Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 January 1913 — SLEET STORM IS DAMAGE PRODUCER [ARTICLE]

SLEET STORM IS DAMAGE PRODUCER

Telephone and Telegraph Companies Suffer in Loss to Wires, Poles and Equipment. Telephone and telegraph service is crippled, the pavements and the streets are coated with a smooth surface of ice and several slight injuries have resulted in consequence of a sleet storm that started Sunday morning and that has continued at intervals since then, each succeeding fall Jot rain adding to the weight of ice on the wires and threatening a collapse almost equaling the one of three years ago. Not a great numoer of telephone wires are down in town, althought the service is crippled in many Ways. In some places poles have been broken off by the great weight I of the ice-covered wires. I The Western Union has had considerable wire trouble and for some time was cut off from Chicago. The Monon railroad has had only one wire into Chicago and has been operating under difficulty. Passenger trains are all belated, mainly through inability to transmit orders. Several telegraph wires are down in Rensselaer and Agent -Beam reports that a number -of poles are down between this city and Lafayette. 1 The Republican telephone has beert out of commission a considerable part of the day and a request to the office that It 4)e fixed -brought the answer that everyone was busy and Superintendent Montgomery out of the city. The day is cloudy and indications are strong for more falling weather. If it should be a misty rain great havoc is certain to be wrought in the destruction of wires and poles.