The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-08-10

show that it is trifie less than the gov
ernment rate, but the half-rate is gener-
ally higher, and you forget that this half
rate in money is not all we get To it must
be added the value of what those trans
portation companies do for us. Yet when
YOU apply even the shortest supposed case
to a message between New York and Chi
cago. or Washington and ST. Louis, you
will find the government rate is the lowest.
There is no comparison between the ser
vice for the newspapers, even the special
rates to one newspaper, and messages
transmitted for the government. A special
of 500 words would make fifty govern
ment messages of thirty words each, each
message requiring a separate checking,
booking, numbering, routing, enveloplng
and special delivery. We often have
special news report of i've thousand words
or more, equal to over one hundred and
sixty-six messages of thirty words each,
whilst our commercial and social messages
average but about seventeen words, lnclud-
ing the address and signature.
''In nv former statement, that Tor mes
sages transmitted and delivered to a single
address the government was the only Gus
toner that enjoyed reduced rate, DIS
tinctly excepted in the context the service
for the newspapers, arrangements with the
railroad and transportation companies, and
the distribution of commercial news re-
ports 1t is not true that this company
gives the large papers of the large cities
any lower rate than it gives the small
papers of small cities. The press
rate. which is based on our commercial rate,
is the same to every paper in the same CITY
or town, great or small, whether 1t does
business to the extent of dollar per year
or 500. 900. It is not true that the patron
age from the press is the most profitable we
have. There is little or no profit on the re
gular press service as a whole, and very Ut
tie on the special press service, ana IL Would
not add to our profit If the rate were maze
still lower. However, as it is based on our
commercial rate it necessarily is reduced
with it. The question of ourpress rate mas
been much discussed with the Press as
sociation, who have many lines
leased which they operate themselves,
They are quite familiar with the cost OF
rendering it, as they are with the cost OF
like service in other countries, and 1t was
found and admitted that the press rate OF
this country, considering the distance, IS
the lowest of any country in the world, and
the most liberal in lit application.
O"On the signal service reports since 1917,
the rate has been reduced as in the case OF
other government service by frightening
the circuits Until about 1884 the circuit
for signal service was paying three cents
per word, which was counted as practically
making the circuit compound circuit re
curing the use of reporters, as from New
York to Milwaukee, with drops, and was
charged and paid for as two circuits or at
the rate of six cents per word. So
also were the circuits from New York
to PASSPORT, Maine, and from Cincinnati to
New Orleans, whilst the circuit from Chi
cago to San Francisco was rated as four
circuits, or twelve cents per word. San
Francisco to San Diego and San Francisco
to Olympia were each rated and paid for as
three circuits, or nine cents per word.
Others were contained in double or treble
circuits.
''Now, we are only paid three cents per
word for each of these circuits, so that the
rate for signal service reports has on a
number of circuits been reduced to one
half, and others to one-third OF the amount
paid. If we had been paid last
year for this signal service on the
same basis as in 1872, we should
have received nearly twice as
much as we did whilst the rate on govern
ment messages was fixed so nearly at the
cost of the service at the start that it has
not been entitled to, and could not be ex-
pected to have, corresponding reduction
with the rates to the public from time to
time Yet the facts show that on large
class of government business the reduction
has been much greater than that made to
the public Up to July, 1877, the govern
nent rate was ! cent per word for 21O
miles, or less than l cent per word for each !
additional 80 miles or fraction with not
ess than % cents to be counted for frac-
lion less than one thousand miles.