, 1872-12-03

Increased expenses which it entailed came to.
this result, continued the sys~
lem Of reduction from year to year, till an eSo exo
animation Of the business Of the year ioos
or total receipts was Obtained from Il! the
25-cent portion Of the thrift. This and the dls-
couragenent Of any proposed opposition me ne
induced me to adopt a uniform charge o1 20
cents for each ten words, and cent Tor eacn
qs o hs Tsfton f 's which
piled to only 10 per cent Of the business: was
IN increase Of Is per cent in the total number
OF messages in the first year Of it's application
From the foregoing examples, have no
doubt that one year of the tariff abore p1oposeu
after the provision Of proper facilities, would
double the number Of messages in this &C country; m
In that case, our business will be 3oooo, oou
messages, which, at an average OF 33119 Genus
per message. will yield gross revenue OF S1o'-
100000.
per cent on cost for interest, C5594, 900 j Per
cent on cost for a sinking-fuud to recover ptln-
cipal. (S594, ,00D j 20 per cent on cost Tor maln-
tcnance, supplies, &C., G52.376,0o0 j and 70 per
cent Of oss Ss Sod for extensions a
Tie entire cost of 2, TOO stations in the United
Kingdom, where the Postmasters provide for tue
service, is only about one-fourtl as much as the
aggregate cost of the GOO offices where the de-
While the plan Of allowing the Postnasters to
provide the telesraphic service has there worked
satisfactorily, I am Of tho opinion that 1t could
not be adopted here with equal success
Hence esnata tt ho: for ocsa saSlng Mora 1n fh, the
Postmaster could personally perform the work
These Offices, it Is safe to say, number fully
1000, at which an average extra allowance OF
5000 per annum would secure to the Department
q skilled operator as PoBtmaster Ih1s "onld
inv ;f,,ra oPC CE11 ArTunEG
ments with the railroads for commissions on
private business transacted by them would pro-
vide for the working Of about 1000 Offices, a8
above stated, costing the Department perhaps
100000. Fifteen hundred offices, lnslnalhhg e:
branches would then be loft, nov worked by
5000 employees Of all grades, whose salaries
would have to be borne entirely by the tele~
graph. An Increase of 50 per cent IN tins force
would bo sufficient to provide for the aoubleo
business. and the salaries Of these 7,5oo en-
ployes, at an average Of 7900, Would consume
the residue Of S., ,500, 900. ....--,,
The foregoing estimates cannot be expected
to be minutely accurate. Comparison With tho
figures OF tho companies will show thcm to be
exceedingly liberal especially in the item Of eal-
aries; and believe the actual working OF the
system would give much better results for the
Department. Tho statistics Of Europe can at
ford 70 adequate idea OF what may be done n
this country. A people who use the Telegraph
so largely as we do, under the great difficulties
to the utmost advantages that can be offered
them. With much freet, more extended, and
more active social and commercial intercourse
than prevails between the different States OF
Europe. with O population rapidly Increasing
and keenly alive to al the demands OF o progress
sive civilization, and with territory Offering BY
it's vast extent the greatest Inducements to the
Use OF the telegraph in preference to the mail,
it may be safely predicted that teleg1aphy In
America will hereafter solve problems and &C.
so1on1;ah rocr1fp tina will far rrEatriD it's
derfu1 achievements in the past.
In presenting the foregoing views and recon-
1nendations, l have confined myself entirely to
the wants Of the people in state OF peace, and
for the development of our social, industrial.
commercial, maritime, agricultural, and educa-
tional resources and to bind together our
extended population by TINT intimate knowl.
edge which cheap and extended mode OF
instantaneous intercourse can alone 5 give i've
much more impressive. In time OF
war,-and God will not always ward of
that terrible calamity,-a postal telegraph WAL
become Of supreme Importance. The Govern
volre its very existence Or the honor and Iber-
ties OF the American people, cannot and will not
permit the telegraph, unriyalled as means OF
communication, to remain in the hands OF any
individual, company, or corporation. AZ srch q
the greatest celebrity and absolute secrecy
Sworn officers Of the Government will alone be
trusted to discharge duties involving the most
tremendous consequences. Hence, nearly al
tho great nations Of the earth have assumed the
! management and control Of the telegraph within
| their respective borders, and the United States
| must do likewise,
| Before closing this subject, desire briefly to
express my disapproTal Of the scheme proposed
for tho Incorporation OF company, improperly
called "The Postal Telegraph Company" to
I ffn 3fraa in rNnnactinu With thu Post
| Office Department. It is not in analogy with
! the workings OF the mail service in any I'M
| portant particular. In the latter, the Depart-
1nent transmits the mails under the charge OF ita
own oficers, and controls su the machinery
needed for that purpose. In the former, it is
| proposed to make the Department mere
agent to receive and deliver telegraph messages
for tie benefit aud profit Of private corpora
| ton. The terms of the proposed charter re-
stamped paper, and stationery to receive the
message from the transuitter, take the pay
| therefor, eoe that the proper
stamp Is affixed, and band over the mes
sage to the operator Of tho, company. ;
is properly written out, enyeloped, and delivered.
The Government ia required to provide and
equip suitable station houses for all the offices,
| operators Instruments, and batteries Of the
keep ali accounts arising out Of the buainess oi
| telegraphlng; make reports to the company at
stated times, and pay over all the moneys
chargeable upon the gross number Of messages.
| after deducting cents only on all dispatches
other than press dispatches, and cents only on
| them, It thus appears that, while the company
is only required to provide the lineB, batteries,
and operators, and the Government everything
else, the company is to receive (shoUld the aver:
age receipt per message be no higher than fl
cents) about 81 per cent Of the receipts, and the
Government only l3 per cent Doubtless Q
| most avra1lent arrap peT1aut far tha CononanT