The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-03-24
THE PRESS AND THE TELEGRAPH.

Kansas City Publishers Tell How They Were
Coerced by the Western Union Company.
WASHINGTON, March 23.-The House commit
tee on postoffces and post-roads conducting the
telegraph investigation to-day, began its inquiry
concerning alleged attempts of the Western Union
Telegraph Company to coerce newspapers in the
Western States into making exclusive con-
tracts" etc. Mr.. E. NJ Ayres appeared In be-
half of the Kansas City Times and the Kansas
City Journal, and submitted a statement by j,
A. Mann, secretary and business manager of the
Journal, together with letter from Morrison
Munford proprietor of the Times, and several
communications that have passed between the
latter and the Western Union managers relative
to the contracts of the Times. Dir. Munfords
principal points were as follows With the con-
solidation of the Western Union and the Ameri-
can Union and Mutual Union companies some
five years since, the extreme meas
ures characteristic OF the Western Union
have increased Their form of contract had
contained a clause or clauses binding the papers
TO use of the Western Union lines. and no
others. under penalty and provisions designed to
bind the party of the second part unalterably to
the will of the Western Union. The press OF
Kansas City either had to succumb for want Of
adequate news facilities yield to the Western
Union The acceptance of these contracts may
instance. 1t is believed with good reason by the
writer that not a single rate agreement has been
made by any paper with this company in Ave
years except under protest, and that in every
one of the contracts the publisher signed away
his right to fair competition. He herewith sub
mitted letters from the general managers of the
Western Union at Chicago. dated June and 16,
1884, accompanied by the form of contracts SUBJ
mittec, to show the determined effort TO hold
the newspapers to the clause which they had
been compelled to accept. Mr.. Munford contn-
ues:
Enclosed are documents from the companys
manager complimenting me on my submission.
made to save other important franchises. These,
your committee will see, follow fast upon each
other, and spies in some instances were en-
ployed to follow my messengers to learn che
sources from which this matter got to as. There
were clauses in sundry other contracts by whicf
we were held, provided all others failed. The
delivery of even our regular press report waa
threatened to be withheld by the Western Union
If we failed to give the Western Union all our
special business This jeopardized the founda-
ton of our telegraphic service. IL is proper to
say that we had violated the rerugnant con-
tracts only after long and weary efforts first, to
| obtain fair measure of relief at the hands OF
the Western Union company. These papers re-
veal Only portion Of the occurrences or late
years, but serve sufficiently to show the net
work OF iron by which we were bound. We
were threatened that unless We signed these
contracts we should be put upon higher
scale of special rates-practically ruin
Observation-Disclosures there existed
prohibition in the contract Of July 7. 1882.
which prevented our use Of competing lines IN
this case. OF course we signed, for we dared
not risk our business Ii this is not duress IL ID
akin TO II. a year later modification of this