Environment: Leaking Electricity

Schoolteacher John Miller and a neighbor were painting Miller's barn roof at his farm near Lucasville, Ohio. Wham! The neighbor was almost knocked off his aluminum ladder by an electric shock. In the town of Franklin Furnace, Farmer C.B. Ruggles' son was riding his pony when—whap!—he and the animal were jolted, apparently by electrical charges in the metallic parts of the bridle and stirrups. A housewife in Lucasville turned on the tap to do the dishes—and zap!

The source of the troubles is the Ohio Power Co.'s new "extra-high-voltage" (765,000-volt) transmission line through southern Ohio. It is radiating so powerful an...

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