Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1913-12-27
u. S. TELEPHONES


SssS AUSVPO
Washington, D. TO-, Dec. 42s.-Govern-
ment ownership3of the nations telephone
lines would cost less than $90O,O0O, 600
and would present no4greater difficulties
OF financing than did the Panama canal,
Representative Lewis of Maryland told
the House recently in an exhaustive
analysis sof his proposal to have those
lines operated by the Post Office Depart
ment.
Representative Lewis, who took a lead
ing part in the establishment of, the par
Gel post, and who has made ;asstudy with
post. office officials of government owner
ship of the electrical lines Of communi-
cation, does not propose to have the gov
eminent take over the telegraph COM
panies. His plan is to have5th govern
ment first own the telephone network Of
the country, operate some of the tele-
phone lines as telegraphs, as is now pos
sible under modern mechanical conditions
and have the government system com.
pete with the private telegraph c0mpan.
les at the outset in the same proportion
as the parcel post now completes with
the express companies.
Not Vet Administration Program.
With Postmaster General Burleson fa-
voring the project for government owner
ship and a special committee of the Post
Office Department making q study of the
subject, the possibility that q bill to that
end will come before Congress this win.
ter, with administration backing. center.
cd attention upon Representative Lewis
views on the subject. although his mea-
sure is his own md does not claim to
represent the views of the post office
authorities
The perversion of the lnws OF public
and private financiering," said Mr.. Lewis
''by which public governments have been
disinheritcd Of their normal functions,
has led to such corruption and democrat
iZation that cities like New York, with
its street railways Philadelphia. with
it's gas works, and San Francisco, with
its telephones, have shamed the scions
Of Roman corruption in their most dishon.
orable days.
Investigation discloses that our tele-
graphic rates are the highest among 20
countries. The result Of these abnormal
rates is that we rank but ninth as tele-
graph users. Against these conditions it
appears that our postal rates average
lower than other countries, and that the
number Of letters, here is the highest in
the world.
Lacking in Efficiency.
The telegraph companies seem to be
lacking in institutional economy Or eff
ciency.9A striking feature is the discovery
that the Geographic service is a relative.
~ declining institution. and that 1t
would, be unwise now to- postalize it alone
and as g single service. To take over the
telegraph lines alone and operate then,
merely as telegraph lines might result in
postal bankruptcy. There would be no
advantage in taking owe the telegraph
lines; the investigation makes this clear.
But our telephone toll and long dis
tance rates compare with those of other
countries ever less fayorably than do
our telegraph lines. 1t is not unfair. or
inaccurate. to say that the American in
terurban telephone rates are the scandal
of spnblic,service rates the world over.
1.-The local rates of the Bell telephone,
monopoly are just twice the average
in other countries" s&a
ssRates Three Times as High.
THE subscribers rates, in American
cities. compared with continental cities,
are about three times rs high. For OK
ample.aNew York, where s 400 calls. about
fifteen per day, underaa measured service
tariff. cost more than thetfour unlimited
yearly rates Of London, Paris Berlin and
Stockholm together. For like services
Baltimore people pay more than the rates
for London and Paris 5coTnbinw1, and
Washington pays as much rs the five
cities Of Amsterdam Rotterdam, .Aurk-
land. Toxic and CopeEiagni, $coDibiaed.
While scompetition does not supply q
remedy because it divid,'s the service AMI
necesitates the payment for tvs phones
yet 1t throws an interesting sideElisht on
the tendency of a private monopoly to
Jack up the rates..
'HTTellephone development has reached
its substantial limits in the United
States under private capital, with the
gextension OF, the service to the very pro-
fitabie Office and well-to-do home traffic
To extend 1t to the homes Of the masses,
as the public roads and pnsta:: service
now are extended, the postal agency Is
necessary.
Proposes Bond Issue.
The cost of acquiring the t:elep,one
networks is indicated as something less
than 5000, 900 900, for which st is proposed
to issue 3 per e n bonds payable in fifty
years. i, is calculatedsthat the postal sys
TEN by experimenting the telegraph ser,
vice on the, telephone lines at half pres.
ent telegraph rates nay net some fifty
millions annually from that traffic alone,
which with the present profits Of the tele.
MI