The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-02-07
Argument to Chamberlain By San
ford Fleming.
is AGAINST PRIVATE OWNERSHIP
Plans for Imperial Lines-In the
Pacific - Not 70 Touch
Hawaii - Rates.

dSoOCldltu WIFI LA% bl -ti4AtllNA anu /
advocacy Of the most practical scheme |
yet advanced for the construction OF
the Pacific cable. has addressed a COM
munication TO Mr.. Chamberlain urging |
the adoption OF system OF state |
owned cables for the Empire.
Sir Sanford Fleming instances in |
support OF his argument the success |
which has attended the change from |
telegraph service managed by pri- |
waite companies TO a telegraph service |
owned by the state and administered
under the post office department BE
fore the transfer complaints We're fire.
quent and we'll founded as to the in
efficiency OF the telegraph service. and
the business done was much restricted.
After the transfer and the reorganiz-
alton of the service by which il was
accompanied the public gained the adj
vantage of cheap messages. and bust
ness developed to such an extent that
receipts progressively increased. BE
fore the transfer. which took place In
1870, the cost of sending message
was about Is. That this cost should
have been reduced TO sd without loss
TO the taxpayer Sir Sanford Fleming
attributes entirely to- the system uf
managing the telegraph lines rs pub
lie service. He further instances the
example of European countries in
which the same system has been sue
| cessfully adopted. and draws the con
clusion that the application OF the prin-
| ciple of state ownership ON a larger
scale to the cable system ~ the En-
/ pire has now become desirable and cX-
/ pedient
! We can as yet the points OUT but
/ family appreciate the extent 20 which
/ the telegraph may be employed. he
/ cause its use heretofore has been re-
| stricted on lOng-distance messages by
/ almost prohibitOry charges II mes
sages be exchanged between places not
\ far apart. let Us say between London
and Edinburgh. or Toronto and Mon
/ treal, the gain in time by the use OF
/ the telegraph is considerable. But 10
the points of connection he far sepaT
ated. such as London and Melbourne
or Ottawa and Cape Town. the com
| parison between a postal and telegraph
/ service brings out the distinct value OF
the latter. In the cases last mentioned.
while it would require the lapse OF
eighth or ten weeks TO obtain an answer
TO a letter by post. il the telegraph be
employed a reply may he returned next
day. or even the same day
/ Existing lOng-distanCe cables are lit
tie used ny the general public: Il may
be said not at all except in emsrEeu-
cieS They are used in connection with
commerce, the growing need OF which
demand more and more the employ
ment of the telegraph. but owing 60
the high charges exacted its use Is
limUed to business which would suffer
by delay. The cables are In the hands
OF private companies striving chiefly
TO earn large dividends. and VINO adopt
the policy OF charging high rates. In
consequence of which trade and COM
merce is unduly taxed and its free de-
velopment retarded. Were the cables
owned by the state large profits would
not be the main object. and. precisely
as in the case of the land lines Of the
United Kingdom it would be- possible
10 reduce charges 50 is TO remove re-
strictiOns on trade and bring the SER
vice within reach OF many now tH-
barred from using 81.
When the government assumed COM
troll Of the island telegraph OF the Unit
ed Kingdom it was found possible
greatly to reduce charges. In 1859. jhl
year before the transfer. less than
/ seven million messages We're carried
At the transfer the rate was reduced
TO Is per message: the traffic immeji,
ately increased nearly 80 per cent. Jut
continued increasing until. in the tenth
year. twenty-nine million message
were transmitted. with a surplus O
revenue over expenditure OF S35i.0tU
In another decade the total anuua
business equalled ninety-foUr millions
the operations still resulting IN q sur
plus Of e251 SOC. although the chdTc
for a message had been meanwhile "a
, duced from one shilling 20 siNpenca
II is indisputable that high charges rs
) stric. the utility Of sea cables rs well q
of land lines. while low charges hJv
the opposite effect. \ few years J-r
the tariff of charges between Austra'i
i and London was 9s ID per word. Tn
proposal 10 establish the Pacific carl
and the discussion which followed .e
10 the cheapening OF the rate 20 = g
per word. In 1890. the year before n
rates were lowered, the gross bushes
consisted OF S27.27S words. Last yea
|, QS90 it had increased TO 2.3is.e