The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-03-10
MORE CABLE TALK
Workings Of Present lSyStGm in
Japan.
YOKOHAMA is DISSATISFIED
Reuters Agent Proposes
New Contract.
Japan Lies Outside Circle of TeIe-
gaphiC Communication
of World,

| Apropos Of the Pacific cable scheme
for supplying news TO the far East. the
Japan Mail, in it's issue of Feb. "a.
presents some facts showing the value
| of the present system to Yokohama.
The article in the Mail on the subject
| is occasloned by a circular issued by
| the agent of Reuters Telegram Com
pany on the expiration of the contracts
entered into with the Gazette and the
Mail. The proposition in the circular
| is that should sufficient private sup
port, at 500 per annum for each sub
scriber, be forthcoming, new arrange
ments could be made for supplying te-
legraphic news of the chief events of
the world. BY the new arrangements,
each subscriber would receive private
information of all the events prior
to their appearance in the papers.
The Mail says that during the past
year the public has received kilograms
from Shanghai, representing an out
lay of 500 yen monthly. Of that
amount 400 yen was paid by the Japan
Gazette. the Japan Herald, and vari-
Gus subscribers, and 200 yen by the
Japan Mail We ourselves never be-
lieved in the wisdom of the arrange
ment. Japan lies outside the circle
of telegraphic facilities. 1t costs four
times as much to have a message wired
from Shanghai to Yokohama as it
costs Shanghai to procure the same
message from Hongkong. Shanghai,
stations-H -HOngkong Singapore, Col
umbo, etc.-each of which contri-
butes to defray the expense of trans
hitting a commonly useful telegram
tage of a special press rate. One OBJ
viOus result is that these places re-
ceive from Europe items of news not
too dear at six pence a word. When,
however, Yokohama is invited to pay
two shillings word for the same
intelligence, sent across from Shang-
hal, the question whether correspond
ing value is obtained for the quad
rupled charge becomes well worth
considering. The experience of the |
past twelve months seems sufficient to
furnish an answer Has the commun-
ity received a fair equivalent, or any
thing like a fair equivalent, for the
heavy outlay involved?
Of course Reuters Agents in Shang-
hal and Yokohama have spared no |
pains in performing the service, but |
the point is that the material avail |
able for transmission to Yokohama !
was, in great part, not worth the cost
of transmitting it. So long as the
present scale of rates remains un-
changed. the sensible plan, we ven
ture to think, is to procure the cream
only of the Shanghai kilograms. If
the whole of the telrgraphic news re-
ceived there from London were for
warded TO Japan, the expense would
be about a thousand yen monthly.
Yokohama has. therefore, been get
ting six-tenths of the service approx |
mately. during the past year, and has |
been paying for it nearly two and |
half times as much as Shanghai pays |
for the whole. A careful examination |
of the kilograms received here under |
the arrangement just terminated, |
shows. we think, that, on the most /
favorable estimate. not one half of |
them were worth what they cost. Now /
that fresh subscriptions are invited, |
these facts ought to be taken into con- /
sideration.