The New York herald., 1869-03-22

Captain Kennedy, OF steamship City Of Paris;
Caskie Harrison. Of Liverpool; Robert O. PAGE, OF
Warrington; A. Marks, Of New Orleans. and Gen.
eral James Harding, Of Pensacola, are at the New
| York Hotel.
Amasa J. Parker. Of Albany and Mr.. Dessaulles.
| OF Montreal. are at the Brevoort House.
Judge Dunlevy, OF Ohio; Colonel J. Mason Brown,
| OF Kentucky; w. window, Of Minnesota; Duncan
Bell, OF Montreal; J. M. Van Buskirk. OF Washing
ton, and E. Oppenheimer Of Paris, are at the Fifth
Avenue Hotel.
J. R. Putnam, Of Saratoga sprngs and James
wilson, of Missouri are at the Metropolitan Hotel
The Postal Telegraph.
The signs are clear and positive that the
postal telegraph is coming thing. Senator
Ramsey, of Minnesota, has introduced bill
in Congress ''to establish postal telegraph
system and to incorporate the United States
Postal Telegraph Company" which has been
read twice and referred to the Committee on
Post Offices and Post Roads. It's plan is
great advance on the proposition presented
at the last session OF Congress, and shows
how much the question has grown with Mr..
Hubbard and his coadjutors. But it contains
the germ Of an immense evil, which we hope
the gentlemen interested in the promotion of
the plan will consent to modify in behalf of
their own interests, those Of the government
and the preponderating interests of the public.
England has preceded US in this movement,
and has contracted to purchase all the tele-
graph lines in Great Britain and make them
adjuncts Of it's postal system. But it has
now been discovered that the railway and
telegraph companies there have contrived to
convert this wise measure into an immense
job and to saddle the government with obliga-
tions to pay for the existing telegraph lines
sum far beyond their real value and what it
would have cost to build new ones. It is
against the perpetration of similar evil in
this country that we demand precaution shall
be taken by the Senate Committee on Post
Offices; and we shall point out before we close
this article, how the interests Of the people and
the government can best be protected in this
matter But before taking up that point we
will look at the bill as it now stands.
To do this we must reverse the order Of the
bill, as in it the cart has been skilfully placed
before the horse, for evident purposes. 1t is
proposed to incorporate Gardner G.. Hubbard
and his associates by the name of the United
States Postal Telegraph Company, with a
capital Of four hundred thousand dollars.
This capital seems ridiculously small for the
great purpose which it is proposed to achieve;
but we will refer to this again. This COM
pany, IL is proposed, will build its lines between
Washington, New York, Boston and Chicago
within six months; to Cincinnati, st. Louis
and New Orleans within two years, and to
every other city Of five thousand or more in
habitants within three years from the execu-
tion Of the contract. The postal telegraph
Offices are to be in connection with the post
Office in every city, at railroad stations, and at
such other places as the business of the country
may demand. Messages are to be received at
Office and street letter box, prepaid by stamps,
and to be delivered free within the limits of
free delivery Of letters from any post Office, or
within one mile Of every postal telegraph
Office, and TO be transmitted by mail to or
from the nearest postal telegraph Office when
received at or destined for any place not hav-
ing such Office, and postal money orders may
be RENTED by telegraph. The rate of toll for
this service to be one cent word for each five
hundred miles or less, and the minimum mes
sage TO be twenty words.
The advantages Of this system to commerce
and TO every private interest in the country
are obvious. 1t will quicken trade to an i'm
mense degree, while IN a proportionate mea-
sure IL win diminish the capital requisite to
transact the exchange of commodities, by
enabling every dollar to do its work in much
less time than Is now required The disad-
vanta ges contained In the bill are per-
tinent only to the manner Of estab-
fishing this immense reform, and not
to It's plan for the postal telegraph system.
II Is proposed that this shall be done
by authorizing the Postmaster General to con-
tract for the transmission Of the messages
with any telegraph company or companies
now or that may be hereafter Incorporated.
Herein lies the same job that has fastened
upon the British government great debt for
an incomplete and vicious system Of tele-
graphs constructed By private companies, and
which II i found necessary in a great measure
10 reconstruct. II the existing lines, or those
20 be constructed by any private company,
are equal 70 the work that Is TO be required Of
them, we have no objection to their being
purchased At fair price; but we do insist
that the country shall not be called upon to pay
forty millions Of dollars for a set Of old and
much worn lines, when better ones, covering
the same extent q territory, can be constructed
Tor ten millions Of dollars. And 1t is In view
OF this fact that we referred TO the small pro-
posed capital Of the new company-four hun
dred thousand dollars. There Il a further
proposition In the bill before rs, to the effect
that the company may from time to time
increase it, capital stock 10 an extent not
exceeding two hundred dollars for each mile