The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-08-09
RATES TO THE PRESS.

large papers OF New York, Chicago and other
cities day rate Of one half cent a word aud
IiSht rate of one-quartHr of a cent per word.
lhat rate applies only between New York.
Philadelphia and Washington. nor is II true
that this company gives the large papers Of the
larSe cities any lower rate than 1t gives the
small papers of the large cities, or the small
papers OF the small cities. The press rate,
which is based on our commercial rate is the
same to every paper in the same city or town,
Ereat or small. whether 1t does business 10 the
the extent Of 81 per year or 500, 0ol. It is not
true that the patronage from the press is the
most profitable we have. There Is htte
or no profit on the regular press
service as whole very little on the
special service, and it would not add profit il
the rate was made still lower. However es It
IS based on our commercial rate, IL necessarily
Is reduced with it. The question OF our press
rate has been much discussed wish che press
associations, who. having many lines
leased wires which they operate themselves
are quite familiar with the cost of rendering it,
as they are with the cost Of like service in Other
countries, and II was found and admitted that
the press rate Of this country, considering dis
tances, is the lowest OF any country in the
world and the most liberal in its application.
THE SIGNAL SERVICE REPORTS.
Onthe signal service reports since 1879 the
rate has been reduced, as In the case OF other
government service by lcnglhening the circuit
untd about 1881, the circuit for the signal ser
vice having ceuts per word was counted as q
practical working circuit. compound circuit
requiring the use OF repeatprs. as from New
NOrk to Milwaukee, with drops, was charged
aud paid for as two circuits or at the rate
or b cents per word So also were
the circuits from New y York TO Eastport Me
anu from Cincinnati to New Orleans, whilst the
circuit from Chicago to San Francisco was
rated four circuits, or II cents per word San
FRANCISCO to Sandy Hook and San Francisco TO
olympia were each rated and paid for az three
circuits or 2 cents per word. Others were
counted double or triple circuits. Now we are
only paid cents per word for each Of these cir
cults Also the rate for signal service reports
has on number of circuits been reduced to
one-halt and on Others one to one-third OF the
amount previously paid. IF we had been paid
last year for this signal service on the same
basis as in 1872, we would have received nearly
twice as much as we did.
RATES REDUCED ALL ROUND.
While the rate on government messages as
fixed so nearly at the cost of the servtre at the
start, has not been entitled to- aud could not be
expected TO have. corresponding reduction
with the rates to the public from time to time,
yet The facts show that on large class of gov
ernment husiness the reduction has been much
greater than that made TO the public. Up to
July 1877 the government rate was cent per
word for $50 miles or less and cent per word
for each additional $50 miles or fraction thereof
not less than twentyfva words to be counted
for fraction. Less than 1000 miles therefore
the rate for a twenty-five word message was 81,
for 900 miles vas 81, and for 3, 900 miles il was
S3 For 750 miles it was rs cents and for 900
miles it was 80 cents, while for $50 miles
or less it remained the same, except,
that the minimum is twenty words IN
stead Of twenty five words since 1884 the
rates on the same message for 3, 900 miles would
be 63 cents, for 1000 miles 80 cents for 1000
miles and all distances under that 20 cents The
reduction, therefore, on the long distances has
been about 80 per cent, on 1900 mics 20 and
Is per cent, on l,O0o miles IS per cent, on 750
miles 66 per cent, on $40 miles and down to
anything over 25O miles 80 per cent whilst for
$50 miles and less it has remained the same
The average reduction in twelve years has prob
ably been in the neighbOrhoOd Of % per cent.
Eor the year ending July, 1877, our average
rate to the public was 4s 06 cents per message
Last year il was 3t.02 cents per mes
age, the reduction to the public
being something less than 30 per cent.
In the same period, the cost to the company of
handling messages has been reduced from
20 g. 10 cents per message to % 10 cents, being
about ~ per cent, so that the reduction on the
government service has been 2lS times greater
than the reduced cost Of handling the mes
sages and two-hfths greater than the reduced
rate on commercial messages. The sum of 10
all is that the government has given us moth
ing that cost the government anything,
the government to retain; nothing that
has not been worth more to the government and
the public that we should have than it has been
worth to us, whilst In consideration, therefore,
the government, by its reserved power has
been making a saving for a number OF years at
the rate OF nearly, il not quite 100000 year in
the cost Of its telegraph service below what
other customers pay, whilst it enjoys, as it
should, preferred service over all other bust
ness.
Although have treated the press service as
not properly comparable with the transmission
of government message, / desire TO say that
in point OF fact if the government had paid us
during the past several years the rates stlpu-
lated by contract with the Associated Press on
news dispatches bearing one address, the aggre-
gated revenue for the government service
would have been larger than II was at the rates
the government paid. | have the honor to
remain, very respectfully yours,
NORYIN GREEN, President,