Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-08-09

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during the past FIVE years, considering
| the character of the service, is lower
! than that given TO any other patron. The
! government rate has been l cent per
/ word for 1000 miles or less. You may
make up supposed message, with the
! address and signature of unusual length,
| and twenty words in the body sent
! short distance under our half rate con-
! tracts with certain transportation COM
! panies, and show that it is a trifie less
! than the government rate, but the half
rate is generally 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 transportation companies do
| for us. But when you apply even the
| strongest supposed case to a message be-
| tween New York and Chicago, or Wash
ington and ST. Louis, you will find the
| government rate lower. There Is no
comparison between the service for the
| newspapers (even the special rates to
newspapers), and messages transmitted
| for the government. A special of 1900
words would make fifty government mes
sages of thirty words eacn, each mes sage
requiring a special checking aud separate
booking, numbering, routing, envelop-
ing and special delivery. We often
have a special news report of 5000 words
or more, equal to over one hundred and
sixty messages of thirty words each,
whilst our commercial and social mes
sages average but about seventeen words
including address and signature. In my
former statement that for messages
transmitted and delivered to a single ad-
dress the government was the only GUS
toner that enjoyed a reduced rate, dis
tinctly excepted in the context the
service for newspapers, arrangements
with railroads and transport ation
companies and the distribution Of COM
mercial news reports.
1t is not true that this company gives
the large papers of New York, Chicago
and other large cities a day rate of 3
cent per word and a night rate Of Il cent
per word That rate applies only be-
tween New York, Philadelphia and
Washington. Nor is it true that this
company gives the large papers of the
large cities any lower rate than it gives
the small papers of the large cities or the
small papers of the small cities. The
press rate, which is based on our COM
mercial rate, is the same to every paper IN
the same city or town, great or small,
whether it does business to the extent of
81 per year or 500 900. 1t is not true
that the patronage from the press is the
most profitable we have. There is little
or no profit on the regular press service,
and 1t would not add to our profit if
the rate was made still lower. However,
as it is based on our commercial rate 1t
necessarily is reduced with it. The ques-
ton of our press rate has been much dis
cussed with the press associations, who,
having many lines leased which they
operate themselves, are quite as familiar
no of 40
with the cost of like service in other
countries, and it was found and admitted
that the press rate OF this country, con-
sidering distances, is the lowest of any
country in the world, and the most lib
eraI in its application.
On the signal service reports, since
1872, the rate has been reduced as in
case of other government service by
lengthening the circuits. Until about
1884 the circuit Tor signal service paying
cents per word was counted as prac-
teal working circuit. A compound cir
cult requiring the use of reporters, as
from New York to Milwaukee,
with drops was charged aud paid
for aa two circuits, Or at the
rate of cents per word. So also were
the circuits from New York to Eastport,
Me-, and from Cincinnati to New Or
leans, WDllSJ the circuit ITOIH Cn1Ch5O 10
San Francisco was rated as four circuits
or u cents per word. San Francisco to
San Diego, and San Francisco to Olym-
pia, w. T., were each rated and paid
for as three circuits or cents per word.
The others were double or triple circuits.
Now we are only paid 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 80 and on others to One-half the
amount previously 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.
With the rate on government messages
fixed so nearly at the cost of the service
at the start the government has not been
entitled to and could not be expected to
have a corresponding reduction with
rates TO the public from time to time,
yet the facts show that on q large
class of government business the
reduction has been much greater than
made to the public. Up to July, 1877,
the government rate was lc per word for
$50 miles or less, and 1c per word for
each additional $50 miles or fraction
thereof, with not less than twenty five
words to be counted in for q fraction less
than 600 miles. Therefore, the rate for
a 25-word message was 81, for 1000 miles |
it was 50, and for 5000 miles it was So.
For $50 miles it was 75c, and for 500 |
miles it was Soc Whilst for $50 |
miles or7,less it has remained the |
same, except that the minimum is twen
ty words instead of twenty-five words. |
Since 1884 the rates on the same message !
for 5000 miles would be So cents; for |
1000 miles, 80 cents; for 1000 miles and |
all distances under that, % cents. The |
reduction, therefore, on the long dis |
lance has been about so per cent. on |
1000 miles. and down to anything over |
two hundred and fifty miles 80 per cent.
whilst for $50 miles and less it has re-
manned the same. The average reduc-
ton in twelve years has probably been i'll
the neighborhoOd of 80 per cent.
For the year ending July, 1877, our
average rate to the public was IS 6-I0 |
cents per message. Last year it was
81 2-I0 cents per message, the reduction |