Show A Second Speech ch Highway For Tran continental Service By Br JOIl JOHN B OJ OBRIEN O'BRIEN RIEN When ten y irs rs ago the first transcontinental telephone line reach reach- reached reached reached ed out across t ie e land and brought the Atlantic an Pacific Coasts with with- with distance extending west of Chicag via Omaha Denver and Salt Lake ity and terminating at San Francis o 0 it was v thought it would be nt for years to come coma but within seve sever years a second trans trans- transcontinental transcontinental continental lin line had been projected I and started I IThe The first sec ion of this route to be tobe tobo ElPaso established as that between Ell El Paso and Los i geles At the same time facilities were ere provided for ex- ex ex tending extending these circuits from El Paso to Denver Demer via Albuquerque and from Denver to the fast east ast either via Kan Kan- Kansas Kan- Kan Kansas Kansas sas Cit City and at fit St St Louis or over the original Transcontinental T route via Omaha and Chicago This second i route has now been completed between New Orleans a id d El Paso connect connect- ing connecting nt at New Orl Or ans with Long Lines circuits Atlanta already in existence to At- At At lanta and poin pain s on the Atlantic Coast and also rom New Orleans to St St Louis Chicago Chic Irom go o and other points in the central nd d Northern sections f the countr country td I This new line known as the South South- Southern Southern ern Transcontinental Line ass assures res added protection i for the increasing transcontinental I business An Additional The new route route possesses possesses the ad- ad advantage advantage ad advantage vantage of bein widely over overmuch overmuch overmuch much of the length lenith tenth from the original and md is accordingly an addi addi- additional addi- addi additional additional security against storm hazards Not only do these east cast and west trunk lines provide independent rout rout- routes routes routes es for the spec speech h highways of the nation but the are tied together L by north and so south th connecting routes at certain points thus making a sort of gridiron of oi he entire nation There is such nj connecting line Jine be- be between be between tween Los Angel Ange 5 and San Francisco another mother from El Paso to Denver via Albuquerque Sa S Santa to ta Fe Fc Las Vegas and Trinidad a third hird from Dallas to Kansas City anil Omaha another from StLouis New Orele ns to Memphis St theline Louis and Chic Chicago go and finally the line from Atlanta Atlant to Washington and New York With such network it will be difficult g fl isolate any section of the countr country t i for in inthe inthe inthe the event that a storm torm makes it nee nee- necessary necessary essary to divert traffic it can be routed around such su h storm damage a might occur a at-a at at- at atly t 1 I ly iy point in the net net- network network network work The distance rom om oar the Louis Louisiana Louisiana- Texas Louisiana lna- lna Texas state tin lin line to Dallas is miles and from Dallas to El EI Pasco miles makil maki s a total of miles The new telephone c cable ble line between New Yoi York and Chicago is miles in length only 30 miles longer than this group jbf four transcontinental transcontinental transcontinental wires all in eras exas alone These wires if stretch d out end to end would more than span the distance from New to San Sail Francisoc They contain York nea neatly nearly ly pounds pound of copper and provide in part for a number of oC very l n ng circuits These include a Los Chicago-Los An Angeles eles cir cir- circuit cir cir- circuit cir circuit routed generally via St Louis Loui Muskogee l Dallis Dallas El Paso an and Phoenix a EI Paso circuit and anda a Los Dallas Angeles Tele Tele- Telegraph Tele- Tele Telegraph Telegraph graph service may be operated sim- sim simultaneously simultaneously sim simultaneously with the telephone ser ser- service service service vice on these same sane wires wires Telephone repeater stations e been installed at al re regular ular inter A ill Task B a BIt completion aIt It was no eazy easy easy task the comple comple- tion of this telephone line across texas lexas Part of the country through which the line is hilly and very rocky and part of it is just loose dry ry sand which i into new hills by wind In some places the the- sand was so loose and so deep that it tooke took look j fight i ight ht horses to haul 12 twenty-foot twenty p poles les At times the wagons would bink b in the sand up to the axles In n spite of the hardships however due to the he country and the climate the task v gas at completed with with- within within within in schedule tin tim Two construction construction construction tion gangs angs one working west and the other working cast east set poles a ad- ad added ad added ded cross-arms cross and ld strung wire as the they went The poles poles were of cd ed cd pine twenty I et lang and spaced thirty six six to thelmI the sn le In the rock and hard soil holes were drilled by byan byon byan on an air drill whicH was operated from from froma froma a portable unit mounted on a n truck C CIn In this manner mannel I two men co could ld drill 1111 1120 holes per day in solid rock and andI I and holes hard soil The hol holes hols s in solid ock were drilled three I feet deep andsen andlen and t len sen dynamited Those in the hard soil were wele drilled fully four feet anda and a sUc stid or so of dynamite did lid the rest resl In s looting the dirt holes care had to be iken aken not to put pul in too great a n charge if f explosive for if the thes s soil il was was ns broke i too too fine and lifted too hig high in th air the wind would blow it il way ani nn there would be Ix noth- noth noth-ing noth for to ta tarn ping back around the thele le 1 Rattlesnakes In ny If there arc are iny ny rattlesnakes left leftin leftin leftin in the State of flexas Texas telephone men menI I will be cr very much surprised Rattle Rattle- Rattle Rattle-I Rattlesnakes Rattlesnakes snakes along t l the e route were very numerous and d dring during ring ring- the hot days or of I July an and August Au August they were much feared as at th that t time they are blind nd give lit little e if any warning striking at eve ever sound The men comprising thes these construction gangs angs had some very experiences with wilh rattlesnake and it is estimated that over of or she gibe he dangerous pests were killed ran ranging m in len length th from fromi i one to six feet 1 Camp Trains Used bythe Because the country traver traversed cd by the line is in par part part so sparsely settled that there was nOt possibility of securing securing securing ing hotel or 01 house boarding house bO accommodations for the m tubers of the gangs camp trains were secured from flOm the Texas and Pacific d Railway Company and were wele fitt out out l I especially for this job Each train c comprised three bunk cars furnished for foy fora fo a total of forty forty- forty eight eight men a kitchen car a water w-Iter car cara a dining car a tool car anda and a mate mate- material material material rial car 11 The kitchen dining and house bunk cars were screened A portable house bath with shower arran arrangement ement was also fitted up so that when it was connected by by hose to the tanK on the water dr car car it afforded a pleas pleas- pleasant pleasant pleasant ant means of refreshment refreshment following n a ahard ahard hard day unde unde under a aa a boiling sun with the thermometer thermometer usually around a in in the Shade hade The trains vc easily moved front from frontone one siding to a other and were al- al always always al always ways within six vet miles at the outside of the particular job where the con con- construction construction con construction gang was vas at work The kitchen car cm wa walk equipped with an- an another another an another other hose also connected with the water tank and j LT did the rest so that the me who were detailed to the kitchen police were saved many a a step The water was furnished furnish furnish- furnished furnished ed by the railroad company as need need- needed needed needed ed while groceries is and other supplies were obtained in lots from the various town along the line linc To the using public the there theis is a special significance in the build build- building building ing of this net net- transcontinental route It d nety d an important ad- ad additional additional ad additional link in th the lon long distance fac- fac facilities facilities fac facilities which the Bell BaIl System is Instantly In- In cn building t to meet the demands of its wide field and it also aLio provides another line of defense against the unruly forces of Nature that sometimes do 10 to damage to even the best telephone lines This new newline newline newline line lies below the sleet belt and will relieve considerably the congestion of cf traffic on the transcontinental cir cir- circuits circuits cir circuits that have been previously es- es established established es established 2 |