Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1898-06-08
COST OF cAELs MESSAGES.
S2.35 a Word to Manila-SI98 to Cura.
Gao Intcrnatie nal View Of Cable Cutting.

| The many cable lines and the result
| tant competition have brought the cost
of communication between New York and
| London down to Il fairly low figure -
cents per word but when one tries to
| reach more remote parts of the world
| where the line is controlled by single
government or company. or where there
| is little business to support 1t, the cost of
| sending messages mounts to alarming fig
ures. To send ten words from New York
| to Manila for instance. costs $3.50 or
$40 per word beyond London This is
| the commercial rate. Newspaper de-
| spatches so for about half this sum.
| but even SO, the cost of bringing ii col
umn of news from the Philippines mounts
| up to nearly four figures. Even from
point SO near as Curacao, which became
for short time the centre of news in
| terest. the commercial rate by the cheap
est route is Sl.aS. These two samples will
| give a fair intimation of the immense
sums being expended by the newspapers
| in gathering information about the war
1t may seem at first thought that WOO
| is a large sum to pay for sending a single
word from New York to TIE Philippines
but when one reflects that such Il mes
sage travels 10000 miles. and that It must
be received and transmitted over a score
| OF different lines or branches. he Is more
| likely to come to the conclusion that it is
very cheap, all things considered. From
New York the cablegram goes first to
| Halifax, and from there by another loop
| to Hearts Content. Newfoundland, where
| it dives beneath the Atlantic to reappear
on the coast of Ireland and be again for
warded to London which is the great
centre of cable and Geographic commun-
| cation for the whole world.
From London to the east there are two
great routes. The first. via either the
| Eastern or Indo-European Company's
| lines will take the message across the
channel and overland to MarseiilcS or by
| the. all-water course around the Spanish
! peninsula. stopping at Lisbon; thence
| through the Mediterranean 10 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
| ma to Manila.
The other route from London is even
| longer and covers 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 Nladivostock, and thence
along the China coast to Hong Kong.
| In its long voyage, occupying from
three to twrnty-fGur hours. nccor,linr #,
| its urgency, the message has crossed or
| skirted score OF countries. representing
| almost as many different nationalities,
ana Yet the sender may rest assured thai
| it will be transmitted with promptness
! and secrecy, and at a fixed and known
| charge. This assurance is provided by
| the bureau of international telegraphs
! which has its headquarters at Ecruc
Switzerland. 1t WAS inaugurated thirty
years az, for the purpose of ''coicCting
arranging, and publishing information"
| on this subject regulating accounts. and
| guaranteeing the interest Of Sendcrs and
receivers. 1t brought order out of the
chaos previously enveoping international
! communication by wire. and has made it
possible to cable to any part of the
world as easily as one sends a telegraph
message from his office to his home.
This question of cable cutting is one
that has received considerable attention
| Since the beginning of The war between
Spain and the United States. Has the
| United States, for instance. the right to
| sever d cable belonging To Il French or
British company when ii is known that
the cable is or may be used 10 give infor-
nation to Spain? The authorities on in
| ternational law are agreed in answering
| this question in the affirmative. Every
| thing that can give direct assistance To-
| an enemy is recognized as 'contraband
Of war and may be seized or destroyed.
| Railways. teegraphs and cable lines
come under this head as surely as pro-
| vision or ammunition ships. The only
disagreement among the experts is rs to
whether the companies whose lines are so
summarily Interrupted can afterwlrd col
iect damages. ON this point authorities
differ but The consensus Of opinion. sup
ported by the cable companies themselves
is that they can do SO.
Whatever the opinion of legal experts.
there is no doubt IS 10 she action of ma
val and military commanders in dn;4ffn&,
with cable watch is likely to hr Of ser
vice to an enemy. Dewey did not wal
for legal opinion when he found that
The Spanish governor of the Philippines
| WIS using his control of the Manila ca
bic to send information to his home gov
| eminent. lie cut the wire and shut thu.
islands off from the world. The same
thing has been done in the West Indies.
All but one of the lines connecting Cuba
with the outside world were cut during
| the first weeks OF the blockade. one Of
the braVest acts of tn" early part of the