A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE UNITED
STATES CABLE SYSTEM IN ALASKA
(Prepared under the direction of
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 ihe
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 sysiems 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 explorations. 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, a distance of 133 miles,
connecting by land line to Fort Da
vis at Nome, which wras put into op
eration on October 17, 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
vailing inclement weather, it was not
until June 9, 1902, that the cable was
placed in good working order. Aside
from the military value of this cable,
its commercial importance to south
eastern Alaska is apparent from the
fact that the combined Government
and commercial tariffs during the 21
days of its operation exceeded $500.
As first planned, the Alaskan sys
tem 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 telegraphic
communication outside the Territory
of Alaska except over the Canadian
telegraph lines. To correct this situ
ation, the Secretary of War, in his an
nual report for the fiscal year ended
June 30, 1902, recommended the fol
lowing:
I wish to call especial attention
to the importance of a 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 of
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
4 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
$485,000 “for the purchase, installation,
operation, and maintenance of a 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 a point at or near Fort Law
ton, Seattle, Wash., via Sitka, Alaska,
to Juneau, Alaska.” Similarly, in 1904,
Congress appropriated $321,580 “for
completing the purchase, installation,
operation, and maintenance of a 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
T garrisons in southeastern Alaska.”
The first section of the cable laid un
der the foregoing appropriation extend- J
ed from Juneau to Sitka, a distance
of 291 miles, which was completed on
October 2, 1903. The cable from Sitka,
Alaska, to Seattle, Wash., a distance
of 1,070 miles, was completed on Au
gust 28, 1904, and the section from
Sitka to Fort Liscum, a distance of
644 miles, was completed on October
3, 1904. In 1905 Congress appropriat
ed $95,000 for the extension of the sub
marine cable from Valdez to Seward
at the head of Resurrection Bay, the
southern terminus of the Alaskan Cen
tral Railway. The work of laying this
cable, 193 imiles in length, was com
menced on July 31, 1905, and was com
pleted August 3, 1905.
Progress in the development of the
industries and commerce of Alaska has
been reflected in the traffic handled
by the cable. The value of the traf
fic handled during the first year of
operation amounted to $26,977.69, while
that handled during the fiscal year
1924 amounted to $408,837.32.
History of the New Cable.
It became apparent early in 1921
that, in order to handle the large vol
ume of traffic passing over the cable,
it would be necessary to replace the
original cable, which, on account of its
age and general worn out condition,
caused frequent interruptions to traf
fic and required numerous repairs.
The cableship Burnside, which laid
the original cable, was likewise worn
out, being 40 years old and having
been in cable-laying service in the
j Philippine Islands as well as in Alas
! kan waters since 1900. As a prelimi
nary step toward the replacement of
the Alaskan cable, the Signal Corps
secured, through Executive order of
September 26, 1921, the United States
Shipping Board steamship Dellwood,
which the Signal Corps converted into
a cableship, embodying the latest me
chanical improvements in the cable
laying art.
The Signal Corps represented to
Congress at its sessions the necessity
for replacing the worn-out cables with
a new and modern system that should
i meet the growing needs of Alaskan
commerce. Traffic pertaining to com
merce has for a long time held first
place on the Alaskan cable, which had
been originally laid for military pur
poses. These representations at last
bore fruit and by the act approved
March 2, 1923, Congress appropriated
the sum of $750,000 for the replace
ment of the worn-out portions of the
Alaskan cable, with a further provi
sion authorizing the Secretary of War
to incur obligations for an additional
$750,000 to be made available in the
1925 appropriations.
Purchase of the New Cable.
The Signal Corps began immediate
! ly the work of preparation necessary
for carrying out such a tremendous
project. Its prevision to secure and
have ready a modern cableship was
to prove the keystone in this enter
prise. Specifications were prepared
by the Signal Corps engineering staff
for purchasing the cable; studies made
of the proposed location of the new
cable and of the shore situation at Se
attle, Sitka and Valdez. In laying the
original cable, the Signal Corps de
parted from the customery cable-en
gineering practice of using gutta-per
| cha insulated cable and used rubber in
sulated cable of American manufac
i ture. While rubber insulated cable
does not have the life of the gutta
percha cable, the excellent results ob
tained by its use in the Alaskan cable,
during long years of service, have dem
onstrated the practicability of such in
sulation in the event that gutta-percha
cable is not obainable. Deep-sea cable
must be made on order, as factories do
not keep a set-up for its production.
The Signal Corps engineering staff
found that the item of cost and other
advantages favored gutta-percha in
sulated cable and accordingly decided
on the use of this type of cable. Ten
ders were then requested from Amer
ican and European cable manfactur
ers, and on August 1, 1923, when the
bids were opened, it was found thal
only five cable manufacturers had sub
mitted bids, four of them being Brit
ish, no American manufacturer having
submitted a bid. After investigation
or the capacity of the various plants,
reliability of the manufacturers, etc.,
a contract was entered into with one
of the foremost British cable manu
facturers on September 1, 1923, for
1900 nautical miles of gutta-percha ca
ble of various types and sizes.
Laying of the New Cable.
In the meantime, a route from Seat
tle to Ketchikan, via Trocadero Port
age, and from Ketchikan to Seward
had been selected, and this route sur
veyed by the United States Navy de
stroyers Hull and Corry, which had
been equipped with sonic depth find
ers. This route was determined upon
because of more favorable cable land
ings could be secured, and, in addi
tion, a large saving in cable mileage
would be made. On January 24, 1924,
the cableship Dellwood left Seattle
Wash., for London, England, to load
the first section of the cable, which
had been completed by the manufactur
ers. After an uneventful journey, the
Dellwood returned to Seattle, Wash.,
and commenced cable laying opera
tions on May 11, 1924. By May 30,
1924, the first section of the new cable,
868.65 nautical miles, was laid between
Seattle, Wash., and Ketchikan, Alas
ka, and on June 18, 1924, the Dellwood
once more left Seattle for London for
the balance of the cable. The Dell
wood returned to Seattle on Septem
ber 21, 1924, and commenced laying
the last section of the cable on Sep
tember 27, 1924. The laying of the
last section of the new cable, 738.054
nautical miles, between Ketchikan and
Seward, was completed October 9,
1924, the cableship having completed
42,000 miles of steaming in this un
dertaking.
Cableship “Dellwood”
The successful transportation and
laying of this new cable in such a short
space of time by the cableship Dell
wood, without hitch or flaw and in full
keeping with predetermined engineer
ing schedules, demonstrated that the
United States now has in its posses
sion and operation a cableship capa
ble of transporting 1,800 miles of
deep-sea cable and carrying on cable
laying operations in any ocean.
Cable Influence on Alaska Affairs
As a result of the laying of this
new cable, and in conjunction with the
land telegraph lines and radio stations
owned by the Government and install
ed, operated, and maintained by the
Signal Corps of the Army, Alaska en
joys communication facilities within
its borders and with the outside
world. Isolation, the bane of any new
ly settled country, no longer holds Al
aska in its grip, and the hopes, ambi
tions, and achievements of its inhabi
tants are firmly bound to those of the
people of the United States and to
those of the rest of the world. Mes
sages may be sent and received by ca
ble, telegraph ,or radio from the larg
est town or smallest settlement in Al
aska to any point in the United States
or Europe equipped with similar com
munication facilities. The news of
the day is transmitted by cable, tele
graph or radio to inhabitants
of towns and hamlets located long dis
tances from the main traveled high
ways.
It is not difficult to realize that the
cable has had an important share in
the development of the Territory, both
socially and commercially. Modern
business is on such a basis that trans
actions can not be conducted and ne
gotiations proceed between distant
.v ' I
OLD CABLESHIP. BURNSIDE
CABLESHIP DELLWOOD
points without the service of electri
cal communications. Social necessi
ties of the modern world are such that
persons traveling to distant points are
no longer content to lose contact with
their connections at home or other
points; and modern electrical commu
nication systems have enabled such
contact to be maintained. Hence, it is
logical, and, in fact, necessary that
the residents of Alaska ‘should, and
do, maintain considerable exchange of
messages with friends in the home
land. The cable system long realized
this necessity and very early establish
ed a night letter system, which was
one of the first cable systems offering
such advantages to its users.
The Alaskan Cable System is avail
able tor commercial as well as gov
ernmental use, and handles day mes
sages, night messages, night letters,
and press matter on the same basis
as ^telegraph companies throughout
the United States. At the more im
portant offices a telegraphic money
transfer service is in operation. Weath
er forecasts and market reports are
transmitted over the Alaskan Cable
System and are posted on bulletin
boards for the information of thv* pub
lic. In smaller places where news
papers are not maintained, the Signal
Corps telegraph office is the center of
the educational, social, and political
life of the community, as here the news
of the world is received and posted on
a bulletin board where it is read and
discussed by the residents of the vil
lage.
Future |Pacific Cable Projects
The future will undoubtedly see the
cable system involved in further ex
tensions. There is at present but one
cable across the Pacific Ocran from
the United States to the Philippines,
China, and Japan, and another cable
from Canada to Australia. Thera are
17 cables across the Atlantic Ocean,
and it is easy to foresee that the day
is not far off when one or more addi
tional cables will be laid across the
Pacific Ocean. The present Alaskan
Cable System may form a part of, or
may be otherwise connected with such
additional cables. The recent flight
of the round-the-world flyers across
the Pacific indicates that the shortest
route over this vast expanse of water
is by keeping close to Alaska and the
Aleutian Islands. The Aleutians may
be utilized for the location of relay
stations should a new Pacific cable
ever be laid along this route to the
Philippines, China, and Japan.
Connecting Systems.
At the present time the Signal Corps
maintains and operates in the Alaskan
Cable System 2,655 statute miles of
submarine cable, 20 radio stations, and
840 circuit miles of telegraph lines,
connecting 44 offices. This system
connects with the Government railroad
lines at Seward, Nenana, and Faii>
baks, and with the White Pass and
Yukon Railroad lines at Skagway, and
through the latter with the Canadian
Government lines at Whitehorse, Yu
kon Territory. Also arrangements
have been completed recently with
the Canadian Government for the han
dling of radio traffic between the Sig
nal Corps station at Circle, Alaska,
and the Canadian Government station
at Dawson City, Yukon Territory, Can
ada. In addition, the Alaskan Ca
ble System connects with nine pri
vately owned commercial telephone
companies in Alaska, all of which han
dle telegrams, and with the naval ra
dio communication service, and thru
the latter with the radio stations op
erated by the various salmon canning
interests.
Cable Vs. Radio.
The question of the replacement of
the submarine cables now in use on
the Alaskan system by radio has been
thoroughly studied by the Signal
Corps in conjunction with the leading
communication engineers, and it is
the consensus of opinion that such re
placement could not be advantageous
ly made at the present stage of devel
opment of the radio art. Both the ra
dio and cable have distinctive fields
of service, while radio may be used
advantageously to supplement the ca
ble service it cannot entirely supplant
it today. These two services are not
destined to absorb each, but, like the
telephone and telegraph, each will find
a full sphere of usefulness.
Finances.
Inasmuch as the Alaskan Cable Sys
tem is owned by the Government, Con
gress must appropriate for its upkeep,
and for this purpose authorizes an ex
penditure of $140,000 each year. It
should be understood that all money
received for the transmission of tele
grams on the system must be deposit
ed in the Treasury of the United States
and that no part of such receipts may
be expended on the system except by
congressional appropriation.
Personnel.
The military personnel employed in
the maintenance and operation of the
Alaskan Cable System, consisting of
4 commissioned officers, 3 warrant of
ficers, and 203 noncommissioned and
lesser grades, are paid from the Army
appropriations, and their salaries form
no charge against the upkeep of the
cable s\ stem. In addition, 44 civilian
employes form a part of the system,
and their salaries are charged to the
system.
T raffic.
The purpose of the Government in
the past has been to keep a system of
communication open which would an
swer its owm needs and at the same
time be a benefit to the people of the
Territory. That the system has been
in the development of the Territory
is shown by the annual message
grow th, as set forth in the following
table:
Year
1903 .
1904 _
1905 _
1906 ..
1907 _
1908 ..
1909 ..
1910 _
1911 ..
1912 ..
1913 .
1914 ..
1915 ..
1916 ..
1917 ..
1918 _.
1919 __
1920 ..
1921 _
1922 __
1923 _
1924 ...
Number
of mes
sages (all
classes)
Number
of words
press
matter
55,559
134,630
306,454
310,000
134.412
143,995
150,779
139,281
136,216
140,343
137,502
115,434
131.413
209,363
258,547
260,651
219,966
174,686
214,068
214,660
223,031
1,441,471
1,410,946
1,657,773
2,367,150
3,025,028
2,875,656
2,732,752
2,629,160
2,890,728
2,595,215
Value of
commer
cial, this
line and
other line
traffic
14,243.54
29,748.74
104,139.01
195.143.34
236.912.39
229.825.S5
222.888.40
207,083.91
208,726.95
206,548.32
217,499.84
217.351.35
197,736.71
188.982.68
221.902.68
228,072.47
245.599.87
239,495.03
212,648.89
241,160.06
264.961.87
273.315.69
Value of
Govern
ment
traffic
$ 33,113.34
45,777.02
71,349.28
104.807.93
135,746.38
144,641.12
188,782.68
174.005.00
152,214.75
182.641.94
180,677.23
161.370.00
116.539.83
194.571.01
194,194.15
313.302.63
360,892.19
231.933.02
203,341.72
141.708.84
127,199.52
135.521.63
Total
$ 47,356.88
75,525.76
175,488.29
299,951.27
372,658.77
374,466.97
411,671.08
381,088.91
360,941.70
389,190.26
398,177.07
378,721.35
314,276.54
383,553.69
416,096.83
541,375.10
606,492.06
471,428,05
415,990.61
382,868.90
392,161.39
408,837.32
* Includes receipts collected from opening of system.
CABLE, TELEGRAPH, AND RADIO STATIONS
The cable, telegraph, and radio stations maintained by this system ar© lo
catel at the following points:
(Continued on Page 26)