Arizona weekly citizen., 1883-08-18
POSTAL TELEGRAPH.

A monopoly uf anything Is an lnJustlct to the people who are compelled to pat ronize 1t. It matters not whether 1t bt an undertaken, tailor, a shoemaker merchant, contractor, sewing machines railroads or telegraph lines. But wher We have such a gigantic corporation a: the Western Union telegraph, whicl practically controls the telegraphiC business of the country, and forces all competition to the wall. for the purpose of maintaining that monopoly, it be comes dangerous thHg to deal with and its baneful effects upon the com munity cannot be arrested iD ordinary competition, which in most kinds oI business Is a potent power to regulate such abuses. From first to last, DO les. than half dozen telegraph lines have been constructed with the avowed pur pose of competing with the Western Union Company. but nearly all of then succumbsd to that gigantic corporation and in most cases before thay were placed upon anything like a paying basis. The people of the country are compelled to contribute in the way oi hig1 tolls to this company, that divi dends may be paid on watered and i'm aginary stock, which by some authori ties is estimated at S40.OOo,OOO.
 It is believed by many, and there are certainly good grounds for such belief that the only way to check this monOp, oly is by a postal telegraph line, built by the government, to be used in con nection with the letter mail, and as 6 part of the postal system of the ooun, try. A large number of the leading journals of the east are now agitating this question, and the belief is generally expressed that it is the only means that offers a remedy for what is generally conceded to be the greatest monopoly the country. 4 few years ago there was some tHlk of the passage of law oy Congress appropriating sufficient sum to construct s postal line, which o course was not favorably received by the Western Union Company, who could see that IL would be a severe blow tC their system, and that ultimately Il would greatly reduce their div idends, and possibly necess tate the wipirg out of their water ed stock. The capital of the Western Union, counting the watered stock .n aquals or excedes Sl00,0OO,OO0. It Il believed that by an expenditure of s25, 0 90 Q, the government could provide [ telegraph service Rs extensive as thai now covered by all the corporations winch would include the Rapid Com pAuy, and the Baltimore and Ohio com Dauy. If SO the government could af ford to send ten words from one end O
 be continent to the other for from l; To 25 cents, and ordinary letters of iron
 wenty to forty words within a distanc, f say 1000 miles for cents. The dis patches could be sent from one town t, mother, and either delivered from tn, telegraph office or left at the post offic, 70 be delivered as other mail matter il l now delivered, or what would still b, ietter, the postal telegraph office coult le combined with the postoffice, snC ,oth be in the same building and oper
 ted under the same management. Th' lostal system would certainly be a grea convenience to the people, while l would do away with the possibility O strikes. The operators instead of reosiv ing a monthly salary, would be appoint ed by the government during good be havior; they would necessarily be ex perts, who could not be displaced b. | wholesale at the change of an admin s.ration. It would not even be neces sary to apply the civil service act to tn operators, further than to ascertain thei qualifications as telegraphers, and polit ics could not disturb them as DO part would be able to furnish a .sufficien number ut operators. The postal tele graph service will no doubt receive tn serious consideration of the Congres: The country IS in favor of it and Cor gress should not be slow to pay heed t the people.