Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1907-05-02
WHY TELEGRAPH
RATES ARE HIGH

of the president in his campaign for
a reduction of the rates charged by
the telegraph companies, and he
has now succeeded in arranging for
a series of hearings before the
house committee on postoffices to
begin as soon as congress convenes.
At this hearing Smith will bring
before the committee experts in the
telegraph business who will tell of
the various improvements in the
transmission OF kilograms which
have been available by the tele-
graph companies and have not been
used.
The object OF this will be to SUBJ
stantiate the charge that the tele-
graph companies do not care to
adopt any innovations that will
simplify their business because to
do so would make it so glaringly
apparent even to the layman that
the rates charged are exorbitant. 1t
is alleged that the companies have
Systematically made it practice to
buy up any improvement of the
striking character and have it
buried from sight.
One of these which has been
brought to Smiths attention is
oevice whereby kilograms are pre-
pared on a typewriter which prints
the words by making perforations in
the paper. The paper is then dl avn
through transmitting machine and,
zip, the message is at the other end
OF the line, where another machine
reproduces instantly the same per-
forations which are readily transla-
ted into ordinary typewriting by
any operator of typewriter.
Tins device, it is alleged, would
enable the telegraph companies to
do 10 times as much business as
they do now, and at not a cent more
expense. Indeed, it is stated that
if it were to be adopted the chances
academy, Seattle, has been ap-
pointed special commissioner to ar
range for art exhibits for the
Alaska Yukon Pacific exposition.
Mr.. Berg will visit the east this
summer on his pission.
John Barrett, director of the In
ternational Bureau of American
Republics, has suggested 10 Henry
E. Reed, director of exploitation,
that separate building be erected
at the Alaska-Y ukon-P expo
sition for the purpose OF housing
the displays from Latin-America.
The sweet pea has been suggested
as the official flower of the Alaska
Yukon Pacific exposition. The
flower will remain in bloom during
the entire peroid of the exposition,
is easily propagated, and will
flourish in the open weather
Everyone in Seattle has been re-
quested to plant sweet peas in their
yards so that by 1909 there will be
a profusion of them.
are that business men would speed
lily procure the perforating machines
and prepare their kilograms in their
own offices, thus leaving nothing
for the telegr aph companies TO
charge for except the simple trans
mission, work which could be
done for a whole city by few
people.
1t is said that by this means it
may be readily arranged to have
comparative secrecy about tele-
gram, and that the price of tele-
graphing could be low enough to
permit the use of the wire for
practically all the business now
done through the mails. The bust
ness man would send his perforated
sheets to the telegraph office and
the message would be delivered at
the other end and the person receiv-
ing it would do his own translating
1t has even been claimed by some
of the inventors in this field that
the machines for transmission could
be SO arranged as to let every patron
Of telegraph lines desiring secrecy
to have his own perforating code.
OF course all these may be inn
practicable, as the telegraph COM
panies have uniformly asserted, but
at any rate at the hearings before
the postoffice committee congress
and the country will for the first
time have an opportunity to hear
what the various inventors and ex-
perts have to say about it.
Congressman Overstreet of IN
diana, chairman of the committee
on postoffices and post roads, has
agreed to give Smith all the oppor-
tunity he desires to bring this very
interesting matter before the COM
mittee, and with such huge possi-
bilities in sigth, if the claims of
the experts are true, there is no