The Greenville times., 1905-11-04
The Fifth
Atlantic Cable
By MANAGER WADLINGTON,
Postal Cable Co, Greenville, Miss.

va Scotia, TO Waterfalls Ireland. was
completed and put in operation or
Oct 6ti. This makes seven Trans
Atlantic cables worked in direct con-
neetion with tho lines of the Postal
Telegraph Gable Company. All of
them are duplexed so that their com
bined capacity is fourteen messages
at one time
The new cable is the best and most
expensive submarine cable ever
landed
1t was manufactured by the Tele-
graph Constructor and Maintenance
Company, of London, having been
begun in March. 1905. and finished
and shipped on board the Construc-
ton Company steamer Colonial on
August 3rd. 1905.
Atlantic cables are always laid
from West TO East, because the pre-
vailing winds in the summer months
on the Atlantic are from the West
and ships make much better weather
going eastward, consequently the Co
lonial sailed direct from England to
America. arriving off the coast OF No
va Scotia on August 10th, and land
ed the heavy shore end of the cable
or the morning Of August 18th. Nov
ing out from the shore she struck q
rock and remained fast on it for four
days. The injuries she sustained COM
PEELED her TO go into drydock at Hal
ifax with $500 miles OF submarine
cable aboard. She was the largest
and heaviest ship ever taken on that
, drydock, exceeding by thousands oi
tons the United States battle-ship
Indiana, of ten thousand tons, which
went into drydock there a couple OF
years ago.
Repairs were made and the Colon
ial took the sea again. On September
23rd she laid her course from Canso
n. S. paying out her cable On Sep
tember 2Sth she passed through .
hurricane in Mid-Atlantic, although
on thak day the weather on both
sides of the Atlantic was reported
fine, with gentle winds On October
3rd she arrived without mishap at q
point I87 miles from the Coast oil
Ireland, where the final splice was
IL h ,,,oJa ba+u,aa,, +I,a c,I,Ia +ba
she had paid out from the American
side and the 49, miles of cable pre-
piously laid Westward from the lrSl
Coast by the steamship Cambria ir
the month of June The weather wa:
heavy and the Colonial was com
pelled to heave TO for several day:
waiting smother seas to enable he
TO make the final splice, which wa
made on October 9th
At some points the cable was lai;
at the depth of nearly three mile
below the surface Of the sea. Th
quantities OF material used in til
manufacture of cable were T,4II, 20
pounds Of copper, 700, 688 pounds o
5 sutta perchaG 100000 pounds. o
- brass tape, jute yarn. iron wiEe an
h preservative compound.
: The signalling speed OF this cabl
d is fifteen per cent greater than tha
= Of any other cable Of ca al lengt
> in the Atlantic. The cost of the CO
Q ble varied from one thousand dollar
&c to six thousand dollars per mile, az
/ cord;ng to the character OF the occa
bed and depth Of water the gre;
ii variation in cost being due to the di
l- fereut diameter and weights Of Il
sections of the cable. the cable wh.c
Il laid in the deepest water being Il
. lghtest for the important rea=o
ne that it would be impossible to II
IS, trieve a heavy cable from deep vat,
le because OF the eaormous pressur
z: Cable in deep water Is practical
~ safe from mechanical injury al
he therefore does not need to be
nd strong. So that the sections laid
elk deep water are If the smaller diar
III cter and lesser cost, The sectio
- laid near shores are OF massive CO
=. struction and very expensive In t
neighborhood Of the fishing sroun
of tine coast Of New Foundland,
type 2f cable between dc