The Story of the Atlantic Telegraph

Here again it seemed as if Divine wisdom had anticipated the coming of this great enterprise, and provided in the realm of nature every material needed for its success. It was at least a happy coincidence that only a few years before there had been found, in the forests of the Malayan archipelago, a substance till then unknown to the world, but which answered completely this new demand. This was gutta-percha, which is impenetrable by water, and at the same time a bad conductor of electricity; so that it forms at once a perfect protection and insulation to a telegraph passing through the sea. In the experiments that were made to test the value of this material in the grander use to which it was to be applied, no man rendered greater service than Mr. Samuel Statham, of the London Gutta-Percha Works – a name to be gratefully remembered in the early history of the Atlantic Telegraph.

The mechanical difficulties removed, and the insulation provided, there remained yet the great scientific problem: Could a message be sent two thousand miles under the Atlantic? The ingenuity of man might devise some method of laying a cable across the sea, but of what use were it, if the electric current should shrink from the dark abyss?

It was in prosecuting inquiries to resolve this problem, that Mr. Field became acquainted with two gentlemen who were to be soon after associated with him in the organization of the Atlantic Telegraph Company. These were Mr. Charles T. Bright, afterward knighted for his part in laying the Atlantic cable in 1858, and Dr. Edward O. Whitehouse, both well known in England, the former as an engineer, and the latter for his experiments in electro-magnetism, as applied to the business of telegraphing. He had invented an instrument by which to ascertain and register the velocity of electric currents through submarine cables. Both these gentlemen were full of the ardor of science, and entered on this new project with the zeal which the prospect of so great a triumph might inspire. With them was now to be associated our distinguished countryman, Professor Morse. Fortunately he was at this time in London, and gave his invaluable aid to the experiments which were made to determine the possibility of telegraphic communication at great distances under the sea. The result of his experiments he communicates in a letter to Mr. Field:

    "London, Five o'clock a.m.,
    "October 3, 1856.

"My dear Sir: As the electrician of the New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company, it is with the highest gratification that I have to apprise you of the result of our experiments of this morning upon a single continuous conductor of more than two thousand miles in extent, a distance you will perceive sufficient to cross the Atlantic Ocean, from Newfoundland to Ireland.

"The admirable arrangements made at the Magnetic Telegraph Office in Old Broad street, for connecting ten subterranean gutta-percha insulated conductors, of over two hundred miles each, so as to give one continuous length of more than two thousand miles during the hours of the night, when the telegraph is not commercially employed, furnished us the means of conclusively settling, by actual experiment, the question of the practicability as well as the practicality[10 - Professor Morse was fond of the distinction between the words practical and practicable. A thing might be practicable, that is, possible of accomplishment, when it was not a practical enterprise, that is, one which could be worked to advantage. He here argues that the Atlantic Telegraph is both practicable, (or possible,) and at the same time a wise, practical undertaking.] of telegraphing through our proposed Atlantic cable.

"This result had been thrown into some doubt by the discovery, more than two years since, of certain phenomena upon subterranean and submarine conductors, and had attracted the attention of electricians, particularly of that most eminent philosopher, Professor Faraday, and that clear-sighted investigator of electrical phenomena, Dr. Whitehouse; and one of these phenomena, to wit, the perceptible retardation of the electric current, threatened to perplex our operations, and required careful investigation before we could pronounce with certainty the commercial practicability of the Ocean Telegraph.

"I am most happy to inform you that, as a crowning result of a long series of experimental investigation and inductive reasoning upon this subject, the experiments under the direction of Dr. Whitehouse and Mr. Bright, which I witnessed this morning – in which the induction coils and receiving magnets, as modified by these gentlemen, were made to actuate one of my recording instruments – have most satisfactorily resolved all doubts of the practicability as well as practicality of operating the telegraph from Newfoundland to Ireland.

"Although we telegraphed signals at the rate of two hundred and ten, two hundred and forty-one, and, according to the count at one time, even of two hundred and seventy per minute upon my telegraphic register, (which speed, you will perceive, is at a rate commercially advantageous,) these results were accomplished notwithstanding many disadvantages in our arrangements of a temporary and local character – disadvantages which will not occur in the use of our submarine cable.

"Having passed the whole night with my active and agreeable collaborators, Dr. Whitehouse and Mr. Bright, without sleep, you will excuse the hurried and brief character of this note, which I could not refrain from sending you, since our experiments this morning settle the scientific and commercial points of our enterprise satisfactorily.

"With respect and esteem, your obedient servant,

    "Samuel F. B. Morse."

A week later, he wrote again, confirming his former impressions, thus:

    "London, October 10, 1856.

"My dear Sir: After having given the deepest consideration to the subject of our successful experiments the other night, when we signalled clearly and rapidly through an unbroken circuit of subterranean conducting wire, over two thousand miles in length, I sit down to give you the result of my reflections and calculations.

"There can be no question but that, with a cable containing a single conducting wire, of a size not exceeding that through which we worked, and with equal insulation, it would be easy to telegraph from Ireland to Newfoundland at a speed of at least from eight to ten words per minute; nay, more: the varying rates of speed at which we worked, depending as they did upon differences in the arrangement of the apparatus employed, do of themselves prove that even a higher rate than this is attainable. Take it, however, at ten words in the minute, and allowing ten words for name and address, we can safely calculate upon the transmission of a twenty-word message in three minutes;

"Twenty such messages in the hour;

"Four hundred and eighty in the twenty-four hours, or fourteen thousand four hundred words per day.

"Such are the capabilities of a single wire cable fairly and moderately computed.

"It is, however, evident to me, that by improvements in the arrangement of the signals themselves, aided by the adoption of a code or system constructed upon the principles of the best nautical code, as suggested by Dr. Whitehouse, we may at least double the speed in the transmission of our messages.

"As to the structure of the cable itself, the last specimen which I examined with you seemed to combine so admirably the necessary qualities of strength, flexibility, and lightness, with perfect insulation, that I can no longer have any misgivings about the ease and safety with which it will be submerged.

"In one word, the doubts are resolved, the difficulties overcome, success is within our reach, and the great feat of the century must shortly be accomplished.

"I would urge you, if the manufacture can be completed within the time, (and all things are possible now,) to press forward the good work, and not to lose the chance of laying it during the ensuing summer.

"Before the close of the present month, I hope to be again landed safely on the other side of the water, and I full well know, that on all hands the inquiries of most interest with which I shall be met, will be about the Ocean Telegraph.

"Much as I have enjoyed my European trip this year, it would have enhanced the gratification which I have derived from it more than I can describe to you, if on my return to America, I could be the first bearer to my friends of the welcome intelligence that the great work had been begun, by the commencement of the manufacture of the cable to connect Ireland with the line of the New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company, now so successfully completed to St. John's.

"Respectfully, your obedient servant,

    "Samuel F. B. Morse."

These experiments and others removed the doubts of scientific men. Professor Faraday, in spite of the law of the retardation of electricity on long circuits, which it was said he had discovered, and which would render it impossible to work a line of such length as from Ireland to Newfoundland, now declared his full conviction that it was within the bounds of possibility. The passage of electricity might not be absolutely instantaneous, or have the swiftness of the solar beam, yet it would be rapid enough for all practical purposes. When Mr. Field asked him how long it would take for the electricity to pass from London to New York, he answered: "Possibly one second!"

Thus fortified by the highest scientific and engineering authorities, the projectors of an ocean telegraph were now ready to bring it before the British public, and to see what support could be found from the English Government and the English people.

Mr. Field first addressed himself to the Government. Without waiting for the Company to be fully organized, with true American eagerness and impatience, he wrote a letter to the Admiralty asking for a fresh survey of the route to be traversed, and for the aid of Government ships to lay the cable. He also addressed a letter to Lord Clarendon, stating the large design which they had conceived, and asking for it the aid which was due to what concerned the honor and interest of England. The reply was prompt and courteous, inviting him to an interview for the purpose of a fuller explanation. Accordingly, Mr. Field, with Professor Morse, called upon him at the Foreign Office, and spent an hour in conversation on the proposed undertaking. Lord Clarendon showed great interest, and made many inquiries. He was a little startled at the magnitude of the scheme, and the confident tone of the projectors, and asked pleasantly: "But, suppose you don't succeed? Suppose you make the attempt and fail – your cable is lost in the sea – then what will you do?" "Charge it to profit and loss, and go to work to lay another," was the quick answer of Mr. Field, which amused him as a truly American reply. In conclusion, he desired him to put his request in writing, and, without committing the Government, encouraged him to hope that Britain would do all that might justly be expected in aid of this great international work. How nobly this promise was kept, time will show.

While engaged in these negotiations, Mr. Field took his family to Paris, and there met with a great loss in the sudden death of a favorite sister, who had accompanied them abroad. Full of the sorrow of this event, and unfitted for business of any kind, he returned to London to find an invitation to go into the country and spend a few days with Mr. James Wilson, then Secretary to the Treasury, a man of great influence in the Government, at his residence near Bath; there to discuss quietly and at length the proposed aid to the Atlantic Telegraph. Though he had but little spirit to go among strangers, he felt it his duty not to miss an opportunity to advance the cause he had so much at heart. The result of this visit was the following letter, received a few days later:

    "Treasury Chambers. Nov. 20, 1856.

"Sir: Having laid before the Lords Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury your letter of the 13th ultimo, addressed to the Earl of Clarendon, requesting, on behalf of the New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company, certain privileges and protection in regard to the line of telegraph which it is proposed to establish between Newfoundland and Ireland, I am directed by their lordships to acquaint you that they are prepared to enter into a contract with the said Telegraph Company, based upon the following conditions, namely:

"1. It is understood that the capital required to lay down the line will be three hundred and fifty thousand pounds.

"2. Her Majesty's Government engage to furnish the aid of ships to take what soundings may still be considered needful, or to verify those already taken, and favorably to consider any request that may be made to furnish aid by their vessels in laying down the cable.

"3. The British Government, from the time of the completion of the line, and so long as it shall continue in working order, undertakes to pay at the rate of fourteen thousand pounds a year, being at the rate of four per cent. on the assumed capital, as a fixed remuneration for the work done on behalf of the Government, in the conveyance outward and homeward of their messages. This payment to continue until the net profits of the Company are equal to a dividend of six per cent., when the payment shall be reduced to ten thousand pounds a year, for a period of twenty-five years.

"It is, however, understood that if the Government messages in any year shall, at the usual tariff-rate charged to the public, amount to a larger sum, such additional payment shall be made as is equivalent thereto.

"4. That the British Government shall have a priority in the conveyance of their messages over all others, subject to the exception only of the Government of the United States, in the event of their entering into an arrangement with the Telegraph Company similar in principle to that of the British Government, in which case the messages of the two Governments shall have priority in the order in which they arrive at the stations.

"5. That the tariff of charges shall be fixed with the consent of the Treasury, and shall not be increased, without such consent being obtained, as long as this contract lasts.

"I am, sir, your obedient servant,

    "James Wilson.

"Cyrus W. Field, Esq., 37 Jermyn street."

With this encouragement and promise of aid, the projectors of a telegraph across the ocean now went forward to organize a company to carry out their design. Mr. Field, on arriving in England, had entered into an agreement with Mr. Brett to join their efforts for this purpose. With them were afterward united two others – Sir Charles Bright, as engineer, and Dr. Whitehouse, as electrician. These four gentlemen agreed to form a new company, to be called The Atlantic Telegraph Company, the object of which should be "to continue the existing line of the New York, Newfoundland, and London Telegraph Company to Ireland, by making or causing to be made a submarine telegraph cable for the Atlantic."

As they were now ready to introduce the enterprise to the British public, Mr. Field issued a circular in the name of the Newfoundland Company, and as its Vice-President, setting forth the great importance of telegraphic communication between the two hemispheres.

The next step was to raise the capital. After the most careful estimates, it was thought that a cable could be made and laid across the Atlantic for £350,000. This was a large sum to ask from a public slow to move, and that lends a dull ear to all new schemes. But armed with facts and figures, with maps and estimates, with the opinions of engineers and scientific men, they went to work, not only in London, but in other parts of the kingdom. Mr. Field, in company with Mr. Brett, made a visit to Liverpool and Manchester, to address their Chambers of Commerce. I have now before me the papers of those cities, with reports of the meetings held and the speeches made, which show the vigor with which they pushed their enterprise. This energy was rewarded with success. The result justified their confidence. In a few weeks the whole capital was subscribed. It had been divided into three hundred and fifty shares of a thousand pounds each. Of these, a hundred and one were taken in London, eighty-six in Liverpool, thirty-seven in Glasgow, twenty-eight in Manchester, and a few in other parts of England. The grandeur of the design attracted public attention, and some subscribed solely from a noble wish to take part in such a work. Among these were Mr. Thackeray and Lady Byron. Mr. Field subscribed £100,000, and Mr. Brett £25,000. But when the books were closed, it was found that they had more money subscribed than they required, so that in the final division of shares, there were allotted to Mr. Field eighty-eight, and to Mr. Brett twelve. Mr. Field's interest was thus one-fourth of the whole capital of the Company.

In taking so large a share, it was not his intention to carry this heavy load alone. It was too large a proportion for one man. But he took it for his countrymen. He thought one fourth of the stock should be held in this country, and did not doubt, from the eagerness with which three fourths had been taken in England, that the remainder would be at once subscribed in America. Had he been able, on his return, to attend to his own interests in the matter, this expectation might have been realized; but, as we shall see, hardly did he set foot in New York, before he was obliged to hurry off to Newfoundland on the business of the Company, and when he returned the interest had subsided, so that it required very great exertions, continued through many months, to dispose of twenty-seven shares. Thus he was by far the largest stockholder in England or America – his interest being over seven times that of Mr. Brett, who was the largest next to himself – and being more than double the amount held by all the other American shareholders put together. This was at least giving substantial proof of his own faith in the undertaking.

But some may imagine that after all this burden was not so great as it seemed. In many stock companies the custom obtains of assigning to the projectors a certain portion of the stock as a bonus for getting up the company, which amount appears among the subscriptions to swell the capital. It is indeed subscribed, but not paid. So some have asked whether this large subscription of Mr. Field was not in part at least merely nominal? To this we answer, that a consideration was granted to Mr. Field and his associates for their services in getting up the Company, and for their exclusive rights, but this was a contingent interest in the profits of the enterprise, to be allowed only after the cable was laid. So that the whole amount here subscribed was a bona-fide subscription, and paid in solid English gold. We have now before us the receipts of the bankers of the Company for the whole amount, eighty-eight thousand pounds sterling.

The capital being thus raised, it only remained to complete the organization of the Company by the choice of a Board of Directors, and to make a contract for the cable. The Company was organized in December, 1856, by the choice of Directors chiefly from the leading bankers and merchants of London and Liverpool. The list included such honored names as Samuel Gurney, T. H. Brooking, John W. Brett, and T. A. Hankey, of London; Sir William Brown, Henry Harrison, Edward Johnston, Robert Crosbie, George Maxwell, and C. W. H. Pickering, of Liverpool; John Pender and James Dugdale, of Manchester; and Professor William Thomson, LL.D., of Glasgow. With these English Directors were two of our countrymen, Mr. George Peabody and Mr. C. M. Lampson, who, residing abroad for more than a third of a century, did much in the commercial capital of the world to support the honor of the American name. Mr. Peabody's firm subscribed £10,000, and Mr. Lampson £2,000. The latter gave more time than any other Director in London, except Mr. Brooking, the second Vice-Chairman, who, however, retired from the Company after the first failure in 1858, when Mr. Lampson was chosen to fill his place. The whole Board was full of zeal and energy. All gave their services without compensation.

It was the good fortune of the Company to have, from the beginning, in the important position of Secretary, a gentleman admirably qualified for the post. This was Mr. George Saward – a name familiar to all who have followed the fortunes of the telegraph, in England or America, since he has been the organ of communication with the press and the public; and with whom none ever had occasion to transact business without recognizing his intelligence and courtesy.

The Company being thus in working order, proceeded to make a contract for the manufacture of a cable to be laid across the Atlantic. For many months the proper form and size of the cable had been the subject of constant experiments. The conditions were: to combine the greatest degree of strength with lightness and flexibility. It must be strong, or it would snap in the process of laying. Yet it would not do to have it too large, for it would be unmanageable. Mr. Brett had already lost a cable in the Mediterranean chiefly from its bulk. Its size and stiffness made it hard to unwind it, while its enormous weight, when once it broke loose, caused it to run out with fearful velocity, till it was soon lost in the sea. It was only the year before, in September, 1855, that this accident had occurred in laying the cable from Sardinia to Algeria. All was going on well, until suddenly, "about two miles, weighing sixteen tons, flew out with the greatest violence in four or five minutes, flying round even when the drums were brought to a dead stop, creating the greatest alarm for the safety of the men in the hold and for the vessel." This was partly owing to the character of the submarine surface over which they were passing. The bottom of the Mediterranean is volcanic, and is broken up into mountains and valleys. The cable, doubtless, had just passed over some Alpine height, and was descending into some fearful depth below; but chiefly it was owing to the great size and bulk of the cable. This was a warning to the Atlantic Company. The point to be aimed at was to combine the flexibility of a common ship's rope with the tenacity of iron. These conditions were thought to be united in the form that was adopted.[11 - On his return to America, many inquiries were addressed to Mr. Field in regard to the form and structure of the cable, in answer to which he wrote a letter of explanation in which he said: "No particular connected with this great project has been the subject of so much comment through the press as the form and structure of the telegraph cable. It may be well believed that the Directors have not decided upon a matter so all-important to success, without availing themselves of the most eminent talent and experience which could be commanded. The practical history of submarine telegraphs dates from the successful submersion of the cable between Dover and Calais in 1851, and advantage has been taken of whatever instruction this history could furnish or suggest. Of the submarine cables heretofore laid down, without enumerating others, the one between Dover and Calais weighs six tons to the mile; that between Spezzia and Corsica, eight tons to the mile; that laid from Varna to Balaklava, and used during the war in the Crimea, less than three hundred pounds to the mile; while the weight of the cable for the Atlantic Telegraph is between nineteen hundred pounds and one ton to the mile. This cable, to use the words of Dr. Whitehouse, 'is the result of many months thought, experiment, and trial. Hundreds of specimens have been made, comprising every variety of form, size, and structure, and most severely tested as to their powers and capabilities; and the result has been the adoption of this, which we know to possess all the properties required, and in a far higher degree than any cable that has yet been laid. Its flexibility is such as to make it as manageable as a small line, and its strength such that it will bear, in water, over six miles of its own weight suspended vertically.' The conducting medium consists not of one single straight copper-wire, but of seven wires of copper of the best quality, twisted round each other spirally, and capable of undergoing great tension without injury. This conductor is then enveloped in three separate coverings of gutta-percha, of the best quality, forming the core of the cable, round which tarred hemp is wrapped, and over this, the outside covering, consisting of eighteen strands of the best quality of iron-wire; each strand composed of seven distinct wires, twisted spirally, in the most approved manner, by machinery specially adapted to the purpose. The attempt to insulate more than one conducting-wire or medium would not only have increased the chances of failure of all of them, but would have necessitated the adoption of a proportionably heavier and more cumbrous cable. The tensile power of the outer or wire covering of the cable, being very much less than that of the conductor within it, the latter is protected from any such strain as can possibly rupture it or endanger its insulation without an entire fracture of the cable."] A contract was at once made for the manufacture of the cable, one half being given to Messrs. Glass, Elliot & Co., of London, and the other to Messrs. R. S. Newall & Co., of Liverpool. The whole was to be completed by the first of June, ready to be submerged in the sea. The company was organized on the ninth of December, and the very next day Mr. Field sailed for America, reaching New York on the twenty-fifth of December, after an absence of more than five months.