The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1869-07-30
OCEAN TELEGRAPHS.
The Atlantic Cable Competition.
From the London star, July 1A.l


The success of the French Atlantic cable
will occasion great regret to the prophet rs or
the English line, but If their interests are
much injured they have no one but shemselves
TO blame. They had no confidence IN what was
really the strongest part OF their enterprise
namely, its capacity to serve the general pub
lie and not merely one particular class. Mes
sages to spd from Amsriea oue ut to be as com,
mon as similar messages are between England
and France, for constant stream OF travellers
is passing between the two countries, and o
large proportion would be very glad to tele-
graph their safe arrival to frie ,ds. Then.
Americans who live here, or in other parts OF
Europe, would often be glad to ask by tele-
graph after relatives who happen to be Ill, or
10 send news of;theIr dan Zhter's marriages or
of equally interesting Incidents in domestic
life. But this kind of business has been de-
hbsrately discouraged by the managers OF the
English line.
Administer may send an important message
to his agents. though even then the amount OF
his bill is likely to startie his government, as
We may see IN the case Of Mr. Seward. He
sent message to the American representative
in Russia, for which between f4000 aud 5000
was charged. The government has not yet
been able to make up lts mind to pay TOR that
costly dispatch. Again. commercial men who
have American connections are Obliged to use
the cable. If the tariff were much higher even
10 pay the money and send their messages.
The tIm which first learns the price OF cotton,
et iron, or OF shares and bonds. has an I'M
mense advantage over competitors who are
acting without this information. Such traffic,
therefore. nee sssrily develops ITSELF But il
ls not large enough to pay for the expenses OF
laying a.cable beneath the Atlantic. The i'm
mense advantage which might have been gain
ed by inviting the general body OF the pubic
to use the cable has been thrown away. The
directors acted in timId spirit, as if their
line would inevitably break down uext week,
and it was necessary for them to scrape to
gether all the money they could 10 the in-
terval.
The competition of the French cable will ex-
papd their ideas. In the first place. they will
fad their French customers gong to the other
slop, uule.s they reduce their prices in the
next, the French company might easily attract
q large share OF the English business by adopt
ing o reasonable scale. At the recent meeting
OF the English company one Of the officials de-
plored tho fact that they had not enjoyed a
longer lease OF the monopoly before rivals ell
tered the Held. rhatis all very well from their
point OF ylew but the public cannot be expect
ed to sympathlzs with 1t. II anybody deserves
sympathy in reference TO Atlantic cable
schemes II is the shareholder or director IN
the original comptny, who has not yet received
back penny OF his money. They were the
made future successes certain and they have
derived no profit whatever from the second
cable. It is plain matter OF business with
the present propnetors, and sthey have acted
ia a narrow and ngeardly spirit towards the
public. they cannot expect Us to mix our teals
with tbelrs.
A great fuss has recently been made about
reduction m the tariff. Messages were to be
sent for two pounds. But when man came
to write down his message. he found that he
was expected to 'pay for every word or fgue IN
the dates or addresses; whereas five words had
formerly been gwen IN. The address alone
now exhau5ts the two pounds thus: "Fhomp-
son to Barker, 112 Twenty.sixth street, New
York" Here aie the ten words, at once, which
form the limit Of a message for two pounds
OF course the rate is almost probibitory as re-
CARDS the ordinary run of people. A man with
o al ,nder purse cannot send word to his wife in
America that their cblld at school IN England
ls very III. Messages Of that description would
be dispatched by hundreds every day. If the
scale OF charges invited them. At present there
is scarcely work enough to employ one out OF
the two English cables now in existence.
Would it not be far better to- charge ten shl.-
llngs for cable messages, aud multiply the Gus
toners hundredtoid. than to let the wires lie
comparatively idlep Remonstrances, however,
having failed, We are very glad that the sharp
goad Of competition has been applied to the di-
rectors. The French propiietors may easily
do the greater part of the business il they will
come down to tn public needs. o. that ac-
count We may well wish the new line success.
We may not heaf 80 much about it's binding
the Old World AMI tho New together in per.
petual friendship, for We have found out that
MISUNDERSTANDING are possible eyen With
telegraph wire lying comfortably beneath the
Atlantic. But the cable will be distinct ad-
vantage to the world, and everybody but the
shareholders in the "Anglo-Americ: n" will be
glad to hear that the difficulties which sur.
rounded tho promoters have been successfully