One major importance of the transatlantic cable system is the relaying of headline news stories of the time. The message regarding the sinking of the White Star Line's luxury ocean liner "Titanic" has to be one of the most significant and tragic that passed through the cable lines including the lines to Commercial Cable in Hazel Hill, Nova Scotia.
The following is one man's account of the his experience the night the "Titanic" struck an iceberg off Newfoundland and sank.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, William Windeler followed in his father's footsteps and in 1911 joined the ranks of the Commercial Cable Company - Hazel Hill, Nova Scotia station. Less than a year later into his service as a cable operator, Mr. Windeler recalls the tragic events that conspired the morning of April 15, 1912.
"Well, it so happened that it might be described as accidental, but I was one of the night staff on that particular week. We worked round the clock, because the office never closed once it was opened, due to international timing of traffic. It was about 2:30 in the morning, and this zealous young apprentice heard one of the wires calling, and I dashed over with my usual nerve - gall - and it was Cape Race calling, and he had this report, this urgent message, saying that the Titanic had struck an iceberg. Well, as soon as the staff in the office heard this message, I was buggered off into obscurity, while qualified operators took over. For weeks it was gluttoned with traffic, going to the AP and the UP and Reuters in London, and all the other places where this news was sought."
At that time there were several different cables sent out regarding the sinking of the Titanic.
"That was the kind of thing we were being flooded with, but it didn't take very long for this kind of information to get worldwide, and our connection with the ship was via Cape Race radio, not Cape Rae but Cape Race, and from Cape Race it went to Port Aux Basque and from Port Aux Basque to Canso - we had the cable. It reached us that way."
"It had the elite of the world, as you know, among its passengers at that time, and the tragedy of so many of these important lives, business-wise or otherwise, created quite a stir and many wealthy Americans and other wealthy people who suffered loss of life at that time, created a demand for inquiry to confirm why these conditions, which were thought to be so perfect, failed so badly when put to their test, by the experts. It died down like everything else, after months of investigation, but the British Courts trying the case gave the White Star Line a pretty hard time of it."
