The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-01-08
CONDITIONS ARE
VERY DIFFERENT
MR.. VAIL DISCUSSES ENGI.ANW1
OWNERSHIP OF HER PUsLIC
UTILITIES.
DANGER POINT PASSED
NO NEED FOR PUBLIC TO own
PLANTS In UNITED STATES,
Hut REGULATION Is
QUITE: PROPER.

NEW YORK, Jan. TT consider
that the danger point has been passed
in the United States on the question
of government ownership OF public
phone and railroad lines. to-day de-
ciared Theodore y. Vail. president
Of both the American Telegraph and
Telephone Company and the Western
Union Telegraph compan.y.. which in
combination constitute the yastest
communication combination in the
world.
President Wallis declaration was in
spired by his attention being called
to a cablegram telling of the taking
over by the British government of all
the private telephone lines in the
United Kingdom and making them
part of the governments system.
The British government for years has
owned and operated the entire tele-
graph system OF the United Kingdom
through It's postoifice department.
1t has also owned and operated
telephnne system in competition with
the private system. which IL has just
absorbed. According to the latest
statistics available. the consolidation
now places In tho hands OF the gov
eminent no less than $4,000 teie-
phones.
EngIanfs is Small System.
THAT number said President Vail.
Just about equals the number Of
telephones owned and operated by
our company In Greater New York
alone, We have In operation In the
whole country about six million tcle-
phones. Our system threads the con-
tinent from ocean to ocean and from
the Great Lakes TO the Gulf. Other
companies in the United States own
and operate between ono and two
million telephones, so you see, We
have altogether In this country about
five times As many telephones as are
now under British ownership and
control
Ours is growing rapidly all the
time. while there Is no notable growth
In Great Britain. Tf1e American
| Telephone and Telegraph Company II
capitalized at $500. coo. 900. while the
capitalization represented by the Brit
ish telephone fiHrx III tess ti,nn 4t8A,-
100000 The service In this country
returns FAIR dividends 10 Its owners.
. II government ownership OF telephone
/ lines I'm Great Britain pans out no
| better than has government owner
ship and operation or the telegraph
lines there tho British treasury each
year Will be called upen to make good
heavy deficit In the service.
Last year, for example, President
Vail went on. according TO the Brit
: q gY
WAS a deficit Of five million dollars
on account of the telegraph service.
! This deficit was paid from the gen
eral revenues OF the empire. Every
man, woman and child in the United
Kingdom had to contribute In some
form of taxation TO this deficit.
People Would Soon Object.
should thc government take over
the telegraph and telephones lines
in the United tates. as has been done
in England. ] do not believe 1t would
be long before the American peopls
would be cIarnoring for the return Of !
these public utilities to private own
ership. There is no doubt at all in
my mind that they would dc II as
soon az they had learned of the heavy
tax the service was imposing upon
them. Speaking broadly, the masses
in no country use either the tele-
phone or the telegraph. 1t II only
that class OF people who can AFFORD
the convenience az this means of
quick intercommunication who use It,
But government ownership would
distribute the burden Of the cost nf
maintenance alike upon all classes
when only the better circumstanced
classes had utilized TO the full its adj
vantages.
There Ii stiil another question Of
equal Importance involved In this
matter" Mr.. Vail continued. "and
that is the question of efficiency.
Government ownership minimixas, if
1t does not destroy Individual In
centive. Neither the telephone nor
the telegraph service In any part OF
Great Britain IL rs prompt. thorough
and efficient generally as in the Unit
ed States, 1t Is n trntsm that gov
ernrrert revenue and expenditures =
are never 30 closely and economically
managed IN are those OF private cor
porations. Private corporations must
make profits or 20 into bankruptcy.
Hence the greatest possible economy
is sought by their management. The
largest possible amount IT business
il striven for In order to keep the
plant and organization busy to the
end of making revenue exceed exc
penditures. No government business
Is niaraged In this way
Vol ts0vSfMW4Mt 'FNnnf'tf0n.
'ln point Of fact" President VAN
volunteered. the mHnHRement or F0p-
Grafton of such utilities 10 not prop
er function OF government. All that
government would do is to. see to Il !.
t,sst every cs1e OF IT'S citizens ssxia srt
impartial Justice and he protected In (
his business rights When thai In ]
--'efe~, rav~rn,'4~stt hrs tlf~eharseti its--
duty. But when it adventures 10 tho
field at Faaparia4 th3-unepla.& -husi-
ness it invry'aelv distributes the bur-
dsns OF II s,tshn inenuttahly. Cow
,ern'n,ent regulation and snneryisd9n. 4
sftftatf avettffy siT~nifed. IN alt fsRffts btf \
owner-hin. control and operation arr 1
all wrong" 81
Mr.. Vail added that the tendency
of both telarhone and telegraph y
charges In the United States was con.
sfantly downward. Why" he saiA
1.-THE teienhone rate has been cut n
two In the last ten wears, and Il II
still going down. My wish Ii "a
Reduce II s.ih f.rtlae~. Nv, ssAet ltsting
the messaga rate everywhere for The
existing rental rate system. This
could be done with economy both to \
the company and the public. The
first step In that economical move
should be to charge tho cost Of In n