Wichita eagle., 1888-01-20

graph in any one year, and IN the Onlueu
States not over ) per cent OF the revenues
of the telegraph is derived from family
and social messages. About per cent
is derived from the news service, and the
remainder. about 81 per cent, Is CONNER
cial and speculative, the greater part beng
the latter A large portion of this specu-
lative business is for 'bucket shops" and
pool rooms, where chances are sold OH
races COO miles away. Is it tit and proper
that the whole people should be taxed TO
Tighten the expenses of 2 per cent OF the
population? Leaving out the press service,
which is rendered here for less compensa-
ton than i'm Great Britain, the whole num-
Der of messages is about 40,OOV.OO. Ihis
is an average of two-thirds of a message to
each inhabitant. As to the quality OF the
service, all persons of any experience In
European countries unite IN recording
the service on the government tele-
graphs as generally bad with no &C
countability or redress for even the most
fragrant negligence 1t is more especially
tardy and uncertain in delivery when the
message passes over two or more systems
of government telegraph, and the rate OF
tolls for messages passing from one
country to another is always greater than
for like distances in this country. OF the
II. 600 telegraph offices or stations main
tanned in the United States, more than
three-fourths are operated by railroad
companies, who are obliged to maintain
stations for railroad service, otherwise
they could not be maintained except at Il
loss Are these all to come into govern
ment employ? If the British telegraph
system i'm its compact and circumscribed
area in a thoroughly clear country of dense
population and with its low salaries, made
a deficit of 2350, 900 q year, government
telegraph in the United States with four
times its length of lines, and three and a
half the length of wires to maintain, COW
ering an area of country twenty times as
great. and with larger salaries, handling
only about the same number of messages
and adopting the British rate of tariff,
would possibly make deficit of SlO, O00, 600
per annum. If the rightful demand of tax
payers should require the lines to be
branched and extended, and telegraph sta
tons opened at every postoffice. the outlay
for the plant would run up to
upon its operations be still more
greatly multiplied There are in the
neighborhOod of 5000 postoffices at which
telegraph stations would be needed. Each
station would require an operator, and at
the larger centres from 300 to 800 employees,
with ten to thirty at each of the interme-
ate sized towns and cities: so that the ag
gLegate appointees would soon exceed
JOG, 600, or duplicate in number the present
appointeeS under the administration of the
general government, all of whom would
presumably feel bound to work in the
interest of their immediate employers 1t
would would be the longest stride ever
made by one act towards Capitalization of
power and a significant step in the di-
rection of socialism and the the theory of
parental government.
After further discussion the following
resolution was adopted:
Resolved. That the usefulness of the
postoffice department should he extended
in the direction of telegraph communica-
ton and we urge upon congress the
earliest favorable consideration of the
question.
\ question of commercial union with
Canada was discussed at some length and
the following resolution was adopted:
Resolved, That the executive council be
directed to memorabilia congress to pro-
vide for commercial relations with the
Dominion of Canada, upon the broad and
comprehensive principals of complete re
ciprocity.
The discussions of the abolition or re-
duction of the internal revenue tax occu-
pied large part of the afternoon session.
At the close of the discussion the fol-
lowing resolution was adopted:
Resolved, That recent events have
shown, in manner which cannot longer
be dsragarded, the danger to the business
interests of the country from our govern
ment continuing in time of peace the eX-
cessive taxation which was necessary in
time of war. A large surplus in the
treasury ties up the circulating medium
which is the life blood of commerce: eX-
poses the people to still greater taxation
in the shape of high rates of interest; acts
as menace to industry: dwarfs business
enterprise; gives the treasury power over
commerce which was never contemplated,
and is a constant temptation to eXtravag
ance i'm the administration or our govern.
ment.
Resolved That the business of all par
ties, whether protectionists or free traders
should unite in demanding early action by
congress to reduce our present enormous
revenues in a way which will least en-
barrass existing industries.
Resolved, That, while it is desirable to
reduce the internal taxes, it is not policy
to abolish the internal revenue system as a
whole.
A resolution embodying a proposition to
recommend the total repeal of internal
revenue taxes failed.