The commercial success of the Atlantic cable was early demonstrated, as an order for the departure of two regiments from Canada was countermanded, saving the British Government about $250,000, while the intelligence received by cable of the collision of the steamers Europa and Arabia saved the commercial world at least $250,000 that otherwise would have been spent in extra insurance. Owing to the ilk of currents of too high potential, the cable soon became im paired, and after September 1st it was found im possible to transmit messages; while after Octo ber 20 no signals whatsoever passed over the cable. For several years there were no further attempts at laying an Atlantic cable; but Mr. Field was still active in furthering the enter prise and enlisting new capital. During this time a number of cables were laid in Europe and Asia, and improved methods of construction, testing, and operation were being developed. As a result of Mr. Field's efforts, which during these years were unremitting, more capital was sub scribed, the company reorganized, and an im proved cable, heavier and of greater conductivity, was manufactured. To lay this cable the steamer Great Eastern (q.v.), then and for many years the largest vessel afloat, was secured and special cable-tanks and machinery fitted to it. On July 23, 1865, the Great Eastern sailed from Valentia and successfully laid over a thousand miles of the cable, which was under test for the entire trip. At this point, however, a break occurred and the cable parted. Various attempts were made to pick up the cable with grappling appli ances, which, though demonstrating the possi bility of being able to find and raise to the sur face a submerged cable, were not attended with success. For another attempt further capital was necessary. and the Atlantic Telegraph Com pany was practically amalgamated with the newly formed Anglo-American Telegraph Com pany. Again the Great Eastern set forth from Valentia, carrying not only a new cable of im proved design, but also a sufficient length to com plete the 1865 cable, which was to be discovered and a new length laid from the splice. In both attempts the engineers on the Great Eastern were successful, and on July 27, Heart's Content rbor. Newfoundland, was entered, and the cable was soon landed and connected with the shore. The Great Eastern then returned to mid-ocean, and after a series of trials found the broken cable and completed the circuit to Newfoundland. With two working cables, the success of the en •terprise was assured. and they were soon in steady use, the rate of transmission of messages improving with newapparatus and the increasing skill of the 'operators. In 1869 a French cable was laid from Brest to Saint Pierre, and four tears later the Direct United States Cable Com pany was formed, and a cable laid across the Atlantic, landing at Halifax, Nova Scotia. which has since become a favorite landing-spot for trans-Atlantic cables. This company was the first competitor of the Anglo-American Company, which in 1873 and 1874 laid new cables, again employing the (treat Eastern for this purpose. In 1872 the 1866 cable broke down, and in 1877 the 1865 cable also, so that in 1880 another cable was laid, which was connected to the shore ends of the 1866 cable. In 1879 the Compagnie Fran
caise du TeICTraphe de Paris a New-York laid a cable across the Atlantic, and in 1SS1 the Amer ican Telegraph and Cable Company, formed by Jay Gould, laid a cable, which was followed by a second in the following year. In 1884 the Com mercial Cable Company, or Mackay-Bennett Com pany, as it was known from the names of its two chief owners, laid two cables, one of which ex tended direct to New York. In 1894 another cable was laid for the Commercial Cable Com pany, and also a new one for the Anglo-American Company, giving the latter organization five working lines across the Atlantic Ocean. The longest telegraph cable to cross the Atlantic is that of the Compagnie Francaise des Cables T6legraphiques, which was laid in 1898, and ex tends from Brest to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, being 3200 miles in length. It is one of the heaviest cables ever constructed, having 661 pounds of copper and 400 pounds of gutta-percha per nautical mile. In 1900 two cables were laid across the Atlantic, using the Azores as an inter mediate station. One of these belonged to the Commercial Cable Company, and extended from Fayal to New York, via Nova Scotia. making the fourth cable operated by this company. At Fayal direct connection is had with Europe by means of the Europe and Azores Telegraph Company's system. In the spring of 1900 the cable of the Deutseh - Atlantische Telegraphen - Gesellsehaft was laid from Borkum to Fayal, and in the sum mer extended to New York, so that on August 31 Emperor William and President McKinley were able to exchange messages. Late in the year 1901, a cable from Fayal, Azores, to Waterville, Ireland, was laid by the Commercial Cable Com pany and successfully landed at the latter place on November 30, thus giving this company four working cables between Canso and Waterville.
There were, in 1902, 19 cables at the bottom of the Atlantic, of which three were dead, while of the others nearly all could be used duplex. The cost of a modern Atlantic cable is about $2,500, 000, and it is interesting to compare this amount with the contract price of the first Atlantic cable, which was 1225,000 ($1,100,000). This is due to the greater conductivity, involving, of course, more weight in the core, and also to the increased price of gutta-percha, the supply of which is at least stationary, if not diminishing. It is stated that a submarine cable costs between five and seven times as much as a land line, while the total cost of manufacture and submersion is seven to eight times as much as the construction and erection of the latter. Bright, Submarine Telegraphs (London, 1898), is to be recommend ed for a thorough treatment of the subject, and deals in detail with the history of the various Atlantic cables. Mr. Field's important part in the various cable enterprises is described, largely in the form of letters, in Judson, Cyrus W. Field: His Life and Work (New York, 1896). See TELEGRAPHY, SUBMARINE.