The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1875-09-04
ENGLIsH TELEGRAPHY.
Splendid Results OF Government
Ownership Enormous In.
crease Of NeWBnRDePN,

brought to light which seem to be aprO-
pos now that SO much has been said
about the failure Of the system Of Gov
eminent telegraphy in England.
In the frat place, according to this in
telligently.written article, the telegraph
in England prior to 1868, while used ex.
tensiyeIy by stockholders, betting.mel,
and spectators, was very little used by
general merchants" or by the public,
., The aim VI the Government in tax
ing possession Of the telegraph was to
produce radical change in this respect.
By the Establishment Of low, uniform,
and very simple tariff, and by bringing
the wires near to every bOdy's door, 1t was
proposed and intended to popularize tel
egraphy, and put the telegraph within
the reach ofall classes,
3. The Government resolutely deter
mined that there should be- no favoritism,
and that messages should be forwarded
strictly in the order Of their reception,
and without any reference TO their real or
supposed Importance, messages on behalf
Of the Government being the only excep-
ton to this rule.
But It Is the arrangements in regard 10
the press which prove the immense supe-
riority oil the Government telegraph sys.
tenn over that Of company monopolies,
and the facts are so interesting and con.
yiRcing that We shall give an analysis Of
them as bearing on this important sub
iect.
Under the old companies the arrange
ments for the collection and transmission
OF news were most unsatisfactory, as the
newspapers were Obliged to be content
with whatever news the companies
thought fit to supply, inasmuch as, al
though rivals TO one another as far as or
binary messages were concerned, the COM
panies became allied In relation to the
collection and transmission Of news for
the press, and thus, being possessed Of
monopoly OF all the telegraph wires In
England, the newspaper proprietors could
not do otherwise than submit The pos
tai arrangements for collecting and trans
hitting press news as defined In the tele.
graph act Of 1868 were therefore produc.
tive OF the most favorable results, and
seem, as far as ordinary observation Is
qualified to judge, to have conduced to a
greatly extended distribution OF news
throughout hecOuntry.
There are associations for the collec.
ton Of news in England, the principal
ones being the Press Association and the
Central Press. The Post Office, In &C.
cordance with the provisions Of the act,
must transmit the news OF all press as
sociations on equal terms. The collection
Of the news Is open to all and equal laclll.
ties for its transmission are secured to
all who collect 1t,
The improvements that have taken
place under the Post Office department Of
the telegraph are rs follows;
The telegraph companies sent news to
only LA towns in the United Kingdom.
The Post Office, acting in behalf Of the
press associations, sends news to 1866
towns.
The difference Is still more strikingly
shown In the summary OF retransmissionS.
The companies sent direct to 90 towns,
the Post Office sends to 90. The CON.
panies sent one retransmissiOn to 81
towns, tho Post Office sends 224, and so on,
doubling or distancing even to the fourth
rctransmission, which the companies neY-
or reached.
In the IA towns to which the COM
panies sent news there were only 300 sub.
scribcrs for news. In the 305 towns to
which the Post Office sends news there
are 1905 subscribers for news. Thus
there Il an increase Of 22l in the number
Of town to which news Is sent, an increase
In the total number Of subscribers taking
news, and an increase Of 294 In the MIN
Der ofnewspapers taking news. ..
Moreover, there Is vast increase In
the quantity Of news transmitted. The
companies nsed to send during the SEES.
sion Of Parliament nearly 5000 words Of
news daily; during the remainder OF the
year they sent about 1000 words daily.
The POstolllce sends during the session Of
Parliament on behalf Of the associations
before named, 10000 words Of news daily;
and during the remainder OF the year II
sends on their behalf nearly 10000 words
daily. This astounding increase In the
transmission OF news for the press may
be further illustrated by tho fact that the
total number OF words forwarded In 1872
was 2l4,0OO,000. In one night alone Of
that year, when an unusual number oil
events were reported from various parts
OF the country, upwards OF 800, 900 words
OF news, or about $50 columns OF the
Times, were transmitted from the Central
Telegraph In London. The increase Of
revenue arising from the increase OF
press business was In 1873, $4,000. The
charge Is % cents for 100 words, night
rates, and % cents for 10 words, day rates.
Seven newspaper proprietOrs rent special
wires for night work, for which the Post.
office charges uniform rate Of $4,000
per nnnum. This system Of special wires
Is likely to Be very much extended. II
seems pretty certain that the PoStoflice
will obtain large revenue from this
source as soon as additional wires have
been erected
A large portion Of every leading pro.
vincial Journal In England now consists
Of news received by telegraph. One Jour.
naIist states that he has seen as much as
twelve columns Of ielsgraphic news In
leading provincial papers, and that lie
has read In local paper at Aberdeen sew
eral columns Of news which, II Aberdeen
had been dependent upon London papers
for It's news, could not have been known
there Until six and thirty houra alter
wards.
In regard 10 the race meetings very
striking results are found recorded. Dur.
Ing the year 1873 there wero In the Unl-
ted Kingdom and Ireland altogether 1856
race meetings. The total number Of tele.
graph messages sent on their account was
Il4,47O. The total value Of the messages
was .S27 1914; expenses, 81, Al6; profit to the
government, S2l ,479.
The falling of in the revenu e, as com.
pared with the increase In expenditure,
under the Government ownership Of the
telegraph, Ia accounted for by the fact
that the Government cares nothing for
profits, which OF course was the main
thing with the private companies; and
also because the English Government pays
ils employees far better than private indi.
viduals or corporations do theirs. The
civil service In Great Britain, and eSpec.
tally the postoliGe, Ia the most perfect
service Ii the world. The employees are