Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1920-12-04
Relief In
Cable Case
Probable
Treaty Now Being Formulat-
cd Wipes Out Threatened
Monopolies of Firms in
Great Britain.
Wireless Future at Stake
By ARTHUR SEARS HENNING.

BY ARTHUR SEARS HENNING.
Chicago Trlbune-Omaha Bee Leased Wire.
Washington, Dec. 3.-While the
big powers appear hopclessly dead
locked on the disposition of the
German cables and Japan is maneuv-
ering to cuchre the United States
out of important telegraph facilities
and commercial rights i'll the Paci-
tic, there is now every prospect that
the international communications
conference in session here will
evolve, in any event, cable and
radio convention of vast benefit to
the American people. ,
Conditions practically threatening
the development of extensive wire
less communication in the United
States and fostering British cable
monopolies at the expense OF Amer
lean rivals will be wiped out if
America accepts the treaty now be-
ing formulated as a substitute for
the existing cable and radio interna-
tional agreements.
Under the terms of the proposed
agreement American telegraph and
cable companies would be required"
|. To Noute a message as direct
ed by the sender, known as Via"
traffic.
,. To make but one sending
charge on the same message sent to
two or more addresses at destina-
ton.
5. To include the sending time in
the message without charge.
Terms Fight Agreement.
Unlike all European telegraph and
cable companies, the American con-
Germs refuse to do any OF these
things things and the Western
Union and the Commercial Cable
~companies are leading a stubborn
fight to thwart the adoption of the
proposed International agreement.
This is how the refusal to accept
Via traffic puts a crimp in the wire-
less concerns: A Chicago business
wishes to send q message by wire
less to London. \The message must
be carried by land wire to the Amer
lean wireless station on the Atlantic
coast. and from the wireless receiv-
~ing station on the English coast to
Londan by land wire. The British
telegraph company viii lcarry the
message over the English land wire
London but the American Telegraph
company will not, receive the mes
sage il it is routed by wireless
The American Telegraph company
also owns a cable and it says to
the sender that if it receives the mes
sage it. must bo,by cable. There is
no way for the business man to
send his message by wireless, unless
he addresses it to the radio COM
pany. Then the telegraph company
will deliver it to the radio company
and charge for that service only
But the sadio company does moi
know the distant sender and will
not send the message unless it is
prepaid. while the telegraph COM
panv refuses to accept from the send.
er the turn over to the wireless con-
Germ the charge for the radio trans
mission.
Little Radio Business.
The result that practically all for
eign messages are sent by cable and
the radio companies are getting
precious little business.
The Marconi company tried to
bpck this combination for years
finally gave up and jumped at the
chance to sell out to the Genera
Electric company, which is seeking
to swing a vast radio undertaking
The General Electric has completed
AN enormous plant equipped with un'
heard of innovations for the rapic
transmission of overseas messages
but, cut off from senders by the tele
graph companies, it is without busi
ness.
The refusal to accept message;
routed by the sender also has servee
to restrict American competition
with British monopolies in notable
instances. The only American cable
system reaching South America di
rectly is the All-America company
But unless the American business
man can file his message at the All
America Office in New York it can
not be routed over that system. Th'
Western Union will send by way o
London over British cable and TIL
Postal by way of the Azores over ;