Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1858-09-01

sterile wilderness, composed of rock, for,
, est, ana morass. Then followed the sub
marine telegraph across the Gulf of st..
Lawrence, the first one attempted to be
laid, as our readers will remember, being
lost. Hence it is that Mr.. Field trained
q himself for future triumphs, for undis-
, mayed, he Immediately ordered a new en-
Bile; then, against all seeming possibility
, of success, secured the one at the bottom
of the Gulf, and thus finally relieved the
company against any material loss. A tel
egraphic communication with Cane Brey
; ton was thus accomplished connecting
with the then existing lines in Nova SEQ
tla, The company then procured grants
and charters for lines from Prince Ed
wards Island, Nova Scotia, New Bruins
wick, Maine, and Canada. All these
things accomplished, Mr.. Field started for
England, and there, unremitting efforts,
succeeded in establishing the Atlantic Tel
egraph Company for the purpose Of con.
Meeting the European and American con-
tlnents. What Mr.. Field has done TO
bring about this wonderful consumation is
familiar to the world. Failure after fail
ure never dampened his ardor. or lcsseped
his enthusiasm, and on the memorable oc.
casion when the cable, apparently without
cause, untwsted as it was paving out from
the Agamemnon, when all were dcspond-
ent, 1t was stated that Mr.. Fieldalone was
sangulne and sure of success. Such en-
ergy, such determination to triumph. has
creative power, and is only to be found in
characters illustrated by Columbus. Frank
I'm, and other dlscOverers, who have led
the way in the advancement of civilian
ton, and been the eyes, as it were, of
the world in which they lived and had
, material association"
Ten days after the Telegraph Fleet had
sailed, on the last and fortunate attcmpt
to lay the Cable the Gl 900 shares of the
Company were offered on the London
Stock Exchange at G20O to G3OO each
but there 0crc no buyers. No one drellnod
that this last effort would succeed 1t
will be singular should shareholders. who
were compelled TO hold on their stock be-
cause nobody would purchase, eventually
realize largely by the enterprise
! We anticipate, as matter Of prudence
and necessity, that early steps will be ta-
ken for laying second cable. 1t will new
er answer to have the newly,established
relations between the two continents de-
pending wholly upon q single line, So at
tenuated as that which has now been
placed. Nobody can say what unexpected
accident may occur to undo, in an instant
of time, what it has taken so many years
and so much capital to complete.
The greatest reliance can be placed up
on Lieutenant MAURY's statement, the re-
suit of numerous soundings, that the
greater part of the plateau at the bottom
of the Atlantic, between Newfoundland
and Ireland, is smooth, and that it is too
deeply placed to be disturbed by the inhu-
ences of currents or winds. But the 1ck0lc
route is not thus favorable. The two or
three hundred miles nearest to Ireland
are of variable depth, and certainly not
even smooth or undisturbed at che bot.
tom. We can readily fancy the cable
placed upon the Jagged SUBMITS of the
sharp rocks which abound in that part Of
the Atlantic, and the thought naturally
arises, is single telegraphic line, which
may so easily be chafed, strained, or cut
upon these rocks, to be the SoL connecting
link between the Old World and the
New? 1t is evident that second cable
must be laid, and the sooner the better
If not, we may awake some fine morning
and find that, from some cause or other,
the Atlantic Telegraph is hors dc combat,
and that we are thrown back, for an in
definite period, upon the old communi-
cation of "ten days from England by mail
steamer" 1t is satisfactory to add that
hitherto the submarine telcgraphs have
invariably worked edmorereliably than those
upon the land
1t is astonishing to find how much has
been done by the Magnetic Telegraph
within the last one and twenty years In
| 1887, Professor MORSE filed caveat for
what he called The American Electro
Magnetic Telegraph, took out a French
| patent in 1888, and an American in 1910.
The first Telegraphic line, actually in
practical operation, was that between
| Baltimore and Washington, completed in
1874, and extending forty miles. From
| that small commencement arose system
of intercommunication so great that, in
/ the United States alone, there are now
$4,000 miles of Telegraph communication,
all of which will be connected with the At
lantic Telegraph. In the whole of Europe
there are only $4,000 miles of telegraph
viz Great Britain $4,000 Germany and
Austria, 10000; France, 5000; Prussia,
500; Italy, $500; Switzerland, l,5OO;
Spain and Portugal, GOO; Holland COO =
and Belgium, 500
! The Atlantic Telegraph is nearly two.
thousand miles in length, an unbroken
line. All over the rest of the world, sub
marine telegraphing is not one thousand
miles. The earliest was that between Do
yer and Calais, established in 1850, and
only twenty-four miles long. The longest
across the Black Sea, is under four hun
dred miles-it was on this line that Lord
PANNURE, War Minister of England, coli
veyed that message about young DowBIG-
GEN, his nephew, "Take care of Dowb."
The triumph of American science and
skill is perceptible in the Telegraph sys-
TEN. MORSE would seem the successor of
FRANKLIN, who snatched the lightning
from heaven, just as FULToN completing
what WATT had done with steam, applied
that great power to the purposes of navi-
CATION. That STEPHENSON should subse-
Al.