February i, 1902.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



136 



THE SUBMARINE CABLE INTEREST IN AMERICA. 



AMERICAN CABLE MAKING FACILITIES. 



TWK Electrical World (New York) has compiled some 

 details of the cost of cable making in England, com- 

 pared with the wages which it is assumed would be 

 paid in the United States for similar labor, which 

 may be summarized :as follows. The wage rate is given by 

 the hour. Foreign submarine cable factories work two turns 

 of 12 hours each, or one of 12 to 14 hours each, according to 

 conditions. The American working day is 10 hours: 



England. United States. 



Laborers 5 </. [10 cents] .15 to .17;^ 



Wire weaving. .7 to 8 (/. [14 to 16 cents] .2010.25 



Armoring 8^1/. [17 cents] .25 



Machinists. ...'... .10 </. [20 cents] .2"; to .35 



The labor cost of an American made cable would thus be 50 to 

 75 per cent, greater than in England. It is asserted further 

 that a similar disparity exists in wages in the wire-drawing 

 industry, and that the American tariff would preclude the im- 

 portation of the more cheaply produced foreign drawn wires. 

 The higher cost to American cable makers of copper wire 

 isestimated at from 10 to 15 per cent., and of steel armor wire, 

 as high as 'i^Y^ per cent. 



It is also assumed by the writer in the Electrical World that, 

 on account of the predominance of English houses in the 

 Gutta-percha trade, and their greater familiarity with it, the 

 cost of Gutta would prove greater here, at least in the begin- 

 ning. Last, but not least, in order to tender for an ocean 

 cable, which would require to be constructed without too great 

 delay, a very large initial capital would be necessary for plant 

 and other facilities, on a scale commensurate with those which 

 have been built up by degrees by foreign manufacturers, dur- 

 ing a long term of years, the cost being defrayed gradually from 

 the profits on many successive orders, small and large. 



* * * 



"The article in the Electrical World %hovis a careful study 

 of the situation," said an official of an American cable com- 

 pany to The India Rubber World, " but its writer probably 

 was not aware that at least two American factories had been 

 quietly equipping themselves for submarine cable work. While 

 most of the data in that article will be found sufficiently accu- 

 rate, the writer overlooks the fact, that in competition between 

 European and American workmen, although the pay is much 

 higher in this country, in nearly every case the amount of work 

 accomplished compensates for the diflerence in wages. The 

 great supremacy gained by America in the last two years in 

 export trade, allowing us to sell locomotives, bridges, machin- 

 ery, and manufactured goods abroad, successfully entering the 

 markets that had long been controlled by England, is ample 

 proof of my statement. 



"It is stated by English cable engineers, and actually be- 

 lieved by them, that experts in cable manufacture are born, not 

 made. The subject of high insulations is nothing new to 

 Americans. The first successful submarine cable ever made was 

 of American manufacture and laid across the Hudson river. 

 Since that time there has never been a break in the manufact- 

 ure of insulated wire in this country up to the present day, and 

 it is only reasonable to believe that, with this long experience 

 and the large number of American manufacturers engaged in 

 the insulated industries — there are now fifteen — that our me- 

 chanics are sufficiently well educated to construct a submarine 

 cable. 



"There have been installed in this country within a short 

 time some of the latest types of submarine cable machinery. 

 While in Europe some time ago I obtained data regard ng the 

 largest cable plants, and found, much to my surprise, that in 

 some respects American manufacturers were in advance of 

 their transatlantic cousins. 



"The great drawback to the American industries has been 

 the smallness of their armoring plants, with the inability of a 

 large daily output. While their insulating machines could 

 turn out a large quantity of core, they do not have the facili- 

 ties for armoring the same. As this industry is new, it is im- 

 possible to buy proper closing machines in America. It was, 

 therefore, necessary, in installing one new plant here, to im- 

 port the latest type high speed closing machinery for this work, 

 plans being so drawn that, in case of an American Pacific cable 

 bill passing Congress, they can immediately increase the num- 

 ber of these machines to a capacity of thirty nautical miles per 

 day. which is five miles in excess of the best foreign factories. 



" There is no question that the first Pacific cable would cost 

 more, built in this country, than abroad. American manufact- 

 urers should be granted ample protection in the establishment 

 of this new industry. Once established, and with the improve- 

 ments suggested by American skill and ingenuity, it would be 

 but a short time before they would enter the cable markets of 

 the world, and, with their increased speed in manufacture, 

 rapid deliveries, and the improvements that would surely be 

 made, they would very soon build up a business that would 

 allow them to compete with foreign manufacturers. 



" One of the great points of advantage in an American plant 

 would be the ability to use submarine cable making machinery 

 in the manufacture of land wires for telephone, telegraph, and 

 electric light work. Some of the present foreign plants are 

 only run six months out of each year — /. e.. only when subma- 

 rine cable is to be made. Their electrical industries do not of 

 course require the tremendous amount of insulated wire that 

 is used in America. Taking into consideration these economi- 

 cal principles, with the ability for keeping the machinery run- 

 ning on all forms of work, there is no question but that an 

 American plant, when built by a company whose reputation is 

 well established in other lines of wire manufacture, would 

 prove a profitable investment." 



* * 1 



With regard to the suggestion in the Electrical World th&l 

 American manufacturers would be at a disadvantage in buy- 

 ing Gutta-percha, the gentleman above quoted did not speak. 

 It might be noted here, however, that although few Americans 

 have ever engaged in the crude rubber trade in the primary 

 markets, the rubber manufacturers here have never been at a 

 disadvantage in getting all the raw material they needed. In 

 fact, The India Rubber World has been assured by an English 

 rubber merchant that manufacturers on this side are "closer" 

 buyers of crude rubber than in England. As for Gutta-percha, 

 its use in continental Europe is increasing — chiefly for cable 

 making — and in 1900 there were shipped from Singapore direct 

 to those countries 5,500,000 pounds, or more than the world's 

 total production a few years before. If these countries have 

 not been deterred by England's predominance from going into 

 the Gutta-percha trade, why should the United States be .' In- 

 deed, the cable making industry of England was to a certain 

 extent an importation from Germany, the original Siemens 



