The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-04-22

YYN oruer 10 understand one OF the
most vital points hound up In the
transpacihc cable question one should
take an ordinary globe. such "a IL
IL used In the public schools and draw
u string tightly around II. passing through
tho Aleutlan islands to the west and just
cntung on the north end OF the island of
Luxon Or. better yet. take a small thin
rubber band and stretch II around the
spherical representation Of the earths
surface Here you have plainly Illus
trated tho great argument In favor OF lay
Ing the proposed cable connecting the Pa
ciiic coast with the Philippines. with Se-
attic as the starting point and Manila. the
capital OF the Philippines, the terminus.
\ The argument OF distances from initial
point TO tho Oriental terminus of the
thread which liz "a bind us closer TO the
denscly populated East Ia not the only one
IN favor OF the northern or International
transpaclnc cable. The principle OF the
great circle course" as navigators use
tho term. Is one which can be closely APP
piled In considering the prospective
growth % American commerce on the Pa
cihc, and thus applied the keencst proph-
cts Ia the business world see a new path
way which the Pacific trade OF the TWEEN
tieth century win follow.
Lin< Should Take the Shortest Distance.
II Is because 90 the belief held by the
and railroad managers that the trade of
The next century on the Pacific win sock
the line ~ shortest distances, as any force
xsakH the point % least resistance. that the
friends OK the international cable or the
Alaska route. ns u II sometimes vailed.
contend that the line should be laid
through this same pathway o( commerce
and civilization. instead OF through thou
sands OF miles 81 trackless, landlcss, un-
Inhabited ocean wastes
The tFsnspaeine eahle project. which has
been talked % for thirty years and more,
MAS brought prominently 20 the front
when ty the treaty Of Paris the American
nag was established in the Philippines.
The Orient became bound ia indissoiunie
lies with the United States, the ehasm
brldged Ny the waters of the facine.
since the spFins ~ isqs railroad men and
ateamship owners have been watching the
n.ht Cor terminals on Puget sound. II
should need no argument 20 convince any
tAlnkin0 man that With China awakening
from HEY trance 1T centuries. with the
,ranssiheFian railroad nearly completed,
unlting Russia and the North Pacific
ocean. market II opened Cot American
soods and raw prodsets. and trade opPor-
wniiies made possible 90 a magnitude un-
realised psrhApN AZ set
Results 81 Enersoa's Investigations
According "a Harrington Emerson. the
cable expert. Who has sIsent several yos4 -
ia prolsnx ~ thc bottom for facts bSering
an the sciecslon % The beas catae roote 10
me orient the foreign trade Of ths allied
states with k.urope. facilitated ~ thirteen
cas,lss and with cthefs auiiaiing, varies DO
tween s.. soeae 40 ana s. eN.es.eo annual.
b.. me foreign eommeEee % Asia. be
says Aggregates the xiHpenapus sum Of
a. DO ae, zoe annually. Ngth but three "a
hIos namely enc from Bombay Via Alden,
the second the Persian gulf lire vita Asia
Minor, and one Russian overland route
To understand the value u the proposed
canae "a Seattle anA the whole Pacinc
coast d e ouly necessary % Fpmentssr
that the trade OF Northeast Asia amount.
"a TO approximately sNap..ca .ast year.
n which the United States had q Is es-
tsmAted. little over one-siNih. or about
sit2O0oooo. This business depends on the
denxcst population 81 the world to hai X
IL That " Is sill In It's infancy Is tho
cool and deliberate opanion Of men who