, 1866-06-13
FROM WASHINGTON,
The Telesraphic Companies Of the
United States.

n.r.1.:C esx
Iuo Aeles1a apiaAe oolia paAAioS VI tue
United StateSs
REPORT OF THEIR PRESIDENTS TO
THE POST'MASTER GENERAL,
COST OF CONSTRUCTION AND NAM
TANNING.
Capital &epresented-The Consof1da.
% t1sn Oh me United STATE. snd western
A" 1"o p."ses'
!e''U oDf o"n neo''e'p''1asA'''
n.z.,.a. <rs "Asr1sa'"s' .ane y.
~ eae ta.'es pr. " cur ualy ltst, sue seu-
W. passeo ~ lesolu'.on' ea1uns apon tne Iosl-
ao -, uenela, a,t.s. tol ~ p9ess.os ~ opn'ou
10 W tue 4.as'., ~ .As sseaons.lutnt o.
o.us c'n.e uas.' ~ sonacs.lon Hi'A
~, ns p 1's.s@ ~. 'a1 pposs " tessen1s
~ n,',.a ~ ~ aae.,tanSa 1e ~, ~, ~
.s" pneS. -. -. ~. ".sn tae sesoia'
."1r,: ss9s, ts. osus.a' Denuson put MN
~ ~ - eo.a1spou1encc 1s VIII various autAorf'
1ss ~ sets apu1s ,,1u luattets' aoo Win tae
- a4s .. .ns leauk piss'apn companies,
- o1e, W eo.a'u nusu ~ iu'o.aaI'ou ~ "omo
saas,o '''. ~. ~ T,aaae,a ppps. ieponse 70 lae
as 4s's' as sens . ie'tes ~
Linn ooos ~ va icu Nc eAPfeseea himself aa-
Vefseiy 10 the proposed Inauguration Of a
telegraph system under the auspices of the
Government. Ills letter was accom- panied nv
the replies to his interrocatories NJ tbc
so....1 ,,~t,aa ,rh,,, ~ f..s ~sS-
ss'.!a4 a.a. ~ s0 NV "aot1 us uau aoasssseo
w ~ sao'se.. ., uS uosl iu'efes.mgoi .hesc
eqa"..e = . oanesas y ,rs sue.sts4 ~ ~ W
nrton. The Presidents ar the American Ives-
t.- 1,.,,o,, s,d 11n1t.5 CT. Ts,a~,
na te'n un,ou' =. ~ pui.eu SUITES le.eSrapn
companies " empodles m account OF the
these three great concerns. reDresent1pp near
" the who1e tc1eornnh interest NJ tra 11n,to,,
s,a.as ~, ~ ,ss..1a.,.a 49,. 10 s" ou'seu
1-@tee' iu.t VI uses Ae''fe lacts aHu ugures,
showing inc amount OF their capital; the
cost Of construction Of their lines the
amount Of business transacted. and the nun.
t oer ol stockno'aefs ana parsons employed ;
LIZ anoant VI tAeu g'oss ano net earnings,
nnd other curious and valuable Information.
Leaving out the argumentatfYe part of the
communication Of the Telegraph Presidents
warned a f,t ,rnorefs - Witt, ,... -.
notchaa n tha nrsss snu,o,n ~ s,sa, wa "1,. U.s..
from that document, as arc likely to prove
Of most interest TO the gcnernl reader.
ruE CAUSES LeAp1so 70 THE PRESENT row,
soL1pAr1oS OF TELEGRAPH JsTrnrsrs.
ce -
49, .'-ss.s.s, | .-..,>,s.t'.a'.c - aopPott y.
tue P4o1ee'eu COLA oeusaneat VI aoosernment
telegraph system, has been the steady obsorp.
-,o,;ea ~ tha v1,o1. +o,anr. ~. ,n,a.os. .S.A
Ifn,tod e,.ta. ~ ear. se-.e.s., w. ". Wv
on4e'o States ~ 'c" ponetiu1 coipora'
1aonss ahd tue consequent liability of tho
public to all the oanger Of abuse and cxtor-
tfon Inherent to mouopolies. Touching upon
thta ,,o,n+ +ba ,na,nor,., of +ha r.,.'. III,
9nAa loaas' e"a' 49,, y, AG As'e'''tapu
t1esiucnts cohtalns Tue lolo"lns concise
sketch Of the causes that led to the present
concentration Of more than iour-flf1bs of the
te1e,raph hns,ness of .ba countrv IN tns
vsst.-, 1,nsn,, ana s,,ar,.,n Co,ana,,a.. Wv
r Mheu the nfst telesraph companies were
formed, they were olsanlzed with refer.
ence 70 communication 6etTeen points
not remote, usually confined, at most,
10 lne UNITS OF single State. Mhuy
OF them @ were merely local, TO unite one town
OF cNI WIN anol1er; mus u gradually oc'
CURED taat ne Whole country became coy
Most OF them poorly built, and lew remuncr-
attye:
unoef sucl circumstances Inc pu6llc soon
ionpd that the brilliant thought Of instant
communlcallon oeL"Gen distant points vas,
somehow, not reanzed by the 1aets. a Bos'
ton house gong business with Chicago Wss
Obliged to be content with responses received
on the second or third day. On Boston des.
patches for Chicago four tarias had to be
pad, and message had to be copied or aud
handed over to other companies ior transmts-
sion ut hew York: Buffalo and Detroit before
it reached It's destination.
All this process required lime, and yet the
loss of time was the least Of the evils connect
ed with such state Of things. The message,
as IT lett the writer's hands In Boston, was
moi unftequentlya 9 very different document
when II reached the western parties. -Four
manipulations BY different operators. four
cop'es ~ four different clerks, four tariffs to
four different companies, md triftng error
by each, with no responsibility between eth.
cr, and no concert Of management, the sys.
TEN was fast becoming disappointment and