History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications
from the first submarine cable of 1850 to the worldwide fiber optic network

All America Cables
by Bill Glover

ALL AMERICA CABLES

In 1867 James A. Scrymser's International Ocean Telegraph Company laid the first line from Florida to Cuba, 235 miles. In 1878 Scrymser incorporated the Mexican Cable Company, and the following year the Central and South American Cable Company, the predecessors of All America Cables, Inc. The names were changed shortly afterwards to the Mexican Telegraph Company and the Central and South American Telegraph Company, and the cable routes were expanded over the years to link the US to all of South America.

All America Cables was formed in February 1920 when it took over the assets of the Central and South American Telegraph Company. New cables were laid in 1920, starting with one across the River Plate between Atalya, Argentina and Montevideo, Uruguay. Two further cables were laid over the same route later in the year. These were manufactured by Telcon and laid from the locally-chartered vessel Caceres by the crew of CS Colonia. Colonia then laid a cable from Atalya to Rio de Janeiro, 1270 nm and Montevideo to Santos, Brazil 1068 nm.

Also in 1920, Siemens Bros, using CS Faraday (1), laid cables from Colon to Cartagena, Colombia; Santa Elena, Ecuador to Chorillos, Peru, and Cuba to Peurto Rico.

In 1921 Telcon, using CS Stephan, connected Havana to Miami, and in 1924/25 Colonia laid a triplicate New York- Fisherman's Point (Cuba)-Colon cable.

In 1926 All America purchased the US-Haiti Telegraph Company from La Compagnie des Câbles Télégraphiques. New cables were laid: Willemstad - La Guayra, Willemstad - Aruba, Aruba - Maracaibo and Maracaibo - Barranquilla. Telcon manufactured the cables and used CS Dominia to lay them.

In February 1927 All America Cables was acquired by the International Telephone and Telegraph Company (I.T. & T., later ITT). In 1938 the division name was changed to All America Cables and Radio, and with the Commercial Cable Company and Mackay Radio & Telegraph, All America was now part of the American Radio and Cable Corporation, of which ITT is the major shareholder.

CABLESHIP

See the separate page on CS All America

All America Cables Christmas Cablegram

The Fiftieth Anniversary Medallion

On Tuesday, May 8 [1928], President Merrill called to his office all members of the New York staff and presented each individual with a medallion, commemorating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the founding of All America Cables, Inc. He shook hands with each person and thanked every man and woman for the faithful service he or she had performed for All America Cables. Medallions for the employees outside of New York are being sent to the various stations and should be in the hands of all within another month.

The medallion is a singularly beautiful thing and everybody was impressed by its attractiveness. The design was executed by Mr. Julio Kilenyi, an artist and sculptor of international fame. Mr. Kilenyi first studied at the Royal Fine Arts School in Budapest and continued his studies in Germany and in France.

After considerable work in Europe, he went to South America and spent several years in Buenos Aires where he established an enviable reputation as a portrait sculptor. He came to the United States about ten years ago.

In medallic art some of his most celebrated examples have been the portraits of Woodrow Wilson, General Pershing, Thomas A. Edison, Elbert H. Gary, Mark Twain, Charles W. Elliott, and Lord Northcliffe. He designed the President Coolidge Inauguration Medal also. In addition to these he has made medallic portraits of many other dignitaries of the Church and of many who are celebrated in the Commercial world.

Among the models which Mr. Kilenyi has executed and from which medals have been struck are those for the Official Lindbergh medal, the Byrd North Pole medal, the Curtis N-C 4 Atlantic Flight medal, the Battle of Bunker Hill medallion, the Battle of Lexington medallion, the Plymouth Tercentenary medal, and the Republic of Peru Centenary medal.

[Source: All America Review, June, 1928]

Thanks to site visitor Maurício Ganzo Pereira of Brazil for providing this image of an All America Cables cigarette lighter.

For personal stories of life with All America Cables, see
Captain Frederick Hack and CS All America and
George S. Watson's Remembrances of a Cable Operator

Research Material Needed

The Atlantic Cable website is non-commercial, and its mission is to make available on line as much information as possible.

You can help - if you have cable material, old or new, please contact me. Cable samples, instruments, documents, brochures, souvenir books, photographs, family stories, all are valuable to researchers and historians.

If you have any cable-related items that you could photograph, copy, scan, loan, or sell, please email me: billb@ftldesign.com