Government Control and Operation of Industry in Great Britain and the United States During the World War (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1921 Excerpt: ...business has remained in the hands of private companies. The telegraph business has long been in the hands of two great companies, the Western Union and the Postal Telegraph, between which there is a certain amount of competition. The telephone business has been largely concentrated in the hands of the American Telephone & Telegraph Co., the direct successor to the corporation which originally developed the invention of Alexander Graham Bell, although competing companies, particularly in the rural districts, control in the aggregate a large amount of business. A few years ago the Bell company acquired control of the Western Union, and effected marked improvements in its service. The arrangement was condemned by the federal authorities, as being an unlawful restraint of competition, and the Western Union was thereupon placed under an independent management. When the European War began, the United States Government promptly took steps to censor all cable and wireless communications overseas to guard against infringement of the country's international obligations. When the United States itself entered the conflict, this control was extended and made more rigid. No reason appeared, however, for exercising control over the lines of communication on land. The telephone business especially has been conducted with a regard for public obligations and on a sound and conservative financial basis that is in marked contrast with the record of most other public utilities. Especially noteworthy is the policy which the company has long pursued of expending very large amounts in the promotion of original research to perfect further improvements in its methods and apparatus. The service rendered by the company is, by general agreement, far superior to that rendered in th...