The New York herald., 1869-01-07

scfcTdl pTOuiiIcut OhuCcIs VI Dotn VI thC
service win leave here to attend.
POSTAL TELEGRAPH
~>.o-S~~>>c>~~-~~~~~~o~~
Report Of Postmaster General Randall TO
Congress-He Recommends the Government
to Unite the telegraph with the Postal Sys-
tem-A Company to, be Chartered by Com
sress and to Make Contracts with the
Government TO Deliver TcIesraphic Mes
sagcs mt Low and Fixed Rates-The Plan
REPRESENTATIVE Of the Postal telegraph
System in Eur0pe-Objections to the Mo-
uopoly and High Charges In the United
Stutcs.
WASHINGTON, Jan. g, 1869.
The following report OF Postmaster General RAN
dali on the subject OF postal telegraph win be sent
to Congress tomorrow
P0sT OFFICE DEPARTMENT.
WASHINGTON, d. e., Jan. Z, 1859.
SIR-The attention Of Congress and OF the public
has within two or three years been repeatedly d.
graph with the postal service. There IL growing
conviction In the public mind that method OF trans
mlng now sS 80 e used Is GapaDe q
anects the interests OF the whole community In 80
many ways should not be controlled BY pri-
for private profit and made slbservicnt to private
interests. When the cheapness q the mails s COM
pared wR tns high rates e ; q the telegraph the sim
and complex charges OF the other, the public In
stnctyey feel that would be desirable to have the
transmission Of messages BY telegraph as by mall
with the lowest rates which the nature or the
service admits. 1t also feels that private Companies
necessarily conduct their business with o view,
primarily to private profit and consider the interest
and convenience OF the public only SO far as the
Ss ne o. INTEREST with which sSs subject
has been discussed Of late shows that
the time has arrived when 1t should be fully con-
any change can be made for The public good. Such
an inquiry leads to an examination OF other sys-
TENS and their results. and to comparison Of
The subject Of the telegraph was first brought be-
fore the public In 1887. In February OF that year
tue House OF Representatives passed the following
Resolved ina. the Secretary of the be requested
70 the Hooss % q " ~ y ns s:sSr Ion
sSs unsS s!ss o. o. ''s'p'' '0'
In March the Secretary issued circular requesting
Information upon the subject. His report contained
Professor Nbrse's plan for an electric telegraph and
IL concluded with the statement "that he was sais-
fed that the establishment OF system OF teegraphs
for the United states would be useful to commerce
a. well as the government 1t might most
properly be made appurtenant TO the Post
Once Department" subsequently Professor
Morse petltioned Congress for aid in bringing out
his invention, and In 1s43 bill was passed appro.
prating 600 for the construction OF line between
Washington and Baltimore, and the Appropriation
bill for the same session contained an item OF
$4,000 to defray the expenses Of operating the line
Sae @ the wa nnSss n
supervision OF Professor Morse, with the govern
ment appropriation. bill was introduced at the
next session OF Congress for the extension OF the
line TO New York, but 1t did not pass. The success
OF the first enterprise induced the construction Of
time the telegraph was introduced upon the cont
nent OF Europe Portland was connected by the
telegraph with New Orleans and Boston, and New
York with Chicago and 81. Louis.
The ruling principle held by the continental gov
ernments has been that telegrapnic correspondence
tsnce ~ nermanss and reable meanssof
telegraphic communication s considered to be even
greater In degree than the necessity OF an efficient
postal service. Throughout the whole OF continental
Europe the telegraph n under the exclusive control
and management Of the respective governments.
gne posa n sainm mas snS oses 20 IL
those countries the rates have been lowest the faci
titles for the reception and delivery OF messages the
the State and the people. The Investigations into
the operations OF this system sh0ws:-
Ffrst-That In Belgium and Switzerland, where the
rates are low and uniform, the telegraph Il most
freely used and that the receipta In those two
tries have exceeded the cost OF construction, main
tenance and operation, twenty words being allowed
TO each message, including date and signature. the
annual number or messages In switzerland average
eyer, three persons in me United ases Estimating s
the number OF messages annually transmitted at
6,0o0,00o, one 10 every six.
gium and switzerland. where the greatest distance
Of transmission ls 200 miles, rs one.
half franc. Inc rates 1Or transit ana
with the distance. That the average cost OF each
message n threequarters OF franc, the average re
ccipts four-nfths OF franc In France the rates In
the same department are one-haf franc between
difYerent departments; greatest distance, 600 miles
one franc or twelve and cighttenths cents and
twenty-five ana sx.tenths cents currency.
Tntrd-That the rates have been reduced from
time TO tme ~ the business increased; tnat every
great reduction of rates has been followed by large
and immediate increase OF new kinds OF business,
reducing the proportonate expense OF each mes
sage.
Fo,rtn--That the facilities afforded fer the recep-
tion and delivery Of messages are very great aud
equally distributed over the country. SO great are
stations do not average moro than two messages o
dav.
Fvrn-That the telegraph Is but little used by the
press. an organization like the Associated Press"
sxtn-Ihat by the union OF the telegraph with the
telegraph without any corresponding increase OF ex-
pense TO the Post once
n the system has succeeded with low rates where
distances are short and the population smau, and n
countries where the habits ef the people aud polit
cal conditions are such that the press makes but
little Of ts lines and where the chief advantages
OF the telegraph cannot therefore be realized, u
must be more successful In our own country, with
It's vast extent twherc the telegraph anticipates by
days the letter sent by maill, Its favorable cli-
mate and Its increasing millions The telegraph la
England has been controlled py private companies.
and I'm that respect resembles our OVID system.
Companies were organized and lines constructed
as soon the result OF Mr.. Morsc's experiment was
known. There has been little competition % com
pared with that which has existed In the United
states, aud rates. originally high have ALWAYS been
uniform for ike distances and have been reduced