New-York tribune., 1907-11-29
Literary Nese,s and Criticism.

pHefS Organizations in their efforts 70 secure
Gnearned favors from Parliament constitutes,
doubt satisfactory argument against govern
Jnent ownership under present social and polit-
ical conditions; for this very reason even rank
partisan might confidently admit the indirect
benefits cf DECENTRALIZATION. such beow-cost
rates To important classes of messages, the
orening of offices in remote regions and sparsely
populated communities ard the like In failing
10 do this Mr.. Meyer evidently excu1os himself
with the plea that he is simply historian. con
ceTnel with chronicled events, But this Is not
altogether satisfactory; for. though the benefits
80 decentralization remote, vague and in
calculahlo statsticaily they ere real and should
71d mention in exhaustive inquiry. Even the
most precise historian must reckon with intangi-
ble, uncertain factors. Ii is Mr Meyers good
FORTUNE we believe, 20 have reached sound con-
clusore in spite of TINS neglect, for the weight
Of the evidence he has colIated is crushing He
sums rp the case as follows:
us,a@ Gc q pm.fn PPa PPo given rg'T gfcs 27n5g impetus
10 class bribery, 3 form of corruption tar NOR
psGions than individual brlneTI Nun 81 one tbc el
graphs has affected the pockethook interests OF an.
voters has heeu gained at the expense OF The pubic
purse The only exception n9S o9eh eooI IN" pents
and even in that case the policy adopted vas not
after Parliament and government after government
has purchased out Of the public purSc ne @ SVnu
ciT - - servants Unions the telegraph employees haye
been permitted to establish the p"l"y ma Inv
the amount of political pressure that the telegraph
House Of commons. With the rest Of government
employees they have been permIited 70 eS,anlaS' 'e
the doctrine that once man has landed hlniS'Ii
naar,. annroar hing 70 freehold Of provision for
life irrespective Of his fitness and his amena be-
ness to discipline and matter what lapol saving
sy fsi o rfS To consderabe degree the state
employees have established their demand @ that pro pro
motion be made according to seniority TaIncI tan nan
merit. Public opinion has comPpett@o Ppts itS JhS
regard To the state emloyes and to give them Sc
cprity of tenure Of office. But II permits ne ] sSo
employees TO engage in party politics toward mem
bers Of Parliament
Along with these evils runs one which must
grieve even more sharply the Briton engaged
in the bitter struggle for commercial success
II is the hamperng of the telephone industry.
Mr. Meyer devotes his volume the telephone
in Great Britain to a history Of the systematic
warfare waged by cities aud the state against
the private telephone companies. The histo-
rian sketches the disastrous series Of events that
began in 1892, when the National Telephone
Company then lodging a right-of-Way bill III
Parliament. brought down upon itself the jeal-
ousy of the Postofice Department which saw
its business being reduced by the growth of
the telephone service. The deliberate attempts
on the part Of the Postofice Department, Par
lament and the municipalities, notably Glasgow
and London. TO ruin the private concern have
been drawn here with exceptional clearness and
detail Mr.. Never restricts himself almost en-
tirely TO official records for his data; his story
leaves doubt TO the proper explanation Of
the surprising fact that, while one person out
of twenty in the United States is telephone
subscriber. only person out of every one
hundred and five in the United Kingdom main
tains instrument.
The British government embarked in the tele-
graph business, thus putting itself in the posi-
ton Of a trader. But IL subsequently refused 70
every trader is exposed. the liability, 10 have his
property impaired pa in yaue @ If not ~ destroyed by
The story of Great Brtain's telephone policy
4a 'g n st t5e t l paee theTe is he naby
3f o the nd sae 6eveoP or II Fo 50 Se
device 10 an established industry The
unwillingness OF the municipal and national states
to m Tn dss ts saHeays % ress 4"fys I
egti1ate nat, demands made upon them Tas ih s
touch the "pocketbook nerves of their constitu-
ences
These are not new objections to government
ownership. but, under Mr Meyers hand. they
have gained IN force by the powerful backing
Of an historical demonstration. That he is not
a dved-in-th wool foe of naturalization ION
general principles appears from his belief that,
at bottom, public and private ownership are
equally capable Of giving rise to grave abuses
in community I'm which public opinion is not
ever watchful and intelligent. Naturalization
demanding higher watchfuIness and intelligence
than the control of private enterprises, it fol
lows that the former policy is feasible only iu
a nation Of remarkably wise citizens. That
Great Britain has not yet become such a ma
ton. that the blindness Of the British people to
their interests as consumers of the services Of
fered by the public service companies and the
misuse of power on the part Of the government
and the municipalities have been astounding"
is Mr Meyers ultimate objection 10 the policy
| whose disastrous career in the United King
| dom he has lucidly and dispassionateIy re-
counted.
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