34 NORTH SHORE BREEZE and Reminder 
THE 
National Capital 
Events of Interest from the Seat of 
Government 
By J. E. Jones 
The Breeze Bureau. 
Washington, June 9, 1914. 
The Postal Theory Applied To 
Telephone Rates. 
The success of the parcel post ap- 
pears to have inspired the Post Of- 
fice Department with the notion 
that there are more worlds to con- 
quer, and Mr. Burleson is said to 
be impatient with anxiety over the 
fact that the program of the pre- 
sent session of Congress has at no 
time included moving the ‘‘central 
offices’? from which 10,000,000 tele- 
phones are operated into the sane- 
tums of his postmasters throughout 
the country, Congress realizes that 
with so many wires in the air 
the undertaking of government 
ownership of telephones may be a 
difficult problem to pull across. The 
Postmaster General refers to the 
telegraph business as being of a 
‘‘monopolistic nature,’’ and says it 
is ‘‘of vital importance to the peo- 
ple that it be conducted by unselfish 
interests.”’ Therefore he would 
acquire all telegraph and telephone 
lines. As might have been expected 
one of the first demands upon Wash- 
ington in anticipation of govern- 
ment ownership has called for an 
equalizing of rates for telephone 
service, and it is pointed out that 
this policy which has been applied 
to the whole postal system, includ- 
ing the recent acquisition of the 
pareel post, should relieve New 
York of its average rate of $90 a 
year for business ’phones and sim1- 
larly high residence rate, and dis- 
tribute the burden of the eities 
throughout the country. Quite 
naturally telephone users in the big 
cities would welcome a system by 
which they could ‘‘average up’’ 
with the greater portions of the 
country, where $2 a month for resi- 
dence service, and $3 a month for 
business phones, is the usual rate. 
The average rate for all phones in 
New York is $50 a year, while the 
rate for the entire Bell system is 
$30.93. Of course New York thinks 
it is abused—and so do the people 
of San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, 
and all other cities. 
England has been ‘‘averaging 
up’’ since taking over the tele- 
phones, with the result that outside 
of London residence rentals aver- 
age $38.88, while business phones 
limited to 1300 calls cost $43.74. 
London, Liverpool and other metro- 
politan centers have lower rates in 
consequence. Independent of the 
larger issues involved in govern- 
ment ownership there is a good deal 
of talk among Members of Congress 
to the effect that there has already 
been too much of this sort of busi- 
ness that ‘‘equalizes’’ in favor of 
the cities at the expense of the rest 
of the country. And while follow- 
ing the story of rates at home and 
abroad the student of the question 
finds that while there are not near- 
ly as many telephones in proportion 
to population in Europe as in the 
United States, that there is a good 
deal more profanity over there be- 
cause of the inefficient service. 
Roosevelt, Penrose, Cannon, Et Al. 
During the past seven months 
Senator Boise Penrose has been havy- 
ing a delightful time in the state 
of Pennsylvania, and the news of his 
progress has been joyfully received 
by standpat Republicans and has 
brought woe and consternation to 
the Progressives. Penrose has de- 
veloped into a good deal of a Pro- 
gressive Republican himself during 
the past two or three years, and be- 
ing a very adaptable politician, he 
early declared in favor of the direct 
election of the United States Sena- 
tors. But now Colonel Roosevelt is 
back from the wilds of South Amer- 
ica, and he is regarded as a great 
big buzzing fly in the Penrose oint- 
ment. The Colonel has always been 
very loyal to his friend Pinchot, and 
he promises a fight to a finish in the 
Keystone State in behalf of the for- 
mer forester. Perhaps in due time 
the case of Senator Gallinger, who 
is a candidate for re-election in New 
TTampshire, and Uncle Joe Cannon, 
who aspires to his old seat in Con- 
eress as a Representative from the 
Danville, [linois, district, will come 
up for the especial attention of the 
chief of the Bull Moose party. In 
any event, there has been no intima- 
tion that Penrose, Gallinger, or 
Cannon have been showing any dis- 
position to join the welcome home 
to the gentleman from Oyster Bay. 
Washington’s Relation to Things 
The National Capital has been en- 
joying the delights of early summer, 
and the breezes have whisked 
through the ‘‘ Executive tent’’ in the 
rear of the White House, where the 
President of 100,000,000 people 
transacts the affairs of government, 
just as though there was nothing 
unusual about this habit, which for 
the most part has been heretofore 
indulged in by only the military 
branch of our government. Wash- 
ington politicians are beginning to 
think a good deal about the elections 
that are coming along in a few 
months, and the proud gentlemen 
who whisk about in their automo- 
biles and live in swell hotels where 
the high cost of living figures out 
about as much for a single dinner as 
a week’s board in a local hotel in 
the interior of the country, are con- 
templating laying aside the silk hats 
and dress suits, preparatory to go- 
ing into store clothes and fedora 
hats, which are more in favor among 
the ‘‘dear people’’ as election day 
approaches. There is something 
very pleasant about this job of be- 
ing a Congressman, and while it 
may not return as much revenue as 
the more wealthy men get out of 
private life, yet being a Congressman 
is about as near heaven as a great 
many politicians ever expect to get, 
and therefore re-election is very 
much desired by the gentlemen now 
in the saddle. 
The Anti-Trust Bills 
The House of Representatives has 
of late years been able to keep the 
Senate hopper well filled, and now 
it is passing on to an unwilling Sen- 
ate an Interstate Trade Commission 
bill along with the other two trust 
bills that have the approval of the 
Administration. The main Clayton 
trust bill prohibits interlocking di- 
rectorates, regulates holding com- 
panies, and restricts immense mono- 
polistic commercial practices. The 
Interstate Trade Commission bill is 
in effect an enlargement of the al- 
ready established Bureau of Corpor- 
ations, which is a part of the Depart- 
ment of Commerce. With the en- 
largement of this bureau it will be- 
come one of the greatest investiga- 
ting branches of government that we 
have, and matters of tariff, inelud- 
ing cause and effect, as well as busi- 
ness practices throughout the en- 
tire country, are to be comprehen- 
sively investigated. 
Not a Competitive Proposition. 
Following the enactment of the 
new tariff bill considerable atten- 
tion is attracted to the importations 
of beef and corn from Argentina. 
Statists have figured out that the to- 
tal imports of beef have been only 
three and one-half per cent of 
that of the supply in our own 
country. The corn shipments were 
even less when figured in connection 
with the whole supply. Therefore 
it has been made clear that the 
United States farmers are still hold 
ing their own, and that Argentina 
‘Is not a real competitor, 
