The daily citizen. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1889-1890, 1889-08-09


that il is trine less than the Govern
mcnt rate; but the half rate is generally !
HIGHER; and YOU forgot that this half rate !
in money is not all we get. /" 1t nlSl |
be added the value Of what those trans !
portution companies do Tor us. Bul
when You apply even the strongest sup
posed case to messages between New
York and Chicago, or Washington ana
St.yLOliis, YOU will find the Govcrn7ncnt
rate is the lower. There is no conlparl-
son between the service for the ncWSpa-
pers (cvcn the special rates to one news
papcr) and messages transmitted tor the
Government. a special ot 1900 words
would make fifty Government messages
of thirty words each, each message
requiring separate checking, booking,
numbering, routing, cnvcIopnE ANA Il
special delivering. Wc often have 4
special news report of five thousand
words or more, equal to one hundred
and sixtv-six messages of thirty words
each, whilst our commercial and social
messages average but about seventeen
words, including address and signature.
In my former statement that iour mes
Sagcs transmitted and delivered toa single
address, the Government w;lS the only
customer that enjoyed Il reduced rate,
distinctly excepted i'll the contrast the SC
vice for the newspapers, arrangements
with railroad and transportation com
panics and the distribution of CONNER
cial news reports. II is not true that
this company gives the large papers
of New York, Chicago and
other large cities day rate of one hall
cent per word, and Il night rate OF one
quarter of a cent per word. That rate
applies only between New York, IhiIa-
dclphia and Washington. Nor is it true
that this company glTcS the large papers
of the large cities amy lower rate than 1t
gives the small papers ot the Iar2c citirS'
or the small papers OF tn" small cites.
| The press rate, which Is based on ou
commercial rate, is the same to every pa
per in the same city or town, great or
small, whether it does business to the cN-
tent of one dollar per year or one nun
drcd thousand dollars. 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 it would not add to our proht II the
rate was made still lower. However, as
il is based ON our commercial rate, 1t
necessarily is reduced withlt. The question
of our press rate has been much discussed
with the press associations who having
many lines leased which they operate
themselves are quite familiar with the
cost of rendering it as they arc with the
cost of like service in other countries,
and it was found and admitted that the
press rate Of this country, considering
distances, is the lowest of any country III
I &, la, El,tr.Il II
nIiratiou, On the signal service reports
since 1872, the rate has been reduced as
in thr ease of other government service
hc lcngthcning the circuits. Until about
1SSt, the circuit for signal service, paying
: 3 cents per word, was counted as a piHc-
teal working circuit. y compound cir
cult requiring the use OF rtpcaterS aSlroll
) New York to milwaukee,, with drops
t. was charged and paid tor as two CIR
cults, or at the rate of e cents per word
SO, also were the circuits from New YORK
to I,asllmrt, Me and from Cincinnati tC
| New Orleans, whilst the circuit from Olll
- caro- to San Francisco, to SAN Diego
[ and san Francisco to Olympia, W. T..
[ we're each rated and paid for as three
[ circuits, or 0 cents per word. IhcothcrS
, were counted double or triple circuits
| Now we are only paid 3 cents per wore
t for each of these circuits, SO that the rate
a for the signal service reports has on Z
J. number of circuits been reduced to one
i half. and the Others to onc-tlird OF the
!; amount previously paid. If we had beer
{ Maid last wear for this signal service OF
:, the same basis as in 1872 we would have
II received nearly twice as much as we dld
l. Whilst the rate on government
v MESSAGES, fixed 50 nearly at th'
V cost of the service at the start
c has not been entitled TO an'
II could not have been expected to have
If corresponding reduction with the lntr
It TO the public from time to time, yet TN
d facts show that on a large class OF gov
v rrnmcnl business the reduction has beer
't much greater than made to the puDIl'
Il Tn to Iulv 1877 the government rate wa
c one cent per word for $50 miles or less
Y and one cent per word tOrcach additional
E D5O miles or fraction thereof, with no
lc less than TWENTY-FIVE words to hcConrtcu
II For Il fraction less than 200 miles
III therefore, the rate for a twenty-five Wor
" ,urssalrc was 81 ; iOr 1000 miles 1t wa
ID So and for 5000 miles ii was SO. Fo
G. 75O mics it was 70 cents, and Tor 90
IS miles 80 cents, while for 300 miles less
IL has remained the Simc, except that I'll
&C minimum is twenty words instead
Is TWENTY-FIVE. Since 1851 the rates on I'll
IL Same MESSAGE for 5000 miles would !
u "a cents: for 1000 90 cents; tor LOO
o. miles and all distances under that :
III cents. The reduction, therefore, on Il
Ne long distance has been about eighty pt
Us cent. ON 1000 miles; scvcnty-hvc p'
a cent. on 1909 miles; scvcnty-fve p'
a cent. on $50 mics; sixty-siX per cent.
re 500 miles, and down to anything owe
Is, $50 miles fifty per cent, while tor "a
to miles and less it has remained the sam
IL The average reduction i'll twelve yea
lc. has probably been in the nelghhorho,,o
cr of fifty pcr cent. For the year endn
p Tulv 1877 our average rate |" the Pu
Ter lie was 436-1O cents per mcSSag
lis Last wear it WAS 81 2-lO cents p
les message the reduction to the pun
ur being less than thirty per cent. In Il
Ill same period the cost to the company
ID handling messages has been reduced lro
81 29S-1O cents per message to 70 -
pc cents. being about twenty per CENT
en- that the reduction on the SoNerhlne
We service has been two and one-halt tim
lu- greater than the reduced cost OF llilhuiil
nd messages, and twO-htths greater IN;
he the reduced rate onCommerclal message
his The s,m of it all is that the govcrnme
of has given us nothing that cost the go
of crnmcnt anything, OF that was OF Al
he value to the government torctaln; not
ing that has not been worth more TO |
to- Government and the public that
the should have than it has been worth
Of us, while in consideration therefor t
cs. government 90 by it's reserved powers Il
ity been making a saving for a number
ust wears at the rate of nearly, if not qu
cd nm nnn :, ,.,.nr. IN the rnSt Ni Its u