St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-01-02
LOWER TELEGRAPH RATES
The Great Cut Made by the Baltimore
q Ohio Company,
And What is Said About 1t by Officers Of
Competing Lines.
Especial Telegram to ehe Globe. /

CHICAGO Jan. 1.-The extensive reduction
of rates with which the Baltimore & Ohio
Telegraph company signalized the begin
ming of the new year was the subject of con-
sideral comment among the telegraph men
OF Chicago to-day, the nature of the
comments being as varied as
the standpoints from which they
were uttered. j. E. ZeubIin, general super
intendent of the Chicago district of the Bal
timore Ohio, regarded the cut as an oppor-
tune and judcious bit of enterprise, and
predicted the best results. When asked if
be expected sufficient increase of patronage
to offset the difference in tariff, he replied:
mo doubt of it. Such drop in rates
can t fail to greatly increase the volume of
business. Take, for instance, the rates from
Chicago. The new tariff from here to New
York is fifteen cents instead of fifty cents as
heretofore, to Philadelphia, Baltimore and
Washington twenty cents instead of fifty
cents, fifteen cents to Cincinnati as against
thirty-fye cents, one half the old
rate to Pittsburg and Columbus,
and nearly as great a reduction
to Cleveland and Indianapolis, these cities
being embraced in the twenty cent rate.
Twenty-Five cents is now the rate on all ten
word messages from this city to Providence,
Hartford, and the New England cities, where
the old schedule called for from sixty to
seventyfve cents. The cut is made on all
rates between the leading merchant cities
from Boston to St. Louis.
"What do you understand to be the object
of the com pany in making this reductionl'
THE object is to take priority as the low
rate company of the country, believing such
course will open up for it n prosperous fu-
ture. We have had all sorts Of rates to COM
pete again St, especially the peculiar rates Of
the Mutual Union, and 1t was decided to
form an independent scale of our own so low
that none could go below it,
While speaking Mr.. Zeublin was handed q
letter which proved to be a note from the
superintendent OF one of the competing tele-
graph offices, and it read as follows:
Dear Sir: happy New Year. Since your
great reduction in rates, am thinking we had
better discharge our employees, lease our wires,
turn our business over to you and pocket the
commission
Col. R. A Clowry, general manager of.the
''All l know about the Baltimore s. Ohio's
reduction is what have read in the papers,"
he said. 81 am neither surprised nor
alarmed by it and am not at a loss to ac-
count for it. Everybody who has observed
the affairs of that company has been ex-
pectng it to 90 under for some time, and
this I am satisfied is its death struggle"
''Will the Western Union meet the cut9"
cit will pay no attention to it whatever.
Our night rate is already as low as theirs and
our board of trade rates are the same. We
rlve 1900 offices in the United States and
DO not think our business is in any danger
Of falling off, from any action of these small
companies which come and go
every few years. The Baltimore 81 Ohio has
been losing money right along. The Bank
ers IL Merchants is in the hands of re-
ceiver, with an Indebtedness running up
into the millions, and the Postal Telegraph
is doing nothing. These companies are all
in tight places and they are making every
despairing effort to keep aloat in the
hope that the tide will eventually turn in
their favor. The whole trouble seems to be
that the Western Union has quit buying in
these small comp anies.
General Superintendent Stewart, of the
Bankers 81 Merchants, said the reduction
was undoubtedly scheme of the Baltimore
Il Ohio, and an invitation to the Western
Union to buy the property.