Clarke & Hyde
Underground Telephone Wires.
Underneath the streets of London are miles and miles of telephone wires. This is a section of the lines running beneath the Kingsway, and the operators are at work repairing the wires.
Some people give way handsomely when they find there is no chance of standing out successfully. Under the Telegraph Construction Act (1908) the Department has certain powers of compulsion. Representations were made to a lady but she took no heed of them, and a notice was served on her by the Solicitor of the Department. She replied: “With reference to your communication respecting the erection of telegraph poles, &c., I am afraid I have not taken much interest in the matter, and I thought it was all finished long ago. The absurd fuss that was made some time ago seemed to cause my husband much amusement, and as he is letter scribbling, and has nothing else to do or think about, I handed the affair over to him to see to, as I did not think it of any importance. As far as I am concerned you can put 40,000 poles or anything else you like up down or all over the road: it is a matter of absolute indifference to me.”
The laying of underground wires is, however, developing fast, but it is usually cheaper to keep the wires overhead, and in the present state of electrical science the effectiveness of a telephone wire is reduced when laid underground. In the Postmaster-General's Report for 1906 he deplored the differences into which he was forced with landowners, and “with those valuable associations whose care it is to preserve the natural beauty of the country. In the case of Hindhead I am glad to say that, thanks to the consideration shown by the Directors of the London and South-Western Railway, I was able to take the poles by another route.” It is pleasant to find consideration for the beauty of the country influencing the policy of the Post Office. The Postmaster-General went on to say that “means of overcoming the present difficulties are urgently required; for it is most unsatisfactory that important towns should go for years with inadequate trunk telephone facilities because it has not been possible to overcome some difficulty of wayleave many miles away.” This was written before the Telegraph Construction Act of 1908 was passed, but even with increased powers the Department experiences great opposition from local authorities and others to the erection of overhead wires, and the wayleave getter's task is still difficult in many districts.
Another of the works carried out by the Engineer's Department is the establishment of a system of synchronisation of clocks by means of ingenious automatic appliances, and in this matter the Post Office has given a lead to the nation. At no distant date, if the example of the Post Office is followed, we may be spared the experience which frequently occurs in a London street, of finding a difference of time in almost every clock we pass. The Post Office clocks are like Wordsworth's cloud, they move together if they move at all.
(b) Stores and Factories
The Stores Department is another branch of the service which does not come under the direct notice of the public. But it is as necessary to the Post Office as the stoker is to the railway train. Stop the supplies and every post office in the country will feel the effect very quickly. Nothing is too small or insignificant to be supplied by the Stores. If a department wants a packet of pins it applies to the Stores: if it requires a safe or a telegraph pole the Stores will supply the article. If an official requires a uniform the Stores will fit him as well as a West End tailor. The business done is colossal; the figures of the Stores Department are in some respects the most interesting in the Post Office. They would move to envy firms like Selfridge's or Harrod's. For instance, in one year 1,250,000 pens were supplied to the Postmaster-General, and yet, as Mr. Sydney Buxton complained pathetically when mentioning this fact publicly, his handwriting was no better. During the year 1909 more than £1,300,000 of goods were purchased by the Post Office, and £800,000 of this represented the cost of engineering stores.
Everything that is required in connection with postal and telegraph work is examined and tested before delivery. No fewer than 1,035,720 separate consignments of stores, weighing 6223 tons, are despatched from the Studd Street depôt annually. About 100,000 persons in the United Kingdom are supplied with uniform, and the total number of garments issued annually is about 420,000. The annual value of all this clothing amounts to about £210,000. As a rule everybody is allowed two suits, one for summer and one for winter wear, and they are made according to standard sizes. The method adopted is called the Fitting Sizes Scheme, and I shall refer to it in more detail in my chapter on the Postman.