CABLE RATES.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2570, 3 August 1909, Page 5

CABLE RATES.

GOVERNMENT CABLEGRAMS. MR HENNIKER HEATON’S STATEMENT. United Press Association— Copyright. LONDON, August 1. Mr Hennikor Heaton, in a letter to Mr Asquith, offers to submit to the Defence Conference statistics showing that the sum expended annually in Homo and colonial Government’s cablegrams for official purposes would he enough to pay interest on any capital expenditure necessary to jiring electric messages within reach of tho poo rest within the Empire. Mr Heaton appeals to the delegates to the Conference to consider this great question.

' In the course of a recent article, Mr. Heuniker Heaton pointed out:— “In 1899 the capital of the Eastern Telegraph Company was £7,317 000. They had been distributing for each or the nine years preceding 1897 a dividend of 6-i per cent; for IS9B it was < per cent; while they had in reserve a 'sum of a million and a quarter. Tho company had a special iund by which they could duplicate the whole of their lines if they chose. Last year the ordinary stock was at a premium of 8b per cent. . “The obvious remedy is for the Government to buy out tho companies and throw open electrical communications to the people at a. penny per .word. This rate is quite large enough to yield a large profit in view of the enormous traffic to be expected. “Let the authorities lease two of the existing wires and try the experiment of a penny Sunday service. The cables to America will carry 300 million words and only 25 million words (l-12th) are sent at one shilling a word. If the cables were State property the full, carrying capacity could be used, and it would be possible to establish a tai iff of one penny a word. “With land linos 2000 miles apart," he continued, "a penny a_ word at 90 words per minute gives £7OOO per jinnum; 10 hours a day would give £70,000. At present the charge throughout France even to Algeria is less than -fd., in Queensland one can telegraph 3000 miles for Id. The total paid by Imperial and colonial Governments alone to cable companies was £1,075,933 in three years. Tho annual average capitalised at 3 per cent would be £11,000,000, and go far 1 towards purchasing the cables. “The first step is to call a conference for the establishment of Id per word throughout Europe. Next, to connect with our Indian, Malayan, and Chinese svstems. Thirdly, to construct the land lines down the Malay Peninsula to Singapore, to connect Singapore with the Sumatran ;yul Javan syterns by a few miles of cables; and then to lay a cable from Java to Port Darwin in Australia. Utilising the land lines which stretch to Australia with a few short gaps, and bridging those gaps with new cables, we might at once dispense with existing cables. Lastly, it would be necessary for His Majesty’s Government to purchase one or more of the cables stretching between the United Kingdom and Canada: “If the Government will not help us we must act without or against them. Half a dozen members taken at random from the London Chamber of Commerce will readily take up the task. If the Governments hang back we can only trust to Marconi.”