The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1934-12-20
SEEN and HEARD
around the
National Capital
=-By CARTER FIELDS

=-By CARTER FIELDS
WashIngton.-Under much of the
tall, about merger of the telegraph
and whether the telephone
commercial wires should be
Included, lies In the minds of lieuten-
ants of the President. a far more I'm.
portant plan. This Smoothing short OF
the merger into one unit of all tele-
graph and wireless companies, as far
as international business Is concerned.
In this proposal are interested not
only corporation officials directly con-
cerned, but three departments of the
government, which are seldom thought
of In this connection-State, War and
Navy.
For communications, far from being
Imerely question OF local rates and
service, Is of the vastest Importance
not only from the standpoint of nation
al defense-or offense-in time of war,
but of international maneuvering In
the meantime. 1t is very important
cog In all phases of international
trade.
President Wilson, when he was adj
Ivocating an American merchant ma
irine, was fond of saying that for Amer
lea to try to sell her goods In foreign
markets, Ii they had TO be delivered
In foreign bottoms, was like one depart
ment store trying to compete with an
other IL the rival did all the delivering.
With the plain inference that the store
doing the delivering would see to 1t
that its products had the right OF way
and any other advantage which this
control OF delivery offered.
Even more important, the Roosevelt
administration believes, Is control of
the commercial messages which concern
sales and deliveries Of American goods
| to foreign countries II these commu-
nications are handled by the facilities
i of competitors for the business, Ii Is
! expecting something superhuman to
hope that our competitors will not take
advantage of the situation
Blocked by Law
At the present moment there Is a
provision of law which stands In the
way OF what the administration would
like to see, though at the time the law
was passed this angle did not occur
to anyone advocating 1t. This law for
bids a telegraph company to acquire
control of wireless company. Obvl-
ougly the law was intended to prevent
the sitting Of competition between the
wire and the wireless agencies.
1t Is true that one telegraph company
has embarked In the wireless business
On the Pacific coast, but 1t got around
the law by building up new wireless
system. 1t did not buy out an existing
wireless outfit.
There Is no real desire to 60 back
on the spirit of that law. The govern
ment would like to encourage compe
tition. The present attitude. however
Is that government regulation OF rates
and service will solve that problem.
But internationally the need fol-
merging all American communications
companies into one, so that united
front will be held against other an6
competing countries, Is regarded as
much more important. For example
at the time many Of the present con
tracts were made between American
agencies and foreign governments
there was really only one American
company. So If the foreigners wanted
the business, they had to deal with 1t
When these contracts expire it Ii
feared that terms will be imposed, due
to the keen competition between Amer
lean companies for the business, which
will not only be hurtful to American
revenues and impose what amounts t.
a foreign tax on American cables an(
wireless messages, but which may be
come actually Of grave danger in The
event Of war.
What makes the point of more i'm
portance is that outside of the United
States and Canada, communications
are virtually government monopoies
There Is a company In Britain, but tht
government controls 1t. Elsewhere 4
Ia mostly straight-ont government own
ership and operation. Japan does no
even permit foreign cable company Il
get Its wires anywhere near its home
land. All messages to and from Japar
pass through government channels.
Ickes-Mofett Squabble
Sometimes victories are so costly
that 1t would have been better for thu
victor II there had been no battle
Which old military axiom seems to ap
ply with considerable force to the re
cent encounter between Public Work:
Administrator Ickes and Housing Dl
rector Moffett
Ickes took the side of cheap govern
ment money to build homes at low
cost, disregarding what effect such &C
ton. If on a large scale, would have
on existing property values, on exist
Ing mortgages, and hence on insurance
companies and banks.
Moffett took the side of using onl,