"LINKING UP"

Evening Star, Issue 14535, 10 December 1910, Page 2

"LINKING UP"

STRENGTHENING THE IMPERIAL TIE. CmfiTONICATION WITHIN THE EMPIRE. During his recent visit to Wellington Mr M. Cohen was interviewed by the 'livening Post' on tho subject of " deferred" cables, a State-owned cable across tho Atlantic (in extension of tho one aiready laid in the Pacific Ocean), and an improved Al! Bed service as factors in linking up the distant outposts of Empire. P.cporler: You will liave noticed that Sir Joseph W,ard intends to ask tho Imperial Conference to lay down an Atlantic cable, to give an improved and faster mai! service via Vancouver, and to advocate cheaper cable rates. As you have made at least two of these matters your special study, will yon kindly tell me what has' been done hi these directions as tha outcome of tho conference's action?

Mr Cohan: With the greatest pleasure. But before I proceed to answer your question I should like to plaw on record ray appreciation of the support which the party in tho Conference with whom J was identified received from your esteemed chief and my honored colleague in tho Conference itself. Though in very bad health at tho time, Mr Greeley Lukin attended at considerable personal inconvenience, not free from danger, tho sitting of tho Conference when the question of improved cable communication w;:s debated, and made a speech in support thereof tliat was marked by his characteristic vigor, and illumined by convincing arguments. So much by w:iy of prelaw. When we returned from oar "lorious tour of iScotland wo settled dowr. to what I have always rogaided as the. most inijvortant issue that came Wore ihe Conference—how best to cheapen the means oi' communication within tho Empire. THE LION IN THE PATH.

Despilo ail assertions to the contrary, there was within the Conference a strong part\ r who strove their utmost to defeat tho project to extend the principle of Isiateowned cables. 1 was a good deal behind the kccdcs myself, not only on tlii.s occasion, but on a previous visit to the Old Country, and 1 have no hesitation in Raying that the real licm in the path of cheap cable communication is Vested jnteiwf. which was not only powerfully represented in the Conference, but even siis in the highest places in the, Old Land. It w: a hard and at times a bitter tight, hut in the end victory lay with those who advocated an ex tension of the principle of State partnership, which to-day finds embodiment in the Pacific Cable Board. Tho brotherhood of nations found expression in the bold and united front shown in the Conference of the representatives of Canada—the ablest and the solidest delegation at the Conference) —of South Africa, of New Zealand, and by a section of tho Australians. The immediate oll'eet of tiie Conference's deliberations on the question of cheaper cables was that the IV-ilk Cable- Hoard reduced the Press charge from Is to 9d per word. 1 wish, to say here that sufficient credit Inks never been given to the Executive, of that Board for thear public-spirited action. The attempt has been made to show.Miat it was the outcome of a general desire on the. part of tho cable organisations that control the business with these Oveisea Dominions to meet tho needs of tbeso colonics. That is the veriest flapdoodle. Every past concession has been wrung from the cable companies at the point of the, bayonet, as it were. The- reduction to os per word was only made when the Pacitic cable—that bete noir of cable monopolist"—became an accomplished fact. Last year, when we were negotiating for better treatment with the Pacific Cable Hoard and with the Eastern .Extension Company, the latter (-ought to impose impossible conditions, which were incontinently rejected. The. ruler of the Pacitic Cable Board, on the other hand, was unhampered by conditions; and the Eastern Company have been content to follow their lead. At the Conference many of my Canadian and Australian colleagues endeavored to obtain for the general public proportionate concessions in respect to ordinary cables, but the majority took the view (a .Mistaken one in mv judgment) that their concern w;is wholly wiih securing a. reduction of the Press rides, and that they should confine their attention to and concentrate their energies on Mi at desideratum. In Conference, as elscwla-ic, the majority rule*; and those of us who had fought, for all-iouud concessions subordinated our own views in order to secure absolute unanimity when wo approached the Briti.-,h (iovc.iiinn.-nt- and besought their active co-operation. When the labors of tho Conference ended, I was at liberty to take whatever course commended itself to iny judgment, a.nd accordingly, during my return journey fh'-ough Canada. J availed msyclf of every opportunity of enlisting the snppoit of her public men for a scheme of deferral cables, winch I had subniiKed to the I'm-iiie Cable Board beioie I left London. That scheme aims at utilising the Pacific cubic during ".--lack hours," and will help materially to reduce the annual delicii <m the working of that cable. My demauds, in brief, were (1) for the adoption of a shilling a word rate, and (2) t-he delivery of all "deferred" messages within twenty-[on* hours from the time of receipt. In tho very nai.tue of things, such messages must, f<>:' tho present at all events. !.f restricted to plain words; •'codes" a.ri <

acceptable 1 spent nearly a mouth iu Aurf.rtdia in l>rinpn<i this reform cinder the notice of Australian ctalcsincn. and sucreeded in o.nlirdim; the 00-opoialivn of the (hen CVmunonwca.lth Pioinier (Mr Dc-ilon), of hi;; Minister?, and 01 many jirornni'c.t sui'ewnon, iaeludiiifc Sir IT. t Ij■ 1 <i. Mr JopiaJi Thomas ilhn piv>eni. Posf.ma,--i<>r-C'eneral of tho Commonwealth), and oi tin Hon. W. -M. Hnirhos ('now Acting Premier of the C'ommomvfallhL Moreover, tho l.an Uritii-li Chambers of Commerce (Vnsiliini; at Sydm-y in September ku-i, pronounced rmiphatieally in favor of cheap cables, and ius president (Sir Albert Rpierr, "M.PA not only toolc charur ef tho rcsoue tion endorsing cheap caf'he. but on his Totnm 10 Kiij/land i sorted his influence to oblain ilio .'■■ttj'jKjrJ, of the London Chamber of Cow merer-. an/1 wi'S < ■>'.i!y J-itceos-f'.'. 1 . i:i (luilli; ,«o. WHY IS THE SCHEME HA>'GTN'(I FIRM Seciiii,' that you were, fortunate to (-.(■■■ -are such a largo iiiwi.suro of suppoii, lyih. at Homo anil in the colonic*, why ;.; ilm f-chonio hangiitjr lire.?— That is a story thaiwould take- long to toll, but. ins moral is plain. Vested Juiciest iiL'tiin block.; the way. Tho Pacific Cable Pcard rc..=olvr;d to idvo tho fichonio a trinl, and it would imve boon in operation cro thi*. only such a project rcqniras lo ho couiirmed by tho International Teleyraphs Bureau. This is a jiiia.se of the cable question that ought to ho jKinderod by every colonic, 'j'ho people of Groat P.ritain, conjointly with tho peoples of Canada, Australia, and Xew Zealand, arc responsible for tho working and upkeep of tho Pacific cable, and I contend that it is thoir concern, and their concern alono. whether or not tho cable jiay.s its way. Thoy should bo iji a jiositioii— alvwlutoly frood from all outside or loi'o-ij.'ii control—to "rai" it on whatever lines they choose. It is a. puro question of donior-liu jiolity, which should lx' settled l.i)' ourselves, regardless of how it aifoous oiitfrido interests or interfere* with monoriulisKi' dividemks. The position is one- thsit should not- bo permitted to continue for a sinjrlo day, as it. a- wsriomo :aienaco to ttm iurlepcnde | ru''fi of action wliich should beloni: to tho hoed of qruisi ijidependent States, of wliich >"cw is one. I'liifi » a gra.vo const/ituticnai i'Eue, which k ripe for dweutssion at the Imperial ConfeTonw, ajid dematuls iiistantanoouri solution- Tho remedy waa 10rjcxtly euggOßtod by our Prime SL'nuUcr:I consider tluit f.ho Pacdfie (lihlo Jjoa.rd, having .-uirecd io tlioir own jatrw, should bo ablo to ca.iTy thorn onf. without any Teoogiiition whatever of any

international cable agreement. I think, myf>clf, tliat Iho Home (Jovcmmont fhonM certainly remove that embargo wi far as tho Stale-owned tahlo to tlitw) countries ir> concerned, li seenis to ine

nicst imsatisfactorj , --to put it mildiy—that whore v«, as owiusrs of the cable, have decided to make a reduction i*. Uou

rates, in response to representations made, we are barred because of objections to parties to a compact which has relation to the Atlantic cable services—to cervices across the British Char*iel and the Continent—and the interweaving overland telegraph systems in connection w.:th the cable comnanies in the Old Country. . . Speaking for tho Government of tli>K country, so far as I am concerned, I will do all in my power by way of protest and representation .to see that we have freedom of action in connection with this important matter of State-owned cables. That is letting the cat out of the bag with a vengeance. Vested Interest every time, and all the time. It is most powerful at the heart of Empire, and it dominates the situation in America, as witness the 6to]i it recently took to arrest the action of the Canadian Government in starting the laying down of a cable across the Atlantic. American money owns and controls the wholo of them, and the intervention of a State-owned cable is much feared by the magnates of Wall street. FOREIGN INFLUENCE.

But in what way docs " foreign" in-fluciii-e, whether American or other, interfere with tho operations of the Pacific cablo? —The Americans "boss" tho Atlantic cables, and have steadfastly cot their face against any " cutting" of rates on their side. Tho Commercial Union Companv. who are well disponed towards tho Pacific cable, and take nearly all its business, are sympathetic towards reduced rates, but are prevented from coming into line by their agreements with the Mackay and other American cable combines, I?c----niember that tho reduction, of 25 per cent, to the Press comes wholly from the owners of the Pacific cable. Not one cent's worth of Telicf has bam received, or will ever be forthcoming, from tho owners of the Atlantic cables, who, in many caoes, "farm" the world's news supplied to the Aniciican and Canadian Press, thus accountioc,' for its "color," which :'s to impalatable to Britishers. So as present conditions remain, we shall alxayt; be at the iiio.rty of the American cable. " bo?soe."

But how dors that hear injuriously on your idefeiTcd cable 'seheme*—Well, so long ;a> the American cable syndicates occuppy the "box seat" it v/ill be impossible' either to get a shilling a word rate, which is my irreducible minimum, or to secure delivery of messages within twentyfour hours from delivery, which I consider to be, vastly more important, as contributing to the t uc-ccss of the scheme, than even the proposed tariff. I have tho authority of the experts of the Pacific Cable Board, both in England and in Australia., for caving that the scheme is perfectly feasible, and that there is no valid reason why "defcrreds" despatched front England cannot be delivered in, say, Wellington the same day. But so long as transmission between England and Montreal is controlled by interests that are in deadly opposition to the project of cheaper cables, it is hopeless to expect either consideration by, or co-operation from them. That is why the Pacific Cable Board cannot, entertain a .'-hilling a word tariff, or ensure delivery within the day that a "deferred" is" accepted for transmission. The nimble shilling will do a great deal, but, prompt delivery will work wonders. The latter is unattainable until we have a State-owned cable across, the. Atlantic, and are the possessors of our own land lines across Canada.

(To be continued.)