The Eastern Telegraph Company owns 107 ocean cables of a total length of 46,790 nautical miles. Its cables extend from England to Spain, all through the Mediterranean and Black seas, to most important points in Africa and on to Australia. The Eastern Extension, Australian & China Telegraph Company owns 37 cables of 26,421 miles. The next largest is the Western Telegraph Company, with 30 cables of a total length of 23,836 miles, extend ing from Portugal across the Atlantic to the principal ports on the east coast of South America. The Western Union Telegraph Com pany's system is almost as extensive, comprising 27 cables of 23,508 miles. It controls three transatlantic cables and the Gulf of Mexico system. The Commercial Cable Company's sys tem from Ireland via Nova Scotia to New York employs 15 ocean cables with a mileage of 16,595. The Central & South African Telegraph Company has 25 cables of 11,896 miles. La Compagnie Francaise des Cables Tele graphiques has 24 cables of 11,657 miles, con necting Brest, France, with Cape Cod, Mass., and also Saint Pierre and San Domingo. The Eastern & South African Telegraph Company has 17 cables of 10,490 miles. The Commercial Pacific Cable Company has 8 cables of 10,010 miles, connecting San Francisco with Guam, Manila and Shanghai. La Compagnie Allemande des Cables Transatlantiques has 5 cables of 9,556 miles, connecting Coney Island, N. Y., with Borkum Island, the Azores and
Spain. La Grande Compagnie des Telegraphes du Nord has 29 cables of 9,331 miles, connecting northern Europe and Asiatic ports. Die Deutsch-Sudamerikanische Telegraphen-Gesell schaft has 5 cables of 7,354 miles. The West Indian & Panama Telegraph Company has 22 lines of 4,355 miles. Die Deutsch-Nieder landische Telegraphen-Gesellschaf t has 3 cables of 3,415 miles. There are 17 other private companies operating 66 submarine cables of a total length of a little over 20,000 miles; the total of privately-owned lines being 418, of 235,680 nautical miles.
The nations of the world own and operate over 2,000 short submarine cable lines, of a total nautical mileage of 55,207 miles. The longest of these is the line from British America through the Pacific to Australia. The greatest number is in Norway, 770, but they average less than two miles in length. The United States owns 15 to and about Alaska, and 26 in the Philippines. Japan has 181, of 5,000 miles; Spain has 25, of 3,158 miles; France 79, of 12,348 miles; there are 224, of 2,909 miles, in the British Isles; Germany controls 98, of 2,956 miles, and the Netherlands 27, of 5,130 miles. Many of the terminals in the countries engaged in the European War have been cut and are out of service until peace is restored and they can be patched up.