PENNY-A-WORD CABLES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 273, 11 August 1908, Page 2

PENNY-A-WORD CABLES.

PROJECT FOR UNIFORM RATE THROUGHOUT EUROPE. ATTITUDEOPTHEG.P.O. ; lii spite of the discouraging results of thei International Telegraph Conference •at Lis- 1 bon, reformers are again making efforts to s . secure reductions-in cable rates throughout ' the world, says the London "Daily Mail;"

The only good results of" the Conference 'were a few reductions in the charges for telegrams between Great Britain and:some,of. the more distant.countries of Europe. 'For large countries the terminal rate per word is to be reduced from, ten to nine centimes (one centime being one-tenth of one penny) and the transit rates from eight to seven centimes. For small countries the corresponding reductions will be from sis and a half to six and from four to three and a half centimes; respectively. . . . ....

. MANY REDUCTIONS. .. ... -,' ■ For over a year influential committees have boon in active operation in London, Berlin, .:. Paris, Rome, Brussels, The Hague, and'Oon- '. stantinople, with tho object of bringing-aboufr- '- the desired refprm of "one word—oue penny" in Europe. Sir Edward Sassoon, M.P., lia's been at the head of the movement', 'istrtirigly supported in England by Mr. Henniker.-Hea-ton. M.P., and others.,. . . ; That continual pressure by chambers; of ; commerco and similar bodies is not without effect is shown by the following table of reductions of the rate per ..word in-the seven ;■ years 1897-1904, but tho. reformers are very far from satisfied with the rate of- progress :t-' ' . ' - / 1897. 1904. : s. d. s. d. To India ... .... ... 4 0 2 6 China " ... ... . 5 6 4 5 " Bathurst (Gambia) ... 511 3 6 ."■ Sierra Leone ... ... 6 9 3 B'. ' " Accra ... ... x 8 0 '4 8. " Gold Coast ... ' ... 8 2 410 " Lagos ... ... .„ 810 5O 1 " Bonny ... ... ... 9 8 5,0 ; A few years ago the British and some Continental Governments bought-the cables from' ' Britain to Germany, France, Holland, and Belgium, and there was an immediate reduction from 2-Jd.-to 2d. per word. Tho.result '■ was that 300,000 more words were sent in the year following the reduction and'the in- ■' crease'of the revenuo to tho Post Office on this branch of the service was nearly 50 per cent.

PROHIBITIVE TARIFF. ' " The reformers maintain that the charges from one cotintry to another should not' ex- ■ ceed the combined rates of the two countries. Between England and Ireland) Scotland and . Ireland, and the British Isles and Channel Isles the rate is id. a word. The charge between Franco and Algeria is less than - }d. ; (5 centimes) per word. But the charge from England to France is 2d. a word. In.Queens- ' land (Australia) .a telegram can .be sent 3000 miles for Id. per word. The length, of Europo is only 3400 miles and its. breadth .2400 miles. , No fewer than 97 per cent, of the> cablo , messages across the Atlantic to America are . sent in code. The tarilf is common to all,the companies in competition. The actual carrying capacity of all the Atlantic cables is 300 million words a year. Only twenty-five mil-' lion words are sent, and the rate of Is. a word is considered practically prohibitive for . domestic and friendly messages. G.P.O.'s ATTITUDE. • j The British Postmaster-General will at an'. early date issue officially- the scale of reduced charges for telegrams between Britain and various European countries agreed upon at ■ the Lisbon Convention. Dissatisfaction has been shown at the small'; reductions, in most cases Jd. or less per word, and reformers blame tho. Post Office. But a \ high official at St. Martin's-le-Grand said in. an" interview: "One penny a word messages' throughout Europe are impossible. - They ' 1 would mean an immense loss. How is Mr. " Henniker lleaton or any advocate of cheaper rates to get oVcr the fact that the majority of tho European countries will not agree to " it? -

"To suggest penny-a-word messages : throughout the world -is simply noilsenso. ■ The cable companies are not charitable in--! ; stitutions, aiid will strenuously oppose any such suggestion unless they are' subsidised at least to the extent of their several,incomes. Mr. Henn'iker_.Heaton anticipates an enormous increase in business with cheaper rates. He would, require it to earn the present income of the companies. Over Queensland penny-a-word messages ar# in being, but 'do not pay. Even thalf-penny-a-word rates in the TJnited Kingdom do not pay. ■ "The British Post Office may fairly congratulate itself on great reductions in- cable rates within the lost, few years. Not rery 1 long ago the. tariff to India varied frora 3s. - i lOd. to Cs. Gd. n irord; to Capo Colour from i Bs. lid. to 9s. 3d.; to Auitralia, 9a. 4d.; md I to Columbia, 275. To-day they sre rMspAoivel.v 25., 2s. 6d., 2s. 9d, to 3s.', and H. <<1. to 2s. 9d. The Post Office is quite «\mp«- j thctio towards reasonable reduction*.' cable-rato reformers evolve a praclieahl* ■; scheme, and _no one will be more r?adj to i give it consideration than.-.the Postmaster- i General throughout the world." !