The Washington herald., 1909-01-31

Fifty miles by stage and thirty miles
by water from the nearest railroad sta
tiCn. yet so near the rest Of the world
thst the fash Of an electric spark win
span the distance, is Hazel HilL, at Cape
Canso. Nova Scotia. the largest cable
station on earth. and the clearing house
Of the worlds news. says the Boston
Herald.
All winter long no mails arrive there.
bet the little colony Of operators have
the happenings OF the moment literally
at their finger ends Nine cables Of the
Commercial Cable Company come up out
Of the sea and bind the bleak little spot
to the rest Of civilization. with messages
flying back and forth twenty-four hours
IN the day. The close acquaintances Of
the men who handle the keys AZ Hazel
Hill are the men who handle the keys
In Ireland and the Azores. IN New York
and Newfoundland. They have never
seen one another, and probably never
viii. but after years OF talking together
under the ocean, they form close friend
ships, and almost come to know one an
others peculiarities.
Sent I'm Both Directions.
There are four transatlantic cables 70
Waterville. Ireland; one 10 St Pierre:
another 20 Newfoundland; one 10 the
Azores: one to Rockport, Mass; and the
Coney Island circuit. as II Is called, TO
New York BY modern methods mes
sages are sent fl both directions at the
same tine over any Of these cables at
all hours OF the day and night. About
100 men are employed at Hazel Hill.
most Of them Irish and Scotch. Some 0f
them are married and have comfortable
homes. The bachelors live IN a large
clubhouse maintained BY the company,
where hotel fare IS served the year round
For the married men the company sends
each year coal barges from Pennsylva-
MIA, the fuel being paid for BY the CON-
pany. Usually the operatives save about
all their salary.
The station has its superintendent. its
chief operators. electricians. mechanical
engineers. and experts OF various kinds.
I The operators have eight-hour tricks
/ each day. As a rule they Ike the work.
some Of them having been there since
+ the station was built Their children are
educated IN the provincial schools and
afterward sent away 10 higher institu-
tons.
+ The women also seem 10 enjoy life
They are not much bothered with the
4 fashions. although their husbands ge'
word Of the latest styles over the
{ ~
/ hops" and manage 10 introduce COnsid-
cradle diversion into their existence. The
men have teams for the various sports,
and with baseball. fishing. skating. boat
I ing, golf, and riding find their leisure
/ time well occupied
/ Clarence c. Ramsay. manager OF the
/ Postal Telegraph Gable Company's Office
/ IN Portland. for some years an operator
at Hazel Hill, is fun Of information
about the place
Many Strange Messages.
Many strange messages pass over the
cables" said Mr Ramsay. but. OF
/ course. operatives are not allowed to
/ speak about them recall that once
part Of q novel was cabled from London
10 New York at an expense Of sbou;
I 49, anu A4-- G-cAAAaAAcF NoLAI ANANN-S ~
the big newspapers all over this cOun-
try and Europe are very long messages
and very expensive. The news happen
I ings CT the day everywhere are known
at the station almost as soon as they oc-
cur, and the operators isolated as they
are. would probably be found 20 be bet
( ter informed about current events than
I any other class Of men similarly situated
IN the world.
A submarine cable consists Of a core
which comprises the conductor, made Of
strand Of COPPER wires, and the insu-
/ iating covering. generally made Of gutta
percha. to prevent the escape Of the cleo
| tricity Then comes the layer OF tanned
jute yarn, laid over the gUtta peTcha tC
protect It from the sheathing Of stee
wires over these wires there Is mors
jute yarn and a bituminous composition
/ The sheath3ng may consist 81 as many
as seven types. increasing IN strength
and protective power al the shore ends
4 OF the cable
1T is singular how few injuries occur
to a submarine cable and how frequent
I " they are put out Of commission. Some
/ OF them have been IN use for years with.
/ out having once been out OF service
while accidents happen once in a while
I to others. The smallest pinhoie IN th'
1 gutta percha will cause them 10 leak.
Gable ship Is Ready.
/ The Atlantic cables 70 Watervile. Ire
land. are about 2.S00 miles long. and ye
when there is a break or a fault in an
one OF the four. the cable ship from
| Halifax soon reaches the place and pick!
Z IL, 81
Of the place where the trouble is located
When the cable goes out the opersto
knows Immediately, and the expert elec
trician goes 10 work One wouldn't sup
pose that these men could measure of
the cable lengths 70 the place where tn
break has occurred by measuring tn
electricity which II holds. but this i
practically what they do Men on bot
ends Of the cable work on the problem
and they keep at II comparing their fig
ures until they have definitely locates
the break.
Then the cable steamer is informed
and away she goes and grapples for tn
cable near where the break is though
to be The cable Is picked up by mean
OF grapplings. taken over the stern Ol
big rollers. and al Of 1t carefully OK
aAhliaec as II passes OfSi t-e ines uH
til the bad place is found The littl
time consumed in doing this and Il
making the repairs is sometimes regard
ed as almost miraculous even By the ca
be experts themselves
1T would be next to impossible to GU
this continent on from communication
with the old world, there are so man,
cables and so many loops. Even in wa
time were some European power so dis
posed. cannot see how they could breal
OF cable communication with this cOun
try. unless the nation should be at wa
with all the other nations Of the wOrl'
at one and the same time
Three minutes suffice TO secure a re
ply from New York TO London betweel
the stock exchanges.
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IL I-1.-a.n .na ns--h