Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-10-10
Talking Across the Sea.
BY FREDERIC j. HASKIN.
speciaI Correspondence of The Argus)


lea are holding a voluminous and animated
conversation across the Pacific these days
They are bargaining over silks and plows and
sewing machines and cocoanuts and thou
sand other things. Where they exchanged a
thousand words five years ago they now ex-
change ten thousand words. Whether we love
our little brown brother or not-lkewise our
little yellow and tan brothers-the war has
thrown US into each others arms. We are
doing three times much business with Japan
There are IS cables across the Atlantic be-
tween Europe and North America, and five
more 60 to points in South America. But
there is in effect only one Pacific cable Com
mercial messages upon which millions de-
pend must be entrusted to this one rope OF
wire, thousands Of miles long, wavering rest
4essly in its ocean bed, now and then saving
itself in two jutting mass of coral in the
San Bernardo straits. and SO holding up in
ternational commerce for days.
F. Il. Eldridge, chief of the far eastern d.
vision of the bureau Of foreign and domestic
commerce, says that must have another
Pacific cable at once, or our foreign commerce
will be severely crippled. He adds that one
additional cable will not really take care or
the increase in business, that we might as well
lay two new ones while are at It, When
he says we he means the United States gov
eminent Most of the cables now in use. in
Guiding the one Pacific cable, are owned by
private companies. But private enterprise
shows no tendency TO lay another Pacific cable
despite the fact that enormous volume OF
business Is READY lot IL. lneTSlOTS, WueI0
vate enterprise lags, the government must
step in, as il has done so often during the
past few years. A bill providing for a govern
ment Pacific cable commission to go ahead and
do the work has been introduced in congress
by Senator Jones of Washington.
AS showing the pressing need for this new
cable. Mr. Eldridge points out that in 1913 the
cables carried only little more than half
million words from the United States to Japan;
in 1915 over four million words were sent;
while in 1919 the total is expected to exceed
five million words. This rate of cable CONVEX
sation now is increasing about 36 per cent
year. so that IL probably will double in the next
three years. 1t takes at least three years to
manufacture and lay a cable. If work were
started Immediately it would be just little
too late TO catch up with the growth OF bust
ness.
The government seems elected to do this
work because no one else wants to do il, and
there are soI1e who say that all cables ought
to be owned by the government anyway Dur
ing the war it was impossible for US to get
messages to this country from South America
except British-OWned cables. OF every
important commercial message sent to this
country q duplicate was sent to the head
quarters Of the cable company in England.
Thus the British government and thereby Brit
ism business had a way of knowing exactly
what we were doing in the South American
commercial field. In these days of much in
ternational business, keen international com
mercial competition and unsettled interna-
tional relations in other respects, it is import
ant that the United STATES should have its pri-
vate wires in all directions.
And nothing can take the place Of the ca
BILE. Wireless is not secret enough. When
you send a wireless message you are talking
to the world at large 1t is impossible to
transact confidential business in this way.
And besides the successful use of wireless is
10 a considerable extent dependent upon at
Eiosp heric conditions.
The amount OF international business that
can be done by mail is steadily decreasing,
,ie l. 6sad1 a,toT,
ate so rapidly. The prices on raw silk are
good example. Not many years ago nearly all
the transactions in that commodity could be
made by mail The strain on the Pacific cable
was not great in any case because most Of
the trade between Asia and America then went
in a very roundabout way through England
and Holland, and the Atlantic cables carried
good part of It. AS a result Of the most
OF this trade now goes direct. But, aside from
that, the state of the market in silk and other
goods demands daily cable quotations. Options
usually given, subject to acceptance by
cable within a certain length of time. 1t some
times happens that a message giving such an
option will not reach the prospective purchaser
until after time for acceptance has passed.
At times trade in certain commodities has been
practically suspended for considerable periods
because of this insufficient cable service, &C
cording to Mr. Eldridge
Not only is this one cable unable to handle
the business that comes to it when in working
order, but every once in a while II breaks, as
any cable may. A cable does not lie still on
the bottom Of the ocean, but writhes gently
with the motion Of the water, OF tides, ocean
currents and storms Wherever it touches
mass of rock or coral there is friction which
in time wears through the covering and causes
a short circuit. or perhaps actually sewers the
cable. Then repairs must be made and these
take from one to two weeks. These delays
together with the congested condition OF the
cables, make it a very unsatisfactory and un-
reliable means of communication. You can
cable across the Atlantic and get an answer
promptly, but when you file a message to ia
PAN 1t may be one week, two weeks or even
longer. before the message is recaiYed.