Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1889-07-30


Creswell through Captain Howgate, the
acting head of the signal service,
and discussion of the subject was
had in Washington, President William
orion representing the Western Union
Telegraph company and the postmaster
general having the assistance or Assistant
Attorney General Whiting and the head OF
the signal corps, and the rates were fixed
satisfactorily to the telegraph companies:
They were not annually revised until
some years later, and in almost every IN
stance the telegraph companies were CON
suited as to what they could afford to do
the service for. In two instances Post
master General Jewell and Postmaster
General James, at the instance of the tele-
graph companies, recalled and modified
their orders after they had been officially
proclaimed
The language of the act, that messages
between the several departments of the
government shall have priority over all
other business, and at such rates as the
postmaster general shall annually fix, may
be construed as contemplating the liking
of higher rate than is had by other pat
rons because of such priority in transmits
sion over all other business. Certainly it
never contemplated comforting the
power 10 fix rates below the
actual cost of the service.
Such action is nothing short of contisca-
ton of the property and service OF en-
ployes to the use of the government with
out just compensation therefor.
The rate as last fixed, 20 cents for twenty
words or less for distances of 900 miles or
less, and l cent for each additional word,
and Ito of cent per word tor each addl-
tional 900 miles or fraction thereof is for
distances of about 1000 miles las
between Washington and New York
and ST. Louis and Chicago
Gpa half no rat a D.
lie on current messages. For distances of
800 miles and under it is about three
fourths the commercial rate. Our gross
receipts for the last fiscal year as shown by
annual report were $40, .164.12, and the
current working expenses were
fl4 $40 9 IS =, o. leaving n,t net of wRh FUi1
$3.50, 258. 80 was paid for interest and sink
ing fund on bonded debt, which is part of
the capitalization. 1t will be readily seen
that the working expenses without any re-
turn for any part of the capital employed
costs within faction of IS per cent OF the
total earnings. If, therefore, the govern.
ment rate averages less than Is per cent of
the rate to the public las 1t I'M
ment business is done at a
loss. The table on page OF the annual
report shows average cost to the company
OF handling messages to be % 2-lO cents
per message. If the government business
does not pay something more than this
average then it must be done at loss, for
the messages, in order to yield such an
average, must be considerably above the
average length of business messages (about
seventeen Words, and it is very eXactlng
service, having precedence over all other
business and requiring prompt and often
long distance messenger deliveries or re-
writing, in some cases to deliver by special
wires. These exhibits demonstrates that
the rate as fixed for the past year is great
injustice to the telegraph companies and
not on a fair business basis of living profits
awarded to railroad companies and other
corporations for services rendered. Inc
rates ought, therefore, to be increased
rather than diminished. By the present
rate the government is saving
large sum, probably 100000 annually
by reduced cost of its telegraph service
below what other customers have to pay
and that saving is necessarily made up
from other customers. In justice and fair
dealing the existing rate should therefore
be increased to the government service,
for nothing necessarily imposes heavier
burdens on the people who sustain the tel
egraph. If the railroads had to haul
the mails for nothing they would
have to collect more for other
service to sustain the expense OF
operation and pay double return for cap
ital employed. The government Is AS able
to pay and every business consideration
demands it shall pay a fair and reasona-
bic consideration for whatever service 1t
may require.
As to the rate named for the ensuing
fiscal year in your official circular to the
companies of June % ult, which you say
will be l mill a word irrespective
of distances for all messages day
or night, I have only to say
it would not reimburse what this company
has to pay for the clerical service in secur--
ing, checking, routing, numbering and
booking the message before its transmits
sion; that it would not reimburse what
this company has to pay for the time of
any one of from seven to eleven operators
that would be engaged in the transmission
of message from Washington to Port
land Ore; that a message of ordinary
length would not reimburse what we have
to pay for its delivery by messenger after
it has reached its destination, to say moth
ing of any part of the cost of maintaining
the line; the supplies, stationery,
offices and other incidental
expenses: and finally it would not reim-
burse the cost to this company of gathering
up business, making up docu-
ments and making the collections.
Y message starting at Washing
ton iscounted and checked by the
clerk at the window. 1t is then
sent to the operating room, where the cir
cult manager numbers it and sends it to
the proper instrument. After transmits
sion it goes to the book keeper to be en-
tered What we have to pay for
the time of these several en-
ployes is certainly more than L cent,
he value of q ten word message,
probably more than 2 cents, which would
be the price of twenty word message at
the rate named. In further examination
of the practical operation of transmitting
messages from New York or Washington
to points on the Pacific coast | find they
are not sent through repeaters all the way
in one compound circuit All west
bound business is relayed at
Chicago or St. Louis, so that message is
first sent from Washington TO Chicago
one repeating station, requiring
three operators from Chicago TO San Fran
cisco it is transmitted in one compound
circuit through intermediate repeating
stations, employing SIX operators, which
added to the three first named make nine.
Then if it has to go to Oregon,
passing through repeaters at one
station, 1t would require
three more operators. This company
during the last fiscal year
). 463, $50 messages. The cost for mesSen-
ger service was in round numbers s. TO-
co., making the average cost OF delivery
per message about Is cents, although
large number of messages to the floor of
exchanges, to newspapers and by special
wire deliveries did not require the use of
messenger. In fact in most large
cities, as in Washington, we pay
by contract with district manager COM
panies 5cent per message for delivery. \ GU
may answer that the government sends
letters thousand miles and delivers them
for cents. but neither the government
nor any other patron OF the telegraph