"NIGHT TELEGRAMS"

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 23, 22 October 1920, Page 10

"NIGHT TELEGRAMS"

$ LOWER CHARGES FOR DELAYED MESSAGES ANNOUNCEMENT BY POSTMASTERGENERAL. A deputation from the Wellington Chamber of Commerce waited on the Paitmoster-General yestyrday morning to ask for a modification of the increased charges for telegrams. The members of the deputation w>:re Mr. ,T. T. Martin, Mr. Stuart Wilson, Mr. C. H. Young, and Mr. 11. D. Vickery (secretary to the chamber). In his reply, the Minister mnde Hie announcement tat the Bo-jK-rtmcut was about to institute a system of "nigjit telegrams," for which tho charge would be less than the ordinary day rat ( ). Mr. Martin said that the chamber recognised the need for nn increase in the rates. Merchants hud 6et out, however, to l/oduco the number and the length of tho telegrams they sent, and many had cut their use of the wires down -by 20 per cent. In the case of -his own firm, a reduction of 30 por c-;nt. had been effected, though he would admit that the firm Wis laying moro in telegraph charges than it l-tad paid previously. Presumably, as fewer tekgrams -were being sent now, the present staff of tho Department was not fully occupied. What the chamber suggested was the introduction of a delayed telegram system, with a rate of Ul per word. Telegrams handed in under this system might b,; stmt at tho convenience, of the Department, and in the caso of those persons or firms wh» had boxes, might lv> delivered at the boxes. Delayed wires to private i-er-El ns who had no boxes might bo delivered at the time of ordinary lertbdr delivery. The chamber believed that the r,limber .of telegrams sent would bc< increased by the adoption of its proposal. The Postmaster-General (Hon. ,T. G. Coates) said that the decreaso in tho telegraphic work of tho Department the rise,in the charges had taken placo had been only 13 per cent. H.j thought he -would 'he right in saying that it would not go beyond that figure. Mr. A. Markman (Secretary to the Department) sa-id that the reduction at first had been 20 per cent., but that tho volume of business had increased since. Mr. Con tea said that the. Department had to be made to pay. He would be "lad, however, to make a reduction in charges at. the end of twelve months, if a reduction was found to ho possible. Ho proposed to approve of a system under which night telegrams would bo sent at a minimum of Is. fid. l'or Is. (id. 3G words might be sent, and .or every word over that number one halfpenny would Ik charged. Telegrams sent under this system would to? delivered on the day following that on which they were handed in. Tlki members of tho deputation asked wlicthcr in «>o event of a. slackness in the ordinary telegraphic traffic, and the transmission ( say, at three in the afternoon, of a _ telegram Una "night" telegram might not be delivered on tin simc dnv instead of on the following morning. The Minister and the Kecrr.tnrv of the Department pointed out that that would tend to induce the 'business community to use the cheaper system in preference to the other because of the chance that the wire would s?aclv its destination quite as SC Mr. Markmnn- observed that what the Department was giving was a real concession, became the instruments were mum; at their full cnpacHy undpr the piesent scale of charges. Lntil recentp thorp had been a good deal of delay m (lie handling of but the Department could claim now that it was giving a ctood service. In reply to the inqvirif-'' of a reporter, the Minister stated after tlv deputation had left that the new night telegram system would come, into operation on the first of lyxt month, or within a day tr two of that date. Tt was not to lie inftrod tliat because that amount of telegranhlinp, done hnd fallen off to the extent of 13 prr e.ftnt. the revenue of the Department had suffered a diminution sinco the increased charges lmd come into force. While the amount of work dono? had fallen off by 13 per cent., the charges were 33 per cent, higher than they had formerly been.