THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 1923. THE TELEPHONE SERVICE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18765, 19 January 1923, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES FRIDAY, JANUARY 19, 1923. THE TELEPHONE SERVICE.

In tho course of tho exceedingly verbose and laboured statement which the Postmaster-General submitted to the public through our columns yesterday a strong plea was put forward for the establishment of a self-supporting telephone system. To accomplish this end it is proposed that the rates shall again be increased to subscribers. It may be doubted whether it is in this way that the expressed desire of the Minister and his principal departmental officers “to provide an efficient and popular telephone service to meet equitably all conditions” will bo realised. The first point in the Ministerial statement which will strike the critical reader is the disclosure of an apparently loose manner in which the commercial balance sheet is kept. “For the year ended March 31 last,” says the Minister, “the telephone branch showed a net loss of £73,528, and the telegraph a loss’ of £346,958. On investigation I now find that the telegraph branch has been debited with an unfair allocation of the workmen’s wages, etc., and for this reason the telephone branch will be debited with a further £IOO,OOO for the current year, and the telegraph branch correspondingly credited with a similar amount.” This revision—plainly an arbitrary revision—of the accounts has the effect of showing a loss of £175,943 on the telephone branch and £244,543 on telegraphs, but we are assured that “tho latter loss cannot be avoided.” Why it should be accepted as a matter of course that “in most countries Government telegraphs arc generally run at a loss” we are not in the least clear, especially if, as is suggested, the telephone system must bo made to pay its way. Both these services are public conveniences, and there are certain public services, especially in sparsely-populated centres, that cannot be expected to pay. In the case of telegraphic extensions the loss is borne by the whole community, but the argument is that in the case of the extension of telephonic conveniences the loss should be borne by telephone subscribers only. If this' is a fair deduction from the statement issued by the Postmaster-General—and we believe it is—the department’s policy is fundamentally unsound, and should bo further considered before it is finally adopted. The objection to such a policy is not met by the suggestion that the increased charges are “designed with a view to. being a reasonable charge against the user, instead of the general taxpayer bearing a portion of that loss, and at the same time to encourage the use of telephones,” while the statement that “if the postal side of the department is to continue to make up the loss of telephone extension, so much longer will we be in getting back to tho penny postage,” is a piece of special pleading which begs the vital question. By no process of logic can it be suggested in fairness that the city and suburban user Of the telephone should be called upon to pay an extra rate for the service provided for them in order that telephonic extensions should be made to sparsely-populated districts. . Such extensions should be made, but it is proper to regard them as coming within the scope of national rather than of sectional effort, and it would be as reasonable to suggest that all Government services for railways, postal, or telegraphs should be charged for on a basis which would pray for the least profitable undertakings. This policy would not popularise any sendee, and it will probably fail to have the effect of popularising tho telephone system. The proposed further increases on the charges for short-distance sendees will certainly create profound dissatisfaction. It i.s proposed that on all business telephones within a mile radius the increase shall be £8 10s per annum, and that on private telephones it shall be £3 per annum. On long-distance services the proposed rates will more nearly approximate to tho existing tariff, wdth an advantage to the subscribers, but as the larger number of subscribers use a short-distance service, the department counts on netting a considerable increase from tho new tariff. Apparently it does not contemplate the possibility that an increase in rates will lead to a diminution in the number of subscribers, but we think that is a possibility that is not to be ignored. A redeeming feature in tho departmental statement consists in the fact that the proposals are tentative, and are put forward as forming a basis for consideration. It may be assumed, therefore, that those interested will make representations to the Minister, with the possible ultimate effect of bringing about a modification ot the proposals. The department speaks in terms of economy, and it is somewhat surprising, therefore, to find that it proposes that monthly accounts are to be rendered, for this can only be dene at tho cost of a large increase in the administrative expenses. In view ol tho general tendency to reduce charges we must express regret that the department contemplates increases, which, in comparison with tho past charges for similar services, can only fairly be described -as very large in most cases.