The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-09-16
THE CABLE
Great Interest Felt in Washington
Over the Progress of the Work
in the Pacific.
The Little Strand Runs Along Level
Plains of Soft Mud and Over
Steep Mountain Ranges.
. From, The Journal Bureau. Room, Is. Pos
Building. Wastis.gtofs.

ficials, especially In the war and navy de- |
partments, are must interested in the
progress Of cable-laying In the Pacific.
Within a year. If all goes we'll, a little
strand an inch in diameter will bind the
continent with the Philippines and FIa-
wall, lying in places over five miles in
depth. The return OF Clarence Mackay
and the forthcoming arrival Of the steam
er Silver Town with 5000 miles Of wire
at San Francisco will mean active work
on the line. Instead of being of extra
thickness on account Of the great depths
to be encountered the cable will be only
one inch In diameter in the deep sea,
where it will lie in, the prmeval silence
and peace of abysses undisturbed by
storms. Near the shores the cable will
be made Of extra thickness to Withstand
accidental shocks, graphing of anchors,
etc. 1t will be about 2k inches In thick
ness off each coast
The report Of Lieutenant Commander
Hodges. commanding the survey ship
! Nero, in 1900, relative to the soundings
| taken between Honolulu and Guam are
| of great interest, as in this work he found
| the deepest abyss in the ocean ever
| reached by the sounding lead. In one
| spot, in fact, no bottom was found after
paying out 4,913 fathoms of the line.
| Another line was procured and a sound
| ing of 5, 269 fathoms was made, within IS
| feet of six miles.
An almost level plain of soft mud, ideal
| for cable purposes, stretches from Homo
| lulu to the Midway islands, at general
depth of about 2,700 fathoms. The bed of
the ocean between Midway islands and
Guam, along the probable route, is an
| other level plain, of from 3,1OO to 5000
| fathoms depth. 1t is, however. broken
| somewhat by submarine reefs and mount
| ain ranges. The first thousand miles
| from Midway, with the exception Of an
| far Ocean island
rising to within 50 fathoms Of the surface,
| is entirely level. A short distance east Of
| the great mountain range that forms the
Ladror1e group lies Nero Deep, the abyss
| di covered by the steamer Nero. A prac-
| ticable cable route was found to the
northward of this deep. The southern
| limits of the deep are unknown, and 1T
may present even greater depths than
those found by the Nero. The tempera-
| ture Of the ocean at SOTO fathoms was
found to be $3.50 F., and at 5,l01 fathoms
| It was $500 F.
The cable to be laid is Of English manu-
facture The India rubber covering was
made in Philadelphia. No facilities exist
| in the United States for the construction
| Of such a cable as was required. The
weight of the copper wire in the Pacific
cable will be 500 pounds per knot, as
against 200 pounds in old-fashioned
cables. The method Of laying 1t IS IN
genious, machinery being provided to
give the proper bend to the cable and
prevent it from paying out too fast. The
| tension Of the cable is carefully meas
ured. and it is SO laid that 1t does not
| Rink coil.
The distance from Washington to Ma
Mia by telegraph and cable will be about
10,250 miles, as follows:
Washington to San Francisco, $500 miles; San
Francisco to Honolulu 2Ose miles, Honolulu to
Wake Island 2,o4O miles; Wake Island to Guam,
200 miles; Guam to Manila, 1870 miles. The
distance at present. and the route followed IS
! thence to Valentia, Ireland, by cable to Brtgh-
atoh, Eng, by cable and land; to Havre, France,
cable; to Marseilles. land, to Alexandria, Egypt,
cable; to suez, Egypt. land; to Alden, Arabia
cable; to Bombay, India, cable; to Madras, In
dia, land; to Singapore, Malayan Peninsula
cable; to Saigon, Cochin, China, cable; to Hong
kong, CABLE to Bolinao, P. L., cable; to Manila,
land; total distance $4,000 miles.
Neat Place to Lose Money.
The treasury is now flooded with let
tiers from persons who want the opportun
ity to run the cafe in the top Of the build
Ing which has recently been closed. Thu
government gives it's manager free o
charge his rent, heat, and furniture. Ever
, on these terms the business has no
proved profitable, but the announcement
Of the terms In the newspapers the othe
day has sufficed to bring in a flood Of ap
|
. opened his communication by saying tina
if there was a chance at the treasury TO
a man from any state other than Iowa h
should like to have his name considered
The way simple announcement In tn
\ newspapers will bring ont letters IN sue
a case as this is very striking. If a boot
blackery In the treasury were to be an
nounced as vacant a score Of applicant
would appear. One of the assistant sec
retaries who was glancing through the ap
plications for this restaurant pr1vileg
which had come in from the somewha
hattering allusion of the newspaper to tn
. | opportunities Of the enterprise, recalle
an occurrence in Denver many years agt
illustrative Of the dangerous power Of tn
. press.
a An enterprising reporter prepared a
article one night on a newly establishe
}. infants home, which he alleged was con
, | Quoted on strictly scientific plans, every
thing going almost by clockwork; at
given moment all the cradles were rookie
from one power machine, and so on. H
!: remarked that the managers were alway
q. glad to see visitors, and them thinking
=, smart" gave as an address an inposs
"A Bile combination of street number Rejoit
=. ing in his yellow journalistic enterpris
II the reporter went home; somebody In tt
e. office whose identity was never disclose
y erased the fraudulent address and inserte
10 the street and number of the reporter
10 own house. His door bell began to ring
n 9 the next morning and continued all da
c. long. until it had been thrown into tt
II junk heap.
t. The New Navy.
70 The auditor for the navy department RI
al ports that the aggregate appropriated II
n the new navy is $206,317,535. June
n there was an unexpended balance to IL
" credit Of the fund Of $21. SAP, O44 Inclu,
" ing the appropriations Of the last sessit
We Of congress, the amount now available +
OF the construction Of new vessels is $44, 500
L. 900.
tn ., The Fuel Question Solved.
The commissioners of the District
ag Columbia think they have solved the fu
:" question, so far as the public scho
re buildings are concerned. It Is inpossib
to buy any anthracite coal in this rnarke
r. and so the commissioners, after a nun
Der of experiments, have decided to bu
lie a mixture Of soft coal and coke, laid
= alternating layers in the furnaces. 1t
~ claimed that the results will be almost