Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-01-31
CONGRESS URGED To
BUY TELEGRAPH HL|NES
CONTINUED from First Page.

Division of Salaries and Allowances,
composing the committee. They were
accompanied by statistical informa-
tion collected after one of the most
exhaustive Investigations undertaken
by the Post Office Department.
The report states that the United
States is "alone of the leading ma
tions which has left to private enter
prise the ownership and operation of
ties" and that practically all of the
economists who have treated the sub
| ject are agreed that telegraph and
telephone facilities should be con-
trolled by the government
| 1t declared further that Theodore
n. Vail, president of the American
Telephone and Telegraph Company, by
his statement that the telephone bust
ness must be under common con-
troll and sufficiently strong to con-
stitute practically one system, inter
communicating, interdependent, uni
versal," has himself pointed out that
the most efficient telephone service
can be attained only under a condi-
ton of monopoly.
The report continues:
Must BE Self-supporting
THE private monopoly has no in
centive to extend it's facilities to un-
ernment must serve all the people
This universal service is accomplished
by the equalization of rates. In fixing
rates, the policy of this government
is to superimpose no charge for taxa
tion but only to see to it that the
service as a whole is self-supporting
The private monopoly, on the other
hand, must make a profit and, in pro-
viding for this, tends to increase its
| a. hiyI OF =,
by so greatly restricting the volume
of business, impair the aggregate
profit.
ut is obvious that the longer the
acquisition by the government of these
facilities is deferred the greater will
be the cost Moreover. it is economic
waste to permit private enterprise to
build up vast properties that mus
eventually be taken over by the gov.
monopoly at cost out of all proportion
ITO the value of the parts of such prop.
critics that may be utilized to advan.
tage in the postal system.
No Reductions Made
so far as the public generally II
concerned, the entire telegraph ser.
vice is owned and operated by two
telegraph companies. Telegraph ia
cilities have not been extended to the
SIldil tOWn5 anu villages alOUS WlIf
the government postal facilities, MOI
has the cost of the service been re.
duced in the inverse proportion thai
would seem warranted by the increas
ing volume of business transacted
Neither has the volume of bushes.
in this country in proportion to the
population. been as great as in coun
tries where this facility is owned ant
operated genernmentally.
"It Is needless to enter into the
manifold advantages and benefits thai
would accrue to the people from 6
universal telephone service. AS 1t ha,
done with the mails. 1t is the duty OF
the government to make this facility
available to all of its citizens without
discrimination.
Valuations Learned
According to the best available
data the capitalization of the long
distance and toll lines represents ap.
proximately S200.0O0.000, and the
capitalization of the entire CONNER.
cial network approximately $500, ,00O,.
900. The cost to the government
would be less than the appraised
value, since 1t would be undesirabl,
for The government to purchase tn,
real estate holdings of the companies
Exchanges could be leased until ac
commodations could be provided in
1.-THE post offices and stations"