Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-08-15
FIFTY YEARS AGO
IN THE STAR

After lapsing for several years, the
project of laying a cable on the bed of
the Atlantic be-
Atlantic Cable tween North Amer
m.,l p.J lea and Europe was
"ofh nesumeo. resumed during the
spring Of 1865, and the Great Eastern.
which had figured in the first attempt to
establish electrical communication be-
tween the continents. was again employed.
In The Star Of August s. 1865. is the
following news article relative to the
progress Of the enterprise:
News of the Atlantic telegraph cable
is Of the most promising character The
latest date from the great enterprise is
to 10 o'clock the morning OF the 18TH OF
July, when the Great Eastern was about
$50 miles from Valentia, and had paid
out 500 miles of cable. The signals were
good and the weather fine. She had then
been at work seven days. having begun
operations Saturday, the ed uitimo, at
am. landing the shore end and paying
out the first twenty-seven miles on that
date. Nearly the whole Of the second
day was consumed in making the splice
between the shore end and the ocean
cable proper. The paying out OF the
latter cable was begun on that day at
4.25 pm. Another delay occurred on
Monday in the afternoon when 1t was
discovered that there was some defect
in the Insulation Of the cable. Prepa-
rations were Immediately made to run
under the cable laid and find this de-
feet, but it proved to be due to kink.
apparently in a part of the cable still
on the ship. We may now expect to
hear of the arrival of the Great Eastern
on our coast at any moment and of the
failure or the success Of the great ex-
pertinent. The cable now being laid Is
2. 500 miles in length and one and one
eighth inches in diameter. The weight
of the mass is over 5000 TONS"
After the civil war there was con-
siderable increase of shipping facii-
ties along the Attain
Baltimore Ship tic coast and several
enterprises were
Enterprlse. Launched to carry the
American flag over the. seas. In The
Star of August 9. 1866, is the following
relative to Baltimore project of this
character:
1.-The Baltimoreans are felicitating
themselves over the projected line OF
steamers between that port and Liver
pool. 1t is contemplated that the first
ship shall sail from Baltimore early In
September and ultimately that there
partures. The four steamers Of the line
are to be named the Carroll. the ALLIE
gany. the Somerset and the Worcester
1t is also proposed to establish line
Havana. We are glad to see these
signs of commercial enterprise in oul
sister city and have no doubt that the
projectors of these enterprises will re-
ceive satisfactory pecuniary returns
aside from the satisfaction all good cit.
liens must feel in promoting the bust
ness prosperity of their home. Shall
we not see similar disposition
amongst our citizens who have gained
wealth here, to spend some portion OF
of Washington? This may not take the
channel of commercial enterprise, as II
does naturally in Baltimore, but could
find its proper opening In the way OIL
real estate Improvements. the construc-
ton Of fine buildings. etc.. by which
Washington may be rendered attractive
to visitors and thus become such q place
of resort from all quarters as are the
capitals of the old world
1t is not often that good money is
mistaken for bad, but the following
. -... , paragraph in The Star
Good Money of August ., 1866. shows
that this has happened
!. ouePocteo' 1.-The following errone-
Gus and mischievous statement has
been circulated throughout the country
and is liable to occasion great annoy.
ance:
Counterfeit fives of the national
banks, we'll executed, are in circula-
ton. The color of the paper is little
paler than the genuine. They are,
however, easily detected by observing
the position of the letter "T' in the
word "This' in the latter, reading
This note is secured by the bonds of
The ''T' in the genuine is over the left
portion of the letter 'I' in United.
while in the counterfeit it is farther to
the left. over the middle of the IN" OF
the same word
1.-The alteration in the execution of
the notes alluded to above is not an
indication of counterfeiting, but was
done by the Treasury Department for
the purpose of improving the sym.
metry of the lettering on the face of
the bills. 1t is positively ascertained
that there are no counterfeits of the
notes of the national banks in circuia-
ton"
Hopes Of the early landing Of the
Atlantic cable were disappointed. when
on the eth of August.
Hitch in the 1865. a dispatch from
Cable Work Sandy Hook sta d
o"oAe "VAn' that a steamer from
Liverpool had brought the news that
after $50 miles of cable had been laid
the insulation was lost. In The Star
of August is an article bearing upon
this matter and expressing the hope
that the break in the insulation would
prove as easily repaired as a prior
break described in correspondence OF
the London Times from Valentia. The
Great Eastern was equipped with
reeling-in apparatus at the bow where
by the already laid cable could be
taken up by swinging the ship around.
On the occasion of the first break in
the insulation instruments indicated
Mat it was eleven miles from the ship
and it was found within a quarter Of
a mile of that distance. 1t was caused
by the compression into the insulation
of a fragment of wire about two inches
long that had been clipped off at some
originally coiled in the tanks on the
Great Eastern.
The cable actually snapped after 1900
miles were laid and it was not until
the next year that electrical communf-
cation was finally established across
the Atlantic.