The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-07-10
WHAT 1T COSTS TO CABLE.
EXPENSIVE TELEGRAPHING THAT
Is DONE IN WAR TIMES.

cIuded-An Ordinary Newspaper
Column of Matter Sent From the
Philippines Would Cost About
$500 - How CabIegrams From
Washington Reach Gen. shafter at
Santiago de CubR-War Is a Snap
for Telegraph Companies.
Telegraph and cable companies are
among the principal benehciaries Of a con-
hict between nations. and al no time has
this fact been better illustrated than in
the present war, when the people demand
and must have the news at once; and
when men remain in Washington ana
practically conduct a campaign in Cuba,
| and direct affairs In the Philippine Isl
nnds.
There is considerabl cable business from
| Savannah, but little or none of 1t has been
due to the war. Savannah shippers and
ship brokers, necessarily use the cable
lines to a moro or less extent Ia arrang-
ing charters and shipments. This busi-
ness, however, is small an comparison to
that which is brought about by war be-
tween nations, when all cables that can be
commanded are put to use.
1t may prove Of interest to know what
It costs 10 send cable messages. 1t seems
an easy matter for the Secretary of the
Navy to send a dispatch to Admiral Dewey
and receive his reply, but the casual
reader who strikes a Hong Kong date
line on an item from Manila rarely stops
10 think what it cost TO bring this mes
cage to the United States.
10 London from New York, from 25 to 81
cents a word. 1t costs $241O to send a ten
word message to Manila and other points
reached by telegraph lines in the Philip
pine group. Two dollars and forty-one
cents per word seems a big figure at first
thought, but when ii is considered that
the message has TO travel about 20000
miles before reaching lis destination, GO
ing over some twelve or thirteen different
lines at Will be seen that it is not so large
an amount, after all
When the cable message strikes Lon
don there are three different routes by
which IL can reach Manila. The first
viii take the message across the channel
and overland to Marseles or by the all
water course around the Spanish PENN
sular stepping at Lisbon; thence through
the Mediterranean to Alexandria, across
Egypt by land, down the Red Sea to Alden
through the Arabian Sea to Bombay, over
India by land, across the Bay of Bengal
to Singapore, along the coast to Hong
Kong and across the China Sea to Man
lila.
The second route from London is even
longer and covers a much greater part
of the journey by land. 1t takes the mes
sage from London by the lines of the
Great Northern company across Russia
and Siberia to Viadivostock, and thence
along the China coast to Hong Kong.
The third route takes the message from
London through Germany and Russia to
Bushire in the Persian gulf thence by
cable to Kurrachee, India, and over the
Indian land lines, where the message will
follow the cable of the Eastern company
orr through the land lines in China 10
Shanghai thence by cable to Hong Kong.
The three routes all lead to Hong Kong,
China, where the cable connects with the
Philippine Islands at BolinaO island of
Luzou.
The Associated Press, which serves sew
eral hundred papers through the United
States, probably received 1000 words or
approximately a column of matter in its
main dispatch giving fun account OF
the battle of Manila. OF course this was
abbreviated and rea bhreviated, and when
written out on its arrival in this country
made much more. But for such a Dispatch
at the regular rate it would have to pay
| the enormous sum of $24l0, all for one
account of Admiral Dewey's battle.
The press rate for Geographic matter is
by contract, considerably less than the
! regular rate, but il is safe to say that the
reduction on such cable messages is not
! more than % to 80 per cent 1t would
/ break an ordinary newspaper to be COM
| PEELED to rely altogether on special SER
! vice in such matters as this, and of course
none of them can afford to do ii. AT the
! outside it is not likely there were more
| than one or possibly two special CORE
| spondents az the battle of Manila, and
! their dispatches to their papers were as
brief as 1T was possible under the circum-
| stances to make them.
In its long voyage 10 Manila, occupying
from three to twenty-four hours, accord
ing to its urgency, the message has cross
ed or skirted a score of countries, repre-
sentiug almost as many different nation
aHties, and yet the sender may rest as
sured that il will be transmitted with
/ promptness and secrecy, and at fixed
| and known charge.
This assurance Is provided by the bureau
| of International telegraphs, which has Its
headquarters at Berne. Switzerland. 1t
! was inaugurated thirty years ago for the
| purpose of collecting, arranging and pub
fishing Information" on the subject regu-
| latiug accounts and guaranteeing the in
| terest of sentlers and receivers. 1t brought
order out of the chaos previously enVel-
oping international communication by wire
| and has made II possible 10 SaD4e 10 any
| part OF the world as easily as one sends a
telegraph message from his Office to his
home.
The government is probably spending
large sums every day for dispatches to
and from Cuba. keeping in constant COM
municaton with Gen. Skaters army. il
costs nearly as much to send a dispatch
TO Santiago de Cuba as it does to Ma
Mia, strange TO say, but this is because
of the fact that the cable between Key
| West and Havana has been cut off, and
is not now in use. When the Havana Cd
be was in use telegram could be sent
to Santiago de Cuba for 80 cents per word
the rate to Havana being 40 cents, aud
beyond Havana 50 GEMS. Now, however,
the dispatch has to so by Galveston, Tex,
down TO Coatzaeoalcos, Mexico, then 10
San Juan del Sur. Nicaragua, by land
wire. thence by cable to Panama and
across the isthmus TO Colon, and from
there 10 SANTIAGO de Cuba or Guantanamo