Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1888-01-21

derby against one man with whom he
had quarrelled about another matter.
Not one in a hundred Of the signers, he
said, ever used the telegraph yet they
were asking 10 be taxed for the benefit
of rich brokers, bankers, merchants,
commercial operators, ndspeculators.
Gardiner Hubbard addressed the com
mittee in favor of the postal-teleRraph
system proposed in the bill introduced
by Senator Dawes. As TO the wages
paid 10 telegraph operators in England
he admitted that they were much less
than those paid here. but he said that as
an Offset the American telegraph ope-
rator would do twice as much work as
the English or continental operator.
Referring TO the question of the
authority Of the Government TO estab-
fish postal telegraph, Mr.. Hubbard
gave brief history OF the post-ofiice sys-
tenn in this country. Under the act Of
1915 OF the Continental Congress the
post office system was established for the
conveyance Of intelligence and letters.
1t was established, not with view to
dollars and cents, but for the conveyance
Of intelligence and letters. II had adopt
ed every means Of transportation that 1t
could use 10 advantage, and it
had controlled the first telegraph
line ever constructed referring TO the
Government subsidy OF $50, 600 to ena-
bic Professor Morse to build line from
Washington ~ Baltimore That line
had been placed under the supervision
of the POsmaster-G General, and was used
as n means Of conveying intelligence.
Mr. Hubbard agreed with DIR. Green
that il would not he possible TO duplicate
the Western Union lines for less money
than is represented by the capital stock,
uut he held that Of this stock only SIX
teen or twenty million had been paid for
i'm cash and the remainder represented
earnings in addition to the amounts paid
as dividends. Mr.. Hubbard went on to
say that in every other country the tele-
graph was controlled 10y the Govern
mcnt as part of the postal system,
while in tins country 1t was controlled
by single corporation. Here there
was, practically speaking, no competl-
ton in the telegraph business and
there could be none, for it was a busi-
ness which could be managed much
more easily and cheaply 10y one company
than by number Of companies But
the question arose whether the Govern
mcnt could not manage 1t much more
chcaply than the Western Union Com
pauy, and whether the Western Union
Company itself could not manage it
much more chcaply than it does.
There were two ways IN which 1t was
proposed that the Government should do
business. The one was that set forth IN
the bills OF Messrs. CullOm and Ed
munds-viz., that the Government
should own and operate the lines; and
the other was the plan which he adyO-
Gated for many years, and which was
substantially embraced in the bill intro
duccd by Mr.. Dawes same bill which
was reported 10y this committee four
years ago. That bill established pos
tlltelesrdph system, and was in analogy
with the system now adopted by the
post-Oillce for the transmission of letters
and correspondence. The carrying is to
be done by contract with private parties
Considerable time was spent In the
debate between McsSrs. Green and Hub
bard upon various details OF the subject
as they were mentioned. 10 which the
committee listened until late in the
afternoon. The hearing was then sus
pended for the present