Connecticut western news., 1876-09-29
cheap Coal ana Cheap Telegraph.
 E ings

A writer in the New York Tribune Wrlt- ing to that journal Sept. 16th says: These grasping coal companies have held their hands on the throat of the people during the past three years of hard times, extort- ing unreasonable prices for their coal, and believing they could always maintain their sway. Most of them have pursued poll cy of buying more and more coal lands at fictitious prices, and leasing other railroads at rentals which involved them in large an nual losses even at the time when the com bination was at the zenith of its power. The legitimate fruits of this unnat8al mo- nopolY will bankrupt some of the large coal companies, and cripple all the rest for years to come.
 Now, MT. Editor, you have helped to se- cure the public cheap coal. Can you not do them good service by aiding also in the cause of cheap telegraphY9 think your journal could not render greater public service than by keeping up the agitation of this question until the rates of telegraphing come down. In Canada the telegraph con- panies have common rate of 25 cents for a message to any part of the country, the greatest distance being 1,soo miles. In the United States the charges for long distances are three, four and even five times this sum. The Canada companies are capitalized on basis of cash outlay, and hence, even at the 25-cent rate, the leading company pays regular dividends, and it's stock is sought for as an investment.
 The Western Union Telegraph company, by process of buying up competing lines and issuing stock and bonds therefor, by the payment of stock dividends, and by other sorts of financiering. has swelled its nominal capital and debt, so that about 12 cents must be added to fair profit on every one of it's II, ,000, ,0O0 messages of ten words each per year to pay per cent on it's wa tered stock-and the stock is all water, as l shall presently show. The bonded debt and rentals of leased lines, capitalized at per cent, represent sum greater than is necessary to reproduce the entire working plant of the company at the present cost of material and labor. The following state ment tells t0e Wnole story:
 Rentals Rentals of leased lines capitalized at Sl''0O
 per cent (estimate) $500, ,000 Capital stock Jutstanding ss,7s7,475
 Total stock and debt s45.6ssss5
 Now it would cost to reproduce these lines as follows;
 7a,sss miles of wire and poles at $sO
 ton at s26 per mile 2,66o, GOO
 Total cost of reproducing the lines $s. .4s6, GAO
 Here then is an aggregate of $s7, ,2l2, ,195, represented by stock anc bonds outstand- ing, beyond what it would cost to-day to reproduce the entire Western Union Tele- graph system.
 It IS true that the company has building in this city, and various securities but it is doubtful if the cash value of all thls prop erty would affect more than the difference between the present cost of the lines and the gross bond and lease liabilities. This would leave the entire capital stock to be taken care of at the public expense. Eve " penny paid in dividends on this stock comes, therefore, out of an exorbitant pro- fit, and requires. as before stated, the addi- tion of about 12 cents to each message be- yond far living profit on the actual cash outlay.
 It is the opinion to-day of the best practi- cal telegraphers that with lines built for cash, and worked with economy, common rate of 25 cents for ten words throughout the United States would pay fair return on the capital. It seems to me it is for the in- terest of all the existing companies to re- duce their capital stocks to some fair fig ure at any rate to reduce their rates and meet the public fairly. If the pubic will do as they cid with the coal combination buy spaIingly-the telegraph companles will soon feel the force of public opinion. The public are in no mood just now to be taxed an exorbitant price on one of the ne- cessities of life in order to pay fat dividends on an enormous stock which is all water.