The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1914-12-14

the service Is being economically ad
rninistered. 1T must be borne In mind
that Of the convenience and benefit
provided the public, which must be Sc
cured irrespective Of the financial out
lay required.
1.-The surplus for the year just closed
though substantial in amount, neces
sarily represents an approximate ad'
justment OF revenues and disburse-
nlents. made possible by economies IL
administration; compared with the
volume OF transactions; it is believed,
therefore, that a recommendation for
| the reduction Of postage rates or fees
is not warranted at this time"
REVIEWS CONCENTRATIONS
| Reviewing his recommendations for
| government ownership OF teIegra ph
and telephone lines, Mr. BurIeson
says:
! 1.-The Postmas ter General renews the
| recommendation embodied In his last
annual report that Congress seriously
consider the question of declaring a
! government monopoly over all utilities
for the public transmission Of intel
i ligence and that steps be taken as soon
as practicable to incorporate into the
postal establishments the telegraph
and telephone systems of the coun-
try.
In that report reference was made
to the anomalous condition in this
country under which the telegraph and
telephone utilities, being vehicles for
the public transmission of intelligence,
| infringe upon a function reserved by
| the Constitution te1 the National gov
eminent. They Inherently, as well
as constitutionally, belong to the Pos
tai Service. The firm conviction of
the department is here reiterated that
telegraph and telephone service is in
evitably monopolistic and, 2 when OPP
Grated under private control does not
render the maximum of public service
at the minimum cost to the whole
people
1T is an interesting fact that,
whereas policies of government have
been advocated and some adopted, the
constitutionaIity Of which have been
seriously questioned, the principle of
government ownership and control of
the telegraph and telephone finds it's
greatest strength in the Constitution.
This opinion has been shared by
practically all Postma sters General of
the United States, who have held
that the welfare and happiness of the |
Nation depend upon the fullest utili- |
cation of these agencies by the people. |
which can only be accomplished |
through government ownership.
ut is also recommended that the |
telegraph and telephone facilities OF |
Porto Rico, and the Hawaiian /
Islands be at once taken over and /
operated by the Post Office Depart |
ment. This recommendation is based |
on an exhaustive Investigation which |
disclosed that the conditions in these |
Territories are generally such as to
favor the change. A large part Of the |
property involved is already govern
ment owned and operated in Alaska by
the War Department and In Porto
Rico by the insular government. The
services are so detached geograp hicaliy
as to preclude complicated relation
ships with neighboring systems and
are yet sufficient in extent to afford
experimental demonstration
for the Postal Service looking to the
administration eventually of a COM
plete national service. This action
will have the effect Of Strengthening
he National Government in its out
wing Territories, and is specially rec
1mmended because of the eXpediency
If taking over the private ownerships
before elaborate and costly extensions
and Implications Of service have been
quilt up
Defining the general policy he has
Mr.. Burleson says:
1.-THE service has been admins :
cred for the convenience of the public |
lot for profit: to promote efficiency I
W standardiZing and simplifying pro-
edure; to recognize merit and elimiu-
tie partisanshiD; TO extend service :
wherever present or prospective re-
urns justify; to reduce rates in so
rIy5f
iscal necessity; and to provide all
communities and all sections of the !
ountry, as far as practicable, with Z
inform service.
The fact that the Government ex-
rcises a monopoly over the receipt, t
and delivery of mail O
aries an obligation to perform this I
JUNCTION for all It's citizens; hence o
he Postal Service may not be operat- z
d wholly upon the lines OF private 0
Whether or not service
hall be granted or extensions au- p
norized are questions which, as they
rise IN particular case, should not
Q determined entirely with respect
D revenue considerations. Yet 1t is :
qually the duty of the department to
pply the mechanical and admins
rative economies which private bust
ess enterprise developes and which
1ventive genius from time to time Of
ers. The maximum of service at the
minimum OF expense is the proper
1le to govern public business"
The report declares newspapers
nd periodicals handled in 1914 under
le cent-a- pound second -class-rate,
'taled over a million pounds, and In
rease of "a per cent over the pre-
sding year, with a resultant drain
Il postal revenues that "emphasizes
lie necessity of taking some step in
le direction Of readjustiug the rates
i second-class mail"
Tn my last annual report" Mr..
urleson says. the hope was ex-
ressed that Congress would amend