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The Laying of the American Trans-Pacific Cable (1903)
xander G. McAdie San Franciscans fully realize that they are privileged spectators of a great historical drama.
For a length of six miles at the San Francisco shore end an additional copper core has been introduced to serve as an artificial ground, because in the neighborhood of a large city trolley and other electrical circuits produce marked disturbances of the galvanometer needle. The cable ship Silvertown, belonging to the India Rubber Gutta-percha and Telegraph Company, sailed from Portland, England, on September 23, 1902, reaching the port of San Francisco on December 4, 1902, in seventy-two days covering a distance of 14,000 nautical miles. At the present time, when the air is full of reported successes in long-distance wireless communication, and especially transoceanic signalling, we cannot fail to be impressed with the courage and confidence of the Commercial Pacific Cable Company in pushing this work through without further delay.
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