Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1860-10-25
RDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1860.
The American Telegraph Company.

The beauties of monopoly about as well illustra-
ted in the management of the great telegraph line
tending from Newfoundland to New Orleans, in any
other affair with which we acquainted. We use the
word line" Understandings, for although originally
made up of several lines and under the control OF several
companies it is now all under the control OF central
monopoly of which the executive committee is resident
in the city of New York
Some two years since we commenced taking regular
dispatches for the Journal and before long the Messrs
Burr then propretors of the Herald into the move
ment, dividing the expense with u.s. The liberal mana
gers of the telegraph anxious to exact the full tee
graphic rates from both Offices but could not well con-
tr7e how to prevent despatch bought and paid for by
one comnr into the possession of the other if the pur
chaser chose to communicate it, so that piece of stupid
iiberality was abandoned During the excitements
of last year. while everybody was anxious to hear from
Italy, we telegraphed literally, so indeed than we
could well afford, and up to the present time we have
kept up with cities and towns of much larger size and
with papers of larger pretensonS and circulation. Dur
ing all this me while telegraphng regularly and large
l we have paid word for word precisely at the rates
the most transient customer receiving neither courtesy
preference nor deduction. We say nothing of any cour
e8y due to the press We speak Of the policy that thus
offers no encouragement to liberal of the telegraph
but charges the regular customer whose bills are in the
neghborhood Of forty dollars week, the bills OF the
press were during the italian war; at precisy the same
rates as him who sends but one despatch year.
But the last turn of the that all our mer-
chants who have been in the habit of using the cle-
graph will fully understand and appreciate. The edct
has gone forth that all cypher dispatches must be charg
ed double when sent to any Office intermediate between
New York and New Orleans between New Y ork and
New Orleans such dispatches still be sent at the
regular rates.
To understand this matter, it is only necessary to re-
mind the reader of market reports that there certain
conventional phrases as thus, in the cotton Market
Cotton dull, with declining tendency -" Cotton,
price unchanged but dull great many other things
Suppose A, telegraphng to B, chooses, instead of
peating all this to substitute any given word or words
which will understand,-whose business is it? What
has the telegraph to do with it, or why should they
refuse to transmit this word or that than another
We take it that they common carriers of words and
as long as the words contain nothing wrong they have
no right to discriminate.
We are anxious to accommodate our patrons, and to
keep up with the requirements of the times IN the way
Of tegraphng, but have felt it due to ourselves and
others to stop for the present. until satisfactory
arrangements can be made We do not feel like SUBJ
hitting tamely to this new imposition.
AS already intimated and indeed as will be readily
believed the cost of tegraphng no unimportant item
in the expenses of any newspaper establishment, and
bears heavily upon the press in towns or cities Of COM
paratvely small population We notice that there are
few or towns of this size where regular dispatches
taken by the press We notice that several have very
recently stopped, largely reduced the amount We
do not, however, urge this as preliminary to perma-
nent discontnuance excuse for doing for
do not wish to STOP but we do wish, on our own &C.
count and on the account Of Others, to have
sonabe understanding Of course the teegraphc oper
ators here have nothing to do with this matter have
we any sort of complaint to urge against them, but the
contrary.
In saying we" we refer to the press here, as MIR.
Wadde of the Herad has also felt called upon to adopt
the same course.