New-York tribune., 1882-02-18
TRANSATLANTIC CABLE INTERESTS

LONDON. Feb. 17.-At the meeting OF the
,rcct United states Cable Company to-day John Pen
der the chairman of the company spoke in part as
follows
Think il will interest you II give You information Of
tba eject which the shilling tariff lad upon our re-
cepts When referred to the threatened Gould com
pany competition SIX months ago II was saIu 't f b G
cable was laid, and another cable was IA course OF oeg
laid The company did. as mater o. Iact open II
September last WITH tsrm M V & as . on P"nv Tnrksd
for few days and, if rightly informed IN attempt
h1SksS 1IS TO in coarse Of laying they cut throngn
the first cable. Consequently, ut the prcse3t
Int assuming that they will have their cables in
working order then there VIII he competition iut the
western Union Company fulfil their contract ohgatons
10 existing companies tnere "'1F 10 ue ~ ~ J b
the strength of our position H. on me oIher manu. thst
Company divers tratc due 10 'he olu tonPaGS 20 ne
Gould cOmpany's cables, the coHpetluoh may prove
not only severe but the question Of our rights VIII re-
quire to be decided BY legal means
II has been rumored that the existing contracts be
tween n 5ns cansnss nav be disturbed but may say
consider those contracts legally ualntalhaI1' out,
ofOA'n Of money for damages aud. Of course, We
shall be guided by legal advice az 10 the DcEI means OF
gard to the fact that of the directors Of the
Auglo American Telegraph Company mas NO" necone
cations which are binding legally aud morally VIII he
houoraby ulhled especially as he was parry 70 the
contracts which were made between the Anglo Ameri
can and Western Union Companies III the early Gays Oh
NOW ss I" the question Of the one shilling tariff In my
last address stated that had not adopted the one
shilling tariff merely q fighting tariff but that /
believed IT would be enormous boon to the public,
and as It anticipated the Increase or traffic would
more than compensate for the loss which We
ahould sustain by the reduced rate.
havp ONLY 10 say that have so far been dis5p-
point ed in this anticipation but when consider that
the one shilling in 1877 only yielded ESQ per day. and
that now IL yields about Ell $40 per day 1t shows us that
il has taken five years to develop 10 that extent
The duplex and other scientific appliances we have
adopted alone enabled TO make trial with the shill
ing rate but with all these advantages doubt II We
shall be able the amount Of WORK under the shilling
tariff make mp the amount which was being earned
under the shilling tariff
The combined companies were earning 5000 600 per
annum at the shilling rate, but at the shilling
rate have been earning during the last six months only
at the rate OF 6O00 600 The fact is require TO carry
further per cent increase upon the Eumbcr Of
words carried under tue two shilling tariff to make the
revenue IL under the two shilling rate and for
The reasons have given II Is doubtful whether the com
bined companies could do IT, taking into account the
various Interruptions and limited hours in which this
business has 20 be carried
think will state plainly that any one who may lay
cables TO compete with the present system =. the one
shilling tariff will find in the first place that their prop
ertv has immediately deprecated 30 per cent and the
return upon the nal capital will II reserve be put
aside barely pay working expenses even II they BaVe
traffic "a III their cables. So that cannot conceive tbat
we are likely for time to come 10 have new COLI
paDies