National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1872-12-05

views and arguments which they have now
presented othnfH Of highly commanding
character, especially those which relate to the
extreme value Of which the magnetic tolc-
graph would he In the emergencies Of war,
and Its singular adaptcdnoss TO render our
system Of government easily and certainly
maintalnablo Oyor the immense space from
the Atlantic TO the Pacific which our territory
covers. Doubt has been entertained by many
patriotic minds how far the rapid, full, and
thorough lnterosmmunlcatiOn Of thought and
Intelligence so necessary TO people living
under common representative republic could
be expected to take place throughout such
immense bounds. That doubt can no longer
exist. II has been resolved and put an end to
forever by the triumphant success Of the elec-
tro-magnetlc telegraph Of Professor Morse, as
already tested by the Government
Owing to the slOwness Of the public TO
recognize tho advantages Of tho new lnyen-
ton, and the doubts cast on the feasibility Of
It's operation over long distances, tho course
recommended by the committee was not
I'D y9ted and the line, built and for some time
maintained OF Government expense, was
turned over to the holders Of the patent.
Since that day the above predictions have
been gradually approaching realization and
many evils, unforeseen by the committee, have
grown up under corporate maungementof the
telegraph system.
II the effects Of rivalry between the tels-
graph and the mail upon the revenues Of the
post office have not been serious, II Il due
alone to tho liberal management Of the latter
rs compared with that Of the companies,
| management which, since the invention Of
| tho telegraph, has reduced the rates OF postage
| from twenty-five to three cents, and Increased
ten-fold the correspondence Of the country.
The natural policy Of private companies IL
10 extend facilities slowly aud only 10 profit
able points, to let their buslness augment
gradually, and to reap large proats from
small number Of messages, while Govern
| ment system, managed In the interests Of the
| people, pursues exactly the opposite course.
Had the policy Of the post office been adopted
/ by the telegraph companies, or had tho Gov
eminent held to the old rates Of postage, the
| telegraph, Instead Of now transmitting one
aftieth part Of the annual correspondence Of
the country, COLLECTING therefor one-third Of
the entire expense Of the pOst office establish
ment,) would probably transmit at least one
| tenth. The profits required Of private enter
prisCs would not have permitted such a
course. But improvements In telegraphy
| render II By no means certain that In future
| the telegraph will not to a very great extent
Eupersede the mail as means Of correspond
cncc. Tho Introduction Of the duplex trans
mittor, doubling the capacity OF lines for
/ through business, and Of the fast or auto
matte system, by which one wire can be made
to do the work Of six; the probable simplih-
cation Of the fac-simile system Of Caselli, by
1
drawn or written may be instantaneously
made to appear at distance Of hundreds OF
| miles from the original: and the countless
other applications OF electricity to the trans
mission Of intelligence yet to be made, must
sooner or later Interfere most seriously with
| tho transportation Of letters by the slower
means Of the post.
Meanwhile, tho Immediate defects and
abuses Of the telegraph call loudly for reform.
The system has grown up with and by the
side OF railroads, and has naturally directed
itself to profitable and easily accessible dis
tTicts. II haF followed the march Of clyillza-
ton, and not, like the post office, led the van.
1t has waited for certain remuneration before
advancing, without attempting to educate the
| people through lts use to an appreciation OF
It's advantage On the contrary, Its spirit
has been too often illlberal and unprogresslye.
A glance ut the telegraph map OF the country
shows large districts totally unprovided with
tclographic facilities, and many Important
places with post Offices In their business cen
tres dependent upon the outlying railroad
stations for the means Of teegraphing. The
tariffs are eIOrbitant, unequal and complex,
supplemented In some cases by enormous
charges for local delivery, and regulated en-
| tirely By the pleasure Of the companies, In
this connection ask attention TO the table
(Telegraphs, 81 appended to this report. II
has been carefully compiled from statistics
kindly Furnished me by tho International Blu
reau Of Telographs In Europe, by the dlTec'
tors Of the different national bureaus, by MI
George Sauer, an American gentleman resid
, Ing In Europe, who has made the subject OF
, government telegraphs q special study, anC
by the officers Of several Of the American
. companies, to all Of whom desire to express
my Acknowledgements.
The table shows that, with q cost per mil,
e for construction and equipment much lower
here than In Bavaria, Franco, Great Britain
. Italy, and the average Of Europe, and abou
equal to that In Belgium aud North Germany
. and with yearly expense per mile OF lin
, which will compare most faVOrably with tina
Of tho countries mentioned, the telegraph !
, this country collects an average Of 70 cent
: on each message, against an average OF i
90 In Great Britain, 20 In Italy, % In Germany
and IS In Europe generally. On the cont
: nent, the minimum tariff Ia for twenty words
: including address and signature (Which ar
estimated together to average seven words ;
|. In the United Kingdom It Is for twenty words
I exclusive Of address and signature; while |
!. the United States tho address and signatur
n arc excluded, and ten words only allowed
n The table (Telegraphs, y gives cOmpar
a son of telegraphic tarlffs In Europe with thos
n In tho United StateS as regards distance
n showing the lowest average rate per mile o
r. 32 messages sent from Washington to point
Al east Of the Mississippi river to he higher tina
% the highest average rate per mile abroad tins
p | In Russia, and the average rate per mile o
n O6 messages here to be from one and one ha
a to four times as high as those Of Europe, no
m wlthstandlng the greater distances In th
" country.
y The same table also marks most clearly III
Ne inequality and discriminating character I
American tariffs, as opposed to the general
Ia uniform rates OF Europe.
n The uniform system has recently bee
ID adopted in Canada, and tariff Of twenty-h'
"A cents established throughout the Dominic
~ | with highly satisfactory results, as will
n seen BY reference 10 the statement Of the pr
n. Eident Of the Montreal Telegraph COmpan
- | CTelegTaphs, 81 for which | am indebted
"a the honorable Postmaster General of Canad
nj The complex and uncertain character
es our rates, necessitating sometimes person
se visit TO the office, and frequently length
n computation 10 ascertain the cost, Is also OF
ne of the greatest obstacles In the way OF the e
tended use Of the telegraph. uniform
IN simple and well-known rate Of charge pt
N mlts the use of letter-boxes or other places
d. deposit.
a. The table CTelegrNphs, 81 Illustrates the c
OF tent to which the rates TO large cities In t
United States are burdened with dellye
II charges, which often double the cost OF
n message addressed to points very far with
nj the free delivery of the post Office. The al
IN lition Of this delivery charge In England
ds the Government has produced most saluta
nv effect
~ But perhaps the greatest evil Of the Anne
Ne can system, In this regard, IL the utter lack
restraint upon the companies a. 10 til
IA charges. When the Exclusive right
N patent, referred to in the report above quot
m, expired, II WAS believed that cOmpetiti
he would afford remedy for the evils viii
or were even then oppressiyely felt by those "
II had occasion to use the telegraphs, .,
mi Events, however, have shown this belief
nf have been unfounded. Although new COM
,et mics have from time to time sprung up to
in vide the profits Of teiegraphy they have g
nf orally proved short lived, and their red
lions OF tariff have been but temporary q
within narrow limits. The vast extent Of
gu lines OF the companies now consolidated un
on the name Of the Western Union has enab
no them to reduce rates between places reacl
W by the opposition to point which barely
~ ables the latter TO meet expenses, with
~ seriously lmpAring their own revenues.
u! credible ~ II may appear, the official sta
la' meuts Of the Western Union Company sh
ne that their average receipt per message
"st been Increased eleven cents, or nearly 20
oh cent, since 1857, notwithstanding the
'Ie doubted reductions Of tariff between imp,
oh ant points. Whether this Is due TO the a
ION mentatiOn of rates between offices not reac
by competition, or to some other cause,