Show FAVORS GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF WIRES 4 Representative Lewis Argues in F Favor vor of His New Bill Bill Advocacy tun Ad of government government govern govern- ment went ownership of ot all tele telegraph raph and I telephone Un lines the introduction of ot a bill uru g for such purchases b by i. i Uncle Saw Sam a the action of ot the the Bell n Bell Telephone Tel Tel- Tel ephone system and Western Union Tel Tel- companies In voluntarily disc dis t I g what the attorney general of ot of the United States termed a trust and nd 7 the tremendous success of ot the parcel post ost system during the first year of ot Its ts history have directed lUJIC atten atten- Jon toward the pur purchase hase of ot the wires than anything anything- else in the history of or the country t The measure has baH both supporters and I President Wilsons Wilson's declaration decla- decla lU ration that he has ne never ner r said suld one way way or II the other whether be he favored the t bill or not was Interesting For years the question has been agitated off and nod oil on here and there but no concrete action ac ae- tion tiou has ever before been taken I a aThe The purchase of ot the wires by the government o would be a simple matter provided of course the many millions necessary necey nary to buy the sto stock k could be r obtained There Is an old provision c In the or original franchises granted by bythe oJ the government that if the congress' congress wishes at any time to buy the companies companies compa compa- nies the directors will be be forced to sell These Thee are the terms of ot the contracts r with the government under which the companies are now operating The price to be paid shall be determined F f- f of ot three by a board consisting men r Ii I t tyes yes Vii r s1 v t 4 REPRESENTATIVE DAVID J. J LEWIS LEWIA The companies 1 are ure to name one the the government go unit one and these hese two two shall select the third Representative Lewis has bus Introduced iu lu the house a II bill providing tor- tor forthe fortha the theU U taking over o of ot the wires the wires by Uncle Sam In introducing the bill Mr Lewis said In Iu part pirt Investigation discloses that our telegraphic tele tele- graphic rates are the highest among Continued on Page 4 c cr 0 w r ry y- y countries running nom irom as a cents to Jl 1 y while In other countries countries' the they average j a about 12 13 cents or a n cent a iI word The re re- suit Is that we rank ninth as telegraph users with ono one one and tenth one-tenth telegrams a person to our credit per annum while whiles whiles' s' s iK In New Zealand with the twelve cent rate rattO O tr and our price and wage levels the use uso oC ot the the telegraph reaches as high as at eight telegrams a person Is Is' dec declining de de- de- de The telegraph service a relatively c J. J r elIDing dining institution and It would be unwise un un- t 4 1 wise to It alone as a single e ice For ten years In lit England the number number num num- c ber of ot telegrams has been actually staM sta sta- 4 M Our toll taU and long distance telephone t i f rates compare with those of of- other countries countries countries coun coun- tries even les less less- less favorably favorably than do our telea telegraph telegraph tele tele- a- a graph rates The average Interurban receipt rex re re- x In Germany Is but 4 cents hero here It II averages 20 cents The long distance rat rater t here are made on a scale of at 6 mills a amile amile mile for tor a three minute conversation as against an average charge of about 7 mills a mile received by the railways for tor transporting transporting trans trans- t porting a ton of freight We Ve are one of ot three countries where the rY charge of ot a local call exceeds the letter lettery y postage rate The subscribers' subscribers rates In American r r cities compared with continental cities are about three times as high for tor ex ex- 4 ample New York where calls about r fifteen a day under a measured service tariff cost more than the four tour unlimited d MF yearly rates rates rates-of of London Paris Pari Berlin and Stockholm together |