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Show PKHI'tl.SKI) TO HANKUUl'T iiu.sim:ss co.NrvKN. For vicIouBuesa In a well-consldcr-ed public utterance, the speech of Representative Iowls of Maryland In ' tho houso, concerning ills bill to gov-crumeutallzo gov-crumeutallzo the long distance telephone tele-phone lines, ranks well up among recent anarchistic drlvai served lo the pcoplo for tho purpose of misleading : them. "UcprcBcnlntlro Lowis," uccordlng lo a newspaper account, "docs not want tho government to tnko over tlio lolophono companies, ills plan Is to hnvo the government llrnt own the , lolophono network of tho country, op- , oratc-fcomo of the telephone lines ns telogrnphs, and have the government compote, with the private telegraph , companies as the parcel post com-petes com-petes wllh tho express companies." To put ll In iiiiuther way, Repre- Bcututlve Lewis proposes to bankrupt , tho telegraph companies nud acquire , their property at receiver's prices, , His Ideas havo a Hue, manly ring to ( them, that muot appeal to the grcnt Aiuuricau ueuso of lair play and Jus- , tlco. They echo tho ethics or Captnln Kiild and hlu brother pirates. When tho telegraph lines were pushed iKTou.1 the country under ter-rlilc ter-rlilc stiesa nud enormous coBt, they wore hailed with rejoicing. Next to food, water nnd trnnuiportatlou, there wero few tilings tho people desired morn. Fortunately, thcro wiib not much talk of government ownership then. The people and the government Wore very content to let tho telegraph companion, or anyone else, build the linos and open communication to the rronller. The thought that someone would nuiko u prim from tho operation opera-tion of the Hues worried no one then. It seemed iirdlnliry and proper. Ropresmitnllvo Lewis, comparisons of American telegraph rates with those, existing abroad, even If correct, nro contemptibly unfair. They fall to recognlr.e the fact that Hie chief value of telegraph service consists of the number or other iudlvldunln n subscriber sub-scriber inn) reach; that good telephone tele-phone service cannot bo Justly nini-pnriil nini-pnriil with bad service, and that both development and quality or European eoivIco nro far below American standards. stan-dards. For a iiiiiii in public life to court popularity by tlio methods employed oy Representative Lewis Is tleslplc-.ible, tleslplc-.ible, lo use the least coiniiieusurati' term.- .olorndo Springs (Colo.) Evening Even-ing Ti legrapli. |