Blue-grass blade., 1886-02-13

small salaries. The expenses ar
very light, the original cost of prop
erty email and the income sure. Al
q monopoly of the modern schoo
IL has no rival, and what il will attaiI
to another ten years, unless checked
in it's progress, no one would under
take to foretell. The character o.
it's property, when IL comes to {
valuation in dollars and cents, is vel
illustrated by theinsigniiicant amour,
i, has psid 20 the various S'ates for
taxes. Up to the beginning Of 1885
its total outlay for taxes in all the
United States had reached only s120.
GOO. The amount paid for taxes in
New York for 1884 was S24,S6. The
amount paid in Missouri the same
year was S54 IG. In Massachusetts,
where the capital stock is taxed, the
amount paid in 1884 was S24,4l0.
The amount paid in oil the United
States outside OF Massachusetts, since
1881 up to the beginning OF 1885
YES less than $4,000. A company
that has combined salary and tax
expense of about Sl50.O00 a year,
with an income of 100000 year,
is fine illustration of the modern
scheme of money-inaking.
MEN WHO HAVE MADE FORTUNES.
A number of men have grown very
rich through small Investment made
in Bell Telephone stock five or six
years ago. Prof Bell, who makes
his home in Washington, is supposed
to be worth S4,OO0.OOO. g. He was
originally a Massachusetts man,
aud when he applied for bis first pa
tent was a teacher Of anguages in a
school for deaf ard dumb. 1t was
through his Boston acquaintanceship
that the first company WAS organized.
w. II. Forbes, OF Boston, is President.
He il said to be worth from S5,0OO,-
600 to $S,OOO,OO0, which comfortable
sum has accumulated on an original
investment of $4,000. Other Mas
sachusetts men who have made for
tunes the same way are Gardner G.
Hubbard, of Boston, said to be worth
$4,000, 900. g. p. Bowditch, of Bos-
ton and Vice-President of the COM
paDy, is said to be worth fully Is
much. Thee dore H. Vail is the mau-
ager OF the company and is a million
aire two or three times over. Ex
Con. ressman ". W. Crapo, of Mas
sachusetts, is another who has grown
rich on an original small investment.
The profits Of the company have been
distributed almost entirely among cit
izens Of Massachusetts, where the
stock is as much quoted and discuss
ed as Western Union is here.
BY the way, it is curious fact that
the Western Union Telegraph Com
pany derives a large income from the
Bell Telephone Company. A bitter
fight aross between the two corpora
tions when the latter was in it's infancy
and thee grew out of it long and
bitterly contested litigation. The
matter was finally settled in favor of
the Bell Company, so far as right Of
patent was concerned, but the West
tern Union did not let loose till it had
got an agreement by which it was to
receive certain royalties or percentage
on the business done. For 1854 the
amount so paid reached the sam of
1900 and for 1885 it was over
S4O0,OOO This is by far the heaviest
expense borne by the Bell Company.
AN OPPRESSIVE MONOPOLY.
After til brief recital Of marvel
lous accumulation Of wealth it is easy
to understand the importance Of the
suit that Secretary Lamar recently
authorized to be brought by the Gov
ernment agains' the Bell Company.
all Individual suits have failed. Gray,
Dolbear, Drawbaugh, Edison and
others have all tried to break the Bell
patent, but have all been unsuccess-
full, and the monopoly is absolute,
though charges of fraud ia the secur-
ing the Bell patent have always found
more Or less OF II hearing The ques-
ton Brought before Mr. Lsmer was
whether he believed the evidences
Of fraud in securing the patent justi-
fed the bringing Of a snit by the Gov
ernmen, to vscate the patent. He
decided there was That brings the
question up to be decided on its
merits. 1t is somewhat Of an un-
usal procedure for suit to be brought
in this way, but it is reasonable to
suppose that where the Government
has evidence that a fraud has been
committed through one of it's branches
that it should sue for the notification
Of the thing done. Whether there
was collusive action or not between
Bell and the Patent Office officials
when he got his patent in 1876, the
oppression of the monopoly bnilt up
by him and his associates is keenly
felt by thu public. The schedule OF
charges of telephone service in the
city of New York is outrageous. In
the business part Of the city as much
as $3.50 month is charged for a
single instrument, while private line
cots $50 a month, This is belieye
to be out of all proportion to the cost
of the service, and public sentiment
cries out loudly for some competition
that shall lower the charges to some
rational basis. As it is now, every
improvonarf in talanhnnas Z. o,,t off