TELEGRAPH SERVICES.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LV, Issue 14111, 18 January 1910, Page 3

TELEGRAPH SERVICES.

DISSATISFACTION IN THE COMMONWEALTH. s COST OF EFFICIENT SERVICES. By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright. MELBOURNE, Jan. 17. Owing to growing public dissatisfaction at the continual dislocation of the telegraph service throughout the Commonwealth, the Postmaster-General has called a conference of telegraphic heads to dev-iso means for overcoming them. He declares Ids determination to put the' service in proper order whatever the cost. ' When the , telegraph and telephone construction estimates were under dis-; mission in the House of Representatives last, August the Postmaster-General said that in order to assist him in preparation ho called a conference of the electrical . engineers of the various States, and instructed them to report on the new works required to place the telephone and telegraph service in. a state of' efficiency: They found;that the total amount required to bring the services up-to-date was £1.828,152, divided as follows:—Now South .Wales, £656,258; Victoria, £622,308; Queensland, £160,000; South Australia, £144,241; Western Australia, £IBB,511; Tasmania, £46,644, 1 They submitted schedules sTowing that the estimated expenditure on those works was passed on the assumption that it would ho spread over three, years. The conference, desired to state that those estimates wore'for. the requirements as they were known at present ; but new demands were being; made from day to day. ; Sir George Reid said they must all take their shave of the blame of’, responsibility for allowing tho Postal Department to become a byword throughout tho length and Jireadtli of Australia. The department had got its bad reputation because it had never had a chance to do its work properly. The officers wore not inefficient, hut had not been afforded an opportunity to show what they could do. The,proper appliances had never been given to men to do the work required of them., ,