The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-04-02
TO IMPROVE THE TKLEsRApa SEP

Inc senate last IQesday placed itself on
record as an honest and intelligently com
posed body, when a unanimous vote was
cast in favor OF the passage of Senate bill
$40, recently introduced By Senator Winter.
The purpose OF this bill is to compel tsle-
phone companies TO place instruments Ia
the Office of any and all telegraph companies
upon equal terms. And also, requiring tel
graph companies TO accept from each othsr
kilograms for transmission a. transfer sta.
lions upon the same terms as il filed by pri-
vate individuals.
1t will be remembered that suit was re-
Gently terminated involving the B. and 0.
Telegraph Company, and the Central Union
Telephone Company of this city, the latter
having refused TO place in the Office OF
the former telephone, except upon
certain unreasonable conditions net
required of other telegraph companies
firms or individuals. 1t is well known that
the telephone company Is controlled in the
interest of the Western Union Telegraph
Company, and this corporation IS opposed to
allowing q telephone to be placed in the OF
fee Of any competing line.
Nor will the Western Union telegraph
Company sccept for transmission kilograms
transferred TO them by opposition COM paniss
except upon such terms az renders it imprac-
ticable for tbs opposing line to accept the
business offered them at originating points
Under the present system the Western
Union refuse to accept from competing lines
telegTsms not prepaid, and even then a pre-
MUM of an average OF 10 cents is charged
them for denoting or the margin of the mes
cage the name Of the place at which the
transfer is made This information is of no
value to the sender or recipient
OF the message or the telegraph company &C
ceptipg it for transmission, and is rendered
only for the information OF tho book keepers
of the telegraph company last involved in
the transaction. By this uni uss discrimina-
ton party in Terre Hante, a point reached
by the w. U. Co, desiring to telegraph to
Bremen, Ind, point reached only by the
B. and o. Co., and requesting an answer
thereto, is sadly disappointed, after long
waiting, to learn that the answer can not be
obtained except by being prepaid at Bremen.
ss the w. U. would refuse to accept it from
the B. and o. Co. at indianapolis. TIE Brs-
men party being disiHteresfed, there is no
other alternative but to use the mails. This
illustration fully demonstrates the sdvant-
sges that will be obtained by the bill
becoming a law. Under the provisions
of the bill, kilograms can be accepted by
competing lines in ell Eastern cities destined
fer interior towns 10 Indiana, resched only
by the Western Union Company at rate
Of forty i've cents, paying 10 the Western
Union st Indianapolis twenty-five cents and
retaining twenty, the latter figure being the
local rate by opposing iiDes between Eastern
cities and Indianapolis, the former amount
being the rate charged by the Western Union
from indianapolis 10 all towns in the State
of Indiana The rates charged by the
Western Union from Eastern cities to in
terror points in Indiana varies from sixty to
seventy i've cents. 1t will be seen that by
these figures competing lines can handle the
business at great reduction of rates, at the
same time paying to the Western Union
more than 80 per cent. of the tolls charged
and still retain their own local rate
between originating point and Indispa poi,.
This advantage is certainly to be appre-
GATED. Besides it furnishes to opposition
lines business not otherwise cbtainabls.
BY the passage Of the bill an impetus is
given TO competition in the telegraph SER
vice that will stimulate it 10 such an extent
as 10 ever prevent the buying up by a monop-
ely of all existing lines operted detri men al
to their interests thus affording to the en-
rloyes and others dependent upon competi-
ton in this direction an alternative for their
existence.
The bill is directly in the interest OF the
entire community. the laboriDg element and
the telegraph fraternity, and it is to be hoped
when it reaches the House it will pass with
out q dissenting vote
A bill of almost the precise nature of this
recently passed the Tennessee and Arkansas
Legislatures unanimously. Indiana will
certainly not fslter in granting her people
the same triumphant victory.