The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1888-02-16
THE Q. s. TELEGRAPH.
r. n Jones' Speech Against the
Proposition.
The Editor of the Jacksonville Times
Union Gives His Reason for oppos-
ing the Construction of Gov
ernment Telegraph.

cial. 1.-The Following ID Jne speeCh "
Col. G. II. Jones, of the Jacksonville
fila. Times VI On, before the Amer
lean National Publishers ASsocletlon:
Government Control of the Tele-
graph" was the topic assigned to Col,
&. Fl. Jones, of the Jacksonville, (tla)
Times Union, and he discussed 1t IN
carefully prepared paper. He began by
saving that he proposed to deal with
the subject in a practical way, for the
reason, that he regarded it as very
nractical. The strongest argument
in the behalf of government
telegraph system and the one that Is
most relied on, in that it would be
cheaper and most of the advocates OF
government control seem TO mink the
argument is closed when this assertion
"a made. The speaker, however, telt
constrained to say that the experience
of this and other countries with govern
ment work furnishes no reason tOr
believing that exceptional cheapness
would be a feature of it, the character
istic feature of all work done by the
government is cumbersome and cost
" whenever the government wants
work done at reasonable price JnaC
work is let out by contract. Inc gov
eminent might make lower rates TOT
telegraphing than would be made Dy
any private corporation, because the
latter must make expenses and for pet
terments and improvements OF lts
place in the business world VIII soon De
vacant. The government, II II SO
chooses, can Tx rate less than cost
and make up the deficit by taxation
and this is precisely what would bt
done by the United States Government
if the experience of other countries
having government telegraph system
is anv criterion. Col. Jones then gave
statistics showing that in Great Britain
the deficit in operating the government
telegraph had increased from S562,6
in 1881. to S2,349200 in 1886. This de-
felt must be made good by taxation,
and is such taxation justified on the
ground that it is public benetitt
In 1887 over 100000 messages were
handled by the Western Union Teie-
graph Co., and these were sent by less
than one million people lhe Whole OF
the telegraphirg in the United States
is done by less than percent. OF the
population. These figures make itplaln
that to cheaper telegraphing by reduc'
ing the rates below cost, and making
up the deficit by taxation, means to tax
98 per cent. of the people who never
use the telegraph for the benefit OF
stock brokers, spectators, gamblers,
pool men, bucket shop. proprletorS
and sporting men generally, who sent
81 per cent of the messages. Not onl y is
this unjustiiable on grounds OF public
policy but it is unjustitiable on purely
business grounds. The men who sent
these messages make no complaint OF
the cost, because it comes in as part
of the legitimate and necessary
expense of their business. The only
considerable body of men asking for
a reduction of telegraph tolls are the
Knights of Labor, not one IN hun
dred of whom ever use the telegraph.
These misguided people are simply
asking the government to tax them for
the benefit Ut a class OF people tOWar0
whom they are SO irreconcillably hos
tile. that membership in their organi-
cation is prohibited them. These are
considerations which determine US
against the scheme of government
telegraph on grounds connected with
the public welfare. The speaker then
considered the subject from the point
of view of practical newspaper man.
The newspapers of the United states.
he said, are now enjoying the cheapest
and most efficient telegraph service OF
any newspapers in the world. The
British telegraph press rate is 20 cents
for "a words during the day, and %
cents for 100 words at night, to each
lN,1N
and four cents for IS words during the
day and four cents for 100 words at
night for each additional paper served. I
Other figures were given by the speaker, |
showing that, viewed in any way pos
sible, the American press rate is now
cheaper than the same service in Eng
land by from one-hfth to one-half |
These figures apply to the service OF the |
press associations, the cost of the spe-
cial telegraph service in the United
States being One-halt cent per word /
and in Great Britain one third cent per
word. in the United States, however,
the distance is an average of four times |
greater than in England. The bill in
Produced by Senator Cullom provides |
that the night rate for newspaper dis
matches. when the same dispatch goes /
70 more than one office, shall be 20 cents |
Der 100 words. This is more than twice |
the rate now charged by the Western
Union for transmitting Associated
Press reports, and ten times the rate |
by the same company when i
repoTted over leased wires to four /
or five papers in the same city, the
truth is that the substitution of "A gov
telegraph service for that Of
the Western Union. on the basis of the |
CullOm bill, would speedily result in
one of two things. Either the bank
ruptcy of a large proportion OF the
away from the great cen
ters, or in depriving the public of very |
large proportion of the news of the |
world which it now enjoys through the |
daily newspapers. Nothing so far
reaching in its effects on the press of l
the country has ever been proposed in |
Congress. 1t would be about the same |
as If Congress should enact a law legis-
lating out of existence half the daily |
papers of the country and putting the |
remainder on short Tations as regards |
telegraphic news service. But even
this is not the most serious objection
from newspaper mans point of view.
The mere suspicion that news had been
subiectec to government inspection or
censorship would reduce by at least one
half the value of that news to newspa-
per publishers and to the public A
memorable illustration of public re
sentiment at the suspicion that news
had been dOctored was furnished in
connection with the election returns of
the Associated Press at the presidential
election in 1884, whether rightly or
wrongly, wrongly as the speaker be-
lieved, a belief gained eredence that
the Associated Press and the Western
Union Telegraph Co. had doctored the
returns from New York State in the
interest Of Mr.. Blaine. The feeling