Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1884-07-18
A TRIPLE ALLIANCE.
riaursa rar Bia WESTERN UNION
The baltimore Il ONO Telegraph Company
JCin Hands with tho Bankera \ mot
chants ana Postal Dompapit,

In" ha""ore " ONO Telegraph Company
! JCin Hands win tho BANKERS \ mot
| chants ana Postal Companies.
Tho Baltimore Il Ohio telegraph com
pany announces that q triple alliance has
bCon formed between that company and
the Bankers Il Merchants and tho Pos
| tai Telegraph companies, and thus, through
! tho efforts of Robert Garrett, vice presi-
dent of tho Baltimore n Ohio railroad
! company, there is presented to the country
ut last great rival system to that Of tho
gigantic Western Union Telegraph com.
pany. The Baltimore 4 Ohio officials
say that this means long and severe
struggle with Jay Gould's great corpora.
| tion.
The lines, officers and business of the
new system are To be managed by Joint
board, composed of Robert Garrett, John
| w. Mackay, James Gordon Bennett and
| other prominent capitalists. ID. ii. Bates,
who recently resigned the vice presidency
of the Western Union Telegraph company
to take charge of the Baltimore Il Ohio
company's affairs, will be the executive
manager of tho new system, aud q. !.
Mott, of the Bankers X Merchants, its
general manager.
The consolidation includes the Mackay-
Bennett cable system. The consumma
tiou Of this great scheme las been the
result OF plan formed nearly year ago,
and the first move was the purchase by
tho Baltimore y Ohio, soon after Mr.
Bates assumed charge, of the National
| Line, on the West Shore and Nickel Plate
route to Chicago. for sl,OOOOOO The
Western Union attempted TO prevent the
contamination OF the purchase and the
construction of the new line, but lost all
its points in court. Then followed tho
decision of the United States supreme
| Of I,t,. tl,.,
Union aud the Baltimore y Ohio affect
ing the possession of telegraph lines on
the Baltimore Il Ohio railroad, which
had been in court ten years.
In the four months past 20, 600 miles of
wire have been constructed, which is more
than twice as much as any company even
including the Western Union, ever built
within the same period and 5000 miles
more are now in progress of construction.
The following figures will show the mag.
nitude Of the consolidated system Tho
total Baltimore 4 Ohio mileage by August
| | will be 49, ,OOU miles Of wire, reaching
from Boston on the East, st. Louis on the
West aud Texarkana and Galveston on the
Southwest, with seven through wires from
New York to Chicago. The Gulf, Colorado
! y Santa Fe railroad, of Texas, which has
been doing public Telegraph business in
opposition to the Western Union company
! for several years, joins the combination.
! and, in connection with the Baltimore Il
. Ohio, Will build lines to all important
, cities and towns in Texas.
The Bankers u Merchants company
has during the past six months increased
its mileage from 10000 to 1000 miles,
reaching the southern states to New
Orleans, w,s: to st. Paul and Omaha,
:, with ten through wires from New York to
, Chicago.
. . The Postal is also adding wires aud per-
fecting its system, aud will have ten wires
in all between New York and Chicago,
besides Boston aud Washington. The
. total mileage of the combination is 100, 900
= miles, equal to one third Of Western
a Union mileage, emitting railroad wires.
+, But this one third, it is claimed, by reach
,, ing chiefly important trade centres and
: large cities. touches 50 per cent. OF the
" entire telegraph traffic Of the United States.
- 4 telegraphic money transfer system,
= aud district messenger service will be
- extensively developed. The combination
- has reduced its rates below the Western
- Union rates. Tho aggregate annual rental
=, Of the leased wires of the Baltimore 4
III" Ohio & Merchants x Bankers com
pauies aggregates nearly $780, 600. The
new system is TO be further developed aI
fast as possible.
luC CAptuStS Oh operating tEc new
systems will be reduced as nearly rs pos
u sible to the cost of operating one company,
with, it is claimed, vii! enable the com
Il biuatiOn ~ secure to the pablo cheap and
t reliable service.
Tho allied companies represents & cash
D outlay Of S22, 900, 600 in land aud ocean
lines, and enters into competition with
o the Western Union, representing capital
t OF about 100000, 900, and meets 1t OF
3 equal II not superior footing throughout a
o territory from the big capitalized CorpOr'
. alton has IN tho past derived by far the
4 greater portion of its revenue. WheE
Il Gould oudeaYOred to induce MaCkay &C
draw out of the business and turn hi:
!. enormous wealth into other channels, the
r bonauzI king quickly turned upon the
I agents Of the great speCulatOr and declared
0 that he could afford 70 lose all the cash he
had put into Land lines and cables, but III
n could not afford to sell to Jay Gould.
0 So far as Bennett is concerned, ho may
!, be safely quoted as fully agreeing with
s Mackay, aud, were he to personally ex
press himself, would doubtless be much
g more emphatic, Garrett, with the hall
u century record of the Baltimore " Ohio
& company for not selling ont anything Il
a anybody, completes the trio of magnate'
b who, ia tho new and concentrated move
|. upon the Western Union monopoly, may
n be predicted to render things interesting
d IN telegraph circles, representing iuterest
o greater in extent of class and capital th al
!; the whole stock and bonded indebtedness
}. Of the Western Union and its eight ooear
}, cables 1t would be idle to talk of selling
n out, or Of one company longer concentrat
n ing the eutire telegraph business OF thl
o country within its own control.
- - -
. au Tho Hold Buccsnesr.
~ | Tpyaa