People's Pilot, Volume 5, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 December 1895 — FOR THE TELEGRAPH. [ARTICLE]

FOR THE TELEGRAPH.

LINES OF EUROPE NOW OWNED BY THE STATE. Not Run for Profit, but for the Benefit of the People —Operated in Cloae Connection with the Postal System —A Success. There is one important difference between the telegraph systems of the continent of Europe and those of England which has to be taken into account in the outset in considering the general systems. This difference is that the English system originated in private enterprise, while in most of the continental states, if not in all of them, the government was the initiator. Hence in the case of the continental countries the state had not to burden itself with a large outlay in the acquisition of the telegraph, although there is no doubt that in the early days of the telegraph the first cost of some of the primary lines' was excessive. Another fact which may as well be stated in the outset is this, that, with hardly an exception, none of the continental systems of telegraph pay financially. Even in cases where there is a balance on the right side, it is so small as to be hardly worth taking account. Still another consideration which has to be borne in mind is the fact that different governments seem to regard the telegraph system as so intimately connected with the postal system that in the published financial statements the accounts are invariably given en bloc, and not divided, so that one can see what the receipts and expenditures have been on telegraphs alone; and even when we get these figures they only tell a part of the story, for in most of the European states many of the telegraph lines have been constructed or have been extended to unprofitable points, commercially speaking, for strategical purposes. Moreover, they are used extensively for governmental purposes, for which no corresponding remuneration appears on the balance-sheet. In other words, in England, as elsewhere, the telegraph service bears all the government business, for which there is no actual financial return. But let me give some statistics of the actual state of the telegraphic service in the different countries of Europe, and then we shall have the material for comparison. The latest statistics to be had are those for 1893. On the Ist of January in that year France had a total length of telegraph lines of 59,693 miles, with 197,622 miles of wire. There were 10,589 telegraph offices; and in 1892 there were despatched 45,328,588 telegrams, of which 33,439,947 were internal, 5,306,337 international, 1,571,168 in transit, and 5,011,436 were official. There

are 237 miles of pneumatic tubes in Paris. The number of subscribers to the telephonic system in 1890 was 11,* 439, and 152,338 international conversations were held. It should be said here that in all the chief European states the minimum price of a telegraphic message is 6d. or half a franc, the 6d. carrying 12 words with the address, and the half a franc 10 words and ditto. In England, with the lowest average at one shilling, the telegraph was just on the point of paying when public opinion compelled parliament to adopt the 6d. tariff. In foreign states the same thing has practically occurred. In France, during the year 1893, the total receipts from the telegraphic service were 35,146,454 francs 85 centimes; but this is all I am able to give of the financial position, although our statement gives the net product at 34,979,269 francs. In the German empire (including Bavaria and Wurtemburg, which have separate systems of telegraphy), the total length of the lines in 1892 was 73,198 miles, and the length of wire 259,628 miles, while the number of messages sent was: Internal telegrams. 22,209,144 Foreign telegrams 8,965,956

Total 31,175,100 In regard to Germany, the Journal Telegraphique, the best authority on this subject, has no information touching finances apart from those relating ]to the postofflce as a whole. It should be said that in additon to the telegraphic system worked by the state the railways have a system of their own, which under certain conditions can be taken over by the stare, especially in time of war. The following are the available statistics of Austria, Hungary, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for 1892: Bosnia & HerzeAustria. Hungary, govina. Offices .... 4,098 2,116 111 Line,miles 17,609 12,473 1,780 i Wire,miles 50,154 35,320 3,870 Messages. 10,815,302 5,671,579 425,696 Although I have no special financial 1 statement regarding the telegraphic i service, the postal service as a whole shows a very profitable working, the i financial statement for Austria (1892) ; and Hungary (1891) being as follows: Austria, Hungary, Florins. Florins. Receipts 32,993,560 13,723,856 Expenses 21,750,837 9,561,836 | The length of state telegraph lines in | Russia on Jan. 1, 1891, was 88,280 English miles, and the length of wire 172,360 English miles. Of the total system about nineteen-twentieths were the property of the state. There were at the same date 3,796 telegraph offices. The total number of telegrams carried in 1890 was 10,103,810. The length of the telephone lines was i,376 miles, and the number of telephonic messages was 109,950. As In regard the other states, there are no figures published with reference to the expenditure upon the telegraph alone. I find that the revenue from telegraphs rose from 10,607,000 rubles in 1888 to 11,875,000 ru-

bles in 1892; hut as regards expenditures, all the figures available are that the general expenditure on posts and telegraphs combined in 1890 was 25,219,619 rubles, against an income of 30,925,903 rubles. Thus, treated as a whole, the system of posts and telegraphs shows a considerable revenue, and this apart from the fact that the state uses both the telegraph and the post largely, without crediting the department with a single cent. The state took over all the telegraphs in Belgium in 1883, and since then the department has worked well In conjunction with the post. In 1891 the telegraphs carried 8,445,593 dispatches, private and official; In 1892, 7,975,523. In the latter year the total length of public telegraph lines was 4,617 piles, and the length of wires 22,739 miles. There were at the same date 965 telegraph stations. The receipts in 1892 were 3,445,599 francs, the expenses 4,535,192 francs. There is nothing to show how this excess of expenditure has arisen, although it may arise from the fact that the government has of late years been laying telephone wires of its own. The system has worked well, although the private Belgian Telephone Company existed side by side with the state system. In 1893, however, the government acquired the entire telephone system of the country. The terms of the acquisition were that the state should pay the companies an annual rent plus 15 per cent bonus for the ensuing 16 years, the concession having been originally granted to the companies, according to the provisions of Art. I of the law of June 11, 1883, for the maximum period of 25 years. This will be a drag upon the state until the obligation has been extinguished. In the Netherlandsmere are several private telephone lines, but most of the lines are owned by the state. The length of state lines on Dec. 31, 1892, was 3,398 miles, the length of wires 12,098. The number of state offices was on Dec. 31, 1892, 473. The number of paid messages by the state lines in 1892 was 4,302,978. The receipts of the state amounted in the same year to 1,353,924 guilders, and the ordinary expenses to 1,881,580 guilders. The number of “service” messages, which include those in the service of the state railroads, and for which nothing appears to the credit of the lines, is very great.—Alfred T. Story in New York Voice.