Morning journal and courier., 1884-05-23
News by Telegraph FROM ALL QUARTERS. POSTAL TBLBGRAPHY. The Report Made By Sena-
 tor Hill. EVILS OF THE MONOPOLY. A Plan To Protect The
 Public. FERDINAND WARD IN JAIL. The Ahidavits Made For
 His Arrest.
THE NATIONAL CAPITAL.

IN
 Against a Telegraph MonopOIy-The Re-
 port to Accompany the Postal Tele-
 graph Bin-A Plan for Protecting the
 Public.
 WASHINGTON, May 22.-The Senate Com mittee on Postofices and Post Roads have adopted the report prepared by Senator Hill, of Colorado, which is to accompany the pos tai telegraph bill recommendation. The re- port recites in detail the history of the stock capitalizstions of the Western Union com pany whereby it has reached $sO, GOO, 900, which the report says were brought about in some cases to get rid of competition and in others to increase the interests and conse- quent gains of individuals in the control of that company. The price paid by the Vest ern Union for competing lines was vastly in excess of their cost or earning capacity. The exact excess of the capitalization of the Western Union beyond the actual cost of it's lines, or what it would cost to reproduce them, cannot be determined. That it is enor. nous is entirely plain and undisputed. The swollen capitalization of the Western Union, the report says, has created tone and at the same time cover and inducement, and ir some senses necessity for excessive charges for telegrams So long as and so far af the public have been made tc believe that this nominal capitalization was a real one it has tended tc cause an acquiescence in the excessive charges, while the exposure of the actual nature of the nominal capital does not diminish the pressure of the motives which fmpel the managers of the companies essen tial to the present dividends upon it's watered stock. After reviewing the testimony taken by the committee the report says: 'For the purpose of giving fabulous fortunes to itl inside managers and their friends the Western Union need not send untrue market quota tions. It has only to give the true quota tions single hour, or less than that, in ad vance to those whom it means to favor and the work is effectually accomplished. Nc such power should be allowed to exist ir this country even if no past abuses of it car be shown to have occurred or even if it ii believed that there have been in fact nc abuses of it. The temptation is enormous and will sooner or later prove to be irresist ible." The bill, the report says, will effect ually take such power away from the Western Union or any private telegraph company by the low rates which it secures to everybody and by the still lower ratel which it secures to commercial news associa tions. The report pays it's respects to thu Associated Press and in criticising the testi mony of the general agent says that that as sociation s'is so strongly interested in the in timacy of it's relations with the Westerr Union that competition with it has been made well nigh impossible" eff under sral associations shall be formed to collec and distribute news they will necessaril, have their news concentrated at centra points before it is distributed and the same danger of censorship at the central points will exist as now exists in the case of the As sociated Press; but the temptation to exer else a censorship will be taken away because there will be little or no advantage to any body in manipulating the news sent out b, one association when other and independen associations are at the same time sending ou the news unmanipulated /" s.The contracts be tween the Western Union and the Asso ciated Press, the report saJs, restrail them from interfering with each oth- er's interests and purposes and mak
 them practically as against the genera public a single corporation. The commltte \ admit that whatever changes have in the pas been made in Western Union rates have bee made in the line of reduction, but they insia | that reductions have been seriously impede' and will be in the future almost entirely pre- | vented by reason Of enormous stock capital l izations, and further that large numbers c | places are discriminated against in rates an | will continue to be as long as private inter
 est alone governs the regulation ( prices. The committee are not unanimou in the opinion that it is expedient for tn
 government to purchase or build it's ow lines. A majority favor building or buyin l in the event of the failure to secure a sati
 factory working contract. But the committe are unanimous that if no fair or adequat
 measures can be agreed upon between th
 telegraph companies and the government
 will become the duty of the goVerr
 ment to extend it's constitutional pows to protecting the people from the exactio1
 of the existing corporations.