The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1903-07-21
PACIFIC CABLES VALUE
New Lines Advantages Told
by Government Officials.
A GREAT GAIN TO CIVILIZATION.


and How 1t VIII Be OF Particularly
Great service TO the Navy-Trans-
mission Of Messages to BE cheaper.
Assistant Secretary of State LOOMS,
who has supervision Of the consular
service, is most enthusiastic over the
advantages that viii follow the open
ing Of the new Pacific cable, says the
Philadelphia Press. In discussing the
improvement he said.
every railway line and cable line
that is built through the undeyeloped
portions Of the world is a gain to civil
hzatlon because with it commerce and
trade follow, This IS illustrated IN the
villages and towns in the west.
'sThis cable will be of great advan-
tage to every department Of the gov
eminent but Of particularly great sery-
ice to the navy enabling the depart
ment to convey orders TO the officers
of the ships at points which hitherto
they have not been able to reach. 1t
viii be of tremendous advantage in
time Of war Then a cable line con
Meeting the United States with the
orient win be of great convenience in
the consular service. In case we wish
ed to direct our consular agents to pro
coed to China or Japan we could reach
them before arrival at their destlna-
ton and change their orders If neces-
sary'
The operations of a squadron of
American war vessels in Asiatic wa
tiers will be d much more simple mat
ter with an American cable at the dis
posal Of the navy department. Rear
Admiral Henry g. Taylor, chief of the
bureau Of navigation, appreciates the
value Of this new line Of communica-
ton. "One great advantage he said
SIS that the line will be under the con
troll of the United States, and ia time
Of war, or when war Is threatened. our
government at home will be able to
receive at all times prompt and correct
accounts Of the situation in the Philip
pines and in the Asiatic regions.
'Its value is apparent to any one
who will look at the geography of the
region. Cables were in vogue before
for telegraphing, and messages in or
binary times went along tolerably wen
without any considerable delay by most
of the transatlantic cables, the Euro
pean and Asiatic cables out to the Phil
ippines, but that, Of course, gave con
siderable trouble by delays and BY
passing through so many hands
have received cablegrams myself in
Korea, for instance, from this country
which had become entirely unintelli-
gible in the course Of transmission
Few officials of the government have
spent more money in cable messages
than Colonel Clarence Edwards. chief
of the bureau Of insular affairs Of the
war department. He felt like throwing
up his cap when the word came that
the Pacific cable had been landed on
northern Luzon. He has to keep in
daily and almost hourly touch with the
Philippines, and this new line means
more to his bureau probably than to
any other department Of the govern
ment Expressing his delight, Colonel
Edwards said:
1.-THE completion Of the commercial
cable line from San Francisco to Ma
Mia will mark new era in the trans
mission Of messages to the orient. The
advantage Of such a cable is inestima-
bic when one considers not only the re-
duction in rate, but that under the
present system cablegrams have to be
relayed eighteen times between Wash
ington and Manila. Hereafter there
win be but six relays. Under the pres
ent system government cables have to
go through the hands of operators Of
almost every nationality; but with the
Inauguration Of the new service we
will have all English speaking oper-
ators, thus securing greater accuracy.
The new cable service viii be a great
saving to the government. The gov
ernment will now pay 50 cents from
San Francisco to Manila, plus the do
nestle rate, which Is a total reduction
Of about one-half"
In directing the operations Of the
treasury department Secretary shaw
has 10 have his fingers on the ends Of
the earth, as it We're Information
from every quarter Of the globe is
necessary at times and the quicker 1t
can be received the more valuable it
Is This is especially true Of the immi-
grafton bureau In the treasury depart
ment, and Commissioner General Sar-
gent, who has recently extended his
personal examination Of the service as
far as Honolulu, Is impressed with the
advantage the new Pacific cable win
be. In discussing that feature of It's
benefits the commissioner said.
Its value to our service cannot be
calculated by figures. It puts us in
daily touch with our officials and is Of
the greatest advantage in the admin
istration Of the immigration laws In
connection with the island Of Hawaii"
Some idea Of the importance attach
ed to the completion Of this cable by
government officials is furnished in the
above expression, It Is regarded at
Washington as a great national event.