Seward daily gateway., 1925-12-05


 the Chief Signal Officer of the
 Army-1925.)
 The completion of the Alaskan Ca ble System in 1904 marked one of the most noteworthy achievements Of the Signal Corps of the Army and one which has accomplished much toward the settlement and development Of the Territory of Alaska and for the con- tentment and well-being of its inhabi- tants. This cable was laid primarily to connect the telegraph systems Of the United States with those of Alas ka for the transmission of official messages in connection with the ad- ministration of military, judicial, and territorial affairs. Due to the great influx of people to Alaska after the discovery of gold at Cape Nome, the military Department of Alaska was created by the War Department in 1900 for the purpose of safeguarding life and property and directing and coordinating the making of surveys and explora tions. In order to facilitate this work, Congress, in the act approv- ed May 26, 1900, and in subsequent acts, provided for a comprehensive system of military telegraph and cable lines in Alaska. Under this act, the first cable was laid from Fort Saint Michael, the military headquarters, to Safety Harbor, distance of 133 miles, connecting by land line to Fort Da- wis at Nome, which was put into op- eration on October IT, 1900. The sec ond cable was laid between SkagWay and Juneau, the capital of Alaska, a distance of 123 miles. The cable was opened for business August 23, 1901, but was interrupted after working a few days. Every effort was made to restore communication, but, owing to the lateness of the season and the pre- yailing inclement weather, it was not until June g, 1902, that the cable was placed in good working order. Aside from the military value of this cable, it's commercial importance to south eastern Alaska is apparent from the fact that the combined Government and commercial tariffs during the 21 days of it's operation exceeded $500.
 AS first planned, the Alaskan sys- tenn simply brought the territorial mil itary posts in communication with each other and with the commanding general of the Alaskan Department, then stationed at Fort St. Michael, but did not afford means of telegraph1c communication outside the Territory of Alaska except over the Canadian telegraph lines. To correct this sltu- alton. the Secretary of War, in his an- nual report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1902, recommended the fol- lowing:
 wish to call especial attention
 to the importance of cable be-
 tween the northwestern coast Of
 the State of Washington and the
 southern point of our Alaskan
 Territory, so as to connect the
 telegraph system of the United
 States with the telegraph system
 in Alaska. The Government or
 the United States is maintaining
 troops in Alaska at various points.
 It is responsible for the mainte-
 nance of order. Disturbances are
 always liable to occur in new min
 ing camps and there is always a
 possibility of their occurring along
 a frontier line. Our only present
 means of communication by tele-
 graph with our officers or With
 any one concerned in the Govern
 ment of Alaska is over the Cana
 dian land lines.
 In accordance with this recommen- dation, Congress in 1903 appropriated $4S5, ,000 flor the purchase, installation, operation, and maintenance of sub- marine cable for connecting the head quarters of the Department of the Co., lumbia with military garrisons in southeastern Alaska, said cable to ex- tend from point at or near Fort Law ton, Seattle, Wash, via Sitka, Alaska, to Juneau, Alaska Similarly, in 1904, Congress appropriated $321,5S0 "for completing the purchase, installation, operation, and maintenance of sub- marine military cable from Sitka, AL aska, to Fort Liscum (Valdez), Alas ka, connecting by an all-American route the headquarters of the Depart ment of Columbia with the military garrisons in southeastern Alaska" The first section of the cable laid un- der the foregoing appropriation extend ed from Juneau to Sitka, distance of 291 miles, which was completed on October 2, 1903. The cable from Sitka, Alaska, to Seattle, Wash, distance of 1,O7O miles, was completed on Au- gust 28, 1904, and the section from Sitka to Fort Liscum, distance of 644 miles, was completed on October