The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-05-08
REFERENCE
4 BILL FOR AN IMPORTANT NEV
 CABLE ENTERPEISE.

Ane AUinOF pk tuG AsIii n " GIL NilOWu NcW
 Haven Man-mtroduced in Congress by
 Hon. N. D. Sperry on Wednesday
 ferred Yesterday to the Committee on
 Interstate and Foreign Commerce.
 A good example of expeditions work on the part of the local post-ofiice and of Representative Sperry of this dis
 trict, at the national capital was fur
 nished by the introduction In the house
 Wednesday by MT. Sperry of MT. M, J. Fahey's bill entitled the Occidental,
 Oriental and oceanic Cable Telegraph
 Co. The bill was mailed from the local
 office to the Hon. N D. Sperry shortly
 before six D. m. Tuesday, and was in-
 troduced in the house Wednesday
 about three p. m.
 MT M. J. Fahey, the author of the
 bill, is a resident of this city, well
 known in telegraphic circles, having
 been employed by the Western Union,
 Consolidated railroad, Bunnell &
 Scranton, Postal Telegraph and Con-
 necticut Associated Press in this city
 since 1882. The bill provides for cable
 from Washington (state) via Alaska
 and the Aleutian Islands to a connec-
 tion with the Russian Siberian Tele-
 graph system on the Pacific coast of
 Siberia and with the Japanese system in Yeszo The cable is to touch at Sit ka, Juneau St. Paul, Attu and perhaps other points in Alaska. It also pro vides for cable from California to the Hawaiian Islands, and for branch ca ble and telegraph lines to connect with the first mentioned line The other features of the bill are that the govern ment guarantee five per cent. interest on an issue of bonds of $1,000 per mile, not exceeding 6,2O0 miles for both main lines, also that the cables be made in the United States and that bonds bear ing government guarantee not to be issued until that portion of line which they cover be completed and in work ing order. It further provides that if cables are not completed in three years after the bill passes all liability of the government to end. There are two other bills before congress for cables in the Pacific, one to Hawaii and one to China via Hawaii and Japan; both of these companies want subsi- dy and have fought each other down from $500.00O subsidy at the last session to $250,OOO early in the present session ] to s16O 900 at this writing, which seems to be bed rock.
 MT. Fahey claims for his route the ! following advantages over the other companies: The distance via Alaska and Aleutian Islands and Japan is 4,O0O miles as against $500 miles via Hawaii a The cable via Alaska and Aleutian Is- \ lands lands at five important points in I United States territory and furnishes @ communication to United states terri % tory for nearly 5000 miles, at present @ without telegraphic service. This is M of the utmost importance to commer- M cial development of the Pacific coast H and Alaska, and would be of incalcula- N ble service to the government as g Hmeans of quick communication with it's naval, military, revenue and judicial N Nofficials in Alaska. The only means of communication with these officials now His by a slow and variable service of Asteamers and sailing vessels.
 S Owing to the short spans of cable re- Eaquired by this route, the longest not 1over seven hundred miles, much less Responsive cable is required than where |4a span of three thousand miles is re- @quired, as is necessary via the Hawaii Han route. MT. Fahey's bill includes a Elcable to Hawaii as the first span in a EHroute to Australia, between which and EH EHCalifornia it is in a direct line. One of |Hthe obstacles to" be encountered in a EPacific cable is the great depths to be EHmet with. This is to a great extent EEelinlinated in the cable via Alaska and kAAleutian Islands, as it for the most tgpart follows the coast line and any de- Efsired depth can be chosen. Even the of the water is in favor of ffthe Alaska route. Between California Hand Hawaii the water varies in tem- from thirty-five to seventy kfdegrees, while between Washington l land Yeszo it is thirty-fve to fifty-fve The warmer the water, the l [twarmer the insulation and the less re- Assistance it offers to the escape of elec- Iftricity Marine life, both animal and I5vegetable, deleterious to cables, are Ifmore abundant in the warmer waters. HAS there would be considerable way
 rbusiness, and increasing every year, a
 cable via Alaska could be operated
 much cheaper than cdDle lHdI ulVeS
 funder the ocean only to appear again
 in a foreign land. Energetic action on
 the part of the people on the Pacific
 coast and the votes of patriotic repre-
 sentatives and senators is necessary to
 secure the passage of this bill. If the
 other companies win the fight they will
 use foreign made cables, to be paid for
 out of the pockets of the American
 public If the Occidental, Oriental and
 Oceanic Cable and Telegraph Co. se-
 cure the governments guarantee they
 will transact the governments business
 at the nominal figure of one cent per
 word per 200 miles; no money to
 be collected from the government until
 any sums advanced as a guarantee are
 |tiquidated. If the government sees fit
 to grant a subsidy of $160,000 per year
 the government business to be trans
 mitted free MT. Fahey is busily en-
 gagged now in obtaining financial back
 ing and in the formation of a company.
 He is also engaged in the work of per
 fecting a cable that can be made much
 cheaper and better than at present
 used He will leave for Hartford this
 afternoon to interest some capitalists
 bf the Capitol city. He has succeeded
 in interesting the Calaphite Manufac-