though a noisy minority, that would recommend a large sacrifice of revenue for the sake of the telegraphing portion of the community. A and B will no doubt be glad, when telegraphing to their wives that they will not be home to dinner, to save sixpence in the process; but they will probably think the privilege dearly purchased if the consequence is that they have to pay a halfpenny in the pound more income-tax. It is only those whose business makes frequent telegraphing a necessity who will reap the full benefit, and who will not mind the sacrifice of general revenue when their own pockets are the gainers.
If, then, reduction there was to be, it ought to be within paying limits. We think that selfishness is at the root of much of the cry that the Post-office should not make a revenue, but use all its resources for increased facilities. Within due bounds, it is certainly desirable that the Post-office should so use its resources; but it is clearly undesirable that the whole of the community should be taxed in order that one part of the community may be able to obtain certain business advantages, which is practically what the sacrifice of the telegraph revenue would mean.
As we have indicated, the Germans have succeeded, apart from their system of "urgent telegrams," of which we could not recommend the adoption, in arriving at a tariff which, while it allows the shortest messages to be sent, yet secures a high enough average price to pay. Their plan is to charge a grund-tax, or fee of 2½d. per telegram, with a word-rate of a halfpenny. There is no fixed minimum; and the shortest message which it is possible to send – viz., one of three words, two of address and one of text – costs only fourpence. On the other hand, a message of twelve words, which Mr Shaw Lefevre proposes to give us for 6d. only, would cost in Germany 8½d.
The principle of a fixed charge of 2d. or 3d. as a basis, with a charge for each word sent, is clearly a right one. The sending of every telegram involves the signalling of certain extra words, which are not paid for in any country – such as the name of the place where the telegram starts from, and the hour at which it was accepted. Moreover, the work of taking in the telegram and sending it out for delivery has equally to be performed with all telegrams; and the "fundamental charge," as the Germans term it, may be taken as representing the services performed for all messages alike. Another advantage which the plan has is, that it extends to the full the principle which lies at the root of "sixpenny telegrams" – viz., that the shorter the message the lower the price ought to be. There is no more magic in a minimum of twelve than in a minimum of twenty words; and we confess we should like to see this relic of an ancient superstition cast aside. Both the Germans and the Swiss (who have adopted the same principle as the Germans, though their grund-tax, or fundamental charge, and their word-rate are both different) have shown that it is a superstition to suppose that a minimum number of words is essential. All that is necessary is that your rate, whatever it is, should not be so low as to make the carrying of telegrams a losing instead of a paying business, nor so high as to check the development of telegraphy.
In considering the question of a telegraph tariff, there are two chief elements to be taken into account:
