Cañon City record., 1897-12-23

Bismarck has had to pay for comm
through the rye" 1t is a harvest. GUS
tom in the duchy of LauenburV when n
person passes through a field where the
corn is being cut for the workers to stop
bind few ears of corn to his arm and
then demand money for his ransom.
The old statesman and his son. Count
Herbert, were driving a few days ago
through the cornfields of Bismarck,s
Schonau estate, and they stopped TO
look at the men who were cutting the
rye. Hereupon the men threw down
their scythes, took up some stalks of
the rye, and, going up to the two Bis
marcks, courteously but resolutelv
fastened a small bundle of rye to the
arms of the visitors. The man of blood
and iron, who has conservative rev.
erence for old German customs, cheer
fully paid for the ransom of himself
and his son with two gold coins. Bis
marck insisted on retaining the signs
of his bondage upon his arm until he got
home.-Westminste Gazetts.
OCEAN TELEGRAPH CABLES.
All Told About I52,OOO Miles Have
Been Laid.
A cable will be laid next summer from
Scotland to Iceland by way of the Farce
islands. The IceIandic parliament has
voted a subsidy to the enterprise. 1t is
believed that Great Britain will con-
meet Iceland with British America by
cable, SO as to give her another cable
route to this country.
Less than so years ago the first cable
was laid between Great Britain and the
American continent. Now a cable is
laid every year. The last Transatlantic
cable was laid by the Commercial Cable
company in 1894, but many smaller
cables have been laid since. just now
the interest of the world, or so much
of il as is absorbed by the cable ques-
ton, is centered in the connection be-
tween the American continent and the
far west, under the Pacific ocean.
Great Britain has undertaken to lay n
cable from British Columbia to Aus
tralia by way of the FIJI islands. Al
the same time two American companies
are struggling for the privilege of lay
ing n cable from our western coast to
Japan and China by way of Hawaii.
When one of these Pacific cables has
been completed the earth will be
girdled. This consummation has been
slow in coming. 1t is promised at n
time when Tesla claims that he win be
able soon to telegraph to any pat of the
world without gables or even land
wires.
There are about $4,000 miles of ca
bles, which have cost about 5000, ,OO0. 900.
These figures are only approximate. be-
fs nn he
ton of all the cables. Undoubtedly
some useless and abandoned cables still
| appear on the map.
Nine-tenths of the cables of the world
are controlled by Great Britain. and
even the American cables make first
| landing on British-American soil. OF
| the ten transatlantic cables in active
| use, not one lands in the United States.
| Those which do not land in English pos
sessions have their termini on a French
| island. 1t has been said that in case
| OF war with the United States, Great
| Britain would have an advantage over
us through the control of the cables.
| She would not control the French ca
bles. and it is not likely she would
| control the Canadian cables long.
| The route of every cable on the
oceans bed has been marked and
mapped carefully. If we had trouble
with Great Britain it would be a COM
| paratively simple thing to send n re-
pair ship out to grapple for the cables
and cut them. 1t would be difficult to
| ratrol each line, and it is altogether
likely that conflict between Great
| Britain and the United States, if II
came to serious blows, would be settled
| IesIie's Weekly