Evening star., 1914-01-31
Report Submitted to Senate
by the Postmaster General
Holds Project Feasible.
PURCHASE AT APPRAISED
VALUE is RECOMMENDED
Committee Finds Public Need Is Un-
denia Success of Plan
Abroad Is Cited. n

Recommendations for creatln. a gov
ernment monopoly over all telegraph
telephone and radio communication m
the United States are contain.si in i. spe-
rial report, transmitted 10 thu, sSeue'n to
day by Postmaster General Burleson IL
reply to a resolution adopted by the
Senate. Senator Norris of Nebraska Of
fered the resolution.
The report was compiled after careful
investigation of :he question made by \
committee consisting of Daniel c. Roper.
| first ASSISTANT postmaster general: NJ
o. Chance, chief clerk of tn. depart
ment. and j. &. koons. superintendent
Of the division of salaries and ALLOW
ances. The COMMITTEES was appointed bv
the Postmaster General last Iun.. anu
submitted its report 10 him November -
The recommendations Of the COMMITTEES
are as follows:
The only way to afford to the people
the complete and modern postal facilities
that the Constitution makes il the duty
of the government to provide is to pu,
into effect the following recommends-
tons:
THAT Congress declare a government
monopoly over All telegraph. telephone
and radio communication. and such other
.
gence as may hereafter develop:
Farmers Lines Excepted.
That Congress acquire by purchase a.
appraised valne the commercial telephone
network. except the farmer lines:
That Congress authorize the Postnias-
| ter General to ISSUE in his discretion and
| under such regulations he may pre-
| scribe. revocabIe licenses for the opera
| ton. by private individuals. associations.
companies and corporations of the t"le-
graph service and such parts of the t.e
phone service as may not be acquired i,y
the government"
This committee WAS appointed by Post
master General BurIeson for the purpose
of making study of the desrability and
practicability of the acquisition by the
government of the telephone and> tcle-
1 graph facilities and operating them IN
| conjunction with the postal scrv!.s.
While the President has given no ex-
i preston of his views regars ng this mat
ter the Postmaster General. in his annual
report for the last fiscal year. stated
among other things in this connection
that the constitutional purposes of the
postal establishment leads to the con-
vict.on that the Post Office Department
should have control over all means of
the communication of intelligence.
The committees report states that it
| was clearly the intention of the franz
ers of the Constitution that the gov
eminent should have a monopoly over
all means for the transmission OF in-
I teiligence and that the broad provision
| that Congress shall have the power
10 esta blish post offices and post
| roads" conveyed to the government n
monopoly not only over all means OF
| Transmitting intelligence then existing.
] but over all means that might supse-
quently be discovered and developed
/ The report calls attention to the fact
| that the government aided in the con-
| struction of and operated as a part 81
! the postal service the first telegraph
line in this country in 1913.
Government Acted in 1866.
In this connection the report says:
But on March s. 1877, because or the
unwillingness of Congress to authorize
| any extension of the service then in op-
Grafton and because of deficit IN The
postal finances. the control of this faci.ity
was surrendered to private hands. How
ever. an 1StG. Congress. aware Of the
danger OF permitting this service to re-
| main under private control in view of
its intimate relation to the postal serv-
ice, asserted that the facility was within
the purvlew of the constitutional pro-
vision for the postal establishment and
enacted legislation looking to the acaui-
sition by the government Of all tele-
graph lines.
with an indecision that is to be re-
GREETED. the fufillment of this commend
able purpose was deferred for a period %:
I five years in order that the teles rapu
monopoly might during that time be IN
Identified by the continued enjoyment
| of its eXorbitant rates for the loss OF lis
grip upon the public means of transmit
ting intelligence.
The report states that the United States
is alone of the leading nations which has
left to private enterprise and ownership
1 Of sho fcfa ,flk, taf.
phone facilities and that practically a
of the economists who have treated th.,
subject are agreed that telegraph and tei-
ephone facilities should be controlled by
the government.
Holds Vail Urged Monopoly.
II is declared further that Theodore v
Vail. president of the American Tele-
phone and Telegraph Company by lis
statement that the telephone business
must be under common control and
Sufficiently strong TO constitute PRACTICAL
ly one system intercommunicating, In
terdependent. universal" has himself
pointed out that the most efficient tele-
phone service be attained only under
a condition of monopoly.
The report continues:
The private monopoly has no inceItive
10 extend its facilities to Improbable ter
all the people. This universal service T.
accomplished BY the equalization Of rates.
In fixing rates the policy of this govern
ment is To superimpose charge for
taxation but only to to it that the
service as a whole is self-supportins. ThA
private monopoly. on the other hand.
must make a profit. and. in providing fo'
ths tends to increase its rates to the
highest point that will not, by so greatly
restricting the volume of business, i'm
pair the aggregate profit.
1T is obvious that the longer the Rc-
u.isiton by the government Of these fa-
cilities is deferred the greater will be th.
cost Moreover. it is economic waste to
permit private enterprise to build up vast
properties that must eventually be taken
over by the government in resuping its
constitutional monopoly at a COST out OF
all proportion to the value OF the parts
of such properties that may be utilized TO
advantage in the postal system.
Two Companies in Control.
so far as the public generally is con-
cerned, the entire telegraph service is
owned and operated by two companies.
Telegraph facilities have not been ex-
tended to the small towns and villages