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A MERITED COMPLIMENT TO PROFESSOR MORSE.
A MERITED COMPLIMENT TO PROFESSOR MORSE.
In the acknowledgment made by Mr. Washburne, in the opening of his paper, that “the world is indebted to the genius of a citizen of the United States for the practical development of the electric telegraph as a means of communication,” we heartily concur. That citizen is still a member of the Company to which his great discovery gave birth, and on whose success he largely depends for support. To it he gives his ripened genius and matured wisdom, justly priding himself upon the success of his inv
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CONGRESSIONAL AID.
CONGRESSIONAL AID.
Congress, it is true, aided the introduction of the Telegraph by an appropriation of thirty thousand dollars for a public experiment and test of its capacity. But it may well be questioned whether this appropriation was not, after all, an injury rather than a benefit, both to the inventor and the people. It left no property to enrich its possessors, and no models to guide them in erecting new structures, while it was obtained by sacrifices which have cost the inventor infinite sorrow, and cloude
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ERRONEOUS CHARGES AGAINST THE AMERICAN TELEGRAPH SYSTEM.
ERRONEOUS CHARGES AGAINST THE AMERICAN TELEGRAPH SYSTEM.
To the charges made by Mr. Washburne, in the prefatory sentences of his paper, against the management of the Telegraph system of the United States, little need be said. They are without the shadow of proof, and require no other answer than an explicit denial. Yet American telegraph companies may justly complain that a public man, while ostensibly performing a service in the interests of the people, should deem it necessary to traduce a vast interest by the use of terms so broad as to attract to
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BRIEF STATEMENT OF FACTS.
BRIEF STATEMENT OF FACTS.
In reply to the above we desire to present the following facts. The population of Europe at the last authentic census was 288,001,365, nineteen twentieths of which belonged to the Caucasian race. It contains thirty-nine cities, each possessing more than one hundred thousand inhabitants, and the accumulated wealth of nearly two thousand years of civilization. The United States has a population of only 31,148,047, and contains but ten cities of one hundred thousand inhabitants, while its utmost ci
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THE COMPLAINT OF INDIFFERENCE TO PUBLIC CONVENIENCE WITHOUT FOUNDATION.
THE COMPLAINT OF INDIFFERENCE TO PUBLIC CONVENIENCE WITHOUT FOUNDATION.
“Instead of an auxiliary to the postal system, controlled, like it, by the state, sought, like it, to be made useful to the great masses of the people without regard to the pecuniary profit to be secured, as in nearly every civilized country in the world, we see the system in this country in the hands of rival companies, anxious only for profit, extending their lines only to prominent places where such profits are to be secured, and too indifferent to the public convenience. In short, the popula
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THE ASSERTED UNION OF THE POSTAL AND TELEGRAPH SYSTEMS IN EUROPE AN ERROR.
THE ASSERTED UNION OF THE POSTAL AND TELEGRAPH SYSTEMS IN EUROPE AN ERROR.
In referring to the action of European governments, in their early recognition of the telegraph system, Mr. Washburne says:— “At once, after the invention and successful establishment of electric telegraphs, every government in Europe where lines were built, except that of Great Britain, established a telegraphic system in connection with its postal system. Anticipating, as they might well do, that in private hands it might be so constructed as to draw to it, by its speed, safety, and economy, a
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THE SHORTCOMINGS OF BRITISH TELEGRAPHS.
THE SHORTCOMINGS OF BRITISH TELEGRAPHS.
Mr. Washburne says of the British telegraph:— “In Great Britain, as in the United States, the telegraph was left to private enterprise and competition. Only a few weeks since, after a twenty years’ trial of the system in the hands of private companies, the people of the British islands, with singular unanimity, demanded to have the telegraphic system placed under the control of the postal authorities, and a bill was introduced by the present government for that purpose.” It is complained of Grea
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THE TELEGRAPH SYSTEM OF THE UNITED STATES UNPARALLELED FOR ITS EXTENT AND EFFICIENCY.
THE TELEGRAPH SYSTEM OF THE UNITED STATES UNPARALLELED FOR ITS EXTENT AND EFFICIENCY.
Mr. Washburne says, “There is abundant reason to believe that the telegraphic system of Great Britain, which is declared a failure on such high authority, is, in all respects, greatly superior to our own”; but he fails to give any of his reasons for this belief, and we are compelled to assert that it has no intelligent explanation except in a strangely morbid hostility to this company, which exhibits itself on every offered occasion. In all respects the telegraph lines of this country are equal
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ASSERTED EFFECT OF GOVERNMENTAL CONTROL ON BELGIAN TELEGRAPHS.
ASSERTED EFFECT OF GOVERNMENTAL CONTROL ON BELGIAN TELEGRAPHS.
Mr. Washburne says:— “In Belgium, where the telegraph has always been under the control of the government, the charge for telegraphing twenty words throughout the kingdom is half a franc, or, say ten cents of our money. In Switzerland the charge is the same. In both these countries offices are opened in nearly every town and village; in both telegraphing is reliable and certain; complaints of delays and errors are almost unknown, and the lines in both countries yield large profits . [6] 6 . See
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EARLY BELGIAN RATES CONTRASTED WITH AMERICAN.
EARLY BELGIAN RATES CONTRASTED WITH AMERICAN.
Respecting the Belgian tariff of 1853, of $1.02 in gold per message, for a distance not exceeding fifty miles, it must be regarded as prohibitory, except to those whose necessities compelled its use. The American charge at the same period for even greater distances was twenty-five cents. Instead, therefore, of any surprise at the comparatively limited use of the telegraph by the Belgian people under the circumstances, it may well be regarded as extraordinary that it was used so much. Had private
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NATURAL INCREASE IN TELEGRAPHY.
NATURAL INCREASE IN TELEGRAPHY.
It should be remembered, too, that an increase follows the supply of more ample facilities, when these have been inadequate to the wants of the communities for which they are provided. There is also a large natural increase, altogether irrespective of the charges for transmission, which must be allowed for, before the legitimate effect of the inducements presented by cheapness, or the opportunities furnished by the multiplication of wires or increased capacity in the machinery, can be estimated.
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UNFORTUNATE EFFECTS OF LOW RATES AND COMPETITION.
UNFORTUNATE EFFECTS OF LOW RATES AND COMPETITION.
In 1849 the rate was reduced between New York and Boston to thirty cents, in 1850 to twenty cents, and in 1852 to ten cents. None of the lines, however, paid their working expenses from the time of their construction up to 1853. Even in 1848, when there was no opposition, the expenses exceeded the receipts by $1,199.00. One of the three lines was sold at public auction twice within three years after its construction, to pay the debts incurred in operating it. In 1853 two of the lines were united
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AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN RATES COMPARED.
AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN RATES COMPARED.
In 1851, when the tariff between New York and Boston was twenty cents, the average French rate was $1.56, and the Belgian, for less than one third the distance, $1.56. When the Belgian lines were opened to the public, an act of the legislature, dated March 15, 1851, established a charge of 2½ francs for a message of twenty words, if transmitted within a circle of 75 kilometres (i.e. 50 cents in gold for a distance of about 46½ miles), and five francs (one dollar gold) for any distance beyond the
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THE PECULIARITIES OF THE BELGIAN TELEGRAPH SERVICE.
THE PECULIARITIES OF THE BELGIAN TELEGRAPH SERVICE.
The telegraph business of Belgium is peculiar. Half of it only can be said to be Belgian at all, the other half being messages in transit, or international, which are sent at comparatively little cost, and for the transmission of which it makes terms with other nations. On the inland or Belgium business proper, the only class which can with any propriety be used in the argument in hand, there was, as has been seen, a loss in 1866 of thirty-four per cent, and in 1867 of thirty-seven and a half pe
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BELGIAN OFFICIALS ACKNOWLEDGE THE IMPERFECTIONS OF THEIR SYSTEM.
BELGIAN OFFICIALS ACKNOWLEDGE THE IMPERFECTIONS OF THEIR SYSTEM.
As Mr. Washburne claims for European telegraphs speed, certainty, and economy, it is well to be able to read Belgian official testimony on the same subject. The last report of the Belgian department of public works has the following paragraph:— “Imperfection has existed at all times and in all places. It is in vain to attempt to obtain equally rapid and exact transmission under all circumstances. Delay will occur, whatever may be done to prevent it, by the blocking up of lines, by a temporary in
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INSTRUCTIVE HISTORY OF BELGIAN TELEGRAPHS.
INSTRUCTIVE HISTORY OF BELGIAN TELEGRAPHS.
The history of the use of the telegraph in Belgium is instructive. During 1851, the first recorded year of its existence, there passed between the offices of the whole of that kingdom, as shown by Mr. Washburne’s tables, twenty-one messages per day. If we may suppose, what seems scarcely credible, that only five of her chief cities were at that time connected by the wires,—Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels, Bruges, and Liege,—it exhibited the remarkable spectacle of a telegraph line opened by government
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SINGULAR IDEA THAT A SMALL TELEGRAPH SYSTEM IS MORE DIFFICULT TO MANAGE THAN A LARGE ONE.
SINGULAR IDEA THAT A SMALL TELEGRAPH SYSTEM IS MORE DIFFICULT TO MANAGE THAN A LARGE ONE.
“It appears to be tolerably clear,” says Mr. Washburne, “that, in order to assert the superiority of a system on a small scale, it requires even more care and greater attention to cope with an increased traffic than an establishment whose ramifications embrace a larger sphere.” This remark is made with reference to the necessity of great promptitude in the delivery of messages in Belgium, where the places connected are contiguous, and conveyance by railroad rapid and frequent. It is made also to
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NECESSITY FOR THE UNIFICATION OF THE TELEGRAPH SYSTEM.
NECESSITY FOR THE UNIFICATION OF THE TELEGRAPH SYSTEM.
It is curious to observe that the reasons assigned for the advantages to be gained by governmental control are precisely the same which led to the consolidation under one management of the great mass of the American lines, and which has led to the unjust charge of monopoly as the work of unification has progressed. Mr. Scudamore says: “When I began to collect the information on which this report is based, I was not free from doubts as to the propriety of the scheme; but, after patiently collecti
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ESTIMATE OF THE COST OF BUILDING TELEGRAPH LINES.
ESTIMATE OF THE COST OF BUILDING TELEGRAPH LINES.
Mr. Washburne says:— “Any one at all familiar with the prices of materials and labor in the various countries will see that, as to materials for the construction of lines, they are cheaper here than in any European country, and that the whole cost of constructing telegraphic lines must be less here than in Belgium or Switzerland. In the latter country a large proportion of the lines are erected upon iron posts, the prime cost of which with the stone base is from $6 to $9 each, or from five to se
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DOUBTS REGARDING THE ESTIMATES OF TELEGRAPH EXPERTS AS TO COST OF CONSTRUCTING LINES.
DOUBTS REGARDING THE ESTIMATES OF TELEGRAPH EXPERTS AS TO COST OF CONSTRUCTING LINES.
We quote from Mr. Washburne’s paper:— “In February, 1866, when, in view of the establishment of an experimental government line of telegraph, the Postmaster-General was called upon for information ‘in regard to the feasibility and usefulness of establishing, in connection with the Post-Office Department, telegraph lines,’ &c., ‘to be opened to the public at minimum rates of charge, ... and such statistics and exhibits predicated on cost of construction and capacity of transmission as wil
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INCORRECT ASSERTION THAT AMERICAN TELEGRAPHS ARE NOT CONSTRUCTED ACCORDING TO SPECIFICATIONS.
INCORRECT ASSERTION THAT AMERICAN TELEGRAPHS ARE NOT CONSTRUCTED ACCORDING TO SPECIFICATIONS.
Mr. Washburne says:— “The officers of the telegraph companies, whose elaborate statement is also forwarded by the Postmaster-General, estimate as follows:— “‘Cost of construction, including engineering, patents, and franchises, per mile: one wire—six wires. “‘The cost of building lines varies according to locality, timber, method, nature of the ground, and the wires to be borne. “‘A line from New York to Washington should be of the best class, and would be represented by the following figures:—
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COST OF AMERICAN TELEGRAPHS ESTIMATED BY EUROPEAN DATA.
COST OF AMERICAN TELEGRAPHS ESTIMATED BY EUROPEAN DATA.
In reply to Mr. Washburne’s statement that no such lines as all these writers insist shall be built by the government have ever been built in this or any other country, we respectfully, but firmly, assert that he is mistaken. This company possesses thousands of miles of telegraph lines constructed after the specifications given above, and costing as much as the estimates which he so emphatically distrusts. In order, however, to set this matter of cost at rest, we will endeavor to establish it by
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VALUE OF WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH PROPERTY, BASED ON EUROPEAN DATA.
VALUE OF WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH PROPERTY, BASED ON EUROPEAN DATA.
The number of miles of line belonging to this company is 50,760, and the number of miles of wire is 97,416. Taking the average cost per mile of telegraph line in England as a basis for a calculation of the cost of the lines of the Western Union Telegraph Company, we have a total value of $52,166,079.60. If we estimate the cost of our lines by the average cost of all the telegraph lines in Europe of which any statistics can be obtained, we have a total value of $31,002,177.60. Much has been said
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ERRONEOUS ESTIMATE OF THE VALUE OF THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY’S PROPERTY.
ERRONEOUS ESTIMATE OF THE VALUE OF THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY’S PROPERTY.
Mr. Washburne says:— “The statement furnished by the officers of the telegraph companies, for the information of the Postmaster-General, and by him forwarded to Congress as his reply to the call for information, is well calculated to remove all doubts as to the value of this kind of property. Among other items of information is the following:— “The length of wire owned by the Western Union and United States companies is 60,000 miles. [13] The average cost, as based on the now united capital, is
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THE ORGANIZATION OF THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY.
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY.
In the spring of 1866 there were three telegraph companies, covering vast areas of territory in the United States. Two of these companies operated lines over separate divisions of the country, but worked in connection with each other, while the third, which covered some portions of the territory of the others, was a competitor for the business of all sections. These three companies were the Western Union, with lines extending from New York to California, and throughout the Western States; the Am
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STATIONS, LINES, AND EMPLOYEES OF THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY.
STATIONS, LINES, AND EMPLOYEES OF THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY.
The Western Union Telegraph Company alone has...
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ENGLISH AND AMERICAN TELEGRAPHS COMPARED.
ENGLISH AND AMERICAN TELEGRAPHS COMPARED.
It has been shown that, several years before there is any record of regular public telegraph business in continental Europe, the system in the United States was in popular use. There can be no question that what restrained its use in Europe for so many years was governmental jealousy of its power, and not ignorance of its capacity. The subject was freely canvassed in the public prints, and was familiar to the learned men of all European nations. Even in England, whose government aided its introd
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ACKNOWLEDGED SUPERIORITY OF THE EARLY AMERICAN SERVICE.
ACKNOWLEDGED SUPERIORITY OF THE EARLY AMERICAN SERVICE.
On this subject we have the testimony of one of the best of British popular publications,—“Chambers’s Papers for the People,” published in 1851,—whose words we quote:— “The scale of charges in the United States is much lower than in this country; the electric telegraph is consequently more available to the greater part of the population engaged in commercial affairs. Apart from business and politics, the Americans have made the telegraph subservient to other uses; medical practitioners in distan
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REMARKABLY LOW TARIFFS OF THE EARLY AMERICAN TELEGRAPHS.
REMARKABLY LOW TARIFFS OF THE EARLY AMERICAN TELEGRAPHS.
There is, indeed, nothing more remarkable respecting the presentation of any great invention to the public than the fact that the electric telegraph in America was thrown open to the public, in its very inception, at the lowest tariff which has yet, under all the excitement of opposition, been adopted. What was true of Great Britain with respect to tariffs during the early years of the introduction of the telegraph applies, as has been seen, equally to France and the other European states. Every
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NO SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE TELEGRAPH AND POSTAL SYSTEMS.
NO SIMILARITY BETWEEN THE TELEGRAPH AND POSTAL SYSTEMS.
The idea which has been repeatedly broached, that the telegraph and postal communication are in the same category, is entirely fallacious. The telegraph does that which the post cannot do, and which, before the telegraph was invented, remained undone. If the public use the telegraph at a cost of 25 cents when they might use the mail at a cost of three cents, it is obvious that the use of the telegraph implies something essentially different from the use of the post. If they use the post, with it
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COLLECTION AND DELIVERY OF TELEGRAMS BY LETTER-CARRIERS IMPRACTICABLE.
COLLECTION AND DELIVERY OF TELEGRAMS BY LETTER-CARRIERS IMPRACTICABLE.
The plan proposed for the collection and delivery of telegrams by letter-carriers is equally impracticable. The rapid and safe delivery of messages is the great difficulty with which the telegraph companies have to contend, and the amount paid for this service forms a very material portion of the expense attending the operation of the system. How would this service be performed if left to the Post-Office Department? In 1865—the last year containing the statistics of the number of letters sent th
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MR. WASHBURNE’S PROPOSED EXPERIMENTAL LINE.
MR. WASHBURNE’S PROPOSED EXPERIMENTAL LINE.
Mr. Washburne says:— “In the present position of the finances of the country, it would hardly be wise to enter upon an extended experiment. It should be tried at first on a limited scale, and at small cost. If it proves successful, and becomes what the telegraph under other government control has become in other countries,—a source of revenue, as well as an inestimable boon to the community,—it ought to be, and doubtless will be, extended. The amount necessary to construct a suitable line from W
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LONDON DISTRICT TELEGRAPH COMPANY.
LONDON DISTRICT TELEGRAPH COMPANY.
We copy the following official statement of the London District Telegraph Company from the Telegraphic Journal, London, July 30, 1864. The capital of the company is £60,000, and the average cost of telegrams transmitted over its lines, for distances that cannot exceed ten miles, was 6 d. , equal to eighteen cents in our currency, and yet the loss in four and a half years’ business was £9,573 3 s. 7 d. :— The Directors of the above company express much satisfaction in being able to present to the
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TELEGRAPHS UNDER GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE CONTROL COMPARED.
TELEGRAPHS UNDER GOVERNMENT AND PRIVATE CONTROL COMPARED.
The assertion that the Telegraph facilities are better in those countries where it is under governmental control than in those where it is left to private enterprise is entirely erroneous, as the following tables, compiled from official data, will show. Thus it will be seen that Continental Europe, where the telegraphs are under government control, furnishes but 4,347 offices for a population of over 250,000,000, while Great Britain, the Dominion of Canada, and the United States, where telegraph
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THE TELEGRAPH AND THE PRESS.
THE TELEGRAPH AND THE PRESS.
In nothing, perhaps, is the superiority of private enterprise over governmental control more strongly marked than in the extraordinary amount of news furnished to the press of the United States, as contrasted by the meagre supply of the European journals. By a system of co-operation among the newspapers of the United States and the Western Union Telegraph Company, the news of the world is daily furnished to the people of every portion of this country at a price within the reach of the poorest ci
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ERRONEOUS STATEMENTS RELATIVE TO BELGIAN TELEGRAPHS.
ERRONEOUS STATEMENTS RELATIVE TO BELGIAN TELEGRAPHS.
Alluding to the Belgian telegraph, Mr. Hubbard says:— “In 1850 the private lines then in operation were purchased by the government, and have since been under its management. The rates were originally one franc and a half for a message of twenty words. At these rates, the telegraph was little used for inland messages, and its development was very slow. In January, 1863, they were reduced to one franc, and December, 1865, to half a franc.” By referring to the official tables published by the Belg
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BELGIAN TELEGRAMS DELIVERED BY POST.
BELGIAN TELEGRAMS DELIVERED BY POST.
In reply to this flattering picture of the Belgian system of telegraphy we quote the following from a recent English publication: [15] — 15 . Government and the Telegraphs. London, 1868. “The government of Belgium not only have a monopoly of the telegraphs and post-office, but also of most of the railways of the country. They work the system as a whole. In the case of ordinary half-franc telegrams, the messages are not uniformly despatched by messenger from the office at which they arrive, but a
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WANT OF UNIFORMITY IN RATES.
WANT OF UNIFORMITY IN RATES.
We quote from Mr. Hubbard:— “There is no uniformity in the rates. They are often less to a distant station than to an intermediate one on the same line. An estimate of the average rates, and of the annual number of messages transmitted has been made by ascertaining the rates to seventy-one stations at different distances from Boston, and arranging them in four different classes.” Mr. Hubbard groups his American distances into classes of 500, 1,000, 1,500, and 2,000 miles; while his English class
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ASSERTION THAT COMMERCIAL MESSAGES ARE TRANSMITTED AT A LOSS.
ASSERTION THAT COMMERCIAL MESSAGES ARE TRANSMITTED AT A LOSS.
Mr. Hubbard’s assertion that the lowest rate between any large cities in America is 25 cents is incorrect. The tariff between Washington and Baltimore is 10 cents; between New York and Providence, New Haven, Hartford, &c., 20 cents. If it is true, as he states, that “at these rates, under the present system, commercial messages are probably transmitted at a loss,” it may be a matter of regret to the stockholders of the telegraph companies, but affords no just ground for governmental inte
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CORRECTION OF ERRONEOUS STATEMENTS.
CORRECTION OF ERRONEOUS STATEMENTS.
The statement that “soon after the validity of the Morse patent was confirmed by the courts in 1852 many of the competing companies were enjoined and compelled to wind up or sell out” is incorrect, as is also the assertion that “the American Telegraph Company bought out most of the old companies, and continued to occupy their territory for many years without serious opposition.” The validity of the Morse patent was never disputed. In 1849 the Morse patentees commenced suits against the New York
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TARIFFS NOT INCREASED BY CONSOLIDATION OF THE LINES.
TARIFFS NOT INCREASED BY CONSOLIDATION OF THE LINES.
The statement that, after the consolidation of the American, United States, and Western Union Telegraph Companies, in 1866, “the prices were again raised, and this first caused a less ratio of increase, and finally an actual decrease in the telegraphic business of the country,” is without the least foundation in fact. In no instance has the tariff been increased since the consolidation. On the contrary, there has been a steady decrease, the rates to more than one thousand stations having been lo
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ERRONEOUS ASSERTION THAT A LARGE PROPORTION OF THE OFFICES ARE AT RAILROAD STATIONS.
ERRONEOUS ASSERTION THAT A LARGE PROPORTION OF THE OFFICES ARE AT RAILROAD STATIONS.
We quote from Mr. Hubbard again:— “The telegraph in this country is very generally connected with the railroad system, and a large proportion of the offices are at railroad stations. [19] These are seldom in the centre of the towns, and are not resorted to as generally as the post-office. In the large cities, the principal offices are near the business centres, with a number of secondary offices, generally at hotels and railroad stations. The rent of the main offices is very large, and the expen
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AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN TELEGRAPH TARIFFS COMPARED.
AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN TELEGRAPH TARIFFS COMPARED.
Mr. Hubbard says:— “The lowest American rates are higher than the average foreign rates, and the average rates several times higher than the foreign. These high rates retard the development of the system, which was more rapid in its early growth in this than in any other country. What are the reasons assigned for these high rates? Are they well founded, and if not, how can they be obviated?” These assertions are entirely erroneous, and the facts quite the reverse. The highest American rates are
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RULES OF THE EUROPEAN TELEGRAPHS.
RULES OF THE EUROPEAN TELEGRAPHS.
The minimum charge is for a message of twenty words, including the address and signature, and half price is charged for each ten or fraction of ten words above twenty. Words of seven or less syllables count as one word. In words containing more than seven, the overplus counts as one word; each word underlined counts as three words. Messages containing the same subject-matter addressed to different stations are charged as separate messages. Secret or cipher messages can be sent by government only
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RULES OF THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY.
RULES OF THE WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH COMPANY.
The minimum tariff is for a message of ten words. No charge is made for address, signature, or date. After the first ten words the rate is so much per word, the amount being proportional to the rate for the first ten. All words are counted as one which are found so written in the dictionaries. No extra charge is made for messages written in cipher, and no restrictions are placed upon their transmission. Replies can be prepaid if desired, and no charge is made for inserting this information in th
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MORE ERRONEOUS STATEMENTS.
MORE ERRONEOUS STATEMENTS.
Mr. Hubbard’s assertion that, “where a message is repeated, the expense is increased about seventy-five per cent, but on well-constructed lines, in ordinary weather, messages between any two stations east of a line from St. Paul to New Orleans require but one repetition,” hardly needs refutation. East of the line named there are more than four thousand telegraph offices, and at least 1,300 separate and distinct circuits. How, then, can separate wires be maintained between every two stations over
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SINGULAR NOTIONS OF PRACTICAL TELEGRAPHY.
SINGULAR NOTIONS OF PRACTICAL TELEGRAPHY.
It seems scarcely worth while to follow Mr. Hubbard in his statements regarding the capital of the Western Union Telegraph Company, and the cost of its lines. We have given a statement on pages 37 to 40 of the organization of this company, the amount of its capital, length of lines, and other matters of interest. Mr. Hubbard’s statement that the directors of the Western Union Telegraph Company have steadfastly refused to reduce rates until forced by competition, and then consolidated with the co
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ABSURD THEORIES REGARDING THE WORKING CAPACITY OF TELEGRAPH LINES.
ABSURD THEORIES REGARDING THE WORKING CAPACITY OF TELEGRAPH LINES.
Mr. Hubbard says:— “The capacities of the line of telegraph are very great. 2,000 words an hour are easily transmitted by a good operator over a single wire. At this rate there could be sent over fifty-one of the eighty or ninety wires leading from the New York office of the Western Union Telegraph Company 2,448,000 words, or 97,920 messages of twenty-five words each, a day. This amount cannot be obtained. Forty messages an hour are easily transmitted by a good operator over a through line, and
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IMPOSSIBILITY OF UTILIZING THE TELEGRAPH LINES BY NIGHT AS WELL AS DAY.
IMPOSSIBILITY OF UTILIZING THE TELEGRAPH LINES BY NIGHT AS WELL AS DAY.
Mr. Hubbard says, “If the present business could be distributed over all the hours of the day, or if there were sufficient business for all the wires the whole day, the rates could be largely reduced”; but neither of these propositions can be realized. The telegraph is an errand-boy which every one uses when the exigency requires it, and which no one will use unnecessarily, even though it work for nothing. In order to utilize the wires during those portions of the day and night when they are com
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PROPOSED INCORPORATION OF THE UNITED STATES POSTAL TELEGRAPH COMPANY.
PROPOSED INCORPORATION OF THE UNITED STATES POSTAL TELEGRAPH COMPANY.
Mr. Hubbard says:— “It is not considered expedient either for the government to purchase the existing lines, or to construct and operate lines. How, then, can the desired results be best attained? The Post-Office Department has no facilities of its own for the transmission of correspondence either by rail or telegraph. It contracts with the railroad companies for carrying the mail, and it is proposed that it shall contract with a telegraph company for transmitting messages. “A bill was introduce
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MESSAGES DELIVERED WITHIN A MILE OF THE OFFICE FREE.
MESSAGES DELIVERED WITHIN A MILE OF THE OFFICE FREE.
The rule was established coincident with the introduction of the telegraph in the United States to deliver all messages in the town within a mile of the receiving office free. Special and free delivery should be the rule as far as practicable. And yet it is impossible, without rendering the telegraph of no avail in important emergencies, to establish free delivery everywhere. A message from an Eastern city to a Western village announcing peril, disaster, or death is addressed to a person two or
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EUROPEAN CHARGES FOR DELIVERING TELEGRAMS.
EUROPEAN CHARGES FOR DELIVERING TELEGRAMS.
A similar custom prevails in Europe, as will appear from the following extracts from the rules and regulations applicable to stations in the Austro-Germanic Telegraph Union, which comprises Austria, Prussia, Hanover, Holland, Saxony, Wurtemburg, the German Duchies, also France and the whole South of Europe: The instruction for forwarding despatches beyond Telegraph lines must be inserted in messages immediately after receiver’s address and charged for; messages with no instructions will be sent
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TELEGRAMS TO BE PLACED IN THE STREET BOXES.
TELEGRAMS TO BE PLACED IN THE STREET BOXES.
Mr. Hubbard’s proposition to put telegrams into street-boxes is simply absurd. Telegrams are always of an important nature, and need despatch. Imagine a message announcing sickness, death, or any other circumstance, being dropped in the street box, to be taken out when the carrier happens round! As for post-offices, how many are there in any of the large cities even? Few have more than one, and this is closed when a mail arrives,—a circumstance that seems to have rendered the closed condition th
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PRIVILEGED PERSONS TO HAVE PRIORITY IN THE USE OF THE WIRES.
PRIVILEGED PERSONS TO HAVE PRIORITY IN THE USE OF THE WIRES.
Mr. Hubbard’s plan of allowing “messages requiring immediate despatch to have priority of transmission on payment of extra rates,” would abolish the rule which has always been observed since the establishment of the telegraph in this country, “first come first served,” and give privileged persons the priority in the use of the wires. What an excellent opportunity this would afford speculative combinations (like that which locked up twenty millions of currency in Wall Street a short time ago) to
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PROPOSITION TO OPERATE TELEGRAPHS AT A LOSS, AND MAKE MONEY BY IT.
PROPOSITION TO OPERATE TELEGRAPHS AT A LOSS, AND MAKE MONEY BY IT.
Mr. Hubbard proposes, by his new plan, to send telegrams at an average reduction of 53 per cent from the present charges, which we have shown to be 25 per cent less than the European rates. Now, the total receipts of the Western Union Telegraph Company for the year ending June 30, 1867, were $6,568,925, and a reduction of 53 per cent would leave $3,087,405. Mr. Hubbard acknowledges that neither the government nor any company can transmit messages at the above rates without loss, but claims that
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SPECULATIVE TELEGRAPH SCHEMES.
SPECULATIVE TELEGRAPH SCHEMES.
We consider it our duty to say a word concerning the swarm of adventurers who are canvassing the country for subscriptions to utterly worthless telegraph stock, and who are besieging the halls of Congress every year for some recognition or advantage which shall enable them the more readily to impose upon the public. The National Telegraph Company is an example in point. This concern, which claims to have organized two years ago under an act of Congress, and which has filled the country with runn
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MORE STARTLING INVENTIONS FOR RAPID TELEGRAPHING.
MORE STARTLING INVENTIONS FOR RAPID TELEGRAPHING.
We quote from Mr. Hubbard:— “Instruments have been recently invented, and are in operation, either in England or in this country, by which two great hindrances to the efficiency of the telegraph are remedied. Mr. Stearns, president of the Franklin Telegraph Company, has invented an instrument by which messages are transmitted both ways at the same time, on the same wire, thus doubling its capacity without any increase of expense. Sir Charles Wheatstone, in England, has invented an instrument by
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ERRONEOUS TABLE OF EUROPEAN STATISTICS.
ERRONEOUS TABLE OF EUROPEAN STATISTICS.
We reproduce Mr. Hubbard’s statistical table for the purpose of pointing out some very serious errors contained in it. 21 . We are indebted for the estimation of the value of these foreign coins in United States gold to E. B. Elliott, Esq., of Washington, D. C., who has recently prepared a valuable work on the subject. These errors, in reducing foreign money into United States gold currency caused the following discrepancies in gross receipts for the year:— Thus we find that in reproducing from
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ERRONEOUS TABLE OF EUROPEAN STATISTICS.
ERRONEOUS TABLE OF EUROPEAN STATISTICS.
From Mr. Hubbard’s pamphlet:—...
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EUROPEAN TELEGRAMS COUNTED SEVERAL TIMES.
EUROPEAN TELEGRAMS COUNTED SEVERAL TIMES.
An examination of Mr. Hubbard’s statement of the number of messages sent in Europe, in 1866, will reveal the fact that he has included inland, international, and transit messages to make up the grand total. In this way he has counted the same message several times. For instance, messages sent from England to France, or any two contiguous countries, would be counted in each. Messages between France and Germany would be counted in France and Germany as international messages, and in Belgium and pe
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LABOR THE PRINCIPAL ELEMENT OF EXPENSE IN OPERATING TELEGRAPHS.
LABOR THE PRINCIPAL ELEMENT OF EXPENSE IN OPERATING TELEGRAPHS.
The principal element of expense in our business is the cost of labor. [24] If we can do our work as cheaply as another party, it is clear that rates can never be reduced below the point at which receipts and expenses are equal. Any material increase of business, no matter what the rates may be, must be attended with increased expense. And when the capacity of the wires provided for a particular service is exhausted, a new question is presented by the necessity for providing additional facilitie
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PREVAILING ERROR OF ALL THEORIZERS ON THE BUSINESS OF TELEGRAPHING.
PREVAILING ERROR OF ALL THEORIZERS ON THE BUSINESS OF TELEGRAPHING.
All theorizers upon the subject of the telegraph fall into the error that the amount of business which may be done at any point (the rates being low enough) is in the ratio of population. An investigation of the subject will show this to be entirely erroneous. Three years ago, when the subject of telegraphic communication between the Eastern and Western continents was discussed by those most intimately connected with the enterprise, no one estimated the number of messages which would pass betwee
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THE UNITED STATES.
THE UNITED STATES.
The United States not only has the distinguished honor of being the birthplace of the inventor of the universally-used electric telegraph, but of having constructed the first line of practical telegraph, and of being the foremost nation in the world, at the present time, in the number of her telegraph stations, extent of her lines and wires, cheapness of her rates, and amount of business done. The United States contains 4,126 telegraph offices; 62,782 miles of line; 125,564 miles of wire; and tr
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PROPORTION OF TELEGRAMS TO LETTERS.
PROPORTION OF TELEGRAMS TO LETTERS.
The proportion of telegrams to letters in the United States is difficult of determination, from the fact that our Post-Office Department furnishes no statistics of the number of letters sent through the mails, and has no means of ascertaining the number approximately, except by the number of stamps sold annually. This mode of estimation is very defective, because the stamps sold may not have been used, or if used, may have covered the postage on books, parcels, and other matter. The Postmaster-G
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EARLY HISTORY OF THE TELEGRAPH IN AMERICA.
EARLY HISTORY OF THE TELEGRAPH IN AMERICA.
During the first few years after the introduction of the electric telegraph its progress was very slow. Capitalists were afraid to invest in an undertaking so novel and precarious, and as a natural consequence there was great difficulty in raising funds for properly building the lines, and they were constructed in a very unreliable manner, breaks and interruptions being rather the normal condition of the wires than the exception. At a very early period in the history of the electric telegraph in
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EVILS ARISING FROM SEPARATE ORGANIZATIONS.
EVILS ARISING FROM SEPARATE ORGANIZATIONS.
The consolidation of these lines was a step in the right direction, as it increased the receipts and lessened the expenses of the companies, while it enabled them to do the business better, by possessing greater facilities. Still, the great number of separate organizations remaining throughout the country prevented that unity and despatch in the conduct of the business so essential to its success. Under these circumstances, the public failed to realize the brilliant thought of instant communicat
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THE UNIFICATION OF THE TELEGRAPH ACCOMPLISHED.
THE UNIFICATION OF THE TELEGRAPH ACCOMPLISHED.
It was at this period, when segregated lines were feeling their weakness, and their revenues were unequal to even a current vigorous support, that a few clear-sighted men in the West conceived the project of buying up the groups of feeble organizations, and making them direct leaders between the large Western cities. The stock was comparatively valueless, and easily and cheaply bought. The needs of commercial intercourse were pressing. The project had in it the true elements of success, and it w
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TELEGRAPH COMPANIES IN THE UNITED STATES.
TELEGRAPH COMPANIES IN THE UNITED STATES.
The following list of some of the more important telegraph companies now doing business in the United States will convey an idea of the importance of this interest: Bankers and Brokers’ Telegraph Company, capital $1,050,000, lines extending from New York to Washington; Pacific and Atlantic Telegraph Company, capital $3,000,000, lines completed from Philadelphia to Pittsburg and Cincinnati, and extending; Franklin Telegraph Company, capital $1,000,000, lines extending from Boston to Washington; I
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DOMINION OF CANADA.
DOMINION OF CANADA.
In the Dominion of Canada as in the United States, the telegraph is free and untrammelled by governmental interference, and, next to the United States, is the best in the world....
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AUSTRIA.
AUSTRIA.
The telegraph is under the control and management of the State. At the end of 1866 the system comprised 851 stations, with an extent of 73,854 geographical miles of wire. The total number of persons employed by the telegraphic department is 1,884....
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TABLE C.
TABLE C.
Austria transmitted 44,911 messages in 1851, and 381,720 in 1857, being an increase of over 800 per cent without any average reduction in rates. The increase in the number of messages from 1857 to 1866 was less than 700 per cent, notwithstanding the great reduction in the rates from 2.32 to 0.65 florins....
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BELGIUM.
BELGIUM.
The statistics respecting the working of the telegraph in Belgium are used by Mr. Washburne primarily to prove the superior advantages and excellence of the Belgian telegraphic system and arrangement, but chiefly to show that a cheapened rate has increased its use, and that to secure that result in this country the telegraph must be placed under governmental control. Scarcely any two nations could be named whose conditions are more unlike. The area of Belgium is about one fourth that of the Stat
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TABLE I.
TABLE I.
The telegrams of Belgium are of three distinct sorts,—internal, international, and transit. The system differs essentially from that of the United States, inasmuch as the principal business of the Belgian telegraph is to transmit messages from one country to another, whilst the principal business of the American telegraph is the conveyance of internal messages. The only international messages transmitted on the lines in the United States are those sent to Europe by the Atlantic cable, to Cuba by
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BELGIUM.
BELGIUM.
Population, 5,000,000; messages, 692,536. Ratio, one message to each seventh person....
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GREAT BRITAIN.
GREAT BRITAIN.
Population, 29,500,000; messages, 5,781,189. Ratio, one message to each fifth person....
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UNITED STATES.
UNITED STATES.
Population, 31,148,047; messages, 12,904,770. Ratio, one message to every two and one half persons. These facts prove a clear advantage in favor of private control....
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BAVARIA.
BAVARIA.
This country possesses 2,115 miles of lines, and 4,945 miles of wire. Gross receipts for 1866, 322,886 florins. Expenditures, 258,625 florins....
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DENMARK.
DENMARK.
This country now contains 2,515 miles of wire, and eighty-nine telegraphic stations open to the public. The Morse apparatus is the only one employed. Of these eighty-nine stations, fifty-three belong to the government, twenty-one to private telegraph companies, and fifteen to railroads. The tariff is fixed at ninety cents for a local telegram of twenty words between any points in the kingdom. In 1867 there were transmitted 308,150 telegrams, of which 174,560 were local and 133,590 foreign. All t
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ENGLAND.
ENGLAND.
England was among the first countries in Europe to adopt the electric telegraph; and, next to the United States, is the foremost nation in the world in the extent of her lines, the number of her offices, the cheapness of her rates, and the number of messages annually transmitted. With a population about three quarters as large as that of France, she possesses nearly twice as many telegraph stations, and annually transmits more than twice as many messages. There are in operation in Europe fifty-f
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FRANCE.
FRANCE.
The French system of telegraphs comprised, in 1866, 20,628 miles of route, 68,687 miles of wire, and 1,209 stations open to the public. The number of messages amounted to 2,842,554. The gross receipts for the year were 7,707,590, and the expenditures were 8,983,460, showing a loss for the year of 1,275,870. The receipts are divided as follows:— These stations are situated in 89 departments, viz.:— Nine other departments collect annually between 90,000 down to 50,000 francs, the remaining seventy
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DECREES REGULATING THE USE OF THE TELEGRAPH IN FRANCE.
DECREES REGULATING THE USE OF THE TELEGRAPH IN FRANCE.
The following is a digest of the decrees issued by the French government regulating the use of the telegraph in the empire. 1st. All persons whose identity is established are allowed to correspond by the government electric telegraph. 2d. Private correspondence is always subordinate to the necessity of government service. 3d. Despatches are to be written in ordinary and intelligible language , dated and signed by the sender, and to be given to the officer of the telegraph station, whose duty it
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PECULIAR CHARACTER OF THE FRENCH TELEGRAPH.
PECULIAR CHARACTER OF THE FRENCH TELEGRAPH.
The telegraph lines in France are nearly all owned and managed by the government. The English Submarine Company, however, is a private enterprise, and works from Paris through Calais to the United Kingdom. There is also another company organized under permission of the imperial government, for the extension of the lines into the French colonies of Africa. This association is called the Mediterranean Electric Telegraph Company, and it has constructed its line from Spezzia, in Sardinia, across Cor
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INCREASE IN TELEGRAMS NOT DUE TO LOW RATES.
INCREASE IN TELEGRAMS NOT DUE TO LOW RATES.
It will be observed, by an examination of the above table, that low tariffs are not the only causes of the enlarged use of the telegraph. The annual percentage of increase in messages, as tariffs were gradually reduced, was vastly less than during those years when the rates remained unchanged. During the year of 1851 only 9,014 telegrams were transmitted through the French empire, the tariff averaging $1.60 per message. Five years later, notwithstanding that the average cost per message had been
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GREECE.
GREECE.
The Kingdom of Greece has twelve telegraph stations. All the messages between the Greek and European lines pass through Turkey, and consequently the rate is very high. It is proposed to establish a direct line between Greece and Southern Italy by continuing the Corfu cable to Pauras or Missolonghi, across the Ionian Islands....
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PRUSSIA.
PRUSSIA.
In Prussia the number of messages transmitted in 1866, the last year of which we have data, was 1,964,030, and the gross receipts were 1,275,785 thalers, making the average cost per message seventy cents in our currency. Prussia had in that year a population of 17,740,000, and the area of her territory was somewhat less than the New England States and New York. Distance being regarded, the Prussian rates were at that period double our own....
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TABLE L.
TABLE L.
It will be observed that the number of messages transmitted in 1852 was 48,751, and in 1860, 384,335, being an increase in nine years of nearly 800 per cent, although there was no reduction in the average tariff during this period. From 1860 to 1866 there was an increase of only 500 per cent, notwithstanding a reduction in the rates from 2.06 to 0.656 thalers per message. Prussia was among the earliest of Continental countries to adopt the electric telegraph, and it is still far in advance of mo
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RUSSIA.
RUSSIA.
European Russia, with a population considerably more than twice as great as the United States, contains but 308 offices, or one to 230,000 of people; and sends annually but 838,653 messages, or one to each 80,723 of her population. Any person examining the telegraphic map of Russia will be satisfied that the rose-colored descriptions of government telegraphs as illustrated in Russia are overdrawn. The lines radiating from St. Petersburg, and extending to Warsaw, Moscow, Odessa, Sebastopol, Nichn
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SWITZERLAND.
SWITZERLAND.
The situation of Switzerland, in the centre of Europe, and forming the pathway between nations, places her in a peculiar position with reference to the transmission of messages from one country to another. Just as Belgium is situated in relation to intercourse between France and Germany, so Switzerland is placed in regard to telegraphic communication between France and Italy, and Italy and Germany. Switzerland, from many circumstances, is a country in which telegraphic communication is eminently
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NO ANALOGY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND SWITZERLAND.
NO ANALOGY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND SWITZERLAND.
The analogy between the United States and Switzerland seems in every sense imperfect. The telegraph stations in Switzerland only number 252, or less than the number contained within a radius of fifty miles in and around the city of New York. The total number of despatches transmitted annually in and through Switzerland only amounted in 1866 to 668,916, whilst of these probably more than half were either transit or international. These transit telegrams, of which there are none in our country, in
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TABLE M.
TABLE M.
It will be observed that the increase in the number of messages transmitted in Switzerland was from 2,876 in 1852 to 668,916 in 1866, or more than 230,000 per cent in fourteen years, although the tariff had only been reduced 33 per cent....
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SPAIN.
SPAIN.
Spain, with a population of over 16,000,000 souls, and possessing the advantages of forming the pathway between France and her African possessions, as well as between Portugal and the rest of Europe, transmits a less number of telegrams per annum than the Dominion of Canada, with her 3,000,000 inhabitants. That this insignificant amount of business for so great a country is owing to government control is evident from the following royal decree, issued in conformity with the request of the Minist
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ROYAL DECREE RELATING TO TELEGRAPHS IN SPAIN.
ROYAL DECREE RELATING TO TELEGRAPHS IN SPAIN.
In conformity with what the Minister of State for Home Affairs has proposed to me, for the concession of telegraph lines and stations. I have decreed as follows: — The districts, towns, and public establishments, who wish to form new lines or stations, can solicit them from the government , which will inquire into the influence of the establishment of the said lines or stations upon the state telegraphic system. The necessary cost of the lines and service must be paid by the petitioners, and the
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TURKEY.
TURKEY.
Turkey contains twenty-eight telegraph stations, of which twelve are open for night service, nine during the whole of the day, and seven for a part only. Constantinople has two stations open for international correspondence,—one at Stamboul, the other at Pera; the first is principally confined to the transmission of messages for the Ottoman government, and the second for that of ambassadors and private persons. In the case of an interruption of the cable which crosses the Hellespont, the Dardane
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POLITICAL REASONS WHY GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT CONTROL THE TELEGRAPH.
POLITICAL REASONS WHY GOVERNMENT SHOULD NOT CONTROL THE TELEGRAPH.
One of the most serious objections to the government of the United States assuming the control of the telegraph is the political one. In monarchical countries, where the sovereignty is a patrimony of a particular family, and where no change is made except by revolution, everything which tends towards the permanence of the reigning dynasty is looked upon as in the interest of law and order, and for these reasons the absorption of the telegraphs by the government is regarded as a proper and legiti
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THE POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT NOT COMPETENT TO MANAGE THE TELEGRAPHS.
THE POST-OFFICE DEPARTMENT NOT COMPETENT TO MANAGE THE TELEGRAPHS.
If it should ever appear to be for the public good that this agency, so capable of use as a political power, should pass into the hands of government, it seems proper to await such a demonstration of the self-sustaining capacity of the department under whose control it is proposed to be placed, and such efficiency in that service, as will furnish reasonable assurance of ability for the united control without burden to the state, or lessened convenience to the people. A department which is still
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GOVERNMENT ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY.
GOVERNMENT ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY.
Another serious drawback to the value of the telegraph under government management is its failure to make reparation to private individuals for losses caused by the errors or imperfection of its service. In no country where the telegraph exists under government control is there any assumption of accountability for errors or delays in the transmission of messages. In some countries they will not even inquire into the cause of delay or errors, and in others, as in Spain, they will only do so for t
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THE PROPOSITION TO ERECT COMPETITIVE GOVERNMENTAL TELEGRAPHS UNFOUNDED IN PUBLIC NECESSITY, UNJUST AND DELUSIVE.
THE PROPOSITION TO ERECT COMPETITIVE GOVERNMENTAL TELEGRAPHS UNFOUNDED IN PUBLIC NECESSITY, UNJUST AND DELUSIVE.
The proposition to erect a competitive governmental telegraph line between Washington and New York, as described in the paper of Mr. Washburne, and the bill designed to authorize it, is a scheme founded upon no public necessity, unjust and delusive. It is easily demonstrable that the tariff proposed by the bill, if adopted by the government, could only be maintained by large drafts upon the national treasury. It is well known that the active hours of telegraph service are about five, and the ord
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THE TELEGRAPH BILL PROPOSED TO BE ENACTED BY CONGRESS WITHOUT NATIONAL EXAMPLE.
THE TELEGRAPH BILL PROPOSED TO BE ENACTED BY CONGRESS WITHOUT NATIONAL EXAMPLE.
It must be borne in mind that the remunerativeness of telegraph lines depends largely upon the revenues of a few important cities, without which the enterprise would not have an income sufficient to support it. To take away the receipts of New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, with Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, St. Louis, and a few others of like importance, would make it impossible for any company to maintain itself, far less to meet the constant demand of an enlarging population an
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THE TELEGRAPH AND THE GOVERNMENT.[30]
THE TELEGRAPH AND THE GOVERNMENT.[30]
30 . From the Cincinnati Gazette. The building of telegraph lines in the United States, from the date of their inauguration down to the present time, has been overdone. There are now too many wires for the business, at the prices that are charged; consequently there are few, if any, lines that pay a fair interest on the cost of their construction. So great is the cost of maintaining and operating lines, too, that it is a question whether sufficient business could be done, as it is conducted at v
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POSTAL TELEGRAPH.—EXTENSION OF THE INTERFERENCE THEORY.[31]
POSTAL TELEGRAPH.—EXTENSION OF THE INTERFERENCE THEORY.[31]
31 . From the Chicago Evening Post. We beg the advocates of the Postal Telegraph scheme not to stop. The justification of what they propose to do, if in accordance with their theories of government, will cover many other things necessary to be done. After having taken possession of the telegraph lines, and increased the number of officers necessary to insure the harmonious working of their plan, let them turn their attention to the Express business of the country, in which there is room for grea
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TELEGRAPHING BY GOVERNMENT.[32]
TELEGRAPHING BY GOVERNMENT.[32]
32 . From the New York Tribune. We use the telegraph very extensively and pay it a good deal of money; so that there are few whose personal advantage from cheapening its use would be greater than our own; yet we do not regard with favor any of the bills looking to the establishment of a Government Telegraph. Here are some of our reasons:— I. The prevalent tendency in our day is toward a further restriction rather than an enlargement of the sphere of government. We have (for instance) a good many
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