The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1896-03-16

mittee in whose hands the cable meas
ureS now rest who knows anything
about cable building. nor is there an in
dividual, firm or corporation in the
United States engaged in laying cables;
80 that If the Spalding or any other
measure passes II is likely they will
have TO have the cable laid by others
than people of the United States
You know, OF course. that the pref
erence of this government is for Ameri-
can enterprise and capital TO bring the
building of the cable 10 Hawaii to a sue
cessful completion"
Quite well do know it, but the anti
English feeling does not exist as strong
here as ii does in the United States.
And let me ask you whether IL will make
any difference to the masses whether
the means of transmitting business
messages, or news for that matter. is
the result of American brains and
money or English brains and money.
Or for the matter Of that, suppose IL is
divided, conceding the brains and enter
prise to America and the money from
England. Do you imagine that the in
dividual who receives a cable order for
a thousand pounds worth Of goods or
machinery over a cable line built with
British gold would decline to fill II be-
cause the capital was not from the
United States?
COR do you think for an instant that
the people who read their morning
journal at the breakfast table would de-
cline to gaze on the telegraphic dis
patches to or from Hawaii because
American dollars we're not used in the
construction of the line? / hardly be-
lieve that to be the case. This is an
age of sentiment to a certain extent, but
results are the first thing in matters
WQql fOIIOW4
at the heels.
"I realize this anti-English feeling,
and to overcome il so far as we were
concerned in the United States, ! Of
fered to build the cable and to insert
a clause in the contract that If at any
time the Government of the United
States wished my company would turn
over the entire plant to it on notice
of thirty days.
eff Colonel Spalding's bill passes,
will build a cable from Hawaii to
Japan without costing the Hawaiian
Government a dollar, and II this is ac-
complished the cable between here and
the United States will be a success, be-
cause go per cent. of the messages now
going from the United States to the
Colonies and the Orient by the way of
England will come this way. If the
Spalding cable is built we will lay one
from Brest to New York, distance OF
$500 miles. That, however, will be
constructed entirely with French cap
ital
Eighteen months ago we completed
a line to New Caledonia. We contem-
plate the construction of a line from
there to Japan, and we hope to have
one to Hawaii, thus giving us circle Of
the globe.
my company wired me to waste no
more time at Washington, but to get
to Japan and do what can be done there.
I will have a fortnight at home, and
will then leave for Toxic. / hope to get
through my business there in time to
leave for Berne, Switzerland, to attend
a convention of directors of interna-
tional cable companies which meets
there in May.
81 may say thiS-that my company
has stopped asking for subsidies; we
now work under a guarantee of the in
terest on the capital of the company.
If the interest should amount to ten
thousand pounds sterling year, we al
low the Government free privileges to
that amount But if il should happen
that the profits of the company were
sufficient to pay any portion OF the in
terest, after running expenses were
met, then the Government pays only the
deficit, while they still retain the free
amount of the guarantee.
"Our company is willing to send mes
sages between San Francisco and Homo
lulu at 80 cents per word; to other
points beyond, 81 25 per word. Gov
ernment messages, free for all time.
Press messages, one-half the rates
charged on the Atlantic cables.
'I hope" said Mr.. Coote, that the
will consider our propOsi-
tion favorably. Mr.. Hatch told me 1t
was really the only reasonable and sat
isfactory offer they had as yet re-
ceived, and Colonel Spalding was Of
the same opinion"
One of the Ministers was asked yes
terday the nature Of Mr.. CoOte's prOpo-
sition The reply was that he first
asked for letter to the Japanese Gov
ernment authorizing him TO act for the
Hawaiian Government in matters per
tanning to cable between the Ea-
waiian Islands and Japan. Failing to
secure this he asked for letter author
iZing him to negotiate with Japan, on
terms stated by him, for the construc-
tfon of a cable between the two coun-
tries. This was also refused, and he
then asked for a certificate granting
him an exclusive Franchise to land
cable from Japan to some point on
Oahu This was also refused.
The Ministers do not feel that the
power to act in the cable matters grant
ed them by the last Legislature goes
beyond the making of contracts.
Sir Audley Coote's plan to link the
islands with a cable and connect ali
with a trans-Pacific line may not be
a-nopoSGfII1