The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1902-09-30
WORK Of
CABLE SHIP
SiIvertOn to Make
a Sure Job
of It.

With the san Francisco ca
Die now ou a ship and on the way to
san Francisco to start laying the line
To Hawaii. many people breathe deep
sigh of relief and hope that no accident
will now mar the work The steam
ship Silverton has three thousand miles
OF cable colled In water tight tanks
The manner in which cable is stretch
ed across the ocean bed is very inter-
esting.
The strand which is to connect Homo
lulu with the mainland is to be about
two and a helc inches in thickness at
the shore ends, but the greater por-
tion of that to be laid on the bed of the
ocean will only be an inch in diameter.
The cable has to be heavy and very
strong near the land owing to the risks
that are run in having the cable torn
apart by anchors of passing vessels in
shallow water The cable is of English
manufacture. but some portions of it
were first made in New York.
Thirty years ago cable laying was
risky work. There We're more failures
than successes and millions of dollars
were wasted in early attempts at secur-
ing communication under the sea by
them. But today experience has taught
us SO much that the work of putting
down a cable has become comparative
ly simple and sure, and it is expected
that there will be no hitch in putting
down the long wire strand between Ho-
nolulu and San Francisco. A cable
ship cannot steam along and let it's
cable pay out to suit itself. The course
over which 1t is laid must first be
carefully surveyed. Then the cable
steamer must be provided with many
appliances for dropping the cable into
the sea in a careful manner. The cable
must be paid out carefully There is
special machinery for measuring and
controlling the speed at which it leaves
the vessel. The Silverton has an in
tricate system of wheels and rollers for
doing this work. Powerful breaks at
tached to these regulate the speed. The
difference between the speed of the
ship and the rate Of paying out the ca
BILE shows the contractors the amount
of slack they have in the water, and
they work accordingly.
NC OtO VI Tie oCChn 10 hol u oiiioOth
surface. Hills. valleys, gorges and deep
ravines are encountered just the same
as on land. Where a long span Of cable
Is supported by two hills there is liable
to be pilikia. This has to be avoided.
On approaching Hawaii where the land
rises abruptly from great sea depths
much care will have to be exercised by
the cable layers to prevent trouble.
Owing to these high Cliffs" cable
hanging over them might break by its
ewn weight.
The Pacific cable has been construct
ed much differently than the earlier
Atlantic cables. There is two and one
half times az much copper in the
strand a. was used in the Atlantic ca
bies and this makes the efficiency Of the
cable much greater and increases its
permanenoy.
This cable was not manufactured In
the United States because we have mol
plant capable Of doing the work. The
works where 1t was manufactured in
England are large ones The cable was
carefully tested there in a score OF
wayA both during and after its manu-
facture.
Should a break occur after the Pa
ciac cable has been finished It will not
be q very hard matter to find the two
ends Of 1t and repair it for its exact
location will be recorded. Accurate
observations of its latitude and longi-
titude are to be made as it is laid.
In the Atlantic the cable companies
have learned from experience that
breaks occur on an average once orl
twice q year. and for this reason every
care must be exercised in keeping
track Of the location Of the cable on
the oceans bottom in order that the
break may be found quickly and re-
paired.
1t will take the cable ship a couple |
of days after being sighted to complete |
the laying Of the cable into Honolulu |
and because of this Honolulu people |
will have an excellent opportunity to
see how the work is done.