The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1875-04-08
Government Tsiegraphing.

The taxpayers of the United States un-
consciously possess a gaasautse that the
construction of Government telegraph
lines wih be in the highest degreedne.iicient
and wastsfal, and their adp:nisuraeion de-
isctive aad costly The Chief Siga,, Off.
DER has sgnalized his first effort ie bust
ness of which he is utterly ignorant, by
making every possible bluader IN the pur,
chase of materials add the use ofdais stock.
The Captain of the Fifth Cazalrz, who
was detailed to construc. the $40 On tiles of
military telegraph in Arizona. has rrspart
ed to the quartermaster' depan mentin eff
feet that the Chief Signal Officer bought
nearly oae hundred miles more of wire ana
Thousand more Of brackets ao8 inssix.ors
than were needed; that the cottonwood
poles used will stand enrotted only FROM
eighteen months to three years, according
TO the soil in which they are plaoted, tia.
saane OF the poles will bear resetting; that
The .eataber of poles to the mile is toe few;
sthat assrriceable telegraph lire mast have
atlsast twenty poles to the mile, each pole
al nsstrs~enry feet long, and six 10y SIX at
butt and faer by four at the tip; that
the Chief Signal Offers Arizona line has
only seventeen poles to the mile, each only
eighteen feet long, that lie should have
used No. 3 galvanized wire, but actually
'cse1 No 10 aaneaiedi that large portion
II tfis vice was OF inferior quality, that it
easily br0se Rn5er strain and when tying
joints; and I've now quote from Cavalry
Captain George + Princes report} "a con
siderable portion ofTt was old, evidently
having been used on other lines, taken
down, repaired, and coied for sale. as 90
portanily presented. which opIartanity APP
The vision of waste IN Government teIe-
graphing which this exhibit OF ignorance
and incapacity opens is simply binding.
The people in advance Of the complete es-
Enlistment of the system may as well make
up treir minds to pay three and four times
Us much for their telegraph service as they
now do, if tie United States Telegraph De-
rartment shall be self sustaining. Their
only escape will be an annual deficit in its
accounts of millions of dollars--and this
escape will be but seeming--for the def
cheney will have to be met by taxation.
We have heretofore said that the Chief
Signal Officer had succeeded in pushing the
Government into the business of CONNER.
cial and social tolegrahy. Very few people
know that In 1874 Congress passed an ACT
authorizing the use of money ''to be recsiv
ed fer transmitting messages" over the line
from Pre-~~tt to Camp Verde and Camp
Apache in A.,zona, to pay the expenses oil
operating and keeping the line in order
The Qnartermaster- Generals last repor!
speaks with satisfaction Of the rcoIne Of
this young line. lie says: "The revenue
derived from private messages and news
reports has amounted to $3.50 20, or an
average of $751; IL per month" 1t is a
small beginning, way of in the desert and
nearly out of sight, but it looms portentous
". The policy and the law taat are suf-
ficiens 70 authorize the Government to dc
the tclegraphing of the country will certain,
" be found sufficient to make it run the
railroads Of the United States, and to dc
the package carrying business of the exist
ing express compsnies.--N. T. Sun.