The evening times., 1898-07-18
a GABLE 10 HAWAII.
Congress May Take Action At the
Next Session.

With the annexation Of Hawaii tele-
graphic cable communication with the
Islands has become absolutely necessary.
Not only will 1t be of the utmost i'm
portance that the Government in Wash
ington should know Immediately every
important happening In Its affairs. bur
1t will be Of even more Importance that
what is to be the military and naval
stronghold Of America in the mid-Pacihc
should be in instant communication with
the War and Navy Departments.
With the Improvement and fortifcati0n
Of Pearl Harbor there will constantly be
stationed there naval and military forces
far in excess of any merely local re-
qusrement. Pearl Harbor will be an
outpost against aggression and the most
important link in the chain that will con-
meet the Pacific coast of America with
such territory and coalinz stations as
may be retained at the close of the pres
ent war.
"A fleet starting from Honolulu can
strike blow at almost any point in the
Pacific at least ten days sooner than the
same feet starting from San Francisco.
but without cable communication this
WUulu De dDSUIulGly uuI-
lifted.
The construction of a cable has been
urged upon Congress for many years, but
there has never appeared to be the same
pressing necessity for immediate action
as now. 1t is believed that after the be-
ginning OF the next session In December
1t will not be long before bill is passed
authorizing the construction of a cable
and making provision for such govern
rnan oil oil Afy h,, T.
consideration of the transaction OF the
government business or otherwise, as
may be necessary.
Any cable that may be built, will, of
course. eventually be extended across the
Pacific touching at the Ladrones and
other islands that America may possess
in Eastern waters.
Though it is not generally known, much
of the work required for laying the cable
as far as the Hawaiian Islands has al
ready been done. There has not. of
course. been any cable actually laid, but
the equally necessary work of making
detailed surveys has been done. Before
the laying of a cable is commenced 1t is
necessary to know all about the route
over which it is to run The depth of
the water. character of the bottom and
elevations and depressions in the bed of
the ocean must all be studied.
All the Ild-
waiian cable has been very thoroughly
done. and at least two exhaustive reports
have been made by naval officers. who
have added to the general fund of scien-
tific information regarding that part of
the Pacific which will be traversed a
vast amount of knowledge obtained by
special surveys and soundings.
The last survey of the cable route was
made in the Winters OF 1891 and 1892 un-
der the direction of Commander Richard
son Clover, who was then chief hydrog-
rapher Of the Navy. For this survey
the steamer Albatross ran two parallel
lines of soundings between Monterey Bay.
Cal, and Honolulu. and the Thetis ran a
third line between Point Conception
Cal. and Hilo Bay. Hawaii.
In addition to this ocean survey careful
studies were made to determine the best
landing places for the cable at both ter
minals. The results of all this work are
available for the company that gets the
charter for the cable and wifi greatly re-
duce the cost OF the work and expedite
its completion. In all $50 different sound
ings were made by the two vessels and
very accurate idea of the ocean bed be-
tween the California coast and the ISL
ands was obtained.
These surveys not only show that ca
BILE to Honolulu is practicable. but they
indicate that its cost will not be eNces-
sive, for IT was found that the depth of
the ocean all the way across was re-
markably uniform and that there were
comparatively few sharp elevations or
depressions to give trouble. The charac-
ter of the bottom was also found TO be
generally favorable to the preservation
of the cable The greatest depths found
did not greatly exceed 5000 fathoms.