Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1885-11-25

The New York Washington correspond
emit states that Senator Edmunds will in
troduce a bill in the coming Congress for
the establishment, by government, of g
postal telegraph. This means that the
people should be given opportunity to
communicate with each other by te!e
graph through the postofiics as they now
do by the mails. This ia a matter of i'm
portance worthy OF the attention of the
mercantile class especially. In the annual
report Of the United States postmaster of
1882, it was stated that in almost all
countries except our own telegraph serv
ice is connected with the p~ostoffce, and
Presidents, Postmasters. General and
committees OF both houses of Con.
gress have urged that the same
should bs done in this country.
The Revised Statutes, section 5267, show
that Congress has provided a mode by
which this may be done. The business to
be accomplished is the same as that done
by msil-the transmission Of messages
from one person to another. The power
of the government to do this is not limit
ed to any one means OF communication
The postal system hiss offices, fuel and
light, and little addition would be re-
quired if the telegrsphic service were
added; therefore the p~ostofice could do
the work cheaper than it is done by the
present system. The people would also
be relieved from subservience to the mo-
nopoly that has made our telegraph sys-
ZEN a means Of extortion and oppression.
The telegraph involves u great power
which should not be left to private hands.
The vast amount of public business, mar
camille, financial and private cor-
res pondence, INVOLVE, among othe.
important matters, the report
jug Of prices and other matters
leeply affecting trsds and social afIirs
which should not be in private hands.
In certain exigencies an abuse of the
power exercised might involve millions of
caoital and other interests equally i'm
portant. Government in thu postofice is
neutral in these matters-private parties
may oil may not be Sd. Two
or three times the people have felt
outraged by the conduct OF the present
monopoly, and have demanded deliver
ance from it by the establishment OF the
postal telegraph, aud the exposure now
making in the courts respecting the Bell
system is again arousing attention to
wrongs the public have 10 endure. An
effort was made in Congress some years
ago, but was given up because it was I'M
derst pod that in England, where the sys-
TEN had been introduced, the receipts
failed to pay expenses. To-day
the system is working SO we'll there
that a few months ago the
charge for ordinary messages Was reduced
% sixpence IL centsl, and nothing could
induce the people there to give up what
they fiad to bsa most valuable service.
Ths Western Union, that charges the
people 50 high and pays it's employees SO
low, gives no such privilege as that, and
Tor the mass of the people, the t%oiIers, the
telegraph has practically no existence. A
postal telegraph is a peoples telegraph.
A monopoly is intent upon high divl-
dends, a postal telegraph serves the people
at cost price. The postal system would
give the rural districts telsgraphic adyan.
tagcs they are now obliged to do without.
Once the system introduced every impor-
tant district would insist upon sharing its
advantages, and where the government
could not contract with existing COM
panies it would build new lines where re-
CURED. Four trunk government lines
we're talked OF when the subject was last
before C,ngress, and the New York Post
says that there is one thing which is not
at all doubtful, and hat Is that ii -four
trunk lines are laid out and built by the
government there will be an irresistible
demand from all other parts of the coun-
try for similar service, in which tbs cues
ton OF cost will be the smallest considera-
tiou." That the country has need of a
good, active postal Geographic system is
obvious, and the cities, districts snd trade
exchanges should take steps to let Con-
gress know how general and how pressing
the want is.