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Show THE RAISE IN TELEGRAPH RATES. The two great telegraph corporations have advanced ad-vanced their rates from 20 to 40 per cent. Each insists in-sists that it made the advance on its own account -without any previous understanding with the other, wliich.is another illustration of the ,tmth of the old saw that "great minds run in the same channels." chan-nels." The reasons given are the increased cost of labor and supplies, and the growing competition of the long-distance telephone. We are glad that they did not add "the wear and tear on the wires made by the messages." We cannot see why they should condescend to give reasons at all. They have combined, an absolute monopoly. Why should they make any explanation ex-planation of why they do anything! It is true that labor and supplies are higher than they wore ten years ago, but how about the increased business? The wires that carry the messages are not particular particu-lar whether a hundred or a thqusand messages are sent; operators do not cost any more when a hundred hun-dred messages are sent than when ten are sent; : there are no collisions, bridges are not broken down by heavy trains; only an occasional wind or snow storm disturbs the business and at the old rates, one of these companies for years has been paying interest and dividends on stock which is at least half water. Avarice grows upon the meat with which it is fed and hence, we presume, that avarice has . prompted the increase and it would be more manly for the companies to say "What are you going to do about it?" than to be' making silly excuses. |