Those Western Union Glass Insulators Once More

Those Western Union Glass Insulators Once

More.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TELEGRAPHER.

THERE has been little mention of late of the peculiar excellencies of General Superintendent Eckert's favorite glass insulators, and some of the readers of THE TELEGRAPHER may from that be led to suppose that they have been supplanted by some rational style of insulation. Such is not the case, however, as such of them as were unfortunate enough to be employed on the lines during the late storm wore very feelingly convinced.

In order that our paper may not by its silence contribute to such a delusion, I have prepared the following statement of facts, which you are at liberty to make such use of as you shall deem advisable, and as likely to hasten the time when a little common sense in this matter of insulation shall take the place of prejudice and ignorance. It commenced to rain in Pittsburg, Pa., on Tuesday night, the 22d October, and in Philadelphia the next night, and rained almost continually until Saturday Morning, the 26th. Beginning at about noon of Wednesday; the Western Union wires west from Philadelphia began working very hard and with a great deal of escape, and as the storm extended eastward the difficulty of working was greatly increased, especially when it came east of Harrisburg. All Wednesday afternoon the wires were worked with much difficulty, with more escape between Philadelphia and Harrisburg than between the latter place and Pittsburg. Business was delayed from one to two hours all Wednesday P. M., and on Thursday and Friday all day.

On Thursday the storm had extended to Baltimore and New York, and on that clay there was so much escape upon the wires north that they could not be worked through from New York to Pittsburg, and it became necessary to relay a considerable amount of Pittsburg and New York business. All the repeaters in the Philadelphia office that were in order (4) were in use, and more were called for, but could not be furnished. On account of the great confusion incident to repairs of the office all the repeaters were not connected. At night one wire between New York and Pittsburg had to be abandoned, in order to give No. 17, between New York and Washington, a repeater.

On Saturday morning the escape between New York and Philadelphia had become so great that Manager Brown, of the New York office, went over to Jersey City and cut sixteen wires. out of that office, in order to lessen the escape sufficiently to enable them to be worked through. This made a perceptible change, but as it had ceased raining about an hour before the wires were cut out, it is probable that the improvement was due to that cause, and that the escape was from the defective insulation entirely.

Two of the wires west of Philadelphia could not be worked at all on account of the sympathy, or rain cross with other wires on the same cross-arms.

We shall probably now, for some mouths to come, enjoy frequent season's of moisture, unless the fall and winter should be sufficiently severe to freeze up the wires and insulate them with frost, and the beauties and advantages of glass insulation will be as frequently Demonstrated.

ONE OF THE SUFFERERS.