, 1866-06-13

EXTENT OF TIE LINE OF THE WESTERN UNION,
UNITED STATES AND AMERICAN TeLEonApH
COMPANIES.
The length Of wire owned by the West
cru Union Telegraph Company Is no less than
forty-{our thousand !; by the United States
sixteen thousand, and by the American Tele-
graph Company, thirty thousand miles.
Thcsc figures disclose the fact that the West
ern Union and United Statea Companies, al
thong b they represent together less than twice
the number Of miles of wire owned by
the American Company, they have stock ont
10 an amount equal to Just seven times the
capital Of the latter. The natural inference
Is that The stock OF the American Company
rests On far more established basis than that
of Its great Western nlly. II can be easily
understood from the figures. what enormous
fortunes the original owners Of the Western
Union must have realized ont Of lis excessive
Issue Of stock.
EARNINGS AND EXPENSES OF TIE THREE coN-
rAS1E5.
II the chief officers Of the three great COM
panles are reliable In theIs statement In re-
gard to the relative lucratiyeness photograph
property as an Investment, the profits Of the
concerns they manage hare not been exsraor-
dlnafy' Speaking Of the pso1tableaess Of
their business Of late they say:
With the facilities Afforded By one hundred
thousand miles OF wire, u1l reasonably occu-
pied With The present current business, or
even during the greatest pressure produced
bY the necessities Of tie war; with all the
help OF an enlarged traffic, since tho adoption
Of which The number Of messages has In
l creased rather than diminished, tho average
| aside, as might have been wise for them to
! have done, snn Of money, equivalent to
| the reasonable percentage Of decay, based on
| the presumed necessity OF building anew every
ten years, no profits could have been shown
at all. And, as 1t Is, though doing large
pany, with lis forty-tour thousand miles OF
wire, Tree from opposition on large portion
| OF its territory, hare been unable 10 declare
m, dividend Of profits since August Of the
Tic gross receipts Of the three companies
in 1865 were:
United States telegraph Company...s eds, ,1ss2ss
Western Union Telegraph Company
.sE s.s fsaes sSeaee'isa Raess ,h .aa a. sn ss,s
lIcH ohio Coupan1es). )....... ...... l31i, ,s11, Al
American Telegraph Company. 1,4T ,GH.2t
The average receipts during 1s6o-'1-'a-'3-
A-'5 were:
United States {only organized Ausuat
we.tesn ' Union. ....... osas.e1o
4 Amef1C8n.s ...*.......-..- V4hpoo.VV
The expenses In 1865 were:
%es,ern ta i6dta;l; 6nion lno1 eiven;. ~ sse'os ~
Amet1can. .-......... 1,lst,6a1 u
The net receipts we're:
| Upucd State4 4lost.........-.....-...v 10O coo *
Wte,esn Un,en t!sou, Jan. !. ls6u, 10
Dec 81, 1s65}..-.................... 2,653 $685. OK
American {irom Jan. !, 1860, 70 Dec
81, 1eto).--..... ......-... 1,b05, ,S35.H
MISCELLANEOUS FACTS.
The legal liability Of telegraph companies
for mistakes in the Transmission or non-dc
livery Of messages Is thus referred to:
The amounts paid for damages in the con
!: / duct OF telegraph business will approximate
| " 500 ,0o0, and CLAIMS for like amount re
r main unsettled, or are being contested.
The decisions Of the courts In the seyeral
States where suits hare been brought, hare
teen 20 various and conflicting, and the court
| OF last appeal having hot, as yet. been called
10 adjudieate any Of the claims for damages
! made against telegraph companies, the meas
! ure OF liabilities cannot be stated. A copy o.
) some OF these State decisions Is provided
| herewith.
The following appears In regard to the
business of the New York Office Of the Amer
lean Telegraph Company:
There are received from the whole Of New
England, from all the large seabohrd cities
from Washington, from all Of Eastern Canada
and from the whole Of the Southern States
outflow Of a corresponding number: An1
from the whole Of the Western States, inclnd
irY California, New York, aud Pennsylvania
there comes for daily delivery only about
1,400.
Fl The following statement will aleo be founi
Of interest:
xrxaEn or 1E1EanArn OFFICES N TIE PRINCIPAL
] HsTyTf ttfDV1 lsNA