The New York herald., 1868-02-20

monarchy.
The Western. Union Telegraph Company
Its Rxhibis to Its Stockholders.
We publish to-day the exhibit made by the
Executive Committee Of the Western Union
Telegraph Company. in compliance with the
resolution adopted by the Board Of Directors
in December last calling for a g concise but
full statement OF the affiirs OF the company"
and which we have reason to believe has
reached but few Of the stockholders for whose
information and enlightenment it was designed
1t ID one Of tho most singular features Of the
management Of this company that no regular
statements Of its affairs have been permitted
to make their appearance. The present un-
satisfactory aggregation Of figures, conveying
no intelligence Whatsoever In regard to the de-
tails Of any Of the operations in which the
company has been involved, il only the second
statement from the executive Office that has
ever found'i it, way into print, the former one,
which was issued In October, 1866, having been
equally meagre and obscure. The manage
ment Of the company has been . secret, close
corporation the stockholders have been kept
in ignorance Of the nature Of transactions
covering millions Of dollars Of their own
money, and other information as to the general
affairs Of the company which they have right
to possess has been withheld from them. 1t Is
most reprehensible disregard of plain duty
for the directors OF a company Of the magnitude
Of the Western Union to neglect to lay a full
annual or semi-annual report before the pub
lie, so that it may be known exactly how
its affairs are managed and its stock
holders may be assured that their
interests do not suffer either from dis
honesty, neglect or incompetency on the
company belongs to the stockholders and not
to the Board Of Directors or the Executive
Committee. The latter are simply the trustees
and agents Of the stockholders, and are ac-
countable to them for all their official acts
There can be no worthy motive in concealing
any portion Of the operations Of the manage
ment or in cloaking the details Of any trans
actions Of the company in mystery. No one
will pretend that the statement now published
is such as the stockholders have right to ex-
pect but meagre rs it is, it carries with 1t suf
ficient evidence Of . mismanagement and .
recklessness on the part of the executive on
GERS Of the company that threaten to entirely
destroy the large interests entrusted In their
hands.
The radical evil ct the foundation Of all the
trouble has been tho imitation of the capital
stock to an amount enormously in excess of
the actual value Of the enterprise. The total
present capital Of the company is stated to be
forty-one million dollars. This large sum
represents, a. we believe the directors claim,
ninety thousand miles Of wires. As we have
already shown in former article, i've or six
Of these wires are strung along the same routes
and ON the same poles, and each is counted
singly. The miles of route owned and leased
by the Western Union will not exceed fifteen
thousand at the outside, and it is the number
Of miles of route and not the number
Of miles Of wire upon which the actual
value Of q line must be calculated.
To make the Western Union worth forty -one
million dollars every mile Of its wire must be
worth FIVE hundred dollars. But let us see
what its value actually is, on the most liberal
basis.
The most competent practical telegraph
men in the country concur in the statement
that new line can be constructed and
equipped for two hundred and twenty-five
dollars mile. We will raise this estimate to
three hundred dollars mile for the first wire
constructed, including the Office equipments.
Additional wires on the same poles are put up
by the existing competing lines at fifty dollars
. mile, which leaves . margin Of about four
or FIVE dollars . mile. We will raise this
estimate to one hundred dollars . mile. We
have then the following as the actual value Of
the whole Western Union line =
No of Mlsa Cost per Me Value
Fifteen thousand of hrst wire. $500 a. 500 600
Ssventy-fvs thousand additional
wires. Observation-Disclosures. 100 100000
$l2 OOO 600
The company claim that they have valuable
franchises y but what are theyi There is
general law under which any competing
company can organize, and hence the Western
Union has no exclusive charter whatever
in any part Of the United States. II has
leases Of lines along railroad routes, but these
can be transferred to any competing company.
Besides, the lines that IL leases are included in
its ninety thousand miles Of wire, but are not
owned by the company. Any value that may
attach to such leases is, therefore, more than
set of by including the value Of the lines them
selves In the assets Of the company.
We have, then, twelve million dollars a. the
whole actual value Of all the lines owned by
the company. Their true assets will there
FORE stand ss follows
Telegraph linss equipments &c........ $l2 0o0 900
Western Union stock owned BY company,
$500 shares at 80, 33,.n,.,,.,.,.,.,,,,.,,, 214,5Qo
Sock IN other lines tqusstionablej .....:.:. ..e5oo
Real sstA's.......i.............. 142 500
Debts and cash Observation-Disclosures. $4,000
lotA ylZ,boL,SVV
This gives US the following as the true con-
diton OF the company's affairs =