Work of Cable to Be Completed Tomorrow.
LANDING OF CABLE LAST FEATURE
Staff May Get Away for Home Next Week—Station Ship Now Under Discussion.
When, tomorrow morning, the cable ship Silvertown completes coaling and hauls over from the Hackfeld wharf to the Railroad slip for the purpose of finishing the transfer of the cable from the tanks of the vessel to the tanks ashore, the last portion of the business of the great steamer will be on.
The transferring of the 100 miles of cable which still remains in the ship will be a matter of interest, and will occupy the greater portion of the day. The ship will be laid alongside the Railroad wharf and the cable led across to the tanks which have been carefully constructed for the purpose of keeping the cable intact until it may be needed for the purpose of repairs on the line, should there be a break. The cable must be kept under water, and the tank is arranged specially for the purpose of keeping the materials in the best shape until a call for a length comes.
As soon as this is over the ship will move out into the Naval Row and there will lie until the orders, which are now expected daily, come from the head office of the company. Already the officials of the ship have received a cablegram of congratulation over the success of the expedition, and the next thing to be expected from London will be the orders for the homeward journey. Just how this trip will be made is a question. The usual course Is the sending of the ship home with a cargo, taken principally for the purposes of ballast, and it was at first thought that the ship would proceed from here to San Francisco and load wheat for London, but the low price of freights makes this leg of the journey really inadvisable, and the result may be that the vessel will be sent direct to its home port. In this case the ship will be given 1,000 tons of ballast and will make direct from Honolulu to Coronel, and thence into the Atlantic ocean.
The cable staff of the ship may not be kept here for any length of time. There is a rumor that the Silvertown may stay at this port until the completion of the thirty days guarantee time so that it could be sent out on repair work. This would mean that the officers would have the best kind of a time, for the reason that the cable is so laid, as regards shore approaches at both ends, and it is extremely unlikely that any anchor will drag the cable, and that is practically the only way in which any break could be made.
The technical staff of inspectors will not remain, according to the present plans, longer than January 13, for it is necessary that these experts should return to London for the purpose of inspecting the cable which is being made at the works of the Telegraph and Maintenance Company for laying between Manila and this port. Captain Pattison will have charge of the inspection of that portion of the contract as well, and he now expects that he will be back in Honolulu by the middle of the year with the end of the cable aboard of the Anglia. He will be accompanied on his return by Mr. Barwell and perhaps by some of the engineering staff of the telegraph company. The company which put down this leg of the line was practically the only bidder, as the other corporation had its hands full with the British cable.
There will be landed from the Silvertown, as well as the cable for repairing, tackle which will be used in any such trips made other than by the vessel itself. There has been made no arrangement for the sending of a cable ship for the purpose of being on hand for repair work, and until such a ship has been found there will be used for any short trips which might be necessary, some one of the tugs or island steamers. The gear for the grappling for the ends of the cable is simple and can be well operated from any small vessel that may be selected, the principal reason why size is needed being for the purpose of coiling in the hold at least one mile of the cable for use in making repairs. There will be, as well, sent ashore from the ship the proper outfits for the use in making the splices in the sea line, and any emergency which may arise will be met at once here with a full equipment on board the steamer which may be selected. There will be a staff maintained here for the purpose of meeting such emergencies, and one of the office force under Superintendent Gaines will always be on hand for the electrical work.
The question of a station ship is interesting some of those who have to do with the future of the cable. There is a proposal that the Commercial Company purchase the Construction and Maintenance vessel Scotia, now laid up owing to the building of the new and larger vessels, the Colonia and Anglia. The Scotia was a former Cunarder, and was the last side wheel steamer to cross the Atlantic. After being withdrawn from that service the ship was purchased and turned into a cable vessel, being fitted with twin screws and made in every way fit for the business of laying and repairing cables. The steamer is of 3,000 tons burden, and will make an excellent vessel for this station, although some of the men who have sailed in it are of the opinion that it would be necessary for the vessel to be kept well ballasted all the time to give the stability needed for repairing.
The hull of the ship is in good condition, but there would have to be made extensive repairs before the vessel would be ready for service in this trade. This would make practically a new steamer of the Scotia, and would make a fine addition to the fleet from this port, for the repairs may be made at an American port, and as they would amount to the needed proportion of the cost of the vessel, would entitle it to an American register.
The Pacific Commercial Advertiser, Honolulu, HI, January 6, 1903