The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-05-17
ATLANTIC CABLES RIVAL.
Old Attempt tc Connect Europe and
America by Wire Via Asia.
New York SUM-

elers between the United States and
Russia through a tunnel about forty
miles long under Behring Strait, re-
calls to veteran Western Union tel
eSrapher another scheme of connecting
| electrically the old world and the ney
| by way of the strait
Electrical experts, engineers and fl
| nanciers had decided Just before the
| civil war that an overland telegra pll
! line to Russia with a cable laid on The
bottom of the strait, was entirely prac-
ticable. The route planned was over
British Columbia, Alaska and Siberia
The veteran still has some doubt
about the telegraph scheme, and re is
pretty sure that a tunnel will never
be bored under the strait. He recalled
the hardships of the expedition OF
forty years ago that succeeded in con-
structing telegraph line less than half
the distance from Vancouver to the
strait He wonders what would happen
to the tunnel makers and the layers of
ties and rails over the dreary wastes
between Alaska and Siberia.
The plan of the overland line was
suggested originally by Percy Med.
Collins, American commercial agent in
Russia, after conference with the
Russian officials on the subject The
United States decided to encourage the
project. and bill was reported to the
house of representatives by the corl-
mittee on commerce in February. 1861,
appropriating $4,000 for a survey IF
the route.
There was then a telegraph line in
course Of construction between San
francisco and Vancouver, and it was
decided to make the new route TO ST.
IBERIA an extension of this. Russia
promised to build her end of the line
from Moscow to the Pacific.
The scheme languished during the
civil war, but revived when it was ap-
parsnt that the confederacy would be
defeated. Secretary Seward, in a re-
port on the subject to the senate liz
May, 1864, said:
II do not know any one object lying
within the scope Of our foreign relations
more directly important than the pres
ervatiOn of peace and friendship with
Great Britain and Russia, nor can |
conceive of any one measure of nation
al policy that would more effectively
tend to secure that great object than
the construction of this proposed inter-
continental telegraph"
Mr.. Collins submitted his proposition
to build the line to the Western Union
company, and the board of directors
unanimously decided to accept his
terms. Russia had assured the United
States that she would build her end of
the line, 1900 miles from Moscow to the
Pacific.
Professor Morse, in a letter to Mr.
Collins declared the plan feasible Hi
ram Sibley, of the Western Union,
write that mo work costing so little
money that was ever attempted by man
ever will be so important in results
The benefit to the world will nay its
entire cost every year after its COM
pletion so long as the world is inhabit-
ed by man." But Mr.. Sibley did not
think about the project of the Atlantic
cable, then under consideration
The expedition that was organized
had for it's engineer in chief Charles S.
Buckley. Among the men were many
who had won distinction in the federal
army IN the civil war. Twenty-four
vessels, including one American and
one Russian warship, formed the fleet
to do the marine work of the expedi-
ton. 1t was intended to lay two ca
bles, one across Behring Strait. lis
miles long, and one in the Bay of An
adyr. 209 miles long
The secretary of the Western Union
sent out q glowing circular to attract
subscribers, saying: "On a line of two
wires 1000 messages a day could be
sent" and that the charge for each
message might reasonably be put at
Il y r.
Reduce this to one-quarter and we still
have $2,225,000, and the support and
maintenance of the line cannot exceed
one-half of the latter amount" The
stock of the company was for a time.
held at a premium fIuctuating between
so and so Ger cent.
The survey of the route between Van
cOuver'S island and the Yukon vas in
charge of Frank L. Pope, who, with
d
two Indians, all on snowshoes i'm the
winter of 1865, traversed 500 miles of
unexplored and unmapped mountain
wilderness lying between the headWa-
ters of the Fraser and the Stikeen, in
the northwest part of British Columbia.
The party were seventy days making
the trip and endured many hardshiDs
Several times they were near to starva-
ton and also were frostbittsn. The
men who later began constructing The
line were roughly used by the elerreltts.
one having his legs and feet so badly
frozen that it was necessary to ampu-
tate them.
The Atlantic cable had begun to work
when the overland line was in opera
ton from New Westminster to the
Skeena river, a distance of $50 miles.
The board of directors of the West, IN
Union decided then to abandon the pro-
Ject, and Vice President William
Aston wrote to Secretary Seward IN
March, 1867, that "as all doubts as to
the capacity and efficiency of the ocean
cables had been dispelled," thus making
it impossible to derive a revenue from
the route, the company had disccn-
tinued work on 1T after an expenditure
of $4,000 900.
The secretary of state wrote This in
reply to Mr.. Aston's letter:
81 would not have the Atlantic cable
become dumb again if thereby 1 could
Immediately secure the success of the
Inter-Continental Telegraphic enter
prise, which was committed to your
hands. Nevertheless, l confess to a
profound disappointment in the sus-
pension of the work. I admit that the
reasons that you have assigned for that
suspension seem TO be irresistible On
the other hand, 1 abate no jot of nv
former estimate of the Importance of
the Inter-COntinental Pacific telegraph.
81 do not believe the United States
and Russia have given their faith to
each other and to the world for the
prosecution of that enterprise In vain"
The Western Union footed the bills
A..