The Topeka state journal., 1911-09-06
Government Ownership in Eng
land Considered Failure.
Telegraph Lines Costly Finan-
cial Undertaking.
MORE EVERY YEAR
Cost Increasing as Great Britain
Continues Plan.
Other Items of General Interest
in Traffic World.

Avocates of government ownership
and operation of the American rail-
ways, telegraph and telephone lines
should study carefully review OF gov
ernment ownership of the telegraph IN
Grea. Britain, as recently published IN
the London Spectator, says the Railway
Record. The investigation of the Eng
lish newspaper shows that public own
ership of the telegraph lines has Deen a
costly financial failure
''Forty-five years ago, in 1866, says
the Spectator, "the proposal Tor tne
purchase by the government OF the
British telegraph lines was first ao-
vanced and an allegedly conservative
estimate set the cost at 42,SOO.Ooo. II
took nearly three years to conpleIe Lne
uegotiatiOns, and in 1863 parliament dp-
proprfated R7, 100000 for making the
I1t1rchase-nearly three times Lhe orlS
inal estimate; but IN addlton TO L@hslC @
the government was called upon TO pay
The railroad companies for their fres-
hold interest in their lines the rlgnl OK
xvav having been only leased by the
telegraph companies; that meanL an :
o+ner "a 600 OO0-sO the acquisition OF
ff1e business stood the British govern
ment G11 900, 600. or approximately 800
100000 1t was still predicted tnar W.T.
IN twenty years the net revenues would
materially reduce the tax rates on inc
properties Of the people Inc olslllu-
sionment came quickly
ssTTor the first two years OF govern
raent operation there was small net
revenue. but after that the returns returns
could not be made to meet the lhteTeSe sl
on the capital investment, ana 1Or
tbirtv-nine years this enormous Inter
est has been paid out OF the eNcie4 uSA
the pockets of the people
s@Then telegraph rates were reduced
under the popular cry tnat reu uCeu .-I5t
rates would produce protlts-put JNee
the reverse was the result The cost u
maintenance and operation tncreas1u
enormously under government ~
shin. and. the revenues falllng ldI % "
low this and the upkeep anu neIe79efl fo,.
innrovements constantly calling 1or
more money, the drain on the eN
cbeouer became increasingly heaNy.
In its summing up the Spectator say
.eyVhen all these facts are taken INTO
acconnt=namely, the original capllSA
which has never been repaid, the ad-
vances from parliament upon whlch no
interest is charged, and the annual oe-
ficiencies on working eXpenseS-ll VIII
he found that the aggregate CONNER
a3a1 loss +o the country by the state
1,l1rc1,ase of the telegraphs is not less
than 235 600, OOO- III
sslIor can we console ourselves with
the reflection that for this &35,OOO,oO9
the state has valuaole asset, lol - lli.-
asse such as it is, involves every
wear on its working an additional loss
Of over e1,000 900. From commercial
point of view the purchase mas peeh an
unmitigated failure 10 Tep1Ss % tlAO
advocates of state action invariably DO,
that the public has received compensa-
ton in the shape of a more efficient
and a cheaper service, is plausible Dut
unconvincing.
For even if we make the large as
sumption that the service is better and
cheaper than it would have been If 1t
had remained in private hands, We are
entitled to ask by what right the tax
payer is deprived of his money in order
to subsidize persons who send tele-
graphic messages? The latter are
minority of the population; they are
mostly weII-to-do, and they are prin-
cipaIly represented by two classes
commercial men, who look upon tele-
graphing as a business expenditure;
and the racing fraternity. who certain
" have no special claim to the charity
of the taxpayer
.eThe working cost per one thousand
words telegraph in Great Britain today
is actually more than it was thirty
years ago. The fatal incapaciy of the
British government to conduct a busl-
ness enterprise has here been demon
strated beyond all question or cavll.
It is to an experience like this that
thousands of well-meaning 'reformers
are seriously inviting the people OF tho !
United States today. Is it to be Won
dered at that conservative and lar
sighted business men have little pa
tience with these theories?