EMPIRE CABLES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 656, 5 November 1909, Page 7

EMPIRE CABLES.

IS PENNY-A-WORD RATE PRACTICABLE? •' DEFERRED MESSAGES. WORLD-GIRDLING WIRELESS-SOME OFFICIAL DOUBT. UJy ToloEr.iph-Presi Aaioelatft Melbourne, November 4. Ecy.j-iiij; to a (■,'!*•'ion in tho House of Rep- t resentulivi-j, the Pi-jlmaslcr-Genoral (Sir John ( Quick) biated thnt the peimy-a-word cablegram a sUM*'t*d by Mr. Tlennikcr Ileaton does not \ iptMMr te be practicable. The most immediate i prospect; ef reduction was te a minimum eft eighrpue* a word for deferred cable messages, and a billing a word for ench raessnses in \ pliin luigMge. { The scheme of bringing Australia and Britain t into eommnnieation by means of wireless stages, ( added the Minister,/was considered to be an i engineering possibility, but whether it would t be, an efficient 'substitute for a cable service was open to grave- doubt. c PRESS ASSOCIATION. | ITS DELATIONS WITH REUTER'S. { (Roc. November 4, 10.45 p.m.) Melbourne, November 4. ; 'Tho Federal Senate's Select Committee on i the press cable service—appointed to consider t charges of monopoly brought against the I Press Association by Senator Pearce—examined i , Mr. Collins, manager of Router's Telegraph t Company, who deposed that his Company had i 'had a reciprocal, arrangement with the Press t 1 Ascoei&tien eintfc 1891, under which nil Reuter's foreign telegrams were placed at the dis- ' 1 posal of the Preis Association in London, I Renter's'in return receiving-a copy of the J Prcsi Association's press messages sent to AueI tfalia. Renter's company eonjd soil cablegrams here to any paper or association out- ' j aide the metropolitan areas, and thero was ' no limit to the subscription chargeable The incomo for sncli' sales wa3 divided equally 3 with the Press Association. Though thero was I no legal restriction against Eeuter's Company ■selling to metropolitan papere, thoro was a business restriction; and tho supplying of ' cablegrams to projected papers would be refused by RouWs on business grounds. Asked if tho restriction against supplying metropolitan papers was not a limitation on < competition, Mr. Collins said that tho Press Association ' and hi«s Company occupied two ' spheres. Renter's Company supplied the eoun-, try papers, the Press Association supplied tho metropolitan. Dealing with the proposed ( choapnn cablegrams, Mr. Collins said that if : tho charge wa.? reduced to sixpence a word, i there Tjas a danger that a lot of smaller items < would' bo sent ■through. People did not want 1 much more in the way of cablegrams than j wertr now sent. - A few people might, but the ! general run of people did riot.- Ho thought, though, thai sixpence 'would bo a reasonable ' chargo. , . i i The Senate.has decided'that tho Committee shall bring up. its report by November 24.