The times., 1898-05-09
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THE MANILA CABLE.
Many Reasons Why Communication
VIII be Long Delayed.

1t will be weeks and perhaps months
before the cable between Hong Kong and
Manila can be repaired and Admiral
Dewey placed in telegraphic communica-
ton with Washington and the world. Ad-
miral Dewey, in his official report to the
Navy Department, brought to Hong Kong
by the dispatch boat Hugh McCulloch
Saturday, says that he cut the cable him
self to prevent the Spanish from sending
out false reports of the American opera
tions in the Philippines.
1t was easy for the American COM
mander to destroy the cable, but it will
not be so easy for him or for the Com
mercial Company, which owns the wire.
to restore its operation. Admiral Dewey
did not say where he cut the cable, but
electrical tests from the Hong Kong end
made two days before the McCulloch's
arrival showed that the break was about
forty miles off shore from Manila. Ad-
miral Dewey could probably dispatch one
of the smaller ships of his squadron to
the spot when he is ready to re-establish
communication, grapple for the cable and
establish telegraph station on board the
ship. This might be done in day. or
1t might require weeks of graphing be-
fore the end of the wire is found and a
connection made.
II Admiral Dewey took the precaution
when he cut the cable to fasten the deep
sea or Hong Kong end to a buoy this task
would be made easier, but even then,
photographic experts in the Navy De-
partment say 1t is doubtful If he could
re-establish communication with Hong
Kong for the reason that our war
ships IN the Pacific are not known to be
equipped with the necessary telegraphie
| Instruments to operate a deep sea cable.
| Ocean cables are not worked with in
/ struments like those used on land lines.
and neither is the Morse code of tele-
graphic characters used in transmitting
messages. The cable operators read by
| flashes of the electric spark, holding their
| heads beneath a covering like a pho
! tOgrapher's camera cloth, or from very
! delicate little Instrument called the sy-
phon recorder, which makes the dots and
/ dashes on a strip of paper. No sound is
/ heard like the ticking of the ordinary
! land wire Instruments This is because
/ the current in a cable will not carry for
more than 500 miles with sufficient force
/ to operate the Morse magnet producing
/ the sound.
Admiral Dewey undoubtedly has a com
! p!ete outfit of Morse telegraphic instru-
/ ments well as expert operators on his
! flagship. but these viii be of no practica
! service to him for the reasons given
! Although the break is forty miles out t.
| sea from Manila, il is still over five hun.
dred miles distant from Hong Kong anC
the Morse system would. it is asserted by
the experts quoted, absolutely refuse u
| work through that distance of cable j
| is true that Admiral Dewey might move
up a couple Of hundred miles nearer Il
Hong Kong. pick up the cable and worl
| it successfully with the instruments a
his disposal, but as this would place hi:
telegraph station too far of shore it ]:
not thought likely he Will do so
In all probability news from the Ameri
/ can squadron, either official or press dis
patches, viii have 10 be brought by dis
patch boat TO Hong Kong and be from
two 10 three days old when it reaches th'
| world.