New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-12-28
" al a dam clam.n We must say we think it
is unbec0ming.
GOVERNMENT AND THE CABLE COM
PAMIE2


PANIES
We are glad to find that the public on this
side of the Atlantic are becoming alive to the
interest they have in the conditions under
which their cable communications with Europe
should be maintained. We have been too long
the victims of British fnanciers who take adj
vantage of the power which capital gives them
TO disregard the interests Of the citizens of the
United States forgetting that England does
not enjoy monopoly either of money or of
enterprise, and that the more arrogantly it ex-
ercises the power which for the moment it may
control, the more speedily will the public, and
if need be the Government of the United
States, take steps to limit it. We cannot for
get that our shores are our own, and our
readers may remember that the rights claimed
by the Government in its dealings with cable
companies were very markedly alluded to In
the Presidents message last year. The promi-
nence given to this subject was the more
striking as at that moment the occasion did
not appear to have arisen when any
action Oh the part of the Government seemed
likely to be needed. Now, however, we are
threatened with a combination of monOpolists
which makes it extremely desirable that the
policy so clearly laid down in that message
should be carried into effect, and that we
should not second time be duped into grant
ing a cable company permission to land on the
express understanding that it enjoyed no
monopoly rights, and then after the privileges
had been secured see ourselves victimized by
the ABSORPTION of the independent company
into the monopoly company.
This was the case with the French Cable Com
pany. 1t was not permitted by the Government
to land its cable at Duxbury until it had entered
into an understanding to abandon oil exclusive
rights or privileges. One of these was the
exclusive right of landing on the French
island of st. Pierre. Another was the eXclu-
siye privilege in France of all undirected mes
ges over the French land lines. Upon prom
isipg TO abandon both these privileges, the
French Company was allowed to land. The
exclusive right of Ian ding at st. Pierre was
relinqmshed, but to this day they retain their
exclusive privileges over the French land
lines, while they have become amalgamated
with the Anglo American Company, which
enjoys the exclusive right of undirected mes
saces over the Government telegraph lines
throughout the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, as well as the monopoly
of landing on the shores of Newfoundland
The French Company has therefore at this
moment more monopoly rights than it enjoyed
when the United States Government allowed
il to land only on the express condition
that those rights should be abandoned.
And now the Direct Cable Company, which
obtained permission to land at Rye Beach be-
cause IL had no monopoly rights and was pre-
vented from ever having them by clause in
its charter, is to be transformed into another
company, the clause under which 1t obtained
its landing rights IL 20 be omitted, and the
Government is to be again duped by seeing II
merged into the companies possessing ill the
rights we have enumerated, and which have
already rendered any competition so hazardous
and difficult an operation. We sincerely hope
that we may have some decided assurance
from the Government that it will not toll
crate a repetition Of the fraud pmcticed by
the French Company. The conditions laid
down in the Presidents message a. being es-
sentia before the privilege of landing should
be granted, were, first, that the company ap-
plying to land should enjoy no exclusive priv
iIcges and second, that il should not amalga-
mate with any other company; and 1t Is IN
the power of the Government, as we MAINTAIN
that it would be its duty, tn let II be clearly
understood that if the proposed amalgamatlon
between the Direct Company and the Anglo
American takes place the Rye Beach cable
would be ordered to suspend operations, and
the cable which is landed there would no
longer be available for teIegraphic purposes
This would bring the financial rings in Lon
don, who seem to forget that there is either a
Government or a public in America, to their
senses, and insure the continuance of that
connection from which the public have Of late
80 largely benefited