Valdez daily prospector., 1913-10-21
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2I, 1913
THE GOVERNMENT TELE-
 GRAPH PROSPECT.

ton Is cOnSlucFlllS SONtfIlIllcli ownership and operation of wire communications is strengthened by the fact that denials cannot be obtained, and that Represent tative Lewis is working on the subject with the cO-operation ot the POstOtfice Department. The activities of the Department of Justice and of the Interstate Commerce Commission are 'li- rected toward making out ease against the existing private ser vice in manner adapted to the same end. Obviously if the eX- isting service can be crippled, there will be all the better op- portllnity to paint glowing pie lures of the superiority of the public over the private monopoly, and the acquisition of the lines can be accomplished more cheap ly. That is what Wall street calls making a buying basis. It is wicked when done in Wall street, but it is the accepted manner of proceeding against public utilities which it is de sired to procure for the purpos- es of reform and politics.
 It is interesting to note that it is always the prosperous pri- Vate undertakings which the gov ernmcnt cOvctS in the interest of the people. The government nev- CT pioneers >and develops and produces profit where none was before. The government special ty is spending two dollars in the place of one, and hiring two men in the place of one. It is true that government officials some times have deluSiOns of gran deur in this respect, but the real izatiun of the dreams are sub ject to such sad awakeningS as overlook the British govern ment'S dahbling With wireless communications. This is not re- called as any particular reproach to England. but for the Lake of contrast with the facts published last week regarding the Nigor shown by the private owners of the Marconi system, on both sides of the ocean. The British Mar conf system is now making a new issue of stock for the acquisition of the GUldsrhmidt system and patents, which now are working over four thousand miles between Germany and TuckerlOn, N. J., where the highest tower in the world stands. The American Marconi system $ erecting com- municaiionS between Northern Europe and MaSsachuSetts as part of a wireless girdle around the world. via Honolulu to Ja- pan, and sOuthWard through this hemisphere, and to Australasia These are bold undertakings. ant. after they have succeeded the governments which now ignore them may come to cUVet them , in the name of the profit of the people.
 If the wireless is as success full as the pioneers hope, 1t is ob- vious that the government ac- quiremenl of wire cOmmunica- tiOns would be backing the wrong horse. The function of govern ment lies in keeping free compe- titiOn between wlre and wireless companies. The risks of such en- terprises are suitably undertaken only by those who will make pro- fit or loss according to the ex- cellence of their operation, and who have a just claim that they shall not betorced into cOmpeti- ton with bureaucrats supported by national resources. The ecO- ments is not serious, but their uneconomic competition would bankrupt any opposition with a shorter purse. The balance sheet is the test of the comparative excellence of public and private managements. Only few weeks ago when the deficit of the Brit ish government telegraph was under criticism, it was said that it could be made profitable at any time by raising the charges, and that the cheapness of the service should be considered. This ap-