Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1883-09-13
THE HISTORY OF A MONOPOLY.
President Norvin Green's Sketch of the
Western Union.

= ~
Western Union.
DR.. Norvin Green, president of
the Western Union Telegraph Com
pany, appeared as a witness before
the subcommittee of the Senate
committee on education and labor.
which is investigating the relations
between labor and capital and the
causes of labor troubles. He tests
fed as to his connection with the
Western Union Company, his knowl-
edge of Geographic service in this
country and in England. it's growth
in the United States, growth and
present condition Of the Western
Union Company and other matters
bearing upon the relations of that
company to the public. He said he
had been connected with the Yves
tern union Company since 1866,
and had been its president for the
past five years. Prior to 1866 the
Western Union Company had alb,
sorbed the United States Telegraph
Company and had thus extended its
lines to Salt Lake City and the
Northwest. tt had also absorbed
the American Telegraph Company.
1t that time the capital stock of the
Western Union was S41,06l,O00.
Since that time it has absorbed a
large number of smaller companies.
It was necessary may years ago, he
said, to buy zip the nights of way
along railroads, and of these the
company now owned 600. The cap
~italization of the Western Union
was formerly S600a mile, but now
it was less than $500. It's capital
stock was now about $50, G0e 900.
Witness explained to the committee
the nature OF the contracts which
the company had with railroads,
and which. he said, ran from 20 to
so wears. The service the railroads
do the company was, he said, of
great utility TO the company but of
small pecuniary benefit to the rail-
roads. The capacity of the co mpa-
ny for the transmission Of dispatchs
es was now double what it vas five
years ago. He asserted that the
company could do it's business much
more cheaply if it were to adopt the
English ~postoffice system and take
it's own time. He was satisfied
that there was no Geographic ser
vice in the world as good as that of
the Western Union Company. The
witness presented figures illustrating
the growth ofthe telegraph in the
United States since 1856. He
thought the public had been slow i'll
approaching the difficulties under
which the telegraph companies have
labored in building up their sys-
tens, and pointed out that it was
only about 1856 that Geographic
prnnerty began to yield dividends.
He also said that in every instance
in which there had been consolida>
ton of companies the public had
been the gamers. He deprecated
the efforts that are being made to
compel companies to place their
wires underground.
At the afternoon session DIR
Green resumedhi il testimony. Four
ffths Of the Western Union operas
tors had been Office boys and mess
sengers. The average salary paid
to their employees is $40 a month.
4 large number Of their female OPP
orators were educated at the Cooper
Institute at the expense of the COM
pany, about sixty operators a year
being turned out. The average
RACES of Western Union Operations
is S64.7J and that OF all ~operat&rs
in the country IS 964.9o. Witness
denied the assertion of the NSw
York Bimes THAT one Of their ops
orators received more than $50 a
mcuth, and added that the operas
tors receiving the Times specials
gets $50 Il mouth for FIVE hours
work, and S65 in the Produce EX-
change for five hours work, making
$1jJ Il month. Operators here get
twice as much pay as in England,
but they DO more work. He thought
the strike should have been won by
the company at any cost. The main
cause Of the strike was the belief
that the number Of available OPP
orators outside of the employ Of the
company were in the strikers pow
er. The Gould system of railroads
in its efforts to obtain f~rst-class OPP
eratore forced up wages beyond the
market value Of services rendered.
The general rates on all their lines
had been gradually reduced. The
tendency of wages is upward, and
was never ~higherthan now. Women
do not intend TO make d life-work
of operating. The best female OPP
orators received $40 a month.