42 A SAGA OF THE SEAS 
help the cable project: “The Atlantic cable has had many a 
kink since, but never did it seem to be entangled in such a 
hopeless twist as when it got among the politicians.” 
Because of the light shed on the state of American intelli- 
gence of that period, it is interesting to review some of the 
arguments in Congress when the question of aid to the cable 
_ enterprise was debated. President Pierce was favorable to 
the bill when it was drawn up by Senator William H. Seward 
of New York, as was the Secretary of State. But, as Seward 
said afterward, “the jealousies of parties and sections in Con- 
gress forbade them to lend it their official sanction and patron- 
age.” It is the nature of politicians to make complications and 
to befog a clear issue. All kinds of objections can be manu- 
factured against a new idea, especially by jealous and ignorant 
men. 
The following extracts from the debate indicate the views 
of various members of the Senate of the time. Bayard of Del- 
aware, speaking in favor of the bill, said: “It is a mail opera- 
tion. It is a Post-Office arrangement. It is for the transmission 
of intelligence. . . . I hold it, therefore, to be as legitimately 
within the proper powers of the Government, as the employ- 
ing of a stage-coach, or a steam-car, or a ship, to transport the 
mails.’” When the objection was raised that a subsidy of sev- 
enty thousand dollars a year was a large sum to guarantee, 
Bayard replied that England alone paid nine hundred thou- 
sand dollars a year for mail service to the United States. 
As to the expense of furnishing a ship of war to help lay 
the cable, Senator Douglas of Illinois said: ‘Will it cost any- 
thing to furnish the use of one of our steamships? ‘They are 
idle. We have no practical use for them at present. They are 
in commission. They have their coal on board, and their 
full armament.” This point was emphasized further by Rusk 
of ‘Texas, who though a Westerner was an active proponent 
of the bill. He said: “I think that is better than to keep them 
rotting at the navy-yards, with the officers frolicking on shore. 
