, 1872-12-03

adopted by the telegraph companies, or had the
government held to the cid rates Of postage,
fftleth part Of the annual correspondence Of
the country COLLECTING therefor onc-third of the
entire expense of the Post Office establishment,
would probably transmit at least one-tenth.
prises would not bavo permitted such q
course But improvements in telegraphy render
it by no means certain that in future tho te1e-
graph will not to very great extent supersede
the mail as means Of correspondence. The in
PRODUCTION Of the duplex transmitter, doubling
the capacity Of lines for through business, and
Of the 'sfast - or automatic system, by which
one wire can be made to do the work Of six; the
probable simplifcation Of the fac sinaile system
| OF Casell, By which an exact copy Of anything
that can be drawn or written may be- instantan-
| taneously mad7 to appear ut 8 distance Of hun
dreds Of miles from the original and the count
less other applications Of electricity to the trans-
] mission Of intelligence yet to be made,-nust
sooner or later interfere'moat seriously with the
| transportation Of letters BY the slower means Of
the post.
Meanwhile, the immediate defects and abuset
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 districts. It has
followed the march OF civilization, and not, like
! the Post Office, led the van. It has waited for
attempting to educate the people through it's
| use to an appreciation of it's advantages. On
the contrary, its spirit has been too often illb-
| eral and unprosressiye. A glance at the tele-
graph map Of tho country shows large districts
totally unprovided with te1egraphio facilities,
and many important placos with Post Offices in
| their business centres dependent upon the OUT
lying railroad stations for the Of telegraph
ing. The tariffs are e5orbitant, unequal, and
| complex, supplemented in some cases by enor-
nous charges for local delivery, and regulated
entirely by the pleasure Of the companies. In
this connection I ask attention to the table
lTe1egraphs. 3 appended to this report. It has
been carefully compiled from statistics kindly
furnished me by the international Bureau Of
Tce5raphs in Europe, by the Directors of the
different National Bureaus, by Mr. George Sauer,
au American gentleman residing in Europe, who
has made the subject of Government Telegrapha
the American companies, to all Of whom desire
to express my acknowledgements. The table
shows that, With O cost Per mile for construction
and equipment much lower here than in Bavaria,
France, Great Britain, Italy, and the average OF
Europe, and about equal to that in Belgium and
North Germany, and with yearly expense pei
mile Of line which will compare most fayorably
with that of the countries mentioned the tele-
graph in this country collects an average Of 70
cents on each message. against an average OF
1G cents in Bavaria and Belgium, 28 in France,
20 in Great Britain, 80 in Italy, q in Germany,
and SO in Europe generally. On the Continent,
ing address and signature (Which are estimated
together to average seven words); in the Uni
ted Kingdom it is for twenty words, exclusive
Of address and signature; while in the United
States the address and signature are excluded,
and ten words only allowed.
The table (Telegraphs, y gives q comparison
of telegraphlc tariffs in Europe with those in the
United States as regards distance, showing the
lowest average rate per mile on 80 messages sent
from Washington to points east of the MISSISSIPPI
pi River to be higher than tho highest average
rate per mile abroad (that in Ruasia), and the
average rate per mile on 96 messages here to be
from one and one-haf to four times as high as
those Of Europe, Notwithstanding the greater
distances in this country.
The same table also marks most clearly the in
equality and discriminating character Of AIner1-
can tariffs, as opposed tothe generally uniform
rates Of Europe.
The uniform system has recently been adopted
in Canada, and tariff Of Is cents established
throughout the Dominion, with highly satisfac-
tory results, as will be seen By reference to the
statement of the President OF the Montreal
Telegraph Company (Telegraphs, -, for whichl
am indebted to the honorable Postmaster Gem
eral OF Canada.
The complex and uncertain character Of ou1
rates, necesstating sometimes q personal visit to
the office, and frequently lengthy computation
to ascertain the cost, ia also Of the greatest
obstacles in the way of the extended use OF the
telegraph. uniform or simple and well known
rate OF charge permits the use Of letter-boxes OF
other places Of deposit.
The table (Te1egraphs, g illustrates the extent
to which the rates to large cities IN the United
States arc burdened with delivery charges, which
often double the cost Of message addressed to
points very far within the free delivery Of the
charge in England by the Government has pro-
duced most salutary effect.
But perhaps the greatest evil Of the American.
system, in this regard, is the utter lack Of re-
straint upon the companies as to their charges.
When the s'e1clu5ivo right" or patent, referred
to in the report above quoted, expired, it WAS be-
ieved that competition would afford remedy
for the evils which were even then oppressiYely
felt by those who had occasion to use the tele~
this belief to have boon unfounded.
Although new companies have from time
to time sprung up to divide the profits of tele-
graphy they lave generally proved short-Iyed,
and within narrow limits. The vast
extent Of the lines Of tile companies now con-
solidcted under the name Of Tie Western Union
hes enabled them to reduce rates between places
II enables the latter to meet expenses, without
seriously impairiag their own revenues Incred-
ible as it may appear, the official statements Of
the Western Union Company show that their
average receipt Per message hes been increased
eleven cents, or nearly 2U per cent since 1867,
Notwithstanding the undoubted reductions OF
tariff between important points. Whether this
is due to the augmentation Of rates between
offices not reached by competition, or to some
othcr cause, I do not know.
Not only has competition thus failed to affect
he great mass of the te1egraphic business, but,
n addition, there evidences Of combina-
ion between the competing parties which has
ecently resulted in an advance Of rates between
POINTS reached by the wires Of both. The table
Teleg1aphs, y gives few specimens of rates
Il operation previous to and since the 1st Of
Nay, 1872, which were fixed By agreement be-
ween companies formerly rivals. The move
nont is perfect; natural, and, from the com-
'anies' standpoint justitiable; for it cannot be-
expected that tariff which is perhaps highly
'roftable to one company will pay, On q dividend
'usinesa, the more than doubled expenses Of
NO, even if the capital invested in the opposi-
ion system could afford to wait for its dividends
[ntl the lines we're SO extended as to secure a
mir share of patronage.
While, as I have stated, believe that i'm
royed means of transmission Will eventually
ender the telegraph formidable rival Of the
nail, which it cannot be without large reductiona
. tariff, nm convinced by experience that these
improvements will be adopted too s1owlyto meet
be necessities Of the people, and that, wha.-
vcr the rates may be, the wires will Be prac-
cally controlled BY one corporation 30 long US