National Republican., 1884-01-15

greater part Of the remainder the purchn of lines
Of the various competing companies which nave
started up from time to lime. The Bankers ana
Brokers, the Insulated the Fraugllu, the PacihC
aud Atlantic, the Southern and Atlantic, inc Az
lantc and Pacific, the American Union, and the
Mutual Union have successfully gone tUswell the
enormous aggregation of consolidated capital on
which the people who send telegrams are obNged
TO nay dividends. Other competing lines are now
starting, but they will be shortiVcd, no mhltor
now able their promoters may be To carry thcm
on, Where CUmbuntiOui Is possible competition is
mEossipe aud in the nature OF things, gspitaiiSts
Will hot carry their schemes beyond the point NJ
which they become unpr fl,able IL complete
system of competing lines were TO be established
tomorrow the result would bc to mote than
double the expense by the Increased cost OF up'
Grating and tU more than divide tne profits by the
necessary reduction OF rates. But long before
such roint can be reached in the ordinary course
of things competitors would ilud II to Their inter
est to consolidate, and the amount Of stock to be
issued to the competing company ns lis share IN
the future profits would only b, measured by the
ability to hold out. The history of the ab ho
asserted, would be the history of the iuture so
long as the telegraph remained in private hhnds.
lie said that frequent complaints had been made
of the manner IN which the telegraph business OF
the country was transacted by private companies,
and asserted thnt all who had investigated tile
subject i'm pa TALLY, even those whO IKE the late.
postmaster general, came TO the Investigation re-
luctuntiy and With strong indispoSition TO inter
fere with private Interests, conceded thaJ the
remedy must come IN some iorm or acton Dy
the national government. Competition miht
afford relief, but 1t is certain that competition
would not do SO because competition was ut tie
expense of capital.
lie described tho features Of aud the point, OF
difference between the several measures winch
have been brought forward in COnglc's providing
for the assumption by the government of the coil-
troll vi the telegraph system and pointed out what
| he considered their objections. He explained the
provisions of tile bill introduced BY himself! when
| he hud framed IN meet the objections embodied
| in the other He referred to the arguments whlch
had been urged against any int clcrenCe WIN tne
telegraph business of the country, asserting that
no time could be more auspicious than the pres.
ont to encounter the expenditures of the new po
| icy, and Combatted the idea that tho telegraph
could be used as political machine BY the party
| in power. - -,
| graph IL now restricted by its cost to extraordi-
| nary communications, and by its nature 70 mes'
sages whicn do not need to be iii the handwriting
| of the sender. Under these conditions the pro-
| portion of kilograms To letters is about ono 10
| thirty. But who shall sny how soon some great
discovery no more wonderful than the telephone,
may enable inc smile messages to be sent III;
Simultaneously aud eheapy over the wires lilsteatl
| OF by the slow and costly process by which thcy
| are now transmitted in Eurone2 If that result
shall be accom- piished una II is being eOrnestly
sought 10y inventors, the pOstOicc VIII be stripped
of It's most important business. Every lettcr whiCh
does require absolute secrecy, or which can pc
be written IN cipher, will be taken from the mails
and sent by electricity. Drafts Will be drawn ana
| balances stated daily 10y telegraph, and the
| monopoly which shall have grown up in the con-
troll of this business will overshadOw not only the
| postofhce department, but the government ilseli.
| Messages from the President were read trans.
| mitting communications from the ecietnry OF
| the inferior, submitting estimates tor settlement
| witw certain freedmen for lands forming part OF
| the Oklahoma district for the relief OF the Mis-
Sion Indians i'll the state OF California ana an cs.
innate OF 5000 for the survey Of lands purchased
from the creek Indians for the use OF the SEMI
| noles.
The senate then went into executive session,
aud when the doors were reopened adjourned.