Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1874-02-26
Telegraph.

from the NOW Yofk DAILY 0raphtcs
Mr.. Orion, in his recent!review OF
the report of tho Postmaster General
upon a governmental telegraph, makes
three points:
l. That the plan for a postal tele.
graph has been rejected by Congress.
z. That the governmental telegraphs
abroad have been q constant drain up.
on the public treasury.
.: That the rates here are but little
higher than abroad, while the telegraph
is as freely used here 40 there.
Two propositions for the transmits
SION OF correspondence have been pre-.
sented to Congress one by Mr.. Ores.
well, who tavors purely governmental
system, with lines purchased, owned,
and operated by the Postofflce Depart.
ment. This plan has never been ap.
proved by any committee of Congress.
The other is the postal telegraph sys-
tenn, advocated by Mr.. Hubbard.
This proposes to have Geographic, like
other correspondence, received and dis
tributed through the postoflce, and
transmitted BY telegraph between
postal telegraph. Offices, by parties run
ming and operating the lines. under
contract with the Postofice Depart
ment, Mt rates fixed BY Congress
about 1871 per cent. less than those now
charged. This plan was first recon-
mended by Postmaster General Ran
dali to Congress. In two different SEES.
sions favorable reports accompanied by
bills have been made in the Senate.
The Committee on Appropriations in
the House, instead of ignoring the
matter, as intimated by Mr.. orion.
made report in it's favor, one wear
ago. The bill was not reached in the
House, and, therefore, was not acted
upon.
Mr.. Orion says the telegraph has
been constant loss to the Euro.
pean states, forgetting that abroad the
sole object of the governments is not to
make the rates high enough to realize
profits for the stockholders of q pri.
vate corporation, but to make them SO
low that they shall barely pay the ex'
penses. With this end In view, fire..
quent reductions in rates have been
made, with the knowledge that after q
year or two the increased business
would more than compensate fol
any loss sustained at first. In Bel
GUM and Switzerland the telegraph
has paid, not only all operating ex.
penses, but the cost of construction.
The latest statistics for the European
states show that the receipts little
exceed the operating expenses.
MIR. Orion arrives at q different re.
suit by including the cost of construc.
~ A1~n
operating expenses, although he OK.
cludes them when computing the OK.
penses of his own business. Mr..
Orion says the rates here are stas low
as the average rates in European coun-
tries," and that the rates here are fifty
cents. His report for the year ended
the 30th of June last, published IN
October, shows that the average rate
paid by the public for telegraphic
messages for the year was sixty-seven
cents. 1t has been somewhat reduced
since then, and is now about sixty.
Mr.. Orion includes the dead-heads
with the paid messages, and 30 makes
the average appear considerably less
than it really is. The annual number
of messages transmitted i'm Europe, by
the latest returns we have, were S..
400, 900. The gross receipts were $40,
288, 1852, which gives the average rate
at thirty-six cents. The rates for in.
land messages average twenty-nipe
cents, one-half the rates charged by
the Western Union Telegraph Company.
The use of the telegraph, in proper
ton, to population, is greater abroad
than with us, and is increasing in
Great Britain, Switzerland and Bel
GUM much more rapidly than here,
where it does not keep pace with other
business.