New-York tribune., 1879-02-25
THE IELEGRAPH QUESTION.

To the EditOr Of The Tr' BUM.
SIR: Whatever NAV he though, of the unwisdom
ot adding 10 TIE already enormous power Of the rail-
road corpora IONS IN ths country, and OF tie grow
ing mqu.ty OF cnactng general lcgisIa-
tlon in appropriation bills, there can
be 10 doubt that the vote by which
the telegraph feature Of ;he Amy bill was car
ried through the Senate to-day was the result oi
an honest conviction, deliberately arrived at, that
tie monopoly which has been maintained
for so many years by the Western Union
Telegraph Company IS a sorc oppression I"
tie public. The lobby for the new de-
pa1turo has been insignificant, both IN money
and numbers. wnile the whole power # the West
eru Union has been directed for the last ten days
upon the Senate in a. effort to defeat the measure
The question ha- been amply discussed. and tothe
impartial listener the weight Of logic in the
formal arguments delivered in the senate
has been in opposition to the new scheme
Yet with a,i ITS Disadvantages the measure has
been flyor.bly passed upon ,u two direct votes ln
tbc Senate to-day, and now lacks only the lI',.-
dents signature TO become "a law.
l; would be- IDLE 10 deny that the Western Union
Company ha, for tie last four or five years been
rcudcrinEa magnificent scr} ice to the PubAc-a
service probably uuequa!icd hy any telegraph sys-
tenn in the world, and at rates which cannot hc
considered a. unreasonable Yet. hslle credit
IS due to this corporation for the perfection
to which i'll, system has been brought, for nearlyal
IFS improvements upon the chaotic state In which
tnc union Of hundred little lines left il have been
reluctantly cx.erted from il Icy its enemies.
The Great impetus furnished 10y tho necessities Of
the Government: and the business public during the
wir i>. made this union Of small interests poss hlc
When the war closed the telegraph system Of the
country was practically united under two heads,
each controlling its own system Of lines over
territory exclusively its own. shortly after the
war these two tcrCsts became one but the system
upon which the practical atfaIrs-tha IS the trans
mission Of l~p1tcheS-dcpeudcd continued upon
very nearly the same basi, which had existed when
the lines bad been in the hands Of a great num-
bcrof small companies Then the Cuited States
Telegraph Company spT,ng into existence, and
with tie enterprise of tic times lis lines were
rapidly extended. until they reached nearly every
important centre in the country. All the adyan-
tagrs OF capital aud position were in the hands
of the old company and it adopted from that
time the policy of inertia, leaving II to
the new enterprise to devise an improved
system which, br its more efficient service, should
draw to IT'S Golfers portion Of the revenues accru-
lug from the transmission of teegrams. II Repeat
,i," were aI,.Gv invented, but were held TO be Of
coupar4tNcly LITTLE Use. Messages taken III at
New-York for Chicago were rclayed az BU'-
flo ami again at Detroit, and those
from Ncv-YoIk to -. Louis were relayed
NJ Pitt.burc. Cincinnati and Indianapolis
A. each r.'ayog poiut great piles Of telegram' ac-
culnu!ated during the busy hour, OF the day, while
each operation increased The chances Of blundeis
which vouIIIua&c the dispatch unintcligible when
it should finally cc through. In those days IT was
I.ibcr the EXCEPT ION than the rdle for patron OF
the tcIc2raph in Ncw-Iork 60 get reply from Chi
,aco o. st. LOUIS 20 a dispatch sent the same day,
vLlloIt was "a th.u. to Dc remarked upon 10 have a
TELEGRAM from long distance come through with
ont being mutilated IA Sone maGucr In trau,nls-
sion.
The sharp-wittcd electrician of the United states
COMPANY saw llS opportunity and laid his plans to
improve il. one morning he announced to the
gram dealers IN New-Iork that his company was
prepared - send tclcCrlms direct or without
rclayinc. from New-York TO Chicago. The old
company laughed at him ald pronounced the
scheme mplac,icubl aud visionary, but before That
might the new system had become necessity for
an time. and the Other company was compelled to
follow suit few days later direct
circuit" was made up over the United states
wires. thronch "repcatels" at PItt,burg from
N,v-Y.lh 10 Cincinnati and again the Western
Crion was forced 10 adopt the long circuit, much
against It's VIII. lhi- was an entirely new depar-
tulc and one Of the Longest Stops Ia advance winch
the TELEGRAPH system has ever exuoI fenced.
About ten wear, ago. when the little Franklin
Compauv. with three OF fouT wires ranning between
Ncn-Yo.k and Boston. was engaged in an Unequal
struggle for existence with the Western mon the
Gaick Wit, of its superintendent, Mr.. !. q. smith,
Icdhinl into series oi experiments which resulted
N tIre duplex system. now in almost universal use
Ly the Western mon. This, too, was laughed at
and tLc Wcstern Union officials refused to believe
m 1t: but with sturineSs born OF neces-
sltv, II was put III uso upon the Frank
lin lines and proved most welcome
addition 10 its laGlitics. Two years later by some
ucoromancy in regard 10 the ownership ot tie
ratcut nights the Western Union. having obtained
tbeexc1u.jv, control Of the patent, forbade its
70 the Franklin, and placed it upon its own line.
The punhc is aware from experience Of the slow
and reluctant downward progress IN the rates
,Iaro,d for the transmission Of tele4ra'nS. how
e,sr, concession 10 the public has first been eI-
tortcd by opposition companies, aud how every
victory over rival, resulting in it, amagamstion
with the mouopoly. has been accompanied hy d ne
tutu 10 higher rates. The pOucy 0f the western
Inlon toward employees has been Ill neral 10 ihs
last degree and probably no class oi mtenE'ht hnu
Il lied osratVcs 10 any llne of human industry IN
this country to-dayNso hOpelessy placed as The
tcleeTdphers
The future OIlcir tOtl dhboIuiflN Ho'h'ht' on" y"
thas, " ho are past the time OF life at winch one
easily ACQUIRES new ideas and breaks IN with ne"
duties the outlook is dismal indeed 10" com
many has never, until within a year or two,
seemed to recognize the individuality OF its
onerstOrs: vet in no profession can "a
yreater diversity OF useful accomplishments
be frnnd. Some are qualified TO send, others only
10 receive. Some TO work long and difficult wires
where stosdIBess II nerve aud judgment only NC
qnIred by long years OF EXPERIENCE are requisite
Others are more useful Oh shorter wires where rapid