The Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1885-1886, 1886-03-10
TELEGRAPH MONOPOLlES.
The Western Union Telegraph Company
Receives q Drubbing.

WASHINGTON CITY, March 10-Anderson
of Kansas recently introduced q resolution
empowering the house COMMITTEES on post
offices and postroads to ascertain whether
additional legislation is needed to prevent a
monopoly of telegraph facilities and TO Sc
cure TO the southern and western Pacific
states the benefits of competition between
telegraph companies, and to protect the
people against unreasonable charges for tel
egraphic service. The committee met
Tuesday morning to consider the resolution,
and hear those who favored its adoption
Anderson, in brief address to the commit
tee explained his purpose in offering the
resolution He was opposed to monopolies
of any sort His motive in this in
stance was to secure for his sec
ton of the country cheap telegraphy,
and the advantages of competition
in obtainngnews 1t would be shown to
the committee that the land grant railroad
companies had illegally, but substantially
transferred their telegraph franchises to the
Western Onion company; consequently
when rival telegraph company reached
the eastern terminu, of one of those roads,
instead OF receiving without discrimination
its business, the land grant comI anies sub
stantially refuse to comply with the obliga-
ton of their charters. In other words, the
Western Union company now has a practical
monopoly of the section mentioned, and it is
carving it to such an extent as to show
a tendency to claim in addition to the recog
niZed right of common carrier right also
to gather and sell the news of the day on its
own account If the committee would in
;nt,, hra of tho h iapf
find that the collection and sale of election
news and such important matters as presi-
dents message are sought to be monopolized
by the Western Union company in some in
stances, and that barefaced attempts had
been made by the Western Union company
to coerce newspapers into making exclusive
contracts to transact all their business by its
wirea." 1t was because Of these matters
that he had introduced the resolution.
At the conclusion of Anderson s statement
Mr. d. H. Bates, president of the Baltimore
& Ohio Telegraph company, was sworn and
examined. He appeared at the suggestion
of Anderson to furnish information In con
nection with the efforts Of the Baltimore q
Ohio Telegraph company, to have its tele-
graph business accepted by the land grant
railroads. In the same manner and upon the
same terms as telegraph business from Other
telegraph companies, and particularly from
the Western Union company, had been ac-
cepted
Mr.. Bates reviewed the situation a,
length, and showed how he had year and
half ago endeavored to enter into an ar
| rangement with the Unson Pacific company
| TO accomplish these results
Warner asked whether the Union Pacific
| railroad and telegraph company had re
| fused to extend to the Baltimore q Ohlf
Telegraph company the same facilities a.
were granted to the We tern Union Teie
graph ompanv
Bates thought that they might deny tina
they 50 refused, but they had actually
| done so.
Warner-How do they discriminates
Bata-By not having any Offices at thei
| terminal points-kansas city and Omaha.
| At this point it was explained that th
offices of the land grant railroad companie
at the points mentioned were consolidate
with those of the Western Union Telegrap
company,