The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1868-12-17
PROPOSED Reform OF TIE TELEGRAPH.
, TIE EDITOR OF THE HsxALp:-


A privately printed letter addressed to the Post
master General by Gardiner q. Hubbard. OF Can
bridge, Mass contains suggestions for the improve
ieni Of our telegraph system which deserve tho as
tention OF the puslic. .--.ss~r'
No other country unless 1t may be Russia ct somd
future day. possesses 80 great natural advantage
for the development OF the telegraph as the Untes
States. In no other country in which an equa
amount OF business is done Is the extent OF territo
or the distance from one great commercial citJ
10 another 30 great. BY comparing our system
with those OF other countries 1t appears, however
that we have by no means made the best use o.
these advantages In Belgium where the telegraph
is managed by the government the need for its use
is but trining. owing to the small extent Of the
country. Of the four chief cities, Antwerp, the
flrthest from the capital, can be reached By rail- in
fifty minutes, while the transition and delivery OF
message usually takes half an hour Nevertheless.
in Belgium the telegraph Is used for all kinds OF
business, social as well as commercial. and BIZ an
kinds Of people. The ratio Of telegraphic messages
to letters is high one to thirty seven-being In
England, for instance, no higher than one to ono
hundred and twenty-one. This extensive use Of tho
telegraph s due to the admirable system upon
which 1t Ia conducted. The telegraph Is connected
with both tho railway and the post large
number Of the offices are at railway stations but
'Every post once is an ONCE OF deposit from which
messages despatched at once free OF charge. %
the nearest telegraph ofice when In the same dls-
trct otherwise by the first messenger or by special
carrier on the payment OF an extra rate Tor de.
livery.n BY this union Of the telegraph and postal
s ior
Of tariff also low and 1t has been found that the
reduction Of the rates has immensely increased tho
amount of business transacted by telegraph.
In 1862 the inland messages. at one and 0ne-half
francs per message Of twenty words, numbered
In 1885, at one franc, the number was 1921
In 1887 at one half franc, the number was $40
In Switzerland the facts are equally instructive.
The general features OF the telegraph system there
similar to those Of Belgium. In January, 1888.
the rates reduced from one to half franc with
the following result:-Numbcr OF inland messages
from January April 1867, 748 number Of inland
messages from January to April, 1885, 145, 207-beng
ns q per Of Se system Of
telegraphing therefore, are that the rates OF cnage
are low and uniform, the business is ost profitable
the telegraph is easy OF access and brought into close
connection with the affairs Of all classes OF people:
In England an act passed on the last day OF July,
1868, enables the Postmaster General II acquire aud
work electric teegrapns. 1t IS proviGed-1st, that
the rates shall be UNIFORM not exceeding one shilling
for the first twenty words Of each and not
exceeding threepence for each additional i've words;
3D. that the address and signature shall not DO
counted in as part OF the message to be paid Tor;
Sd that there shall be extra charge for delivery
by special foot messenger within one mile OF the
terminal onice or within the limit Of the town
postal delivery; 4th that beyond that distance the
delivery shall be made by special fooc messenger
when desired and the charge for delivery shall not
exceed sixpence per double mile beyond such limits;
5th, that when such special delivery Is not desired
the message shall be delivered free OF extra charge
by the usual postal delivery. Finally, any person
connected with the Post ONCE who shall disclose the
contents Of message entrusted to hun shall be sub
ecr to Imprisonment for q term not exceeding one
year. IL estimated that the result Of these Inn
prOvements number Of messages will be at once
increased from 100000 to II, $4,000 and that the
profits Will be such as to authorize an early reduc
| ton Of the rates to sixpence.
In the United States, under the present system II,
| is claimed that the telegraph Is not sufficiently
accessible that the rates too high and are need
lessly lacking III uniformity. They are frequently
less to remote station than to an intermediate one
on the same line Nor do the rates increase Ia fair
proportion the increase Of distance, but generally
In much more rapid ratio. The rates for messages
VI ten words at distances not exceeding 500 miles
being averaged at forty-0ne cents. the following
schedule viii show the proportional and the actual
| increase for grea ter distances