Show NORMOUS j TELEGRAPH EXPANSION ates A Advance vance With the Growth of Busin Business ss and Increase of Lines I ST CONSIDERED BY Dr CONGRESS IN 1837 government Turned Down Opportunity to Purchase t. t Patents for BY FREDERIC J J. HASKIN The Ibe expansion of the tho th telegraph busi- busi United States fr from m the thc ps p's peu ep of ot t tho e Stat Baltimore and line Hue between b D fon costin costing and fail fail- f fp pay eyen even a third of the cost of tf ration into a 3 Aj gigantic antic industry with ets ets amounting to jo more than and aad kin m making money so 50 ra sine A J year jear cr one company created a a s of over OOOO after interest I a dividend end charges bad had been met one of ot the most os remarkable i in jn American progress I y Yet t With this this this' expansion of lines Jines id l growth ero th of business busine s th the r rates tes r ed are arc h higher today than they ire r rein jn in 1546 Jn in those days a message ten words fords from Washington Washinton to Balti- Balti Il COt cost 10 cents a m message sa e of thirty rd d cost COt 20 O 0 cents a message of 74 tot st 55 cents r Today d a a message age teli wOrds wOrds' costs 25 cents n a me message folge wor 65 cents and a message 00 words costs 9 Thc crage a cier per message in the United States tJ among toe c commercial telegraph P l is approximately 14 44 cents s. s ft It l in 1872 that a me message sage w wenty tJ nt words I could ouid be e h handled handle l dy y part of oC th tb the United States s f for r S tt li The Tile average m message e ju m tho e ted States today todar is 15 said to be about b ut ty y words lon long Jong port on Telegraph ph of tho telegraph was first tto the attention of oJ congress Tes in in tb tI the representatives s resolution re instructing tb of ot of the treasury to report the thet tty t j tin ii fem of Yn S s passed aJan an me measure sure making a f for th the cOD construction of R g a froni rom Washington ton to Balt Baltimore for its m maintenance during g rat year of its operation n. n By Br 3 a aVIn ain VIn in in th the appropriation n bill 15 the telegraph raph wa 3 was Dl placed ced under tinder i o of the thc po postmaster general kreit reit relt remained until March 14 1847 1816 6 Cave Johnson Johnon tle postmaster ial al J. J announced Mf to congress t that t be he that the telegraph wava wasa He Ire said that W while s iJ it highly desirable Plira hIe that t. t it should hould be government o control be he did I b Relieve any an- rates o oC ot tolls toUs could be he ch would servo serve to make the then n nUts es of operating th tho telegraph M J I the thc expenditures TI lI HA reported a jc year car r and a a half of opera opera- the revenues ours amounted to e the expenditures amounted to 6 36 66 or more c than four times tiles the tho m. m A t portion of thi this consisted of annual salary of 2000 paM paid to 1 f fo S. S F. F B. B forse e the inventor in of 4 fele telegraph which TV was a as not fairly ii t to ti ordinary operating ex ex- s. s the latter part of 1St 1816 Postmaster Jeral Johnson derided e red that it would Ithe t e Put part of or w wisdom for tb poste post- post T e d to lo get cat rid of oC th tho b burt bur r of ot the Ibe teJe telegraph Foro he lie a 3 deal with Alfred 1 and J. J Rogers s providing iding I if i- i they would 3 assume ume tho the expense ration hp he would give g them the Hie en- en en lD of the line lino until the follow foJo arch r b Tb They accepted i. i and nd thereafter congress would o eo no ons for foy the to tion o of the inc Jine inc Som time timA later elSor Moree Morre an and l his bis is a associates o ra raj Taise e with ith which h they a Jil line hue e from Phul dephia t to New nt In will bc be seen een from thi this between the latter Jatter cities cost l a a amile a mile while the line between Continued on pa page B 2 ENORMOUS TELEGRAPH EXPANSION Continued from page P JC 1 I. i To Washington ubin ton and Baltimore cost a 3 mile mil When the thA matter of oC the telegraph tele raph was 88 first brought brou ht up in congress con r it was deemed dermed dc med a question hardly worthy of ot se serious serious rious consideration nen 11 nen the proposed appropriation of oC for or the wild build b ild ing inq in of bf the tho line between cn Baltimore and Washington ton was pending some one offered of an amendment that one half of the lIum asked for or should be bt devoted d voted to experiments in mesmerism mesmerism m This This amend amendment amend ment meat was w s declared declare by the he presiding ins officer ome om- om e r to rie wholly germane sermane to the subject t. t Some years Y later Professor Or Morse Morae and ana his agreed a to sell Ben the patent rights right's of the tho telegraph telegraph- to tho government government govern Jo ment for Congress 1 r refused to entertain such auth a proposition although u h ht twenty five t w years later it granted a sub sub- t fid aidy of f to one ono telegraph company company com com- pany lan One of the principal arguments ad arl in in favor oT of the government O ownership of the the- telegraph is the fact that at tt resent only a very Cr small percentage per of the people p of ot the country avail Jl of the means mean of com eom communication com it affords In 1802 Postmaster General Wanamaker ker canto out but favor or of some come method m of government gov gov- government O control of the telegraph ph busi bUlli ness nef lIe He caused an sn extended investigation in tion to be made ma one ne of the results of which iwas the so son surprising Information In formation tion that th t Only on Iv sixtieth one of the people at that time time used tined the teleGraph tele tele- Graph as 5 a means of ot communication Mr Ir Wanamaker did not favor or the the out t tand and Out ownership of telegraph lines wh bat f he did diel favor or n was a a a. modification of ot the proposal of o Gardiner Gar Green Hubbard Hub Hub- bard bm in the tho Ho Ha H wanted tho the government to transmit trans I mit telegrams for the people and to tomake make make annual with rt the existing exist nip I ing iQ telegraph company compan or any other companies that thereafter there might mi hl be organized or or- for the th transmission of busi bud ness He felt that under such luch a condition condition con con- of affairs messages could be b transmitted at a considerable saving to the pe people a and d tb th such such- suchA A k reduction o orates ot of rates would vastly extend the useful useful- y nets neES 0 of t the tho telegraph lines of the coun coun- try ty Last Telegraph Census Cons us In lii 1007 No 0 census inquiry n into the extent of the tho telegraph raph business of the United has bas been made sirico 1007 IDO At t that time thu tho commercial systems had hada of ot million ep approximately a quarter a mi miles e of or pole p le lines lints and cables This Thi represented a total of miles o of single l wire The rho a average C number of employees of or tho the commercial telegraph tele tolo and their th ir annual an graph system w was wae e nual salaries salaries and wa wages Ci amounted to nearly The growing use o of tho the long Jong fon distance telephone c has perhaps per haps pre ed the t telegraph lines lines from increasing as rapidly 9 n as the they otherwise otherwise other other- done lone between 1007 wise wie would have hart and 1012 The Thc telephone lines hail had more morp tha than seven se times as 35 many man miles milc I of single wire at tho the time timo of the last census inquiry as 38 the commercial telegraph telegraph tele graph systems Their total income e was nearly four lour times as great eAt a as aim the tho total income of the telegraph raph companies nt 1907 to tho the present the tho proportions in ta favor of the telephone systems have increased still till more largely Many objections h have hav I been urged to the government o ownership of or th the iele- iele graph or even cn to tho the governments government's o control con con- control on of the Int message 8 e business of or the country One OM of these is 8 the conten conten- contention contention tion tiO that th government 0 cannot ran not conduct con con- duct dutt a telegraph hu business inC I nil as R cheaply or as n efficiently as fI private enterprises enterprise I It is il asserted that all kinds kind of busi- busi nes nt's co coats more when conducted by the government co than when conducted hy by in One of the reasons sons for opposing op posing sin the government Jo oner ownership hip of tho thin telegraph in was the alleged fact that in point point- of trustworthiness trustworthiness trust trust- worthiness and nod attention to the interests inter inter- cats ests of the public the postoffice system tern tem in the thA th United States State was was far inferior inferior riot to th the tho postal systems ms of GreB Grea Britain Belgium uD uDor or Holland It is evi i I Ident dent that such an assertion could not I Ib b be he made mado against the HiE postal tI service nice of I Ithe the time Un United tel States 9 tod today Argue Arguo Against Federal Ownership Ano Another argument R against the gov go government o ownership as UI advanced b by Da David David Da- Da vid A. A Wells on behalf of th the West We- Western We Weem em ern n Union Tp-lc Tp Telegraph company was vas that in every c case business hu intER conducted by 11 tho time government was moro more dilatory dilator r lPt c and andt t vexatious than that con con- by bJ individuals indi Mr Wells Well asserted as as- asserted e that hat if nn any corporation wore were to undertake kc to do business according to government methods n it its existence t so O far as public pat rona o concerned would be exceedingly limited It Wl was wan also urged ei that there i mi might ht be a 1 tremendous tree ire abuse a of the free message business Mr Wells lIs tha thai if in 10 1871 all free fre messages 1 which were transmitted r lisle lines of 01 tb top the Western We tern Union J regular Iollar rates tiJI the charges w would JUl have hac amounted to iO Another objection ur erred ed was a that the ownership of 01 the tho tele telegraph aph by the federal government o was inconsistent with tho the theory thorr of oC republican It t was claimed Ia me that it would give l to th the government Jo a system of espionage over offer the th business of oC th the coun country tr try that would be subversive o of thebe the thel be bel i interests of the republic I Likewise j it was at urged d that government government govern govern- ment ownership would add greatly atly to th the l patronage tro c at the tb disposal 1 of or the public offic officers cr of the theroun country ry and I d that si clean administration administration ad nd therefore it would hinder a ministration of governmental o affairs J. J was also contended that under government government gov gov- O ownership oV the wires wire wires could hp ho be manipulated at th the close of an exciting political campaign In such a way as asto asto to prevent the actual results from r reaching chinE the people David A. A W Wells pointed out that a fine copper wire wire carried from r m the line down a crack in the tel telegraph pole o o the thc ground could eft effectually interrupt tb tho the 1 current while trees trecA could fall faU conveniently oD eQi inthe in inthe different localities the tIll woods wood in many th 11 effectively cutting oft eft ff the undesirable undesirable unde unde- hews news It Tt was W tI urged also Aba that she experience p of the th telegraph ph companies com com- p niel and express p companies durin during the civil war demonstrated how much more effective e under such uch conditions condition was wan pr private private- ownership than public ownership own It was contended d that the telegraph telegraph tele tele- graph and express lIs companies continued to operate t throughout the south louth IOD long af cr Jr the po postoffice had had censed ceased e-d e to dis discharge discharge dis- dis I charge h its functions Tomorrow I TELEGRAPH OWNERSHIP Ill Operation Ill Operation at Home Nome and Abroad |