Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1888-02-10
A PUBLISHERS VIEW.
What q Newspaper Man Thinks Of Q
System OF Government Con,rol
OF TelsgrRphs.
Itwould Impair the Value of News Bent
Over the WIres-Who won!d Sss
the Expense?

INDIANAPOLIS, IND, Feb. 9.-The
Newspaper Publishers Association coz
tinued Its session to-day. The first p.-
per read was by J. n. Msnns of the Phil
sde!phia Record, whose topic was
"Pufs and Dividing Lines between News
and Advertising"
He was followed by Colonel c. 81.
Jones Of the Jacksonville (Fla } Times
Union in carefully prepared paper or
Government Control Of the Telegraph. -
He begun by saying that he proposed
to deal with the subject in a prscti-
cal way for the reason that he
regarded 1t SIS very practical. The
strongest arguments in behalf OF 8
government telegraph system, and the
one that is most relied upon, is that 1t
would be cheaper, and most of the edvo-
Gates of government control seem to
think the argument is closed when
this assertion is made. TIE
speaker however, felt constrained
to say that the experience of this and
other countries with government work
furnishes no reason for believing that
exceptional cheapness would be feature
Of If. The characteristic feature of all
work done by the government L. cum
brousness and costliness. Whenever the
government wants work done at reason
able price that work is
LET OUT BY CONTRACT.
The government might make lower rates
for telegrsphing than would be made by
any private corporation, because the lat
ter must make expenses, and pay for bet
terments and improvements or its place
in the business world will soon be vacant.
The government, If it so chooses, can fix
rste less thai cost and make up
the deficiency by exAction, and this
is precisely WnAt would be done by the
United States government, II the expe-
rience OF other countries having q govern.
ment telegraph tystem is any criterion.
Colonel Jones then gave statistics,
showing that In Crest Britain the deficit
in operating the government telegraph
had increased from 1862, 62l In 1881, to
81, 349, 200 in 1886. This deficit must be
made good by taxation; and is such taxa
ton justified on the ground that it is 5
public benef In 1887 over $4,000, 600
messages were handled by the Western
Union Telegraph Company, and these
were sent by less than 1000 900 people.
The whole Of the telegraphing in the
United States is done by less
than 2 per cent. Of the populstion.
These figures make it plain t0at
to cheaper telegraphy by reducing the
rates below cost and making up the deficit
by taxation means to tax 9s per cent. Ct
the people who
NEVER USE THE TELEGRAPH
for the benefit of stock brokers, specu'a-
tors, gsmblers, poolmen, bucket chop
proprietors and sporting men generally
who send 81 per cent. of the messages
Not only is this uDjustifable on grounds
Of public policy, but it is upjus III 4ble on
purely business grounds. The men who
send these messages make no complaint
Of cost because it comes on as part Of
the legitimate and necessary expenses OF
their business. The only considerable
body Of men asking for g re-
ducIion of telegraph tolls are the
Knights OF Labor, not one In
100 OF whom ever use the telegraph.
These mlguided people are simply asking
the government to tax them for the benefit
Of class Of people toward whom they are
SO irrec5nciIsbly hostile that membership
in their organization is prohibited them.
There are considerations which turn US
against the scheme Of government tele-
graph on grounds connected with
THE PUBLIC WELFARE.
The speaker then considered the sub
j sct from the point of view OF practical
man. The newspapers OF the
United States, he said, are now enjoying
the cheapest and most efficient telegraph
service of sny newspapers in the world.
The British Telegraph Press rate is %
cents for seventy five words during the
ds7, and % cents for 100 words at night
to each place where but one paper is
five words during the day and 4
cents for 100 words at night each
additional paper served. Other figures
we're given by the speaker, showing that
viewed in any Rey possible, the American
press rate is now cheaper than the same
service in England by from one fifth to
One-half. These figures apply to the
service Of the press associations, the
cost Of special telegraph service in the
UOitea States being cent per word and
in Great Britain cent per word. In
the United States, however, the distance
- 81 average OF
FOUR TIMES GREATER
than in England. The DILL introduced BY
Senator Cullom provides that the night
for newspaper dispatches when the
same dispatch goes to more than one
office shall be 20 cents per 100
words. This is more thsn.twiCe the rate
now charged by the Western Union for
Associated Press reports,
and ten times the rates charged by the
same company when the reports are de-
liVered By leSssd wires to four or five ps-
pers in the same city.
The truth is the substitution of govern
ment telegraph service for that of the
Western Union on the basis OF the Gull
lom bill would speedily result IN one Of
two things: either the bankruptcy Of q
large proportion Of the newspapers sway
from the great centers or in depriviug the
public Of 8 very large proportion of
THE NEWS OF THE WORLD
which 1t now enjoys through the daily
Nothing SO far-reach.
,Nu IN ba