The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1868-04-11
The Te,esraph ana tne Press.


The Herald has been for the last few
weeks waging war on the Western
Union Telegraph Company; and the
steadtness and Systematic regularity
with which its attacks upon its charac.
ter and management are repeated from
day to day, show clearly enough that
1t has someprivate grievance to avenge,
or some purpose of its own to accom-
plish, by this crusade. What these
may be 1t is not our business to in
quire; but justice to the Telegraph Com
pany thus assailed requires q correc.
ton of some of the statements which
the Herald persists in making.
The Telegraph Company is charged
ny the Herald with attempting to '9se-
cure monopoly of the lines all over
the country" and to compel neWBpa.
pers everywhere to send their dispatch.
es over its lines to the exclusion OF all
others, and also to "mRks money out
side the legitimate business of (ele.
graphing, by controlling commercial
intelligence, peddling it out or trading
upon II before IT becomes known to the
public"
%FOr this purpose" says the Herald, s.the
managers have sought 10 e1eYciSe QIphoritV1 81
The PTeSS: to make their own employees The
news; 10 establish commercial aud mSfiue
agencies of their own. and to make TelGgpu-
PeTS a! tOeU az ti1dftdtEdls entirely dependent
description cdL6uIGted % G0ecf prfoeSs We
have already fully exposed the evils Of this
attempted monopoly" DC.
To certain extent there is a shadow
ctsely to the same extent is the Herald
itself, as member of the Associated
Press, a. party to the offences charged
upon the Telegraph Company.
First, as to the attempted ''monopo-
ly." Some two or three years ago the
Associated Press applied TO the COM
panY for reduced rate OF charges, as
well as for greater facilities for the
transmission of news. An arrange
ment was made by (which the Company
agreed to reduce the rates for dfspRtoh-
es to the newspaper Press, according to
business done;-that 10 to say, on dis
patches of q certain length, One-Efird
the regular rates were to be deducted;
for dispatches tWica as long there was
to be deduction of 0ne.fGtf: and on
dispatches still longer, tIO0-t6irdS of the
regular charges were to be deducted.
The Company also put up several ex-
ira wires between Washington and
New YORK exclusively for Press bust
ness, SO that Congressional proceed.
ings and other long reports could be
transmitted promptly and without in
terrupdon; increased largely the num-
Der OF their operators and, in very
many ways, made special provision to
volved very great expense, and the
charges for the service were put at SO
low rate that that no great profit, in
deed none at all from the very long re-
ports, could be realized.
The Company proposed, therefore,
that in consideration of these conces.
siops, the Press, on Its part, ahonld,
agree to give them an its business-to
employ It's lines exclusively for their
special dispatches from which some
profit might be expected, as well as. its
long, general reports which, of Them
selves alone, scarcely paid the cost Of
their transmission. The Associated
Press made this arrangement, and the
Herald, with the rest, approved II.
They All regarded tGhGt they got, In re-
ductioR of charges, increase Of faetlt-
ties, DC, as full equivalent for IOhGt
The following clause OF the contract
shows precisely what the Press agreed
.EThs praesos thssecond part Lths Presssl
hsredy agree @ e1IplQB G1e3uGiDelg, during The
psrfod OF time heretnGfser fxed for The dura.
Hon Of this contract Qae parry u ~ IlFEt
s q