The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-01-20
Mr.. Erastus Wiman Presents Very Strong Rea-
sons for Allowing the Business to Remain
in the Management of Individuals.
Alleged Tampering with the Refunding
Law Passed by Congress in 1870.
No Expectation that Lamar Will Prove of Any
Real Service to the Goternment-Pr0ba-
bilities About Tariff Legislation.
POSTAL TELEGRAPH.


National Board of Trade. to-day. Postal
Telegraph" was the first subject taken
up on the regular programme. Mr.. F. B.
Thurber, of New York. spoke IN favor Of the
Postofice Department assuming charge Of tele-
graphic Communication. He read q letter from
Kenric B. Murray, secretary of the London
Chamber of Commerce, replying to certain
questions previously submitted by Mr. Thurber
Among the more important questions and an
swers are the folio wing:
Question-Has the result of the purchase and opera.
ton Of the telegraphs Of the government in Great
as far as service is ooaeeTnsd
working of the telegraphs has indeed been SO salts
factory that public opinion now IN favor OF their
taking and working the cables to Europe the
monopoly of which is now expiring.
Question-Was the quickness and certainty OF the
service improved diminished
Answer-The general belief is that the quickness,
certainty and of the service have improved
Question-Has the increase in the number of
ployes in the Postotce Department been productive
Answer-None worthy of being noted. Slight
plants have occasionally arisen in regard to promo
considering the magnitude of the service numbering
3D. 800 persons, regularly employed, and about A.
free from political evils" There have been one or
two agtatons for increase of salaries OF which
Question-Have improvements and inventions in
telegraphc communication, in consequence OF the
diminished as compared with those previous to the
purchase by the government
Answer-Not altogether ceased, as the Postohce
Department have in their employ eminent electricians
and engineers, who introduce improvements annually,
adopt outside inventions when thought desirable:
The nducenent is probably great ito invent
when the telegraphs were in private hands.
Question-Has the recent reduction in the price OF
kilograms to sixpence for twelve words throughout
Great Britain been of benefit to the public and how
much has it decreased the of the telegraphs
and increased the number of telegramsl
Answer 1t has undoubtedly been OF great benefit
been somewhat detracted by the fact of the ad
dress being counted in the words sent The number
foreign teieras' Which are NOT Affected by the re-
duced rate. and which number some ten millions
81 ,354, ,s79 against 81, ,277. COS in 1856 The
number of messages thus shows increase of 33
cent? whilst the revenue only increased by 6 per
cent This was the first complete year under the re-
Question-Would the public be willing to have the
telegraphs go back into the hands of private COM
panesa
Answer-The overwhelming, in fact almost unani-
nous, feeling wosld be in opposition to return to
private management
Mr. Thurber added that the friends of the postal
telegraph in that country contend that the trans
mission of intelligence is q government func-
ton; that electricity is the most important
means of doing so; that telegraphic service has
been extended to large number of places
which would not have enjoy ed it's benefits if the
teeeraphs had remained in private hands; that
the service has been greatly improved, is
Efficient than in this country. and great deal
cheaper; that when the telegraphs taken
hold of by the government the uniform charge
of shilling for twenty words to any distance
resulted in enormous increase in the of
the telegraph; that large additions to the plant
have been made and paid for out of the current
receipts and il the telegraphs have not each year
paid the interest on the bonds issued for their
purchase, if they had been credited with these
betterments, and with the free service to the
government departments. they would have been
able to show credit sufficient to pay the inter-
est on the bonds, and If they were credited with
the increased service given the public beyond
what the private companies were giving at the
time the telegraphs were taken over it would
show an enormous balance on the credit side
that private companies would never have tried
the experiment of a reduction in rates, first to
shilling for twenty words and subsequently to
slxpence for twelve words.
Mr.. Erastus Wiman. of New York, spoke in
opposition to government control He said that !
in the British postofice report of 1887 the table
of receipts and expenses for the years 1901 to
1867, inclusive. shows a steadily increasing
deficit. amount during the last fiscal year to
over So. 100000. To meet this loss the whole
population taxed to afford cheap telegraph
service to the very small per centage of the
population that ever use it The telegraph is
essentially the adjunct of commerce. and it is
estimated that not more than per cent
of the entire population use the
States not over per cent. of the revenues of the
telegraph is derived from family and social
messages. About per cent. Is derived from
news service, and the remainder, about 81 per
cent, is commercial and speculative the greater
part being the latter. large portion of this
speculative business is for bucket shops" and
poolrooms, where chances sold races q
thousand miles away Is it fit and proper that
the whole people should be taxed to tighten the
expenses of per cent of the populationa Leav-
ing out the press service, which Ia rendered here
for less compensation than in Great Britain,
the whole number of the messages is about
forty million. This is average of two-thirds
of message to each inhabitant AS to the
quality of the service. all persons of
any experience in European countries
unite in describing the service Of
government telegraphs as generally bad, with
no accountability or redress for even the most
fragrant neglie ence 1t is more especially tardy
and uncertain in delivery when the message
passes over two systems of
ment telegraph, and the rate of tolls for mes
saees passing from one country to another is
always greater than for like distances in this
country. OF the IL. 900 telegraph Offices. sta
tions maintained in the United States, more
than three-fourths are operated by railroad
companies, whoare obliged to maintain the sta
not be mantained except at loss Are these
al 10 come into government employ If the
aud circumscrloed area IN thor
onehly clear country of dense pop
ula,ion. and WI With tn oon its low salaries.
ment telegraph in the United States, with four
times its length of lines and three aud half the
length of wires TO maintain. covering an area of
country twenty times great, and with larger
salaries, handling only about the same number
of messages and adopting the British rate of
tariff, would probably make deficit of sl0,000,-
900 annum If the rightfui demands of tax
payers should require the lines to be branched
and extended, and telegraph stations
opened at every postofice, the outlay for
the plant would run up TO nearly $20u, ,000-
goo. and the deficit upon its operation be
stiil more greatly multiplied There are in the
rleghborhood of $4,000 postofices at which tele-
graph stations would be needed Each station
would require an operator, and at the larger
commercial centers from three hundred TO eight
hundred employees with ten to thirty at each OF
the intermediate sized towns and cities. So that
the aggregate OF appointees would soon exceed
100, 900. or duplicate in number the present APP
pointees under the administration of the gener-