The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1858-05-23

netic Telegraph Company and the New England
| Union Telegraph Company, and the supplement
thereto which memorial bears date March TO- 1858,
and is signed by Amos Kendall and others, commit.
tee. &C., respectfully represents:-
That said memorial prays for the passage "of
general law which shall prevent combinations be-
tween citizens or companies in the United States and
monopoliss or companies out Of the United States
for the purpose OF depressing telegraph companies
and monopoizing the business of teegraphing in
the United States and shall enable all telegraph
all telegraph lines approaching their borders, on
| terms Of perfect equality"
Your remonstrants find it difficult to believe that
Congress could In any event. be induced seriously to
would without cause, at the ordinary business
rangements of companies acting under, and amena-
BILE to, the laws OF the States or governments BY
which they are created, and, as your remonstrants
believe, interfering unnecessarily to embarass COM
municaton with other countries, to discourage en-
terprise, and to give to the fruits Of the labor
| and expenditure of another.
Your remonstrants beg leave to submit the follow
| ing reasons against the passage of such law
II Is asked for by two only of the ten or twelve
leading telegraph companies of the United States.
The grievance complained Of is that the pecuniary
interests Of these two companies are not to be beae
fitted to the extent they had antcpit in the event
Of the successful completion of the Atlantic tele-
! gralh-whie it is fact that the memorialists,
Tough repeatedly invited. have refused to c0ntri-
bute any part of the capital required for such At
iantc telegraph, but on the contrary, have opposed
the enterprise before Congress and through the pub
lie presses under their control, as well coyertly as
| openly.
The injustice of such law will be apparent when
il is considered that parties who by the expenditure
of millions in an undertaking of the greatest hazard,
should establish communication from the political or
commercial capital Of the United States to Europe,
| would find themselves compelled, in the event Of
success to turn at the frontier equal share
of the business to those who had incurred no risk,
who might be wholly irresponsible, and who could
perform the service only in most inferior manner,
without FORGETTING their claim to equal consideration
| with the best.
It is worthy of consideration also whether tee-
graph company receiving important dispatches in a
foreign country for transmission to Washington or
TO New York. and transferring them at the frontier
to another in whose hands they should be delayed,
altered or lost would not be held responsible for the
damage resulting from such delay. loss, and
be themselves without remedy:
And If it be proper that telegraph lines crossing
the boundary Of the United States should be com
PEELED to transfer at that point to other parties
portion or all Of the dispatches which are destined
| for places in the United States it would appear to
be within the province Of each State through which
| telegraph lines may run to make like provision
| relative to all lines approaching their borders.
II such law be proper in relation to telegraph
lines it would be equally so if applied to railroad
steamboat express and transportation companies.
The law sought by the memoralists is designed
solely for their benefit all of the other leading tele
| graph companies of this continent being entirely
| satisfied with their arrangements for connection
with the Atlantic line.
It would, therefore, though processing to be gene
raj in its character, have the most obnoxious fea
| lures Of special legislation
| Although the memorialists profess to be prompted
| only by o desire to share in the business coming
over the Atlantic line, they ask for law which
| would equally embarrass communication with Ca
NADIA the other British Provinces, or with Cuba or
| Mexico.
The law sought for would interfere with contracts
that have been in force for many years between tee
graph companies, the propriety OF which has never
been called in question, and for of which valua-
| BILE considerations have been given.
Your remonstrants do not comprehend why such
law should be made applicable to telegraph lines
approaching the borders of the United States, any
more than to those which are wholly within the United
States; and yet the memorialists admit in said me-
mortal that they have combined together for m1-
tual defence for thirty years and made contracts Of
the same duration with other parties"
left to private enterprise, and to the regulation Of
the several States 1t now be transferred const
tutionaly to the Jurisdiction of the general govern
| ment? provision Of the constitution confers upon
Congress the authority to regulate commerce with
foreign nations and among the several States" Docs
| the word " commerce for which the memorialsts
| have strangely substituted the terms " trade and
| intercourse" apply to teegraphing?
But If, in the wisdom of Congress, IL should be
determined that they have the power, under this or
any other provision Of the constitution to lcgslate
| upon this subject, your remonstrants respectfully
submit that no sufficient cause for the exercise Of
| this power has been shown; and that the effect OF
| such application Of II as the memorialsts seek,
| would not only be Of no benefit to the community
al large, but an absolute injury 10 their interests.
Having presented some Of the considerations op.
posed to the passage OF such law as Is sought In
the prayer Of the memoralists, your remonstrants
| beg leave to reply to the more prominent charges
and representations OF said memorial emitting, how
ever to notice much that is irrelevant but TO all OF
which they declare their ability TO present COM
plete answer.
The principal charge Of the memoralists Il that
yonr remonstrants have entered into combination
with the New York, Newfoundland and London
Telegraph Company and the Atlantic Telegraph
Company. and have made arrangements, the object
OF which is TO use the power anticipated from the
control the Trans Atlantic correspondence, for
the injury and Il practicable the destruction OF the
| lines OF the memoriaists.
Your remonstrants aver and are prepared to
prove, that the only ground whatever for the charge
Of combination, above mentioned, is the fact that
| having the only lines extending east from Boston
and 70 Nova Scotia your remonstrauts have entered
| into contract with the Newfoundland Telegraph
Company for an interchange q messages; and upon
condition Of receiving from said Newfoundland com
pany all Of the dispatches IL may have for trans.
mission westwardly, your remonstrants have agreed
TO forward dispatches between Nova Scotia aud
New York az rates sixty-fve per cent lower the diff
ference in distance being taken into account, than
| those charged upon the lines owned by the memo
rialsts between Washington and Boston.
| No other contract or understanding whatever
exists, or has ever existed, between your remon-
strants and either the Newfoundland or Atlantic
| companies.
The contract obove mentioned Il precisely similar
| 20 those which have been for many years almost
universal between the telegraph lines in the United
States, and IL much less combination" than that
admitted In said memorial 30 exist between the me
moriaIists themselves, wherein they have com.
bined together for mutual protection for thirty years.
and have made contracts OF the same Duration for
connection with other Inca
Such exclusive connection has existed for more
than ten years past between the two companies
uniting In said memorial.
Previous 10 any arrangement being made between
the Newfoundland and American companies, an
agreement was entered into conditonay by The for
mer with one Of the memorialists, the New England
Union Telegraph Company. In which IL was agreed
that an exclusive connection should exist between
those companies for twenty years with the further
obnoxious provision
Extract from the contract, dated May Q, 1855