| Between New York and | Charleston, S. C. | 276 |
| Between New York and | Chicago, Ill. | 904 |
| Between New York and | Cincinnati, O. | 326 |
| Between New York and | St. Louis, Mo. | 433 |
| Between New York and | Milwaukee, Wis. | 176 |
| Between New York and | Memphis, Tenn. | 316 |
| Between New York and | Montgomery, Ala. | 176 |
| Between New York and | Mobile, Ala. | 402 |
| Between New York and | New Orleans, La. | 1,195 |
| Between New York and | All other places | 2,069 |
| Total, | 6,273 |
Our night-message experiment has proved that the telegraph will not be used at night, at any tariff, except to a moderate extent and between distant points.
The absurdity of placing the telegraph and postal systems in the same category has been fully shown on pages [43] and [44]. Mr. Hubbard appears to have read Mr. Scudamore’s charges against the English system, and applied them literally to the telegraphs of this country. Unfortunately, however, charges which may be true as applied to the companies operating the telegraphs in the United Kingdom have no pertinency when reproduced as the shortcomings of the American system.
PROPOSED INCORPORATION OF THE UNITED STATES POSTAL TELEGRAPH COMPANY.
Mr. Hubbard says:—
“It is not considered expedient either for the government to purchase the existing lines, or to construct and operate lines. How, then, can the desired results be best attained? The Post-Office Department has no facilities of its own for the transmission of correspondence either by rail or telegraph. It contracts with the railroad companies for carrying the mail, and it is proposed that it shall contract with a telegraph company for transmitting messages.
“A bill was introduced at the last session of Congress, and referred to the committee on Post Roads and Routes, to incorporate the ‘United States Postal Telegraph Company, and to establish a postal system.’
“The first, second, third, fourth, and fifth sections of the bill incorporate the company, with power to construct lines on all the post roads and routes of the country.
“The sixth section authorizes the Postmaster-General to receive bids from any telegraph company for the transmission by telegraph of messages received and delivered through the post-office, to all cities and villages of 5,000 inhabitants and over, and to towns on the line of the telegraph, where stations may be established by order of the Postmaster-General.
“The seventh section authorizes the Postmaster-General to contract for the transmission by telegraph of messages with the company that will engage to transmit them for the least sum, provided such sum does not exceed twenty-five cents, including five cents postage for each message of twenty words, including date, address, and signature, for each and every 500 miles or fractional part thereof the message may be transmitted, with five cents for each added five words. All messages to be prepaid by stamps, or written on stamped paper.