New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-01-08
fight. In order to secure peace. one OF the
two Powers must make itself ridiculous
TEL EGRdMS IA COURT.


II can hardly be questioned that when the
Senate called upon an officer of the Western
Union Telegraph Company for the production
of certain specified messages pertinent 10
case under investigation, it was acting witIllh
its legal power and duty. The law makes no
distinction between Geographic messages ana
other written evidence, and il it sanctions the
examination of the letters, books, and other
papers of suspected persons, and even requires
letters, books, and papers under certain re-
strctions to be produced in court in the trial
of merely civil causes. it cannot consistently
ottribute an inviOlable sanctity to kilograms.
Where it can be alleged that any particular
messages bearing upon the subject of judi
cial inquiry have passed through telegraph
office. the courts or either house OF Congress
acting as a court can order their production.
We have already given reasons why we think
this power if it is exercised at all, ought 10
be exercised very sparingly. But whatever
NAV be thought of the justice and expectancy
of the demand made by the Senate upon MIR.
Turner of Oregon, there can be no difference
of opinion among those who look at the sub
iect without partisan bias as to the counter
attempt to spread political drag-net over the
sack their files for something that may per-
haps involve a political scandal. Such pro-
ceeding is on a par with the operations OF
jayne and company in the hcy-day OF the
mOiety business, when merchants books were
seized and searched on the chance that they
might disclose some unsupported violation or
the revenue laws. Whatever authority may be
given for these inquisitions by the letter of the
statutes, public opinion in every free country
never fails to denOunce them as an invasion OF
individual rights and an indelible disgrace to
the government or party by which they are
practiced. Americans and other AnglO-SaxOns
will tolerate them as little as they will tolerate
indiscriminate espionage in the Dost-Oflice, or
the random search of private houses by the
police to discover whether any violation OF law
is going on within their walls.
1t cannot be necessary to point out the bear
ing of the case now discussed in the House of
Representatives upon the proposal to make the
telegraph Government monopoly. II tele-
graph clerks held their places by the same
tenure as post-Office clerks, the ruling admin
istratiOn or the campaign managers OF the
marty in power could have unrestricted access
to the files of every Office in the country, and
it would be strange if they did not either dis
cover political scandal or make one. Lead
ing men in public life would hardly venture to
use the wires even in their most innocent
private affairs. AS yet the people are in
measure protected by the wise policy of the
companies, which opposes to the political in
vestigators almost every possible obstacle
short of absolute disObedience to the law.
This OppOsitiOn will undoubtedly be made
still more effective by the immediate destruc-
ton of messages, unless Congress enact lib
eral general law which will free the cOmpa
MES from their present embarrassment and
give the private affairs of the customers
of the companies all reasonable prOtec-
ton. This we trust Congress will lose
no time IN doing TO say nothing of the
inconvenience of destroying the originals
of messages, it is not creditable to a free
country like the United States that its citizens
should be compelled to put their private papers
in the fire, lest their rulers should insist upon
reading them.