Councils the right to rent the
requisite conduits.
$50 far as the city itself is concern
| ed, an additional appropriation has
been provided in the current year
budget which will provide for the
elimination of q number of poles in
the central zone, particularly in Wal
nut and Court streets 1t is hoped to
make still further extensions of the
city underground as funds can be
provided, so that in Il few years prac-
tically the whole system may be
buried, not only thereby increasing
the stability of the fire and police
systems but also eliminating many
poles in different sections of the city