New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-10-17
The National Telesrnph COMPANY,

this city, at the st. James Hotel. In con-
versation with Times repeater, he gave
the following information in regard to the
new telegraph. its purposes and plans OF
operation. Numerous details OF the work
| he declined at this time to make public, as
they had not vet been fully developed. He
made the following statement: The National
Telegraph Company is organized for the
purpose of building lines all over the United
States, at least over all such portions as it
shall be considered profitable to do so. The
company was organized about July l. 1875,
the articles of Incorporation being filed
about that time The original ineorpora-
| tors were Hon. William Sharon, of Nevada;
| Michael Reese, James Il. keene, G. w. KEEL
lOgg, +. d. Anterior, William Burlng aud
A. A. Cohen, of San Francisco. The capital
stock is $25.000000, divided into 100000
shares at Sl0Q, OF wbich S750,0O0 has al
| ready been paid in. or ten per cent upon
the stock subscribed. The purpose is to
greatly lessen the present rates of tee-
graphing, and for this purpose tae company
has beeE negotatiating for some time past
for several patent rights which will enable
them to do so with profit.
In answer to tle question when work
| would be bugun, lie said at is now too
late in the season to begin this work We
had intended to have begun this work in
September, but winter is now SO near at
hand that it will be impossible to do any
| thing with advantage. When work is be-
gun we propose that first class lines shall
be built, lines that can be operated to adj
vantage at all times. A good beginning
certainly will be made as early in the spriug
| as practicable. The arrangement Of finances
in California WAS the occasion OF the delay;
but for this, work would have been well
under way at this time. The full detail
work has not vet been determined upon.
| great deal of this has to be settled before
| beginning the work of construction, that
| this may be done Systematically and with
| economy. Much, however. has been done
| toward arrangement OF the many depart
ments and the transportation of the various
| supplies over the railroads"
"Dd the company suffer any loss through
| the suspension of the Bank OF California;"
"No. The late William c. Ralston was
| treasurer of the company, but the $3.50, 600
| placed in his hands and in the bank, was
MADE as special deposit, and did MOI come
| among the assets of the bank. We thought,
| however, it was best to watch the financial
| interests of the State before starting in to
| make any large expenditures of money
before committing ourselves to heavy con
| tracts for construction. In this particular
now. there is little doubt, the financial
troubles have passed, and we feel free now
| to act as our Judgment may dictate"
sit is stated that your company offered TO
| purchase the wires and property OF the At.
such is the ease. l came to this city
| last spring, aud then made an offer on the
| part of the company to purchase the wires
OF the Atlantic and Pacific Telegraph Com
| pany. While here met gentleman who
it was represented held the controlling in.
terest in the stock of that company, and
my offer was to buy the entise property Of
the company at q rate twenty per cent in
advance of that at which the stock was
held on the street, to be paid for in money.
and that within five days, providing the
stock was placed in our hands. This offer
it was seen fit to refuse. Our object was
to utilize this property as far as pos
sible, not to destroy any ones property,
and in this connection l wish TO say
that the company does not propose TO
run in opposition to any other, particularly
to retute what has been represented, that
competition was proposed with the Western
Union Telegraph Company. There ia no
one connected with this enterprise but who
has sufficient good judgment t, recognize
the great utility the Western Union Com-
pany has been TO the interests of this coun-
try. l have Tor long time been heavy
stakeholder in the company, and know it's
affairs have been managed with fidelity
But the time for doing business IA they
have done it has passed away, as have the
days when it cost eighteen cents to send a.
letter from this city to Washington. This
public has now arrived at an era when
cheap telegraphy is as much necessity as
cheap postage, and we propose to start an
enterprise upon that basis"
"N hat rates have you decided upon."
These have not been fully determined
upon. AT any rate, ten.word message
across the continent will not cost more than
one dollar, and we have views on this mat
ter tending far below the now existing
rates For certain classes of messages,
such as long commercial dispatches and
1tu los
of no great haste-not more than forty
cents per ten words will be charged for
long distances, say from New York TO st.
Louis or places anywhere on the line be-
tween there and San francisco. We all
feel that if we were situated as the West
eIn Union Company now is, we would
hardly consent to charge the rates they
now DO. We do not propose to stand
in the light of philanthrOpists or pub.
lie benetactors, but are led to believe
the lesser rates will prove the more profit
able to us. We shall not be in any manner
antagonistic to the Western Union Com.
pany, but propose merely to occupy the
field which they have had and still have the
opportunity to take, and as yet have re-
fused. We concede that the management
OF that company has been of the best, but
not in their Judgment of the proper scale of
rates. Instead of making their wires OF
the greatest utility to all classes, business
II,
even at long distances, they have made it
open only to the few, and then to be used
only in case of urgency"
"And upon what do you base your profits
when such rates are proposed "
with the present improvements in tele-
graphy, and we hope TO secure such as may
prove adaptable, the capacity of the tele-
graph line and of the telegraph operator
will be very largely increased, and the rate
at which both line and operator may be
worked to their fullest capacity is the rate
that must prove the most profitable to the
telegraph company to charge. We shall
proceed upon the principle that while tho
expenses will not be materially increased,
the low rates will be The ones to bring the
company the greater net money. This is
now the basis of most all business in Cali
forpia, low rates and large volume of
business"
sit is represented that cheap telegrapLy
has proved a failure in countries where in.
troduced."
"And it has been urged that it can not
prove successful in this country, and by the
president of the Western Union Telegraph
Company. He urges that it has been tried
in England and proved unsuccessful 1t ia
surprising to me that it did not occur to a
gentleman of his wide experience that the
fields offered for cheap telegraphy in the
two countries are very essentially different,
in this, that the proportion of people in
England that can read and write, compared
with the whole population, is very small,
whereas, in this country, thanks to the sys.
tenn of education, every one is qualified to
hacopoa a no tran of tho <a1a.ro IL