The Detroit times., 1913-12-23

CAMPAIGN FOR
PUBLIC PHONES
Attacks Service Obtained From
Private Companies in Speech
Before House
TELEGRAPH RATES
HIGHEST IN WORLD
As Result United States is Ninth
Among Nations in Use of
Wires

WAsHlNGToN Dec. 2o.-Hls cam
paign tor government ownership Oh
telephone and telegraph llnes-a pro.
jeo, already sanctioned by approval
OF the postmaste general-Was Or
maly launched in he house today oy
Representative David }. Lewis, OF
Mary land lie mace an exhaustive
summary a. an investigation Of the
sort OF service which the average
American now obtains from private
companies. showing
That the citizen now pays more for
his telephone and telegraph service
than citizens IN ANY other country.
That the telegraph companies are
not now conducted efficiently
That governmental ownership IS
necessary TO extend the telephone TO
the masses
That the government should only
purchase telephone lines, utilizing
new patents TO exteLd the same lines
into the telegrapAic Held.
That II VIII cost $500 900 900 TO pur-
chase telephone lines, which Lewis
proposes be. raised by three per cent
bonds
Investigation discloses that our tel
egraph rates are the highest among
20 countries sall Lewis They run
from Is cents TO 100 while ia other
countries they average about . cents,
or u cent a word The result OF these
abnormal rates is that we rank but
mir o. of elegraph asers with one and
oAe-teath kilograms PER person per an
mum.
Against these conditions IL appears
that GU postal rates average lower
than other countries and that the
number OF letters-l0l per person
is the highest in the world
The telegraph companies seem to
be lacking IN Institutional economy
or efficiency The operation OF send
ing a telegram is loaded down with
"a incidental services and processes,
not less than 80 OF which would be
replaced by afixng the postage
stamp. The ineficiency is further ex-
aggerated By the duplication OF tele-
graph Offices in all the important
cities and the denial OF the service at
many thousand necessary points
"A striking feature is the discov-
cry that the telegraph service IS a
relatively declining institution and
that il would be unwise now 10
postalize ID as single service To
take over the telegraph lines alone
aud operate them merely as telegraph
lires. might result IN postal bank
rubtcy"
Lewis cited the increasing use OF
the long distance telephone over the
telegraph but assorted It's develop
ment in this country had been curbed
II high rates. The average interUvban
rate IN Germany he said, was I cents:
in the United states it was 20 cents.
In many cases, he said. the American
rate was six times greater than those
abroad
1T Is not unfair or inaccurate" he
declared 10 say that the American
interurban telephone rates are the
scandal OF public service rates the
MONOPOLY takes thirteenth place
among seventeen countries with re-
gard 10 lowness OF rates"
In cities Lewis said. the American
telephone subscribers rates were
about three times as high as those
abroad New York rates, he showed
cost more than the total rates in
London, Paris, Berlin and Stockholm
In postal telephone countries" be
explained the local toll tariffs tend
TO run about one half the charge OF a
letter while here II runs with the
street car fare and sometimes exceeds
1t