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GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF WIRES Since Wednesday midnight the United States gov ¬ ernment has been managing the telephone and tele ¬ graph lines of the country with PostmasterGeneral Burleson as its active agent In charge President The ¬ odore N Vail of the American Telephone and Tele ¬ graph Company who has conferred with Mr Burle ¬ son at length concerning this new application of Fed ¬ eral authority is satisfied that Mr Burloson intends to maintain the wire service at the highest pos ¬ sible efficiency conserve and protect the property that it may be returned to the owners in as good condition as received and to pay a compensation for its use that will be just and fair fairMr Mr Vail knows more about the wire communication system of the country than anybody else he would not use the words highest possible efficiency loosely and his optimism should comfort all those Who have dreaded the intrusion of politics in an industry that has been notably efficient in the past pastMr Mr Burleson receives from the officers of the telephone company one of the most if not the most skillfully organized industries in the world No ¬ where outside of the United States has the tele ¬ phone industry been developed as it has been here In no other country is the use of the telephone as common in no other country is the service as good as it is lien Every American returning from abroad to his home has rejoiced on being able to make use of the superior facilities provided by the telephone companies here after his pathnee has been worn thin by foreign systems The telephone service in the United States lias been a triumph of Initiative intelligent direction and public spirit spiritThe The telegraph companies in a different field have also provided a good service If their success in winning public approval lias not been as conspicuous as that of the telephone corporations they have certainly shone by comparison with the post office Should Mr Burleson be able to keep all the services up to the standard they have sot for themselves lie will not be assailed assailedMr Mr Iturlesoii will not be able to do tills if the methods of accounting in force in the Post Office Department are introduced into the offices of the telephone and telegraph companies The post office gets its appropriation from Congress and spends it It shovels its revenues into the treasury and takes a receipt for the money Tills practice will do where a careless country pays no attention to the cost of public utilities whore capital investment can be ignored where real estate Is free of taxes but it will not do whore the riijhts of investors are involved where franchises must be taken Into ac ¬ count or where the payment of bills is a necessary prerequisite to the continuance of business businessIt It may bo that the necessity of keeping tole plumo and telegraph accounts in a husinouKUke wny will open the eyes of the Post Office Department to the uudesirabillty of its present bookkeeping meth ¬ ods and bring about a much needed reform Should this bn the case government control of the wires will confer a lasting benefit on the United States New York Sun
