The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1888-02-10
CONTROL OF THE WIRES
NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS DISCUSS
THE QUESTION.

Advertising Matters Considered.
INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 9.-The American
Newspaper Publishers Association began
its second annual session here yesterday
with Col c. H. Jones, of the Jacksonville,
fla Times Union, presiding in the absence
of William Singerly, of the Philadelphia
Record The business in the afternoon re-
lated, outside of the reading of papers ON
various topics OF interest to newspaper man
ayers and publishers to matters governing
the association. One of them was in the
form Of a contract pedging the members
who signed it to absolute secrecy regarding
the rating and responsibility of advertisers.
ADVERTISING RATES.
George c. Hit, of the indianapolis Jour
mol, +. p Call, of the Boston Herald, and
w. H. Brearly, of the Detroit Journal pre-
sented papers in reference to advertising
rates. The latter paid particular attention
to the evil caused 10y illegltlmate schemes.
Last evenings meeting was held Jointly
with the advertising agents relative TO che
adoption of a plan whereby newspapers and
agents themselves could get rid of many OF
the irresponsible parties who seek to place
advertising. A plan was presented winch
is to lead finally to the preparation OF list
of agents with whom the papers represented
in the association will have dealing. All
outside of the list are to be tabooed.
The Association continued its session TO-
day. The first paper read was by Mr..
McManes, Of the Philadelphia RECORD,
whose topic was "Puffs, aud the Dividing
Lines Between News and Advertising"
GOVERNMENT TELEGRAPHY.
Government Control of the Telegraph"
was the tonic assigned to Col. c. II. Jones,
of the jacksonville Times Union, and he
discussed it in carefully prepared paper.
He begun by saying that he proposed to
deal with the subject III practical way,
for the reason that he regarded 1t as very
practical The strongest argument III be-
half of a government telegraph system,
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 argument Is closed when this
assertion is made, The speaker, however,
felt constrained TO say that the experience
of this, and other countries with govern
ment work furnishes no reason for bellev-
ing that exceptional cheapness would be
feature of it, The characteristic feature OF
all work done by government IS cumbrous-
| ness and costliness. Whenever the govern
ment wants work done at a reasonable
price that work is let out by contract.
WOULD RUN AT LOSS.
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, or its place in the business
| world would soon be vacant. The govern
ment. if it so chooses, can fix a rate less
| than cost and make up the deficit by taxa
| tion and this is precisely what you'd be
! done by the United States government, if
! the experience of other countries having
| telegraph system is any criterion. Col.
! Jones then gave statistics showing that in
| Great Britain the deficit IN operating
| the government telegraph had increased
from $685.. .625 in 1881 to s., $40, 200 III 1886.
! This deficit must be made good by taxation,
and is such taxation justified on the ground
! that it is a public benefitl In 1887 over
| AZ 900. 900 messages were handled by the
| Western Union Telegraph Company. and
these were sent by less than 100000
| people.
WHO DOES THE TELEGRAPHING.
The whole of the telegraphing in the
United States is done by less than per
cent Of the population. These figures make
! il plain that to cheaper telegraphy by re-
ducing rates below cost and making up the
deficit by taxation means to tax 9S per
| cent of the people who never use the tele-
! graph for the benefit of stock brokers.
| SPECTATORS, gamblers, pool men, bucket
shop proprietors and sporting men generally,
! who send 81 per cent. of the messages. Not
| only is this unjustiiable on the ground of
public policy, but it is unJusti-
fable on purely business grounds.
| The men who send these messages make no
| complaint of the cost, as it comes in as part
of the legitimate and necessary expenses of
| their business. The only considerable body
of men asking for a reduction of telegraph
| tolls are the Knights of Labor, not one in a
hundred of whom ever use the telegraph.
| These misguided people are simply asking
government to tax them for the benefit OF a
| class of people toward whom they are SO
| irreconciiably hostile that membership in
their organization is prohibited them.
These are the considerations which deter
mine us against the scheme Of government
telegraph on grounds connected with the
| public welfare.
FROM A JOURNALISTIC VIEW.
The speaker then considered the subject
from the point of view of practical news
paper man. The newspapers of the United
| States, he said are now enjoying the cheap
est and most efficient telegraph service Of
any newspapers in the world The British
| telegraph press rate is 25c. for seventy-five
words during the day and 25c. for 100
words at night to each place where
| but one paper is served, and &c. for
seventy-five words during the day, and 4c.
|
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 Is to u. These figures apply TO
the service of Press Associations, the cost Of
the special telegraph service in the United
States being &c. per word, and in Great
Britain nc. per word In the United States,
however, the distance is an average of four
times greater than in England.
THE CULLoM BILL.
The bill introduced by Senator Cullom
provides that the night rate for newspaper
dispatches, when the same dispatch goes to
more than one Office, shall be 25c. per 100
words. This is more than twice the rate
now charged by the Western Union Com
pany for transmitting the Associated Press
! reports and ten times the rates charged by
the same company when reports are de-
| livered by leased wires 10 four or five
papers in the same city The truth Is that
the substitution Of the government tele-
graph service for that Of the Western
| Union on the basis Of the Cullom
bill would speedily result in one
OF TWO things.-either the bankruptcy OF
large proportion Of newspapers away from
the great centers, or in depriylng the public
of "A very large proportion Of the news Of
the world which II now enjoys through the
daily newspapers Nothing 20 far-reaehlng