Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-03-10
THE WESTERN UNION.
War Against the Great
Monopoly.
A BILL TO BE PASSED.
Protecting Impositions and Over
charge of Senders of Dis
patches.

| Special to the Herald bv the Associated Press.
WASHINGTON, March 9.-There was {
full attendance at the meeting of thu
House Committee on Postofiices ant
Post Roads this morning, called to be
gin the investigation ordered by thu
House Of certain matters embodied II
the resolutions, as follows: That th'
Committee on Postoffices and Pos
Roads is hereby empowered to astertair
whether additional legislation IL needed
to prevent monopoly of telegraph ia
clities and to secure to the Southern
Western aud Pacific Coast States bene
fits Of competition between biographies
and to project the people OF the United
States against unreasonable charges fol
telepraphic services. Mr.. Anderson
YVES present and addressed the commit
tee briefly in explanation of his purpose
in offering the resolution. His general
reasons, he said, was an organic opposi
tion to monopoly Of any sort, but spe.
officially in th instance, his motive was
to. be found in the state OF
affairs existing between the Mis-
souri, river and thePacific ocean, q
region comprising one-half or two
thirds of the area Of the United States.
The State he had the honor in part to
represent tKansasl which was part Of
this region, and together with the re-
naming seven States aud organized Ter
ritories, was interested in the matter of
cheap telegraphing. 1t was also vitality
interested in preventing such monopoly
of telegraphing as would deprive its peo-
Pile aud press OF the advantage and safe
guard of competitive facilities for OBJ
tanning news. 1t would be shown to
the committee that in the charters of all
Of the land grant railways they are re-
quired to operate their telegraph lines
precisely as they operate their rails.
Next, that they have illegally but sub.
stantially transferred the telegraph fran.
chises to the Western Union Company,
consequently when tho rival telegraph
company reaches the eastern terminus
Of one OF these roads instead OF receiv-
ing from that company. without dis
elimination. its business, they refuse to
do, or at least substantially refuse to
comply with this obligation of their
charters. In other words, the Western
Union, so far as that whole area is con-
cerned--now having a population of
5000, 600 people-has practically mo
nopoly. and it is carrying it to such an
extent as TO show tendency to claim,
in addition to the recognized right OF a
common carrier, right also to gather
and sell the news of the day on its own
account.
Ii the committee would inquire into
this branch OF the subject 1t would find
that the collection and sale OF election
news aud such important matters as
the Presidents message are sought to
be monopolized by the Western Union
Company. In some instances barefaced
attempts have been made by the West
ern Union Company to coerce newspa-
pers into making exclusive contracts to
transact all heir business by its wires.
The committee will see at once how
such attempts and assumptions threat
ened the liberty OF the press in the re-
gion which should be subjected to this
monopoly. II is because of that fact,
and because OF other matters upon
which he would ask to be heard at a
later date, that he had introduced this
resolution. Mr.. d. II Bates, President
of the Baltimore and Ohio Telegraph
Company. was then sworn and examined.
He furnished full information aud de-
.ails of his connections with the full
efforts of the Baltimore and Ohio Tele-
graph Company to have its telegraph
business accepted by land grant rail-
ways in the same manner and upon the
same terms as the telegraph business
from other telegraph companies. and
particularly from the Western Union,
had been or might be accepted. He
said that the adoption Of bill, such as
was proposed BY Representative An
derson, would fully meet the require
ments OF the case.