The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1907-09-13
GOVERNMENT CONTROL
OF THE TELEGRAPHS
WILL BE EXTENSIVELY DIS
CUSSED AT THE NEXT
CONGRESS-.

WASHINGTON, Sept 12-Govern-
ment control of telegraphs will be
discussed with more interest than
ever before as result of the strike
of the operators of the two rompanies
which control the business of the
country.
1t Is not at all certain but that
the two companies are one so far
as competition is concerned. There
is not the slightest difference in re-
gard to rates and when one company
recently advanced the telegraph rates
the other company did the same.
There has been some competition for
business by the local managers in
different cities. Men who control
the sending of any considerable
amount of telegraph matter have
been asked to give it to one company
or the other, no doubt because the
local managers wanted to make a
good showing for their Offices. But
no inducements were ever offered in
the matter of reduced tolls. There
was no competition that meant any
thing. Competition was not suffi-
cient at least to keep the telegraph
rates where they We're at the begin
ming of the year.
There can be no more objection
constitutionally to the control of
telegraphs by the government than
of the postal routes. Suppose the
government establishes lines of tele-
graph postal routes? That is author
lied by the constitution. We now
have different methods of carrying
the mail and different classes of mail.
Suppose we add another class--the
telegraph postal method? Can our
constitutional lawyers find objection
to that? The necessity for perman-
ency in the transmission of intelli-
gence, for maintaining open COM
munication by the swiftest and most
approved methods, will be the great
est argument in favor of establishing
a telegraph post system. 1t will not
be necessary for the government to
take over the present telegraph
equipments. The government would
not have to buy the road beds, the
terminals and equipment as would
be the case of government owner
ship of railroads. 1t could build its
every postoffice.
We will hear many arguments pos
sibly against this paternalistic move
ment, but similar arguments are
made against the parcels post and
that is coming. The only thing that
has stood in the way of parcels post
is the claim that it would destroy
the country merchant and no one
wants to destroy the country mer
chant nor any other mans business.
But this telegraph proposition is
something that may be seriously con-
sidered. If it is brought forward in
congress there will be records drawn
on certain men who may oppose it to
show that they have not been afraid
of government lines in the past.
Time after time there was advocated
a government line of Hawaii. We
have authorized line to Panama
and Guantanamo, and are operating
government lines in Alaska. In the
early days the government construct
ed telegraph lines to military posts
in every part of the country Many
of our military posts are now con-
nected by government lines of tee-
graph The telegraph companies
have not built lines to these distant
points where the receipts would not
pay for the expenditures, but the gov
ernment as a military necessity has
constructed such lines. AS matter
of fact there was no military neces-
sity for the telegraph and cable lines
in Alaska. OF course, they do con-
meet our far off military posts with
the war department, but the real
reason why they were built was be-
cause the people of Alaska wanted
quicker communication with the out
side world and the only way the lines
could be constructed was by the gov
ernment.
People who remember that dur
ing the Spanish war when tax was
levied to raise money to carry on that
war the telegraph companies were
asked to contribute one cent on every
message that was transmitted over
their lines. Did they do it? They
collected that cent from the person
sending the message. The express
companies were also compelled to
use stamps at that time and they
also took it out of the people. Both
of these acts will be remembered
when efforts are made to secure a
government postal telegraph and par
cells post.
But the deeper, broader question
to be considered is whether the coun-
try can leave itself to business para
lysis because the employees and the
telegraph companies cannot agree
upon terms and wages. The tele-
graph is an absolute necessity. The
country could not afford to allow the
postal service to be interrupted by a
disagreement between employees and
the managers if the postal service
had been separate concern from
the government and the work done
by contract instead of making it a
part of the government system In
1894 we did not allow the mail SER
vice to be interrupted by the great
railroad strike. And there are many
persons who take the advanced
ground that we must not allow inter-
state commerce to be interrupted by
strikes. Didn't Taft's famous decis-
ion cover that ground? Then why
not take measures to prevent busi-
ness being paralyzed by the Interrupt
tion of telegraph communication?