The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1888-02-16
RINGING REASONS.
Why the Government Should Not
Take Control Of the Telegraph,
And Complicats the Difficulties OF
Running Political Campaigns.
Speech of COLI H. Jones Before the
American National Publishers.
Only Two Per Cent of Our Population
That Use the Telegraph Wires.

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind, Feb. 9.-The
following is an abstract of Col, G. II.
jones' speech before the American Ma
tional Publishers association, now in
session in this city:
government control of the tele-
graph was TIE topic assigned to Col.
C. H. Jones of the Jacksonville, Flor
ida. Times Union, and he discussed it
in carefully prepared paper. He be-
gan by saying that he proposed to deal
with the subject in q practical way, for
the reason that he regarded it as very
practical. The strongest argument in
behalf of government telegraph sys-
tenn, and the one that is most relied
upon, is that it would be cheaper, and
most of the advocates of government
control seem to think the argument Is
closed when this assertion is made.
The 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 a feature of it. The
characteristics of all work done by the
government is cumbrOusuesS and cost
Illness. Whenever the government
wants work done at reasonable price
that work is let out by contract. The
government might make lower rates
for telegraphing than would be made
by any private corporation, because the
latter must make expenses and pay
for betterments and improvements, OF
its place in the business world will soon
be vacant. The government, If it so
chooses, can fix rate less than cost,
and make up the deficit by taxation.
And this is precisely what would be
done by the United States government,
if the experience OF other countries
having telegraph system is any critic
riOn.
Col. Jones then gave statistics show
ing that in Great Britain the deficit in
operating the government telegraph
had increased from S562, 621 in 1881 to
81, 349 200 in 1886. This deficit must be
made good by taxation. And is such
taxation justified on the ground that it
is public benefit? In 1887 over forty
seven million messages were
handled by the Western Union Tele-
graph company and these were sent by
less than one million people.
The whole of the telegraphing in the
United States is done by less than two
per cent of the population.
These figures made it plain that to
cheaper telegraph by reducing the rates
below cost and making up the deficit
by taxation means to tax ninty-eight
per cent of the people, who never use
the telegraph, for the benefit of stock
brokers, spectators, gamblers, pool
men, bucket shop proprietors and
sporting men generally who sent
eighty-seVen per cent of the messages.
Not only is this unjustifable on the
grounds of public policy: but it Is I'M
justifable on purely business grounds.
The men who send these messages
make no complaint of the cost because
it comes on as part of the legitimate
and necessary expenses of their bust
ness.
The only considerable body of men
asking for a reduction of telegraph
tolls are the Knights of Labor, not one
in hundred of whom ever
use the telegraph. These misguided
people are simply asking the govern
ment to tax them for the benefit OF a
people toward whom they are so ire
conciliably hostile that membership in
their organization is prohibited them.
These are considerations which de-
termine us against the scheme OF a
government telegraph on grounds con-
nected with the public welfare.
The speaker then considered the
subject from the point of view OF a
practical newspaper man. The news
papers 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 twenty-five
cents for seventy-five words during the
day and twenty-five cents for 100 words
at night to each place where but one
paper is served, and four cents fol-
seVenty-five words during the day and
four cents for 100 words at night for
each additional paper served. Other
| figures were given by the speaker
showing that, viewed in any way
| 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 SER
vice of the Press associations, the cost
of special telegraph service in the
| United States being one-half cent pei
word, and in Great Britain one-thirC
cent per word. In the United States
however, the distance is an average Of
| four times greater than in England
The bill introduced by Senator Cullon
provides that the night rate for news
paper dispatches, when the same dis
| patch goes to more than one Office, shall
| be twenty-five cents per 100 words
| This is more than twice the rate now
charged by the Western Union fol
transmitting Associated Press reports
and ten times the rates charged by the
same company when the reports are
delivered bysleased wires to four or five
papers in the same city. The truth Ii
that the substitution of government
telegraph service for that of TIT
Western Union on the basis Of TIT
| in one of two things-either the
bankruptcy of a large proportion
of the newspapers away from the grea
centers. or in depriving the public of {
very large proportion of the news of thu
world which it now enjoys through TIT
daily newspapers. Nothing so far
reaching in its effect upon the press o
the country has ever been proposed il
congress. 1t would be about the same
as if congress should enact law legis
lating out of existence half the dali,
papers of the country. and putting tn
remainder on short rations as regard
the Geographic news service. But eveI
this is not the most serious objection
from newspaper mans point of view
The mere suspicion that news had beel
subjected to government inspection o
censorship, would reduce by at leas
cne-half the value of the news to news
paper publishers and to the genera
public. A memorable illustration O
public resentment at the suspicion tina
news had been doctored, was furnishe
in connection with the New Yor
returns of the Associated Press at tn
presidential election in 1884. Whethe
rightly or wrongly, as the speaker bC
lieved, belief gained credence that th
associated Press and the Western Unio
Telegraph company had doctored tn
returns from New York state in the il
terest of Mr.. Blaine. The feelin
| arOuSed nv this was so intense in Ne,
York city that it came near leading
the mobDing of Jay Gould, and even i
Jacksonville, where the speaker pull
fishes an Associated Press newspapel
feeling ran so high as for time to 81
8 danger the value of the franchise
? What value would the public attac
. to news in emergencies Of this kind
they knew that its transmission wa
? through the medium of governmeT
: employees, which, under existing poll
: zeal methods, means the employees
that in T,ovuar9 SC, oxs-,