The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1892-03-12
VOL. XXVII.-NO. 19.
HOW CABLES ARE BROKEN.


nose of CARRYING on their fishing Acct
dents of this kind occur, Of course, near the
shore or on the banks of Newfoundland.
The anchor becomes entangled with the
cable and. rather than spend the time
necessary to get it free, the cableis dragged
mn and cut and the vessel proceeds on its
way. Simply to avoid little trouble the
the captain of fishing vessel will put
cable company in for thousands Of dollars
of expense. The situation is reeognizedby
the cable companies, and they have
standing offer to indemnify any vessel for
the loss of an anchor, and they pay out
large sums OF money every year on this
score. 1t will be seen that there will be
no possibility of verifying such claims, and
the consequence is that false claims for
damage have undoubtedly been put in and
unscrupulous captains have collected money
for anchors which were never lost.
Another source of trouble to the cables
are the icebergs. These icebergs floating
down from the arctic seas frequently ex-
tend beneath the surface of the ocean for
many hundreds of fathoms, and the base of
the passing iceberg catching the cable,
bears it onward and finally snaps it in two.
The bottom of the ocean varies in depth In
very marvellous way, right in the path
these icebergs usually take. Off the banks
of Newfoundland the bottom is reached
sometimes at so inconsiderable depth as
rs to 100 fathoms. What this distance is
may be estimated when it is stated that,
roughly speaking, there are 1000 tathoms
to the mile. But from the point where
the depth is 100 fathoms the ocean bottom
goes down the side of mountain to $500
fathoms, or two miles and half, within
very short distance. Perhaps the bottom
raises up again and the cable hangs between
the two submerged mountain tops and the
icebergs coming along quietly picks up the
loop thus formed and carries 1t onward
until the strain results in an absolute rup
ture.
There are stories of cables having been
injured by whales and other monsters Of
the deep, but these interesting tales are to
be taken with a good deal Of allowance.
One tale is to the effect, and it is tale in
more senses than one, that when a faulty
cable was once dragged on deck the decom-
posed body of whale was found within
the twisted and convoluted cable, and
electrical communication had been inter
rupted because the cable had got around
the whale and the whale had got around
the cable. This Munchausen story may
be true. but it cannot be verified. Another
fairy tale. which has attained limited circu-
lation, is that mid-ocean cable was attack
ed by a sword-fsh, the sword-ish laboring
possibly under the impression that the
cable was an elongated eel, aud the result
of the attack was that the cable was peeled
of its outer covering, and the bare wires
were left to the mercy of the immediate
and watery surroundings.
BREAKS DISCOUNTED IN ADVANCE.
All the cable companies regard cable
breaks as part and parcel of their legiti-
mate business They are never surprised
when misfortune of this kind overtakes
them, and, so far as financial considerations
are concerned, they are always prepared
for it. Indeed, all the companies put
away so many thousand dollars every year
to pay for anticipated breaks Of this charac-
ter, so that the money which goes for re-
pairs does not come, so to speak, directly
out of the treasury. 1t has already been
appropriated for the purpose to which it is
applied The oaly break which the cable
people really dread is the break which
occurs not in mid-ocean, but in mid-win-
ter. 1t is quite obvious that the repairing
of deep-sea cable, when the waves are
rolling mountains high and storms invest
the heavens from horizon to horizon, is no
easy task, and under these circumstances
graphing for cable is something very
difficult of accomplishment In the sum
mer, though, and particularly in October,
after the equinoctial storms, when the
skies are serene and the surface of the
ocean frequently as placid as the surface
of an inland lake, the matter of repairing
the breaking of cable, unless, indeed, it
interferes seriously with business, is not
regarded in SO serious light
The cable buoy Is used in repairing
cables if the break happens in winter time
and storm comes up and begins to hustle
the steamer around in such way that it
isn't possible to keep the end of the restive
cable on board At such time as this the
cable is attached to the cable buoy and
the buoy is thrown overheard. When the
weather subsidies the cable is easily recov-
cred and the splicing is done. OF course
as soon as the cable is found oommunica-
tion is established between the steamer and
the cable station on one or the other side
of the Atlantic, If the communication
between the steamer and Ireland is all
right, for example, it is known that the
cable is uninjured between those two points,
and when this has been determined the
repairing goes on until the American side
of the ocean and the steamer are brought
into electrical contact. 1t may be men
toned that in graphing for cable with
the grappling-iron the steamer proceeds in
a course exactly at right angles to the cable
so that the cable is usually caught within
comparatively short time.
COST OF REPAIRING.
OF course the cost of repairing cable
is very considerable. When it is consid-
cred that fully equipped ocean steamer,
with an expert navigator and expert elec-
tricians on board, is devoted exclusively to
the business of repairing the cable for a
length of time extending anywhere from
two weeks to month, some idea of the
cost may be arrived at, The Commercial
Gable people have their own steamer, which
represents an investment of several hun
dred thousand dollars, and the officers and
electricians are on the payroll Of the COM
pany from one years end to the other.
The Anglo-American Company, which
own four cables in the pool, also has
cable steamer, called the Nina,
The Western Union people have no
steamer of their own, and when they need |
a steamer hire either the Nina from their
associates in the pool or the Faraday,
which is owned by the Sieman Brothers.