Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-01-26
TENNESSEE LEGISLATURE.



SOUTHERN AND PACIFIC AND ATLANTI,
TEPEGRAPH.
Mr.. Lindsey offered the following
memorial from the Southern and Atlantic
and Pacific Telegraph Company, and from
citizens of Nashville and Memphis
To the Honorable the Members of The
General Assembly Of the State Of Ten
nessee Whereas, there exists among
the laws Of the Commonwealth Of Ten.
nessee, statute which imposes license
on telegraph companies, doing business
within the State of Tennessee, of one
thousand dollars and whereas, by an
other act, law or statute, power is given
to the several counties OF the State to
levy taxation equal to that levied by the
State and whereas, counties in Tennes-
see, availing themselves of the language
of the act, are levying tax of one thou
sand dollars, annually, on the Pacific
and Atlantic Telegraph Company of the
United States, which corporation, upon
its own wires, and as lessee of the wires
Of the Southern Telegraph Company, is
transacting business in various counties
of the said State; and whereas, it would
appear, from the language of the aforesaid
act, that in each and every county in
which said Pacific and Atlantic Telegraph
Company Of the United States, or any
other Telegraph Company may have an
office, similar grieVOus, burdensome and
prohibitory tax may be levied, to the
consequent preventing said Pacific and
Atlantic Telegraph Company Ct the
United States from opening Offices in the
counties of the SAID State of Tennessee,
and transacting business therein +; and in
fact preventing them from extending their
lines further into the Southern States /;
because of the necessity of offices along
the route through the State of Tennessee,
which could not be opened under such a
burdensome tax. Therefore, your petit
TONERS, the Pacific and Atlantic Tele-
graph Company of the United States, a
corporation chartered by the States of
New York and Pennsylvania, and by the
government Of the United States as well,
and also the lessees Of the Southern
Telegraph Company's line, corporation
chartered by the States of Tennessee and
Kentucky, would respectfully ask that
such sections of such aforesaid Acts, as
authorize the levying of taxes upon the
Pacific and Atlantic Telegraph Company
of the United States by tho several coun-
ties of the State, equal in amount to
those levied by the State, be repealed,
and that so much Of aforesaid Act or Acts,
as creates license of one thousand dol
lars upon such aforesaid Telegraph Cons
pany, be also annulled.
And your petitioners would respect,
fully represent that the reason for this
petition is, that said taxation is burden
some in the extreme, and if continued,
will be prohibitory in its effect upon the
business Of your petitioners. For the
reason that in many of the counties in
which it will be necessary to open offices
to properly work the lines, the receipts
Of such offices will not, in ten years,
amount to the annual tax while, in
other counties, tax of one thousand
dollars year would absorb the entire
earnings and that, even IN the city Of
Memphis, in Shelby County, the county
tax which has been levied, and payment
demanded, would absorb from twelve to
fifteen per cent. of entire receipts in that
city, and from twenty to twenty-five per
cent. of the net profits. And your peti-
TONERS would further represent, that the
aforesaid tax is doubly grieVous, for the
reason that it is imperative, whether the
business Of your petitioners be prOfita
BILE or not. And in this connection your
petitioners would represent that they
have, at great expense, constructed tele-
graph lines for the purpose of checking a
monopoly that existed in the transaction
of the business of sending telegraph dis
patches, and also for the purpose Of
cheapening the cost of telegraphing to
the whole people and they have already
done so to great extent And they
would further represent, that under the
competition brought about by their eff
forts to prevent a continuance of a
monopoly of the business, the profits of
the telegraphing business to corporations
has been so diminished, that if the bur
densome taxes complained of are con-
tinued, and the liabilities to similar
taxation in all counties remain,
your petitioners will feel, that in
Justice to their stockholders in the
several States of New York, Pennsyl-
vania, Maryland, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri,
Kentucky and Tennessee, they must
cease to extend their lines through Ten
nessee, and withdraw their offices there's
from, refrain from extending their lines
South by way of Tennessee: and find
some route to the great Gulf States,
through the territory Of States where
such restrictive laws do not exist. Your
petitioners fully believe, however, that
there is no such restrictive disposition
entertained by the great Commonwealth
of Tennessee, but know rather to the
contrary, that it fully and heartily sympa-
thizes in all the progressive movements
of commerce and science, and desires to
throw fully open the door to all business
competitions, and TO all great public inn
provements, to the end that the citizens
of the Commonwealth may be benefited
thereby as fully as are the people of other
States, to the greater development and
extension of the business and resources
Of Tennessee. Therefore, your petition
ers believe that the sections of the acts
referred to, whose repeal is asked, were
enacted without due consideration, and
that it is necessary only to direct the ats
tention of the Legislature of the State OF
Tennessee, to their oppressive and re-
strictive character, to cause the said sec
tons Of said acts, to be at once repealed,
as INJURIOUS to the good of the citizens OF
Tennessee and of the State, and as unjust
| to the stockholders Of your petitioners re-
siding in Tennessee, and other herein
| before recited States whose capital is
furnishing cheaper and increased teIe-
graphic business facilities for the comr
| merce and the people Of Tennessee.
And your petitioners would further
| represent that, in response to the general
demand ofthe people of the country, that
telegraphic messages should be transmit
ted in this country as cheaply as in Eu'
rope, they have been steadily reducing
the charge for the transmission Of a mes
sage, until now the Pacific and Atlantic
Telegraph Company of the United State:
are transmitting messages in the United
States, at a lower rate per mile than il
charged in any country in the world. FO
instance, the charge in Belgium, wher'
the rates are lowest, is ten cents for al
average distance of seventy>fve miles, 70
the transmission of an average message
The Pacific and Atlantic Telegraph Com
pany of the United States is sending mes
sages from Pittsburgh to Baltimore ant
Philadelphia, distance Of $50 miles t.
each point, for thirty cents, or only sevel
and half cents for each seventy>fv
miles of transmission. Between New
York and Pittsburgh, distance of abou
500 miles, the charge is forty-five cents