The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-12-20
- The World Girdiod by Telegraph"
Enst ImdIn Telegrnph Company.

From the Times,
Gould our ancestors. who reIoiced over the
"preat Improvement" TO travel from Philadel-
pbia to "Yoik" in a rickety mail-coach in the
admirably short space of four days, arise from
their graves to-day, they could not we'll believe
their eyes seeing train of cars speed the
distance along in four hours. Their news from
Europe was fresh. and highly pleased they were
ot it, when received by London or Havre
packet inside Of three months a distance which
our Atlantic steamers have more than once
overcome in nine days. And what would they
say to the telegraph? Old Benz amin Franklin,
who first made the lightning of heaven bend to
the service of man, and who was one OF those
quiet, composed, reasoning being, whose
maxim rs ''7t't ddlntrdTj,' would certainly be
amazed, if not totally bGwldCred were he now
10 suddenly return to this world, TO take the
Times OF mo1niLg, and find twenty and more
columns of news matter from the Temotest
parts OF the globe, communicated by telegraph,
containing information of important events all
over Europe and America, which happened not
as many hours before as IN his good old slow
coach days 1t took months to get reports from
a like distance.
TIE success sful LAYING of the Atlantic cable,
and the sun more marvellous success ofpicklng
up the lost one OF 1865, have put our country as
far out West as San Francisco into almost in.
Simultaneous communication, not only with all
the principal cities and prominent marts of
Em ope but also With al those OF Southern
Asia as far into the East as Calcutta. One thing
and one only is to be deprecated IN regard to
the Atlantic telegraph, and that Is, that both its
terHHi are on lCregn soll, and on the soil OF
the very power with which international rival
ries may at any time produce dangerous com
plcaJiOns. Should such complications unOr-
tunately occur, then tnis ocean telegraph in the
hands of the British Government, and com
pletely beyond oul CONTROL would at once
become one of the greatest soulces, not only of
annoyance, but even OF danger 10 this country.
THIS was early foreseen, and in the reply OF one
of our former Presidents to the first congratu-
latory despatch of the Queen OF England tlS5S),
the wish was expressed that the tergGjGj OF the
cable, together with Its connecting lines and
station houses, should be declared neutral for
ever.
No answer was ever made to this expression of
mere wish. But other competing lines more
to the south will shortly be built, and viii re-
move the danger spoken OF.
The most important pr jeCted plan, and pro-
missing perhaps greater results for the welfare
and material prosperity OF the United States, Is
the Russo-AmerIcau telegraph, rapidly pushed
forward on this continent by Mr. p. Med. Col
Inns towards Behring Strait, and by the Emperor
Alexander II, through Siberia towards the east,
and the line proposed to be butt and to connect
with the former, by the East India telegraph
Company, from Pekin, the capital city Of China,
along the Chinese coast to Canton, and north
and east ward, to Irkutsk and KyaChta, and the
mouth of the Amoor river, which latter two
connecting lines are proposed to be bullt 10y
the Russian Government.
The British Government, always anxious to
maintain their power in the East, intend and
have, we believe, entered into preliminary
arrangements TO extend their line OF telegraph
from Calcutta east to Hong Kongt and thus
when all these several lines shall have been
Completed-and we can assure our rea1ers that
they will be completed in less than half the
time it took the Atlantic cable TO get into work
ing order-then the United States may Justly
ay claim to the proud position Of being the
commercial centre OF the habtable globe, tor
from New York to Europe, from San Francisco
to Asia, will radiate the entire commerce OF the
world
When the late Thomas II. Benton was still
young lawyer and local politician at st. Louis,
he edited a small sheet called the st. Louis
Inquirer. Tns was in J8l9-20. In series of
articles in that journal, neither ocean steamers,
railroads, nor telegraph5 being then in use, he
advocated most strenuousy the speedy col-
StTuction OF a national Wa9On-rOad through to
the Rocky Mountains, and, with proper treaty
with Spam through California to some point on
the Pacific suitable for a great harbOr. He for
tined his proposal with lrretutable arguments.
HIS sagaCous and discerning mind called attcn-
ton to the TACT that every country which,
throughout all history, succeeded III obtaining
a lar share OF the trade with the beehives of
peoples IN the East, grew prosperous and
wealthy. He referred TO the PhTnicianS and
Egyptians in ancient times, the Portuguese the
Dutch, the HanDeatic League, aud the English
more recently. And he hoped that, by opening
communication tor convenient travel from the
Mississippi to the Pacific, the people of the
Uuited States might share in a like result.
sold Bullion's" lar-seeng ideas are now about
10 be realized and that in manner which not
even be, at the time OF MS death, could have
had courage enough to hope. The telegraph to
San Francisco was completed long since, ana
already reaches far up north, through Oregon
into Washington Territory and the British pos
sessions. The National Wagon Road proposed
by him forty-sX years age, IS being rapidly
pushed forward, supported by the bounty OF our
Government, but it is TO be of iron, and ''swiit
prOpelling steam" the motive power San Frau
cisco, "the most suitable place on tue coast for
a haTbor,n seems selected by nature herself for
the great destiny that awaits t. Communica-
ton across the Pacific to Shanghai connecting
there by coa2t steamers with all the most i'm
poTtant commercial cities down TO Hong Kong,
Macao, and Canton, is PROV led for also by the
bounty OF our Government, which has come to
the succor OF prlva.e enterprise IN thus great
national undertaking. Thus all the preliminary
steps 10 secure 10 us a lair share of the immense
ard highly lucrative trade of the Eastern Con-
UnCnt have been completed. One thing remains
yet to be done. We must have telegraphlc con-
neCtIOn directly from here, and not over ENGLAND
and Europe, with al the trade centres OF Eastern
Asia. Then, and then only, will our whole
system of interconunental commerce be truly
American and wholly independent
This the East India Telegraph Company a
thoroughly responsible corporation, propose to
do. Enough has been published regarding the
RUsso-Ame1c&n telegraph, now constructing
and fast nearing its completion, and the read
ing public is so well informed of the general
nature and character OF the work, that for the
present, we need say no more about it, But
the projected East India telegraph is less known,
vet 1t is not only equally important with the
Collins Russian line, but we take ii, immeasura-
bly, more so. While the Collins line gives us
independent communication with Europe,
through Siberia aud European Russia, the East
India telegraph brings us daily and hourly
into the very heart of the Chinese empire and
to the very doors OF British India. A few sta