The Caledonian-record. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1920-current, 1921-12-15

SERVICE IS
BEING RESTORED
General Manager Driver
Gives Interesting
Statistics

On Wednesday this week for
the first time since the big storm
in Boston and Central Massachu-
sets the Caledonian-Record re-
ceived its daily Associated Press
news from Boston. The big storm
which caused $1,500,000 damage
cut off Boston almost entirely from
the outside world. The Associat-
ed Press with its characteristic
enterprise Immediately connected
the Caledonian- Record, the Brat
tleboro Reformer, Keene Sentinel
and Greenfield News with the
New York Office of the Associated
Press. There was little or no wire
damage from the Storm on the
circuits up and down the Connec-
ticut Valley.
St. Johnsbury furnished a re-
pair crew for the work in repair
ing the damaged lines. Line Fore
man William L. Bishop and his
crew went to Fitchburg, Mass,
where they did fine work.
cover 100;000,000 feet of vari-
Gus kinds of wire, or nearly
enough to girdle the earth, has
been temporarily laid on the
ground or attached to fences and
pole stumps during the past ten
days, in order to restore our SER
vice at the earliest possible mo-
ment," said General Manager
Driver of the Telephone Company.
ITO show the magnitude of
our problem, two orders for cop
per wire aggregated 100000
pounds each. We have on hand
or on the way IL carloads of
crossarms, six carloads of pole line
hardware, and over 30 carloads of
poles. Other material aggregates
thousands OF items.
"A conservative estimate shows
that the storm will cost US up
wards OF S1,500,000. Fortunately
we have reserve large enough
to take care of this expense.
Eve have over 5000 men at
work clearing up the wreckage,
setting new poles, running lines
and connecting telephones. They
are doing a big job in an orderly |
and systematic way.
an every section we are making |
rapid progress, but our task is ire
mendous. Already toll service in
Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode
Island is nearly normal. In the
western part of Massachusetts
about 25 per cent of the toll cir
cults has been restored with tenn
porary construction. \
an Greater Boston we have
connected about 5000 telephones
and we hope to restore service il to
about 10000 others during this
week. In other cities and towns
ocal service is being restored as
apidly as possible.
Every available man who can
be spared has been rushed from
Maine, New Hampshire and Yer
mont and number of toll line
crews and trucks have come from
New York, Pennsylvania and
other states to help in Massachu-
setts. We have been able 10 re-
ieve the employment situation to
he extent of taking on tempoIar-
ly over 1000 unskilled men to do
,alvage work, dig post holes and
assist in Stlinging wires.
''Our men are out to break all
previous records in an emer-
gencv and they are going to do it.
with so many poles and wires
down, scores of towns were COM
1letely isolated from communica-
lion with surrounding communi-
les. We had to work quickly andt
so we adopted the method used !
during the war and laid our cover
ID wires by the roadsides. Later
Ill these lines must be placed oni
poles after the new poles have
1een erected, and Still later the \
wires must be frightened and weak 4
pots located and fixed.
zone of the first things we did
vas to make temporary connec-
ions from Boston to Worcester
md points west and from Boston
o Portland.
"a new underground cable be- T,
ween Boston and Worcester was
planned long ago. All the con-
luit is laid and a new cable con-
aiming 462 talking circuits will be
n service within few months.
"Our men were quick to devise \
lew ways of routing toll calls.
Within few hours a Boston 20
Portland line was established by 1
vav of Rochester and North Con-
,ay, n H., Boston to Springfield +
me by way of Providence and
Hartford. and Worcester to New
york line by way of Boston to
Jew York under ground. These
re typical of many roundabout
outings as substitutes for direct
oil circuits.
"Toll circuits from Burlington,
White River. Bellows Falls, Rut-
md and Keene were Immediately
with our underground
able at Lowell and brought into
oston, thus establishing commun-
,aton to points north.
"Our multiplex line between
L IL. /