No person, company, or association shall in constructing, extending, or erecting any line or telegraph erect-any pole or poles unless the same shall be at least forty-five feet in length and the wires placed upon such poles so as to be at least thirty feet from the surface of the ground, and unless the poles are of cedar or chestnut timber, or the equivalent thereto in strength and durability, and reasonably straight, dressed and painted at least to a height of forty feet, or the entire length of the poles aboveground. All work done in erecting, extending or constructing such lines shall be done under the direction of the Director of Public Service.
(1907 Code Sec. 351)