Morning journal and courier., 1880-05-05
Wednesday Morning, May 5. 1880.
TELEGRAPHIC.

Q postal telegraph between Washington and Boston provides for an experiment that will sooner or later be made, and that could, per haps be quite as conveniently and cheaply 1 made now as five or ten years from this time. It provides, too, for cautious and conserva- tive experiment.. The rates fixed in 1t are by no means as low as those which prevail Tn | Great Britain, where message can be sent anywhere in the country for slxpence. The l owest rate provided in Mir. Ellis bill is more 1 than that, and the general tariff, though it is not likely that it would be regarded with favor by the managers of one of the existing lines, is not low enough to force any well -estab- lished telegraph company which should adopt it out of business Fhe ronte which Mr. EHis proposes includes the principal, most populous and busiest cities of the Atlantic States, and the actual operation of the experiment would be welcomed by all who use the telegraph, and by many who desire to use 1t much more freely than they do.
 The bill also authorizes the Postmaster Gen. eral to extend the postal telegraph lines be- tween New York, St. Louis, Chicago, New 1 Orleans and such other cities and postal sta tions as he may see fit, provided that the sys- | tenn proves advantageous. This provision carries one forward to the time when this country, if it's interests are well looked after, will have complete system of postal telegraph 1 lines, and other countries having similar sys- tems, worlds postal telegraphic union will be 1 established Then a resident of New Haven can send message by telegraph just as the worlds postal union now permits him to do I by letter.
 In this connection the discussion which has l already begun of worlds telegraphic union whose object would be the establishment of a system of uniform tariffs is interesting. With the exception of America, the conditions of such 8 union are highly favorable throughout the world, particularly in Europe and all Flu ropean dependencies, and also in Japan. The word. tariff is now in force for dispatches ex- changed between England, Germany, Belgi- ur, the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Nor way and Switzerland. It applies also to do- | nestle dispatches in Belgium, Austria, Swift zerIand and Germany. The rates charged ac- | cording to the word-tariff have no regard to distance, but apply to every word sent pre- I cisely as postage is charged without regard to | distance, and simply on the basis of weight. l The introduction of this sim pliied and ration- al system seems difficult in a country like this, where the whole service is controlled by pri- vate corporations; but the objections are not thought to be insuperable.
 l Those who have not kept track of the vio- tories of the telegraph have little conception of how large part of the world would be in 1 oluded in telegraphic union if one were formed now. The United States and Europe are connected by number of cables. There are two cables between France and AL l eiers Cairo and Khartoum have been 1 connected. wire has been carried to Cabul. l The Transvaal has been connected with Cape 1 Town. The latter is now in connection with Europe via Natal, Delagoa, Mozambique, Zanzibar and Egypt. Another line has been
 established between Asterabad and Tif1is, through the whole of Persia, while Russia is | extending it's net to eastern Siberia, Much | proeress has been made in the dom estic sys
 tenn of Brazil, especially in the interior; a
 cable has been laid along good part of the
 western coast of South America; and all the settled portions of Australia and New Zealand
 are now in active communication with one | another well as with Europe. new cable
 connects Port Darwin, the northern terminus
 of the transcontinental line of Australia, with
 Java, Singapore, Malacca and Penang. Sev'
 eral cables have been laid in the Baltic.
 The cables now required are one across the
 Pacific, two between the United States and
 Rio and Valparaiso respectively, as well af
 minor cables to connect Cayenne, Colombia
 New Caledonia, the Philippine Islands an6
 the Chinese stations with the worlds system
 In the year 1879 eIone the number of nsuti
 sal miles of submarine cables laid was not les'
 than II, ,933 How many miles of wire were
 strung on the land we have no means 0
 knowing, but there WAS vast number. Tn
 importance of having these cables and wire
 and these which will be laid and strung il
 coming years worked under harmoniou
 system needs no argument