Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1873-01-11
OLYMPIA, SATURDAY MORNING. JAN. II, 1878.
THE TELEGRAPH MONOPOLY.

THE TELEGRAPH MONOPOLY.
The views expressed by the Pacific
Tribune of the 9Th inst. upon the postal
telegraph bill soundvery strange eman-
ating from a paper that has experienced
some of the ills resulting from the ex-
orbitant rates charged by the present
monopoly for press dispatches. 1t op-
poses the proposed reform "mainly
because" as it asserts there is no
necessity for it." Now one of two
things is certain: either there is a
necessity for reduction of the rates,
or there is no necessity for daily pa
per that cannot afford to pay the rates
now charged. There is no lodging this
conclusion. A daily paper is taken for
the express purpose of obtaining the
ne,cs, and unless it contains the very
latest it is not filling its mission and
cannot achieve any marked degree of
success. The rule applies not only to
our country dailies but many of the
metropolitan sheets, which are excluded
from the Associated Press dispatches,
simply because monopoly has it in its
power to accord special privileges to
those who possess the means of paying
for them. The effect is that all jour
nails except the favored few are COM
PEELED to play second-fddle or abandon
intirely the field of journalism.
But if we consider the question in q
wider sense, the reasons apply equally
az we'll. The wealthy man of business
is able to pay high rates for informa-
ton that may be of incalculable value
to trade, or to send orders when time is
the great disideratum, that the small
profits of his less fortunate neighbor
will not justify.
The assumption of our contemporary
that the Government cannot manage
the telegraph business half so econom-
ically nor half so efficiently as private
companies" is not based upon tangi-
bic foundation. The experience of the
Government in postal affairs demon
strates that the lower the rates of trans
mission and the greater the facilities
afforded, the less is the annual def
cency in the cost of the whole service.
But suppose the postal telesr h, like
the present mail service, does not pay
expenses, will not the people derive a
compensating benefit? Can our con-
temporary name any other means by
which an appropriation can be made SO
general in its nature or so direct in its
benefits
The Tribune says it does not see why
the Government should "run" the tel
egraph any more than the express OF
railroad. We, too, cannot see any rea-
son why the Government should not, at
least, protect the citizen against the
extortionate demands of soulless mon
opoies. All who have had dealing with
express companies know that their
charges are simply outrageous, being
very often much in excess of the actual
value of the articles upon which they
are based. Their rules are as arbitrary
as the Kuklux law, often subjecting the
public to hardships and losses, with no
hope of redress from any source.
We agree with the Walla Walla
Statesman that the objection urged OF
its adding greatly to the power of the
Government comes too late to be OF
much force; " the very papers that have
aided the dominant party in all its usurp-
atoms being those that express ap-
prehensions on that score" A few
years ago, the situation was different,
and gigantic monopolies did not have
the grip uponthe people they.now hold.
"The greatest good to the greatest
number" should be the controlling OBJ
ject, and it is altogether probable il
will be, in this instance.