| Show THE PROJECTED TRANSPACIFIC i i j i i CA LEI LE LEI I I j submarine submarino telegraph cables cross llio tho Atlantic be between y i iM tween and North i America three tables s con connect neet Europe anil South Amer America ica Africa coast la Is girdled even antipodal Australia and New Zealand Z been reached but the oc n yet remains to b spanned The great grent girdle the globe will never be complete until the little gap Is filled between America and andAsia Asia Then the modern Puck will be beable able to put his girdle round about the tho earth not In forty minutes but In that many The Tho wonder U Is us one of our states statesmen men recently said Bald hot that vast oceans have b en spanned by cable but that this list est of ot oceans has not been crossed before That the tho nineteenth lJ century should havo come cyme and gone gono without a B submarine cable connecting the continents adjacent to the Pacific Is almost Inexplicable It need not bo argued that t there Is a II great Brent need of ot It Iti vo wo know kno that for tor many man years there has been agitation respecting It ami with within in three years emergencies have havo arisen that have demanded Its completion t Several times within the past Imst few years rears attention has been called to the fact that congress s la Is legislating about the granting of ot a It charter for tor the tho build building ing In of or a II transpacific cable Private companies offered to construct It M both with and without the tho aid of ot gov governmental subsidies and yet the tho project has hils hung huuS fire Since the acquisition tion of ot oriental territory by our OUI gov government since the tho annexation of ot Ha Hu Hawaii and taking of ot Midway or Wak is island IsI I land l the cession of ot Guam and the Philippines lne wo 0 have had a II chain of or ort t Islands stretching In an all uneven line from our western coast to Asia form Ins Int as It were Vere stepping stones across ucross i the Pacific They are rather tar far apart to be sure and to connect them Ulem will re require require quire a cable nearly miles in length with an expenditure of ot tram from to But Dut that Is nothing When our Uncle Bam shall I have drawn on his famous seven league boots ho lIe will VIII step across that t Intervening stretch of ot ocean In a Jiffy According to recently completed sur surveys surveys veys the di distance tance from San Ban Francisco to Hawaii is about 2100 miles to Wake Island that low lying spot In It Is 2000 miles 1300 moro moroto to Guam and an 1370 to the tho east cast coast of or Luzon whence a n short land line IIno reach rench reaches es into Manila From Manila to Hong lIong kong Is GW miles where connection will willbe be made with the continental systems and Great Northern and Chinese land line and amI the Eastern x tension that make mallo for tor Europe and the tho Atlantic The Pacific was charted some years ngo with reference to the tho laying of ot a cable between California and ond Hawaii only lout Jut year ear Lieutenant Com Commander mander H n M Hodges on the collier Nero made a n ten months survey of ot proposed routes rout a between our western coast and the Asian Islands Ills His ob objectives were San Francisco and Yoko Yokohama hama taking In tho Philippines Guam Midway Island and Hawaii Between the time of or leaving San Francisco l and the return the Nero spent days and 13 hours hout steamed lenot and put In daja of actual work To the b st of ot my knowledge reported Com Commander C m mander mand r Hodges I do not believe a ca en ble route was ever eer so extensively and thoroughly and developed I bellevo the tho result of proves the to be bo eminently satisfactory and thoroughly practicable There are In tact fact no insuperable ob oh obstacles to the tho laying o or a n cable the only adverse development being of great depth In some places tho soundings s more than fathoms ns Tho two deepest soundings gmo and 5 fathoms or nearly six miles which tar far tho height of any mountain in America But Dut the deepest spot can be avoided as w well Ill as the submarine mountains W WhIch are aro more dreaded by cable layers than anything else to the danger of breakage on account of ot strain and the possibilities of at volcanic action rais raising ing tho temperature of ot the water and setting tree free elements clements Inimical to the tho composition of Ot the cubic Hut there In Iff Ina a n vust plateau on all this route and In the of ot the ocean depths depth once tile the cable hUll has been successfully laid It may Inny test rest restI I for tor years In greater safety than If It nearer the tho surface exposed to the dan dau dangers gers ers of or navigation and the tho assaults of ot whales award fish and other leviathans pertaining to domain While tho route necessarily chosen us as that for till projected cable uniting the continental United States with Its It In Insular Insular sular possessions In the Pacific Is most favorable to the project It is not the shortest distance between our Pacific coast and Asia lIla In n a survey of the Pa from the tho equator to the arctic cir clr circle cle It will be seen lIeen that the two conti continents continents approach each other most nearly In the northern region The Tho shortest possible length of ot submarine cable con connecting Asia and America merICI would be of It I course across strait less than forty miles in width In Its narrowest d part but It Is doubtful If It that would be though the route for tor a II great Iran Alaskan lino IIno was years lIars ago Southward again we find the Aleu Aleutian tian Inlands laland Invitingly from Alaska to by which a It iu U cession eslon of It land lines cables could bo run from Seattle or Vancouver er via In to to connect with the tho line for tor the tho present at nt the th mouth Amur The Tho most Inviting route Is III that be of ot an nn nil all British line around tho world or two routes have hao been sur surveyed thc fir t between Vancouver In British Columbia via and tho Aleutian archipelago to a dis distance tance of ot 3 OO miles and the sec second ond to COlln ct Australia Au trall and British Columbia Columb i via 10 the FIJI not far nr from miles Australia and New Zealand Ire are con connected with the tho continental system by b cables southward from China and In India dia and eight years yeatS ago Queensland then run the tho risk of ot safe transmission around Asia across ncr ss or under tha tho Mediterranean across the At Atlantic lantic ure still fresh In mind The route roul taken by D DV messages w whIch electrified tho worM world gave us of ot tile the destruction of ot tho Spanish neet Is also the only one on Available at pres present present ent A message arro must first traverse al nl almost most the tho distance around the globe In order to t reach a point only of ot distance away aWIl I The advocates of ot own on i t ff i t I i flit flit f t F t i Mo iMo T 1 Which Pull the Ft Sl Machinery on A Cable Ship Ti m r rn Z r Cf It I Q s 1 l o tween San Sn Francisco and Yokohama about mile but there ore oro no in intervening Intervening Islands It 11 would be a straightaway stretch like that across the Atlantic between Great Britain and America The fourth route which Is the one surveyed practically selected Is that between California and the Philip Philippines Philippines pines la In Hawaii the Midway lid way and Guam with a II cable to and perhaps ps another to Yokohama This route dips southwesterly from our coast until below tho tropic trople of ot Cancer reach rench reaching ing about its southern limit at Guam thence westerly to Luzon and north northwesterly westerly to Still another route across the Pacific Is that surveyed and anet coveted by the British government for the completion Australia was united with the French colony of ot New Caledonia which h lies about miles northeasterly of or Aus Australia AUstralia or approximately half way to the FIJI islands This has sometimes sometime been termed the first section of or the British transpacific cable which is to close cloeo the circuit with Great dominions across the sea Unless then the United States shall construct its tine line very soon or the tho perfection of ot wire wireless wireless less telegraphy obviates the necessity of ot laying cables In the very near nr fu future ture the tho British lino IIno will probably I eventuate and the gnp gap wilt will be closed Doth Both the British and United States governments feel tho necessity of ot con controlling controlling trolling absolutely at least one tele telegraphic graphic cable between the tM home coun country try and outlying possessions owing to exigencies that arc arG sure to arise In case of war In truth tr th our ex experience experIence I at and after atter the outbreak of ot hostilities In the Philippines when Ad Admiral miral Dewey was cut off orr tram from communication communication with his government and hav having ha haIng ing cut tut tho British cable then In hos hostile hostile tile hands had to send his communications commUnications to by shin and J of or the proposed transpacific ca cable cable ble have strenuously opposed any nn granting of ot chattels to private compa campa companies nies One of ot the principal opponents of ot private ownership Is representative Corliss of or Michigan who taught fought the measure looking to the granting of ot to tho Pacific Commercial com company compan pan pany two years ago ngo and who It was recently reported called on President Roosevelt to enter his protest against the granting of ot landing privileges to 10 that or to any other company He be believes believes that the commerce of ot the Pacific wilt wIll warrant the Immense outlay that the construction of ot a B cable would In olve and also that the tho government would benefit Immeasurably not only b by the thEl saving In tolls but by Its tree free freedom dom tram from oversight and hampering re In time of ot war warA warA A bill was reported to the last con can congress gress by b the house committee on Inter Interstate state and foreign affairs providing for tor tho tha construction cf t a n cable coble connecting tho west we t coast of ot the United Stales with the tho Philippines via Honolulu and Guam authorizing the postmaster gen general general eral to advertise for tor bids and guaran sua ran I I teeing that the government would pay not to exceed annually for or twenty ty tf y It was as urged against bill that the payments as ns proposed OR a would bo equal to more than half the expense ex of construe lion lIoni but the latest proposition by a 11 private corporation lo 10 it is understood i ito to construct tho cable without any all cun cession from the government except au nu authority for tor landing stations on the shor u of or the United States and our eastern possessions The system la III to tobe tobe be maintained without cost to tho gov government which Is to have the right of WILY way In time of war and the privilege of ot sending messages s at nt a 1 reduction of ot from to CO 60 per cent from present rated The fhe tine line to Honolulu It la Is agreed e bo be open unit und In running order within nine nille or ten months after the commencement of the tho work It Is estimated that the tho United States government has ha expended nit all of ot annually since the tho Philippines came callie Into our possession an expenditure which will probably be continued t In the future for tor some time to come The cost of ot a cable message to aUlt Manila regular rate Is per word including IncludIng ing to the government from Jl 10 to per word To Yokohama the regular rote rate Is per Iler word either by the northern route roule through Siberia or by tho southern via V 11 the Indian ocean o ean the Mediterranean The business rate rato to Is UGO per word The Th line IIno to Honolulu it Is IR claimed cun bo constructed d for tor about and maintained at nn annual ual cost of ot not including repairs and reck rcck reckoning the of a cable at twenty enu The average cost of or a cable such as would be bo required in inthe Inthe the Pacific Is estimated at from 1000 to 1200 per mile Tho estimate on tho cost of at the proposed British cable from Au to British Columbia was about f The average depth was given as ns which exceeded It was stated tho depth of ot any cable caLlo then th n laid bid Tho average depth along the central route Is 18 from two ami to three miles There were submarine cables with n It total length of ot about miles at the tho beginning of ot this year lent or nearly enough to seven n times girdle the globe and et as already stated not ono one transpacific cable In existence Of Ot the tho total cable mileage the various gov governments of or the world owned about France with miles Germany being second with 2225 Great Britain 2000 Spain 1800 1500 and Japan 1500 miles Indirectly Great Orent Britain controls and practically owns vastly more mileage than Is given In tile the statistics The United States Ii Is the tho only great power which at the tho opening of ot this cen century century tury owned owne l no submarine cables but having come Into possession of ot telegraph land tines lines In Porto and tho Philippines this government Is for tor forwarding warding the construction of or cables in Inthe the tho latter Islands General Greel being at preDent engaged in laying them on the tho finely equipped cable ship Having through force torce of circumstances become a II cable owning nation It re remains remains mains to be seen Been whether the United States w will embark more extensively in tho venture The question will proba probably bly b II settled by the forthcoming con congress gress grm 0 WOODSON AA |
