BELOW COST

Evening Post, Volume CXIV, Issue 119, 16 November 1932, Page 7

BELOW COST

P. AND T. LOSSES

PAYMENTS BY OTHER' DEPARTMENTS

} The contention that the Post and Telegraph Department should receive full credit for the work it does for other Departments of State is made by the Controller and Auditor-General (Colonel IG. ■" P. 0. • Campbell) in Ms annual re- \

port to Parliamentj which was presented to the House of yesterday. V. v .

"This Department has for some years past been regarded as a trading Department, and from Ist April, 1928, has beeii separated from the Public Account,'-! states Colonel Campbell. "It is therefore desirable that it should receive credit for the full cost of any work performed by it. Such, however, is not the. case, as the Department is require : ed to undertake work for other nontrading . Government Departments at rates which do not cover the costs, and in the case of telegraphic work do not yield even ordinary rates, although such ordinary rates do not cover the cost of the maintenance of-the services, of this'particular branch of the Department. " "A statement, covering four items," showing the amount received by, the De-' partment as compared with the estimated amount receivable had ordinary rates been charged for the year ended 31st March, 1932, is as follows :-r- • • "■ "■;- - • ■ •■' Estimateda>- ' receivable at ■Amount ordinary ■ received. rates. £ s. d. £ s. 4. Ministerial telegraphic ■ memoranda 2000 0 0 9574 6 1 Franked Government telegrams ~...;.. 600 0 0 974 121? Telegrams or members of General Assembly 1816 5 8 2525 0 t Franked . telephone (tolls) communications 150 0 0 2879 0"• 1 £4566 5 8 16,252 19 J "It may be noted that the loss on the working of the telegraph branch for that year was over £88,0007 ' "Since early in 1927 there has been in operation by arrangement with the Imperial'authorities an official wireless news service. The Post and Telegraph Department made a charge against the Prime Minister's Department of 2d per' word, but this was not agreed to, and,as the counter-offer was not satisfactory to the Post and Telegraph Department, no payment was received by the Department for services provided to the 31st March, 1931, but £100 was accepted during the year ended 31st March, 1932. At the rate proposed by the Post and Telegraph Department the total amount receivable to the 31st March, 1932, would have been £ 12,283 ,5s 7d divisible between the wireless and telegraph branches in the proportion of 3 to 1. The offer of the Prime Minister's Department was £250 per annum, and payment at this rate is being made by the Press Association from Ist AprD, 1932. ■ On one year's traffic alone—that for the year ended 31st March, 1929—. in which a record was keptj the charge for the Kugby. Press at the average cost of working per woTd, "excluding depreciation and interest on capital, would have been £1426 18s 6d, and if even, this had been collected" there would still have been a loss on the working."