Daily Kennebec journal., 1884-11-26
THE ELECTION RETURNS.
PRESIDENT Green of the Western Union
Telegraph, Denies that the Com.
pany Delayed, Altered or
Withheld the
Returns.


The following letter from Norvin Green,
President OF the Western Union Telegraph
Company. concerning the election returns,
has been furnished for publication:
EXECUTIVE OFFICE,
WESTERN UNION TELEGRAPH CoMPASY
NEW YORK, Nov. %. 1884.
Now since the Presidential election is set.
tied and the excitement incident to close
political contes, abat-d, il is proper
to say. We are prepared to show
most conclusiyely, the utter groundlessness
OF the charges against the Western Union
Telegraph Company, of partiality in report
ing or withholding the election returns of
the State of New York. | denv in the mos;
emphatic manner that the Western Union
Telegraph Company delayed, altered or with
held the election returns of this State or any
other State, or tampered with them in any
way 1t bad nothing whatever to do with the
returns Of the State of New York, except to
transmit them over its lines as prepared by
the agents of the associated press. All the
returns OF the State were collected by the
associated press. All the compiling was done
in its offices by its own agents and ali its
bulletins were prepared by it, and copies
were simply delivered to Mr. Somerville,
general distribution to the public This
company had nothing TO do with making up
the bulletins, nur did any officer OF agent. or
other person connected with or intert sted in
this company. except the operators who trans
nltted the returns, have access TO or see any
of them. until bulletins had been made up
therefrom IN the associated press office, and
handed to for public distribution, and
have no reason to believe that the agents of
the associated press acted otherwise than in
an impartial manner. Ordinarily MANY of our
offices are not kept open tor business after
eight o'clock PM. To assist US in meeting the
extraordinary extra expense of the extra
employment of several thousand night oper-
ators, We have had for many years ar apge-
ments with the press associations giving us
the privilege of selling bulletins to political
and social clubs and other subscribing Gus
toners. We simply took the associated press
bulletins as that association had made them
up and delivered them as heretofore to Gus
toners who had subscribed for them-nothing
more. The charge that the returns were
purposely withheld or that there was unusual
delay in reporting them, is entirely false.
Instead of such delay there was extraordinary
promptness. Never before have reports from
SO many election districts been received with
in so short time. Within As hours after
the count of ballots began, returns were
rec iyed from SO per cent of the 1000 cleo
ton districts in the State. Although the
night OF the election was stormy, and there
was some trouble in working the wires, no
delay occurred IN any reports handed to our
offices Outside the city of New York Within
the city the telegraph service was as nearly
perfect as it was possible to make it. and the
only trouble was with some of the short wires
hastily erected for temporary use. 1t is here
to be noted that heretofore the majority
reported from the more populous and there
fore the most accessible counties have been
so decisive that the popular mind has been
set at rest respecting the result of the
election on the first night. there being no
hope or fear of a change in the general
result. Subsequent returns, more or
less tardy, have struggled in unheeded
In two instances in this State | have been in
formed that the county canvassers, who met
one week after the election this year, had to
adjourn over because the county clerks had,
up to that time, been unable to get in the
vote of their counties. The only other re-
turns complained of were those of Indiana
where at the request of the political COM
mittees and the press, in the absence of any
agent of the associated press, the reports
came through and were sent out by our
superintendent, Mr.. j. +. Wallick. who in
sists that he used every effort to obtain all
the returns as speedily as possible | con-
slider the demand for an investigation of that
service, made by the indianapolis Sentinel
and also by Mr. Walliek himself, reasonable
and proper, and have asked the chairman of
the Indiana democratic State committee to
take part in the investigation or to name a
representative to do SO. The management of
this company in its business relations to the
public is strictly non-political and non
partisan. The employees represent every
shade of political opinion and are in the
company's service solely by virtue of their
proficiency as telegraphers. What their
individual political opirion are has never
been in any case called into question. nor
have their votes ever been canvassed or as
certained. But of those with who | per-
sonally come in contact. | know that there
are quite as many democrats as republicans
1t is therefore manifestly absurd to charge
that the service of the company could be con-
verted into partg machine or could in any
way distort or sttle the facts when such an
attempted conspiracy could only have been
made by the aid of a large number of men,
bers of the political party which it was
designed to injure.
NoRvIN GREEN
President