New-York tribune., 1873-01-18


l ne gnm charges a minimum rate OF half franc for
The transmissIon receipt and delivery OF message
within her territory. while she imposes dOuDe tates
pon both international and transit messages one class
OF which requires only half the service OF an IN
terna age-beDg simply either sent OF recSiyeu
from or Into the countryand other class requiring
no service at ALL being simply sent through tne ~. VI @
way from one neighboring State TO another Ihe case
would be analogous 10 that OF one OF our States Wnen
should set up an Independent telegraph system OF her
own and should charge low rate for the TRANSMISSION
of messages within her own territory, and impose
heavy tax upon messages passing through ner ~
between sns 9eres se for examne was to establish an
independent telegraph system and FIX the rates or mes
sages passing within her own territory at the Belgian
rate Oh ten cents and then charge twenty cents for every
message passing through her territory, lhc result
would be very favorable to the finances Oh
the tax upon the correspondence between Ns"
and Washington alone would more lnan pay the euluo
cost OF her own SYSTEM"
The circumstance TO which the advocates OF the
Government theory fail to give prominence u the 0er
ence in the relative cost OF the teegaphlc systems
be suceIpctly expressed by saying that, as genera
thing owing TO the distances In the density OF poPuh
ton and area OF geographical occupation 1t requires the
construction OF ten miles OF wire in the United states to
Europe TO do the business ana tha tne cost
OF everything In the United States, the way OF tele
graphic construction and operation, IA on an average
full fifty per cent greater than In Europe How entrey,
however, the POstmasterGeneral puts diIereht eon
peXiOn this last proposition IL evidenced Dy tne 5tte
ment Of hs tables that while the cost OF CONSTRUCTING
each mile Of telegraph line in the United states Is $40
s6l for each mile OF ne and S p for each mile OF
To show the unrelabillty of ali this, t is only
telegraph wire used in the United States is made In Eng
land, and that England is to-day the cheapest place IN
the world in which wire be purchased-the relative
cost OF NO erra best best" galvanized iron wire being
at present 81 cents gold Ia Manchester ana lO cents cur
rccy in NeWYOrk; and, also, that not little OF tne
in in the United States erected during the
war has cost from causes over when the telegraph
companies could have no CONTROL as Inucn as twenty
cents per pound and that II the United States Govern
ment 10 construct new lines, IL WOul1 nha Inat
ties wohd reauiTs an expenditure equal or more than
equal to what the wire originally cost at the port OF I'M
poraton The imRoSs5lty 9i iHsuhg 1sr CON-, the
OF telegraph lines in Europe and the United STATES
further shown by the fact that while the sizes OF
wire used IN the United states are OF o. anu gauge
(nOne being employed smaller than tue latterl tle "He
used very largely in Europe or No IL gauge Welgnng
but onehalf as much as No. 8, ana costing Pr9Por Po
tionatey less. No. wire, OF which there Is consider
able amount used In this country weighs 900 per
mile and costs s5T IS per mile, delivered III the Cty OF
New-York No. 8 wire weighs, In round numbers, 4OO
pounds per mile, and at lOt cents per pound costs s2
per mile. No g. the smallest wire used IL tnls country
for telegraph lines weighs $40 pounds per me and costs
at the place of importation, sS5 10 per mile. IL
is therefore, somewhat difficult see how IL that Mr.
Creswe able TO that wire costing from s35 10 To
s57 IS per mile at the place OF Importation can be trans
the lines OF railway and post roads, a. an average
cost OF $50 per mile TO say nothing oI te az H.
maintenance aud operatiOni
In the United States, according to Mr.. Creswell's
tables the whole number OF messages transmitted by all
the telegraph companies doing business in 1872, was
137O0OOO Including nearly 2OOOOO press messages) Tor
which the receipts were 59OOO or at an average 10
cents per message But u the statistics furnished the
Postmaster Ceneral by the Western Union Telegraph
Comnanv hnt not pubshed il was shown that this SIN
gle Company transmitted. 1874 lO9333l5 messages,
exclusive of press and weather reports for which was
received s7Oi0SO 55 less 2OSso 10 refunded 10 otner
age so per message and for the transmission Oh
l5l23 361 estimated press messages s's0S5 ~ making
total Of 14lO0 messages, and S7949l 80 In telegraph
receipts. Now, deducting the messages sent by the
Western Union Company from the total number stated
in Mr. Creswes table as having been sent by all the
companies in the United states, and deduetng also the
tele graph receipts OF this company from the total tee
graph receipts OF all the lines, we have the following
most curious and remarkable result namely that the
several lines In the United States in opposition TO the
Western Union sent during the year but sol mes
of which nearly 100000 press messages) for
which they received h,79O5B oil, being an average OF
AZ per message. But the various opposition lines
extend mainly over snort routes WHcre conpetilO -
supposed to have reduced the rates TO minimum tne
value and logical correctness OF Mr Cfes"euS eAmDt
The dsingenuousness of tho Postmaster General in
discussing this whole subject is also shown in the
in which he refers to recent communication made TO
the POsmastereDe OF Canada by the President OF
the Montreal Telegraph Company, IN reference 10 the
recent adoption in the Dominion OF Canada, OF uni
form tariff OF 25 cents for ~ words, and one cent for
each Subsequent %oIu' VI Piacc vi
which at first glance seems TO be very low but
which 25 words the proposed standard OF the United
oresweI will be seen by reference to 80 of his
report quotes in ans argument only so uch as passes
accepted BY Congress and the country and Omits the
following, OF much greater Significance: " It will be
ma General of the United States that, though
this system has been entirely successful here,
United states except under the control Of the General
Government owing TO the 0nerous charges TO which the
business there,is subject. Telegraph wire and all other
material used in teegraphing are admitted INTO Canada
free OF duty, hut subject in the United States To
heavy duties averaging probably 60 TO 10 per cent The
expenses of living being greater in the United States
than In Canada salaries are necessarily higher. Taxa
on also more burdensome and every article in use
rs dearer that against this must be placed the
dense and probably more active population OF the
acted but the distances are so great that doubt II
uniform cent tariff for 10 words or 40 cents for
rs words all the country would maintain the
business in an efficient manner at present"
III subsequent paragraph the writer expresses an
opinion that the Canada rate e. 40 cents for Is words
may in the OF few years in the United States,
through increase OF business, become sefSuppOrt
ing :" but il this should be the case, 1t is not altogether
probable In view Of the very great reductions made by
the Western Union since 1866. that such result Will be
attained equally soon, If not sooner, by this company
than by Government Department which could not see
its way uniform rate OF postage until Great Britain
had for more than 20 years furnished an example and
which even now expends, IN the cny Oh Neworleans,
dre cents in the delivery OF each single letter, which
may be carried from any point IN the United States to
one other matter made much OF by the Postmaster
in this connection namely-the alleged enormous and
abuse OF the free message business" IL
the had taken the trouble inquire,
instead OF trusting hearsay ana rumor, ne would have
found that the last fiscal year the whole number of
free messages transmitted over the wires OF the West
ern Union would paid for at regular rates have re-
turned the OF s7500O. Such result its face is
somewhat starting but its Importance
vanishes view OF the further statement demOnstable
from the books OF the company that out OF this large AK
the tables II stated
and apparatus Of the English lines Sl6
estimated at the average lines
Continental lines the table, the
dyen will be found to be 40 r. and not $l6.
The following analysis Of the Postmaster Generals estimate Of the
past prospective the telegraph system the country copied
from The Journal Of The Telegraph:
The majority Of lines in this country Nj Creswe have
been built very S s % sn p cost Hc patent az @ SSs S
that lately built probably the best
luty u standard for than us
single line and $50 mile Of additional wire For equip
Uent an allowance Were all the be
strung at the they would be the present be
the cost would probably be much less
The equal extent the present. would at the
above rates be Sll 530OO0."
The eren Of the which Mr. Creswe could be
at Oil O embraces about 30 O miles Of line and
200 900 miles Of wire. ...... - ...
The only estimate accompanying the Report
going the Of constructing similar system In the United
furnished b Mr. Charles t. Chester OF this city In this
estimate gives the Of egncng 5000 mites Of line