The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1867-11-28
Who Thall Own and Control the Railroad
and the Telegraph Lines.

The New York independent has an article of
FAR reaching Importance to the entire people,
In respect to the future ownership of the
Telegraph lines and the Railroads of this
country. The question suggested for conside-
raHon is' shall herailroads and telegraph lines
De public property. In other words would it
concuce to the interests of the people were
the Government to own the Railroads and
Telegraph lines, instead of their being owned
by individuals and stock holders. The Gov
eminent has already been agitaing some
movement, in the direction of putting Tele-
egraph lines under the control of the Post
Office Department. The Government now
furnishes the people the means ofintelligence,
| by providing mail facilities throughout the
States and Territories. There have been
those who have argued that the mails could
be carried cheaper by private enterprise than
by the Government. Such argument, is not
Sustained by the facts in the case.
| Were the carrying of the mails left to pri-
vate enterprise, many portions of country
1 would doubtless be well furnished, while
| large districts would not be supplied at all.
There are now many hundreds of mail routes,
which fall far short of paying the expenses OF
mail service but under the Government ar
rangement the routes which pay surplus
over expenses, are made to meet the deficien-
cies of the non paying routes. So that the
total expenses of the Post Office Department
| in all the States and Territories, are borne as
nearly as possible from the total income The
Government does not undertake to do this
service at profit. individuals and corpora
tons, would never engage in any thing of thi:
kind, If there were no expected remuneration
beyond the actual cost
If then the Government performs the mai
service for the entire country at the loves
possible figure, could it not do the telegraph
ing equally well? The mail and the telegraph
are both channels of intelligence to the PEG
pie, and are nearly allied 10 each other a
means of com municBtion. Next in the nat
ural order, follow the Railroads ; these corpo
rations are made up of stockholders, who o
Icourse so manage the roads, as to insure
1.-THE largest possible profits; they never con
template carrying passengers and freight a
cost, as the Government does the mails
Railroad officers as a general thing, are pail
much higher salaries, than postmasters anC
other employees in Postal service. Verv
many Railroad Presidents and Superintend
ents, receive salaries twice as large, al
that paid the Postmaster General of the Uni
ted States.
A distinguished citizen of Boston Josiat
Quincy, has given much attention to this
subject. We quote the following statements
of Mr.. Quincy from the n. Y. Independent j
ls'What might be the advantage of govern
Iment management of railways is shown not
only in the canal system of New York, but
Ieven more strikingly in the post-ofice ar
lrangements of England and this country. The
post-ofiee conveys our letters on one system
Eby government management; the railway
companies our persons and our property on
one totally different. The first is conducted
primarily for the public good, and incidental
liy for profit. The second exclusively for the
benefit of the managers and stockholders in
the corporations. By the one l can send a
book from here to San Francisco for -four
cents. BY the other / cannot send the same
from here to New York for less than fifty. Il
f am dissatisfied in the one case, / can apply
to a man whose interest it is to see every
abuse at once corrected. In the other at best
/ am sent from one employe to another, Until
trouble and vexation make me submit to i'm
position.
''The Telegraph system in Switzerland is
full of suggestions on this kindred subject
That countryis covered with a network OF
Telegraph wires, and the whole is under the
control of the Federal Government. The
charge is twenty cents for twenty words, forty
for fifty, sixty for one hundred and the gov.
eminent has resolved. after the first of Janu
uary, 1868. to reduce the charges fifty pei
Icent., when dispatch can be sent to any part
of the country for half cent word Let
our merchants who would pay five dollars and
five cents for sending q hundred words tC
Washington. mediate on the difference be
tween the government management In 6w1JZ
erland and our private monopolies."
The Independent, adds to the foregoing sug
! gestions of Mr.. Quincy, editorially as follows
} We can see nothing but good resulting from
, this movement, in which Mr.. Quincy has Sc
prominent place. Whatever may be the
decision of the public, after full examina
ton ofthe subject, there is no doubt that
discussion of the uses and abuses of railroads
will be great public benefit.
AT present they are practically beyond oul
control, and may be well managed or i'll
without the public being able to protect itsel
from injury or to share in the good results
| A few persons generally contrive to direct al
the operations of railroad, sometimes fol-
their own personal benefit, sometimes for the
good OF the community, and sometimes fol
both, as may be the case with the late extra
ordinary proceedings in regard to the New
i YORK ana Erie and the Hartford and Erie
railroads. We hear further rumors of the
possible combination of the Erie and Contra
roads to keep up or increase the rates O
freight Very likely they have no foundation
but the possibility of such combinations and
the nature of the monopoly that would result
from them, should put us on our guard II
may not be best for the state to own it,
railroads but in some way it should have
the means of regulating them and making
them serve the general interests ofthe people
For this reason we welcome Mr.. Quinev'i
crusade against the existing system, withou
knowing exactly what ought to take its place