The New York herald., 1870-01-13
Tho Western Union Monopoly aad the
telegraph Strikers.

appears that the strike among the telegraph
operators is not at all at an end. Late infor-
nation from the West, including Pittsburg,
Chicago and ST. Louis, and from the South and
Southwest, including Memphis, Louisville, New
Orleans Texas and other points, is to the
effect that the strike still continues, with no
prospect of surrender or compromise. In
Philadelphia 1t il affirmed that ''the strike is
not so near an end as previously stated in some
quarters" A Philadelphia paper Of yesterday
says the strike 'snot only continues, but grows
stronger every day" In New York the strikers
remain firm, with no indications of surrender
ing, their vacancies being imperfectly supplied
by women and ''pirates" incompetent ope-
rators, who have been dismissed for incompe-
tency or for improper practices The situa-
ton here may be comprehended at glance by
| reading the following despatch from the super
intendent of the Western Union Company in
this city,
To ALL OFFICES IN THE Cry
Refuse business for all points south OF Richmond.
J.C. HINCHMAN, superintendent.
This is conclusive evidence that the trouble
south of Richmond still exists, and no doubt
the same may be said in regard to other
points, matter which the company, Of
course, does not care to have ventilated. II
is important here to state that the labor
unions in this city unanimously sustain the
strikers, and have already voted them supplies
of the sinews of strikes as well as Of war to
enable them to hold ont. 1t is expected that
| the same action will be taken by the labor
unions throughout the country, and in the end
it may be found that the telegraph operators
progressive movement of to-day will assume
degree Of Importance which will make itself
both felt and respected. .srczs4 i i 80
Now, what is the Qapse Of ell this commotion
and all this disruption in one Of the most i'm
| portant elements Of our business and social re-
lations? 1t may be explained in few words.
1t is the result of the grasping rapacity and
unbridled tyranny Of one of the most gigantic
monopolies that ever overshadowed nterprise
in the civilized world-the Western Union
Telegraph Company.
| Let US for a moment look at the extent Of
| this ponderous machine machine moved and
manipulated by the hands Of few greedy
| capitalists and mllionnaires. From the official
| records we find that of the 4,Ol4 public tele-
graph Offices in the United States the
Western Union numbers 3,469, and all the
rest, including the Franklin, Atlantic and
| Pacific, Pacific and Atlantic, and Bankers
and Brokers' lines, the balance, or only five
hundred and forty-fve offices. The number of
miles of line in active use is as follows -
Western Union Company, $4,000; all the
others, including connections, 1880, giving
the Western Union the enormous prepon-
derance Of 1859 miles of telegraph wire
| in operation in the United States. And, not
content with this huge Titan-like monopoly,
it is now shuffling around the lobbies
Of Congress, in the committee rooms, in the
| cosey private quarters Of members, for new
| deal with its already stocked cards for another
| little game Of exclusive telegraph privileges,
| even to the absorption of all the Atlantic
cables reaching our shores. In short, having
checkered the territory of the United States
with Its telegraph poles and wires, il now seeks
to girdle the earth with its galvanic withes.
We ask, in all earnestness, is it not time
Congress interposed its authority to check the
growth of this mammoth monopolyp We have
seen that it does not hesitate to throw into
confusion the entire business Of the country by
an obstinate adhesion to an arbitrary determi-
| nation to reduce the salaries Of few poorly
| paid operators. If it does not stop to do these
arbitrary things in it's present wealth of money
| and influence, what may we not expect when its
powers shall be still further augmented, when It
locks not only the land, but oceans within its
| embrace? Our readers have remarked that
| great care has been taken by the company to
keep the Washington offices well supplied with
operators pending the present difficulties. This
dodge is transparent. tits to impress members
of Congress with the idea that its affairs are not
In disorder, that it is not tyrannical to its en-
ployGs, that its usefulness to the community Is
not impaired, and that everything connected
with its internal machinery is moving like
clockwork. We admonish members of Com
gress to keep their eyes open, and not allow
themselves to be hoodwinked by this or any
other subterfuge Of the company's lobbyists in
Washington or elsewhere. We urge them to
20 straight forward in the work of establishing
cheap and comprehensive postal telegraph
system under the direction Of the government,
thereby relieving the people of exorbitant tele-
graph tolls and worthy class Of the commu-
nifty from the expressions of tyrannical and
unscrupulous monopoly. Meanwhile, as every
thing now seems to indicate, the strikers
movement will continue to progress, and even
tually, We repeat, make itself both felt and
| respected.
GENERAL GRANTS FIRST VETO, we think, is
well put in. It is the veto of an act for tho
relief Of Rollin White, the relief being the ex-
tension Of pistol patent upon which White
| and others concerned have made over million
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