The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-06-05
COMMERCE AND THE CABLE.

In the Pacific cable agitation
has caused many faint hearts to
become dubious over the prospect
of Hawaii being brought into tele-
graphic communication with the
world within the lifetime Of the
present generation. The indiffer
erence displayed by the nations
about us however, IS more APP
parent than real. The powerful
forces of an increasing commerce
brought about by the steady devel-
opment In the Orient and the rush
of tradesmen to cultivate new
fields are slowly perhaps, but none
the less surely working out the
problem which Hawaii alone has
failed to solve.
Every new steamship line, every
new ship, every additional dollars
worth Of goods carried across the
Pacific furnishes an impressive ar
gument 10 statesmen and capitalists
in favor of the trans-Pacitic cable.
Contending financial and national
Interests have blocked the schemes
proposed from time to time, but
this cannot and will not 90 on
many wears longer Quick comun-
ication must follow III the wake of
a growing commerce. The rapid
development in the international
and intercOlonial trade of the Paci-
fic within the last ten years has
opened the eyes of the public and
led business men TO give more Sc
rious thought to the Pacific cable
than was devoted to it in the whole
fifty years previous
Roland Belfort writing in The
Empire, of London, says of the pro
gress of the Pacific: "Our leading
statesmen, Imperial and Colonial,
now fully recognize that the com
mercial exploitation of the Pacific
is rapidly developing into a prob
lem of supreme importance, in
which the British Empire is vitality
interested. In these regions must
be fought, sooner or later, battle
pacific, let us hope-fOr COM
mercial supremacy: the control of
markets vast In extent, susceptible
of unlimited development. The
Chinese, shaking off their tradition
al lethargy, are tolerating the in
PRODUCTION of Western ideas, the
construction of railways and tele-
graphs. Russia attaches so much
importance to her position on the
Pacific that she has not hesitated
to extend the trans-Siberian rail
way in such manner that her IA
cific port of Vladivostock will rltl-
mately connect with Moscow. ia
pan is adopting with feverish ardor
all the principal features of West
ern civilization. The Australias
will, in all probability, soon be
federated into an Antipodean Do
minion, destined to rival in power
and homogeneousness the sister Do
minion of Canada. Who can estl-
mate the enormous impetus that
must be given to commerce by
the simultaneous development of
these young and vigorous colonies,
these ancient but rich Kingdoms,
Just beginning to taste the sweets
of civiIization|'
From this forecast, Mr.. Belfort
draws the attention of his readers
to the necessity of closer communi-
cation between Canada and Aus
tralia, also to further cable extent
ion to South Africa thus complet-
ing the circle of British possessions
The United States is spoken of as
a possible cable competitor, but the
French company that has construc-
ted line to New Caledonia Is re
garded as the most dangerous as
the most formidable opponent to
Great Britain.
In all the plans for wiring the