Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1884-01-17

w uO Vu0 tuAuS III p16C0 u tuO06 WHO
have never learned to do anything"
10 this extent ct least the adoption of
q postal telegraph would reduce political
patronage aud be Q movement in the
direction OF civil-service reform, and
am assured it would also to some extent
reform tue personnel Of the telegraph.
By amaIgamating the two establishments
better salaries could be paid without an
increase of the present expenditure.
The best-educated operators would then
be content to serve at the smaller Offices
instead of crowdiBR into the cities. strik-
ing for higher wages. and seeking other
occupations where their efforts to better
Themselves in their own have failed.
The .oregoing considerations negative
the idea that the telegraph would be
;s'd us political machine by the party
in power. The system would require the
>srvice Of the whole body of tslegraphers
in the country. Its officers and en-
ployes would necessarily be appointed
Tor their technical skill, without regard
. their political affiliations. The ward
rtrlker asd the more genteel campaign
nrganizer would thus both be excluded
from its service. Asystem in the hands
'f men of all parties, appointed for their
fticency. could not be used largely for
lie benifit of any party. In my judg-
ment. founded upon The some experience.
there il much more political interfer.
ence by the present tele
graph employees than there
would be under postal system regula-
led by law. But if this we're not so, it
seems that the public would suffer less
from the active efforts of few more
place holders to elect this or that man to
Office than it is likely to suffer from the
control of its communications by mo.
nopollsts seeking their own profit and
lggrand,zement.
1t is doubtless Of great importance
who shall direct. make, and execute our
laws, but it is of much Rrearer import
ance ahat the system Of telegraphic in.
tercourse should not be left to grow
under private control into one of those
strong yet subtle forces which are con.
stantly operating in this country to
transfer the production of the many to
the pockets of the few, and to reduce the
reward of labor, and make the rich
richer and the poor poorer.
Whatever abuses there may be in the
postoffice. no one would propose to sur.
renderour postal communication wholly
to a corporate monopoly, yet if We fail te
assume the telegraph. We may sooner OF
latter find that We have substantially
done so.
The use of telegraph is now restricted
by its cost to extraordinary communica
tions, and by its nature to messages
which do not need to be in the hand
writing OF the sender. Under these con
ditions the proportion of kilograms t
letters Is about one to thirty. Bat VII,
shall say now soon some great discover,
no more wonderful than the Telephone
may enable fac-simile messages to b.
sent instantaneeusly and cheaply owe
the wires instead OF by the slow an
costly process by which they are no,
transmitted in Europe? 1t that resul
shall be accomplished land it is bein
earnestly sought by inventors), the pos
Office will be stripped of it's most impol
tant business. Every letter which doe
not require absolute secrecy or which ca
be written in cipher will be taken fron
the mails and sent by electricity. Draft
will be drawn and balances settled dali
by telegraph, and the monopoly whic
shall have grown up IN the control {
this business will overshadow not onl
the postoftice department but tho govern
ment itself.