The Birmingham age-herald., 1923-12-06
NE w HEAVY CABLE PENED TO r RANGE
Messages Can Now Be Sent Directly From New York
 To Paris Offices

NEW YORK, Dec. 5.-The largest and fastest transocean1c cable ever manL factured has just been put into service between New York and Paris by the Postal Telegraph Commercial Cable system. It is being operated between the systems New York of flee at 20 Broadway street, and Paris at 24 Boulevard des Capucines. Ac cording to Clarence H. Mackay, president of the system, this will supply virtually instantaneous com munication between the two conti- nents.
 The first messages to be trans mitted over the new cable were ex- changed between MT. Mackay and M Millerand. president of France. Mr. Mackay's message was as fol- lows: New York Dec. 4, 1923-His Excellency Alexandre Millerand, President of the Republic of France, Paris. respectfully address to you the first message transmitted over the new giant cable of the Conner cial Cable company. which has just been laid between New York and Havre, and trust that this new ave- nue of communication between the worlds two greatest republics will more firmly bind the ties of affec-
 
 their peoples since the birth of the United States nearly a century and half ago."
 President Millerand replied through Ambassador Jusserand. who sent the following to MT. Mackay:
 The president of the republic has been pleased to receive yolr kind message. the first forwarded by the new cable of the Commercial Cable company. He asks me to thank you for it and to forward you his very sincere congratulations for the prog ress realized owing to you in the telegraphic communications between France and the United States"
 O o O
 Bad Weather Encountered.
 The laying of the new cable, which is about. 4,S00 miles long, was begun last August when the American end was laid at the commercial cable sta- tion at Far Rockaway, N. Y, and the operation was completed only after the surmounting of very consider able difficulties. The cable was put down in four sections; between New York and Canso, Nova Scotia; from Canso to the Azores; thence to Wa terville, Ireland, and finally between Waterville and Havre. France. The cable head at Havre will be connected with the Paris office by land line wires which work directly into the cable, thus goving an uninterrupted circuit between the American me tropol;s and the French capital.
 Being the largest long cable ever submerged, the operation of laying it presented difficulties which had not been previously experienced In work of this kind. Then, in addition to the normal difficulties usually at tendant upon such delicate under taking. bad weather at sea was en- countered which rendered the task even more arduous. While the sec tion between New York and Canso was being laid out a particularly vio- lent storm occurred and at one time the cable was broken and swept otf of the cable ship Faraday. ins storm was so severe that the snip had to put into Halifax for ten oays and when it returned to the scene of the breaking it became necessary submerged in depth of more than three miles. All of this resulted Tn unexpected delay.
 Difficulty Is Changed.
 The work of the European end also was retarded by bad weather Storms and fogs intervened to make r progress re extremely slow The op- erations between Waterville ana Havre, mostly in the English chan mel. were carried on under conditions of great hardship. When some l7O miles of the cable had been laid from Witerville it became necessary to hury the cable and await cessation of the storm then raging and the final jointing of this section with the others taxed to the utmost sklll, lh- genuity and courage of the of1lcers and engineers of the cable snip which was attending to the work.
 In his statement announcing the onening of this new cable to France Mir. Mackay said that this is the largest and fastest cable ever used to connect two great continents. us Us canacitv" MT. Mackay said "is about 600 letters in each direction simultaneously, or considerably more than 100, 100000 five-letter words a wear. It is the second direct circt1t which our companies operate oireu. to continental Europe and our sixth ha+waen the old world and the new.