New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-02-02
THE LETTER.


egraph Company, in THE TRIBUNE of the 18th inst.'
of proposed Act of Congress- the passage of which
by Congress they will endeavor to procure, Is an
appeaI to the public generally which not only JUS
titles but invites. candid comment upon its merits
The bin for an act as published by the company, is
as follows:
bill for an Act in relation 70 Ie9eTdphc C0""""'0"
tons.
sEcTIoS l. That ali telegraph messages delivered for
to any telegraph company aSng i sra
OF the PROVISIONS of Title % OF the Revised Statutes ano
destination, at any intermediate point snan , Te
deemed 10 be private lpers Of the senders anu receE
ers on snch messages and shall b. protected from unrea
sonaDe and seizure and from prodncton a. ~
dence I'm Individual aud legislative proceedings 10 tne
same letters sent by the United STATES man
The company say, in support of this bill, that IL
has ample foundation in law las seen from the IAN
ruage OF Judge Cooley hereinafter quotedl' ana may
he very well considered merely declaratory OF
what already exists as q constitutional right" The
article then ouotes from the dec sion Of the United
States Supreme Court in &c pdTfe Jackson (9o =. o.
D. 1881 a passage well known to those VINO nave
exam ned this subject and when clearly
holds that letters and sealed packages Wh'st
IN the mail are protected from unreasonaole
search and seizures" by the Eighth Ainenu-
mcnt TO the Constitution. though 1t distinctly
reco mics their liability even whilst in the mall to
OpcUcd W.
oath. etc. particularly describing the thing to be
seized as is required when papers are subjected to
search in ones own household" 1t further quotes
Judgs Cooley's note on page 307 of his work on
Constitutional Limitations, and the four pro-
positions which summarize his article on the same
subject in The american Lar Register for February,
1879: thus apparently adopting Judge CoOley's
views as supporting the proposed bill.
The following extract from the communication
sets forth the immediate reason why the Company
have prepared and will urge the passage OF TINS Dill
But the pubic have the g9vest Interest IN TIE pro
posed legislation ana II Is on netsi VI a In % ~
hardly citizen Of the country whose business IN III re-
M any moment TO gross hardship IN the production. in
obedience to dragnet sweeping OF his bus-
nrss and social kilograms and this whether the same
are of The most delicate ana sacred character, and
whether they relevant OF not.
There can be no doubt that the public is deeply
interested in the prevention of the abuse referred
to- aud as little that in more than one instance 1t
has occurred. The question remains, however,
whether the proposed bill meets this evil in such
manner as to call for ITS adoption venture TO SUBJ
NIT one or two objections TO ii which have occurred
to myself; the subject being one to which as 1t hap
neps have paid some attention. In effect this bill
declares ana enacts:
1 That kilograms (originals and copies made BY
the company either at destination or intermediate
points) shall be deemed TO be private papers of the
senders and receivers.
. That said papers stall be protected TO The same
,ri,f as letters sent bg the United States mail from
to Unreasonable search and seizure and from d.,
Production AS evidence in individual and legislative
proceedings.
Now. this is distinctly remedial statute. aimed
Mt a particular abuse. Like all such statutes, ITS
merits depend on whether ~ it supplies clear,
available and sufficient remedy; and ~ the pro-
posed remedy is not itself Objectionable.
The remedy proposed is. fsst that Congress shall
declare the original and copied kilograms to be
"priyate papers Of the senders and receivers" As
summing that such declaration is necessary, what
remedial effect would it have think The answer
must be simply this that il puts such kilograms in
the Ike position neither better nor worse Win all
that class Of papers known to the law as private
writings for example, private and business let
;ers books Of account AID papers or documents re-
lating TO private business. But this provision of
the Act goes no further but leaves 1t to the courts
in every ease relating TO kilograms, just il now
rests with the courts in relating to other pr-
yate writings to determine whether they shall be
produced under a Subpoena daces tecam or not.
So far the provision is a just one, though whether
# he necessary to pass an Act of Congress Tor this
pnrposc may be questioned. Ii the courts should
hold. rs the Supreme Court of Missouri, in a case
involving precisely this question ter parte Brown
and now pending before it, has been asked TO hold,
that private kilograms remaining IN the custody OF
the telegraph company are none the less " private
WRITINGS IN view Of the peculiar feat Of the
telegraph system, it would be unnecessary. But
tins il n very different view from that advocated by
Judge Cooley in his article IN The american Lac
Regste for February 1879, referred to by the COM
many. In that article Judge Cooley takes the
broad ground that Geographic dispatches, as such,
fall within the class of privileged c0mmunca-
tions -; and that obey are not only private
writings but are not anenable under any ciTcum-
stances to the process of the Courts. AT least, j
so understand him he says: "The public are not
entitled TO them for any purpose" inns latterls the
view which has been hitherto conteDded tor by the
counsel of the Western Union Telegraph Company
IN the cases where this question was raised. The
Senate Committee ON Privileges and Elections after
argument. last week adopted resolution expressly
rejecting this view. Ii adopted 1T would amount to
declaring that communication which, II transmit
ted by letter and dclrered from the mail. would be
subject under proper circumstances to compulsory
process of the Courts, shall be absolutely exempt
from such process II and solely because transmitted BY
teIepapk-no matter how relevant to the pendlng
controversy nor how confessedly important to the
ends OF Justice its production. 1t Is satisfactory to
lind that IN the proposed bill this extreme position
is not taken.
BIT the fact remains that this portion of the pro-
posed remedial statute leaves II still open for the
Courts IN each case 10 determine whether the tele
gram called for should be produced not. 1t would
seem that a remedial statute ought to meet the
evil complained of more definitely; and that this
provision would afford very little, if any, real re-
lief Accordingly, the proposed act further pro-
vides that kilograms shall be protected ito the
same erent as letters sent bv the United States mail
from unreasonable search and seizure" and from
production under compulsory process. What. then.
Ill L., thn nfncI of this and how eicient