Telephone Line Construction: Connecting America's Forests

This silent film provides an educational look at the process of constructing telephone lines to connect fire lookout stations across the national forests of the United States. It begins with the preparation of telephone poles, demonstrating how they are treated with creosote for preservation before being set into place and secured with guide wires. The film then shows the actual line installation, where wire is initially laid out on the ground along the designated right-of-way and subsequently hoisted onto the poles by linemen. Various techniques are illustrated for attaching the line to poles and trees, installing insulators to prevent electrical discharge, and splicing wires to ensure connectivity. This documentary serves to highlight the technical aspects and importance of communication infrastructure in forest management, particularly for fire prevention and response.