Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 100, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 March 1917 — TELEPHONE LINES ALL DOWN [ARTICLE]

TELEPHONE LINES ALL DOWN

Sleet Storm Yesterday Morning Does Much Damage. Another devastating sleet storm visited this section yesterday morning and wrought damage to telephone lines and electric wires that is difficult to estimate because of inability to communicate with the, surrounding territory. Word was received from Remington during the forenoon that the electric wires of the Public Service company and practically all telephone wires were down. Later in the day communication was <mt off and it was impossible to learn anything further regarding the extent of the damage. In the vicinity of Rensselaer many telephone lines are down and Mr. ? Bott, proprietor of > the exchange, at noon estimated his loss at between $5,000 and $6,000. The new line recently built and extending four piles north from town and carrying thirty wireswas all down, as were also many branch lines and lines in other directions. ./ ■■ . ‘ The electric lines in Rensselaer ' had apparently escaped damage np to noon, and indications at that lime were not such as to cause any among the city engineers. All efforts to communicate with towns in any direction were futile, and whether the damage is local dr. general it is Impossible to say. However, the sleet had every appearance of being general and that telephone r and '1 electric lines throughput northwestern Indiana have suffered considerable is a wafa presumption.