The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1900-03-17


naval officer the other even.
/ ing. "is presenting one
startling object lesson which our
country would do well not to over
look. It is, perhaps, rather side
light lesson, but it is none the less
impressive. Put in broad general
terms, the proposition which the les,
son demonstrates is that in case OF
war between Two naval powers the
one which controls a system Of sub
marine cables with which to inform
its fleets Of the strength and move
ments of the enemy, will be mistress
of the seas. There is nothing espec-
tally new in this.
"Writers on naval matters have
time and again pointed out that in the
twentieth century a nation. to be a
sea power, would have to contro!
cables as we'll as fleets. But the
.Transvaal war is making this truth as
obvious to the lay mind as to the pro
fessional. 1t has opened the eyes of
the people generally in all civilized
nations that England has got practi-
.cally a monopoly Of all the cables Of
the world. As T said, this fact ap-
pears in sort Of side light reflect
ed from the very glaring fact that not
one word Of tslegraphic news gets to
or from South Africa which English
authorities do not choose to let
through. That has set people to
thinking a little and they have discov-
cred that what England is doing in
South Africa she could do nearly all
over the entire globe if she felt so
disposed.
There is already a lively discus
sion of the matter in Europe, partic-
ularly in France, and it ongLt to
move our own people and Govern
mens to lose not moment in getting
our own distant dependencies from
Puerto Rico to Hawaii ard the Phil
ippines strung together on electric
wires all our own, which we alone
would control. The French are gem
uinely alarmed on the subject. The
impres ion prevails among them tha5
way with England is rather more than
one Of the remote possibilities OF the
future. They know, Of course, that
it would be very largely naval war
and ttst it would be fought all over
the world, from the French posses
sions in China, Siam and Africa to
the French possessions in the West
Indies. And from ell these posses
sions, save from the Insignificant ones
in the West Indies, England could
instantly cut off all telegraphic COM
munication with the outside world.
Frances fleets would move as COM
pletely in the dark as though the age
Of electric cables had not come.
England's would know just where
they were going and what they would
find WI en- they got there. Our own
war with Spain and our efforts to cut
of from communication with
tge world ssx, the French thinking
'ard writing o1@4bs subject. The
startling Transvaal objes estassson has
revived the discussion and=given 1t g
tone OF earnestness which ought to
produce resxlts.
''0nly a few days ago, NJ. Depel-
ley, an authority on the subject, pre-
sented Frances helpless position in
this respect so clearly and conyinc-
ingly that his article, published in one
of the leading French periodicals, has
produced profound impression.
IF you will study a cable map of
the world little, you will see what a
tremendous power for control OF
communication is power and g. very
high order of power-England has
quietly built in the fortytwo years
since the first cable message WAS sent
by the President OF the United States
to Queen Victoria. From that day
until this, silently aud ceaselessly,
England has built up system of
submarine cables which to-day covers
the entire world and holds it fast in a
sort of immense spiders web, OF
which London is the centre. You
Will notice in studying the map that
this marvellous system divides itself
into three great branches, each of
which has its Subdivisions. For in
stance, trunk of no less than ten
cables come is Great Britain with
this country and the British posses
sions on the north. From this diverge
various wires, as to Bermuda and the
West Indies.
"From London, by way Of Spain
and Portugal, three more lines stretch
to Brazil and spread out through the
West Indies and to Central America
on the north, and down the coast to
;Montevideo on the south. From
Montevideo, across the South Ameri-
can continent, there is au English
land line to Valparaiso. From VAL
paraiso northward there is double
line, touching at all the principa!
points on the South American Pacific
coast up to Tehuantepec, from which
there is land line to Vera Cruz and
Tampico, whence cables go across the
Gulf of Mexico to Galveston.
so in that vast mesh OF the
spiders web all North aud South
America with their adjacent islands
are held.