Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1880-01-30
THE INvIOLABILITY OF LETTERS SENT
BY WIRE,

By WlhE,
If the masses could not read or
write and were compelled to call upon
postoffice clerks to write as we'll as
forward their letters in the mail bags
them correspondence would bestrict-
ly private. The government in trans
mitting the mails becomes a public
carrier and all sealed letters are held
inyiolate except in time of war, when
according to the old latin proverb
laws are silent (incer armo silent
leges). The telegraph companies un-
dertake to transmit news or commu.
nications and employ experts who un-
derstand the peculiar alphabet of tele-
graphy to send messages over the
wires. If every person who can write
dispatch knew also how to send it
from one place to another there would
beno necessity for operators, and every
man would send his own dispatch
without taking into his confidence the
employees of the company. If the
companies used pneumatic tubes in
stead of batteries, and sent written
messages in little cylinders without
knowledge of their contents, they
would no doubt be glad to do so,
and business would be great
ly increased. 1t happens, how
ever, that the operators have to
read the messages word by word be-
fore they can send them, and that in
order to secure accuracy and guard
against mistakes and lawsuits copies
must be taken and preserved for
reasonable time. Politiciansand even
others have taken advantage of the
confidence which necessarily exists
between telegraph companies and
their patrons, and compelled them
by legal process to divulge
the contents olprivate communications
With the same justice a postmaster or
an.express company might be COM
PEELED to open suspected packages and
lay bare their contents. We hold
that telegraph company is simply a
carrier of messages, and that a dis
patch should be as sacred as sealed
letter. The government and the courts
have no rightto take advantage Of pri-
yate understandings which exist only
because the senders of messages do
not understand the workings of a
telegraph instrument and cannot
seal up their communications before
handing them to the operator. The
presumed right to require telegraph
companies to produce copies of dis
patches has been greatly abused. We
are therefore glad to observe that
Senator Salisbury, of Connecti-
cut, chairman Of the committee
on privileges and elections, has
introduced bill on the subject de-
claratory Of what is manifestly a
constitutional right, as much as. the
confidence which exists between
lawyer and client. 1t is briefly as
follows:
That all telegraph messages deliv-
cred for transmission to any telegraph
company availing itself of title 65 of
the revised statutes and copies there
of made by such company at the place
Of destination, or at any intermediate
point, shall be deemed to be private
papers of the senders and
receivers of such messages,
and shall be protected from unreason-
able search and seizure, and from pro-
duction as evidence in individual and
legislative proceedings to the same
extent as letters sent by the United
States mail.
This is so clearly, just and in ac-
cordance with the spirit of the law,
that we need hardly give further
reasons why we think it should be
enacted as statute. The bill should
pass without serious opposition. 1t
protects the people in their natural
rights, and would greatly promote the
commercial interests of the country.