CHAPTER XV
THE PACIFIC CABLE—THE GOLDEN WEDDING
(1880-1891)
THE winter and early spring of 1880 were passed in the South of France and in Algiers.
Mr. Field was back in New York in April; and on the 8th in a letter says:
“I have already written to London in regard to the estimated cost of manufacturing and laying a telegraphic cable across the Pacific. The route I have suggested is as follows: One cable from San Francisco to the Hawaiian Islands; one cable from the Hawaiian Islands to Japan; one cable from the Hawaiian Islands to Australia, touching at the Fiji Islands and New Caledonia.”
In a letter to England on the 9th, he writes that he had received a letter from Washington in which the hope was expressed that he would give some attention to the transpacific cable before he left America. He answered the question as to the expense of manufacturing a cable briefly: “A submarine cable, like a watch, can be manufactured at a great variation in price.”
The two letters that follow were sent to Washington, the first on August 19, 1880:
“Referring to my letters to you dated May 26th and June 10th, in relation to a telegraphic cable across the Pacific Ocean, I would suggest:
“1. That the United States government obtain from some eminent electrician specifications for the best description of cable suitable for the great depths and the great lengths required to connect the western with the eastern coasts of the Pacific.
“2. That the government advertise for tenders to manufacture and lay such description of cable, one-fourth the amount to be paid when the cables are all manufactured, one-fourth when they are on board the steamers and the steamers ready to sail, one-fourth when the cables have been successfully laid, and the remaining fourth when they have been worked successfully and without interruption for thirty days.