New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1893-05-24
AT a CABLl E STA TION,
ISOLATED OPERATORS LIVE IN
WORLD ALL THEIR OWN.


minus of the Great Transatlantic Cah.
Thirty Men Live a Peculiar Kind 8, +, \.
ietence by Themselves. Is
To an outsider the words life II i.
cable station" convey a vague sort u
meaning. such as the term life on l:oar
ship" would imply to one who hat! nc,
er been to sea. The very popularity.
cable life attaches to it something OF q,
special interest. 1t will be my endeavo,
here to portray us far as possible what
life is at one Of the busiest and most in
portant cable stations in the world l:...a-
ing two ocean cables from Waterfalls
Ireland, two from New York city. r.le
Of which is operated direct from wall
street; also cable to St. Pierre, Miuue-
Ion. and working direct land system
in connection with and over tho Cana
dian Pacific railway.
It is q well known fact that cable SUI.
lions. us g ,llc. are placed upon the most
outlandish spots imaginable, in thus
wise throwing the operators out Of touch
with society ;;nd the world 1T large.
just picture to yourself I. moment "a
small cape running; out into the Atlantic
On the most nort!leasterlv point Of the
American continent 4 little to the
south and situated somewhat on Il hill
you will see what appears to he a small
village circling into tic shape of Il horse
shoe. The background is thiclzly clothed
with small Fir trees. and Immediately at
the f.,o: Of t,,o l:iil is q large lake with
miniature islands clothed in rich green
folia!1e
Beyond the lake and as far as the eve
can reach IL c1,c vast exl;;,,ls2 Of w;tel' t;i-
viding the eastern and western conti-
nentS Of Europe and America AZ once
you are brought to the ''Canso station"
of the Commercial Cable company.
To the southeast OF tic Lake tho broad
Atlantic rolls along in heavy monotone.
while far away Oh the horizon q dark
line of smoke floats leisurely in the wake
OF passing steamer. Tho station itself
has a picturesque appearance III the
glisteniry sunlight, the handsome Office
with its bold frontage standing like
sentinel at the western gateway. There
are the finely laid out tennis courts, the
broad crescent Of substantial villas, with
their small patches of greensvard and
flower beds in front. and the neat little
clubhouse with its small piazza where
the men enjoy their pipes Of an evening
and watch tho fleet CT fishing boats or
ocean travellers passing round the cape
At the eastern entrance are the bache-
Tors qlartsrs-a large 2-story building,
accommodating nearly 80 men. Two and
half miles av-;y is tno fishing town Of
Canso, with it's 2.Co0 inhabitants.
There is nothing o:7ttsi ,,e to portray the
amount Of activity going On within the
Office, The commercial world is in full
swing, the cables are Icing worked at
top speed, ard = s2a:s5 s arc pouring in
to be t-:2::2sl,l;tttc. 80 ali parts Of the hab-
table globe, Business is being transact
ed between toe !,o1io', Gli NcT' York
Stock Exchanged; almost as spseul:y Is in
the exchanges t!:c:2selTes. Here one
gets & genera! idea CT the importance Of
submarine telcSraphy to the world at
largo ;snd the value OF time. No stop
ping, TIC ra-sing, nothing but rush, rush,
rush, the clicking; OF sound c2j. the work
ing Of automatic scnlers, the tapping Of
keys, and tie stea;ly- br2Zziny oI recording
Instruments
The operators have the money market
under their control; are edifying the po-
itical world with the latest conundruIns
Or flashing forth the tidings Of some
dreadful Calamity across Tie submerged
chains which link the old world with the
new.
Life at a cable station is not all s1ln-
shine. neither is it all shadow. Wehave
our periods Of dslllness asUell RS Our sea-
sons OF pleasure, adv .Hcages as well as
disadvantages. We live in an uncon-
ventional manner, but there are times
when we experience a thirst for town
life with all its rush and rattle. merely
for a change. On the whole. however,
we are very contented and happy: there
is such q sense Of freedom so far removed
from the conSasted atmosphere of city
life. Roam where one will, there is no
one to soy. "W hither goest thou?" Onr
can Shoot all over no mans land'' or
cast the deceptive fly On lake or stream
and vile the silvery trout from their va
rious haunts. There are no preserves,
therefore no gamekeepers or watchers.
In season we have boating, tennis,
cricket, riding and other sports to brace
Us up for the mental strain of the oper-
ating room: also Our concerts, dances
and picnics to mark the superficial side
of life. Naturally we have to rely on
our own resources for amusement and
entertainment. and at q large station
there is generally 9 fair supply OF talent
in various directions.
When winter is upon rs with it's icy
grasp, when TIE trees and everything
around are clad in q beautiful garb of
white and glistering snow, we don our
furs, and away we go across country to
the merry tinkle Of sleighbells. Snow
shoeing and skating also form important
features of our winters pastime.
When the shades of evening cast their
dark mantles around US, we gather il,
the CHEEKY clubhouse and over our pipes
discuss the latest news from the outside
world, SUM up "reminiscences of other
days, talk Of episodes in our lives and